大乘理趣六波羅蜜多經

FASCICLE 8
Chapter 9: THE PERFECTION OF MEDITATIVE CONCENTRATION (PART 1)
At that time, the Blessed One sat upon the Lion King Throne, adorned with various kinds of maṇi jewels and surrounded by innumerable, countless assemblies of great bodhisattvas. When these bodhisattvas manifested as devas, assemblies of devas surrounded them; when they manifested as dragons, assemblies of dragons surrounded them; and even when they manifested as nonhuman beings, assemblies of nonhuman beings surrounded them. When they manifested as bodhisattvas, assemblies of bodhisattvas surrounded them. Their brilliant radiance illuminated the entire great assembly, pervading every place without exception.
The great bodhisattva Maitreya rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt, joined his palms respectfully, and said:
“Great Sage, Blessed One! Out of great loving-kindness and great compassion, the Blessed One has taught the perfection of diligence for the benefit and well-being of the assembly of bodhisattvas. I beseech you, out of compassion, to expound the perfection of meditative concentration so that sentient beings may give rise to the practices of the Great Vehicle. How should they contemplate and how should they cultivate so that the perfection of meditative concentration may be fulfilled? We earnestly wish to hear this. We beseech you to expound it.”
The Blessed One said to the great bodhisattva Maitreya:
“Excellent, excellent! Good man, you now ask about such a profound meaning for the well-being and benefit of all beings. Listen clearly and reflect upon it carefully; I shall distinguish and explain it for you.
“Any good man or good woman who gives rise to the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi should carefully reflect thus: The Buddha-path is exceedingly profound, and no one can reach it except by means of one Dharma that benefits sentient beings, namely right concentration. A bodhisattva who has not attained this concentration has not yet made the mind pure, unmoving, and free from seeing saṃsāra and nirvana as two distinct characteristics.

For this reason, in order to liberate beings, one should employ skillful means and diligently cultivate the formless meditation of right wisdom. It is like empty space: pure, undefiled, perpetually abiding, and unchanging. One should further contemplate this concentration as resembling the full moon.

All deluded thoughts are like drifting clouds, while right concentration is like a cool breeze that disperses all the clouds obscuring the empty sky, making it radiant and pure, its light shining brilliantly everywhere, so that all sentient beings who behold it rejoice. The radiance of the full moon is magnificent and brings coolness, joy, and delight to beings. The cool breeze of meditative concentration scatters the clouds of deluded thought that obscure the nature of emptiness, allowing the full moon of right concentration to appear in the world.

All virtuous deeds, good reputation, merit, and virtue are gained through good companions. Relying upon good companions, one preserves pure morality and thereby adorns the Dharma body. A person who violates the precepts is like one who roasts seed grain, preventing all wholesome qualities from sprouting, much less allowing the profound, uncontaminated concentration to increase.

Knowing this, one should single-mindedly preserve pure morality and be apprehensive even of the slightest offense. One would rather have one’s body and flesh torn apart than violate the precepts, as was clearly distinguished and explained in the section on the perfection of morality.
“A great bodhisattva who wishes to cultivate the perfection of meditative concentration should relinquish all livelihoods involving trade, commerce, and farming. Why? Because, if these are not relinquished, they will disturb one’s mind; how, then, could one abide in profound meditative concentration? Therefore, in all four modes of conduct, a great bodhisattva always skillfully gathers in the mind and eliminates deluded thoughts. Even upon hearing loud and clamorous sounds, the bodhisattva remains undisturbed.
“This is like catching a venomous snake and placing it inside a bamboo tube, whereupon its body naturally straightens. The same is true of a bodhisattva: when the crookedness of deluded thought is placed within meditative concentration, one attains genuine right view, neither abiding in saṃsāra nor entering nirvana, and remains far removed from every form of crookedness. If one thus skillfully gathers in the six faculties and does not allow them to run wild, then although the eyes see forms, they do not grasp their characteristics, and one abides in the liberating meditative concentration.

The same is true of the ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind: one continually observes and reflects with right wisdom. All roots of virtue created through the three kinds of karma are dedicated to benefiting oneself and others and to bringing benefit in the present and the future. If something brings no such benefit, the bodhisattva examines it and certainly does not do it.
“Just as a stone statue erected in the world remains motionless, so too should the karma of body, speech, and mind remain unmoving. If an angry person reviles and abuses one, one should give rise to compassion. If one’s gains and provisions are seized, one should not become angry.

If one is beaten and insulted, one should leave and seek a quiet place free from danger, sit in the full lotus posture, maintain right mindfulness, and contemplate. Taking great compassion as one’s dwelling, wisdom as a drum, and awakening as the drumstick with which it is struck, one should address the afflictions, saying: ‘You bandits of affliction should know that you arise from deluded thoughts. My house of the Dharma body is devoted to wholesome deeds; such deeds are not your work.

Depart at once! If you do not, I shall take your lives.’ After one has spoken thus, the afflictions will immediately retreat of themselves and dissolve.

Next, one must guard and protect oneself well, never allowing oneself to become heedless. With the mantra of great compassion, one should fulfill the wishes of all sentient beings; make wisdom and skillful means one’s great general; employ the four foundations of mindfulness as guards; and establish the mind-king of original awakening within the palace of meditative concentration of the ultimate truth, secure and unmoving like vajra.

With the sword of wisdom, one should cut down the bandits of the afflictions, rout the army of birth and death, vanquish the hosts of Mara, and shoulder every burden so that sentient beings may attain liberation. At that time, the bodhisattva says to his own mind: “In the past, you made your vows; now you must strive to fulfill them. The Tathagatas of the past bestowed upon you the prediction that you would realize bodhi and universally deliver all beings.

At that time, before the Buddhas of the ten directions and the noble sages of the three vehicles, you vowed to rescue all sentient beings in the five destinies and bring them to liberation. Now sentient beings have no support, no refuge, no one to rescue them, and nowhere to turn. If you enter nirvana and abandon birth and death, you will betray your former vows.

In the world, Confucian scholars practice loyalty and trustworthiness and do not go back on their word; how much more, then, should you act in accordance with the vows you made in the past. Maintain right mindfulness and remain single-minded and unmoving, so as to rescue sentient beings from the prison of birth and death and securely establish them in unsurpassed great parinirvana.”
Having reflected in this way, the bodhisattva abides in the profound meditative concentration of the Mahayana. This is how a great bodhisattva cultivates the perfection of meditative concentration.
The Buddha taught Maitreya:
There are sixteen kinds of the perfection of meditative concentration that no sravaka or pratyekabuddha can know:
1. Thoroughly comprehending birth and death without being subject to birth and death is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who abides in the Tathagata’s pure dhyana.
2. Not craving the flavor of meditative concentration is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who does not abide in the confused characteristics of the various samadhis.
3. Possessing great compassion is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who eliminates the hindrances and adversities of sentient beings.
4. Increasing right concentration is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who clearly sees that the three realms are not as they appear to be.
5. Accomplishing supernormal powers is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who fully understands the mental activities of sentient beings.
6. Skillfully taming the mind is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who does not abide in either what is tamed or what is untamed.
7. Relying upon signless wisdom, attaining pure liberation, and transcending other meditative concentrations is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who has attained mastery over both the form realm and the formless realm.
8. Peacefulness and utmost peacefulness are the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva, surpassing the meditative concentrations of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas.
9. Being impossible for anyone to disturb is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who fully understands that the pure mind is originally unmoving.
10. Counteracting the violation of moral precepts is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who eliminates the habitual tendencies of sentient beings’ afflictions.
11. Entering the gateway of wisdom is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who thoroughly comprehends that the world is like an illusion or a dream.
12. Knowing the minds of sentient beings is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who fully understands that sentient beings are originally empty in nature.
13. Perpetuating the Three Jewels is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who sees the Tathagata appear in the world.
14. Attaining mastery of the Dharma is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who fully understands that all dharmas are the Buddhadharma.
15. Permanently abiding and indestructible is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who manifests everywhere while remaining forever peaceful.
16. Universally illuminating all things is the meditative concentration of a bodhisattva who sees the equality of the dharma-dhatu.
Maitreya, you should know that these are the sixteen kinds of the perfection of meditative concentration possessed by great bodhisattvas, which sravakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot possess. A great bodhisattva should arouse this supreme right concentration in the following manner. It is like a person who needs fire and uses wood as kindling: holding two fire sticks in his hands, he must keep rubbing them together continuously until fire arises.

If he repeatedly stops to rest, it will be difficult to obtain fire. A great bodhisattva is the same. When seeking the fire of omniscient wisdom, he uses concentration as kindling and, with the hands of patient endurance, perseveres diligently without rest; only then can he produce the fire of all-knowing wisdom.

Once that fire has arisen, it burns the firewood of the afflictions. He then bathes himself clean with the water of generosity, anoints his body with the fragrance of moral discipline, sits upon the throne of great compassion, assumes the station of Dharma King, and sends down a great rain of Dharma to benefit sentient beings, thereby reaching the great nirvana of bliss and liberation.
Maitreya! Because the minds of great bodhisattvas are not yet mature, they may waver within right concentration, like wild horses that are difficult to tame. One should know that such persons have regressed and lost their meditative concentration. Therefore, throughout the four postures, they must always remain within this supreme right concentration and never relinquish it even for a short time.
A bodhisattva has three kinds of mental states:
1. Indolence.
2. Diligence.
3. Neither indolence nor diligence.
Knowing this, the bodhisattva skillfully tames the mind and becomes ever more diligent in order to eliminate laxity and indolence, craving for sleep, and preoccupation with the difficult pursuit of a livelihood in the world. When such exertion and indolence have both been relinquished, the mind becomes upright, complete, and tranquil. It is like a person traveling a long distance: if he goes too quickly, he will become exhausted, but if he goes too slowly, he will not arrive.

By maintaining a middle course between speed and slowness, he will gradually reach his destination. A great bodhisattva is the same: he should settle his mind by means of the Middle Way. Even if his body were being consumed by fire, he would remain securely established and unmoving, abiding in right concentration without attachment to the flavor of concentration.

Through the power of great wisdom, he constantly abides in tranquility and rescues sentient beings from the ocean of birth and death so that they may attain liberation. He must individually seal the mind with these sixteen kinds of concentration. If even the slightest stirring of thought occurs for a single instant, he should employ the hook of right wisdom to observe it, restrain it, and bring it to rest.

Abiding in unceasing diligence, he cultivates the perfection of meditative concentration.
Maitreya! In cultivating meditative concentration, a great bodhisattva encounters five hindrances that obstruct all sentient beings:
1. Sensual desire.
2. Ill will.
3. Restlessness and remorse.
4. Sloth and torpor.
5. Doubt.
Only after these five hindrances have been eliminated can meditative concentration be attained and body and mind made unwavering. Therefore, a bodhisattva must contemplate: From where do they arise? How can they be abandoned?
First, a great bodhisattva should contemplate sensual forms as resembling the moon reflected in water: when the water moves, the moon moves; when the mind arises, dharmas also arise.
The mind of sensual desire is likewise: from thought to thought, it never remains still, arising and perishing at once. Further, one should contemplate sensual forms as resembling a python in the wilderness. When its venomous rage arises, its head expands like a parasol. A traveler suffering from the heat rushes beneath the parasol for shelter, but upon coming into contact with its poisonous breath, he loses his life. A person of sensual desire is likewise. As he journeys through the wilderness of birth and death, he delusively perceives an object of desire and immediately gives rise to attachment and defilement. As soon as a sensual thought arises, meditative concentration is destroyed. This is called being covered by sensual desire.
Further, one should contemplate the nature of desire as resembling the fires of hell that burn sentient beings, or a torrent that sweeps away and drowns everything, possessing not the slightest compassion. It is like a rakshasa that torments sentient beings; like a prison guard who maims a person’s hands and feet; like a sharp blade; like a butcher who takes the lives of beings; like touching poison and consequently dying; like falling from a high mountain into a deep abyss and undergoing great suffering; like a dark night in which nothing can be seen; like leprosy that cannot be cured; and like the great ocean, which is difficult to dry up.

Sensual desire is deeper and broader even than the great ocean, and the five desires are heavier than Mount Sumeru. They resemble the luxuriant fruit of the kimpa tree, exceedingly pleasing to behold, yet whoever touches it dies at once. They are like a goat tied to a post, certain to be killed, or like wearing a crown of red-hot gold and being burned to death by it.

As in the past, wheel-turning kings, Shakra Devendra, the Four Great Heavenly Kings, the mighty Narayana gods, and all sentient beings raised armies and fought one another because of sensual desire, until their bones were heaped as high as Mount Vipula. As it was in the past, so it is in the present and will be in the future.

People in the world dearly love their relatives, parents, and siblings, and would not begrudge even sacrificing their own lives for them; yet because of sensual desire, they come to resent and hate one another, give rise to malicious thoughts, and then kill one another. Those who lust after beauty suffer for two reasons:

1. Though wealthy and honored, because they crave sensual pleasures they submit to degradation and every kind of humiliation.
2. The blade of sensual desire gouges out the eye of wisdom, leaving them unable to discern anything, like blind people.

Because of these causes and conditions, after death they fall into hell and undergo immeasurable suffering.

Furthermore, those consumed by sensual desire never know contentment. They are like a fire to which more fuel is added, like kings craving territory, merchants craving wealth and profit, those seeking wisdom and understanding craving to hear the Dharma, or bodhisattvas delighting in liberating sentient beings. In pursuing these aims, such people strive to fulfill them without ever growing weary.

Those consumed by sensual desire are likewise insatiable, continually seeking objects of desire amid sorrow and hardship. Once they obtain them, they cling tightly to them, thereby increasing their suffering a hundredfold; after death, they fall into hell and undergo intense torment. Those who seek meditative concentration never even think of sensual desire, their enemy, much less draw near to it.

This is called being obscured by sensual desire.

Those obscured by anger are like intoxicated people, whose complexions change when they drink. Anger is the same: it alters the countenance and makes body and mind tremble. They may slander and harm others; or, when the fire of anger burns their minds, how could they cultivate meditative concentration? No bandit severs merit more thoroughly than anger. Therefore, those wishing to cultivate meditative concentration must keep far away from it.

Those obscured by restlessness and remorse are like madmen, with bodies and minds scattered and confused. They may depend upon relatives and neighbors to survive from day to day, deludedly pursuing matters of suffering and pleasure, and recalling the good and evil deeds they have committed. So agitated, they can never become tranquil. Restlessness and remorse obscure equanimity and obstruct right concentration. This is called being obscured by restlessness and remorse.

Those obstructed by sloth and torpor become languid and weary, frowning and knitting their brows, dull and incapable of doing anything. Sloth and torpor obscure pliancy and obstruct contemplative wisdom. Those who cultivate meditative concentration should eliminate them. This is called being obscured by sloth and torpor.

Those obscured by doubt are constantly hesitant and confused, unable to ascertain either phenomena or principles. Doubt obstructs generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, wisdom, cause and effect throughout the three times, and prevents the nature and characteristics of the Three Jewels from becoming manifest. How, then, could sublime meditative concentration arise? This is called being obscured by doubt.

Because of these five obscurations, it is difficult to succeed in learning and practice, and moral discipline, concentration, and wisdom cannot become manifest. Knowing this, one should contemplate it with great care. Those cultivating meditative concentration should keep far away from them and practice diligently. Only then can they extinguish the suffering of desire and attain profound meditative concentration without attachment. Through this concentration, they realize the five wisdoms of direct knowledge, namely: the direct knowledge of the wisdom of the heavenly eye, the direct knowledge of the wisdom of the heavenly ear, the direct knowledge of the wisdom that knows others’ minds,

the direct knowledge of the wisdom that knows former abodes, and the direct knowledge of the wisdom of miraculous manifestations.

What is the direct knowledge of the wisdom of the heavenly eye? Through the power of the heavenly eye, one thoroughly perceives the immeasurable and boundless Buddha-worlds throughout the ten directions. One sees all classes of sentient beings—those born from eggs, born from wombs, born from moisture, and born by transformation; those with form and without form; those with perception, without perception, and neither with perception nor without perception—as clearly as an amra fruit in the palm of one’s hand.

All those sentient beings are bound by various sufferings. Having contemplated this, the bodhisattva gives rise to great compassion: “These sentient beings have fallen into the ocean of birth and death, into a vast pit of filthy excrement. How could I now abandon them and refuse to rescue them?” The bodhisattva therefore redoubles his diligence, without weariness of body or mind, and immediately arouses the Buddha-recollection samadhi.

Through the power of this concentration, he sees all the Buddhas of the ten directions filling empty space, seated upon vajra thrones and attaining perfect enlightenment. He may see Buddhas first turning the Dharma wheel; see Buddhas arriving to dwell in heavenly palaces; see Tathagatas descending from jeweled thrones; see Tathagatas entering villages to seek alms; see Tathagatas teaching the Dharma according to beings’ capacities; or see their transformation bodies teaching the Dharma to kings, ministers, elders, and brahmins.

He may see their transformation bodies teaching the Dharma to bhikshus, bhikshunis, male lay followers, and female lay followers; or teaching the Dharma to devas, nagas, yakshas, asuras, gandharvas, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans; or teaching the Dharma to hungry ghosts, pishacas, kumbhandas, putanakas, putanas, King Yama, hungry ghosts, animals, and others. In every case, they speak in the voice of each particular class, so that the beings of every class and every realm each say, “The Tathagata is teaching the Dharma for me,” enabling them all to understand clearly and rejoice beyond measure.

Or he may see Buddhas teaching the six perfections to bodhisattvas, teaching the twelve links of dependent origination to pratyekabuddhas, teaching the Dharma of the Four Truths to shravakas, or exhorting sentient beings to abide in the ten wholesome deeds. He may see Buddhas manifesting in the body of Brahma to teach the Dharma, manifesting in the body of Shakra to teach the Dharma, or manifesting in the bodies of the world-protecting Four Heavenly Kings to teach the Dharma.

They may manifest in the bodies of Maheshvara, the god Narayana, the solar deity, the lunar deity, nagas, yakshas, seers, brahmins, and others to teach the Dharma. Or they may manifest in the bodies of wheel-turning kings, kings of nations, chief ministers, men, women, preceptors, acharyas, Buddhas, and disciples to teach the Dharma. Or they may manifest among beings in the hells, among hungry ghosts, or among animals to teach the Dharma.

Upon hearing it, all immediately leave behind suffering, adversity, hunger, and thirst; they no longer harm one another but instead extend loving-kindness and compassion to one another.

Or he may see a Buddha manifest entry into parinirvana in the sala grove to teach the Dharma; or see that, after the Buddha’s nirvana, his relics are divided and monasteries and stupas are constructed, whereupon he manifests to teach the Dharma, enabling sentient beings who come to make offerings to attain liberation. All the forms manifested by the Buddhas in this way are intended to rescue sentient beings and lead them beyond birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Such manifestations fill the realm of empty space, together with countless other wonders, all transformations produced by the Buddhas’ sovereign supernormal powers—truly rare and extraordinary phenomena. Although bodhisattvas see all these supernormal transformations, this is called only the heavenly eye arising from meditative concentration; it is not called a paramita.

The heavenly eye realized by great bodhisattvas surpasses the heavenly eyes realized by all devas, nagas, the eight classes of beings, those in training, those beyond training, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas. The heavenly eye of great bodhisattvas is supreme, most excellent, most honored, and most wondrous; it is ultimately luminous and pure and possesses great power. Through this heavenly eye, great bodhisattvas see immeasurable and boundless Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the past walking, standing, lying down, and sitting; their countless dignified deportments; their immeasurable modes of practice; their meditative concentrations and liberations; the sublime wisdom of the Ten Grounds; their dharani gateways; their unobstructed eloquence;

and the complete perfection of all their skillful means.

The pure heavenly eye of great bodhisattvas sees all colors, forms, and images without obstruction, attachment, or defilement. It does not grasp the characteristics of any color, form, or image and remains far removed from all latent tendencies toward erroneous views. The intrinsic nature of that faculty of sight is originally pure and does not depend upon any object-realm.

This faculty of the eye does not arise from any habitual tendencies or latent afflictions; nor is it defiled by attachment, deluded, distracted, or obscured. Moreover, it is free from discrimination, is not entangled in the afflictive hindrances or the cognitive hindrances, and has mastery over all dharmas. This faculty of the eye can penetrate the equality of all dharmas and abide in true liberation.

This divine eye also clearly knows all the differences among faculties and dispositions, cannot bear the mark of destruction, and in a single instant can behold all kinds of sentient beings. The essential nature of this divine eye is luminous and pure. It can cast off all defiled and confused dharmas, clearly understand the nature of compassion, and neither abandon sentient beings nor become attached, covetous, or harmful.

This divine eye is the realm of ultimate truth, born of the True Truth, with wisdom as its guide and forerunner. It abides in great compassion so as to comprehend and penetrate all dharmas and their profound meanings, free from all conceptual elaborations. It speaks truthfully of what has been seen and heard; keeps far from all unwholesome dharmas; and directs the mind toward unsurpassed bodhi without obstruction.

On seeing the miserly, it exhorts them to practice generosity; on seeing those who violate the precepts, it has compassion for them; on seeing the angry, it teaches them patience; on seeing the indolent, it exhorts them to diligence; on seeing those whose minds are distracted, it exhorts them to cultivate meditative concentration; on seeing the ignorant, it instructs them to study wisdom. Those who follow unlawful paths it guides back to the path of the true Dharma, and those whose minds incline toward the Lesser Vehicle it teaches by means of the Great Vehicle, enabling all sentient beings to enter all-knowing wisdom, attain supernormal powers, perfect bodhi, and accomplish the wisdom of omniscience.
Maitreya, you should know: this is called the Great Bodhisattva’s cultivation of the perfection of meditative concentration and attainment of the pure supernormal knowledge of the divine eye.
Maitreya! What is meant by the Great Bodhisattva’s cultivation of the perfection of meditative concentration and attainment of the supernormal knowledge of the divine ear? It means that the power of the divine ear attained by the Great Bodhisattva surpasses the divine ears of devas, nagas, the eight classes of beings, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas. The divine ear attained by the Great Bodhisattva is supreme, most honored, most excellent, most wondrous, utterly clear, and endowed with exceedingly great power. Why is this? It is because the merit of this attainment is dedicated to unsurpassed bodhi.
With this divine ear, the Great Bodhisattva can hear every sound made by the Buddhas, Tathagatas, pratyekabuddhas, shravakas, devas, nagas, the eight classes of beings, humans and nonhumans, and even beings in the hells, hungry ghosts, animals, sentient beings, and insentient things. However many kinds of minds there may be, the divine ear hears them all, as well as the sounds arising from the different activities of the three kinds of karma.

Such a bodhisattva knows all these things as they truly are. Whenever beings utter words, thereby creating wholesome or unwholesome causes, or speak covetously with beguiling voices, the bodhisattva’s divine ear knows this too as it truly is. Whether the reasoning expressed is correct but the words are coarse, whether the reasoning is incorrect but the words are gentle, whether both the words and reasoning are excellent, or whether both are coarse, this divine ear knows each of them as it truly is.
This divine ear can hear all the voices of ordinary beings and noble ones. It does not become weary of ordinary beings or exult in noble ones. Toward the realm of noble sages, the mind gives rise to joyful aspiration; toward the realm of ordinary beings, it gives rise to great compassion. Thus, this divine ear knows as they truly are the beginning, middle, and end of every sound, without giving rise to attachment.
This divine ear hears sounds throughout all the immeasurable and boundless worlds of the ten directions. It knows as they truly are all the voices of the Buddhas teaching the Dharma; the mind is neither distracted nor forgetful. It teaches the Dharma according to the faculties of beings and clearly understands that the nature of dharmas is empty, firm yet not firm, neither false nor real. Upon hearing a single utterance of the true Dharma from a Tathagata, it hears all the Dharma gateways of innumerable Buddhas. It hears them all simultaneously, without confusion or disturbance and without their obstructing one another. It can receive and retain every sentence, passage, and phrase, and knows as they truly are the meanings, natures, and characteristics thereof.
It also hears the voice of the Tathagata teaching the Dharma in accordance with the sounds of each kind of being, enabling them to penetrate the marks of ultimate reality and attain liberation. It then dedicates this merit toward the Tathagata’s pure divine ear, aspiring that in future lives it will not even hear the names of the two vehicles—the shravakas and pratyekabuddhas.
Maitreya, you should know: this is called the Great Bodhisattva’s cultivation of meditative concentration and attainment of the pure supernormal knowledge of the divine ear.
Maitreya! What is meant by the Great Bodhisattva’s supernormal knowledge of others’ minds? It means that the bodhisattva knows whether the minds of all sentient beings in the past, present, and future are unwholesome, wholesome, or neutral. The bodhisattva also knows the various karmic causes and effects of all sentient beings in the past, and knows whether each being has a great mind, a small mind, or a mind that is neither great nor small; a mind with sensual desire or without sensual desire; a defiled mind or a pure mind; an ignorant mind or a wise mind; an expansive mind or a narrow mind; a concentrated mind or a distracted mind; a bound mind or a liberated mind; a victorious mind or a defeated mind; an exalted mind or a lowly mind.
The bodhisattva also knows whether sentient beings possess minds corresponding to generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, wisdom, loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity, marks, or marklessness; and knows all the minds of sentient beings corresponding to the vehicles of the shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and Great Vehicle bodhisattvas. These sentient beings may possess such roots of goodness; some may be born into noble families yet perform lowly deeds; some may be born into lowly families yet possess pure natures; some may have unwholesome mental natures yet perform pure deeds; in some, both may be pure; and in others, both may be unwholesome.

The bodhisattva knows as they truly are all the different mental activities of sentient beings in the past and teaches them the Dharma according to what is appropriate for them. This is called the supernormal knowledge of others’ minds that clearly knows all sentient beings in past lives.
The bodhisattva also clearly knows that sentient beings in the future, because they practice generosity in the present, produce the cause of pure moral discipline for the future. The bodhisattva also knows that because sentient beings observe the precepts in the present, they produce the cause of patience for the future; that because they practice patience in the present, they produce the cause of diligence for the future; that because they practice diligence in the present, they produce the cause of meditative concentration for the future; that because they cultivate wholesome marks in the present, they produce the cause of signless wisdom for the future; and that because they cultivate a small measure of goodness in the present, they produce the cause of the Great Vehicle for the future.

The Great Bodhisattva knows as they truly are the causal conditions and characteristics of minds such as these. According to circumstances, the bodhisattva rescues beings without weariness, leads sentient beings deeply into the Buddha’s wisdom, which neither increases nor diminishes, and teaches the Dharma in this way without ever ceasing. With regard to the Dharma, the bodhisattva never harbors a miserly mind.

This is called the bodhisattva’s supernormal knowledge of others’ minds that clearly knows the future.
The bodhisattva also knows whether sentient beings in the present have minds with sensual desire or without sensual desire; minds that are blameworthy or blameless; ignorant minds or wise minds; expansive minds or narrow minds; concentrated minds or distracted minds; agitated minds or unagitated minds; bound minds or liberated minds; defiled minds or undefiled minds; vast minds or immeasurable minds; exalted minds or inferior minds. The bodhisattva knows all of these as they truly are. The bodhisattva also knows as they truly are those sentient beings who are bound by immeasurable afflictions.
Having known this, the bodhisattva teaches the Dharma according to the different faculties and capacities of those beings.

Whether the mind has awakened to understanding or is free from discriminating mind, it remains unattached to self and others. Through skillful means, wisdom, and meditative concentration, the bodhisattva clearly discerns whether the faculties of sentient beings are sharp or dull, so as to eradicate the very source of the afflictions of birth and death. The bodhisattva understands that the original nature is empty, perfect and lacking nothing, undefiled and unattached, without faults, turbidity, impurity, or coarseness; clearly knows that all dharmas are like magical illusions; and understands the differing mental activities of sentient beings.

Maitreya, you should know that this is called a great bodhisattva’s cultivation of meditative concentration whereby the purified superknowledge of knowing others’ minds is attained.

Maitreya, what is meant by a great bodhisattva’s cultivation of meditative concentration whereby the superknowledge of recollecting past lives is realized? It means that, abiding on the Immovable Ground and realizing the equality of dharmas, the bodhisattva completely understands the true nature of all dharmas. With purified wisdom, the bodhisattva abides in shamatha and vipashyana, in the union of calming and insight, and never forgets any matter whatsoever.

With wisdom as the guide, the three kinds of karma are purified; adorned with merit and wisdom, the bodhisattva naturally awakens without relying upon a teacher’s instruction and can reach the other shore of the bliss of nirvana. With such wisdom, the great bodhisattva recollects all past lives, from one life, two lives, ten or twenty lives, up to one kalpa, or hundreds of thousands of myriads of nayutas of kalpas. Throughout all those kalpas, whether worlds arose or perished, the bodhisattva remembers and knows.

During those kalpas, the great bodhisattva clearly remembers and knows that sentient beings were born into such-and-such households, had such-and-such parents and lineages, bore such-and-such names, possessed such-and-such appearances and strength, lived such-and-such spans of life, and experienced all such sufferings and joys. The bodhisattva remembers and knows all sentient beings dying here and being born there, and the various lineages of the bodhisattva’s own bodies and the bodies of others throughout immeasurable lives.

The bodhisattva clearly remembers and knows all roots of virtue, including the exhortations beings gave one another, and dedicates them all to unsurpassed bodhi.

The bodhisattva further contemplates that bodies undergoing birth and death in the past were impermanent, suffering, empty, without self, and impure. Knowing this, the bodhisattva gives rise to no pride regarding physical appearance, length or brevity of life, wealth, nobility, or power, and does not seek the rewards of becoming Shakra, Brahma, one of the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world, a deva, or a human. Solely through great compassion, the bodhisattva brings benefit and happiness to sentient beings and takes birth in accordance with the power of vows.

The bodhisattva also knows the evil karma created throughout countless past kalpas and consequently feels profound remorse. In this present life, the bodhisattva would rather relinquish body and life than dare to create evil karma again. The bodhisattva dedicates all the wholesome karma created throughout immeasurable lives to unsurpassed bodhi and universally bestows it upon all sentient beings throughout the Dharma realm, without seeking the supreme rewards of the world. The bodhisattva perpetuates the Three Jewels until the end of the future, never abandoning this task and never resting.

Maitreya, you should know that this is called a great bodhisattva’s cultivation of meditative concentration whereby the purified superknowledge of recollecting past lives is attained.

Maitreya, what is meant by a great bodhisattva’s cultivation of the perfection of meditative concentration whereby the superknowledge of miraculous manifestations is attained, bringing boundless benefit and happiness? It means that a bodhisattva abiding on the Immovable Ground realizes true quiescence and eliminates all sorrow, suffering, mental joy, bodily bliss, inhalation, exhalation, and so forth. These neither arise nor cease.

Abiding in the true Dharma realm, the bodhisattva can fully manifest miraculous transformations: appearing as a body resembling a mass of fire and emitting great light throughout the trichiliocosm; or sending forth water from the upper body, flowing like torrential rain; or touching the sun and moon, exercising sovereign mastery over their majestic radiance. The bodhisattva may manifest a body so immense that it reaches the Brahma Heaven or a body as tiny as a mustard seed; may shake the great earth like ocean waves; may manifest many bodies from a single body or cause many bodies to become one body; may disappear or appear while teaching immeasurable Dharmas; may enter deeply into mountains and rocks or pass straight through them;

or may ascend and descend like lightning bearing light, coming and going freely.

The bodhisattva may move, walk, sit, and travel through space like a soaring bird; may sink into the earth as though entering water or walk upon water as though walking upon land; and may freely appear and disappear without obstruction. Such miraculous powers are all exercised to bring benefit and happiness to every sentient being.

Furthermore, through the universal gateway of great compassion, the bodhisattva manifests countless bodies: the body of a Buddha, a bodhisattva, a shravaka, a pratyekabuddha, Shakra, Brahma, and many other kinds of bodies, appearing in accordance with the faculties and inclinations of the beings in each class and realm. When sentient beings rely upon their power and become arrogant, the bodhisattva manifests an appropriate body and teaches the Dharma to tame them.

The bodhisattva may become Shakra, Brahma, one of the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world, the mighty Narayana, and so forth. In order to overcome such beings, the bodhisattva lifts Mount Sumeru and casts it into immeasurably distant worlds, then returns it to its original place as though tossing a mango, yet the devas and humans do not know that they have undergone any movement, nor is the bodhisattva’s miraculous power diminished.

Furthermore, within the trichiliocosm, from the Akanishtha Heaven above down to the dragon palace beneath the waters, the bodhisattva grasps this world in the right hand and holds it for an entire kalpa. Whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, the bodhisattva encounters no obstruction. Afterward, the bodhisattva returns it to its original place, yet the aquatic beings suffer no harm, and none of them knows that they have undergone any movement. By displaying such sovereign mastery of miraculous powers, the bodhisattva causes all arrogant sentient beings to be tamed so that they will hear the Dharma.

Through the power of miraculous abilities, the bodhisattva exercises sovereign mastery in accordance with every wish, like a wish-fulfilling jewel that grants whatever is sought. The bodhisattva may transform the great ocean into the water held in a cow’s hoofprint, or the water in a cow’s hoofprint into the great ocean; may manifest the calamity of fire extending up to the First Dhyana, the calamity of water extending up to the Second Dhyana, or the calamity of wind extending up to the Third Dhyana; or may transform water into fire and fire into water.

Freely employing every kind of superior, intermediate, and lesser transformation, the bodhisattva exercises sovereign mastery, and no one can cause the bodhisattva to waver. Apart from the Buddha, the Blessed One, no one can overcome the bodhisattva.

Through these vast miraculous transformations, the bodhisattva teaches the Dharma extensively or briefly, according to the faculties and conditions of sentient beings, enabling them to attain liberation. Neither heavenly maras nor the maras of affliction can obstruct such sovereign miraculous power of the bodhisattva. Thus the bodhisattva transcends the heavenly maras and the maras of affliction and enters the realm of the Buddhas. Thereafter, in accordance with the faculties and conditions of sentient beings, the bodhisattva rescues and liberates them without interruption and can never be shaken.

Maitreya, you should know that this is called a great bodhisattva’s cultivation of meditative concentration whereby the superknowledge of miraculous manifestations and sovereign mastery over transformations is attained.

The foregoing five superknowledges are called meditative concentration alone and are not called perfection.

Maitreya, having attained these five superknowledges, bodhisattvas should diligently cultivate the perfection of meditative concentration for unsurpassed bodhi and realize the stage of non-retrogression. It is like a poor person who has just begun digging for a hidden treasure. Seeing nothing extraordinary at first, the person remains indolent; but by digging ever deeper without stopping, that person gradually perceives a few unusual signs. Then, vigorously and unceasingly exerting effort, the person obtains the treasure because of never resting. A great bodhisattva is likewise. Until realizing unsurpassed bodhi, the bodhisattva should diligently and vigorously cultivate meditative concentration day and night without rest, continuing until unsurpassed bodhi is realized.

Maitreya, for sentient beings to arouse such a resolve for meditative concentration is not difficult. What is difficult is to cultivate accordingly without ever becoming indolent until attainment is complete.

It is like the army of a powerful kingdom invading and seizing another country: this is not difficult, but after taking possession of it, guarding it carefully—this is truly difficult.
The same is true of false teachers and non-Buddhist practitioners who cultivate concentration. Without associating with good spiritual friends or hearing the true Dharma, they seek false liberation, attain the concentrations of the Formless Realm, and claim that they have realized nirvana. When they die, these people fall into hell.

They are like a foolish person who raises a venomous snake and regularly gives it cow’s milk to drink. Why? Because all physicians in the world say that cow’s milk counteracts poison.

After the snake drinks the cow’s milk, its venom becomes even more potent. The fool believes that the snake’s venom has been completely eliminated, so he handles and trains it, and is bitten to death. All sentient beings are likewise.

Day and night, they nourish this poisonous body, and because they seek comfort and pleasure, they continually supply it with food and drink without moderation. When impermanence suddenly arrives, the poison of the demon of death arises, destroys all their wholesome qualities, and sends them into the three painful destinies.
Maitreya, the meditative concentration attained by shravakas and pratyekabuddhas only eliminates the afflictive hindrances. Since they lack great compassion and merely enter nirvana, it is not true meditative concentration. Ordinary sentient beings, meanwhile, are never free because their bodily, verbal, and mental karma is constantly bound by the eighty-four thousand afflictions.

It is like a person who continually makes offerings to an enemy—a rakshasa or evil spirit—in order gradually to subdue it. But the enemy of the afflictions, the rakshasa or evil spirit, is not like this: when supplied with forms and fragrances, the afflictions blaze ever more fiercely and become difficult to subdue. How, then, can one cultivate meditative concentration and attain liberation?

Without meditative concentration, how can there be wisdom? Without right wisdom, there cannot even be the ten wholesome actions, and one will fall into hell, the realm of hungry ghosts, or the animal realm. Therefore, great bodhisattvas should cultivate the pure conduct of the four immeasurable states of mind and arouse the loving-kindness that “guides and transforms without an objective condition,” encompassing the entire dharmadhatu.

Why is this? Because a bodhisattva’s loving-kindness and compassion are limitless, inconceivable, and boundless. Since sentient beings pervade all worlds throughout the ten directions, a bodhisattva’s loving-kindness and compassion are correspondingly vast.

Just as space is limitless, so too is a bodhisattva’s loving-kindness and compassion. Therefore, one should know that as sentient beings are inexhaustible, a bodhisattva’s loving-kindness and compassion are also inexhaustible. As true emptiness is inexhaustible, loving-kindness and compassion are also inexhaustible.

Thus, a bodhisattva’s genuine loving-kindness and compassion never come to an end.
Bodhisattva Maitreya addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! A bodhisattva possesses such vast loving-kindness and compassion toward sentient beings. If there is any analogy by which this may be proclaimed and explained, I pray that you instruct us.”
The World-Honored One said:
“Good man! No single minor matter can serve as an analogy that fully expresses it. Maitreya, you should know!

Suppose that in the eastern direction there were worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and that in the south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, and below, there were equally as many. Suppose that all these Ganges-sands worlds throughout the ten directions were combined into a single ocean filled with water. All the worlds throughout the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, would be entirely filled with sentient beings.

Each sentient being, one after another, would take a single hair, dip it into that ocean, and let a drop fall elsewhere, continuing in this way for an entire kalpa. Even though the ocean’s water might be exhausted and dry, those sentient beings would still be without end.
“Good man! For every sentient being throughout all the worlds of the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of all the Ganges rivers throughout the ten directions, a bodhisattva possesses vast loving-kindness and compassion.
“Good man! What do you think? Does such loving-kindness and compassion have any limit?”
Bodhisattva Maitreya replied:
“World-Honored One! Even if space could be measured, this loving-kindness and compassion could never be exhausted.”
The Buddha said:
“If a great bodhisattva hears that this loving-kindness and compassion are limitless and does not become startled, doubtful, or afraid, you should know that this bodhisattva also possesses such inexhaustible loving-kindness and compassion. This mind of loving-kindness and compassion can protect both oneself and others; eradicate all evils, litigation, and disputes; prevent sentient beings from committing transgressions; tame their three kinds of karma so that they always dwell in peace and happiness; and keep them far from all enmity.

Those who are filled with anger are led to become patient and compassionate. The sufferings of warfare, weapons, and the like are brought to an end. All sentient beings are protected and delivered from every kind of deception, so that the bodhisattva’s good reputation spreads far and wide.

The bodhisattva is revered and honored with offerings by Shakra, Brahma, and the Four Heavenly Kings, and adorns the body with necklaces of loving-kindness. Such a bodhisattva goes foremost, guiding sentient beings along the path of liberation, so that those whose minds incline toward the Two Vehicles turn to the Great Vehicle. The bodhisattva accumulates and gathers all the provisions for bodhi, refuses to become a slave to worldly merit and its rewards, always adorns the body with the excellent marks, possesses complete and perfect faculties, abandons the eight difficulties, is born in the heavenly realms, and practices the Noble Eightfold Path to reach the further shore of nirvana.
“A bodhisattva who cultivates loving-kindness and compassion does not cling to the five desires and maintains a mind of equality toward all sentient beings. When practicing generosity, the bodhisattva’s mind makes no distinctions; while observing pure precepts, the bodhisattva rescues those who violate the precepts; and by demonstrating the power of patience, enables them to be free from anger. The bodhisattva cultivates diligence entirely in accord with the true Dharma, abides in right concentration, rescues sentient beings with loving-kindness and compassion, attains vast wisdom, and transcends the world.

At that time, affliction and bodhi no longer bear the marks of duality. With the great loving-kindness that flows from the intrinsic nature, the bodhisattva conquers the armies of Mara, brings peace and happiness to all sentient beings, and never abandons them in this life or future lives. Whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, the bodhisattva constantly cultivates and practices, eliminates self-conceit, and remains far removed from heedlessness.

One who possesses loving-kindness and compassion wears the robe of conscience and moral dread, anoints the body with the fragrant perfume of pure precepts, eliminates worldly habitual tendencies of the afflictions, and benefits and brings happiness to all sentient beings. A shravaka’s loving-kindness and compassion seek only personal benefit, whereas a bodhisattva’s loving-kindness and compassion protect and rescue all sentient beings.
“Maitreya! Loving-kindness is of three kinds:
1. Loving-kindness with sentient beings as its condition.
2. Loving-kindness with dharmas as its condition.
3. Unconditioned loving-kindness.
“What is loving-kindness with sentient beings as its condition? It means that when one first arouses the aspiration, one universally contemplates sentient beings and gives rise to great compassion.
“What is loving-kindness with dharmas as its condition? It means that during cultivation, one contemplates all dharmas; this is called loving-kindness with dharmas as its condition.
“What is unconditioned loving-kindness? It means attaining patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, wherein there are no dual marks.
“Maitreya, you should know! This is the mind of great compassion of a great bodhisattva abiding in the true dharmadhatu.”