大乘理趣六波羅蜜多經

FASCICLE 3

Chapter 4: NON-RETROGRESSION

At that time, the Great Bodhisattva Maitreya bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet and said:
“Great Sage, World-Honored One! The World-Honored One has spoken of the five kinds of mind through which bodhisattvas cultivating the Great Vehicle attain the stage of non-retrogression. But how should they arouse the mind of great compassion, and how should they cultivate? I beseech the Tathagata, out of compassion for sentient beings, to expound this for the benefit and happiness of living beings.”
The World-Honored One said:
“Excellent, excellent! Good man, your question is most fitting. Listen carefully and reflect deeply. I shall distinguish and explain this matter to dispel the net of your doubts.
“The five kinds of resolve are as follows:
“First is the mind of great compassion: One must steadfastly preserve this mind and never relinquish it, contemplating those beings in the evil destinies of the hells and recollecting the sufferings described in the sutras. You should know that I shall now recount this teaching for you. One contemplates that all these sentient beings were my parents, kinsfolk, relatives, and honored elders in former lives, but now dwell in the hells, undergoing suffering and surrounded by thirteen masses of fire.

Two flames enter through their feet, pass upward through the crowns of their heads, and emerge; another two flames enter through the crowns of their heads, pass straight down through their feet, and emerge; two flames enter through their backs and pass through their chests; two enter through their chests and pass through their backs; two enter through their left flanks, pass through their right flanks, and emerge; two enter through their right flanks, pass through their left flanks, and emerge; and one flame coils around them, burning them from head to foot.

The bodies of the beings in this hell are as soft and frail as clarified butter. Those flames join together and consume them. The fires of hell burn away the fires of the human world as though burning fireworks, leaving not the slightest remnant.

Some beings, scorched by the flames, run everywhere seeking someone to save them, but who is there even to know of their plight?
“Other beings try to flee, but finding no way of escape, are forced to run into the fire. Some are suddenly cast into deep pits of foul excrement, where worms with razor-sharp iron beaks sixteen finger-widths long gnaw away their skin, bones, marrow, and brains. Some beings are scorched and boiled amid burning ashes.

Others sink and rise in water. The wardens of hell then strain them out with great iron nets, as though catching fish, and cast them upon the burning iron ground to lie or sit there and be roasted. Next, the wardens seize their tongues with iron pincers and pull them out, then pour boiling molten copper into their mouths.

They lose consciousness and die for a long time, but immediately come back to life. They try to flee in the hope of escaping, but cannot. Iron hooks are then used to seek them out and drag them back.

Iron birds with iron beaks fly after them, peck their flesh and bones to pieces, and then devour them. Seeing a grove of trees, these beings try to climb them in order to escape, but the trees are covered with iron thorns, each sixteen finger-widths long and glowing red-hot. As soon as the beings begin climbing, the sharp points turn downward, pierce their chests, and pass through their backs.

They undergo immeasurable suffering and cannot escape, however much they wish to do so. Crows fly down, peck out both their eyes, break open their skulls, and eat the marrow. Although they wish to descend, the thorn points turn upward, causing their eyes, ears, noses, tongues, bodies, the flesh of their hands and feet, and all ten fingers to be torn off and scattered.

They try to climb the trees to escape but cannot. The wardens seize them, put them into iron sacks, and beat them back and forth with burning iron pestles.
“Other beings have their arms, legs, heads, and hair—the five extremities—sawn apart and mangled by the wardens of hell. Others are placed in iron mortars and pounded from the head downward with iron pestles. Others are cast into cauldrons of boiling water, stirred back and forth with iron tridents, and boiled until their flesh disintegrates and only their bones remain, yet their lives continue. Other beings in the hells are made to use mineral ore to construct houses. Fierce fires burn those houses until the ore melts and drips down like arrowheads.
“There are also hells surrounded on all four sides by iron mountains. The beings between them are crushed as two mountains close together, sometimes from north and south, and sometimes from east and west. When the two mountains press together, the blood and pus of the beings between them flow out.

In another hell, iron serpents coil around the beings’ entire bodies from their feet to their heads and then peck open their skulls. They constrict them so tightly that their brain marrow is forced up to the crowns of their heads, whereupon the serpents suck it out and devour it, leaving only skin and bones. Other beings in the hells are scooped up by the wardens with iron tridents, from their feet to the crowns of their heads and shoulders.

Fire blazes brilliantly red along the tridents, while flames also issue from the beings’ eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. In another hell, beings are forced to lie upon or roll over the burning iron ground. Black iron cords are then wound around their bodies, and they are beaten.
“They are also split apart with axes and hatchets, as carpenters work freshly cut timber. Other beings are completely flayed by the wardens of hell from head to foot, and the flayed skin is then made into reins. The beings are bridled and forced to crawl to the summit of a high mountain.

That mountain is blazing hot. The wardens drive them upward and lash them with whips. Their myriad forms of suffering cannot be described.

From beginningless time, all these beings have been my paternal and maternal kinsfolk and my parents. Now they wander through samsara in the hells, undergoing the sufferings described above throughout countless kalpas. When their evil karma is exhausted, they are temporarily reborn in the heavens.

If they commit evil deeds while in the heavenly realm, they fall back into the hells.
“Having contemplated beings undergoing these sufferings, the Great Bodhisattva arouses great compassion. Next, the bodhisattva contemplates the realm of hungry ghosts and is likewise moved to compassion. The bodhisattva sees that one day and night among the hungry ghosts equals one month in the human realm.

Counting days as months, twelve such days make one year. Hungry ghosts live for five hundred years, equivalent to fifteen thousand years in the human world. They are constantly tormented by hunger and thirst.

Their ears never even hear the word ‘water,’ much less do their eyes behold it! The body of a hungry ghost is like Mount Tai, its head like a great house, and its neck as narrow as the eye of a needle. Its hair hangs down and covers both shoulders, cutting its body like iron blades, then turning into raging flames that consume its body as fire consumes firewood, causing unbearable agony.

The hair beneath its armpits grows long enough to cover its waist and belly, while the hair around its private parts reaches its knees. For countless years and months, it undergoes the suffering of being cut by blades and burned by fire.
“Sometimes, seeing water from afar, hungry ghosts run toward it, but as they draw near, they tumble headlong to the ground. Through the power of their evil karma, the water turns into blood, pus, foul excrement, or burning sand. On both banks stand wardens wielding bows and arrows, knives, clubs, axes, spears, and lances, who beat them and inflict terrible suffering. Scorched by the flames of hunger and fevered by thirst, the hungry ghosts lose their senses and run back toward the raging fire, where they are burned without even realizing it. The wardens pursue and beat, hack, and stab them, causing every part of their hands and feet to break off and fall away.
“There are also hungry ghosts who give birth to five children in the morning and immediately devour them. In the evening they give birth to five more and devour them as well, yet their hunger and thirst are never satisfied. Sometimes, when it rains, they open their mouths to catch the drops.

Because of their karma, when a single drop of water enters their mouths and descends into their bellies, it turns into raging fire, burns straight through them, and emerges from their bodies. At other times, during the heat of summer, a gust of wind blows the hungry ghosts into a desert. From below, burning sand scorches them; from above, the sun roasts them.

Tormented by hunger, thirst, and heat, they see the shade of a tree in the distance and try to run beneath it for shelter, but the shade avoids them and moves elsewhere. Why is this? In the past, when these beings lived in the human world, they held sacrificial assemblies.

When they saw beggars approaching, they were miserly and gave them nothing. Without cause, they beat and reviled them and drove them away. Because they created such karma, they now undergo this retribution.”

There are also hungry ghosts who, on moonlit nights when the sky is perfectly clear and unobscured by clouds and the moonlight shines everywhere, feel scorching heat like that of the summer months whenever this light touches them. There are also hungry ghosts who, during winter, encounter fierce winds. Through the power of karma, these winds sweep the hungry ghosts into icy mountains like flying dust, where they suffer piercing cold.

They endure such suffering for immeasurable kalpas, and when they die there, they fall back into the hells. Thus they pass back and forth for immeasurable years. When their evil karma is exhausted, they are able to become human, but are born into poor, miserly families that practice no generosity.

They must beg for their livelihood, yet remain greedy and miserly. Because of their poverty, they commit the offenses of the ten unwholesome courses of karma. When they die there, they again fall into the hells and undergo every kind of suffering.

When their suffering there is exhausted, they are reborn among the hungry ghosts. Thus they pass back and forth for countless kalpas, enduring such suffering. Throughout immeasurable and boundless kalpas of birth and death in the past, these sentient beings have all been my parents, close relatives, and kindred, and for my sake they created evil karma.

Now, among the hungry ghosts, they undergo these painful retributions. Seeing such suffering, the great bodhisattva gives rise to great compassion.

Furthermore, Maitreya, just as it is with the hungry ghosts, one next contemplates the animals in the same way. There are beasts such as deer, musk deer, wildcats, foxes, rabbits, tigers, leopards, wolves, dogs, and many other kinds of animals; and flying creatures such as chickens, ducks, geese, dứu birds, wild geese, mandarin ducks, and so forth. Some walk, some perch in trees, some fly, and some swim.

They are constantly afraid of human power and are never able to eat or drink in peace, remaining fearful day and night. There are also animals that live beneath the water, such as soft-shelled turtles, turtles, fish, snails, clams, frogs, and so forth, which are constantly caught in the nets spread through the waters of birth and death. There are also animals such as snakes, dragons, lizards, worms, mice, and so forth, which are born in dark places and die in dark places.

There are also animals such as lice, bedbugs, and fleas, which cling to human bodies for their livelihood and die upon human bodies. There are also animals that live upon corpses, in damp and filthy places, or upon trees and grasses; wherever they are born, there they die. Those born through transformation also die through transformation; these include maggots, worms, insects, and butterflies.

There are also animals that constantly consume blood, pus, and filthy substances, regarding them as sweet delicacies. These include pigs, dogs, dung beetles, flies, gadflies, and so forth. When they smell a stench, they regard it as fragrant and delicious and fly or run toward it, fearing that they may not obtain their share.

There are also animals that do not eat fresh grass but consume only thorns, and that do not drink clean water but drink only filthy water.

There are also animals that not only live upon grass but constantly eat grass, such as elephants, horses, buffaloes, cattle, camels, and so forth. Some are controlled with iron hooks driven against their heads; some have their noses pierced; some have bridles fastened around their jaws; and some have packs placed upon them or yokes bound around their necks to carry burdens. They are constantly whipped and shouted at and must go quickly or slowly according to their masters’ commands.

At times they become emaciated and weak, falling down as soon as they stand, suffering limitless pain and distress, no longer possessing their former strength. All of this occurs because, on account of previous lives, they must now undergo such painful retributions. Or, having consumed the offerings of the faithful without diligently cultivating and studying, they must continually repay their debts from former lives and therefore undergo this affliction.

They are driven about and endure beatings and lashes, yet even this does not suffice to repay their debts. Or they are slaughtered amid indescribable agony, unable to express what they wish to say. While alive, they lack water and grass; when sick, they receive no medicine or care; and after death, they are skinned and their flesh becomes food for humans.

After dying, they fall into the hells. Why is this? Because their minds are foolish and deluded; they do not know good from evil, do not remember the hardship their parents endured in giving birth to and raising them, do not understand cause and effect, do not hear the True Dharma, do not practice generosity or observe the precepts, and do not plant roots of goodness.

They think only of water and grass and know nothing else. All these animals are raised by humans. Besides these domesticated animals, there are other animals, such as lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, and the aquatic and terrestrial animals mentioned above, which maim, devour, and consume one another.

Because of this karma, they must fall into the hells and undergo manifold sufferings for immeasurable kalpas. When their offenses in the hells are exhausted, they again enter the animal realm. Thus they pass back and forth for immeasurable kalpas.

Throughout immeasurable and boundless kalpas of birth and death in past lives, these animals have been my parents, close relatives, and kindred, and for my sake they created much evil karma. Now they must become animals and undergo these painful retributions. Having contemplated this suffering, the great bodhisattva opens wide the heart of great compassion.

Having thus contemplated the animals, one next contemplates the human realm. Some sentient beings, though born human, endure great poverty and hardship. They suffer hunger and thirst and have no clothes to wear.

They walk through mud, sleep beneath the rain, reap rice amid the frost, and weed fields beneath the scorching sun. They toil day and night until their hands and feet are utterly exhausted. Their hair is disheveled, their bodies gaunt and emaciated, and they can only shuffle along step by step.

They beg from house to house yet never obtain a full meal, and at night they go to sleep with empty stomachs. They wish to help others but have nothing with which to help. Though they speak and act, others do not trust or follow them.

Though they may possess a fine appearance, they are nonetheless despised. Though they constantly practice patience in order to benefit everyone, they are criticized as weak. Though they may possess literary talent, no one records their writings.

When they visit relatives, they are suspected of having come in search of food. If they take refuge in and have faith in the Three Jewels, they are disparaged as seeking fame. If they praise others, they are accused of flattery.

Or they are born into lowly families, know no happiness, and remain dependent upon others, living merely to preserve their lives. They endure cold and heat without knowing warmth or coolness. They carry water and gather firewood, shrinking from no hardship, yet their masters show them no compassion.

At the slightest fault or delay, they are beaten. These are retributions that they themselves created and must themselves undergo; they are not brought upon them by any god or human being. Because their merit is meager, they bring suffering upon themselves, and this suffering exceeds the suffering of death.

They resemble a withered tree whose branches and leaves have all fallen away, upon which no bird will come to perch. Those of meager merit are likewise.

At that time, the Blessed One restated this meaning in verse:

When they do not speak, they are deemed foolish;
When they speak, they are deemed insane.
If they draw near, they are suspected of flattery;
If they keep their distance, they are said to be afraid.
If they practice patience, they are deemed weak;
If they have faith, they are said to seek fame.
Poverty and hardship in the human realm
Exceed the suffering of death.

Maitreya, hunger and poverty are exceedingly painful. Though such people constantly draw near to and praise others, because they lack merit, calamities immediately follow them. Because they are poor, they are continually humiliated and reviled; consequently, they create still more evil karma and fall into the hells. There are also people born into wealthy and noble families who possess many servants, elephants, horses, cattle, and goats, and are always surrounded by their clans and relatives. They enjoy pleasures surpassing even those of the heavenly realms. When bewildered by the five desires, greed and anger arise in them, followed by pride and arrogance, and they scorn everyone.

At that time, the Blessed One spoke in verse:

Failing to restrain the five faculties, they are ever heedless;
The harm of greed resembles a hostile foe.
Attached to the five desires, they are like drunken people;
Rich and poor alike suffer in birth and death.

The Buddha said to the great bodhisattva Maitreya:

“All sentient beings are unaware of the present and the future. The karma they themselves have created follows them as a shadow follows a form. All these sufferings have craving as their root. Moreover, because they do not cultivate themselves or seek wholesome Dharma, they burn away all the pure qualities accumulated in previous lives, and after death they fall into the three evil paths. Why is this so?”

Because of lust, they take life; relying on their own power, they seize the wealth of others; by every means they usurp others’ wives; and, indulging in sexual misconduct, they make no distinction between relatives and strangers. Driven by desire, they lie and deceive, embellish their words, revile and disparage sentient beings with harsh speech, speak with forked tongues, and deliberately say one thing to one party and another to the other, causing division between them.

They do not foster harmony and mutual respect among their clans and relatives, but are constantly greedy, jealous, arrogant, and conceited, while the fire of anger burns away all their wholesome karma. They praise non-Buddhist paths and disparage the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; they make offerings to celestial deities to seek blessings, unaware of the profound kindness of the Three Jewels, who throughout innumerable past kalpas have undergone much hardship for their sake.

One who cultivates the supreme practices as provisions for bodhi and perfects omniscience is called a Buddha. A bodhisattva is a bright lamp for sentient beings in the darkness of birth and death, a refuge, a rescuer, a ship, and a floating raft that saves living beings and securely conveys devas and humans to the other shore of nirvana.
Yet sentient beings follow wrong views and are arrogant and haughty, like intoxicated persons. Bound by the five desires, they do not cultivate wholesome dharmas. After death, they fall into hell, the animal realm, or the realm of hungry ghosts, or they are born as impoverished humans and undergo sufferings as though body and mind had been struck by a poisoned arrow. All these sufferings arise from failure to cultivate wholesome dharmas. Having contemplated this, the bodhisattva brings forth vast compassion.
He then contemplates the heavenly realms. The devas there enjoy long lives and are free from suffering, but when death draws near, five signs of decline appear:
1.The flowers upon their heads wither
2.Their celestial robes become soiled with dust
3.Sweat flows from beneath their arms
4.Their eyes blink continually
5.They no longer delight in their dwelling place.
When these five signs appear, the newly arrived celestial maidens all avoid them and regard them as grass. The celestial maidens who have long been with that deva love him deeply and therefore remain constantly at his side. As he approaches death, groaning and weeping sorrowfully, everyone comes to inquire after him. The deva then says:
–I loved those newly arrived celestial maidens without partiality; why do they now scorn me as though I were grass, while you grieve and feel compassion for me? For this reason, I love the celestial maidens who have long been here and am angry with those newly arrived. Since the five signs have appeared before my eyes, I know with certainty that I am about to die and leave behind this heavenly palace with its melodious sounds, exquisite sights and fragrances, and delightful, pleasing sensual pleasures.

Bewildered by them, I can no longer recollect anything. Must I truly abandon this palace? My life is now about to end, and I may remain no longer in the heavenly realm.

This is truly agonizing, like an arrow piercing my heart. I have no refuge, no one upon whom to rely, no relatives, no guide, and nowhere to return. Though I cry out piteously, no one comes to save me.

Are the devas so occupied with enjoying pleasure that they abandon me? He further thinks: “The city and palace of Sudarshana will soon vanish from my sight. Never again shall I behold Lord Shakra, nor shall I ever see that resplendent palace again.

Each day I rode Shakra’s precious elephant into the flower gardens, but now I shall never see them again. Forever I bid farewell to the Parushaka Garden; its robes, shoes, helmets, and other things are no more. Never again shall there be days of feasting and drinking together in the Mishraka Garden.

Never again shall I wander in the Nandana Garden beneath the Parijataka and Kalpaka trees, nor ever again wear white jade ornaments and precious stones. I am separated from the assemblies in the Sudharma Hall. Never again shall I bathe in the excellent Mandakini Pool.

It will be difficult ever again to taste the four kinds of nectar, and never again shall I hear the five kinds of harmonious music. Alas! How painful!

Impermanence comes so swiftly, causing me alone to suffer in this way. Is death occurring in every kshana of arising and ceasing? The lives of devas are truly like illusions and dreams.

I tear off my robes and cast them upon the ground, while anguish rends my body and mind as though I had been struck by a serpent’s venom. How grievous this is! I hope that other devas will mercifully save my life and extend it for a few more days—would that not be joyful?

Remove these five signs of decline from me. Do not let me fall among the ox-headed creatures in the mountains or the tiny creatures in the sea.”
Although he speaks in this way, none of the devas can save him.
After saying this, that deva thinks: “Those devas cannot save me or prolong my life. Surely I shall die before long!”
As death approaches, the deva himself sees the place where he will next be born: hell, the animal realm, or the realm of hungry ghosts. Upon seeing that sign, he groans and cries out, loses consciousness, falls to the ground, rolls his eyes upward, and immediately dies, falling according to his karma into the three evil destinies. Thus it should be known that the heavenly realms contain great suffering, and samsara continues endlessly, with no knowing when it will cease. Having contemplated the suffering of the heavenly realms, the great bodhisattva brings forth vast loving-kindness and compassion.
Maitreya, you should know! Suppose a person were to dip the corner of a bow case into the great ocean. Which would contain more water: the water adhering to the bow case or the water in the great ocean?
The great bodhisattva Maitreya addressed the Buddha:
–Blessed One! The water on the corner of that bow case would be extremely little. How could it be compared with the water in the ocean? The great ocean is exceedingly deep and vast; how could the water on the bow case equal it?
The Blessed One said to Maitreya:
–Good man! Those who die in the human and heavenly realms and fall into the three evil destinies are as numerous as the waters of the great ocean, while those who are born again in the human or heavenly realms are like the water on the corner of the bow case. Those who fall into the three evil destinies must endure immeasurable suffering that cannot be fully expressed and is inconceivable, as was briefly described above concerning the sufferings of the three evil destinies.

What has been spoken is like a single grain of sand from the Ganges, while what has not been spoken is like all the sands of the Ganges. The lengths of life are likewise. One hundred years in the human realm equals one day and night in the heaven of Lord Shakra.

Thirty such days and nights constitute one month, and twelve months constitute one year. If the lifespan in that heaven is a full one thousand years, it totals more than three kotis and six billion human years. Yet that entire lifespan amounts to only one day and night in the great Black-Rope Hell.

Thirty days and nights there constitute one month, twelve months constitute one year, and beings live there for a full one thousand years. One thousand years there amount to one day and night in the great Crushing Hell. Thirty days and nights there constitute one month, twelve months constitute one year, and beings live there for a full two thousand years, while in the great Avici Hell their lifespan extends as long as one intermediate kalpa.

From this it should be known that beings in the hells live exceedingly long. When devas approach death, they observe with the divine eye and understand all these things; therefore, they experience immense sorrow and anguish, and all their sensual pleasures instantly vanish. If their former pleasures and present suffering were divided into sixteen parts, one part of the suffering of being born here would be sufficient to extinguish all sixteen parts of heavenly bliss.
Seeing that devas approaching death are afflicted by such sufferings, the great bodhisattva brings forth vast loving-kindness and compassion.
Maitreya, you should know! This is the foremost vast loving-kindness and compassion of a great bodhisattva. Furthermore, one should arouse a mind of great diligence to rescue sentient beings and convey them to the blissful other shore of nirvana. It is like a merchant leader who thinks: “My parents and relatives are all poor and distressed. How can I save them from this wretched condition?” Though he reflects in this way, he finds no other means except to enter the great ocean in search of a wish-fulfilling jewel, bring it back, and use it to aid them all. Having thought thus, he enters the ocean to obtain the wish-fulfilling jewel and bring it home. Thereafter, he enters the ocean, finds the wish-fulfilling jewel, and mounts it atop a high banner.

A wish-fulfilling jewel can rain down abundant jewels, clothing, food and drink, incense, flowers, and music. One’s parents and kin may use them as they wish, and all their needs will be fully met.
The great bodhisattva who arouses the bodhicitta and seeks omniscience is likewise. The bodhisattva constantly reflects: “All sentient beings have been my parents and my close relatives. For my sake, they have had to revolve through birth and death, and now they are undergoing many afflictions and sufferings.

By what means can I rescue and liberate them?” Having reflected thus, the bodhisattva sees no other way than to enter the ocean of the Dharma of the six paramitas and seek the wish-fulfilling jewel of omniscience in order to rescue suffering beings. Having thought thus, the bodhisattva enters the ocean of the Dharma to seek the wish-fulfilling jewel of knowledge of all modes, and then suspends it from the banner of Dharma.

Great clouds of loving-kindness spread everywhere, raining down all the supernatural powers and virtues of the dharani gateways. The bodhisattva takes moral shame and dread of wrongdoing as clothing, generosity as a dwelling, the fragrance of pure precepts as incense, patience as garlands, diligence as food, meditative concentration as a bed, the nectar of wisdom as food and drink, the empty and quiescent nature of all dharmas as a resting place, great nirvana as a jeweled city, and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas as good spiritual friends.

Having obtained the jewel of knowledge of all modes, the bodhisattva rains down innumerable wondrous treasures, clothing, incense, flowers, music, and the like. Apart from the unsurpassed Great Master who disciplines and guides beings, no one can rescue them from their sufferings and adversities and enable them to attain the ultimate peace and bliss of nirvana.”
Having reflected thus, the great bodhisattva knows with certainty that the stage of non-retrogression will be attained. The bodhisattva further makes this vow:
Wherever I may be born amid suffering and adversity, may I undergo in place of sentient beings all their afflictions and sufferings. I do not wish to realize the liberation of nirvana, abandoning sentient beings and enjoying peace and happiness by myself. Why is this?

After all shravakas and pratyekabuddhas attain liberation and enter nirvana, they abide there forever, neither benefiting sentient beings nor proclaiming the virtues of the Buddha’s body. Great bodhisattvas, however, exhort and transform sentient beings in the three evil destinies, enabling them to abandon evil karma, cultivate wholesome dharmas, leave suffering behind, and attain liberation even within the human realm.

Therefore, great bodhisattvas benefit all sentient beings throughout the ten directions, and because of this they may receive the offerings made by the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Great Brahma kings, Maheshvara, and the sages of non-Buddhist paths. Bodhisattvas who attain this stage of non-retrogression are praised and given predictions of awakening by the Buddhas of the three times. Great bodhisattvas who cultivate the Mahayana attain mastery and fearlessness, like the lion king.

All sentient beings who follow them will bring every fear to an end and proceed directly toward bodhi. When shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and arhats hear the bodhisattva’s instruction, they enter deep into mountain caves, cover their heads with their robes, and turn toward nirvana; how could this compare with cultivating the bodhisattva practice of the Mahayana, whereby both oneself and others receive benefit? Therefore, I shall apply myself with ever greater diligence.

I would rather remain in the three evil destinies and undergo immeasurable suffering than ever seek benefit for myself alone and abide in nirvana.
All sentient beings who, in the past, present, or future, have created or will create evil karma and thus fall into the evil destinies and undergo many sufferings—I vow to bear these sufferings in their place with this body. Whatever wholesome deeds, virtuous dharmas, and merits I have attained through practice in the past and present, I vow to dedicate them all so that every sentient being may swiftly realize nirvana.

I vow to relinquish all wealth, valuables, and treasures. When beaten, reviled, or insulted, I vow to endure patiently and never retaliate, and I vow that those beings may be freed from their offenses. Throughout immeasurable, boundless asamkhya kalpas, I vow to accomplish every difficult deed and, for the sake of sentient beings, seek unsurpassed, perfect awakening, diligently cultivating meditative concentration and liberation and attaining the stage of non-retrogression.
Just as immeasurable and boundless great bodhisattvas in the past diligently cultivated omniscience, so too shall I cultivate it. Why is this? It is because I wish to deliver all sentient beings from samsara and bring them to the shore of liberation, unsurpassed nirvana.
I further vow to lead all kinds of sentient beings—those born from eggs, born from wombs, born from moisture, or born by transformation; those with form or without form; those with perception or without perception; and those who are neither perceptive nor non-perceptive—into nirvana. I shall cause them to perfect the six paramitas and fully accomplish the unsurpassed body of a Buddha, adorned with a hundred merits, the thirty-two excellent marks, and the eighty beautiful characteristics, with an aureole shining more brilliantly than the light of hundreds of thousands of suns, so that sentient beings delight in beholding it and never grow weary.
I further vow that all sentient beings throughout the worlds of the ten directions may possess meritorious adornments like those of a Buddha.
The bodhisattva further makes this vow:
For the sake of all sentient beings throughout the dharmadhatu who are beaten or rebuked, constantly bound and subjected to pain, humiliated, threatened with death, or compelled to perform forced labor without being permitted to resist, I vow to relinquish this body. May all those sentient beings be freed from their offenses.
Having made this vow, the bodhisattva further reflects: “May this vow of mine swiftly be fulfilled.”
I further vow to use this body throughout the five destinies to bring benefit, peace, and happiness to all sentient beings. For those who have no refuge, I shall be their refuge; for those traveling in foreign lands, I shall be their guide; for those who enter the ocean, I shall be a raft; for those crossing rivers and streams, I shall be bridges and causeways; for those in the wilderness, I shall be springs and wells; for those suffering from cold, I shall be firewood and torches; for those suffering from heat, I shall provide coolness; in dark places, I shall be a bright lamp; for the sick, I shall be soft bedding; for the hungry, I shall be delicious food; for the thirsty, I shall be sweet water; for the naked, I shall be clothing;

during droughts and crop failures, I shall be rain that waters the five kinds of grain; for those afflicted by illness, I shall be excellent medicine that swiftly cures their diseases and prolongs their lives; for orphans, widows, widowers, and the lonely, I shall be an attendant; for the poor and destitute, I shall be a treasury, following them and dwelling with them without ever leaving them; for those traveling far, I shall be a companion and a carriage so that they may reach their destination; and to those who hold wrong views, I shall teach the true Dharma and cause them to abide in right view.

I vow to enter the hells and rescue sentient beings from their sufferings; to be born among hungry ghosts and become delicious, sweet, and cooling food and drink, dispelling their burning torment, hunger, and thirst; and to transform into a mountain of flesh so that animals such as tigers, leopards, wolves, bears, and lions may eat their fill.
I further vow: May all sentient beings who eat my flesh be fully satisfied and no longer devour one another. For elephants, horses, cattle, goats, deer, antelopes, and other such creatures, I shall become fresh, lush, tender grass for them to eat. I shall enable all sentient beings—whether they eat flesh, grass, or the various kinds of grain—to obtain food and drink freely according to their wishes and be fully satisfied. Among human beings, they shall enjoy pleasures as they wish. I vow to provide for them so that they lack nothing.
The bodhisattva further makes this vow: May I accomplish all dharani bodies. Wherever sentient beings may be, I shall become a wish-fulfilling tree to rescue and protect them, and a jeweled vessel that pours forth immeasurable wealth to provide for all sentient beings until they are fully supplied and satisfied. Or I shall become a physician who cures all their illnesses.

With the hand of great compassion, I shall take up the key to the gate of Dharma, open the city of nirvana, and reveal and teach the Buddha’s knowledge and vision. Throughout three asamkhya kalpas, I shall perform deeds that are difficult and painful so as to establish sentient beings in the true liberation of nirvana. Wherever I may be born, I shall always be diligent and never indolent, bringing benefit, peace, and happiness to all sentient beings.

To rescue sentient beings in the hells, I shall undergo immeasurable suffering and regard it as the bliss of nirvana.
The bodhisattva further makes this vow: If even one sentient being has not yet attained liberation, I vow to remain in hell forever and not realize bodhi.
Maitreya!

It should be known that this is the second form of diligence practiced by a great bodhisattva in seeking the wisdom of omniscience.

Furthermore, Maitreya, after practicing this conduct, one should arouse three kinds of superior resolve in order to seek the stage of non-retrogression, diligently cultivating for as long as three incalculable eons without interruption for even a single moment. Some maras may assume the forms of shramanas, brahmins, ascetics, or various other figures, mingling among followers of the Mahayana to seek out faults and cause diligent practitioners to regress.

They may also say: “The path to Buddhahood is remote. For hundreds and thousands of eons, one must do what is difficult to do and relinquish what is difficult to relinquish—kingdoms and cities, wives and children, elephants and horses, the seven treasures, male and female slaves, servants, and even one’s own body, hands, and feet—without attachment or regret. Only after practicing such generosity for a hundred thousand eons can one realize bodhi.

Immeasurable beings have practiced in this way, yet none have attained Buddhahood; they have all regressed and sought to realize nirvana for themselves. Even if one were to attain the fruit of Buddhahood, one would still enter nirvana. Since there is only one kind of nirvana, why labor so strenuously in ascetic practices?

If you wish to seek benefit, you should cultivate two things:

1. Seek to enjoy pleasures in the present life, freely partaking of all the sublime pleasures of the five desires enjoyed by devas and humans. Even if there is a little suffering, do not be afraid. Why? Suppose a farmer feared insects—would he therefore refrain from planting rice? The pleasures enjoyed by devas and humans are likewise: although there is a little suffering, the pleasure is boundless. If you simply undertake the practice yourself, what is there to worry about or fear?

2. Seek nirvana for yourself. Make this your final life, attain arhatship, and gain liberation. Why endure hardship in seeking the fruit of Buddhahood? If one cannot incline toward the Two Vehicles, one should enjoy all the pleasures of devas and humans. If one later grows weary of them and renounces them, one can also swiftly enter nirvana. It is like one person who exerts little effort yet gains great benefit, while another expends immense effort but accomplishes nothing. Even if you undergo every hardship, you may achieve nothing at all and merely deceive yourself. Come now and dwell together with me. As for the supramundane nirvana, whether advancing or remaining still, stay together with me in one place.”

Maitreya, you should know that when a great bodhisattva cultivating the Mahayana hears such words, the bodhisattva does not believe or follow them, but instead thinks: “This is an evil mara who has come to disturb me, obstruct me, and entice me so that I will regress from bodhi.” Having understood this, the bodhisattva resolves: “I vow not to betray my former aspiration by heeding these words. I am determined to seek the fruit of unsurpassed Buddhahood, and I vow never to regress from the Mahayana.”

The bodhisattva then arouses three kinds of resolve:

1. Throughout beginningless eons of wandering in samsara, all sentient beings have been my parents and relatives in former lives. They have endured great hardships and many forms of suffering, such as the sixteen hells—the eight cold hells and the eight hot hells—as well as many other torments. They have likewise endured such suffering among hungry ghosts and animals, and even among devas and humans. How, then, could I fail to cherish my parents and all my paternal and maternal kin from former lives? Therefore, I vow to realize bodhi and must never regress.

Maitreya, this is the first resolve of non-retrogression aroused by a great bodhisattva.

2. Since beginningless time, all sentient beings have been my parents. Each time I was born within a mother’s womb, she could find no ease while eating, lying down, sleeping, or resting, and endured immense hardship in giving birth to and nurturing me.

Through the heartfelt power of great compassion, her very blood was transformed into milk. She never grew weary, but spat out the bitter and swallowed the sweet, cultivated merit, and hoped that I would grow to maturity. If, through scant merit, I unfortunately died young, my parents wailed in anguish, tore their hair, beat their breasts, and wept torrents of tears, unable to savor their food.

In every birth, they underwent suffering such as this. Throughout my lives, the tears I have shed since birth have exceeded the waters of the four seas, and the mother’s milk I have drunk has exceeded the waters of the four great rivers.

Furthermore, since beginningless time, all sentient beings, through bonds of affection, have become my parents and have sacrificed their lives for my sake; consequently, even now they have not escaped samsara. If these sentient beings had diligently cultivated unsurpassed bodhi, they would certainly have attained Buddhahood, yet because of me they have had to wander through birth and death. Furthermore, since beginningless time, all sentient beings, out of affection for me, have created evil karma without giving rise to remorse or reforming themselves.

If this evil karma possessed material form, it would exceed Mount Sumeru in size. Because they created so much evil karma, they fell into the three evil realms, and even now their suffering has not ended. How, then, could I forget their kindness and betray their benevolence by personally seizing nirvana and seeking liberation for myself?

It is like a group of people who have all violated the royal law and are bound and confined in prison. They wish to escape but find no way out. One among them sees a small opening in the wall and, by employing various means, is able to escape through it. In this way, that person is freed from suffering and peril. Followers of the Two Vehicles are likewise. Formerly, together with sentient beings, they were deluded by ignorance and craving and were bound within the prison of birth and death in the three realms. They wished to escape but had no means. One among them saw the gateway of the Four Noble Truths, understood the path of cultivating suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path, attained the fruit of arhatship, and realized nirvana.

Practitioners of the Mahayana are not like this. They vow to attain liberation together with all sentient beings. They take morality and samadhi as their two hands, wisdom as their blade, and great compassion as their hook and key; they vanquish the bandits of the afflictions, break the army of birth and death, open the citadel of nirvana, and ascend to the palace of wisdom.

Maitreya, you should know that this is the second non-retrogressive resolve of a great bodhisattva cultivating the Mahayana.

3. A great bodhisattva thinks as follows: “Throughout beginningless eons of wandering in samsara until the present, sentient beings have depended upon one another while creating bodily, verbal, and mental karma that caused suffering to others. They disturbed others’ minds and provoked anger in them; driven by every form of craving, they plundered others’ possessions; they killed sentient beings and consumed their blood and flesh. Such acts of killing have been immeasurable and boundless. Even when another had not yet died, they pondered day and night how to cause that person’s death so that they might take the blood and flesh and consume them to satiety.

“Moreover, through arrogance and conceit, they reviled and humiliated others, saying, ‘Those are not my own words.’ When they heard that someone surpassed them in some respect, jealousy arose in their minds. Unable to bear it, they sought to poison that person to death. Seeing someone undergoing suffering or calamity, they had no loving-kindness or compassion, but instead rejoiced uncontrollably, wishing, ‘Why does that person not die soon?’ Seeing someone honored and wealthy, they wished that person would be convicted, punished, imprisoned, and reduced to poverty.

They wished others to suffer so that they themselves might enjoy glory, wealth, and honor. They wished others’ possessions to diminish day and night, while wishing their own possessions to increase daily. They wished others to be sorrowful while they themselves remained forever at ease.

They wished others to be hated while they themselves were loved. They wished others to encounter many enemies while they themselves encountered many friends. They wished others to fall while they themselves rose higher.

They wished others to be impoverished while they alone were wealthy. They wished themselves to possess wisdom while others remained foolish.

“Throughout beginningless birth and death, day and night they entertained such thoughts, seeking happiness solely for themselves, wishing every benefit to accrue to themselves and every suffering to befall others. There was not a single sentient being whom they did not violate or harm. They did not wish others’ good deeds to become renowned; their mouths expressed agreement while their hearts opposed it, and by every means they oppressed others, keeping them constantly distressed.... Deeds such as these are innumerable and cannot be fully described.

“Moreover, with evil words they instructed and guided beings of the present and future to fall upon dangerous and perilous paths.”

Falsely claiming to have seen or known something in order to testify against others, causing them to lose their property or official positions; using divisive speech to sow discord among relatives and strangers; employing manifold deceitful schemes to make people hate one another—through these acts, one falls into hell, with no knowledge of when one may emerge. Using harsh words to revile others is like shooting arrows and bullets into their bodies and minds; only when they die do they forget them.

Fabricating written accusations and manifold abuses, using false words to harm sentient beings, and employing many other kinds of speech such as these. Or becoming a wrong-viewed non-Buddhist ascetic, with the mind consumed by the fire of anger, preaching evil doctrines, blazing with wrath, and oppressing sentient beings; devising spells, sorcery, enchantments, and talismans that cause beings to abandon their cultivation and harm one another, making diseases spread everywhere;

turning the healthy into the emaciated and sick, the young into the old, the bright-eyed into the blind, those with keen hearing into the deaf, the beautiful into the ugly, the noble into lepers, those who do good into evildoers, the wise into the mad and deluded, the long-lived into those who die prematurely, and the wealthy and honored into the poor and miserable.

Thus, even to the present day, their wandering in samsara has never ceased.
Again, I recall that in the past I was a teacher of non-Buddhist wrong views. I taught people that what was contrary to the Dharma was the true Dharma, and that the true Dharma was contrary to the Dharma, causing innumerable sentient beings to retreat from the mind of bodhi and fall into false teachings and wrong views. After departing that life, I fell into the realms of hell beings, animals, and hungry ghosts.
There were also sentient beings in former lives who accepted my instruction and cast themselves from lofty mountains into the Yamuna River, where they died, believing that they would thereby be reborn in heaven; even now they still remain fallen in the lower realms.
There were also immeasurable sentient beings who went to the place between two rivers: south of the Ganges and north of the Yamuna River—a tributary of the Ganges that joins it at Prayaga—where there was a luxuriant and flourishing tree-spirit called Nigrodha, whose verdant foliage spread cooling shade over broad, level ground. Taking this place as their ritual ground, they erected three iron spears beneath the tree. Those sentient beings who wished to be reborn in heaven would first practice giving at that ground, then shave off their hair and beard and bathe in the river, hoping to cleanse away the defilements of sin.

Afterward, they would climb the tree and cast themselves headfirst upon the spear-points, killing themselves; once dead, they were said to have been reborn in heaven. In this way, from beginningless time until now, their wandering in samsara has never ceased.
There were also sentient beings who followed my false teachings and were habitually miserly, never practicing giving. When they saw someone give, they became angry, and when they saw someone receive a gift, they became enraged. Why was this? Because they believed that both the giver and the recipient, through the karmic conditions of giving and receiving, would fall into hell. Because they held such views, they have suffered as hungry ghosts for immeasurable kalpas and have not yet escaped.
There were also sentient beings who accepted my false teachings and slaughtered many oxen and sheep, using their blood as offerings to heaven. Why was this? They believed: ‘These oxen and sheep were bestowed upon us by heaven, and by consuming their blood and flesh, we make offerings to heaven.’ From beginningless time they accepted and practiced this teaching. After death, they fell into the evil destinies, where they maimed, devoured, and consumed one another. Because of their delusion, they could not realize nirvana.
There were also sentient beings who accepted my false teachings and constantly slandered the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. There were also sentient beings who accepted my false teachings and did not believe in good and evil causes and effects throughout the three times. They said that there was no giving and no making of offerings, that there were no results, that there was no Dharma that protects beings and dispels demons, that there were no good deeds and no evil deeds, and no fruits of karma; that there was neither this life nor another life; that there were no hell beings, hungry ghosts, or animals; and that there were no devas, human beings, fathers, or mothers.

They said: ‘All sentient beings are like intoxicated people. A winemaker prepares glutinous rice, regulating warmth and cold until it becomes fine wine; whoever drinks it immediately becomes intoxicated. Was this wine produced by a father and mother?

Sentient beings are likewise: through the union of father and mother and the defiled craving of the past, this body of mine came to exist. After I die, I shall never live again. It is just as when a tree is cut down and burned, becoming charcoal and ash.

How could that ash have come from the tree? My body is the same: once dead, it will never live again. Thus, we know with certainty that cause and effect do not exist.’ Because of this, they showed no reverence toward their parents or teachers and elders, but instead reviled them.

For immeasurable kalpas, I continued teaching these false doctrines, causing sentient beings to fall into hell.
Some non-Buddhist ascetics burned their bodies with fire; some immersed themselves in water and drowned; some rolled upon sharp spears until they died; some practiced the conduct of dogs and ate excrement in hopes of being reborn in the heavenly realm. Some observed the discipline of oxen, walking as oxen do, drinking water and eating grass, wearing nothing to cover their bodies, and failing to distinguish the six close relations, thus engaging indiscriminately in sexual misconduct.

Some non-Buddhist ascetics fasted without eating, stood throughout the entire day, and ate only after the following night. Some scorched their bodies amid five fires and turned to follow the sun. Some stood with one leg raised high.

Some worshiped the moon: during the waxing fortnight, they ate one morsel on the first day, two morsels on the second, and so on until the full moon, when they ate fifteen morsels. During the waning fortnight, they reduced their food by one morsel on the first day, by two on the second, and so on until, at the end of the dark fortnight, they ate only one morsel, or sometimes nothing at all. Some non-Buddhist ascetics observed the discipline of chickens: they scattered food upon the ground, scratched it out with their feet, picked it up to eat, and cried out when the appointed time arrived.

Some went naked, knowing no shame. Some burned their hair, stood outdoors at midday and moved with the sun, yet in bitterly cold weather stood in the shade and fanned themselves. Some, after killing people, used their skulls as vessels for food and drink.

Some went naked without shame and smeared their bodies with ashes. Some smeared their bodies with black charcoal. Some strung together the joints of skull bones to make necklaces, garlands, rings, and bracelets with which to adorn their bodies.

Some wove clothing from horses’ tails and manes; some made clothing from tree bark; some made clothing from vultures’ feathers; and some made clothing from chickens’ feathers.
Such non-Buddhist ascetics used false doctrines to instruct sentient beings.
Because of verbal karma, innumerable sentient beings have remained ignorant and obscured even to the present day, unable to attain liberation. Again, from beginningless time until now, through bodily actions I created evil karma and tormented sentient beings. As a prison warden, I used iron pincers to clamp their tongues and then poured boiling molten copper into them.

I also used iron clubs to smash their bones and iron saws to saw their bodies apart. I drove sentient beings into forests of swords, pulled out their intestines and five internal organs, and ate them. I bound sentient beings tightly with iron cords and cast them into rivers of ashes, then dragged them out again and placed them upon blazing trees, like fish tossed back and forth in a pan.

I forced them to stand or sit and then scooped at them with red-hot iron ladles. I poured boiling molten copper into their mouths and forced them to drink it. I used iron pincers to pull out their tongues, stretching them until they were long and broad, and then plowed over them with iron plowshares, just like the sufferings of hell described above.
Throughout beginningless kalpas until now, I have been involved in deeds such as these… With every bodily action, I tormented sentient beings. I also became lions, tigers, leopards, jackals, wolves, bears, and other beasts, eating flesh, drinking blood, and maiming sentient beings.

Or, occupying honored positions as kings, officials, commoners, elders, householders, and others, I perverted the law to levy taxes, inflicted beatings without cause, disobeyed the king’s laws, and harmed sentient beings. Therefore, I reflect: from beginningless time until now, I have continually afflicted and harmed sentient beings throughout the five destinies—beheading them, gouging out their eyes, slicing off their ears, cutting off their noses, severing their tongues, eating their flesh, splitting their bones to extract the marrow, and cutting off their hands and feet, even unto death.

Or, when born as a human, one became a butcher, hunted animals, caught fish, and spread nets to take the lives of sentient beings such as oxen, goats, deer, antelopes, foxes, rabbits, chickens, pigs, fish, soft-shelled turtles, and tortoises. One cut their bodies into pieces, piled them together, and sold them. In this way, one slaughtered and traded countless sentient beings throughout immeasurable kotis of kalpas.
—Maitreya! A great bodhisattva cultivating the Mahayana should arouse the following resolve and reflect thus: “Because of greed, hatred, and delusion, I have created many evil karmas through body, speech, and mind, deceiving and harming all sentient beings, who now fall into the hells, the realm of hungry ghosts, and the animal realm, where they undergo manifold sufferings. I now feel ashamed and remorseful and reproach myself: How can I repay the kindness I owe them?

Reflecting thus, I see no other way to requite these offenses. I can only wholeheartedly seek unsurpassed bodhi, for otherwise I could never fully repay my former debts. After attaining unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, I shall deliver the sentient beings who dwell in this desolate wilderness of samsara and lead them to the peaceful and blissful city of nirvana.

With the wish-fulfilling jewel of the wisdom of omniscience, I shall repay the profound debts of wrongdoing accumulated since beginningless time.”
Maitreya, you should know! This is the third irreversible resolve aroused by a great bodhisattva.
With the first two resolves, one diligently strives in cultivation without indolence. With the third resolve, one cultivates single-mindedly and realizes the stage of irreversibility.
Maitreya! By cultivating the Mahayana through these five kinds of resolve, one swiftly attains omniscience.