大乘本生心地觀經

Chapter 10: CONTEMPLATION OF THE MIND

At that time, the great bodhisattva Manjusri rose from his seat, adjusted his robes, bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, respectfully joined his palms, and addressed the Buddha:

“World-Honored One, as the Buddha said to Elder Wondrous Virtue and his company of five hundred people: ‘For your sake, I shall expound the wondrous Dharma-gate of the mind-ground.’ Now the immeasurable and boundless assembly of devas and humans in this place of practice have all given rise to a thirsting aspiration and wish to receive and understand it. On behalf of all of them, I ask the Tathagata: What is ‘mind’? What is ‘ground’?

I respectfully beseech the World-Honored One, with the mind of great loving-kindness that has severed every condition of attachment and the unobstructed mind of great compassion, to distinguish and expound this for sentient beings, so that those not yet freed from suffering may be freed from suffering, those not yet at peace and joyful may attain peace and joy, those who have not yet aroused the resolve may arouse it, and those who have not yet realized the fruit may realize it, all attaining nirvana together upon the One Path.”

Then the World-Honored One, with the pure, definitive seal of supreme truth—the Great Wondrous Wisdom Seal that he had attained through cultivating merit and wisdom for immeasurable kalpas—gave his seal of affirmation to the bodhisattva Manjusri and said:

“Excellent! Excellent! You are indeed the mother of the Buddhas of the three times! When all Tathagatas were engaged in cultivation, you guided them when they first aroused the mind of faith. For this reason, all those who attain Perfect Enlightenment throughout the lands of the ten directions take Manjusri as their mother. Yet now, through the power of your former vows, you manifest the form of a bodhisattva and question the Tathagata concerning this supreme and inconceivable Dharma. Listen carefully, listen carefully, and keep it well in mind! For the sake of all beings everywhere, I shall distinguish and explain this matter.”

The bodhisattva Manjusri said:

“Yes, World-Honored One. We rejoice in hearing it.”

At that time, the World-Honored One had perfectly accomplished the “Supreme Sustaining Wisdom of the Nature of Equality” of all Tathagatas, together with every kind of rare and wondrous merit; he had skillfully attained the “Wisdom Seal of the Definitive and Supreme Dharma of the Mahayana” of all Buddhas; he had skillfully and perfectly realized the “Supreme Wondrous Wisdom of the Vajra Secret” of all Tathagatas; he had skillfully abided in unobstructed great compassion, naturally rescuing, guiding, and gathering in sentient beings throughout the ten directions; and he had skillfully perfected the “Wisdom of Wondrous Observation,” observing without observing and speaking without speaking.

Then the World-Honored One addressed the great bodhisattva Manjusri, the immaculate Great Sage and mother of the Buddhas:

“Great good man, this Dharma is the ‘Supreme and Secret Dharma-gate of the Mind-Ground’ of the Tathagatas of the ten directions. This Dharma is the ‘Dharma-gate of Sudden Awakening’ through which all ordinary beings enter the realm of the Tathagata. This Dharma is the ‘True and Right Path’ by which all bodhisattvas proceed toward the realm of Great Bodhi.

This Dharma is the ‘Wondrous Precious Treasure’ through which the Buddhas of the three times themselves enjoy the bliss of the Dharma. This Dharma is an ‘Inexhaustible Treasury’ of every benefit for sentient beings. This Dharma can guide assemblies of bodhisattvas to the wisdom of ‘Sovereignty at the Ultimate Limit of Form.’ This Dharma is a true guiding master capable of leading bodhisattvas in their final existence to the Bodhi tree.

This Dharma is like a mani jewel, transforming the riches of the mundane and supramundane worlds so that sentient beings may always have their wishes fulfilled. This Dharma brings forth the source of all the merits of all Buddhas throughout the ten directions and the three times. This Dharma can dissolve the evil karmic results of all sentient beings.

This Dharma can confer affirmation upon all sentient beings concerning their prayers and aspirations. This Dharma can deliver all sentient beings from the dangers of birth and death. This Dharma can still the surging waves upon the sea of suffering for all sentient beings.

This Dharma can urgently rescue tormented sentient beings from every calamity. This Dharma can dry up the ocean of aging, illness, and death for all sentient beings. This Dharma can bring forth the causal seeds of the Buddhas.

This Dharma is a great torch of wisdom that illuminates sentient beings throughout the long night of birth and death. This Dharma is armor and helmet that shatter the armies of the four kinds of maras. This Dharma is the banner of victory of the valiant army.

This Dharma is the unsurpassed Dharma vehicle of all Buddhas. This Dharma is the supreme Dharma banner. This Dharma is the sounding of the great Dharma drum.

This Dharma is the blowing of the great Dharma conch. This Dharma is the great lion king. This Dharma is the roar of the great lion.

This Dharma is also like a Great Sage-King who governs his realm well and justly: those who follow his instruction attain great peace and happiness, while those who oppose it are immediately destroyed.

“Good man, in the three realms, the ‘mind’ is sovereign. One who contemplates the mind attains ultimate liberation; one who does not contemplate the mind forever remains bound and submerged. The mind of sentient beings is like the great earth.

Every kind of grain, flower, and fruit arises from the great earth. In the same way, the Dharma of mind gives rise to mundane and supramundane good and evil, the five destinies, those beyond the world, those in training, those beyond training, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and even the Tathagatas. For this reason, because the three realms arise from mind, the ‘mind’ is called the ‘ground.’ All ordinary beings who draw near to good spiritual friends, hear the Dharma of the mind-ground, contemplate it in accordance with principle, and practice according to the teaching—whether they practice it themselves, teach others to practice it, praise and encourage it, or welcome and console those who do so—will eliminate the three obstructions, swiftly perfect the myriad practices,

and quickly attain the fruit of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.”

The Great Sage, the bodhisattva Manjusri, addressed the Buddha:

“World-Honored One, as the Buddha has said, the Dharma of mind alone is sovereign over the three realms. Yet the Dharma of mind is originally empty and unstained by defilement. Why, then, does the Dharma of mind become tainted by greed, anger, and delusion?

Among the dharmas of the three times, what can be regarded as mind? The mind of the past has already ceased, the mind of the future has not yet arrived, and the mind of the present does not abide. The inner nature of all dharmas cannot be found; the external characteristics of all dharmas cannot be found; and what lies between all dharmas likewise cannot be found.

From the beginning, the Dharma of mind has no form or characteristic; from the beginning, the Dharma of mind has no abiding place. Even all Tathagatas do not perceive the mind, so how could anyone else perceive the Dharma of mind? All dharmas arise from deluded thought.

For what reason, then, does the World-Honored One today teach this great assembly that ‘the three realms are mind-only’? May the Buddha, out of compassion, explain this in accordance with reality!”

Thereupon, the Buddha said to the bodhisattva Manjusri:

“So it is, so it is! Good man, as you have asked me, ‘The intrinsic nature of mind and mental factors is quiescent and tranquil.’ I shall now present various analogies to demonstrate this meaning.”

Good man, the mind is like an illusory phenomenon, arising from conceptual attachment and giving rise to all manner of mental images, feelings, pleasure, and pain. The mind is like flowing water, arising and ceasing thought after thought, never stopping in relation to what came before or what follows after. The mind is like a great wind, passing in every direction within a single instant.

The mind is like the flame of a lamp, produced through the conjunction of many conditions. The mind is like a flash of lightning, lasting only a moment and not abiding for long. The mind is like empty space, seemingly obscured by the adventitious dust of afflictions.

The mind is like monkeys and apes, continually leaping among the trees of the five desires. The mind is like a painter, depicting all the forms and colors of the world. The mind is like a servant, driven about by the afflictions.

The mind is like a solitary traveler, having no companion. The mind is like a king, initiating every undertaking and exercising sovereign freedom. The mind is like an enemy, causing one's own body to endure manifold sufferings.

The mind is like dust, clinging to and defiling one's own body, producing impurity. The mind is like a reflected image, regarding impermanent phenomena as permanent. The mind is like an illusory dream, regarding phenomena devoid of self as a self.

The mind is like a yaksha, devouring all meritorious qualities. The mind is like a bluebottle fly, craving filthy things. The mind is like a murderer, capable of destroying bodily life.

The mind is like an adversary, always watching for faults. The mind is like a thief, stealing away all merits. The mind is like a great drum, urging one into battle.

The mind is like a moth, delighting in the bright color of a lamp. The mind is like a wild deer, chasing after a false call. The mind is like a herd of swine, delighting in impure refuse.

The mind is like a swarm of bees, gathering the fragrance of sweet honey. The mind is like an intoxicated elephant pursuing a female elephant.

Good man, the mind and mental factors described in this way are neither within, nor without, nor in between. When sought among all phenomena, they cannot be found. Nor can they be found in the past, future, or present. They transcend the three times and are neither existent nor nonexistent. Sentient beings constantly harbor defiled attachment. This attachment arises dependently from deluded conditions, yet conditions possess no intrinsic nature; therefore, the nature of mind is emptiness. Such emptiness is neither born nor extinguished, neither coming nor going, neither one nor different, neither annihilated nor eternal. Originally, it has no place of arising and no place of cessation; nor is it separate, nor is it not separate.

Such minds are no different from the unconditioned, and the essence of the unconditioned is no different from those minds. The essence of mental phenomena is fundamentally inexpressible, and that which is not a mental phenomenon is likewise inexpressible. Why is this?

If the unconditioned were the mind, that would be the view of annihilation; if it were apart from mental phenomena, that would be the view of eternalism. To be utterly free from these two characteristics, without attachment to either extreme, and to awaken in this way is called the “Ultimate Truth”; those who awaken to this Ultimate Truth are sages and noble ones. The nature of all sages and noble ones is originally quiescent and tranquil.

Within the unconditioned Dharma, there is no observance or violation of precepts, no great or small, no mind-king or mental factors, and no suffering or pleasure. Thus, the intrinsic nature of the dharmadhatu is stainless and has no distinctions of superior, middling, or inferior. Why is this?

Because the nature of the unconditioned Dharma is equal, just as the waters of all rivers that flow into the ocean become of a single taste, without any distinguishing characteristics. This stainless nature is incomparable and far removed from every course of self and what belongs to self. This stainless nature is neither real nor unreal.

This stainless nature is the ultimate meaning, for it has no characteristics of exhaustion or extinction, and its essence is originally unborn. This stainless nature abides forever, unchanging, for it is the supreme nirvana, complete with self, bliss, and purity. This stainless nature is far removed from all equality and inequality, for its essence is without difference.

If any good man or good woman wishes to seek the fruit of unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment, they should single-mindedly cultivate this contemplation of the Dharma of the Mind-Ground!

At that time, wishing to restate this meaning, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

Mother of the Buddhas of the three times—Wonderfully Auspicious One—

Asked the Tathagata about the “Dharma of the Mind-Ground.”

Now, amid this great assembly,

I reveal the contemplative practice that leads to Buddhahood.

This Dharma is harder to encounter than the udumbara flower;

All throughout the world should look up to it.

The Buddhas of the ten directions who realize Great Awakening

All cultivate this Dharma.

I am the Unsurpassed Tamer and Teacher,

Turning the wheel of the True Dharma throughout the worlds,

Teaching and liberating immeasurable sentient beings;

Know that this comes from awakening to contemplation of the Mind-Ground.

All sentient beings who hear this Dharma

Rejoice and receive predictions of bodhi.

Those with the requisite affinities who receive predictions

Will attain Buddhahood by cultivating this gate of contemplation.

The Buddhas themselves enjoy the great bliss of Dharma

Within the wondrous jeweled palace of Mind-Ground Contemplation.

Receiving the consecration of a bodhisattva, they awaken to the unborn

And contemplate the gate of the Mind-Ground throughout the dharmadhatu.

Bodhisattvas in their final existence sit beneath the tree of “awakening”

And, entering this contemplative practice, realize bodhi.

This Dharma can rain down the “seven noble treasures,”

And, like a mani jewel, fulfill sentient beings' wishes.

This Dharma is called the ancient Mother of Buddhas,

Giving birth to the three bodies of the Buddhas of the three times.

This Dharma is called the vajra armor,

Withstanding the four divisions of Mara's armies.

This Dharma can serve as a great boat and raft,

Bearing beings across the midst of the current to the place of treasure.

This Dharma is the most excellent Dharma drum.

This Dharma is the Dharma banner raised on high.

This Dharma is the vajra Dharma conch;

This Dharma is the Dharma torch illuminating the way.

This Dharma is also like a great holy sovereign,

Rewarding merit and punishing wrongdoing in accord with people's minds.

This Dharma is also like water soaking the fields,

Bringing forth and nurturing growth according to the seasons.

I use analogies to reveal the meaning of “emptiness,”

Thereby showing that the three realms are mind-only.

Mind has the great power to produce worlds;

Sovereign and free, it can be the master of transformations.

Evil thoughts and wholesome states of mind in turn create habitual tendencies;

Past, present, and future are the causes of birth and death.

Relying upon deluded karma, the world is created,

And pleasant and unpleasant fruits continually follow one another.

Mind is like flowing water, never stopping for an instant;

Mind is like the wind, flying across all lands.

It is also like monkeys and apes playing as they cling to branches,

And like a counterfeit thing formed in dependence upon what is false;

Like empty space, unobstructed by birds in flight,

And like an empty village through which people come and go.

Mental phenomena such as these fundamentally do not exist,

Yet deluded ordinary beings cling to them as existent.

If one can contemplate that “the essential nature of mind is empty,”

Delusive obstructions will not arise, and one will immediately be liberated.

At that time, the Tathagata aroused great compassion for sentient beings, just as parents cherish their only child. Wishing to eradicate the power of the world's wrong views and bring benefit and happiness to all sentient beings, he proclaimed the mantra for contemplating the mind: “oṃ, thất tha, ba la để, phệ đạn, ca lư nhị.”

After speaking this mantra, the Tathagata told the great bodhisattva Manjushri:

“This mantra is endowed with great spiritual power. If any good man or good woman, when upholding this mantra, raises their purified hands, interlaces the ten fingers of the left and right hands, then places the right hand against the left and clasps them tightly together as though bound by a cord, this is called the Vajra-Bond Mudra. Having formed this mudra, if they recite the foregoing mantra completely once, this surpasses even reciting the twelve divisions of the scriptures, and they will acquire immeasurable merit, never regressing until they attain the fruit of bodhi.”

Chapter 11: AROUSING THE MIND OF BODHI

At that time, the Blessed One had obtained the jeweled crown of consecration of all Tathagatas, had transcended the three realms, and had perfected sovereign mastery of dharani. He had fully realized sovereign mastery of samadhi, had magnificently accomplished the wisdom of omniscience and the wisdom of all modes, and was able to perform every distinct activity for sentient beings.

After the Blessed One had expounded the profound and wondrous Dharma gate of contemplating the mind for sentient beings, he told the great bodhisattva Manjushri:

“Great good man, I have already taught beings concerning the mind-ground. I shall now teach the Great Dharani for Arousing the Bodhi Mind, so that all beings may arouse the mind of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment and swiftly perfect the wondrous fruit.”

At that time, Bodhisattva Manjusri said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One, the Tathagata has said: ‘The past has ceased, the future has not yet arrived, and the present does not abide. The intrinsic nature of all mental dharmas throughout the three times is empty.’ With regard to that bodhi mind, what is it that is said to be aroused? Excellent, World-Honored One! I beseech you to expound this for everyone, so that all may cast off the nets of doubt and reach the place of bodhi!”

The Buddha told Bodhisattva Manjusri:

“Good man, all wrong views arise from mental dharmas. In order to eliminate the sixty-two views and all other kinds of wrong views, I teach that the mind and mental factors are empty. Thus, those attachments to views no longer have any basis of support. It is like a verdant and luxuriant wilderness where lions, white elephants, tigers, leopards, wild beasts, and others mingle, emitting venom and harming people until every trace of travelers has vanished. At that time, a wise person sets fire to the forest. Once the forest has been cleared, none of the ferocious beasts remain. When the mind is empty, views are extinguished in the same way!

“Furthermore, good man, for what reason is this meaning of ‘emptiness’ established? Emptiness is taught in order to extinguish the afflictions born from the deluded mind. Good man, if one clings to the ‘principle of emptiness’ as ultimate, then even the nature of emptiness is empty.

When attachment to emptiness becomes a sickness, it too must be eliminated. Why is this? If one clings to the meaning of emptiness as ultimate, holding that all dharmas are empty and that there is neither cause nor effect, how would this differ from the Lokayata non-Buddhists?

Good man, just as agada medicine cures every illness—when a sick person takes it, that person will certainly recover; but once the illness is cured, the medicine must be discarded along with the illness, and if one who is not sick takes the medicine, the medicine itself becomes an illness. Good man, the medicine of ‘emptiness’ was first established to eliminate the illness of ‘existence.’ Attachment to existence is an illness, and attachment to emptiness is likewise so.

What wise person would take medicine merely to acquire an illness? Good man, it would be better to give rise to the view of existence than to give rise to the ‘view of emptiness.’ The medicine of emptiness can cure the illness of existence, but there is no medicine that can cure the illness of emptiness.

“Good man, for this reason, once the medicine of emptiness has eliminated wrong views, the mind awakens by itself and gives rise to bodhi. That awakened mind is precisely the bodhi mind; they do not have two distinct characteristics. Good man, the self-awakened mind has four meanings. What are the four? Ordinary beings have two kinds of mind, and Buddhas and bodhisattvas have two kinds of mind.

“Good man, what are the characteristics of the two kinds of mind possessed by ordinary beings? First, from eye-consciousness through mind-consciousness, each takes its own object as its condition; this is called the self-awakened mind. Second, apart from the mind and mental factors, the five faculties unite to take objects as their conditions; this is called the self-awakened mind. Good man, these two kinds of mind are able to give rise to bodhi!

“Good man, what are the characteristics of the two kinds of mind possessed by the noble and worthy ones? First is the wisdom that contemplates the principle of ultimate reality. Second is the wisdom that contemplates all objects. Good man, these four meanings constitute the self-awakened mind.”

At that time, Bodhisattva Manjusri said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One, the mind has neither form nor appearance, nor does it have any abiding place. When ordinary practitioners first begin to arouse the mind, upon what should they rely, and what characteristics should they contemplate?”

The Buddha said:

“Good man, when ordinary beings contemplate the characteristics of the bodhi mind, they should contemplate it as a perfectly full moon-disc, pure and radiant, resting motionless within the breast. If they wish swiftly to attain non-retrogression, they should dwell in an aranya or a secluded dwelling, keep the body upright and maintain right mindfulness, form the Tathagata’s Vajra-Binding Mudra as explained previously, close their eyes, contemplate the bright moon within the breast, and reflect: ‘This perfectly full moon-disc is fifty yojanas in size, brilliant and pure, limpid both within and without, without the slightest defilement, and incomparably cool and refreshing.’ The moon is the mind, and the mind is the moon.

When it is unstained by the dust of sensory objects, deluded thoughts do not arise, causing beings’ bodies and minds to become pure and their great bodhi mind to remain steadfast without regression. Form that mudra and, while contemplating, recite the wondrous phrase of the Great Bodhi Mind, the Purifying Mantra of all bodhisattvas when they first begin to arouse the mind: ‘Om, bodhi, citta, mucipa, daya, ni.’

“This dharani possesses great and complete awe-inspiring virtue, enabling practitioners to remain free from regression. When all bodhisattvas of the past, future, and present first aroused the mind while on the causal ground, they single-mindedly upheld and recited this mantra, thereby entering the state of non-retrogression and swiftly perfecting complete enlightenment.

“Good man, when that practitioner keeps the body upright and maintains right mindfulness, remaining entirely unmoving and placing the mind solely upon the moon-disc until the contemplation has matured, this is called the Bodhisattva’s Samadhi of Contemplating the Bodhi Mind and Attaining Buddhahood. If an ordinary person practices this contemplation, then even if that person previously committed the five rebellious offenses, the four grave offenses, the ten evil deeds, or disbelief, all those offenses will be entirely extinguished, and that person will immediately attain five kinds of samadhi Dharma-gates.

What are the five? First is the Instantaneous Samadhi. Second is the Fine-Dust Samadhi.

Third is the White-Thread Samadhi. Fourth is the Rising-and-Falling Samadhi. Fifth is the Abiding Samadhi.

“What is called the Instantaneous Samadhi? It means that one abides in contemplation of the perfectly full moon only briefly. This is like a monkey whose body has been tethered: it cannot go far, yet it cannot remain nearby; only when excessively hungry and thirsty does it rest for a brief moment. An ordinary person’s contemplation of the mind is likewise: at first, samadhi is attained only for a brief instant, and therefore it is called Instantaneous.

“What is called the Fine-Dust Samadhi? It means that one has attained a small degree of correspondence with samadhi. It is like someone who has always eaten bitter food and has never tasted anything sweet. Once, when a little honey is placed upon that person’s tongue, the person rejoices exceedingly and becomes even more eager to seek more honey. That practitioner has, over many kalpas, consumed bitter flavors, but now has been given the sweet flavor of samadhi and attained a small degree of correspondence with it; therefore it is called Fine-Dust.

“What is called the White-Thread Samadhi? It means that an ordinary person, from beginningless time until the end of the future, now attains this concentration. It is like black-dyed cloth within whose extremely dark color a single white thread can be seen. That practitioner, amid the many dark nights of birth and death, now for the first time attains pure white samadhi; therefore it is called White-Thread.

“What is called the Rising-and-Falling Samadhi? It means that the practitioner’s contemplation of the mind has not yet matured. At times it is well established, and at times it is not well established. Because such samadhi still rises and falls, it is called Rising-and-Falling.

“What is called the Abiding Samadhi? It means that, through cultivating the preceding four concentrations, the mind comes to abide securely and is well guarded, remaining undefiled by sensory objects. It is like a person traveling in summer across a distant desert, enduring every scorching and harmful heat, whose mind is so parched with thirst that it can scarcely bear any more, when suddenly that person encounters a sweet stream flowing from the Snow Mountains, like the heavenly sudha, and is swiftly relieved of the torment of heat, so that body and mind become peaceful and at ease.

Therefore this concentration is called Abiding. After entering this concentration, one leaves the obstructions of delusion far behind, causes the sprout of unsurpassed bodhi to emerge, and swiftly ascends to the merits of the bodhisattva’s Ten Grounds.”

At that time, within the Dharma assembly, immeasurable devas and humans comprehended this profound, vast, and inconceivable Great Dharani, the mother who gives birth to bodhisattvas. Ninety-eight thousand bodhisattvas realized the Stage of Joy, and immeasurable beings aroused the aspiration to seek the fruit of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.

Chapter 12: ATTAINING BUDDHAHOOD

At that time, the Blessed One abided in the pure Dharma realm, equal throughout the three times, with neither before nor after, unmoving and quiescent, continuous and all-pervading. The light of great wisdom illuminated all worlds. Through skillful means, he manifested spiritual powers, transforming and liberating beings throughout the lands of the ten directions, pervading everywhere.

At that time, the Blessed One said to the great bodhisattva Manjusri:

“After a practitioner of Yoga has contemplated the lunar disc, he should contemplate the three great secret Dharmas. What are these three? The first is the secret of Mind. The second is the secret of Speech. The third is the secret of Body.

“What is called the secret Dharma of Mind? A practitioner of Yoga contemplates a golden five-pronged vajra arising within the full lunar disc. Its light blazes like molten gold, and it emits innumerable great rays of white light. Contemplating in this manner is called the secret of Mind.

“What is called the secret of Speech? ‘Om, di shi duo, po er la.’ This dharani possesses great majestic power and is the true word through which all bodhisattvas attain Buddhahood. Therefore, it is called the secret of Speech.

“What is called the secret Dharma of Body? Within the place of enlightenment, one holds the body upright, maintains right mindfulness, forms with the hands the foremost mudra that guides one toward unsurpassed bodhi, and places it before the lunar disc of the mind at the chest.

“Good man, I shall explain to you the form of this mudra. First, place the two thumbs of both hands within their respective palms, and tightly clasp each thumb with the index, middle, and ring fingers of that hand, thereby forming fists. This is the Firm Vajra-Fist Mudra.

Then, without changing the fists, extend only the index finger of the left hand straight upward into space, and place that left fist over the heart. With the little finger of the right fist, firmly clasp one joint of the index finger of the left fist. Next, use the tip of the index finger of the right fist to point toward one joint of the thumb of the right fist, and likewise hold it before the heart.

This is called the Foremost Wisdom Mudra That Guides One toward Unsurpassed Bodhi. It is also called the Great Radiant Mudra Capable of Destroying the Darkness of Ignorance. Because forming this mudra brings the power of empowerment, the Buddhas of the ten directions will stroke the practitioner’s crown and bestow the supremely decisive prediction of great bodhi.

It is the great and wondrous wisdom mudra of the unsurpassed accumulation of merit of Mahavairocana Tathagata.

“After forming this mudra, the practitioner should immediately undertake this contemplation: ‘May all sentient beings together form this mudra and mindfully uphold the true word, so that throughout the worlds of the ten directions they may not suffer the painful fruits of the three evil realms and the eight difficulties, but may all enjoy the foremost pure bliss of the Dharma. Now upon my head is a great jeweled crown.

Within this celestial crown, five Buddha-Tathagatas sit in the full lotus posture. I am Vairocana Tathagata, perfectly endowed with the thirty-two excellent marks and the eighty minor characteristics, emitting a great radiant light that illuminates the ten directions and brings benefit, peace, and happiness to all sentient beings.’ Contemplating in this manner is called entering the supreme samadhi of Vairocana Tathagata.

“It is as though a person had awakened to the wondrous Garuda contemplation gateway and personally practiced this contemplation: ‘My body is precisely the body of the foremost golden-winged bird; my mind, thought, and speech are likewise so.’ Through the power of this contemplation, poisons are dissolved, and no harmful toxin can cause injury. The practice of ordinary beings is likewise so. Sitting in the posture of subjugation, with the body unmoving, the hands forming the wisdom mudra, secretly reciting the true word, and entering this contemplation, they can extinguish the three poisons, eliminate karmic obstructions, and increase merit and wisdom.

Their worldly and supramundane vows will swiftly be fulfilled. The eighty-four thousand afflictive obstructions will be unable to arise, while extremely grave cognitive obstructions as numerous as the sands of the Ganges will gradually be extinguished. The uncontaminated great wisdom of the Vajra Prajnaparamita That Is Capable of Severing will be perfected and manifest before them, and they will swiftly attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.”

At that time, the bodhisattva Manjusri addressed the Buddha:

“Rare indeed is the Blessed One! Rare indeed is the Sugata! The appearance of a Tathagata in the world is rarer still than the udumbara flower; and even if he appears in the world, it is difficult for him to teach this Dharma. These three secret Dharmas of the unsurpassed Dharma wheel of the Mind Ground truly benefit and bring happiness to all sentient beings. They are the true and proper path for entering the ground of the Tathagata and the ground of the bodhisattva. If any sentient being, without begrudging body or life, practices this Dharma, that being will swiftly realize bodhi.”

The Buddha then said to the bodhisattva Manjusri:

“If any good men or good women wish to cultivate the three wondrous secret gateways for attaining Buddhahood, swiftly acquire the Tathagata’s body of merit, and be clothed in the bodhisattva’s thirty-two kinds of great vajra armor, they should cultivate this wondrous contemplation. They will then certainly realize the Tathagata’s pure Dharma body.

“What are the thirty-two kinds of armor?

1. The Great Armor of Enduring Suffering: Throughout immeasurable kalpas, one endures suffering for sentient beings without becoming weary of samsara.

2. The Great Armor of Never Abandoning: One vows to liberate immeasurable sentient beings, never abandoning even worms or ants.

3. The Great Armor of Secrecy: One awakens sentient beings from the long dream of samsara and establishes them within the three secret Dharmas.

4. The Great Armor of Protecting the Dharma: At all times, one supports and protects the Buddhadharma, just as an echo responds in accord with a sound.

5. The Great Vajra Armor: One forever extinguishes the arising of the two views of ‘existence’ and ‘nonexistence,’ together with all afflictions.

6. The Great Armor of Being Able to Relinquish: Even if someone should ask for one’s head, eyes, marrow, brain, wife, children, jewels, or other things, one relinquishes them all.

7. The Great Armor of Being Able to Give: One is resolutely free from attachment to all the comforting and pleasurable necessities enjoyed within the household and gives them all to others.

8. The Great Armor of Being Able to Uphold: One is able to uphold the bodhisattva’s three collections of pure precepts and never abandons the dhutanga practices.

9. The Great Armor of Patience: Clothed in the armor of patience, when one encounters adverse conditions such as humiliation, abuse, or beating, one never retaliates.

10. The Great Armor of Turning the Mind: One teaches and transforms pratyekabuddhas and sravakas, causing them to turn their minds toward the One Vehicle.

11. The Great Armor of Diligence: One constantly and diligently liberates sentient beings, like a great wind that never ceases by day or night.

12. The Great Armor of Cultivating the Samadhi of Liberation: Body and mind are tranquil and still, and the mouth commits no transgression.

13. The Great Armor of Equality: One benefits sentient beings and regards samsara and nirvana without falling into either of the two biased views.

14. The Great Armor of Bestowing Happiness: With a mind of great loving-kindness free from attachment, one benefits and brings happiness to all beings, never becoming weary or abandoning them.

15. The Great Armor of Removing Suffering: With an unobstructed mind of great compassion, one rescues and gathers in all beings, causing their suffering to be completely extinguished, without limit or measure.

16. The Great Armor of Great Joy: One never forms enmity toward any sentient being and constantly performs beneficial deeds.

17. The Great Armor of Great Equanimity: Although one undertakes arduous practices, one does not fear fatigue and never retreats.

18. The Great Armor of Never Becoming Weary: When suffering sentient beings come to the bodhisattva, the bodhisattva bears their suffering in their stead without the slightest weariness.

19. The Great Armor of Liberated Vision: One’s examination and discernment are clear, like seeing an amalaka fruit in the palm of one’s hand. In this way, one’s vision is liberated.

20. The Great Armor of Nonattachment: One clearly sees the body of the five skandhas as being like a Chandala who harms wholesome deeds.

21. The Great Armor of Weary Renunciation: One clearly sees the twelve ayatanas as an empty village and constantly harbors a sense of dread.

22. The Great Armor of Great Wisdom: One sees the eighteen dhatus as illusory appearances, devoid of reality.

23. The Great Armor of Realizing Suchness: One clearly sees that all dharmas are equal within the Dharma realm and no longer perceives any differentiated characteristics.

24. The Great Armor of Transcending the World: One conceals the faults and evils of others, does not conceal one’s own faults and evils, and becomes weary of and renounces the three realms.

25. The Great Armor of Skillful Transformation: Just as a great king of physicians prescribes medicine according to the illness, the bodhisattva teaches and transforms beings according to what is appropriate.

26. The Great Armor of Returning to the One: Seeing that the true essence of the Three Vehicles is fundamentally no different, they ultimately unite their minds and return to the One.

27. The Great Armor of Liberating Beings: Continuing the lineage of the Three Jewels so that it is never severed, they turn the wheel of the wondrous Dharma to liberate beings.

28. The Great Armor of Cultivating the Path: The Buddha has shown immense kindness and virtue toward sentient beings. Wishing to repay the Buddha’s kindness, they devote themselves to cultivating the Buddha-path.

29. The Great Armor of Stainlessness: Contemplating the intrinsic nature of all dharmas as empty, quiescent, tranquil, unborn, unceasing, and undefiled.

30. The Great Armor of Unobstructedness: Awakening to the patience regarding the non-arising of dharmas, attaining dharani, and skillfully expounding the Dharma with unobstructed eloquence.

31. The Great Armor of the One Flavor: Universally teaching and transforming sentient beings so that they too may sit beneath the Bodhi tree and attain the fruit of Buddhahood.

32. The Great Armor of Nothing Remaining: In a single instant, the mind accords with prajna and realizes the great Dharma of Nothing Remaining throughout the three times.

These are called the bodhisattva’s thirty-two kinds of great vajra armor.

Manjusri Bodhisattva, if any good man or good woman clothes himself or herself in such vajra armor, that person should devote himself or herself to cultivating the three secret dharmas. In the present life, that person will be endowed with great merit and wisdom and will swiftly attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

At that time, the Great Sage Manjusri Bodhisattva-Mahasattva and the great assembly heard the Buddha teach the three secret gateways of the wondrous Dharma of contemplating the mind-ground and the thirty-two kinds of vajra armor. All the bodhisattvas who were still in training removed their jeweled necklaces and priceless precious garments and offered them to Vairocana Tathagata and all the World-Honored Ones throughout the ten directions, praising the Buddha:

– Excellent! Excellent! The Buddha, the World-Honored One, has expounded the bodhisattva’s boundless practices and vows, bringing benefit and happiness to all sentient beings and enabling them to cast off the body of an ordinary being and enter the stage of Buddhahood. Now, within this ocean-like great assembly, in order to repay the Buddha’s kindness, we shall not begrudge our bodies or lives. For the sake of sentient beings, we vow to enter all lands everywhere, discerningly expound this wondrous Dharma, uphold it, recite it, transcribe it, and propagate it, so that this wondrous Dharma will never be severed. We respectfully beseech the supremely honored Tathagata to compassionately protect and remain mindful of us!

At that time, all those in the great assembly who heard this wondrous Dharma obtained great benefit. Innumerable and incalculable bodhisattvas realized the stage of non-retrogression, and all devas and humans obtained supreme benefit and happiness. Even all sentient beings in the five destinies cast off their grave hindrances, obtained immeasurable peace and happiness, and would all attain the fruit of unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.

Chapter 13: ENTRUSTMENT

At that time, Shakyamuni Tathagata addressed Manjusri Bodhisattva and the innumerable beings in the ocean-like assembly:

– Throughout immeasurable hundreds of thousands of kotis of great kalpas, I did not begrudge my body or life, my head, eyes, hands, feet, blood, flesh, bones, or marrow, nor even my wife and children, lands and fortified cities, and all precious jewels. Whenever anyone came to ask, I gave everything away. At the same time, I cultivated hundreds of thousands of difficult ascetic practices and attained this Mahayana Dharma gateway of contemplating the mind-ground. I now entrust this Dharma to you. You should know that this extremely profound and vast sutra is proclaimed by those throughout the ten directions and the three times who have attained the unsurpassed Ten Powers. Such an ultimately wondrous and precious sutra brings every benefit and happiness to sentient beings. Throughout the trichiliocosm and the Buddha lands of the ten directions, there are boundless kinds of sentient beings, including beings among animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings. Through the awesome spiritual power and supreme merit of this Mahayana Sutra of Contemplating the Mind-Ground, they are enabled to escape all suffering and affliction and enjoy peace and happiness. The wondrous power and merit of this sutra are so inconceivable that they cause the country in which it abides to enjoy complete prosperity and happiness, free from hostile enemies. It is like a person who obtains a wish-fulfilling jewel and keeps it in his home: it can produce all necessities that bring wondrous peace and happiness. This wondrous and precious sutra is likewise able to bring endless peace and happiness to a realm. It is also like the mani drum in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, which can produce hundreds of thousands of sounds, causing the celestial assembly there always to enjoy delight, benefit, and happiness. The Dharma drum of this sutra is likewise able to bring the most excellent peace and happiness to a realm. For this reason, all of you in the great assembly should abide in the power of great patience and circulate this sutra!

At that time, Manjusri Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:

– World-Honored One, the Tathagata is exceedingly rare! The Sugata is exceedingly rare! Thus have you spoken this wondrous, profound, and vast Mahayana Sutra of Contemplating the Mind-Ground, bringing immense benefit to practitioners of the Mahayana. Indeed, World-Honored One, this sutra is truly profound and wondrous! If any good man or good woman upholds this sutra, even so little as a single four-line verse, how much merit will such a person obtain?

The World-Honored One replied to Manjusri Bodhisattva:

– Suppose good men and good women filled trichiliocosms as numerous as the sands of the Ganges with the seven treasures and used them to make offerings to all Buddhas throughout the ten directions. For each Buddha they built a monastery adorned with the seven treasures and provided offerings to the Buddha and bodhisattvas for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Those Tathagatas also had immeasurable shravaka disciples, and these people likewise offered those disciples every necessity, no differently from their offerings to the Buddhas. After those Buddhas and shravakas entered nirvana, they further built great jeweled stupas and made offerings to their relics. Suppose, moreover, that good men or good women hear, even briefly, and faithfully understand a single four-line verse from this Sutra of the Mind-Ground, arouse the mind of bodhi, uphold, read, recollect, explain, and transcribe it, or, at the very least, speak it for even one person. If the merit from all the offerings described above were compared with the merit gained from teaching this sutra, not even one-sixteenth of the latter merit would be equaled by the former. No calculation or analogy could ever compare with it. How much more immeasurable, then, would be the merit and benefit attained by one who fully and extensively upholds, reads, recites, and cultivates it and expounds it to others!

If a woman arouses the mind of bodhi and upholds, studies, transcribes, and expounds this Sutra of the Mind-Ground, this will be the final time she assumes a female body. Thereafter, she will never again have to assume a female body, nor will she fall into the unfortunate destinies or encounter the eight difficulties. In this very life, she will experience ten supreme benefits:

1. Her lifespan will increase.

2. All illness and affliction will be dispelled.

3. Karmic hindrances will be eliminated.

4. Her merit and wisdom will multiply.

5. She will not lack wealth.

6. Her complexion will be radiant and beautiful.

7. She will be loved and respected by others.

8. She will have children who honor and care for her.

9. Her family and retinue will live in harmony.

10. Her virtuous mind will remain steadfast.

Manjusri, wherever this sutra is studied and read, chanted and recited, expounded, or transcribed, the place where the scroll of this sutra is kept is itself a stupa of the Buddha. All devas, humans, non-humans, and others should offer at that place the most precious jewels and treasures found among humans and devas. Why is this? Because wherever this scripture is kept, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and shravakas are present. Why is this so? Because by cultivating this sutra, all Tathagatas cast off the body of an ordinary being and attained the fruit of unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment, and all sages and noble ones likewise attained liberation through this sutra.

Mañjusri, five hundred years after I enter nirvana, when the True Dharma is about to perish, if there is a Dharma master who receives, upholds, reads, recites, expounds, or copies this Mind-Ground Sutra, foremost among all sutras, that Dharma master will be no different from me. If any good man or good woman makes offerings to and reveres that Dharma master, this is precisely to make offerings to all Buddhas throughout the ten directions and the three periods of time, and the merit enjoyed will be equal, without difference.

This is called “the true Dharma offering to the Tathagata,” and it is also called the most proper “practice of offering.” Why is this so? Because, in an age without a Buddha, that Dharma master expounds this exceedingly profound and vast King of Mind-Ground Sutras for sentient beings in the defiled evil age who are surrounded by wrong views, enabling them to abandon evil views, proceed toward the path of bodhi, and propagate it widely, so that this teaching may long abide in the world.

Such a one is called “a Buddha without the marks of excellence,” and all devas and humans should make offerings to that master. If any good man or good woman joins palms and respectfully honors that Dharma master, I confer upon that person the prediction of unsurpassed great bodhi, and that person will attain unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.

If a person, upon hearing this Mind-Ground Sutra, gives rise to the aspiration for bodhi in order to repay the four kindnesses, and either copies it personally, asks another to copy it, or reads and recites it until thoroughly proficient, then even if the wisdom-power of the Buddha were used to calculate whether the merit gained by such persons is great or small, its limits could not be known! Such persons are true children of the Buddhas.

All devas, Brahma kings, Sakra, the Four Great Heavenly Kings, Hariti and her five hundred attendants, the great ghost-spirit king Nilavata, the nagas, spirits, and the eight classes of beings, and all the ghosts and spirits who listen to the Dharma will remain with them day and night and constantly protect them. Such children of the Buddha will continually increase in right mindfulness and unobstructed eloquence, and will constantly teach and transform sentient beings, enabling them to cultivate the causes of Buddhahood.

Mañjusri, when such good men and good women are about to die, they will directly behold the Buddhas of the ten directions. Their three karmic activities will remain undisturbed, and they will first acquire ten kinds of purified bodily karma. What are the ten?

1. Their bodies will not undergo suffering.

2. The pupils of their eyes will not protrude.

3. Their hands will not tremble.

4. Their legs will neither contract nor extend.

5. Urine will not leak from them.

6. Their bodies will not perspire.

7. Their outward appearance will be entirely peaceful.

8. Their clenched hands will open.

9. Their facial expressions will not change.

10. They will turn onto their sides with ease.

Through the power of this sutra, such signs will appear!

Next, they will acquire ten kinds of purified verbal karma. What are the ten?

1. They will utter wondrous words.

2. They will utter gentle words.

3. They will utter wholesome words.

4. They will utter words pleasing to hear.

5. They will utter agreeable words.

6. They will utter beneficial words.

7. They will utter words endowed with majestic virtue.

8. They will utter words that do not cause discord among their relatives.

9. They will utter words cherished and respected by devas and humans alike.

10. They will utter words praising the Buddha’s teachings.

Such wholesome speech is attained entirely through this sutra!

Furthermore, they will acquire ten kinds of purified mental karma. What are the ten?

1. They will not give rise to anger or irritation.

2. They will not harbor resentment.

3. They will not give rise to thoughts of greed or miserliness.

4. They will not give rise to jealousy.

5. They will not speak words of evil or faultfinding.

6. They will not give rise to hatred.

7. They will not give rise to inverted thoughts.

8. They will not covet any possession.

9. They will abandon the seven kinds of arrogance.

10. They will aspire to realize all Buddha-Dharmas and perfect all samadhi teachings.

Mañjusri, merits such as these all arise from the inconceivable wondrous power of receiving, upholding, reading, reciting, mastering, expounding, and copying this sublime scripture. In immeasurable places and throughout immeasurable times, there are sentient beings who cannot hear this Mind-Ground Sutra, much less see it and cultivate it fully! All of you in this great assembly should single-mindedly uphold it. You will swiftly cast off the body of an ordinary being and accomplish the Buddha path.

At that time, Mañjusri, Prince of the Dharma; immeasurable great bodhisattvas; the bodhisattva Wisdom-Light; many newly aspiring bodhisattvas; Ajñata Kauṇḍinya together with many great sravakas; devas, nagas, and the eight classes of beings; humans and nonhumans—all single-mindedly received and upheld the Buddha’s teaching. They all rejoiced, faithfully accepted it, and reverently practiced it.