大方廣佛華嚴經

Sudhana had attained the bodhisattva liberation-gate from the Night Goddess Great Vow, Power of Vigor, Rescuer of All Beings. Remembering it, cultivating it, fully understanding it, and increasing it, he gradually went to the Lumbini Grove to seek the Goddess Perfect Wondrous Virtue. He saw this goddess within a pavilion adorned with all jeweled trees, seated upon a jeweled lotus lion throne, with two billion nayutas of devas respectfully surrounding her. For the devas, the Goddess Wondrous Virtue taught the scripture Ocean of the Bodhisattva’s Births, causing all those devas to be born in the family of the Tathagata and to increase the great ocean of the bodhisattva’s merits.

Sudhana approached, bowed his head at the feet of the Goddess Wondrous Virtue, respectfully joined his palms, and said:

Great Sage! I have aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi, yet I do not know how bodhisattvas cultivate the bodhisattva conduct, are born in the family of the Tathagata, and become a light for the world.

The Goddess Wondrous Virtue replied:

Good man! Bodhisattvas have ten treasuries of birth. If bodhisattvas accomplish these dharmas, they are born in the family of the Tathagata. In thought after thought their bodhisattva roots of goodness increase; they do not tire, do not grow lazy, do not become weary, do not retreat; they are not cut off and are not lost. They depart from all delusion; they do not give rise to fear, baseness, distress, or regret. They arrive at omniscience, enter the gate of the dharma realm, arouse a vast mind, increase the paramitas, accomplish unsurpassed bodhi, depart from the world, enter the stage of the Tathagata, attain supreme spiritual powers, always have the Buddha-dharma present before them, and accord with the true sphere of omniscience.

These are the ten treasuries of birth of bodhisattvas:

First is the treasury of birth of the vow always to make offerings to all buddhas.

Second is the treasury of birth of arousing the bodhi mind.

Third is the treasury of birth of contemplating the gates of all dharmas and diligently cultivating practice.

Fourth is the treasury of birth of illuminating the three times everywhere with a pure mind.

Fifth is the treasury of birth of impartial light.

Sixth is the treasury of birth of being born in the family of the Tathagata.

Seventh is the treasury of birth of the light of Buddha-power.

Eighth is the treasury of birth of contemplating the gate of universal wisdom.

Ninth is the treasury of birth of universally manifest adornment.

Tenth is the treasury of birth of entering the ground of the Tathagata.

Good man! What is the treasury of birth of the vow always to make offerings to all buddhas?

When a bodhisattva first arouses the mind, he makes this vow: I shall honor, respect, and make offerings to all buddhas; I shall see the Buddhas without weariness; toward the places of the buddhas I shall always be joyful and loving, always deeply and firmly faithful, and shall cultivate all merits without ceasing.

Good man! What is the treasury of birth of arousing the bodhi mind?

This bodhisattva arouses the mind of unsurpassed bodhi, namely: he arouses the mind of great compassion in order to rescue and protect all beings; he arouses the mind to make offerings to the Buddhas, in order to revere and serve them ultimately; he arouses the mind to seek the true Dharma everywhere, giving it to all without stinginess; he arouses a vast mind of direction, seeking omniscience; he arouses the mind of immeasurable loving-kindness, gathering in all beings everywhere; he arouses the mind of not abandoning any being, donning the armor of the firm vow to seek omniscience; he arouses the mind free from flattery and deceit, in order to attain knowledge of things as they truly are;

he arouses the mind that acts in accord with what is spoken, in order to cultivate the bodhisattva path; he arouses the mind that does not deceive the Buddhas, in order to uphold the Buddhas’ great vows; he arouses the mind that vows for omniscience, in order to teach and transform beings without cease until the end of the future.

Through merits equal in number to the dust motes in buddha-lands of such bodhi minds, bodhisattvas are born in the family of the Tathagata.

Good man! What is the treasury of birth of contemplating the gates of all dharmas and diligently cultivating practice?

This great bodhisattva arouses the mind that contemplates the ocean of all dharma-gates; arouses the mind that dedicates merit to the complete path of omniscience; arouses the mind of right mindfulness without faulty karma; arouses the mind that purifies the ocean of all bodhisattva samadhis; arouses the mind that cultivates and accomplishes the merits of all bodhisattvas; arouses the mind that adorns all paths of the bodhisattva; arouses the mind of great vigor in seeking the practice of omniscience, cultivating all merits like the blazing fire at the end of an eon, without ceasing; arouses the mind that cultivates Samantabhadra’s practice of teaching and transforming beings; arouses the mind that skillfully studies all deportments; cultivates the bodhisattva’s merits;

abandons all possessions; and abides in the true non-possession.

Good man! What is the treasury of birth of illuminating the three times everywhere with a pure mind?

This great bodhisattva is endowed with an especially pure mind and attains the bodhi light of the Tathagata. He enters the ocean of bodhisattva skillful means; his mind is firm like vajra; he turns away from all kinds of birth in all realms; he accomplishes all the Buddhas’ powers of self-mastery; he cultivates supreme practices; he is endowed with bodhisattva faculties; his mind is bright and pure; the power of his vows is unmoving; he is constantly protected and remembered by the Buddhas; he destroys all mountains of obstruction; and for beings everywhere he becomes a refuge.

Good man! What is the treasury of birth of impartial light?

This great bodhisattva fully possesses the practices of transforming and liberating beings everywhere. He is able to relinquish all that he possesses. He abides in the sphere of the Buddha’s ultimately pure practice, is fully endowed with dharma-kshanti, and accomplishes the light of the Buddha’s dharma-kshanti. Through great vigor he reaches omniscience and arrives at the other shore. He cultivates the gates of dhyana and attains universal-gate concentration. His pure wisdom is complete. With the sun of wisdom he clearly illuminates all dharmas. He obtains unobstructed eyes and sees the ocean of the Buddhas. He awakens and enters the true nature of all dharmas. All people in all worlds rejoice on seeing him. He skillfully cultivates and attains the dharma-gate of things as they truly are.

Good man! What is called the treasury of birth of being born in the family of the Tathagata?

This great bodhisattva is born in the family of the Tathagata and abides in accord with the Buddhas. He accomplishes all profound dharma-gates, is endowed with the pure great vows of the Buddhas of the three times, attains roots of goodness identical with those of all Buddhas, has the same essential nature as the Tathagatas, is endowed with the wholesome, white, pure practices of supramundane dharmas, abides in the vast dharma-gates of merit, enters samadhis in which he sees the spiritual power of the Buddhas, purifies and trains beings according to what is appropriate for their liberation, and answers questions fittingly with inexhaustible eloquence.

Good man! What is the treasury of birth of the light of Buddha-power?

This great bodhisattva deeply enters Buddha-power. He travels through the buddha-lands with a mind that does not retreat. He makes offerings to and serves assemblies of bodhisattvas without weariness. He understands that all dharmas arise like illusions; knows all worlds to be like scenes in a dream; all forms and appearances to be like light and shadow; manifestations of spiritual powers to be like transformations; all births to be like reflections; the Buddhas’ teaching of Dharma to be like echoes in mountain valleys; and the disclosure of the dharma realm to be ultimate.

Good man! What is the treasury of birth of contemplating the gate of universal wisdom?

This great bodhisattva abides in the stage of童真 and contemplates omniscience. In each and every gate of wisdom, throughout immeasurable eons, he expounds the practices of all bodhisattvas. In the profound samadhis of the bodhisattvas his mind attains self-mastery. In thought after thought he is born in the presence of the Tathagatas in the worlds of the ten directions. Within differentiated spheres he enters undifferentiated concentration; within undifferentiated dharmas he manifests differentiated wisdom. Within immeasurable spheres he knows there is no sphere. Within a small sphere he enters an immeasurable sphere. He penetrates the vast, boundless nature of dharmas. He knows all worlds are merely provisional designations and that all arise from consciousness and mind.

Good man! What is the treasury of birth of universally manifest adornment?

This great bodhisattva can adorn immeasurable buddha-lands in many ways. He can universally manifest all beings and the bodies of Buddhas. He attains fearlessness, proclaims the pure Dharma, and circulates throughout the dharma realm without obstruction. According to the inclinations of beings’ minds, he causes them all to see and know. He reveals the practices that accomplish bodhi, causing beings to give rise to the unobstructed path of omniscience. Such deeds are never untimely, and he constantly abides in the treasury of the samadhi of Vairochana’s wisdom.

Good man! What is the treasury of birth of entering the ground of the Tathagata?

This great bodhisattva receives the abhisheka Dharma in the presence of the Buddhas of the three times. He universally knows the sequences of all realms; that is, he knows the sequence of all beings’ births in the past and future, knows the sequence of bodhisattvas’ cultivation, knows the sequence of all beings’ thoughts, knows the sequence of the Tathagatas of the three times attaining Buddhahood, knows the sequence of skillful means in teaching the Dharma, and also knows the sequence of all eons in the beginning, middle, and end, whether they form or decay, and their names. In accordance with beings who are to be transformed, he manifests the accomplishment of the path, adornment by merit, spiritual powers, Dharma teaching, skillful means, and training.