大寶積經

When the Blessed One entered the city,

Immeasurable multitudes of beings

Heard a voice speaking from empty space

And attained knowledge of the eye’s ultimate limit.

When the Blessed One entered the city,

Immeasurable multitudes of beings

Heard a voice speaking from empty space

And clearly knew the eye’s intrinsic nature:

Ultimately empty and without self;

They all attained purity of the eye.

The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind;

Forms, sounds, odors, tastes, and objects of touch;

Even sounds and names—

All are likewise.

Greed, anger, delusion, wrath, and pride;

Stinginess, jealousy, deceit, and arrogance;

Even heedlessness—

Know that these too are likewise.

When the Blessed One entered the city,

Immeasurable kinds of beings

Heard a voice from empty space proclaim

The epithets of the Buddhas.

Some heard “Destroyer of Greed,”

An epithet beyond compare.

Some heard “Destroyer of Anger,”

An epithet benefiting the world.

Some heard “One Who Ends Delusion,”

An epithet of one who subdues pride.

Some heard “Teacher of the World,”

The name of the tranquil Guide.

Some heard “Revealer of Wisdom,”

The name of one who benefits the world.

Some heard “Revealer of Skillful Means,”

The name of one who benefits sentient beings.

Some heard “Subduer of Mara,”

The name of one free from enmity.

Some heard “Teacher through the Dharma,”

The name of one who reveals liberation.

Some heard the name “Universal Deliverer

Of suffering sentient beings.”

Some heard “Honored One among Humans,”

The name of the savior of sentient beings.

Those who heard the Buddha’s epithets

All attained purity of the eye.

Empty space, the waters of the ocean,

And even Mount Sumeru

Can all be measured,

But the Buddha’s wisdom is inexhaustible.

If one gains certainty concerning the eye’s ultimate limit,

Accomplishing the Dharma-body will not be difficult.

If one can accomplish the supreme Dharma-body,

One will attain boundless wisdom and dharani.

If one attains boundless wisdom and dharani,

One will awaken to immeasurable sutras.

If one awakens to immeasurable sutras,

Attaining the Buddha’s spiritual powers will not be difficult.

If one gains certainty concerning the arising of the eye,

Accomplishing the Dharma-body will not be difficult.

If one can accomplish the supreme Dharma-body,

One will attain boundless wisdom and dharani.

If one attains boundless wisdom and dharani,

One will awaken to immeasurable sutras.

If one awakens to immeasurable sutras,

Attaining the Buddha’s spiritual powers will not be difficult.

So it is with the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind;

Forms, sounds, odors, tastes, objects of touch, and dharmas;

Even sounds together with names—

Know that all are likewise.

At that time, the entire great earth trembled;

The great ocean and all the mountains also trembled.

The multitudes of asuras and devas

All gave rise to joy.

Mara and Mara’s hosts abandoned all deceit

And sought to accomplish the Buddha’s adornments.

The devas in their beautiful celestial palaces,

With pure and joyful hearts, said to one another:

“The Guide has now appeared in the world

To benefit all devas and humans.”

The earth-dwelling devas in their palaces

Also rejoiced and said to one another:

“Excellent! The Guide has now appeared in the world

As the cause of peace and happiness throughout it.”

The sky-dwelling devas, hearing these words,

All rejoiced and gave rise to pure faith.

With beautiful, melodious voices they praised the Buddha:

“The Guide has appeared to benefit the world.”

The multitudes of the Four Great Kings, hearing these words,

All rejoiced and gave rise to pure faith.

With sublime voices they praised the Buddha:

“The Guide has appeared to benefit the world.”

The devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, hearing these words,

All rejoiced and gave rise to pure faith.

With sublime voices they praised the Buddha:

“The Guide has appeared to benefit the world.”

The Yama devas, hearing these words,

All rejoiced and gave rise to pure faith.

With sublime voices they praised the Buddha:

“The Guide has appeared to benefit the world.

We should generate the aspiration for bodhi

And resolutely seek the Tathagata’s unsurpassed wisdom.

The Most Excellent One, refuge of devas and humans,

Liberates all kinds of sentient beings.”

The Tushita devas, hearing these words,

All rejoiced and gave rise to pure faith.

With sublime voices they praised the Buddha:

“The Guide has appeared to benefit the world.

Throughout innumerable kotis of kalpas, the Buddha

Cultivated boundless, excellent practices.

He teaches sentient beings the peaceful and secure path,

Causing them to transcend birth and death and realize nirvana.”

The Nirmanarati devas, hearing these words,

All rejoiced and gave rise to pure faith.

With sublime words they praised the Buddha:

“The Guide has appeared to benefit the world.”

The Paranirmitavashavartin devas, hearing these words,

All rejoiced and gave rise to pure faith.

With wondrous voices they praised the Buddha:

“The Guide has appeared to benefit the world.

The Tathagata has forever escaped birth and death,

Subdued the hosts of Mara and the non-Buddhist teachers,

Accomplished unsurpassed buddhahood,

And rescued living beings, bringing them to the shore of awakening.”

The multitudes of Brahma devas, hearing these words,

All rejoiced and gave rise to pure faith.

With wondrous voices they praised the Buddha:

“The Guide has appeared to benefit the world.”

Thus, as they successively heard one another’s voices,

The entire retinue of Brahma rejoiced.

“The Guide has appeared to benefit the world!”

The hosts of Mara were terrified and afflicted.

Upward, even to the devas of Akanishtha,

All heard that the Buddha had appeared to benefit the world.

Thus the voices passed successively and were heard everywhere;

The asuras diminished while the devas increased.

The palaces of the evil Maras were left empty,

While the retinues of the devas became numerous.

With the power of fearlessness he subdues all false teachings

And swiftly attains the most excellent great bodhi.

In a single instant, the devas everywhere knew:

“The Blessed One has appeared in the world to benefit living beings.

Excellent is the world’s Great Guide,

Who bestows the pure eye upon sentient beings.”

When the Blessed One entered the city,

Those afflicted by sensual desire

Heard the contemplation of impurity taught,

And their sensual desire ceased without remainder.

When the Blessed One entered the city,

Those afflicted by anger

Heard the Dharma of loving-kindness and compassion,

And their anger ceased without remainder.

When the Blessed One entered the city,

Those afflicted by delusion

Heard the Dharma of wisdom,

And their delusion ceased without remainder.

When the Blessed One entered the city,

Those afflicted by pride

Heard the Dharma of freedom from pride,

And their pride ceased without remainder.

When the Blessed One entered the city,

Those afflicted by jealousy

Heard the Dharma of freedom from jealousy,

And their jealousy ceased without remainder.

When the Blessed One entered the city,

Those afflicted by stinginess

Heard the Dharma of freedom from stinginess,

And their stinginess ceased without remainder.

When the Blessed One entered the city,

Those afflicted by wrath

Heard the Dharma of freedom from wrath,

And their wrath ceased without remainder.

Those who cultivate the practice of self-discipline

And hear this boundless Dharma

Will enter the ocean of great learning

And accomplish the gateway of dharani.

Again, they heard a voice from empty space:

“Offer flowers to the Buddha

To accomplish supreme merit.”

Through great compassion, spiritual powers proclaimed it.

Again, they heard a voice from empty space

Praising the Tathagata’s body;

His birthplace and lineage,

And his voice were all sublime.

To each kind of sentient being,

His spiritual powers spoke according to its kind.

His eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body;

Whether forms or sounds, all were sublime.

Whether bending or stretching, bowing or looking upward,

Everything he manifested was sublime.

The Tathagata transcends the world,

Yet serves as a lamp for the world.

All the forms and images he manifests

Are the Buddha’s spiritual powers.

Because ordinary beings delight in and cling to form,

He manifests various kinds of bodies.

In accordance with each kind of sentient being,

He teaches that form is not enduring.

If people are deeply attached,

The Tathagata manifests spiritual power;

According to whether or not they are suitable vessels,

He teaches them the appropriate antidotal Dharma.

Sentient beings who, for many lifetimes,

Have never made offerings to a Buddha,

Are obstinate and difficult to discipline;

He warns them by teaching of the hells.

If people are confused about the paths of karma,

Stubbornly attached and delighting in conceptual proliferation,

The Buddha causes them to hear

The Dharma that ends attachment and conceptual proliferation.

Again, they heard a voice from empty space:

“The nature of the eye is definitively empty;

It neither comes nor goes,

Has no characteristics, and possesses nothing.”

Again, hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

Heard empty space expound

The physical eye and the wisdom eye,

And even the Dharma eye.

Through the power of the Buddha’s spiritual transformations,

They heard a voice teach morality and samadhi,

Wisdom and liberation,

And the knowledge and vision of liberation.

Sentient beings are of many kinds;

He manifests spiritual transformations in the appropriate places

And uses language suited to each kind

To expound the true Dharma.

If there are sentient beings

Who delight in practicing generosity, morality, and patience,

His spiritual powers speak according to their kinds,

Proclaiming generosity, morality, and patience.

Through the power of the Buddha’s spiritual transformations,

In accordance with sentient beings’ faculties and dispositions,

He extensively distinguishes the teachings for them,

Causing them to receive, retain, and expound them.

Through the Buddha’s spiritual transformations,

They heard teachings on the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas;

Bondage and liberation, distance and proximity,

And the distinctions among the characteristics of the stages.

Again, they heard teachings on the various bhumis

And the radiance of immeasurable wisdom.

Again, they hear of the accumulation of afflictions,

Of what is transcended and what is not transcended.

Through the Buddha’s spiritual transformations,

They hear the nature of humans and devas explained.

Because karmic results are not the same,

There are differences in the births they undergo.

Or, among assemblies of women,

He manifests as a beautiful woman;

A voice from space teaches revulsion,

And those who hear it cast off lust.

If, before the Buddha’s relics,

They have profound faith,

The Buddha immediately manifests in response

And expounds the unsurpassed Dharma for them.

Uruvilva Kasyapa,

Kapphina, Nanda,

Mahakasyapa,

Kaundinya, and the others—

According to what delights them,

They hear the Sravaka Dharma expounded.

Devas and asuras,

Together with the assemblies of yaksas,

The retinue of Virudhaka,

And immeasurable kumbhandas,

Through the Buddha’s power, are enabled to hear

This dharani mantra:

1. Nhứt trí tỉ, 2. Tất trí tỉ, 3.

Y ra tô y ra, 4. Ô nang tỉ, 5. Mạn nang tỉ, 6.

Ô xí, 7. A nộ xí, 8. A Khất sai la mang nang di, 9. Ðà la ni nễ sắc tra nễ danh, 10. Ða ca nễ, 11.

Y danh mãn đa ra, 12. Nễ ha ra, 13. A bất rị bộ để, 14.

Nễ ra a khứ sát ra, 15. Vi gia khất lí dạ đế, 16. A khứ sát ra phược ra nhĩ đế, 17.

Ca ra phạ hê ninh, 18. Tát nhương vi xà ni để nhương nẳng, 19. Bát ra xá tát đế xá tát đa, 20.

Bát ra xá tát đa, 21. Ða ra nghiệt đa bộ danh, 22. Ám phạ ra ám phạ ra, 23. Li la phạ nẳng thất giả, 24.

Chất đa vi phạ nhĩ đa, 25. Chất đa a nan đa, 26. Ô bế ra ha phạ nhĩ đa bộ danh, 27.

Nang nam, 28. Ca na a ca ni vi phạ nhĩ đa, 29. Thất li sắc tra, 30.

A ma la ninh ma la, 31. Phất lý để nẳng ra thủy giả, 32. Ha ha lý, 33.

Ma ma lý, 34. Phệ ra ni, 35. Ðể sắc tra, 36. Chước sô ni ha ra, 37.

Ô địa ri da phạ chỉ, 38. An tra ri, 39. Cú tra ri, 40.

Kế đô, 41. Tô kế đô, 42. Tố phả ra nễ, 43.

Ca ra nễ, 44. Cú tố ma nễ duệ, 45. Ca ca lê, 46.

Khước khư lê, 47. Ninh bát la mộ lê, 48. Ðể sắc tra hê, 49. Ðà la ni, 50. Na ca ni ha ra, 51.

Bát ra la dã để, 52. A để bát ra la dã để, 53. Án đa ra bát đề, 54.

An đa ra đa phạ địa thất già, 55. Ha hê ri, 56. Ma khư lý, 57.

Y ni tam bà lê, 58. Ðể sắc tra hê, 59. Ðà la ni, 60. Trấm bộ lô nhã đề.

Again, in the many wondrous voices

Of Vaisravana, the Great King,

Dhrtarastra, and the others,

He proclaims true mantra teachings.

Immeasurable voices such as these

Are proclaimed through the Buddha’s spiritual powers.

As his spiritual powers are immeasurable,

So too are the teachings he expounds boundless.

Or, in a realm without a Buddha,

Through the power of spiritual transformation,

He manifests the Buddha’s body and the noble assembly,

Just as they are seen today.

Throughout inconceivable realms,

He manifests immeasurable transformations:

Newly born, he takes seven steps;

He relinquishes the throne and leaves the household life;

At the place of enlightenment, he attains perfect awakening;

He contemplates the Dharma he has realized;

For the assembly, he turns the Dharma wheel;

And he manifests entry into nirvana.

Moreover, through spiritual power,

He expounds all manner of teachings,

Causing immeasurable sentient beings

To accomplish supreme wisdom.

At that time, the Buddha manifests,

Surrounded by assemblies of Brahma devas,

And expounds the Dharma of the four means of embracing,

Further illuminating the practice of the four means of embracing.

At that time, the Buddha manifests,

Surrounded by assemblies of naga kings,

And expounds the faults of anger and enmity,

Causing them to abandon anger.

At that time, the Buddha manifests,

Surrounded by assemblies of yaksas,

And expounds the faults of causing harm,

Causing them to abandon the wish to harm.

At that time, the Buddha manifests,

Surrounded by asuras;

For them, he expounds the faults of contention

And praises the cultivation of patience.

At that time, the Buddha manifests,

Surrounded by garudas,

And expounds the faults of discord,

While praising harmony.

At that time, the Buddha manifests,

Surrounded by gandharvas;

With boundlessly loving words,

They praise the virtues of the Tathagata.

At that time, the Buddha manifests,

Surrounded by mahoragas;

He rebukes the teachings of non-Buddhist paths

And praises the Buddha’s teaching.

At that time, the Buddha manifests,

Surrounded by assemblies of ghosts and spirits;

Together they praise the Tathagata’s

Rare and wondrous virtues.

The Buddha manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear the ultimate end of the eye explained

And to comprehend it completely.

The Blessed One manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear the origin of the eye explained

And to comprehend it completely.

The Tathagata manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear the furthest limit of the eye explained

And to comprehend it completely.

The Guide manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear the eye’s cyclic flow explained

And to comprehend it completely.

The Great Hero manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear the quiescence of the eye explained

And to comprehend it completely.

The One of Great Power manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear the non-arising of the eye explained

And to comprehend it completely.

The Great Loving One manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear the nonexistence of the eye explained

And to comprehend it completely.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear the cessation of the eye explained

And to comprehend it completely.

The Worthy One manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear the selflessness of the eye explained

And to comprehend it completely.

The All-Knowing One manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear that the eye is without a person.

The Honored One Among Bipeds manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear that the eye is without a sentient being

And to comprehend it completely.

The Well-Gone One manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear that the eye is without a living being

And to comprehend it completely.

The Unsurpassed One manifests spiritual transformations,

Causing hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To hear that the eye is without one who is nurtured

And to comprehend it completely.

The Tamer manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Rebukes worldly wisdom,

Not permitting them to delight in or cherish it.

The Lamp of the World manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Rebukes worldly gain

And praises the virtues of the unconditioned.

The Buddha manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Rebukes wisdom with outflows

And praises wisdom free from outflows.

The Tathagata manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Rebukes worldly meditation

And praises supramundane samadhi.

The Blessed One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Rebukes morality with outflows

And praises the training precepts free from outflows.

The Guide manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Rebukes the faults of the lesser mind

And praises the virtues of the great mind.

The Great Hero manifests spiritual transformations,

Praising cultivation of the body and morality,

Cultivation of the mind and cultivation of wisdom,

Free from outflows and free from dependence.

The One of Great Power manifests spiritual transformations

And praises the path that ends suffering.

Those who delight in conceptual proliferation

Are rebuked by all Buddhas.

The Great Loving One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Discerns the faults to be eliminated in relation to the eye

And reveals the characteristic of cessation.

The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind;

Forms, sounds, odors, tastes, and tangible objects;

Even sounds and names—

All are likewise.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of being heedless while young and strong.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of those made arrogant and heedless by noble birth;

He reveals their boundless faults.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of those made heedless by sensual enjoyment;

He reveals their boundless faults.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of those made heedless by power and freedom;

He reveals their boundless faults.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of those heedless regarding form;

He reveals their boundless faults.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of heedless women.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of heedlessness concerning clothing.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of heedlessness through intoxication with alcohol.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of a king who is heedless.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of heedlessness regarding the precepts and discipline.

The Great Compassionate One manifests spiritual transformations

And, extensively for all sentient beings,

Reveals the boundless faults

Of heedlessness regarding wisdom.

Such are the Buddha’s spiritual transformations.

Skillfulness and overweening pride

Wealth, eloquence, and retinues

Music and songs

Renown and praise

Offerings and material gain

Splendor, deception, flattery, and arrogance

Shamelessness and lack of moral dread

Haughtiness filled with contempt

Heedlessness and greed likewise

Great Compassion manifests miraculous transformations

Revealing them to all sentient beings

Those whose minds and intentions are inferior

Are taught to conceive of the supreme

Great Compassion manifests miraculous transformations

Revealing them to all sentient beings

Those who disparage themselves and retreat

Are taught the power of diligence

Great Compassion manifests miraculous transformations

Revealing them to all sentient beings

Those greedily attached to wealth

Are taught the Dharma of contentment

He also conjures fragrant palaces

And conjures beautiful palaces

All with magnificent towers

Within which conjured Buddhas sit

He also conjures celestial maidens

In palaces of champaka flowers

Each revealing half her body

Holding flower garlands as offerings

He also conjures celestial maidens

In palaces of varshika flowers

Each revealing half her body

Holding golden wreaths as offerings

He also conjures asura maidens

In palaces of malati flowers

Each revealing half her body

Holding flower garlands as offerings

He also conjures celestial maidens

In palaces of blue-lotus flowers

Each revealing half her body

Extolling the Buddha’s virtues

He also conjures Brahma gods

Seated in palaces of pure gold

Manifesting their entire bodies

Their gentle voices praising the Buddha

He also conjures celestial maidens

Their bodies adorned in many ways

Their bracelets striking one another

Resounding with wondrous tones

Proclaiming that conditioned dharmas

Change and are without stability

Fools make deluded distinctions

And cannot know them as they truly are

The ornaments produce sounds

That arise from neither body nor mind

They neither come nor go

Nor do they have any location

Even form and mind

Are all likewise

Fools cannot comprehend this

And therefore harbor doubts about it

Ornaments such as these

Produce exquisite sounds

Resounding throughout hundreds of thousands of realms

Liberating immeasurable beings

You should contemplate

The Buddha’s spontaneous wisdom

His body of boundless virtues

Transcending craving and conceptual proliferation

Quiescent and free of every fault

Apart from attachment, curing blinded minds

Adorned with the excellent marks

His body and mind are both pure

Behold the Buddha

Walking with a lion’s stride

Like the king of swans and king of elephants

Fulfilling the aspirations of sentient beings

Having accomplished supreme merit

Adorned with the marks of truth

Causing all sentient beings everywhere

To gaze upon him without ever being sated

Behold the Buddha

The One endowed with great loving-kindness and compassion

Though one offers only a trifling gift

One nevertheless gains immeasurable merit

He can cause sentient beings

Throughout hundreds of thousands of kotis of kalpas

Until they realize nirvana

Never to exhaust the fruits of that merit

Behold the Buddha

Who has perfected the undefiled precepts

Causing beings of every kind

Reverently to bow before him

Immeasurable hosts of gods

Abandon their own palaces

No longer delighting in amusements

And come to draw near the Blessed One

Behold the hosts of maras

Reverently placing their faith in the Buddha

Some holding fans with golden handles

Stand in attendance on either side of the Buddha

Hundreds of thousands of Mara’s sons and daughters

Bring delightful celestial flowers

And scatter them over the Buddha

Aspiring to unsurpassed wisdom

Having formerly praised and made offerings

To the Buddhas of the past

Now, upon encountering the Blessed One

They all rejoice

And with immeasurable words

Extol the Tathagata

At that time there was a son of Mara

Named Renunciation of Craving

Who was the first to praise the Buddha:

He knows the ultimate limit of the eye

And clearly knows the arising limit of the eye

And even the quiescence and cessation of the eye

He further knows the eye in its entirety

Through boundless names, meanings, phrases, and expressions

Using skillful language

He expounds these for sentient beings

Yet amid names and meanings

He neither clings nor doubts

Clearly knowing there is neither coming nor going

Neither grasping nor relinquishing

That self-nature is ever empty and quiescent

Far removed from written words

Nor is there anyone who retains

Recites, or practices them

The Tathagatas of ancient times

Expounded these teachings extensively

Using only provisional names and words

While in truth there was nothing spoken

Self-nature is not such as these

It transcends the skandhas, ayatanas, and dhatus

It is neither false nor true

Neither a proper basis nor an improper basis

Until speech comes to an end

And the sphere of mental activity also ceases

Fools who cling to marks

See the Buddha entering the city

The Buddha is free from all marks

Yet fools perceive them delusively

When the Blessed One enters the city

If anyone rejoices

That is the perception of a mark

And sorrow will certainly follow

If one abandons discriminating marks

Then one does not see an entry into the city

Nor perceive any mark of activity

And attains nondiscriminating wisdom

If one sees the Buddha through marks

Then one sees him entering the city

Turning the Dharma and teaching sentient beings

All of this is discrimination

If one sees the Buddha through marks

And even gives rise to joy

That person is engaged in Mara’s conduct

And Mara’s realm is always present before them

If one sees the Buddha through marks

One will see the marks change

That person will certainly grieve

And be pitied by the wise

If one perceives the Dharma as something attainable

One will fear losing the Dharma

If one perceives arising in relation to the Buddha

One will also perceive nirvana

Though one practices for many kalpas

If one clearly knows that all marks

Are not distinguished as entering the city

Nor conceived as nirvana

If one knows the marks of mind to be empty

Then wherever the Buddha goes

One does not distinguish an entry into the city

Nor conceive of nirvana

If a person knows in this way

They behold all Buddhas

And also comprehend the nature of emptiness

Which ultimately neither arises nor ceases

Throughout immeasurable kalpas

The Buddha cultivated ascetic practices

To realize the nature of emptiness

Yet fools cannot comprehend it

When the Blessed One entered the city

Hundreds of thousands of beings surrounded him

Humans, nonhumans, and all the rest

Made offerings with purified minds

If, for the span of a single instant

One contemplates the ultimate limit of the eye

And penetrates the emptiness of all marks

The merit gained surpasses the merit above

By a hundredfold and even by every numerical measure

The former cannot equal it

So too with the arising limit of the eye

Its boundary and its flowing transmigration

Its quiescence, non-arising, and existence

And its cessation likewise

The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind

Forms, sounds, odors, tastes, and tangible objects

And even sounds and names

Are all likewise.

Just as the Blessed One

Was entering the city

His toes pressed upon the earth

And everywhere it trembled

All the mountains inclined

Toward the Buddha

For the sake of the Dharma, gods and humans

All came to pay reverence

Just as the Blessed One

Was entering the city

Celestial kings and human kings

Hosts of asuras

And hosts of yakshas

All abandoned their own cities

Came to where the Buddha was

And joyfully made offerings

Just as the Blessed One

Was entering the city

There were also immeasurable numbers

Of extraordinary birds

Parrots and peacocks

And kalavinkas

Seeing the supreme virtues

Of the Buddha, the Tathagata

They joyfully soared

Through the open sky

All warbling

In exquisitely wondrous tones

Just as the Blessed One

Was entering the city

Through the power of the Buddha’s virtues

And awe-inspiring spiritual might

Immeasurable

Hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

Who were blind gained sight

Those who were deaf gained hearing

Those whose bodies were impaired

Were made whole

Those who had no peace or happiness

Were granted peace and happiness

Just as the Blessed One

Was entering the city

From within the open sky

These words were heard:

If one uses marks

To behold the Buddha

One cannot be called a person

Who makes offerings to the Buddha

Nor does one clearly understand

The nature of the ultimate limit of the eye

If one abandons all marks

And thereby plants roots of virtue

Then one can clearly know

The nature of the ultimate limit of the eye

Because one clearly knows

The nature of the ultimate limit of the eye

One clearly knows

The virtues of all Buddhas

At the ultimate limit of the eye

There is no clinging

At the arising limit of the eye

There is no reliance

In the quiescence of the eye

There is no stirring of thought

This person is precisely one

Who beholds the Tathagata

At the arising limit of the eye

There is no discrimination

At the boundary of the eye

There is no conceptual designation

In the destruction of the eye

There is no indication

This person is precisely one

Who beholds the Tathagata

In the nonexistence of the eye

There is no defiled attachment

In the non-arising of the eye

There is no appropriation

In the cessation of the eye

There is no clinging

This person is precisely one

Who beholds the Tathagata

Because one knows the exhaustion of the eye

One cultivates the faculty

Because one knows the boundary of the eye

One is resolute concerning the faculty

Because one knows the arising of the eye

One masters the faculty

This person is precisely one

Seeing the Tathagata

Knowing that the eye has no existence

One therefore comprehends form

Knowing that the eye perishes

One therefore contemplates phenomena

Knowing that the eye is unborn

One therefore cultivates the path

Such a person indeed

Sees the Tathagata

Because one truly knows

The ultimate limit of the eye

One also clearly knows

The distinctions among karma

Because one clearly knows

The distinctions among karma

Such a person indeed

Sees the Tathagata

Because one truly knows

The limit of the arising of the eye

One also clearly knows

The distinctions of suffering

Because one clearly knows

The distinctions of suffering

Such a person indeed

Sees the Tathagata

Because one truly knows

The perishing of the eye

One also clearly knows

The cessation of suffering

Because one clearly knows

The cessation of suffering

Such a person indeed

Sees the Tathagata

Because one truly knows

That the eye has no existence

One also clearly knows

The abandonment of all characteristics

Because one clearly knows

The abandonment of all characteristics

Such a person indeed

Sees the Tathagata

Because one truly knows

That the eye is unborn

One can also know

The abandonment of habitual tendencies

Because one clearly knows

The abandonment of habitual tendencies

Such a person indeed

Sees the Tathagata

Furthermore, truly knowing

That the nature of the eye is impermanent

One also clearly knows

The abandonment of obstructions

Because one clearly knows

The abandonment of obstructions

Such a person indeed

Sees the Tathagata

Furthermore, truly knowing

That the eye is without written signs

One also clearly knows

The Buddha's powers of knowledge

Because one clearly knows

The Buddha's powers of knowledge

Such a person indeed

Sees the Tathagata

Furthermore, truly knowing

That the nature of the eye does not come

One also clearly knows

The abandonment of desires

Because one clearly knows

The abandonment of desires

Such a person indeed

Sees the Tathagata

Furthermore, truly knowing

The cultivation of meditative concentration

One also clearly knows

The abandonment of afflictions

Because one clearly knows

The abandonment of afflictions

Such a person indeed

Sees the Tathagata

Such a person also attains

The accomplishment of these knowledges:

Knowledge of the eye's former limit

Knowledge that the eye does not abide

Knowledge that the eye is unborn

Knowledge of the Buddha's supernormal powers

Knowledge of the eye's inferiority

Knowledge of the eye's excellence

Knowledge of inferior knowledge

Knowledge of purified knowledge

Knowledge of purified morality

Knowledge of bodily discipline

Knowledge of purified sound

Knowledge of verbal discipline

Knowledge of purified mind

Knowledge of the distinctions among the ayatanas

Knowledge of all mental phenomena

Knowledge of the faults of the mind

Knowledge of purified karma

Knowledge of mental discipline

Knowledge of the faults of knowledge

Knowledge of purified sound

Knowledge of the distinctions among the skandhas

Knowledge of the causes and conditions of the skandhas

Knowledge that fully comprehends the eye

Knowledge of the arising of suffering

Knowledge of the undefiled dhatu

Knowledge of the causes and conditions of the dhatus

Knowledge of the causes and conditions of suffering

Knowledge of the exhaustion of the causes of suffering

Knowledge of all conditioned phenomena

Knowledge of exhaustion and inexhaustibility

Furthermore, one truly knows

The twelve links of dependent origination

Knowledge of that which has activity

Knowledge of that which has no activity

With characteristics and without characteristics

Conditioned and unconditioned

Establishment and acceptance

Knowledge of one's own and others' minds

Furthermore, one truly knows

The limit of the eye's cessation and arising

The ultimate limit of cyclic existence

Peaceful, unborn

Nonexistent and quiescent

All are truly known

Enabling all sentient beings

To attain purified knowledge

Knowledge of all powers

And knowledge of diligence

Furthermore, one truly knows

Knowledge of the gateways of unity and diversity

Knowledge that knows the inclinations

Of all sentient beings

Furthermore, one truly knows

The superior inclinations

Of all sentient beings

Knowledge of purified mind

Knowledge of the maturation of karma

Knowledge of all faculties and dhatus

Knowledge of the transformations of mind

Knowledge of liberation through wisdom

Knowledge of universal liberation

Knowledge of excellent eloquence

Furthermore, knowledge that correctly knows

Evil sentient beings

And those who do not delight in the Dharma

And causes them to thirst for and aspire to it

Furthermore, knowledge that correctly knows

All principles and purports

Knowing the proper time for cultivation

Without indolence

Furthermore, knowledge that correctly knows

All powers of supernormal cognition

Analyzing all phenomena

Without obstruction

Furthermore, knowledge that correctly knows

Vast meanings

Together with verbal teachings

And immediately understands them all

Furthermore, knowledge that correctly knows

Dwelling with spiritual friends

Clothing, drink, and food

All in proper measure

Furthermore, knowledge that correctly knows

All non-created

Dharani teachings

And diligently cultivates them all

Furthermore, knowledge that correctly knows

That body and mind are without fault

Far removed from increase and decrease

Seeking the unsurpassed path

Furthermore, knowledge that correctly knows

The awe-inspiring power of supernormal cognition

Manifesting transformed bodies

In empty space

Bringing immeasurable

Hundreds of thousands of sentient beings to accomplishment

Causing them all to rejoice

And arouse a mind of pure faith

Toward all Tathagatas

Knowledge that delights in reverence

Toward the Dharma of freedom from desire

Knowledge that delights in cultivation

Toward the assemblies of noble ones

Knowledge that delights in making offerings

Toward great bodhi

Knowledge that delights in dedicating merit

Toward the dharanis

Knowledge that delights in expounding them

Toward all joys of knowledge

Knowledge that skillfully contemplates

Regarding the concentrations of noble ones

Knowledge that skillfully understands

Regarding all protective mindfulness

Knowledge capable of making determinations

Regarding the boundless mind

Knowledge that skillfully enters

Regarding boundless recitations

Knowledge capable of expounding

Regarding the bonds of desire

Knowledge capable of awakening

Regarding inferior classes of beings

Knowledge that does not fall away

Regarding unwholesome spiritual friends

Knowledge that they must be abandoned

Regarding wholesome spiritual friends

Knowledge capable of drawing near

Regarding all questions and answers

Knowledge capable of discerning

Regarding what is possible and impossible

Knowledge capable of understanding

Regarding stages and non-stages

Knowledge capable of clearly knowing

Regarding superior, middling, and inferior

Knowledge capable of distinguishing

Conditioned knowledges

And unconditioned knowledge

Knowledge regarding things

Knowledge regarding non-things

Knowledge regarding acceptance

Knowledge regarding non-acceptance

Knowledge regarding cultivation

Knowledge regarding non-cultivation

Knowledge of the eye and non-eye

Knowledge of the eye's shared characteristics

Knowledge of the eye's distinctions

Knowledge of the eye's intrinsic nature

The ear, nose, tongue, and body

Up to sound and name—

The twenty-five phenomena—

Are all likewise

If a person contemplates

The causal conditions of the eye's nature

As truly empty and quiescent

And ultimately without self

Such a person is able

To accomplish the genuine

Resolute mind of knowledge

And right concentration such as this

If a person contemplates

The eye as arising through causes and conditions

And resolutely understands

The impermanent characteristic of the eye

Such a person is able

To know correctly and truly

That the eye and its causes and conditions

Ultimately do not exist

The ear, nose, tongue, and body

Up to sound and name—

The twenty-five phenomena—

Are all likewise

When the Blessed One

Entered the city

He pressed the earth with his toe

Manifesting a rare event

I shall now briefly describe

A small portion of its merit

So that sentient beings everywhere

Who hear it may rejoice

The Teacher of Devas and Humans

From a single pore

Emitted immeasurable

Hundreds of thousands of rays of light

Each ray of light

Pervaded immeasurable realms

And for the sake of sentient beings

Performed the work of a Buddha

If people in former times

Made offerings to all Buddhas

Cultivated for a long time

And practiced giving and observed the precepts

Such people may hear

Words such as these

Concerning this supernormal transformation

And rejoice in and cherish them

If people clearly know

That the supernormal transformations of all Buddhas

Are not within the sphere of practice

Of the sravakas

When such people hear

Of supernormal transformations like these

They will give rise to faithful understanding

And arouse a mind that regards them as rare

The Teacher of Devas and Humans

Through inconceivable power

Manifested in this way

All kinds of supernormal transformations

Capable of causing immeasurable

Hundreds of thousands of sentient beings

To draw near and make offerings

To all Tathagatas

The Teacher of Devas and Humans

Through inconceivable power

Expounded immeasurable

Hundreds of thousands of sutras

Causing all sentient beings

Upon hearing what was taught

To give rise to faithful acceptance

And rejoice in the Dharma

When the Blessed One

Entered the city

By the power of supernormal cognition

From within empty space

He spoke these words:

Know the ultimate limit of the eye

Up to quiescence

The causes upon which the eye's nature depends

Neither depart nor come

And are ultimately empty and quiescent

The ear, nose, tongue, and body

Up to sound and name—

The twenty-five phenomena—

Are all likewise

When the Blessed One

Entered the city

From within empty space

There issued a wondrous voice

Praising the Tathagata

By various epithets

Causing the great assembly

To give rise to faithful understanding

The Teacher of Devas and Humans

In the present age

Is called the Dharma King

Who crushes the armies of Mara

If people hear

Such an epithet

They will be able to subdue

All hosts of falsehood

The Teacher of Devas and Humans

In the present age

Is called the Dharma King

Who crushes sensual desire

If people hear

Such an epithet

They will be able to abandon

All sensual desires

The Teacher of Devas and Humans

In the present age

Is called the Dharma King

Who destroys hatred

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to abandon

All anger and enmity.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

The Destroyer of Delusion.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to abandon

All delusion.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

The Destroyer of Pride.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to abandon

All pride.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

The Destroyer of Resentment and Anger.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to abandon

All resentment and anger.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

The Destroyer of Jealousy.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to abandon

All jealousy.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

The Destroyer of Falsehood and Deceit.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to abandon

All falsehood and deceit.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

The Destroyer of Attachment to Views.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to abandon

All attachment to views.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

The Destroyer of Conceptual Proliferation.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to abandon

All conceptual proliferation.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

Whose True Dharma Is Pure.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to comprehend

The pure True Dharma.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

Who Penetrates All Karma.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to comprehend

All karma.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

Who Penetrates All Karma.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall be able to comprehend

All karma.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

Fully Endowed with Supernatural Powers.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall attain

The majestic power of supernatural abilities.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

Perfect in the Paramitas.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall perfect

The six paramitas.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharma King,

Who Thoroughly Understands All Practices.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall thoroughly understand

All practices.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is named Birth Dharani,

With pure radiance.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall attain

A supremely excellent birth.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is named Form Dharani,

With pure radiance.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall attain

Supremely excellent, wondrous form.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is named Body Dharani,

With pure radiance.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall attain

A supremely excellent physical body.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is named Lineage Dharani,

With pure radiance.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall attain

A supremely excellent lineage.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is called the Dharani

Of Radiant Renown.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall attain

Great and far-reaching renown.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is named Giving,

Moral Discipline, Patience,

Diligence, Meditation,

Wisdom, and Dharani.

If anyone should hear

Such a name,

They shall perfect

Giving and moral discipline,

Up to and including wisdom

And the gateways of dharani.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is named the Dharma King,

Who Has Realized Emptiness.

If anyone should receive and uphold

Such a name,

They shall be able to expound

The meaning of the emptiness of all dharmas.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is named the Dharma King,

Who Has Realized Non-Self.

If anyone should receive and uphold

Such a name,

They shall be able to expound

The meaning of non-arising and non-cessation.

The Teacher of Devas and Humans,

In the present age,

Is named Eye-Samadhi Dharani.

If anyone should receive and uphold

Such a name,

They shall be able to expound

The meaning of the eye to its ultimate limit,

The ear, nose, tongue, and body,

Up to sound and name—

The twenty-five dharmas—

As well as flowers and incense,

Lamps, canopies, and garments;

All are likewise so.