大寶積經

When the Blessed One

Entered the city,

By the power of spiritual abilities

Inconceivable,

From within empty space

There resounded a wondrous voice,

Expounding the various

Dharani practices,

Causing the great assembly

To hear these words:

This dharani,

With regard to the limit of the eye,

The arising limit and utmost bound,

Flowing onward and quiescence,

Non-arising and non-existence,

And the cessation of all dharmas,

Can thoroughly penetrate them all

And ultimately abide.

Through the power of generosity,

It ultimately gathers in all;

Through the power of moral discipline,

It ultimately brings accomplishment;

Through the power of patience,

It is ultimately adorned;

Through the power of diligence,

It is ultimately brought forth;

Through the power of wisdom,

It is ultimately proclaimed.

Apart from written characters,

Language, speech, and sound,

Even form and mind

Are ultimately pure.

Whether conditioned by outflows or free from outflows,

Whether meaning or benefit,

All are empty and quiescent,

Ultimately pure.

Nor does it rely upon

Any of the realms,

But ultimately abides

In dharani and samadhi.

Neither departing nor arriving,

Neither wholesome nor unwholesome,

Even neither-defined,

Benefiting oneself and benefiting others—

All such characteristics

Are ultimately pure.

Nor does it abide in

Sovereign awe-inspiring virtue,

The dharmas of shravakas and ordinary beings,

Or the Dharma of the Buddhas.

Nor does it abide

At the limit of the eye,

The arising limit and utmost bound,

Or even cessation.

All such practices

Are ultimately quiescent.

Whether arising or non-arising,

Whether suffering or happiness,

Whether praise or blame,

It is entirely free from them,

Ultimately pure,

Ultimately illuminating.

The dharani of emptiness

Is understood in this way.

This is abiding

Where the Buddha courses.

This is abiding

In what the Buddha performs.

This is abiding

In the Buddha’s spiritual powers.

This is abiding

In the Buddha’s wisdom.

Thus it abides in the power

At the utmost limit of the eye.

Thus it abides in the power of the eye

At the arising of the eye.

Thus it abides in the power of the eye

At the utmost bound.

Thus it abides in the power of the eye

In flowing onward.

Thus it abides in the power of the eye

In quiescence.

Thus it abides in the power of the eye

In non-arising.

Thus it abides in the power of the eye

In non-existence.

Thus it abides in the power of the eye

In cessation.

For ear, nose, tongue, and body,

And even sound and name,

The twenty-five dharmas

Are likewise so.

This dharani

Accomplishes the supreme power

Of the Buddha, the Tathagata.

This dharani

Becomes the awe-inspiring virtue

Of the Buddha, the Tathagata.

It enters completely the sphere of practice

Of the Buddha, the Tathagata,

And abides completely in the realm

Of the Buddha, the Tathagata.

It causes the worlds,

Among the assemblies of asuras,

To relinquish their clinging minds

And abide in the practices of Brahma.

It can cause countless

Hundreds of thousands of yakshas

And kumbhandas

All to rejoice.

It also causes countless

Assemblies of gandharvas

And rakshasas

To delight in being tamed.

Even if the assemblies of Brahma

Used wondrous voices,

They could not proclaim

The meaning of its phrases.

It is not a dharma of mind

That can be apprehended,

Nor is it a dharma of mind

That can be received and retained.

This dharani

Cannot be seen by the eye.

This dharani

Does not reach the body.

This dharani

Cannot be seen by the eye,

Nor does it reach

The eye’s sphere of activity.

For ear, nose, tongue, and body,

And even sound and name,

The twenty-five dharmas

Are likewise so.

It further teaches that in relation to the eye,

The utmost limit, arising limit,

Utmost bound, flowing onward,

And even cessation

Are without self or person,

Sentient being or living being,

And are even without

A pudgala.

Signless and unconditioned,

Neither coming nor going—

All such characteristics

Are completely understood.

It further teaches the understanding

Of the eye of the Dharma-nature.

It further teaches the understanding

Of the dharmas that accomplish the eye:

The eye of knowledge, the wisdom eye,

The Brahma eye, the heavenly eye,

The eye attained through birth as Brahma,

The eye attained through heavenly birth,

The eye of Brahma’s maturation,

The eye of heavenly maturation,

The eye born from a cause of Brahma,

The eye born from a heavenly cause,

The eye of heavenly spiritual transformation,

The eye of heavenly diligence,

The eye born in an inferior state,

The eye born in a supreme state,

The eye separated from the eye

Born in the realm of Yama,

The eye separated from those of yakshas,

Nagas, and kumbhandas,

Eyes afflicted by torment,

Eyes not afflicted by torment,

Pure eyes,

Impure eyes,

Wide eyes and narrow eyes,

The eye of the Shravaka Vehicle,

The eye of dhyana,

The eye of samadhi,

The eye of the realm,

The eye born of craving,

The eye born apart from craving,

The eye born from causes,

The eye not born from causes,

The eye of conjunction,

The eye of non-conjunction,

The eye born through a dependent gateway,

The eye not born through a gateway,

The eye born of causes and conditions,

The eye born through a causal gateway,

The eye that is not fleshly,

The pure eye of knowledge,

The eye without primal existence,

And the unobtainable eye.

For ear, nose, tongue, and body,

And even sound and name,

The twenty-five dharmas

Are likewise so.

At that time, the Blessed One,

From within empty space,

Again emitted countless

Wondrous sounds,

Expounding these dharmas

Of supreme dharani,

All of which were

Manifested by the Buddha.

The dharani states:

1.Hê lệ, 2.Ma lệ ma lệ, 3.Tứ đệ, 4.Y nê, 5.Nhĩ nê, 6.Cú lộ nễ canh, 7.Cú lộ nễ canh, 8.Cú lệ, 9.Ma lệ, 10.Cú noa đế, 11.A ra nghệ, 12.A hê lệ, 13.Nhĩ nhĩ lệ đế, 14.Tố nhĩ lệ, 15.Nhĩ lệ nhĩ lệ, 16.Biền tỷ lệ, 17.A tỷ lệ, 18.Tố đế thế, 19.Ðà nễ, 20.Ma nễ, 21.Già nễ, 22.Già rị đế, 23.Tố già lê, 24.Bát rị dã nhiên nẳng nê, 25.A nỗ lô nhĩ kế, 26.Vi lộ mê, 27.Tố bà niết lý thế, 28.A đà rị lệ, 29.Tát ma bát ra bổn đế, 30.Bát ra vĩ hê, 31.Ðà la ni, 32.Ðể sắc sỉ ha, 33.Tố để a thế, 34.Bộ nhượng già già nẵng, 35.Cung bàn noa, 36.A phạ sa phạ nẳng, 37.Bá rị đố lý dã ninh, 38.Bát rị già noa ninh, 39.Ma nẳng sa, 40.Tố lộ chỉ đa, 41.Bát na, 42.Ác sát ra, 43.A tì la tỷ dã, 44.Bát ra để sắc tra ha, 45.Ðà la ni, 46.A nhĩ đa, 47.Ngu nê tì.

Such a dharani

Has been attained by all Buddhas,

Who possess great spiritual powers

And boundless wisdom,

Are free from all attachments,

And whose foundations of mindfulness are wholly pure.

It has neither form nor coming and going,

And is neither direction nor location.

It is signless and beyond words,

Transcending all conceptual proliferation.

Bodhisattvas who cultivate it diligently

Ultimately attain purity.

Even if one used hundreds of thousands

Of nayutas of verses

To expound merely one phrase,

One could not exhaust its utmost bound.

It is praised by the noble ones,

Pure and free from defilement and attachment.

All those in every assembly

Give rise to reverence for it.

Such a dharani,

Through the awe-inspiring spiritual power of wholesome dharmas,

Can subdue the afflictions

And enable one to attain supreme benefits.

Its merit and wisdom

Are vast as the ocean.

It accomplishes the power of patience,

And the mind abides securely, unmoved.

Bodhisattvas constantly cultivate it,

And those who retain it always praise it.

They leave poverty behind

And shall obtain great treasures.

Such a dharani

Increases every merit.

It is constantly adorned

With the true phrase of emptiness.

Because written characters are relinquished,

This is called emptiness.

Because the conscious mind is relinquished,

This is called Dharma-nature.

Such a dharani

Is free from defilement and ever pure.

Abiding in true knowledge,

It manifests many kinds of benefit,

Causing sentient beings

To rejoice and bring forth pure minds.

Countless assemblies of yakshas

And assemblies of kumbhandas,

As well as such kings of ghosts,

Are filled with joy.

Such a dharani

Is quiescent and free from conceptual proliferation.

Cherishing sentient beings,

It bestows peace and happiness everywhere.

Throughout many hundreds of thousands of kalpas,

While constantly dwelling among the various classes of beings,

It brings immeasurable benefit,

Pure and undefiled.

One may use hundreds of thousands of verses

To expound the Dharma of amrita,

Causing countless sentient beings

All to give rise to joyful hearts.

In the past, immeasurable Buddhas,

With pure aspiration,

In relation to this dharani,

Constantly contemplated the Dharma-nature.

Shakra, Brahma, and the assemblies of devas,

Naga kings, and asuras,

Upon hearing this dharani,

Are filled with joy.

Wherever such a dharani

Passes through the various lands,

There will always be no calamities,

Illness, suffering, or sorrow.

All sentient beings

Of every kind will rejoice.

May this dharani

Always be present in places of darkness.

Such a dharani,

Wherever body and mind may be,

Through the throat, lips, and tongue,

Gives rise to immeasurable merit.

Those who can constantly receive and retain it

Attain immeasurable merit,

Benefit many sentient beings,

And cause them all to rejoice.

Such a dharani

Is free from all evils.

Proclaiming the subtle and wondrous Dharma

They utterly dispel all doubts

Overthrow all obstinate pride

And attain immeasurable merit

Such a dharani

Is a Dharma most profound and subtle

The wise constantly contemplate it

And cultivate it diligently and courageously

Clad in the armor of wisdom

They destroy all afflictions

And increasingly expand the mind of merit

Delighting in it without ever being satisfied

Such a dharani

Fully possesses vast names

It comprehends exhaustion and inexhaustibility

The boundary of arising and the boundary of non-arising

With wisdom such as this

And every kind of successive adornment

Hundreds of thousands of Tathagatas

Revere and make offerings to it

Such a dharani

Fully possesses the two kinds of knowledge and conduct

Relying upon supreme concentration

It advances toward the path of bodhi

Accords with calm abiding and insight

And penetrates undefiled wisdom

With the powers of the faculties of pure faith

It forms its two hands

With pure diligence and patience

It forms its two breasts

The prajnaparamita of wisdom

Serves as its crown-mark

The sutras serve as the thread

Stringing the garland of the fourfold eloquence

The various wholesome merits

Cultivated in former times

Together with immeasurable illustrations

All serve as its adornments

Such a dharani

Possesses immeasurable merit

Regarding the eye, the past, and the future

The boundary of exhaustion and the boundary of inexhaustibility

Whether arising or non-arising

A boundary or not a boundary

Quiescent or not quiescent

Transmigrating or not transmigrating

Non-existence and non-arising

Cessation and non-self

No person and no recipient of life

And even no sentient being

Immeasurable gateways such as these

It understands clearly in their entirety

The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind

The six sense objects and the four great elements

And even worldly births and names

All are likewise understood

As praised above

The subtle and wondrous dharani

Has the supreme merit of quiescence

And is the domain of all Buddhas

The true meaning of dharani

Cannot be revealed by written words

Merely to accord with the world

It is spoken of through provisional names.

At that time, the Blessed One and the great assembly arrived at the house of the youth Candraprabha, spread out their seats, and sat down. When the youth knew that the Buddha was seated, he personally carried exquisite offerings and presented them to the Tathagata and the great assembly. Those offerings were produced entirely through the inconceivable power of meditative concentration, merit, and supreme roots of goodness. In making such offerings, he did not act for his own sake, but universally caused immeasurable sentient beings to arouse the aspiration toward bodhi and obtain great benefit and well-being. The youth made abundant offerings to everyone without exception.

After the Blessed One had finished his meal, he said to the youth Candraprabha in the midst of the great assembly: “Good man! If good men or good women who abide in the Mahayana practice the conduct of giving and making offerings, they attain eighty kinds of supreme merit.

“What are these eighty kinds? They bring sentient beings to maturity. They embrace and accept them with skillful words.

They perfect the subtle and wondrous marks. Their faculties are not deficient. They abandon samsara.

They realize and enter nirvana. They exhaust all fetters. They attain supreme mastery.

They fully possess merit. They adorn Buddha lands. Their retinues are pure.

They possess great majestic virtue. They fully possess wisdom. They accomplish the highest and most excellent practices.

They perfect the unsurpassed practices equal to the unequaled. They eliminate habitual tendencies. They increase all the Tathagata’s practices of wisdom.

Their bodies and relics receive offerings from the worlds, sravakas, and pratyekabuddhas. They subdue evil persons. They can cause devas, nagas, the eight classes of divine beings, spirit kings, and Brahma kings all to give rise to faith and reverence.

They possess great majestic virtue. They proclaim, uphold, and expound sutras, geyas, prophecies, spontaneous discourses, udanas, parables, causes and conditions, accounts of past events, accounts of former births, extensive teachings, unprecedented teachings, and even treatises and expositions. Their minds never grow weary.

They are not miserly with the Dharma. They abide in the Buddha path. Their lands are supremely excellent.

Their name, form, and mind are pure. They realize the Dharma-body. They attain fearlessness.

They accomplish merit. They eclipse all adherents of non-Buddhist paths. They possess the qualities of good persons.

They abandon the deeds of evil people. They have faith in the causes of merit and wisdom. They accord harmoniously with the Buddhadharma.

They subdue all maras. They have no confusion concerning the Dharma of peace and happiness taught by the Buddha. They destroy evil desires.

They fully possess great majestic virtue. They cultivate the bodhisattva practices. They attain supreme supernormal powers.

They abandon samsara. They bring sentient beings to maturity. They praise boundless practices.

They gather and preserve merit. They console and instruct sentient beings. They enjoy the bliss of the Dharma.

They practice the giving of wisdom. They enter the gateway of great wisdom. They abide in the stage of warmth.

Their spiritual lineage is firmly determined. They cultivate patience with regard to the Dharma. They abide in the Buddha path.

“O Youth! If good men and good women cultivate the practice of giving, they completely accomplish these eighty kinds of supreme merit.”

The Blessed One then spoke these verses:

The greatly wise bodhisattvas

Who fully practice giving

Attain eighty kinds of merit

Which I have briefly explained

There are also other merits

Immeasurable and inconceivable

All of which arise from giving

I shall now speak of a small portion

You give impartially

Providing fully for the whole assembly

This practice of giving

Should be cultivated by the wise

Such giving can accumulate

An inconceivable mass of merit

The excellent marks adorning the body

Will all be brought to perfection

Birthplace and lineage

Land and family home

Name, form, and mind

Will all be pure

The miraculous deeds of the devas

Their palaces and celestial maidens

Pure and unobstructed eloquence

All arise from giving

Giving is the supreme provision

Praised by all Buddhas

It is the first foundation

Upon which bodhi rests

Diligent bodhisattvas

Have no doubt about giving

Abiding in a resolute mind

They diligently cultivate the practice of giving

Such a mind of giving

Accomplishes supreme merit

Bodhisattvas who cultivate it diligently

Will realize the Buddha’s bodhi

Through the majestic power of giving

They accomplish supreme supernormal powers

Shaking myriads of kotis of worlds

Without harming sentient beings

Through giving they acquire

Pure morality and extensive learning

Right faith and diligence

Samadhi and undefiled wisdom

Through giving they acquire

The faculties, powers, and factors of bodhi

Right efforts and bases of supernormal power

And distance themselves from habitual tendencies

Through giving they acquire

A wondrous and pure voice

And throughout hundreds of thousands of kotis of worlds

Reveal boundless Dharma teachings

By giving with pure faith

They swiftly attain supernormal powers

To accomplish supernormal powers

One should diligently practice giving

Immeasurable assemblies of devas

Hundreds of thousands of asuras

Nagas, spirits, and yakshas

Together with their surrounding retinues

All seated in beautiful towers

Freely enjoying their pleasures

Such spirit kings

Upon seeing one who diligently gives

All rise to welcome that person

Spread out a seat, and invite that person to receive offerings

One who gives in this way

Fully possesses great majestic virtue

And the sovereign power of supernormal abilities

The heavenly kings embrace and accept that person

Kumbhandas and yakshas

All come and submit

And hosts of gandharvas

Also offer their music

Bandits give rise to wholesome thoughts

And evil persons keep far away

Treasures suffer no loss

And storehouses remain completely full

By cultivating giving

One accomplishes supreme provisions

Even attaining the Buddha’s wisdom

Without practicing the teachings of non-Buddhist paths

That person is free from illness and affliction

And is protected by dharanis

The supreme powers thus attained

All arise from giving

One who gives in this way

Cultivates the path of bodhi

Does not encounter evil friends

And obtains good companions on the same path

There are also bodhisattvas

Who cultivate the practice of giving

And accomplish inconceivable

Dharani wisdom

Using immeasurable verses

They expound all dharanis

Entirely without obstruction

Never losing the original meaning

Their bodhi-mind is vast

Their aspirations are always firm

They fully possess pure morality

And abandon all deeds of mara

They do not crave the pleasures of the five desires

But diligently seek right mindfulness

Their minds are never confused

Nor do they give rise to craving or attachment

Anger and all other afflictions

They understand correctly and truly

Amid all objects and domains

They neither cling nor become confused

Such persons skillfully understand

That afflictions such as these

Arise through the conjunction of causes and conditions

And can produce many faults

Even regarding the Buddhadharma

Whether causes or causes of causes

The functions of causes such as these

They understand in their entirety

Such persons can clearly understand

The causal nature of the eye to its utmost boundary

They remain far removed from all delusion

And are never defiled with regard to the eye

That person clearly knows

The eye’s arising and utmost bounds,

Its flowing on and its quiescence,

Its nonexistence and nonarising,

Even to the eye’s cessation.

All such causal natures—

Free from every delusion,

One is undefiled with regard to the eye.

That person clearly knows

That words concerning the eye’s former limit

Are provisionally established according to worldly convention;

Within them there is no reality.

That person clearly knows

That words concerning the eye’s later limit

Are provisionally established according to worldly convention;

Within them there is no reality.

That person clearly knows

The eye’s arising and utmost bounds,

Its flowing on and its quiescence,

Its nonexistence and nonarising,

Even to the eye’s cessation.

All such words

Are provisionally established according to worldly convention;

Within them there is no reality.

That person clearly knows

That words concerning the eye’s former limit

Are merely the convergence of causes and conditions;

Within them one forms no attachment.

That person clearly knows

That words concerning the eye’s later limit

Are merely the convergence of causes and conditions;

Within them one forms no attachment.

That person clearly knows

The eye’s arising and utmost bounds,

Its flowing on and its quiescence,

Its nonexistence and nonarising,

Even to the eye’s cessation.

All such words

Are merely the convergence of causes and conditions;

Within them one forms no attachment.

That person clearly knows

That words concerning the eye’s former limit

Do not disclose any intrinsic nature;

Within them one is undefiled.

That person clearly knows

That words concerning the eye’s later limit

Do not disclose any intrinsic nature;

Within them one is undefiled.

That person clearly knows

The eye’s arising and utmost bounds,

Its flowing on and its quiescence,

Its nonexistence and nonarising,

Even to the eye’s cessation.

All such words

Do not disclose any intrinsic nature;

Within them one is undefiled.

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

The six sense objects and the four great elements,

Even to names arising in the world—

All are likewise.

That person clearly knows

That craving itself is the Buddha-path,

Their intrinsic natures being undifferentiated;

Thus one is not defiled by craving.

All paths to Buddhahood

Must be sought within the afflictions;

Knowing their natures to be undifferentiated

Is entry into the dharani gateway.

To say that craving is dharani,

And dharani itself is craving,

Knowing their natures to be undifferentiated—

This is to learn the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to craving in this way

Is itself to make offerings to the Buddha;

By making offerings to the Buddha,

One perfects dharani.

That person clearly knows

That anger itself is the Buddha-path,

Their intrinsic natures being undifferentiated;

Thus one is not defiled by anger.

Anger itself is dharani,

And dharani itself is anger;

Knowing their natures to be undifferentiated—

This is to learn the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to anger in this way

Is also to make offerings to the Buddha;

By making offerings to the Buddha,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

That person clearly knows

That delusion itself is the Buddha-path,

Their intrinsic natures being undifferentiated;

Thus one is not defiled by delusion.

If one truly and clearly knows

The ultimate bounds of the nature of delusion,

That is to cultivate the Buddha-path

And perfect the dharani gateway.

Delusion itself is dharani,

And dharani itself is delusion;

Knowing their natures to be undifferentiated—

This is to learn the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is itself to make offerings to the Buddha;

By making offerings to the Buddha,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is itself to make offerings to the Dharma;

By making offerings to the Dharma,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is itself to make offerings to the Sangha;

By making offerings to the Sangha,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is itself to make offerings to moral discipline;

By making offerings to moral discipline,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to diligence;

By making offerings to diligence,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to praise;

By making offerings to praise,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the Buddha-Dharma;

By making offerings to the Buddha-Dharma,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the Dharma-nature;

By making offerings to the Dharma-nature,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to suchness;

By making offerings to suchness,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to nonarising;

By making offerings to nonarising,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to noncessation;

By making offerings to noncessation,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the inexhaustible;

By making offerings to the inexhaustible,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to nonexistence;

By making offerings to nonexistence,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the boundless;

By making offerings to the boundless,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the three realms of existence;

By making offerings to the three realms of existence,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to quiescence;

By making offerings to quiescence,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to transmigration;

By making offerings to transmigration,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to nonturning;

By making offerings to nonturning,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to nonexistence;

By making offerings to nonexistence,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to nonarising;

By making offerings to nonarising,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to quiescent cessation;

By making offerings to quiescent cessation,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to noncoming;

By making offerings to noncoming,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to nonaction;

By making offerings to nonaction,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the unconditioned;

By making offerings to the unconditioned,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to suffering and the others;

By making offerings to suffering and the others,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the knowledge of suffering;

By making offerings to the knowledge of suffering,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the knowledge of origination;

By making offerings to the knowledge of origination,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the knowledge of cessation;

By making offerings to the knowledge of cessation,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the knowledge of the path;

By making offerings to the knowledge of the path,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to knowledge of the Dharma;

By making offerings to knowledge of the Dharma,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to subsequent knowledge;

By making offerings to subsequent knowledge,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the knowledge of nonarising;

By making offerings to the knowledge of nonarising,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

To make offerings to delusion in this way

Is to make offerings to the knowledge of exhaustion;

By making offerings to the knowledge of exhaustion,

One perfects the dharani gateway.

Thus, regarding the right efforts,

The foundations of mindfulness and the bases of spiritual power,

The five faculties and the five powers,

The seven factors of awakening and the Noble Eightfold Path,

Together with shamatha,

Vipashyana, and the others—

With regard to these nine classes of Dharma,

All are likewise.

At that time, the Blessed One said to the youth Candraprabha: “Good man, if any beings abide in the Mahayana and perfect the dharani gateway as explained above, they must distance themselves from eighty kinds of people. Who are those eighty kinds of people?”

They are those who kill their fathers, kill their mothers, kill arhats, intentionally cause the body of a Buddha to bleed, disrupt the harmony of the Sangha, fraudulently dwell among the ordained, lack sexual faculties, possess both sexual faculties, hold wrong views, wrong intentions, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong concentration; who know neither the proper place nor the proper time, neither the Dharma nor the path, neither measure nor self and others; who have no respect for the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha or for the precepts of training, and likewise do not revere the practice of heedfulness or the supreme states; who know neither the Dharma nor the Vinaya nor the precepts of training;

who do not know whether an offense is grave or light, whether the precepts have been violated or impaired, whether a practice is subtle or coarse, or whether karma pertains to the future or the present; who also do not clearly understand what is inferior; who praise the Sravaka Vehicle, disparage the Tathagata’s Dharma, exhort, reveal, and guide others toward the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and distance themselves from and reject the unsurpassed Right Path; who violate the precepts, corrupt right view, transgress the rules of deportment, and follow wrong paths; who assert the existence of a self and a person, the existence of sentient beings, a living principle, and a pudgala; whose aspirations are inferior; who give rise to greed, anger, and delusion;

who hold views of annihilation, views of permanence, views of emptiness, and views denying causes; who perceive neither existence nor nonexistence, perceive neither karma nor diligent effort; who know neither karma nor the causes of karma, neither the causes of karmic maturation, neither the faculties nor the causes of the faculties, neither the dhatus nor the causes of the dhatus, neither liberation nor the causes of liberation, neither the path nor the causes of the path, neither afflictions nor the causes of afflictions, neither giving nor the causes of giving, neither the past limit nor the future limit, neither the causes of the past limit nor the causes of the future limit, neither birth and death nor the causes of birth and death,

neither the contaminated nor the causes of the contaminated, neither exhaustion nor non-exhaustion, neither existence nor nonexistence, neither limit nor non-limit, neither quiescence nor non-quiescence; who neither turn nor do not turn; and who know neither nature nor non-nature, neither arising nor non-arising, neither cessation nor non-cessation.

O Youth! If good men and good women wish to accomplish the dharani gateway described above, they must abandon and distance themselves from these eighty kinds of people who act contrary to the Dharma.

The Blessed One then spoke these verses:

If a person does not clearly know

The eye’s arising, exhaustion, and ultimate limit,

That person is deluded about dharani;

The wise should remain far away.

If a person can know the eye

As without self and without sentient being,

That person abides in dharani;

The wise should draw near.

If a person can know the eye,

Its arising and exhaustion free from written words,

That person abides in dharani;

The wise should draw near.

If a person can know the eye

As quiescent and abiding nowhere,

That person abides in dharani;

The wise should draw near.

If a person can know the eye,

Its intrinsic nature abiding nowhere,

That person abides in dharani;

The wise should draw near.

If a person can know the eye

As neither turning nor possessing material characteristics,

That person abides in dharani;

The wise should draw near.

If a person can know the eye

As unborn in nature and quiescently extinguished,

That person abides in dharani;

The wise should draw near.

If a person can know the eye,

Its intrinsic nature free from names and characteristics,

Which all Buddhas cannot express

Nor praise and reveal,

That person abides in dharani;

The wise should draw near.

If a person can know the eye,

Its intrinsic nature free from names and characteristics,

Which no one can conceptualize,

Uphold, or expound,

That person abides in dharani;

The wise should draw near.

The nature of dharani is thus:

Written words cannot express it;

It has no location or direction,

And mental factors cannot reach it.

That Dharma does not rejoice,

Nor does it abide in anger;

Unmoving like the King of Mountains,

Though spoken of, it cannot be apprehended.

Dharani truly does not exist;

Even the self is likewise.

Since the self has no intrinsic nature,

Dharani also does not exist.

Dharani has no intrinsic nature,

Yet fools deem it to exist;

Thus they engage in false discrimination,

And, failing to understand, give rise to sorrow and distress.

If one clearly knows the nature of greed,

And even the emptiness of dharani,

These two kinds of discrimination

Are ultimately unobtainable.

If one knows that emptiness has no nature,

Then dharani likewise does not exist;

Even the factors of enlightenment

And samadhi are also empty.

If a person can clearly know

Dharani and the nature of emptiness,

Even as far as samadhi,

Then that person can also know the eye.

If, concerning the eye’s limit of exhaustion,

One skillfully knows it as it truly is,

Then within the gateway of dharani,

One reaches the ultimate limit of the eye’s arising.

If, concerning the limit of the eye’s arising,

One skillfully knows it as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s ultimate limit,

One skillfully knows it as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s quiescence,

One clearly knows it as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s flowing and turning,

One clearly knows it as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s nonexistence,

One clearly knows it as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s non-arising,

One clearly knows it as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s quiescent cessation,

One clearly knows it as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s alteration,

One knows its limit of exhaustion as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s alteration,

One knows its limit of arising as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s alteration,

One knows its ultimate limit as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s alteration,

One knows its quiescence as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s alteration,

One knows its flowing and turning as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s alteration,

One knows its nonexistence as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s alteration,

One knows its non-arising as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

If, concerning the eye’s alteration,

One knows its quiescent cessation as it truly is,

Then the gateway of dharani

Can ultimately be accomplished.

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

The six sense objects and the four great elements,

Even worldly arising and designation—

All are likewise.

If, regarding the eye’s past limit,

There is no characteristic, transformation, or alteration,

No grasping and no discrimination,

This is abiding in the gateway of dharani.

If, regarding the eye’s limit of exhaustion,

There is no characteristic, transformation, or alteration,

No grasping and no discrimination,

This is abiding in the gateway of dharani.

If, regarding the limit of the eye’s arising,

There is no characteristic, transformation, or alteration,

No grasping and no discrimination,

This is abiding in the gateway of dharani.

If, regarding the eye’s ultimate limit,

There is no characteristic, transformation, or alteration,

No grasping and no discrimination,

Then one abides in the gateway of dharani.

If, regarding the eye’s quiescence,

There is no characteristic, transformation, or alteration,

No grasping and no discrimination,

Then one abides in the gateway of dharani.

If, regarding the eye’s flowing and turning,

There is no characteristic, transformation, or alteration,

No grasping and no discrimination,

Then one abides in the gateway of dharani.

If, regarding the eye’s nonexistence,

There is no characteristic, transformation, or alteration,

No grasping and no discrimination,

Then one abides in the gateway of dharani.

If, regarding the eye’s non-arising,

There is no characteristic, transformation, or alteration,

No grasping and no discrimination,

Then one abides in the gateway of dharani.

If, regarding the eye’s quiescent cessation,

There is no characteristic, transformation, or alteration,

No grasping and no discrimination,

Then one abides in the gateway of dharani.

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

The six sense objects and the four great elements,

Even worldly arising and designation—

All are likewise.

Greed, anger, delusion, wrath, and pride;

Jealousy, deceit, stinginess, sorrow, and distress;

Faults, defilements, and poisoned arrows;

Violent currents, dark karma, and bright karma—

Neither arising nor ceasing,

Neither departing nor coming,

Neither moving nor changing,

Neither created nor practiced,

Neither bright nor dark,

Neither a current nor the abandonment of violent currents,

Neither exhausted nor abiding,

Neither practiced nor unpracticed,

Neither written words nor conditioned objects,

Neither emerging nor entering—

Discrimination, false conceptualization, and all the rest:

All sixty-two gateways.

Each distinct according to its meaning

All are likewise thus

If one knows the present limit of the eye

Up to what is above and below

Neither grasping nor discriminating

One abides in the dharani gateway

If one knows the ultimate boundary of the eye

Up to what is above and below

Neither grasping nor discriminating

One abides in the dharani gateway

If one knows the boundary of the eye’s arising

Up to what is above and below

Neither grasping nor discriminating

One abides in the dharani gateway

If one knows the furthest limit of the eye

Up to what is above and below

Neither grasping nor discriminating

One abides in the dharani gateway

If one knows the quiescence of the eye

Up to what is above and below

Neither grasping nor discriminating

One abides in the dharani gateway

If one knows the turning and flowing of the eye

Up to what is above and below

Neither grasping nor discriminating

One abides in the dharani gateway

If one knows the nonexistence of the eye

Up to what is above and below

Neither grasping nor discriminating

One abides in the dharani gateway

If one knows the non-arising of the eye

Up to what is above and below

Neither grasping nor discriminating

One abides in the dharani gateway

If one knows the cessation of the eye

Up to what is above and below

Neither grasping nor discriminating

One abides in the dharani gateway

The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind

The six sense objects and the four great elements

Up to worldly arising and designation

All are likewise thus.

Regarding the immutable characteristic of the earth element

There is neither grasping nor discrimination

One who can clearly know it thus

Attains the dharani gateway

Regarding the non-arising characteristic of the earth element

There is neither grasping nor discrimination

One who can clearly know it thus

Attains the dharani gateway

Regarding the non-cessation characteristic of the earth element

There is neither grasping nor discrimination

One who can clearly know it thus

Attains the dharani gateway

Regarding the characteristic of entering realization of the earth element

There is neither grasping nor discrimination

One who can clearly know it thus

Attains the dharani gateway

Regarding the characteristic of liberation of the earth element

There is neither grasping nor discrimination

One who can clearly know it thus

Attains the dharani gateway

Regarding the wishless characteristic of the earth element

There is neither grasping nor discrimination

One who can clearly know it thus

Attains the dharani gateway

Regarding the non-abiding characteristic of the earth element

And the characteristics of neither coming nor going

The characteristic of boundlessness and the characteristic of inexhaustibility

The characteristic of correspondence and of non-correspondence

The characteristic of being free from conceptualized names and words

The characteristic of contemplation and the characteristic of turning and flowing

The characteristic of nonexistence and the characteristic of cultivation

The characteristic that cannot be expressed in words

The characteristic of quiescence and the characteristic of having no support

The characteristic of the foundations of mindfulness and of right efforts

The characteristic of the bases of spiritual power and of the faculties and powers

The characteristic of the seven factors of awakening, the Path, and fearlessness

All such characteristics of the earth element

Entail neither grasping nor discrimination

One who can clearly know them thus

Attains the dharani gateway

Regarding the characteristic of the self’s having no emergence

The signless characteristic and the wishless characteristic

The characteristic of non-abiding and the characteristic of non-arising

Together with the characteristic of the self’s non-cessation

Regarding all such characteristics of the self

There is neither grasping nor discrimination

One who can clearly know them thus

Attains the dharani gateway

Regarding the characteristic of the self’s being free from written words

There is neither grasping nor discrimination

One who can clearly know it thus

Attains the dharani gateway

Knowing the eye’s preceding and subsequent limits

One remains far removed from the characteristics of permanence and annihilation

Causes, conditions, and intrinsic nature are all empty

Thus did the Great Guide teach through skillful means.

If, when expounding the Dharma

One discriminates the characteristic of the eye

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to expound the true Dharma

If, when contemplating the Dharma

One discriminates the characteristic of the eye

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to contemplate rightly

If, when cultivating the Dharma

One discriminates the characteristic of the eye

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to cultivate truly

If one knows the nature of the eye to be empty

One will not regress from bodhi

The Buddhas will always appear

Before that person to teach the Dharma

If one cannot know the eye

One also cannot know form

If one can know the eye

One can also know form

If one can know form

One can also know the eye

The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind

All are likewise thus

If, when expounding the Dharma

One discriminates the characteristic of a person

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to expound the Dharma

If, when expounding the Dharma

One discriminates the characteristic of quiescence

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to expound the Dharma

If, when expounding the Dharma

One discriminates the characteristic of the Path

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to expound the Dharma

If, when expounding the Dharma

One discriminates the characteristic of emptiness

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to expound the Dharma

If, when expounding the Dharma

One discriminates accumulation

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to expound the Dharma

If, when expounding the Dharma

One discriminates things

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to expound the Dharma

If, when expounding the Dharma

One discriminates the eye’s grasping

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to expound the Dharma

If one does not clearly know the eye

Craving and desire arise in one’s mind

If one can clearly know the eye

Craving and desire do not arise

The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind

The six sense objects and the four great elements

Up to worldly arising and designation

All are likewise thus

If, when expounding the Dharma

One discriminates the eighteen dhatus

That person discriminates falsely

And is not said to expound the Dharma

One whose aspiration does not regress

Who thoroughly comprehends the nature of emptiness

And attains the gateways of samadhi

Skillfully expounds the Dharma

One whose aspiration does not regress

Abandons discrimination concerning the eye

Because there is no discrimination

That person skillfully expounds the Dharma

One who does not understand that the nature of the eye is empty

Is also deluded about the eye’s intrinsic nature

Because one does not clearly know it

One should not expound the Dharma

If one knows the nature of the eye to be empty

One knows the eye’s intrinsic nature

Because one clearly knows the eye

That person should expound the Dharma

One who does not know the nature of the eye to be empty

Is also deluded about the intrinsic nature of phrases

Because one does not clearly know it

One should not expound the Dharma

If one knows the nature of the eye to be empty

One knows the intrinsic nature of phrases

Because one clearly knows it

That person should expound the Dharma

One who does not know the nature of the eye to be empty

Is also deluded about the intrinsic nature of written words

Because one does not clearly know it

One should not expound the Dharma

If one knows the nature of the eye to be empty

One knows the intrinsic nature of written words

Because one clearly knows it

That person should expound the Dharma

One who does not know the nature of the eye to be empty

Is also deluded about the intrinsic nature of names

Because one does not clearly know it

One should not expound the Dharma

If one knows the nature of the eye to be empty

One knows the intrinsic nature of names

Because one clearly knows it

That person should expound the Dharma

One who does not know the nature of the eye to be empty

Is also deluded about the intrinsic nature of form

Because one does not clearly know it

One should not expound the Dharma

If one knows the nature of the eye to be empty

One knows the intrinsic nature of form

Because one clearly knows it

That person should expound the Dharma

One who does not know the nature of the eye to be empty

Relies upon worldly characteristics to discriminate

And cannot skillfully accord with beings

To tame and guide them

If one knows the nature of the eye to be empty

One does not rely upon characteristics to discriminate

And can skillfully accord with beings

To tame and guide them

One who does not understand the existence and nonexistence of the eye

Yet expounds the Dharma among the assembly

Is greedy for gain and offerings

And no one will accept the teaching in faith

If one knows the existence and nonexistence of the eye

And expounds the Dharma among the assembly

That person is free from attachment

And everyone will accept the teaching in faith

One who does not understand that the nature of the eye is empty

Yet sits upon the Dharma seat

May speak with many analogies

But no one will accept them in faith

If one knows the nature of the eye to be empty

And sits upon the Dharma seat

The analogies that one presents

Will all be accepted in faith

The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind

The six sense objects and the four great elements

Up to worldly arising and designation

All are likewise thus.”

When the Blessed One had spoken this Sutra of the Manifestation of Radiant Light, the youth Moonlight and the great assembly, together with all devas, humans, asuras, and others throughout the world, heard the Buddha’s teaching, greatly rejoiced, faithfully accepted it, and reverently practiced it.

THE ASSEMBLY ON THE MANIFESTATION OF RADIANT LIGHT

THE ELEVENTH

END