大寶積經

4. CHAPTER: THE INCONCEIVABLE NATURE OF THE TATHAGATA

At that time, the Buddha said to Venerable Shariputra: “Having thus firmly established themselves in pure faith, those great bodhisattvas are further able to accept in faith the ten inconceivable dharmas of the Tathagata, the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One. They uphold them carefully and purely, without error or neglect and without making discriminations; moreover, they become exceedingly joyful and delighted, giving rise to the thought that these are rare and wondrous.

What are called the ten inconceivable dharmas of the Tathagata?

– Shariputra! First, they accept in faith the inconceivable body of the Tathagata. Second, they accept in faith the inconceivable voice of the Tathagata. Third, they accept in faith the inconceivable wisdom of the Tathagata. Fourth, they accept in faith the inconceivable radiance of the Tathagata. Fifth, they accept in faith the inconceivable moral discipline and right concentration of the Tathagata. Sixth, they accept in faith the inconceivable supernormal powers of the Tathagata. Seventh, they accept in faith the inconceivable powers of the Tathagata. Eighth, they accept in faith the inconceivable fearlessnesses of the Tathagata. Ninth, they accept in faith the inconceivable great compassion of the Tathagata. Tenth, they accept in faith the inconceivable qualities unique to a Buddha possessed by the Tathagata.

These are called the ten inconceivable dharmas. If great bodhisattvas, in seeking the Dharma, arouse right diligence, neither fearful nor retreating, never abandoning or forsaking it, they form this resolve: ‘Although I have not yet attained the inconceivable Dharma, I would rather let the wind whirl my body about and let my skin, flesh, sinews, and bones undergo great suffering and affliction—even let my blood and flesh dry up and waste away—than allow my mind to cease its diligent cultivation and vigorous effort, even momentarily, midway upon the path.’

– Shariputra! If great bodhisattvas who have attained faithful understanding hear these ten inconceivable dharmas of the Tathagata, they accept them in faith and uphold them carefully and purely, without doubt; moreover, they become exceedingly joyful and delighted, giving rise to the thought that these are rare and wondrous.”

The Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:

“The Buddha’s body is inconceivable,

The manifestation of the Dharma-body;

Without characteristics, it cannot be seen—

Only the Buddha’s children can believe it.

For the many kinds of sentient beings,

His voice is inconceivable;

According to their voices, he teaches the Dharma—

Have faith in the realm of the Buddhas.

All classes of living beings

Have differing faculties and dispositions throughout the three times;

The Buddha clearly knows them all—

Believe this to be inconceivable.

The Buddhas’ boundless radiance,

Their inconceivable light,

Shines throughout the realms of the ten directions,

Across the boundless ocean of Buddha-lands.

The Buddha’s moral discipline transcends the world

And does not depend upon worldly dharmas;

His supernormal powers are inconceivable—

Bodhisattvas can accept them in faith.

Sentient beings cannot comprehend

The realm of the Tathagata;

The Tathagata constantly abides in concentration—

His liberation is inconceivable.

The dharmadhatu is free from admixture;

Only the Buddha’s powers can know it.

The Buddha’s various powers of wisdom

Are boundless, like empty space.

For the benefit of a single sentient being,

He may abide for boundless kalpas,

Enabling that being to become disciplined—

Such is his mind of great compassion.

To all classes of living beings,

Who pose many kinds of difficult questions,

With a single utterance he brings joyful understanding—

His fearlessness is inconceivable.

Having attained wisdom of all modes,

He clearly sees all dharmas,

As well as the qualities unique to a Buddha;

The Buddha’s wisdom beholds them all.

All the dharmas of the Buddhas

Are thus difficult to conceive;

Whoever can reverently believe in them

Is firmly established in faith.

– Shariputra! How do great bodhisattvas accept in faith the inconceivable body of the Tathagata, uphold it carefully and purely without doubt, and become even more joyful and delighted, giving rise to the thought that it is rare and wondrous?

– Shariputra! The body of the Tathagata has forever eliminated all evil and unwholesome dharmas. Why is this? Because it is able to accomplish all subtle and wondrous wholesome dharmas.

The body of the Tathagata is utterly free from all impurities such as nasal mucus, saliva, phlegm, pus, blood, excrement, and urine. Why is this? Because long ago the Tathagata became liberated from all bones, flesh, sinews, and vessels.

The body of the Tathagata is pure in its own nature. Why is this? Because long ago the Tathagata became free from all defilements and impurities.

The body of the Tathagata utterly surpasses the world. Why is this? Because it is not defiled by worldly dharmas.

The body of the Tathagata consists of immeasurable merit and virtue, having long accumulated the provisions of merit and wisdom. It is the support for the wisdom-life of all sentient beings.

The body of the Tathagata is imbued with immeasurable pure moral discipline; it is imbued with immeasurable pure moral discipline, immeasurable right concentration, immeasurable wisdom and liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation.

The body of the Tathagata is adorned with flowers of merit and virtue.

The body of the Tathagata is like a subtle and wondrous image within a clear mirror, like the reflection of the bright full moon in limpid water, and it shines brilliantly like sunlight.

The body of the Tathagata is inconceivable, equal to the realm of empty space and extending throughout the nature of the entire dharmadhatu.

The body of the Tathagata is pure and undefiled, far removed from all defiling impurities.

The body of the Tathagata is the unconditioned, far removed from all characteristics of conditioned phenomena.

The body of the Tathagata is the body of empty space, the unequaled body, the peerless body, the body with which nothing in the three realms can compare, the body for which no analogy can be given, and the body to which nothing is similar.

The body of the Tathagata is pure and stainless, free from defilements, and translucent in its own nature.

Furthermore, Shariputra! The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought in the past, cannot be sought in the future, cannot be sought in the present, and cannot be sought in the lineage or place of birth.

The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought through form, cannot be sought through marks, and cannot be sought through excellent physical features.

The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought through mind, cannot be sought through mentation, and cannot be sought through consciousness.

The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought through seeing, cannot be sought through hearing, cannot be sought through recollection, and cannot be sought through cognition.

The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought through the skandhas, cannot be sought through the ayatanas, and cannot be sought through the dhatus.

The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought through arising, cannot be sought through abiding, and cannot be sought through decay and cessation.

The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought through grasping, cannot be sought through relinquishing, cannot be sought through emancipation, and cannot be sought through formations.

The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought through manifest color, cannot be sought through appearance, cannot be sought through bodily shape, cannot be sought through coming, and cannot be sought through going.

The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought through mental attention to pure moral discipline, cannot be sought through mental attention to impartial contemplation, cannot be sought through mental attention to right wisdom, cannot be sought through mental attention to liberation, and cannot be sought through mental attention to the knowledge and vision of liberation.

The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought through characteristics, cannot be sought through the absence of characteristics, and cannot be sought through the characteristics of dharmas.

The body of the Tathagata cannot be sought through the augmentation of powers, cannot be sought through the augmentation of fearlessnesses, cannot be sought through the augmentation of unobstructed eloquence, cannot be sought through the augmentation of supernormal powers, cannot be sought through the augmentation of great compassion, and cannot be sought through the augmentation of the qualities unique to a Buddha.

– Shariputra! Great bodhisattvas who wish to seek the body of the Tathagata should seek it according to its own nature—as an illusion, as a magical transformation, and as the moon reflected in water.

– Shariputra! The body of the Tathagata is the body of liberation through emptiness, liberation through signlessness, and liberation through wishlessness; it is the body free from change, the body that is unmoving and indestructible, the body free from discrimination, the body without dependence, and the body free from deliberation.

The body of the Tathagata is the body that securely abides in excellent abiding and cannot be shaken or altered.

The body of the Tathagata is the body whose intrinsic nature of form is devoid of form, the body whose intrinsic nature of feeling is devoid of feeling, the body whose intrinsic nature of perception is devoid of perception, the body whose intrinsic nature of formations is devoid of formations, and the body whose intrinsic nature of consciousness is devoid of consciousness.

The body of the Tathagata is the body devoid of the four great elements, without existence and without arising; it is a rare and wondrous dharma.

The Tathagata’s body is not an object of the eye; it abides neither within form nor outside it. It does not depend upon the ear; it abides neither within sound nor outside it. It cannot be known by the nose; it abides neither within odor nor outside it. It cannot be revealed by the tongue; it abides neither within taste nor outside it. It does not appear to the body; it abides neither within tangible objects nor outside them.

The Tathagata’s body does not depend upon mind to function, does not depend upon the mental faculty to function, and does not depend upon consciousness to function. It constantly abides, unmoving; it neither turns toward anything nor follows anything in turning.

“O Sariputra! The measure of the Tathagata’s body is equal to space, extending throughout the Dharma realm and to the utmost limits of the realm of space.

“O Sariputra! This is called the first inconceivable quality of the Tathagata’s body.”

When those great bodhisattvas heard that the inconceivable body of the Tathagata was like space, they accepted it in faith and reverently upheld it, their minds pure and free from doubt. They became even more exultant and joyful, giving rise to a perception of extraordinary wonder.

The Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:

“For kotis and nayutas of kalpas,

He practiced immeasurable, great conduct,

Skillfully purified the three karmas of the body,

And attained the peerless body of a Buddha.

With loving-kindness pervading the ten directions,

He practiced generosity from great compassion,

And always remained apart from sexual misconduct,

Thus attaining a body surpassing space.

Within the Blessed One’s field of merit,

The Buddha’s children made extensive offerings,

Giving away precious garments

As numerous as the immeasurable sands of the Ganges.

They upheld the pure precepts

As a yak guards its tail;

Even if their bodies were shattered,

They practiced great patience toward their enemies.

Through the perfection of diligence,

They endured the utmost hardships in cultivation,

And made vast vows,

Seeking the eternally abiding body of a Buddha.

They delighted in contemplating the objects of samadhi,

Delighted in wisdom and skillful means,

And delighted in contemplating the nature of the Dharma realm,

Vowing that their bodies would equal the Dharma realm.

Having cultivated in the presence of the Buddhas,

They attained peerless, wondrous awakening

And acquired a vast body like space,

Pure and bright, apart from every defilement.

Its nature is empty, devoid of self and person;

It is signless and cannot be expressed.

Those who realize this body of the Tathagata

Pass beyond the domain of the eye.

With purified mind, apart from the form-body,

Primordially empty, without arising or activity,

Those who see the body of true suchness

Thereby see the Buddhas of the ten directions.

Just as various magical arts

Conjure elephants, horses, and deranged people

To deceive the foolish,

So should one regard throughout the ten directions

The immeasurable Buddhas of the three times:

They abide alike in the body of the Dharma-nature,

Like incomparable, unequaled space,

The utterly pure Dharma realm.”

“Thus, O Sariputra, this is called the inconceivable body of the Tathagata. Great bodhisattvas accept it in faith and reverently uphold it, their minds pure and free from doubt. They become even more exultant and joyful, giving rise to a perception of extraordinary wonder.”

At that time, the Buddha said to the Venerable Sariputra: “How do great bodhisattvas accept in faith, follow, and reverently uphold the inconceivable voice of the Tathagata, their minds pure and free from doubt, becoming even more exultant and joyful and giving rise to a perception of extraordinary wonder?

“O Sariputra! The Tathagata appears in the world and, out of compassion for sentient beings, expounds the true Dharma in order to teach and transform them. The Buddha’s voice extends precisely as far as the assembly, according to the capacities of the sentient beings who are to be tamed. The Tathagata’s voice pervades immeasurable worlds throughout the ten directions, causing the hearts of sentient beings to rejoice.

“O Sariputra! Although the voice emitted by the Tathagatas pervades all worlds, they do not think: ‘I am teaching the Dharma to the assembly of bhiksus; I am teaching the Dharma to the assembly of bhiksunis; I am teaching the Dharma to the assembly of upasakas; I am teaching the Dharma to the assembly of upasikas;

I am teaching the Dharma to the assemblies of brahmins, ksatriyas, elders, devas, Brahma devas, and so forth.’ Nor does the Tathagata think: ‘I am now expounding sutras, geyas, prophecies, verses, spontaneous teachings, accounts of causes and conditions, accounts of past events, birth stories, extensive teachings, marvelous events, parables, and treatises.’ With regard to these twelve divisions of the teachings, the Tathagata has never entertained the thought that he expounds them for any particular assembly.

“O Sariputra! According to the assemblies that gather before him—from the assembly of bhiksus through the assembly of Brahma devas—and according to the gateways of right effort about which they have heard, the Tathagata teaches them the Dharma. Because they delight in hearing the Dharma, each of those sentient beings believes that they hear the voice teaching the Dharma issuing directly from the Buddha’s mouth. Yet that Dharma-teaching voice is unobstructed with respect to every kind of language they speak, and each individually understands the Dharma that is made clear to them. This is called the inconceivable voice.

“O Sariputra! Through the merit accumulated in the past, the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, experience the fruition of a voice possessing immeasurable qualities: a benevolent voice, an agreeable voice, a delightful voice, a pure voice, an undefiled voice, a beautiful and wondrous voice, a voice pleasing to hear, a distinct voice, a voice neither harsh nor grating, a voice that brings ease, beauty, and well-being to body and mind, a voice that causes the mind to exult, a voice that causes the mind to rejoice, a voice that gives rise to joy and bliss, an easily understood voice, an easily recognized voice, an upright voice, a lovable voice, a pleasing voice, a gladdening voice, a voice delightful to the mind, a lion’s-roar voice, a voice like great thunder,

a voice like the mighty roaring of the ocean, a voice like the singing and chanting of the kinnara spirits, a voice like the song of the kalavinka bird, the voice of a Brahma deva, the voice of a celestial drum, an auspicious voice, a gentle and supple voice, a clear and fluent voice, a voice profound like great thunder, a voice that delights all the faculties of every sentient being, a voice perfectly suited to every assembly, and a voice endowed with every subtle and wondrous quality.

“O Sariputra! The Tathagata’s voice is endowed with such excellent virtues and is also adorned with immeasurable and boundless merits.

“This is called the second inconceivable quality of the Tathagata: his voice.”

When those great bodhisattvas heard that the Tathagata’s inconceivable voice was endowed with immeasurable excellent virtues, they accepted it in faith and reverently upheld it, their minds pure and free from doubt. They became even more exultant and joyful, giving rise to a perception of extraordinary wonder.

The Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:

“The Buddha emits a wondrous voice,

Called the voice of Brahma;

Because it is endowed with this quality,

It causes the Brahma devas to rejoice.

The Buddha expounds with a wondrous voice

That issues from great compassion,

Corresponds with loving-kindness,

And also corresponds with sympathetic joy and equanimity.

That voice, endowed with every quality,

Extinguishes sentient beings’ fire of craving,

Eliminates the poison of anger and enmity,

And shatters the darkness of delusion.

Suppose that throughout Jambudvipa

There were immeasurable human voices;

Even if one heard them all,

One still would not awaken to liberation.

The sounds of heaven, earth, and space,

When heard, likewise bring no realization;

But whoever hears the Buddha’s voice

Will certainly attain nirvana.

Beings with two feet or four feet,

With many feet or with no feet,

Each hear a voice identical to their own,

Enabling them to understand good and evil.

Throughout the great trichiliocosm,

Voices may be superior, middling, or inferior;

In accordance with every kind of voice,

He teaches and transforms beings, leading them to liberation.

He utters a voice free from discrimination,

Neither binding nor appropriating;

Abiding in samadhi, he speaks true reality,

And those who hear exhaust their afflictions.

Boundless sentient beings hear

The names of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,

And hear of generosity, morality, learning, and patience—

Such is the Buddha’s voice.

The Buddha’s voice is without measure;

Its purity and wisdom are both boundless.

Those who have resolute faith in the Buddha’s voice

Are bodhisattvas possessed of wisdom alone.”

The Buddha again said to the Venerable Sariputra: “How do great bodhisattvas accept in faith and reverently uphold the Tathagata’s inconceivable great wisdom, their minds pure and free from doubt, becoming even more exultant and joyful and giving rise to an aspiration of extraordinary wonder?

“O Sariputra! The Tathagata’s unobstructed wisdom of knowledge and vision is inconceivable. It arises in dependence upon all dharmas. Great bodhisattvas are able to accept it in faith and reverently uphold it, becoming even more exultant and joyful and giving rise to a perception of extraordinary wonder.

“O Sariputra! In order to engender faith, the Tathagata relies upon the perfection of the Tathagata’s wisdom and extensively sets forth analogies. Those possessed of wisdom are then able to understand.”

– Śāriputra! Suppose someone were to gather all the grasses, trees, branches, roots, and leaves in worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges into one great heap and burn them into black charcoal. He would then pour all that charcoal into the oceans of those Ganges-sands worlds. After hundreds of thousands of years, he would grind it all into liquid ink.

– Śāriputra! The Tathagata has perfected unobstructed knowledge and vision. Taking one drop of ink from that great ocean, through the power of his knowledge and vision he can analyze and clearly know from which tree, branch, leaf, flower, fruit, and so forth, in which world it was made. Why is this? Because the Tathagata thoroughly comprehends the dharmadhatu and can therefore clearly know from which trees and leaves in which world that drop of ink was made.

In this manner, proceeding successively, this teaching should be extensively explained.

– Śāriputra! This is called the Tathagata, the Rightly and Universally Enlightened One, possessing such great powers of spiritual mastery, such great majestic virtue, and such great sovereign might. Therefore, if good men or good women place pure faith in the vast knowledge and vision of the Tathagata and also give rise to loving reverence for the Buddha, their roots of goodness will have no limit, and they will swiftly reach the end of suffering. Why is this? Because the Tathagata thoroughly comprehends the dharmadhatu. Because he comprehends it, if any being gives rise to even the slightest root of goodness toward the Tathagata, that root of goodness will never perish, even until that being reaches the end of suffering.

– Śāriputra! I shall now give you another analogy, so that the wise may thereby understand its meaning.

Suppose there were a man who lived for one hundred years. He split the tip of a hair into one hundred and fifty parts, dipped one part into a drop of water, brought it to me, and said, ‘I entrust this drop of water to you. Later, if I should need it, please return it to me.’ The Tathagata accepted that drop of water and placed it in the Ganges. The waters of the Ganges mingled with it and swept it directly into the great ocean. After one hundred years, that man came and asked me to return the drop of water he had entrusted to me.

– Śāriputra! The Tathagata has perfected inconceivable knowledge and vision. By means of this wisdom, the Tathagata sees and knows where that drop of water is within the great ocean. He then takes one part of the hair to the great ocean, dips it into that drop of water, and returns it to the person who entrusted it to him.

– Śāriputra! What is the meaning of this analogy? It means that when beings have entrusted even the tiny drop of water of a root of goodness into the hands of the Tathagata, the field of merit, it remains forever and is never lost.

– Śāriputra! If good men or good women place pure faith in the inconceivable wisdom of the Tathagata and give rise to loving reverence; if, in recollection of the Tathagata, they make various offerings and scatter beautiful flowers before him as offerings, no one can know the limits of their roots of goodness, and they will swiftly reach the end of suffering. Why is this? Because the Tathagata thoroughly comprehends the dharmadhatu. Therefore, if anyone gives rise to a single wholesome thought toward the Tathagata, it will never perish, even until that person reaches the end of suffering.”

At that time, the Elder Śāriputra said to the Buddha, “Blessed One! Does the inconceivable wisdom of the Tathagata function apart from consciousness?”

The Buddha said, “It does not.”

Śāriputra again asked, “Blessed One! If that is so, what is wisdom, and what is consciousness?”

The Buddha said, “Śāriputra! There are four stations of consciousness. Because consciousness relies upon them and abides therein, they are called stations of consciousness.

First is form as a station of consciousness: consciousness takes form as its condition and abides in form; thereby delight, attachment, and clinging arise and grow increasingly strong, stable, and extensive.

Second is feeling as a station of consciousness: consciousness takes feeling as its condition and abides in feeling; thereby delight, attachment, and clinging arise and grow increasingly strong, stable, and extensive.

Third is perception as a station of consciousness: consciousness takes perception as its condition and abides in perception; thereby delight, attachment, and clinging arise and grow increasingly strong, stable, and extensive.

Fourth is formations as a station of consciousness: consciousness takes formations as its condition and abides in formations; thereby delight, attachment, and clinging arise and grow increasingly strong, stable, and extensive.

Characteristics such as these are called consciousness.

What, furthermore, is called wisdom? Not abiding in the five aggregates subject to clinging, yet penetratingly understanding the aggregates, is called wisdom.

– Furthermore, Śāriputra! What is called consciousness is that which can discern the great element of earth, the great element of water, the great element of fire, and the great element of wind.

What is called wisdom is not abiding in the four great elements, but skillfully comprehending the dharmadhatu and knowing that consciousness and the elements do not intermingle. This is called wisdom.

Furthermore, Śāriputra! What is called consciousness is that which can discern form known by the eye, sound known by the ear, odor known by the nose, taste known by the tongue, tangible objects known by the body, and dharmas known by the mind.

What is called wisdom is that which, within quiescence, does not go outward but relies solely upon wisdom, and does not give rise to discrimination or manifold discriminations concerning any dharma. This is called wisdom.

Furthermore, Śāriputra! That which arises in dependence upon an object is called consciousness; that which arises in dependence upon attention is called consciousness; and that which arises in dependence upon discrimination is called consciousness. That which neither grasps nor seizes, has no object of cognition, nothing that is discerned, and no discrimination is called wisdom.

Furthermore, Śāriputra! What is called consciousness abides in conditioned dharmas. Why is this? Because consciousness cannot function within the unconditioned. To penetrate and understand the unconditioned dharmas is called wisdom.

Furthermore, Śāriputra! Abiding in arising and cessation is called consciousness. Abiding in neither arising nor cessation is called wisdom.

– Śāriputra! Such modes of activity, whether of consciousness or of wisdom, are called the third inconceivable great wisdom of the Tathagata.

When great bodhisattvas hear that this inconceivable great wisdom, unobstructed and unhindered in all dharmas, arises in this manner in reliance upon them, they immediately accept it with pure faith and uphold it without doubt. Their joy and delight increase, and they conceive a sense of wonder.”

The Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:

“Throughout measureless Ganges-sands realms,

Their grasses, trees, leaves, flowers, and fruits

Are all burned into charcoal for ink

And remain in the ocean for a hundred million years.

The profound and wondrous wisdom of the Ten Powers

Takes up one drop and rightly declares,

Knowing clearly from which realm’s tree

This drop of ink was ground.

Bring forth the dust and waters of the ten directions

And display them before the Tathagata;

The Buddha’s wisdom is like empty space,

Knowing all without doubt or obstruction.

The minds of beings throughout the ten directions,

In which greed, anger, and delusion are active,

He knows in accordance with reality;

His liberation neither increases nor decreases.

The Buddha’s ten powers of wisdom

Illuminate the entire dharmadhatu;

Without discrimination or deliberation,

Bodhisattvas are able to accept them with faith.”

The Buddha said to Śāriputra, “How do great bodhisattvas place pure faith in the inconceivable great radiance of the Tathagata and reverently uphold it without doubt, their joy and delight ever increasing, and conceive a sense of wonder?

– Śāriputra! Because all Buddhas, the Tathagatas, comprehend the dharmadhatu, they are inconceivable. Because they comprehend it, all Tathagatas emit a great radiance that universally illuminates the great trichiliocosm without obstruction.

– Śāriputra! It is like the cloudless, mistless sky in which the sun rises high and emits a great light that illuminates the entire world. In the same way, all Buddhas, the Tathagatas, emit a great radiance that universally illuminates everything.”

Moreover, Shariputra! In the world, the light of an oil lamp is far surpassed by a great radiant light. The light of a torch is brighter than that of an oil lamp.

A great ceremonial bonfire is brighter still than a torch. Luminous medicinal herbs surpass the bonfire. The light of the stars surpasses that of the medicinal herbs.

The full moon shines far more brightly than the stars. The midday sun is many times brighter than the orb of the moon. The bodies of the gods of the Four Great Kings, together with their palaces, terraces, walls, and ornaments, emit a light surpassing that of the sun beyond all comparison.

Continuing the comparison in this way, the light emitted by the bodies of the gods of Paranirmita-vashavartin, together with their palaces, terraces, walls, and ornaments, surpasses the preceding light. The light emitted by the gods of Brahma’s Assembly, Brahma’s Ministers, Great Brahma, Lesser Light, Immeasurable Light, Light-Sound, Lesser Purity, Immeasurable Purity, Universal Purity, Abundant Fruit, Perception, No Perception, No Affliction, No Heat, Excellent Manifestation, Excellent Vision, and Akanishtha is supreme in comparison with all the preceding lights.

Yet when the light of the Akanishtha Heaven is compared with the light of the Tathagata, the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One, the light of the Tathagata surpasses it by far: subtle, radiant, pure, vast, and supreme, beyond all comparison.

Why is this?

– Shariputra! The light of the Tathagata is inconceivable. That light arises from the immeasurable aggregate of moral discipline; it arises from the aggregate of samadhi; and it arises from the aggregates of wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation. The light of the Tathagata arises from immeasurable qualities such as these.

– Shariputra! All the lights within the great trichiliocosm, when compared with the light of the Tathagata, do not equal even one hundredth part of it, nor even one upanishad part; no calculation, number, or analogy can express it.

Moreover, Shariputra! It is as though Jambunada gold were placed among ordinary gold, causing that ordinary gold to resemble a heap of ink, devoid of radiance. All the brilliance of the great trichiliocosm is likewise when placed before the light of the Tathagata.

Moreover, before the light of the Tathagata, none of all the lights in the world can still be called luminous or radiant.

Moreover, Shariputra! You should know that, were the Tathagata not to gather in the light of his body to the span of one fathom out of compassion for sentient beings, but instead merely employ the light produced by even a small portion of his practices and karma, it would illuminate the entire great trichiliocosm, causing the light of the sun and moon no longer to appear. There would then be no distinction between day and night, nor any distinction of months, half-months, days, hours, seasons, or years. It is solely out of compassion for sentient beings that the Tathagatas manifest a radiance extending only one fathom.

– Shariputra! If the Tathagata, the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One, should form the intention to illuminate immeasurable, boundless, and innumerable worlds with his light, he could illuminate them all. Why? Because the Tathagata has attained the supreme prajnaparamita.

– Shariputra! I shall now give you another analogy to explain this meaning further. Those who possess wisdom will understand it ever more clearly.

Suppose a person were to grind the great trichiliocosm into fine dust, place those particles in his sleeve, and then travel eastward, passing through as many worlds as there were particles of dust before dropping a single particle. Proceeding in turn in this way and dropping particles until they were all exhausted, he still would not have reached the end of the worlds in the east. It would be the same in the south, west, north, southeast, southwest, northeast, northwest, above, and below.

– Shariputra! Could anyone reach the limits of those worlds?”

Venerable Shariputra replied, “No, World-Honored One!”

The Buddha said, “Shariputra! The lights existing throughout those worlds are immeasurable, boundless, and inconceivable. Yet the light of the Tathagata is supreme and surpasses them all. All the lights of all those worlds, when compared with the light of the Tathagata, do not equal even one hundredth part of it, nor even one upanishad part; no calculation, number, or analogy can express it.

– Shariputra! If the Tathagata should form the intention to illuminate all worlds with his light, he could illuminate them all.

Why? Because the Tathagata has attained the supreme prajnaparamita.

– Shariputra! The light of the Tathagata is unobstructed. No walls, trees, Ring Mountains, Great Ring Mountains, Gandhamadana Mountains, Muchilinda Mountains, Great Muchilinda Mountains, Ishadhara Mountains, Snow Mountains, Black Mountains, or Mount Sumeru can obstruct the light of the Tathagata. The light of the Tathagata can penetrate and illuminate the entire great trichiliocosm.

– Shariputra! Sentient beings of little wisdom cannot believe in or understand the light of the Tathagata. Some sentient beings see the light of the Tathagata extending only one fathom. Others see it extending two fathoms. Others see it extending one krosha. Then persons of great wisdom may even see the light of the Tathagata illuminating the entire great trichiliocosm.

– Shariputra! A Brahma King who rules over a hundred thousand worlds can see the light of the Tathagata illuminating a hundred thousand worlds. Progressing in this way, great bodhisattvas who have ascended to the higher bhumis can see the light of the Tathagata illuminating immeasurable and boundless worlds.

– Shariputra! Out of compassion for sentient beings, the Tathagata also emits light that illuminates all realms of sentient beings throughout the entirety of space.

– Shariputra! This is called the fourth inconceivable light of the Tathagata. When great bodhisattvas hear the Tathagata teach that this great light is inconceivable like space, they are free from error and doubt, accept it in pure faith, become increasingly joyful and delighted, and conceive a sense of wonder.”

Wishing to restate this meaning, the World-Honored One spoke these verses:

“The light of sun and moon,

Of Shakra and Brahma,

Even that of Akanishtha,

Cannot equal the Buddha’s light.

The light of Akanishtha

Illuminates the great trichiliocosm;

Compared with a single ray of Buddha-light,

It does not equal even a small fraction.

The Buddha emits his light,

Illuminating the whole realm of space;

Only sentient beings of great wisdom

Are able to perceive it thus.

The Buddha’s light is boundless,

Equal in extent to the realm of space;

According to the beings to be liberated,

Its light is perceived in different ways.

Just as one born blind

Cannot see the light of the sun;

Because he does not perceive its radiance,

He says the sun gives no light.

Inferior sentient beings

Do not perceive the Buddha’s light;

Because they do not see its radiance,

They say that the Buddha has no light.

Some see light extending one fathom,

Some see it extend a krosha,

Some as far as one yojana,

And some throughout the great trichiliocosm.

Some already abide upon the higher bhumis,

Greatly wise bodhisattvas;

Some dwell upon the eighth or ninth,

Or even upon the tenth bhumi.

The Buddha transcends the tenth bhumi;

His orb of light is boundless and immeasurable,

Illuminating inconceivable realms

In order to perform the works of the Buddhas.

The Buddhas are inconceivable;

The Buddha’s light is inconceivable;

Those who believe and obtain merit

Are likewise difficult to conceive.”

The Buddha again addressed Venerable Shariputra: “How does a great bodhisattva accept with pure faith and reverence, without doubt, the inconceivable assembly of those pure in moral discipline and the inconceivable assembly of beings established in samadhi belonging to the Tathagata, becoming increasingly joyful and delighted and conceiving a sense of wonder?”

– Śāriputra! You should understand the right teaching as follows: if beings in the world uphold pure and undefiled moral conduct, then, because of that purity, you should know that they have accomplished pure bodily karma, pure verbal karma, and pure mental karma. Although they dwell in the world, they are not defiled by worldly dharmas. You should know that such a person is a brahmin, one who has abandoned all evils; a śramaṇa, one who is tranquil; foremost among those who cultivate meditative concentration; and foremost among those who have attained the perfection of meditation. Such a being is a Tathagata. To speak in this way is right speech.

Why is this so? Śāriputra! Never have I seen, anywhere in the world, whether among devas, Māra kings, Brahmā kings, śramaṇas, brahmins, devas, asuras, and others, anyone possessing an immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable treasury of pure precepts and an inconceivable treasury of right concentration equal to that of the Tathagata.

Why is this so? Śāriputra! It is because the Tathagata has attained the foremost perfection of moral discipline and the foremost perfection of meditation.

– Śāriputra! Would you now like to hear the Buddha give an analogy concerning the Tathagata’s perfection of moral discipline?”

Śāriputra replied, “Blessed One! Now is the proper time. If the bhikṣus hear the Buddha give an analogy concerning the Tathagata’s perfection of moral discipline, they will all receive and uphold it exactly as they have heard it.”

The Buddha said, “Excellent, excellent! Śāriputra! I shall distinguish and explain it for you.

– Śāriputra! What do you think? Which is more numerous: sentient beings or the particles of the great earth?”

Śāriputra replied, “Blessed One! As I understand the meaning of the Buddha’s words, sentient beings are more numerous, not the particles of the great earth.”

The Buddha said, “So it is. Śāriputra! Sentient beings are more numerous, not the particles of the great earth.

– Śāriputra! Suppose that all the beings in a great trichiliocosm—those born from eggs, born from wombs, born from moisture, or born through transformation; those with form or without form; those with perception or without perception; and those who are neither percipient nor non-percipient—were, in a single instant, simultaneously to obtain human bodies and then, in a single instant, simultaneously attain unsurpassed bodhi. Suppose that each of those Buddhas then manifested an equal number of transformation Buddhas. Each transformation Buddha had one thousand heads; each head had one thousand mouths; and each mouth had one thousand tongues. Each transformation Buddha was fully endowed with the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, and inexhaustible, unhindered, and unobstructed eloquence. If those Buddhas, with all those tongues, exercised their inexhaustible and unobstructed eloquence to praise, in accordance with all its aspects, the Tathagata’s treasury of the perfection of moral discipline, then even if they continued praising it for hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of great kalpas, they still could not praise the Tathagata’s treasury of the perfection of moral discipline completely.

– Śāriputra! The Tathagata’s treasury of the perfection of moral discipline is immeasurable, boundless, inexhaustible, and inconceivable. The unsurpassed wisdom and the inexhaustible, unhindered, and unobstructed eloquence of the Buddhas are likewise inexhaustible and inconceivable.

The Tathagata’s treasury of the perfection of moral discipline and the Buddhas’ unsurpassed wisdom and unobstructed eloquence are both inconceivable, immeasurable, and innumerable, equally and impartially coextensive with the realm of space.

– Śāriputra! Suppose that all the sentient beings in worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges throughout the ten directions were, in a single instant, simultaneously to obtain human bodies and then all attain unsurpassed bodhi. The preceding analogy should likewise be applied to them, until they too are said to be equally and impartially coextensive with the realm of space.

Why is this so? Śāriputra! It is because the Tathagata has attained the foremost perfection of moral discipline.”

The Buddha again said to Śāriputra, “Would you now like to hear an analogy concerning the Tathagata’s perfection of meditation?”

Śāriputra replied, “Blessed One! Now is the proper time. If the bhikṣus hear the Buddha give an analogy concerning the Tathagata’s perfection of meditation, they will all reverently uphold it exactly as they have heard it.”

The Buddha said, “Śāriputra! Suppose a time comes when this world is consumed by the kalpa fire brought forth by the seventh sun. Because that sun has risen, the entire great trichiliocosm is simultaneously set ablaze—blazing fiercely, blazing greatly, and engulfed everywhere in a vast and mighty conflagration.

– Śāriputra! You should know that wherever the Tathagata walks, stands, sits, or lies down amid worlds engulfed everywhere in such a vast and mighty conflagration, ten rare and inconceivable marvels are accomplished.

What are the ten?

Without any exertion being required, wherever the Tathagata walks or stands becomes as level as the palm of a hand. This is the first exceedingly rare and inconceivable marvel.

Wherever the Tathagata walks or stands naturally rises up, pure and beautiful, without any rubble or stones intermixed. This is the second exceedingly rare and inconceivable marvel.

Wherever the Tathagata walks or stands naturally becomes spacious, level, adorned, and pure for the Tathagata’s use. This is the third exceedingly rare marvel.

Wherever the Tathagata walks or stands, fragrant grasses naturally grow, verdant, soft, smooth, and curling toward the right. This is the fourth exceedingly rare and inconceivable marvel.

Wherever the Tathagata walks or stands, water possessing the eight qualities naturally appears: it is light, cool, soft, still, undefiled, clear, pleasant to drink, and causes no illness even when drunk in abundance. This is the fifth exceedingly rare marvel.

Wherever the Tathagata walks or stands, a cool, gentle, and mild breeze naturally arises. This soothing, cool breeze is produced in response to the Tathagata’s former practices and karma. It is like a young man on an intensely hot day who, in the afternoon, is so oppressed by the heat that he runs to bathe in the Ganges. After bathing and cleansing himself, he feels cool, refreshed, and at ease. He climbs onto the opposite bank and sees nearby a grove of cool, green trees, so he enters it. There he also sees a broad bed already spread with a fine, smooth mattress, soft pillows, and blankets. The young man gets onto that bed and either sits or lies down. From all four sides of the bed, cool breezes continuously blow gently.

So it is, Śāriputra! As the Tathagata walks, stands, lies down, or sits within a world engulfed everywhere in a vast and mighty conflagration, cool breezes naturally and continuously blow gently in that place. This is the sixth exceedingly rare and inconceivable marvel.

Wherever the Buddha walks or stands, rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes naturally appear, bearing various kinds of aquatic flowers: blue lotuses, yellow lotuses, red lotuses, and white lotuses. Those flowers are exceedingly fragrant, and their colors are marvelous. This is the seventh exceedingly rare and inconceivable marvel.

Wherever the Buddha walks or stands, various beautiful and fragrant flowers, never before seen in the world, naturally grow upon both level ground and high mounds. This is the eighth exceedingly rare and inconceivable marvel.

Wherever the Buddha walks or stands, the ground naturally becomes as hard and durable as diamond. This is the ninth exceedingly rare and inconceivable marvel.

Wherever the Buddha walks or stands, you should know that place to be a sacred shrine of the Buddha. Devas of the world, Māra kings, Brahmā kings, śramaṇas, brahmins, devas, humans, asuras, and others all revere it, make offerings to it, honor it, and praise it. This constitutes the accomplishment of the tenth exceedingly rare and inconceivable marvel.”

Those ten exceedingly rare and inconceivable qualities were all accomplished through the Tathagata’s actions and practices in past lives. Why is this? Because the Tathagata has perfectly penetrated the Dharma realm.

Because he has penetrated it, the Tathagata enters that right concentration and, relying upon the mind of right concentration, experiences irreversible bliss. Even throughout great kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, the Tathagata has never emerged from the mind of right concentration. Relying upon that mind of right concentration, within the time of a single meal the Tathagata may abide for one kalpa, a thousand kalpas, a hundred kalpas, a hundred thousand kalpas, a hundred thousand kotis of kalpas, or for a number of kalpas exceeding even these.

Why is this? Because the Tathagata has accomplished the foremost perfection of meditation. Because he has accomplished it, the Tathagata possesses such great power of spiritual abilities, such great power of majestic virtue, and such great sovereign power.

– O Sariputra! Just as the consciousness of devas born in the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception takes a single object as its condition for as long as eighty-four thousand kalpas, and as long as their lifespan in right concentration has not ended, their consciousness of birth is not moved by the objects of any other consciousness.

– O Sariputra! Through the power of mundane right concentration, those devas can still abide securely for such a length of time; how much more, then, can the Tathagata’s perfection of meditation abide for a long time!

– O Sariputra! From the night when the Tathagata first attained unsurpassed bodhi until the night when he enters the realm of nirvana without remainder, throughout the interval between them the Tathagata’s mind never emerges from right concentration. Therefore, that right concentration is called the mind that does not turn back, the mind that has no activity, the mind that does not scrutinize, the mind without discursive agitation, the mind that does not wander, the mind that does not gather or collect, the mind that is not scattered, the mind that is not elated, the mind that does not sink, the mind that does not guard itself, the mind that does not drift or conceal itself, the mind that does not exult, the mind that does not oppose, the mind that does not languish, the mind that does not waver, the mind that is neither alarmed nor delighted, the mind that is not torpid, the mind without discrimination, the mind without divergent discrimination, and the mind without changing discrimination.

Moreover, that right concentration is the mind that does not follow consciousness; the mind that does not rely upon the eye; the mind that does not rely upon the ear, nose, tongue, body, or mental faculty; the mind that does not rely upon forms; the mind that does not rely upon sounds, odors, tastes, tangible objects, or dharmas; the mind that does not go toward any dharma; the mind that does not depart from wisdom; the mind that does not contemplate the past, the future, or the present.

– O Sariputra! The Tathagata abides in right concentration, his mind detached in this way, without any dharma whatsoever that can be apprehended, yet regarding all dharmas there arises unobstructed knowledge and vision. Why is this? Because of its effortless functioning.

– O Sariputra! Without emerging from right concentration and while being apart from mind, mental faculty, and consciousness, the Tathagata is nevertheless able to perform all the works of a Buddha. Why is this? Because of its effortless functioning.

– O Sariputra! When those great bodhisattvas hear of the Tathagata’s inconceivable moral discipline and right concentration, they accept them in faith, reverently uphold them with purity and without doubt, become still more joyful and delighted, and conceive a sense of wonder.”

The Blessed One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:

“For immeasurable, unequaled hundreds of thousands of kalpas,

Among the various classes of beings he cultivated the practices of awakening.

Moral discipline, learning, concentration, patience, and diligence—

The Guide skillfully cultivated the causes of wondrous awakening.

The fruits of his karma are supremely excellent and utterly pure;

His vast and wondrous pure discipline transcends all realms.

The Buddha’s virtue of discipline is like empty space,

Pure and stainless, just like empty space.

From the night the Buddha first attained bodhi

Until the night the Buddha enters great nirvana,

The Buddha’s mind neither acts nor takes another condition;

Never does he emerge from great concentration.

The Buddha’s aggregate of moral discipline neither regresses nor declines;

His liberation and spiritual power are likewise so.

Abiding in right concentration throughout immeasurable kalpas,

The Buddha neither deliberates nor forms perceptions.

The Buddha’s wisdom is like space, free from thought and conception;

Taking nothing as its condition, its radiant penetration illuminates the three times.

Without mind, mental faculty, or consciousness, and without alteration—

Only bodhisattvas can accept this in faith.”

The Buddha again said to Venerable Sariputra: “How do great bodhisattvas accept in faith and reverently uphold the Tathagata’s inconceivable spiritual power with purity and without doubt, become still more joyful and delighted, and conceive a sense of wonder?

– O Sariputra! The Tathagata has attained spiritual powers that are inconceivable and inexpressible. I shall now employ skillful means to elucidate them for you.

– O Sariputra! The Tathagata has often declared among his assembly of sravakas that, of those possessing spiritual powers, the elder Mahamaudgalyayana is foremost.

– O Sariputra! If that spiritual power is used for comparison, no spiritual power of any sravaka can be found equal to the spiritual power of a bodhisattva. Furthermore, if another comparison is made, no spiritual power of either sravakas or bodhisattvas can be found equal to the spiritual power of a Buddha. This is called the Tathagata’s inconceivable spiritual power.

Great bodhisattvas who wish to attain the spiritual power of a Buddha must arouse the highest degree of diligence; then they will be able to realize it.

– O Sariputra! Would you now like to hear an analogy concerning the Buddha’s inconceivable spiritual power?”

Venerable Sariputra replied: “Blessed One, now is the proper time. If the bhiksus are able to hear the analogy concerning spiritual power taught by the Buddha, they will all receive and retain it.”

The Buddha said: “Listen attentively, and I shall explain it for you.

– O Sariputra! What do you think? Does Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana possess great spiritual powers?”

Venerable Sariputra replied: “Blessed One, I once heard the Tathagata declare that Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana was foremost in spiritual powers among the sravakas.”

The Buddha said: “So it is. O Sariputra! I shall now explain the analogy to you more fully.

– O Sariputra! Suppose that sravakas densely filled the entire great trichiliocosm, like thick forests of sugarcane, sesame, rice, beans, bamboo, and reeds. Through the strength of their diligence and with power like a flash of lightning, all those sravakas simultaneously manifested transformations through spiritual powers. If their spiritual powers were compared with the Tathagata’s spiritual power, they would not equal one hundredth part, one thousandth part, or even one upanisad part of it. Why is this? Because the Tathagata has attained the foremost perfection of miraculous transformation through spiritual power.

– O Sariputra! Suppose the Tathagata cast a single mustard seed upon the ground. Even if that assembly of sravakas simultaneously manifested transformations through spiritual powers, they would be unable to move that mustard seed. Why is this? Because the Tathagata has attained the foremost perfection of miraculous transformation through spiritual power.

Again, O Sariputra! Let alone the great trichiliocosm: suppose that all sentient beings throughout worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in the ten directions—whether egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born, or transformation-born; whether possessing form or formless; whether possessing perception, lacking perception, or neither possessing perception nor lacking perception—were all sravakas who had accomplished foremost spiritual powers like Mahamaudgalyayana. Even if all those sravakas simultaneously manifested great transformations through spiritual powers, they would still be unable to move the mustard seed that the Tathagata had cast upon the ground. Why is this? Because the Tathagata has attained the foremost perfection of spiritual powers.

This is called the Tathagata’s possession of such great power of spiritual abilities, such great power of majestic virtue, and such great sovereign power.”

At that time, the Bhagavat again said to Venerable Sariputra: “O Sariputra! Have you ever heard that, when the wind kalpa arises, there is a great wind named Sanghata? That wind lifts this entire great trichiliocosm—including Mount Sumeru, the great oceans, and so forth—a koti of yojanas from its place and then reduces it to powder?”

Venerable Shariputra said, “Formerly, in the presence of the Buddha, I personally heard this matter spoken of.”

The Buddha said, “Shariputra, it is exactly so. When the wind calamity arises, there is also a great wind called Sanghata, which blows the Mount Sumerus, great oceans, and all else throughout the great trichiliocosm to a height of one hundred yojanas and then pulverizes them. It may blow them two hundred yojanas high, or three, four, or five hundred yojanas high; or one, two, three, or four thousand yojanas high; or even immeasurable hundreds of thousands of yojanas high, and then reduce them to fine dust, which scatters upon the wind and vanishes entirely, leaving nothing behind.

How, then, could mountains and rocks possibly remain? That wind also disperses the palaces of the Yama Heaven, the Tushita Heaven, the Heaven of Delight in Creation, the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Creations, and the heaven of Mara, as well as the heavens of the First Dhyana and the Second Dhyana, up to and including the heavens of the Third Dhyana and the Heaven of Universal Purity. All are reduced to minute particles and scattered away, leaving nothing behind.

“Shariputra, suppose that wind called Sanghata were suddenly to arise and blow against the Tathagata’s robe. It could not move even a portion of that robe as small as the tip of a fine hair, much less move a corner of the robe or the Tathagata’s entire robe. Why is this? Because the Tathagata has perfected inconceivable supernormal powers, inconceivable deportment, inconceivable wondrous conduct, and inconceivable great compassion.

“Furthermore, Shariputra, suppose that in worlds throughout the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, such powerful winds were to arise and be on the verge of scattering all those worlds. At that time, the Tathagata could carry those worlds upon the tip of a single finger and move them elsewhere, or cause those winds to lose all their force and suddenly blow back in the opposite direction. Yet the Tathagata’s supernormal transformations and all his awesome powers would suffer no diminution whatsoever.

“Shariputra, the Tathagata’s supernormal powers are inconceivable, difficult to hear of, and difficult to believe. Only the great bodhisattvas can believe and accept them, reverently uphold them with purity, free from error, doubt, or uncertainty, and become ever more joyful and delighted, giving rise to a sense of wonder.”

Wishing to restate this meaning, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

“Suppose that all beings in the three realms

Were transformed into shravakas,

And all attained great supernormal transformations

Equal to those of Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana.

The Tathagata, possessing great supernormal power,

Could cast a single mustard seed upon the ground;

Though all those shravakas displayed their supernormal powers,

They could not cause that mustard seed to stir.

Suppose that throughout the worlds of the ten directions,

As numerous as the sands of the Ganges,

The winds called Sanghata were to arise,

Capable of scattering all those worlds.

If all those winds called Sanghata

Were to blow against the Tathagata’s robe,

Even exhausting their utmost force, they could not move

The smallest part of it, as tiny as the tip of a hair.

The Great Muni, using a single hair,

Could obstruct those mighty winds and prevent them from blowing.

The Buddha possesses supernormal powers such as these,

Boundless and immeasurable as space.

“Shariputra, this is called the Tathagata’s inconceivable great supernormal power. The great bodhisattvas believe and accept it, reverently uphold it with purity and without doubt, and become ever more joyful and delighted, giving rise to a sense of wonder.”