大般若波羅蜜多經

03

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

“Blessed One! Such is what is called the condensed exposition of the prajnaparamita. The great bodhisattvas who train in it can accomplish many things. Newly initiated bodhisattvas should train in this condensed exposition of the prajnaparamita, and even great bodhisattvas abiding on the tenth bhumi must diligently and vigorously cultivate and study it. If great bodhisattvas constantly and diligently cultivate and study this condensed exposition of the prajnaparamita, they can know, in accordance with reality, the characteristics of breadth and concision of all dharmas.

“Blessed One! The condensed exposition of the prajnaparamita is a wondrous Dharma gateway into which only great bodhisattvas of keen faculties can awaken and enter.”

The Buddha said:

“Subhuti! Great bodhisattvas of keen, middling, or dull faculties, and so forth, can all awaken to and enter that Dharma gateway without obstruction. Great bodhisattvas whose faculties are determinate or indeterminate can likewise all awaken to and enter it if they single-mindedly cultivate and study it.

“Subhuti, you should know that this Dharma gateway is exceedingly wondrous and pure. Those who are indolent, deficient in vigor, bereft of right mindfulness, distracted in mind, and given to cultivating faulty wisdom cannot awaken to and enter it. Only those who are not indolent, are constantly vigorous, are endowed with right mindfulness, skillfully collect the mind, and cultivate wondrous wisdom can awaken to and enter it.

“Subhuti, you should know that if great bodhisattvas wish to abide among the non-retrogressing bodhisattvas and advance successively to the tenth bhumi, they must diligently employ skillful means to enter this Dharma gateway. If great bodhisattvas wish quickly to realize the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom, they must diligently employ skillful means to enter this Dharma gateway.

“Subhuti, you should know that if great bodhisattvas train according to what is taught in this profound prajnaparamita scripture, they can train in the perfections of generosity, pure morality, patient acceptance, vigor, meditative concentration, and prajnaparamita. They can also train in inner emptiness through the emptiness of the absence of self-nature. They can also train in suchness through the inconceivable realm.

They can also train in the Noble Truth of suffering through the Noble Truth of the path. They can also train in the four foundations of mindfulness through the Noble Eightfold Path. They can also train in the four meditative absorptions, the four immeasurables, and the four formless attainments.

They can also train in the Dharma gateways of liberation through emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. They can also train in the eight liberations through the ten totalities. They can also train in the Bhumi of Utmost Joy through the Dharma Cloud Bhumi.

They can also train in the dharani gateways and the samadhi gateways. They can also train in the five kinds of eyes and the six superknowledges. They can also train in the ten powers of a Tathagata through the eighteen distinctive qualities of a Buddha.

They can also train in great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, and great equanimity. They can also train in the Dharma of never forgetting and in the nature of perpetual equanimity. They can also train in the knowledge of all things, the knowledge of the aspects of the path, and the knowledge of all aspects.

They can also train in all the practices of great bodhisattvas. They can also train in the unsurpassed, complete awakening of all Buddhas. They can also train in the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom.

Having trained in this way, those great bodhisattvas can realize the perfections of generosity, pure morality, patient acceptance, vigor, meditative concentration, and prajnaparamita, and, to speak more extensively, up to the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom.

“Subhuti, you should know that if great bodhisattvas train according to what is taught in this profound prajnaparamita scripture, they will discern all demonic activities, so that those activities will be extinguished as soon as they arise.

“Therefore, Subhuti, if great bodhisattvas wish quickly to eradicate all karmic obstructions and wish to preserve skillful means, they must train in the prajnaparamita.

“Subhuti, you should know that whenever great bodhisattvas diligently cultivate the prajnaparamita, they are immediately protected and kept in mind by all the Tathagatas, Arhats, Perfectly Awakened Ones who are presently teaching the true Dharma throughout immeasurable and boundless worlds. Why is this? Because all Buddhas of the past, future, and present are born from this profound prajnaparamita.

“Therefore, Subhuti, great bodhisattvas who practice the prajnaparamita should think: ‘I too shall realize the Dharma that the Buddhas of the past, future, and present have realized.’

“Thus, Subhuti, great bodhisattvas must diligently cultivate and study the profound prajnaparamita. If they diligently cultivate and study the profound prajnaparamita, they will quickly realize unsurpassed, complete awakening.

“Therefore, Subhuti, great bodhisattvas should practice the profound prajnaparamita without ever departing from the mental attention associated with the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom.

“Subhuti, you should know that if great bodhisattvas practice in accordance with the profound prajnaparamita for even the time of a finger snap, they will acquire exceedingly great merit. Suppose someone, by skillful means, guided all sentient beings in the trichiliocosm and caused them all to abide in the perfections of generosity, pure morality, patient acceptance, vigor, meditative concentration, and prajnaparamita; or caused them to abide in purity of liberation and the knowledge and vision of liberation; or caused them to abide in the fruit of stream-entry through arhatship; or caused them to abide in a pratyekabuddha’s awakening.

Although that person would acquire immeasurable merit, it would still not equal the merit of one who, for merely the time of a finger snap, practices in accordance with the profound prajnaparamita scripture. Why is this? Because the profound prajnaparamita can give rise to all the perfections of generosity, pure morality, patient acceptance, vigor, meditative concentration, and prajnaparamita; it can give rise to all purity of liberation and knowledge and vision of liberation; it can give rise to all the fruits from stream-entry through arhatship; and it can give rise to every pratyekabuddha’s awakening.

All Buddhas of the past, future, and present appear through the profound prajnaparamita and liberate immeasurable and boundless sentient beings.

“Furthermore, Subhuti, if great bodhisattvas, without departing from the mental attention associated with the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom, practice the profound prajnaparamita for a brief moment, or for half a day, one day, half a month, one month, one season, one year, a hundred years, one kalpa, a hundred kalpas, or even innumerable great kalpas, the merit they acquire will surpass the merit acquired by one who guides every kind of sentient being in worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges throughout the ten directions, causing them to abide in the perfections of generosity, pure morality, patient acceptance, vigor, meditative concentration, and prajnaparamita; or causing them to abide in purity of liberation and the knowledge and vision of liberation;

or causing them to abide in the fruit of stream-entry through arhatship; or causing them to abide in a pratyekabuddha’s awakening.

Why is this? Because the profound prajnaparamita gives birth to all Tathagatas, Arhats, Perfectly Awakened Ones of the past, future, and present, who reveal to sentient beings, without error, the perfections of generosity, pure morality, patient acceptance, vigor, meditative concentration, and prajnaparamita; reveal, without error, purity of liberation and the knowledge and vision of liberation; reveal, without error, the fruits from stream-entry through arhatship; reveal, without error, the fruit of a pratyekabuddha’s awakening; and reveal, without error, the fruit of unsurpassed, complete awakening.

Therefore, this merit far surpasses the former merit.”

Furthermore, Subhuti, if a great bodhisattva abides in accordance with the profound prajnaparamita that has been taught, you should know that this great bodhisattva has entered the stage of non-retrogression, is constantly protected and kept in mind by the Buddhas, and has perfected the most excellent skillful means. That bodhisattva has formerly drawn near to, made offerings to, revered, honored, and praised countless millions of billions of Buddhas; has planted immeasurable sublime roots of virtue in the presence of the Buddhas; and has been protected by countless pure and genuine spiritual friends. For a long time, that bodhisattva has cultivated the six paramitas, beginning with generosity, and so forth, up to and including the knowledge of all-knowledge.

Subhuti, you should know that this great bodhisattva abides on the stage of spiritual youth. All that bodhisattva aspires to is completely fulfilled. That bodhisattva always encounters the Buddhas and is never separated from them even briefly, never becomes distant from roots of virtue, continually brings sentient beings to maturity, and constantly adorns and purifies Buddha-fields. Traveling from one Buddha-field to another, that bodhisattva always makes offerings to, reveres, honors, and praises the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, and hears, receives, retains, and practices the teachings of the bodhisattva vehicle.

Subhuti, you should know that this great bodhisattva has attained uninterrupted and inexhaustible eloquence, has attained excellent dharani gateways, and has perfected the most sublime and wondrous physical body. Having received complete predictions of awakening from the Buddhas, that bodhisattva freely assumes various kinds of bodies for sentient beings according to their inclinations, attaining mastery in every case.

Subhuti, you should know that this great bodhisattva skillfully comprehends objects of cognition and skillfully comprehends modes of activity.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends every gateway of letters and nonletters, and skillfully comprehends the meaning of teachings expressed in words and without words.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends concepts of one, two, and many.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the concepts of female, male, and neither of the two.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the phenomena of the past, future, and present.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends all expressions and skillfully comprehends all meanings.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the skandhas, skillfully comprehends the ayatanas, and skillfully comprehends the dhatus.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends dependent origination and the factors of dependent origination.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the world and skillfully comprehends nirvana.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the characteristic of the Dharma realm, skillfully comprehends the characteristic of the conditioned, and skillfully comprehends the characteristic of the unconditioned.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends modes of activity and skillfully comprehends what is not a mode of activity.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the characteristic of characteristics and skillfully comprehends the characteristic of the absence of characteristics.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends existence, nonexistence, intrinsic nature, and other-nature.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends bondage, skillfully comprehends release, and skillfully comprehends bondage and release.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends association and skillfully comprehends nonassociation.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends association and nonassociation.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends suchness, skillfully comprehends the nature free from falsity, and skillfully comprehends the nature free from change.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the nature of phenomena, skillfully comprehends the Dharma realm, skillfully comprehends the fixed order of phenomena, and skillfully comprehends the abiding of phenomena.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the nature of causes and skillfully comprehends the nature of noncauses.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the nature of conditions and skillfully comprehends the nature of nonconditions.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the Noble Truths.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the meditative absorptions, skillfully comprehends the immeasurables, and skillfully comprehends the formless attainments.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends generosity through prajnaparamita.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the four foundations of mindfulness through the Noble Eightfold Path.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the gateways of liberation consisting of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the eight liberations through the ten spheres of totality.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends all dharani gateways and skillfully comprehends all samadhi gateways.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the five kinds of eyes and skillfully comprehends the six superknowledges.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the stages of a great bodhisattva.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the ten powers of the Tathagata through the eighteen unique qualities of a Buddha.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, and great equanimity.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the major marks and skillfully comprehends the excellent minor characteristics.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the quality of never forgetting and the nature of constant equanimity.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the knowledge of all, the knowledge of the aspects of the path, and the knowledge of all aspects.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the sphere of the conditioned and skillfully comprehends the sphere of the unconditioned.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends what is a sphere and skillfully comprehends what is not a sphere.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends emptiness and skillfully comprehends nonemptiness.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends attention directed toward form through attention directed toward consciousness, and, in detail, through skillfully comprehending attention directed toward the knowledge of all-knowledge.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the emptiness of the characteristic of form through the emptiness of the characteristic of consciousness, and, in detail, through skillfully comprehending the emptiness of the characteristic of the knowledge of all-knowledge.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the path of tranquility and skillfully comprehends the path without tranquility.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends arising, skillfully comprehends cessation, and skillfully comprehends abiding and change.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends right view and skillfully comprehends wrong view.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends views and skillfully comprehends what is not a view.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends greed, hatred, and delusion.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends nongreed, nonhatred, and nondelusion.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends views, attachments, latent tendencies, and fetters, and skillfully comprehends their cessation.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends name, skillfully comprehends form, and skillfully comprehends name-and-form.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the objective condition, skillfully comprehends the dominant condition, skillfully comprehends the causal condition, and skillfully comprehends the immediately antecedent condition.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends modes of activity and skillfully comprehends causes and their fruits.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the five destinies and skillfully comprehends the paths leading to the five destinies.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the fruit of stream-entry and the path to the fruit of stream-entry.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the fruit of once-returning and the path to the fruit of once-returning.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the fruit of non-returning and the path to the fruit of non-returning.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the fruit of arhatship and the path to the fruit of arhatship.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the awakening of a pratyekabuddha and the path to the awakening of a pratyekabuddha.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the fruit of unsurpassed, complete awakening and the path to the fruit of unsurpassed, complete awakening.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the knowledge of all and the path to the knowledge of all, skillfully comprehends the knowledge of the aspects of the path and the path to the knowledge of the aspects of the path, and skillfully comprehends the knowledge of all aspects and the path to the knowledge of all aspects.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the faculties and their perfection, and skillfully comprehends superior and inferior faculties.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends swift wisdom, keen wisdom, auspicious wisdom, penetrating wisdom, vast wisdom, profound wisdom, great wisdom, and unobstructed wisdom.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the past, future, and present.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends skillful means.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends aspiration and supreme aspiration.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends words and meanings.

That bodhisattva skillfully comprehends the skillful establishment of the Three Vehicles.

Subhuti, you should know that if a great bodhisattva practices profound prajnaparamita, proceeds in accordance with profound prajnaparamita, and cultivates profound prajnaparamita, that bodhisattva attains such immeasurable and boundless excellent qualities.

Subhuti said to the Buddha:

“How do great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita? How do they proceed in accordance with profound prajnaparamita? How do they cultivate profound prajnaparamita?”

The Buddha said:

“Subhuti, great bodhisattvas should contemplate the form skandha through the consciousness skandha as quiescent, subject to destruction, lacking mastery, false in essence, and unstable, and in this way practice profound prajnaparamita. In detail, they should contemplate even the knowledge of all-knowledge as quiescent, subject to destruction, lacking mastery, false in essence, and unstable, and in this way practice profound prajnaparamita.

“Subhuti, you ask how great bodhisattvas proceed in accordance with profound prajnaparamita. Great bodhisattvas proceed in accordance with profound prajnaparamita as space accords with space.

“Subhuti, you ask how great bodhisattvas cultivate profound prajnaparamita. Great bodhisattvas cultivate profound prajnaparamita as they cultivate the practice of relinquishment.”

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

“Blessed One, for how long must great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, proceed in accordance with profound prajnaparamita, and cultivate profound prajnaparamita?”

The Buddha said:

“Subhuti, from the moment great bodhisattvas first generate the aspiration for awakening until they sit upon the seat of awakening, they should practice profound prajnaparamita, proceed in accordance with profound prajnaparamita, and cultivate profound prajnaparamita.”

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! In what states of mind do the great bodhisattvas abide so that, without interruption, they practice profound prajnaparamita, course in profound prajnaparamita, and cultivate profound prajnaparamita?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! From the time they first arouse the aspiration until the ultimate end, the great bodhisattvas do not entertain any other mode of attention, even temporarily. They constantly abide only in attention corresponding to the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom; thus they should practice profound prajnaparamita, course in profound prajnaparamita, and cultivate profound prajnaparamita.

Subhuti, you should know! Only when such great bodhisattvas cause the mind and mental factors to remain unmoved with regard to their objects are they said to practice profound prajnaparamita, course in profound prajnaparamita, and cultivate profound prajnaparamita.

Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! When the great bodhisattvas practice, course in, and cultivate profound prajnaparamita, do they attain the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If the great bodhisattvas do not practice, do not course in, and do not cultivate profound prajnaparamita, do they attain the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

Subhuti said:

– Blessed One! If the great bodhisattvas both practice, course in, and cultivate, and do not practice, do not course in, and do not cultivate profound prajnaparamita, do they attain the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

Subhuti said:

– Blessed One! If the great bodhisattvas neither practice, course in, and cultivate, nor do not practice, do not course in, and do not cultivate profound prajnaparamita, do they attain the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

– Blessed One! How, then, do the great bodhisattvas attain the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! The great bodhisattvas attain the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom in accordance with suchness.

Subhuti said:

– Blessed One! What does it mean to be in accordance with suchness?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! It means to be in accordance with the limit of reality.

Subhuti said:

– Blessed One! What does it mean to be in accordance with the limit of reality?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! It means to be in accordance with the dharma realm.

Subhuti said:

– Blessed One! What does it mean to be in accordance with the dharma realm?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! It means to be in accordance with the realm of self, up to and including the realm of the person.

Subhuti said:

– Blessed One! What does it mean to be in accordance with the realm of self, up to and including the realm of the person?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! What do you think? Can a self, up to and including a person, be apprehended?

Subhuti said:

– Blessed One! No.

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Since a self, up to and including a person, is utterly unapprehendable, how could I posit the realm of self, up to and including the realm of the person?

Thus, Subhuti! If a great bodhisattva does not posit prajnaparamita, does not posit the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom, and does not posit any dharma, that great bodhisattva will certainly realize the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Is it only prajnaparamita that cannot be posited, or can the other paramitas, such as meditative concentration and so forth, also not be posited?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Not only can prajnaparamita not be posited, but the other paramitas, such as meditative concentration and so forth, also cannot be posited. Whether the dharmas of the shravakas, the dharmas of the pratyekabuddhas, the dharmas of the bodhisattvas, the dharmas of the Buddhas, conditioned dharmas, unconditioned dharmas, and so forth—all these dharmas cannot be posited.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If no dharma can be posited, why is it posited that this is a hell being, this is an animal, this is a hungry ghost, this is a human, this is a deva, this is a stream-enterer, this is a once-returner, this is a non-returner, this is an arhat, this is a pratyekabuddha, this is a bodhisattva, these are Buddhas, and these are all dharmas?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! What do you think? Can the beings that are posited and the dharmas that are posited truly be apprehended?

– Blessed One! No.

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Since the beings that are posited are truly unapprehendable, how could I posit that this is a hell being and, in detail, up to and including that these are all dharmas? Thus, Subhuti! When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, they should train in the fact that no dharma can be posited, so as to proceed toward unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, should they not train in form? Should they not train in feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness? In detail, up to and including, should they not train in the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, they should train in form as neither increasing nor diminishing; they should train in feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness as neither increasing nor diminishing. In detail, up to and including, they should train in the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom as neither increasing nor diminishing.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, how should they train in form as neither increasing nor diminishing, and how should they train in feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness as neither increasing nor diminishing? In detail, up to and including, how should they train in the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom as neither increasing nor diminishing?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, they should train in form through non-arising and non-cessation; they should train in feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness through non-arising and non-cessation. In detail, up to and including, they should train in the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom through non-arising and non-cessation.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, how do they train in form through non-arising and non-cessation, and how do they train in feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness through non-arising and non-cessation? In detail, up to and including, how do they train in the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom through non-arising and non-cessation?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, they should train without creating or performing anything, whether abandoning or cultivating the formations.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, why should they train without creating or performing anything, whether abandoning or cultivating the formations?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, they contemplate the intrinsic characteristics of all dharmas as empty; therefore, they should train without creating or performing anything, whether abandoning or cultivating the formations.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, how do they contemplate the intrinsic characteristics of all dharmas as empty?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, they should contemplate form by means of the characteristic of the emptiness of form; they should contemplate feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness by means of the characteristic of the emptiness of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. In detail, up to and including, they should contemplate the unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment of the Buddhas by means of the characteristic of the emptiness of the unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment of the Buddhas. They should contemplate the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom by means of the characteristic of the emptiness of the knowledge of all-knowing wisdom.

Thus, Subhuti! When the great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, they should contemplate the intrinsic characteristics of all dharmas as empty.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If form is contemplated through the characteristic of the emptiness of form; if feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are contemplated through the characteristic of the emptiness of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness; and, in full detail, if even the unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment of the Buddhas is contemplated through the characteristic of the emptiness of the unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment of the Buddhas, and the knowledge of all knowledge is contemplated through the characteristic of the emptiness of the knowledge of all knowledge, then how do great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! When great bodhisattvas engage in absolutely no practice, that is the practice of profound prajnaparamita.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Why is the great bodhisattva’s engagement in absolutely no practice the practice of profound prajnaparamita?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Because profound prajnaparamita is unobtainable, great bodhisattvas are also unobtainable, and the practice is also unobtainable. The one capable of practicing, that by virtue of which one practices, the time of practice, and the place of practice are all unobtainable.

Therefore, Subhuti, when great bodhisattvas engage in absolutely no practice, that is the practice of profound prajnaparamita, because therein all conceptual elaborations are unobtainable.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– If the great bodhisattva’s engagement in absolutely no practice is the practice of profound prajnaparamita, how should a newly training great bodhisattva practice profound prajnaparamita?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! From the time newly training great bodhisattvas first arouse the aspiration, they should continually train in non-attainment with regard to all dharmas. Having trained in this way, they use non-attainment as skillful means to cultivate generosity through prajnaparamita. In full detail, they use non-attainment as skillful means to cultivate the knowledge of all knowledge.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! What is called attainment? What is called non-attainment?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Where there are two, that is called attainment; where there are no two, that is called non-attainment.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Why is the presence of two called attainment? Why is the absence of two called non-attainment?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! The eye and forms are two, and so on through the mind and dharmas, which are two. In full detail, the unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment of the Buddhas and the Buddhas are two. All such conceptual elaborations are called duality, and wherever there is duality, there is attainment. Neither eye nor forms is nonduality; in full detail, neither mind nor dharmas is nonduality. In full detail, neither the unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment of the Buddhas nor the Buddha is nonduality. All such freedom from conceptual elaboration is called nonduality, and wherever there is nonduality, there is non-attainment.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Is there non-attainment because of attainment, or is there non-attainment because of non-attainment?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! It is not because of attainment that there is non-attainment, nor is it because of non-attainment that there is non-attainment. Rather, because the natures of attainment and non-attainment are equally the same, it is called non-attainment.

Thus, Subhuti, great bodhisattvas should diligently train in the equality of attainment and non-attainment.

Subhuti, you should know that when great bodhisattvas train in this way, it is called training in the meaning of non-attainment taught by profound prajnaparamita, and they are thereby able to remain far removed from all faults.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! When great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita without attachment to attainment and without attachment to non-attainment, how do those great bodhisattvas cultivate profound prajnaparamita so that they may advance from one stage to another, gradually reach perfection, and thereby realize the knowledge of all knowledge?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! When great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, they practice prajnaparamita while abiding neither in attainment nor in non-attainment. They are therefore able to advance from one stage to another, gradually reach perfection, and ultimately realize the knowledge of all knowledge. Why? Because profound prajnaparamita is without attainment, and the knowledge of all knowledge is also without attainment. The one who practices prajnaparamita, the place of practice, and the time of practice are likewise without attainment. This non-attainment is itself also without attainment.

Subhuti, you should know that great bodhisattvas should practice profound prajnaparamita in this way.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If profound prajnaparamita is unobtainable, the knowledge of all knowledge is also unobtainable, and the one who practices profound prajnaparamita, the place of practice, and the time of practice are likewise unobtainable, while this unobtainability is itself also unobtainable, then when practicing profound prajnaparamita, why do great bodhisattvas delight in discerning all dharmas, saying, “This is form; these are feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness,” and, in full detail, “This is unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment; this is the purified knowledge of all knowledge”?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! When great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, although they delight in discerning all dharmas, they do not attain form; they do not attain feeling, perception, formations, or consciousness; and they do not attain the knowledge of all knowledge.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! When great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, if they do not attain form, do not attain feeling, perception, formations, or consciousness, and do not attain the knowledge of all knowledge, how can they perfect the six paramitas? If they do not perfect the six paramitas, how can they enter the bodhisattva’s stage of right nature free from arising? If they do not enter the bodhisattva’s stage of right nature free from arising, how can they purify and adorn Buddha lands and bring sentient beings to maturity? If they cannot purify and adorn Buddha lands or bring sentient beings to maturity, how can they attain the knowledge of all knowledge? If they do not attain the knowledge of all knowledge, how can they turn the wheel of the sublime Dharma and perform the deeds of a Buddha? If they cannot turn the wheel of the sublime Dharma or perform the deeds of a Buddha, how can they liberate sentient beings from the sufferings of birth and death and enable them to attain the ultimate peace and bliss of nirvana?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! When great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita, they do not practice profound prajnaparamita for the sake of form, nor do they practice profound prajnaparamita for the sake of feeling, perception, formations, or consciousness. In full detail, they do not practice profound prajnaparamita for the sake of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment. They do not practice profound prajnaparamita for the sake of the knowledge of all knowledge.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! For what purpose do great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Great bodhisattvas practice profound prajnaparamita without doing anything whatsoever. Why? Because all dharmas are utterly uncreated and utterly unperformed. Profound prajnaparamita is likewise uncreated and unperformed. The unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment of the Buddhas is likewise uncreated and unperformed. Great bodhisattvas are likewise uncreated and unperformed. Thus, Subhuti, great bodhisattvas take non-creation and non-performance as skillful means in practicing profound prajnaparamita.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If all dharmas are uncreated and unperformed, then the distinction among the three vehicles—the Hearer Vehicle, the Solitary Buddha Vehicle, and the Unsurpassed Vehicle—should not be established.

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! If a dharma is neither created nor produced, it cannot be established. A dharma must be created and produced before it can be established. Why? Because foolish, ignorant ordinary beings cling to form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness; and, in full detail, up to the knowledge of all knowledge. By thinking of form, they attain form; by thinking of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, they attain feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. In full detail, by thinking of the knowledge of all knowledge, they attain the knowledge of all knowledge. Because they attain through such thinking, they reflect thus: “I shall certainly attain unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, deliver sentient beings from the great suffering of birth and death, and enable them to attain the ultimate peace and bliss of nirvana.”

Subhuti, you should know that, because of their delusion, those foolish, ignorant ordinary beings think in this way, and thereby slander the Buddha. Why? Because when the Buddha seeks form with the five kinds of eyes, it cannot be apprehended; when he seeks feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, they cannot be apprehended.

Even when he seeks the unsurpassed, complete enlightenment of the Buddhas, it cannot be apprehended; and when he seeks sentient beings, they likewise cannot be apprehended. Those foolish, ignorant ordinary beings are benighted and lack the eye of wisdom, and therefore cling to all dharmas. That they will attain unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, deliver sentient beings from the great suffering of birth and death, and enable them to attain the ultimate, eternal bliss of nirvana—such a thing is certainly impossible.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If all Tathagatas, Arhats, Perfectly Enlightened Ones, using the five kinds of eyes, seek form and find it inapprehensible; seek feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness and likewise find them inapprehensible; and even seek the unsurpassed, complete enlightenment of the Buddhas and find it inapprehensible, and seek sentient beings and find them inapprehensible, then it would follow that they could not attain unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, deliver sentient beings from the great suffering of birth and death, and enable them to attain the ultimate, eternal bliss of nirvana. If so, how did the Blessed One attain unsurpassed, complete enlightenment and establish sentient beings in three distinct groups: the group definitely established in rightness, the group definitely established in wrongness, and the indeterminate group?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! When I contemplate reality as it is with the five kinds of eyes, I determine that in truth I did not attain unsurpassed, complete enlightenment or establish sentient beings in three distinct groups. Yet because sentient beings are foolish and deluded, they imagine unreal dharmas to be real dharmas and unreal sentient beings to be real sentient beings. In order to eliminate such false views, I speak in accordance with conventional truth, not in accordance with ultimate truth.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Does the Tathagata not abide in ultimate truth when realizing great enlightenment?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Does the Tathagata not abide in deluded and inverted conceptions when realizing great enlightenment?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If the Tathagata neither abides in ultimate truth when realizing great enlightenment nor abides in deluded and inverted conceptions when realizing great enlightenment, does this mean that the Tathagata does not attain unsurpassed, complete enlightenment?

The Buddha said:

– No! Although I attain unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, there is no place in which I abide. That is, I abide neither in the conditioned realm nor in the unconditioned realm.

Subhuti, you should know that this is like people magically created by the Buddhas: although they abide neither in the conditioned realm nor in the unconditioned realm, they nevertheless perform the acts of walking, coming, sitting, and lying down. People magically created by the Buddhas may practice generosity through prajnaparamita. They may abide in inner emptiness through the emptiness of the absence of intrinsic nature; abide in suchness through the inconceivable realm; abide in the noble truths of suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path; cultivate the four foundations of mindfulness through the Noble Eightfold Path; cultivate the four dhyanas, the four immeasurables, and the four formless attainments;

cultivate the liberating Dharma gateways of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; cultivate the eight liberations through the ten totalities; cultivate the Ground of Great Joy through the Ground of the Dharma Cloud; cultivate all dharani gateways and samadhi gateways; cultivate the five kinds of eyes and the six superknowledges; cultivate the ten powers of a Tathagata through the eighteen distinctive qualities of a Buddha; cultivate great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, and great equanimity; cultivate the Dharma of non-forgetfulness and the nature of constant equanimity; cultivate the knowledge of all things, the knowledge of the aspects of the paths, and the knowledge of all aspects; and cultivate the practices of great bodhisattvas.

They may attain unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, turn the wheel of the sublime Dharma, and perform the deeds of a Buddha. Those magically created beings may in turn magically create immeasurable sentient beings and establish them in three distinct groups. What do you think?

Do those people magically created by the Buddhas truly perform the acts of walking, coming, sitting, and lying down, and so forth, up to truly establishing sentient beings in three distinct groups?

Subhuti replied:

– Blessed One! No.

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! So it is! So it is! The Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, know that all dharmas are like magical creations and teach that all dharmas are also like magical creations. Although deeds are performed, they are not real; although sentient beings are delivered, there is no one who is delivered, just as a magically created person may in turn magically deliver other sentient beings.

Thus, Subhuti, great bodhisattvas practicing profound prajnaparamita should be like people magically created by the Buddha: although they act, they should remain free from attachment.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If all dharmas are like magical creations, then the Buddhas are also so. What difference, then, is there between the Buddhas and magically created people?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! In reality, the Buddhas, magically created people, and all dharmas are no different. Why? Because all the deeds performed by the Buddhas can also be performed by people magically created by a Buddha. The deeds performed by people magically created by a Buddha can likewise be performed by the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones. Therefore, in reality, the Buddhas, magically created people, and all dharmas are no different.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If there were no people magically created by the Buddhas, could a Buddha alone perform those deeds? And if there were no Buddhas, could a magically created person perform those deeds alone?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! They could still perform them.

Subhuti said:

– Blessed One! How could this be?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! There was once a Tathagata named Good Quiescent Wisdom, who had finished delivering all those who were to be delivered. At that time, there was no bodhisattva to whom that Buddha could give a prediction. He therefore magically created a Buddha to remain in the world, and then himself entered the realm of the great nirvana without remainder. That magically created Buddha performed the deeds of a Buddha for half a kalpa. After more than half a kalpa had passed, he gave a bodhisattva the prediction of great enlightenment and then manifested entry into nirvana. At that time, devas, humans, asuras, and others all believed that the Buddha had now entered nirvana, but the body of that magically created Buddha was in truth neither born nor destroyed.

Thus, Subhuti, great bodhisattvas practicing profound prajnaparamita should have faith that all dharmas are like magical creations.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If the bodies of the Buddhas are no different from magically created bodies, how can they serve as pure fields of merit? If sentient beings, seeking liberation, revere and make offerings to the Buddhas, the merit of doing so remains inexhaustible even after those Buddhas enter nirvana. If they revere and make offerings to a magically created Buddha, should that merit likewise be ultimately inexhaustible?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! The bodies of the Buddhas arise from the Dharma-nature and can serve as true and pure fields of merit for donors. The transformation bodies of the Buddhas are likewise: they enable donors who reverently make offerings to obtain inexhaustible merit until the end of birth and death.

Subhuti, you should know! Set aside the merit obtained by reverently making offerings to the Buddhas and their transformation bodies. If good men, good women, and others cherish loving-kindness and reverence toward the Buddhas, contemplating and recollecting their true and pure virtues, the roots of goodness of those good men, good women, and others will remain inexhaustible until the end of birth and death.

Subhuti, you should know! Again, set aside the merit obtained through loving reverence and through contemplating and recollecting their true and pure virtues. If good men, good women, and others, wishing to make offerings to a Buddha, scatter even a single flower petal into the air, those good men, good women, and others will obtain immeasurable roots of goodness until the end of birth and death.

Subhuti, you should know! Again, set aside the merit obtained by wishing to make offerings to a Buddha and scattering even a single flower petal into the air. If good men, good women, and others merely say, “Namo to the greatly compassionate Buddha,” the roots of goodness of those good men, good women, and others will remain inexhaustible until the end of birth and death. They will always enjoy merit and bliss in the heavenly realms and will ultimately attain nirvana.

Thus, Subhuti, reverently making offerings to the Buddhas and their transformation bodies brings such vast benefits. Therefore, Subhuti, the Buddhas and their transformation bodies are equally true and pure fields of merit for donors, because the Dharma-nature of all dharmas is taken as the standard.

Furthermore, Subhuti, great bodhisattvas take the Dharma-nature of all dharmas as their standard and, with skillful means, practice the profound prajnaparamita. Having entered the Dharma-nature of all dharmas, they nevertheless do not impair the Dharma-nature with regard to any dharma. That is, they do not discriminate: “This is the perfection of prajna,” through “This is the perfection of generosity”; or “This is the Dharma-nature of the perfection of prajna,” through “This is the Dharma-nature of the perfection of generosity.” In the same way, in the full exposition, they do not discriminate: “This is the knowledge of all aspects,” or “This is the Dharma-nature of the knowledge of all aspects.”

Subhuti, you should know! When great bodhisattvas practice the profound prajnaparamita, they should not discriminate differences within the Dharma-nature of all dharmas and thereby impair the Dharma-nature.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If great bodhisattvas practicing the profound prajnaparamita should not discriminate the Dharma-nature of all dharmas and thereby impair the Dharma-nature, why does the Blessed One himself speak of distinctions within the Dharma-nature of all dharmas and thereby impair the Dharma-nature? The Buddha often says: “This is form,” through “This is consciousness.” “This is the eye ayatana,” through “This is the mind ayatana.” “This is the form ayatana,” through “This is the dharma ayatana.” “This is the eye dhatu,” through “This is the mind dhatu.” “This is the form dhatu,” through “This is the dharma dhatu.” “This is the eye-consciousness dhatu,” through “This is the mind-consciousness dhatu.” “These are the six contacts; these are the six feelings; these are the six elements.” “This is dependent origination.” “This is ignorance,” through “This is aging and death.” “These are internal dharmas; these are external dharmas.” “These are wholesome dharmas; these are unwholesome dharmas.” “These are contaminated dharmas; these are uncontaminated dharmas.” “These are mundane dharmas; these are supramundane dharmas.” “These are shared dharmas; these are unshared dharmas.” “These are conditioned dharmas; these are unconditioned dharmas,” and so forth. Since the Buddha has often spoken of such distinctions among dharmas, does the Blessed One himself not impair the nature of dharmas?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! I do not myself impair the Dharma-nature of all dharmas. I merely use names and characteristics as skillful means and speak of them provisionally so that sentient beings may awaken to and enter the equal Dharma-nature of all dharmas, escape birth and death, and attain nirvana.

Therefore, Subhuti, although the Tathagata speaks of distinctions among dharmas, this is not called impairing the Dharma-nature of all dharmas.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If the Buddha merely uses names and characteristics to speak provisionally of the Dharma-nature of all dharmas, enabling sentient beings to awaken to and enter the equal Dharma-nature, then why does the Buddha use names and characteristics to describe dharmas that are without names and characteristics, yet say that this does not impair them?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! In accordance with worldly convention, I provisionally establish names and characteristics for all dharmas and use skillful means to explain them to sentient beings. Because there is no attachment, nothing is impaired.

Subhuti, you should know! When foolish people hear teachings about the forms of suffering, they immediately become attached to names and characteristics, failing to understand that these are provisional expressions. It is not so with the Tathagatas and the Buddha’s disciples: when they hear teachings about the forms of suffering, they do not become attached to names and characteristics. Rather, they truly know that these are spoken in accordance with worldly convention and that, in ultimate truth, all dharmas have no names or characteristics.

Subhuti, you should know! If noble beings were attached to a name as a name and to a characteristic as a characteristic, they would also be attached to emptiness as emptiness, to signlessness as signlessness, to wishlessness as wishlessness, to suchness as suchness, to the reality-limit as the reality-limit, to the dharma realm as the dharma realm, and to the unconditioned as the unconditioned.

Subhuti, you should know! All these dharmas possess only provisional names and provisional characteristics and have no ultimate reality. Noble beings do not become attached even to these borrowed names and characteristics.

Thus, Subhuti, great bodhisattvas abide in all dharmas only through borrowed names and characteristics. They practice the profound prajnaparamita without becoming attached to anything therein.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– If all dharmas possess only names and characteristics, for what purpose do great bodhisattvas arouse the aspiration for bodhi and endure hardships in practicing the bodhisattva path? That is, they personally endure hardships to cultivate the perfection of generosity through the perfection of prajna and, in the full exposition, endure hardships in cultivating the knowledge of all aspects until all these practices are perfected.

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! All dharmas possess only names and characteristics. These names and characteristics are merely provisional constructs, and their nature is empty. Because sentient beings perversely and falsely cling to them, they revolve through birth and death, undergo many sufferings, and are unable to attain liberation. Therefore, bodhisattvas, wishing to benefit them, arouse the aspiration for bodhi, endure hardships in practicing the bodhisattva path, and gradually attain the knowledge of all aspects. They turn the wheel of the sublime Dharma and, using the Dharma of the three vehicles as skillful means, rescue sentient beings from birth and death and establish them in the realm of nirvana. Yet because all names and characteristics neither arise nor cease, neither abide nor change, how could anything be attained?

At that time, Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Is the knowledge of all aspects spoken of by the Buddha truly the knowledge of all aspects?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! What I call the knowledge of all aspects is the knowledge of all aspects.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! The Blessed One often teaches that wisdom, summarized, is of three kinds: the knowledge of all, the knowledge of the aspects of the paths, and the knowledge of all aspects. Are the characteristics of these three kinds of knowledge different?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! The knowledge of all is the knowledge shared by sravakas and pratyekabuddhas.

The knowledge of the aspects of the paths is the knowledge shared by great bodhisattvas.

The knowledge of all aspects is the sublime knowledge unique to the Tathagatas, Arhats, Perfectly and Completely Awakened Ones.

The Venerable Subhuti said to the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Why is the knowledge of all the knowledge shared by sravakas and pratyekabuddhas?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! The knowledge of all things is the distinctive Dharma gateway concerning internal and external phenomena. Sravakas and pratyekabuddhas are also able to comprehend clearly the distinctive Dharma gateway concerning internal and external phenomena, but they cannot know the characteristics of the knowledge of all things or all the various characteristics of all dharmas. Therefore, the knowledge of all things is the knowledge shared by sravakas and pratyekabuddhas.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Why is the knowledge of path-aspects the knowledge shared by great bodhisattvas?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Great bodhisattvas should learn to know universally the characteristics of all paths: the characteristics of the sravaka path, the characteristics of the pratyekabuddha path, the characteristics of the bodhisattva path, and the characteristics of the Tathagata path. Great bodhisattvas constantly train in these paths so as to bring them to perfection. Although they enable these paths to accomplish what must be accomplished, they do not allow those who follow them to realize the ultimate reality. Therefore, the knowledge of path-aspects is the knowledge shared by great bodhisattvas.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! After great bodhisattvas cultivate the path of the Tathagata and bring it to perfection, do they not realize the ultimate reality?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! While great bodhisattvas are bringing sentient beings to maturity and adorning and purifying Buddha-fields, if the great vows they cultivate have not yet been perfected, they still do not realize the ultimate reality. Only when those vows have been perfected can they realize the ultimate reality.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Do great bodhisattvas abide in the path and thereby realize the ultimate reality?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

Subhuti asked:

– Blessed One! Do great bodhisattvas abide in what is not the path and thereby realize the ultimate reality?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

Subhuti asked:

– Blessed One! Do great bodhisattvas abide in both the path and what is not the path and thereby realize the ultimate reality?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

Subhuti asked:

– Blessed One! Do great bodhisattvas abide in neither what is not the path nor what is other than not the path and thereby realize the ultimate reality?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If so, in what do great bodhisattvas abide when they realize the ultimate reality?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! What do you think? Was it by abiding in the path that you exhausted the outflows and liberated your mind?

Subhuti replied:

– Blessed One! No.

– Subhuti! Was it by abiding in what is not the path that you exhausted the outflows and liberated your mind?

Subhuti replied:

– Blessed One! No.

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Was it by abiding in both the path and what is not the path that you exhausted the outflows and liberated your mind?

Subhuti replied:

– Blessed One! No.

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Was it by abiding in neither what is not the path nor what is other than not the path that you exhausted the outflows and liberated your mind?

Subhuti replied:

– Blessed One! No.

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Then in what did you abide when you exhausted the outflows and completely liberated your mind?

Subhuti replied:

– I did not abide anywhere when I exhausted the outflows and completely liberated my mind. When I exhausted the outflows and my mind attained complete liberation, there was absolutely no abiding place.

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! So it is with great bodhisattvas. When practicing the profound prajnaparamita, they abide nowhere whatsoever and realize the ultimate reality.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Why is the knowledge of all aspects called the knowledge of all aspects?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Because it knows that all dharmas have one and the same characteristic, namely, the characteristic of quiescent cessation, it is called the knowledge of all aspects.

Furthermore, Subhuti! The characteristics of conditioned activities can disclose the various dharmas. Because the Tathagata knows all of them precisely as they truly are, this is called the knowledge of all aspects.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! With respect to the knowledge of all things, the knowledge of path-aspects, and the knowledge of all aspects, do the afflictions eliminated by these three kinds of knowledge differ? Is there elimination with a remainder and elimination without a remainder?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! The afflictions eliminated do not differ. However, the Tathagatas have permanently eliminated all continuing habitual tendencies of the afflictions, whereas sravakas and pratyekabuddhas have not permanently eliminated those continuing habitual tendencies.

Subhuti asked:

– Blessed One! Does the elimination of afflictions constitute an attainment of the unconditioned?

The Buddha said:

– It does.

Subhuti asked:

– Blessed One! Do sravakas and pratyekabuddhas fail to attain the unconditioned elimination of afflictions?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

Subhuti asked:

– Blessed One! Are there distinctions within the unconditioned Dharma?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! No.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– If the unconditioned Dharma has no distinctions, why does the Buddha say that the Tathagatas have permanently eliminated all continuing habitual tendencies, while sravakas and pratyekabuddhas have not yet permanently eliminated those continuing habitual tendencies?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Continuing habitual tendencies are not actually afflictions. Although sravakas and pratyekabuddhas have eliminated the afflictions, a small degree of behavior resembling greed, hatred, and delusion is still expressed through their bodies and speech; this is therefore called their continuing habitual tendencies. Such continuity causes disadvantageous states to arise in foolish ordinary beings, but no disadvantageous states arise from the continuing habitual tendencies of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas. The Tathagatas, however, have permanently eliminated all continuing habitual tendencies.

At that time, Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Both the path and nirvana are devoid of intrinsic nature. Why, then, does the Buddha say, “This is a stream-enterer,” and so forth up to “This is a pratyekabuddha,” “This is a bodhisattva,” and “This is a Tathagata”?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! Whether a stream-enterer, and so forth up to a pratyekabuddha, a bodhisattva, or a Tathagata, all are manifestations of the unconditioned.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Within the unconditioned Dharma, are there actually distinctions between a stream-enterer and the other stages up to a Tathagata?

The Buddha said:

– No.

Subhuti asked:

– Blessed One! If so, why does the Buddha say that stream-enterers and the other stages up to Tathagatas are all manifestations of the unconditioned?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! I speak according to worldly convention to reveal the existence of stream-enterers and the other stages. Such distinct manifestations are not established according to ultimate truth, for within ultimate truth nothing can be distinctly revealed. Why is this? Because within ultimate truth there is neither a way of verbal expression nor discriminating wisdom, nor both together. It is through each conventional expression that the cessation of dharmas is presented, and through each conventional expression that the subsequent stages of those dharmas are presented.

The Venerable Subhuti addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! If the intrinsic characteristics of all dharmas are empty, and even an earlier stage does not exist, how could there be a later stage? Why, then, is a later stage asserted?

The Buddha said:

– Subhuti! So it is! So it is! The intrinsic characteristics of all dharmas are empty. If even an earlier stage does not exist, how could there be a later stage? If a later stage truly existed, that would certainly be impossible. Yet sentient beings do not clearly understand that the intrinsic characteristics of all dharmas are empty. Therefore, for their benefit, skillful means are used to provisionally designate, “This is the earlier stage,” and “This is the later stage.” But within the emptiness of the intrinsic characteristics of all dharmas, neither earlier nor later stages can be apprehended.

Thus, Subhuti, great bodhisattvas comprehend that the intrinsic characteristics of all dharmas are empty and thereby cultivate the profound prajnaparamita.

Subhuti, you should know! Since the great bodhisattvas fully comprehend that the intrinsic characteristics of all dharmas are empty, they practice the profound prajnaparamita without attachment to any dharma. That is to say, they are attached neither to the internal nor the external, neither to the wholesome nor the unwholesome, neither to the mundane nor the supramundane, neither to the contaminated nor the uncontaminated, neither to the conditioned nor the unconditioned, neither to the dharmas of the shravakas nor those of the pratyekabuddhas, neither to the dharmas of the bodhisattvas nor those of the Buddhas. It is only on the basis of conventional truth that these are said to exist; since this is not asserted on the basis of ultimate truth, they remain unattached.

Fascicle 525

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