楞伽經心印

ORIGIN AND CIRCUMSTANCES

THE MIND-SEAL OF THE LANKAVATARA

The commentator on this sutra is the Elder of Leifeng, who was originally a claw and fang within the Chan school and had entered deeply into the inner recesses of both the nature and characteristics teachings. Grieved by the desolation and overgrowth afflicting doctrinal studies and distressed by the confusion prevailing in the Chan school, in the year Guisi (1653) he withdrew into seclusion at Kuangfu, hung up his gourd at Jinjing, and planted his staff at Yuyuan.

If asked about his realization, his mind was tranquil and the sea clear; if one looked up to his noble bearing, his person resembled a solitary, towering peak. Like Dizang Chen, he tilled the fields to sustain himself; like Qixian Shi, he practiced through recitation. Though the furnace was cold and the hearth reduced to ashes, he did nothing but uphold the great Dharma.

Amid entangled roots and a chaos of knotted threads, he relied on keen wisdom to sever the hundred strands. Before the ancients, he truly had no cause for shame.

In the year Wuxu (1658), he returned to Lingnan. The following year, I, Jinwu, came from Yumen to seek him out. Around the years Renyin (1662) and Guimao (1663), together with the disciples Shijian and others, I questioned him about Consciousness-Only. He said, “The Lankavatara Sutra alone makes clear that the primal spirit and self must not be confused with the pearl of the nature; relying on turtle hair and oil from sand, one suddenly awakens, and deluded sentiments vanish of themselves.” As he thereupon disclosed the essential purport, we requested him to compose a commentary.

He was skillfully accordant with the Mind School and also thoroughly versed in names and characteristics. He not only polished and refined the pillar of wild Chan, but also stimulated and uplifted the lecture hall. His lofty, imageless mind steeped itself in the ocean of meaning at its deepest source; his profound and tranquil spiritual faculty demolished difficult questions within half a verse.

Through toil and fatigue, gathering and searching, he caused the great meaning at once to appear in radiant clarity, delighting in wondrous words without becoming ensnared by them. Employing the teachings to aid the school, he transmitted only the four-fascicle version. Consciousness itself is the storehouse, supporting the great mind so as to prevail over the Two Vehicles.

This is truly the application of the supreme mind, undertaken through farsighted recognition of the maladies of the age. Within his commentary are profound discussions that enter the principle, yet remain closely aligned with the sutra text. Precisely within its words and meanings, the vehicle of the school is revealed; by comprehending that vehicle, its words and meanings are dissolved and integrated.

I venture to set this forth privately as guidance for later students. When the four rivers all flow into the sea, not even a single fleck of foam remains. This depends upon clarifying the wisdom-eye while reading the text.

On the tenth day of the eighth month in the Jiachen year (1664) of the Kangxi reign, the Dharma-heir disciple Jinwu respectfully composed this with bowed head.

THE LANKAVATARA ABHIDHARMA

JEWELED SUTRA MIND-SEAL

Lanka is the name of a mountain. Because this mountain produced the jewel of Lanka, the mountain was named after the jewel. The mountain lies in the southern sea and is the dwelling place of yakshas. Because the yaksha king invited the Buddha to teach the Dharma upon this mountain, the sutra was named after the mountain.

The great scholar Zaobo said, “This sutra was taught on Mount Lanka in the southern sea. The Tathagata was teaching a sutra below the mountain when the yaksha king Ravana and the bodhisattva Mahamati came seated in a flower palace to invite the Tathagata to enter the mountain and teach the Dharma. This mountain soars aloft overlooking the great sea, and there is no way to enter from anywhere around it.

Only those possessing spiritual powers can ascend it. This symbolizes the Dharma gateway of the ground of mind: only those who cultivate and realize it can ascend. Its overlooking the great sea symbolizes the pure ocean of mind.

Because the winds of external objects blow, the waves of consciousness arise. When one realizes that external objects are fundamentally nonexistent, the ocean of mind naturally becomes tranquil. When mind and objects are both still, everything is clearly illuminated, just as when the winds upon the great sea subside, the sun, moon, and myriad things appear distinctly reflected.

In this sutra, for bodhisattvas whose faculties had already matured, the Buddha directly taught that the karmic seeds of consciousness are the Tathagatagarbha. This differs from the Two Vehicles, which proceed toward empty quiescence by extinguishing consciousness. It also differs from the Prajnaparamita approach, in which bodhisattvas contemplate emptiness and then delight in the predominance of emptiness.

Here it is directly indicated that the essential nature of consciousness is originally wholly true and immediately becomes the functioning of wisdom, just as when the winds upon the great sea become still, all phenomena appear. When the ocean of mind is unmoving, the winds of external objects are not separate from it. One who skillfully understands the true nature transforms consciousness into wisdom at that very point.” Zaobo indeed understood the essential purport of the Lankavatara Sutra most profoundly.

This sutra was first translated by Gunabhadra during the Liu Song dynasty (424–454). His translation comprised four fascicles and was entitled The Lankavatara Abhidharma Jeweled Sutra. During the Northern Wei dynasty (500–516), Bodhiruci translated it into ten fascicles under the title Entering the Lankavatara. During the Tang dynasty, in the reign of Wu Zetian (684–705), Sikshananda, together with Fu Li and others, translated it into seven fascicles under the title The Mahayana Sutra of Entering the Lankavatara.

The Tang translation is very plain and concise, but does not equal the profundity and loftiness of the Song translation. Therefore, from ancient times to the present, most scholars have followed the first translation, that of the Song dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, Great Master Bodhidharma traveled by sea to China and then went to the state of Wei, where he sat facing a wall for nine years at Shaolin Monastery. Later, when transmitting the Dharma to the Patriarch Huike, he said, “In this land there are only these four fascicles of the Lankavatara Sutra, which may be used to seal the mind. I entrust them all to you.” From then onward, the Lankavatara Sutra became a secret treasure within the Chan school.

Chan practitioners today have cast it aside, to the extent that some never once open it throughout their entire lives. How lamentable! Among students of doctrine, only at the beginning of the Hongwu reign (1368) did Zongle and Ruyi, acting under imperial decree, jointly compose a commentary.

At the end of the Wanli reign (1620), Master Deqing wrote his notes. Around the middle of the Chongzhen reign (1628–1643), Master Zhixu composed his commentary on its meaning. Apart from these commentaries, none others are seen.

Patriarch Bodhidharma often said, “After five hundred years, this sutra will become a study of names and characteristics.” The more carefully this statement is considered, the more alarming it becomes. When the Patriarch said that our school would lose its transmission, how could that be due to any person or circumstance other than this?

I, Hanshi, recall that in the Xinchou year (1661) of the Shunzhi reign, Huashou first passed into stillness, and in the following year Dari also departed from this world. During those two years, all delight in human life was exhausted for me. I therefore withdrew to reside at Mount Leifeng, dwelling quietly in a thatched hermitage.

Relying upon the aspirations of former generations, I also answered the questions of Chan practitioners as a means of bringing joy to myself, but did not yet dare to instruct others. I reflected only that the Dharma of the Way was sprouting in confusion: people claimed to have seen the nature, yet equated it with a spiritual self; they regarded the single path of penetrating liberation through Chan practice as no different from a primal consciousness.

Concerning statements such as “It does not arise by itself, yet neither does it not arise,” the words of the sages remain fully present; nevertheless, some fail to understand the principle of dependent origination and ultimately fall into the denial of emptiness, wantonly destroying the Buddhadharma. Upon examination, this occurs because they are trapped by names and characteristics; thus their merits and offenses are not the same.

This sutra directly indicates that the karmic seeds of consciousness are the Tathagatagarbha, and that delusion and awakening truly exist. Otherwise, one takes the flowing continuity of consciousness to be one’s own mind and thereby falls back into the error that mind produces consciousness. The commentary explains this profoundly, intimately, and clearly, first drawing out the thread so that its continuity may be seen.

Where sutras and treatises are cited, only passages close to the principle are selected so that they may illuminate one another. As for the words of Chan practitioners, their essential purpose lies in carefully guarding oneself. Chan masters generally employ words to remove the fastening peg, whereas the scriptures aim to guide people back to the wordless.

Precisely because the discussion is profound, it cannot refrain from breaking down and clearing away; yet if words are vainly used to sever words, how can they avoid becoming confused with true expositions—words that reveal the truth? Through errors in words and names, the characters “wu” and “yan” are miscopied as the character “ma.” The malady of Chan today arises from the inability to distinguish the true from the false.

When our Patriarch first established the wordless teaching, he also transmitted the four-fascicle sutra, thereby secretly revealing his hidden intention. I, Hanshi, beseech all people of later generations to follow the purport taught by the One of Great Compassion.

CHAPTER ONE: THE MIND OF THE WORDS OF ALL BUDDHAS

The nature of the dharmadhatu originally admits neither awakening nor delusion; sentient beings themselves distinguish the true from the false. The true and the false originally abide in the one mind, yet delusion and awakening unfold the myriad dharmas. Dharma has no other dharmas, yet the various dharmas seem to appear before us.

Mind has no other mind, yet it clearly becomes a continuous succession of consciousnesses. The reason is that, at the ultimate truth, non-awakening gives rise to deluded movement, and thus conceptualization arises. Penetrate that delusion is originally true, and when the true is known, conceptualization ceases.

Therefore, the twelve classes of sentient beings are originally Buddhas, yet falsely perceive themselves as undergoing transmigration. The thirty-two marks are already present within the characteristics of ordinary beings, yet they become inverted views. Thus our greatly awakened World-Honored One removed his precious robe and put on a filthy, tattered garment.

Only at the true limit is there ignorance; what is described as illusory is false and deceptive. The faculties and body, together with the material world, are all differentiated according to the measures of sentient cognition. Buddha lands and responsive bodies are differentiated in reliance upon the illumination of wisdom.

It is like a bright mirror that reveals beautiful or ugly forms according to the objects before it, while its empty, luminous, formless nature remains originally quiescent. It is also like the moon, which appears to come and go according to the observer; this is merely what the observer sees, while its radiant light hangs in the midst of space without ever waning. To discuss the mirror’s light in terms of beautiful and ugly forms, or to examine the substance of the moon according to a person’s coming and going—all of this arises from diseased eyes.

This is why noble wisdom does not permit silence on the matter.

How could the empty, luminous, formless nature admit of speech and discussion? One can only say that it is neither beautiful nor ugly. The radiant light hanging in the midst of space needs no indication; one can only say that it neither goes nor comes.

One hopes that, upon encountering it with one’s own eyes, one will awaken to mind, yet fears that one may abandon the moon and gaze at the pointing finger. Because of ugliness, beauty is indicated; with reference to arrival, departure is spoken of. Examine the mirror’s light to its utmost and no ugly characteristic can be found—then against what could a beautiful characteristic stand?

Search exhaustively into the substance of the moon and no trace of arrival exists—how then could there be departure? Beauty and ugliness are both delusions, while the mirror’s substance is originally empty. Coming and going are entirely false, while the moon’s essence remains luminous.

Therefore, what meaning is directly revealed by the 108 propositions that cut off speech? Upon thorough examination, the eight kinds of consciousness are arising and ceasing; from beginningless time they have been false and are not a true cause. True wisdom is originally free of discrimination, yet it becomes the mind of non-awakening.

Because original quiescence does not preserve the numinous source, it changes into the falsely stirring consciousness. Mind does not give rise to consciousness; it is eternally nirvana even within the stream of consciousness. Consciousness is not apart from mind; it undergoes empty rounds of birth and death even within the ever-abiding nirvana.

Once the eyes become diseased, a thousand illusory flowers swirl chaotically through empty space. Once delusion obscures mind, the various measures of sentient cognition close the gate of wisdom. When the illness ends, the eyes remain; when the illusory flowers vanish, space remains clear.

When delusion is exhausted, mind is complete; when sentient cognition disappears, wisdom shines.

If wisdom is confined within the gate of sentient cognition, then all wisdom becomes sentient cognition. If mind is obscured within the ocean of consciousness, then all mind becomes consciousness. The power of perfuming and transformation is inconceivable, and the true limit of birth and death is indeed difficult to know.

If the various delusions had a cause upon which to rely, how could the continuity of faculties and consciousness ever cease? If one does not transform that true consciousness back to its source, one will certainly form the mistaken attachment that it is a generative cause. Because of delusion within the stream of consciousness, eye-consciousness, visible objects, and light combine together.

If one clings to a supremely wondrous nature and takes it to be consciousness, how is this different from a fool searching for a turtle’s hair or pressing sand to extract oil? Through the deluded attachment to existence and nonexistence, cause and effect are rendered empty. All this is because one fails to understand what is presently before one and consequently supposes that something separate exists.

It is also because one has never seen the ultimate point that one mistakenly clings to an initial illumination.

Because mind has no prior limit, whatever appears arises through delusion. Consciousness has no subsequent condition; one need only understand its initial characteristic, and all will be seen as illusory transformations. By becoming weary of arising and delighting in stillness, and by extinguishing every kind of appropriation, one immediately sees the final limit of the realm of experience.

To abandon the false and realize the true already constitutes a remedial opposition, yet this still does not reveal the origin of arising and cessation. This is because awakening has no distinctions, whereas delusion has varying depths. Mind has neither sameness nor difference, whereas consciousness has boundaries.

Therefore, the ocean of the storehouse consciousness is difficult to fathom, while awakened mind is ever-abiding. Birth and death and nirvana have no creator; the establishment of ordinary beings and sages is merely an empty shadow. What deluded conception manifests and where noble wisdom functions—the faculties, objects, mind, and consciousness—never depart from the one truth, yet the limits of delusion and awakening remain far apart.

Upon the nature of true suchness, sentient thoughts differ from one another; this is the reason for rising and sinking among the six destinies. Within the unconditioned Dharma, wisdom and practice follow many paths, and therefore the four classes of sages have higher and lower ranks.

The eighth consciousness bears only the fault of delusion, and therefore waves arise, yet the ocean’s wet nature always remains. The seven evolving consciousnesses originally have no true cause; although they may settle into limpid stillness, the force of the subtle, unmoving current—the eighth consciousness—has not yet ceased. Therefore, this subtle stillness combined with consciousness never departs from the limit of consciousness; this is seen even more clearly in the arising of feeling through contact.

The waves in their entirety are water; because this is taught for the foolish, the gate of nonduality is employed. The principle of truth transcends language and is precisely what practitioners personally awaken to. At the ultimate point, compassion and wisdom perfect the three characteristics—liberation, separation, and cessation—at the source of awakening.

Completely eliminate the manifest stream of consciousness and transcend the five dharmas—name, characteristic, discrimination, right wisdom, and suchness—beyond the reach of thought and deliberation.

Those who abandon this doctrine of mind immediately fall into wrong views. Failing to understand that all is manifested by their own mind, they falsely claim that there is a generative cause, an originating source of arising. Those who examine the myriad dharmas and understand that they return to emptiness fall instead into annihilationism. By searching exhaustively for the reason behind a rabbit’s horns and analyzing every minute detail of an ox’s horns, one comes to know that they are mutually dependent and ultimately belong to the causeless. In reliance upon emptiness, form exists; in reliance upon form, emptiness exists—this distinction is perfectly clear.

To abandon form in order to see emptiness, or to abandon emptiness in order to seek form, is manifestly to accept one and reject the other. How could one know that they appear simultaneously? In a dream, how could its objects have a before and an after? The two characteristics are not different; after awakening, who still sees this and that?

When one awakens, one awakens completely; if one clearly knows delusion, why would it need to be destroyed? When one is deluded without knowing one’s delusion, sudden and gradual teachings are established according to one’s faculties. By transcending the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas, one attains the gate of liberation through cessation.

By expounding generosity, morality, and patience, the path of the paramitas is revealed. Break through the ordinary attachment to the skandhas and subdue the heterodox doctrine that clings to causelessness. Clearly reveal that dependent origination is devoid of inherent nature and that conceptualization arises through delusion.

Explicitly show that deluded conception comes from confusion, and thus that the measures of sentient cognition have no real substance. Guide beings back to self-awakening so that they swiftly enter the principle where words are forgotten. Abandon the mind that grasps at perceiver and perceived, and clearly understand the ultimate characteristic of distinctions.

Though the reward body and transformation body are differentiated in teaching, the Vehicle is neither two nor three. Because shravakas know things as they truly are, they differ from non-Buddhist practitioners. Bodhisattvas do not forget their original vows, yet attachment to the delight in quiescence still remains an impediment.

Even the ultimate truth is not the realm of the Two Vehicles. How much less could the inconceivable “eternal nature” be the same as the causal characteristics asserted by non-Buddhist practitioners? By personally awakening to the true cause, one knows that it truly possesses intrinsic nature; the different characteristic of impermanence falls only within the realm of thought and deliberation.

The originally abiding nature does not belong to seeing or hearing; through attachment to objects of knowledge, one turns awareness itself into an object. Noble wisdom transcends discrimination. Only refrain from being deluded by the present thought, and then the ineffable principle of mind will be clearly seen.

Because beings do not awaken to their own mind, various vehicles arise according to their cultivation, and each vehicle forms its own spiritual disposition. It is not that they lack Buddha-nature; when the Buddha Vehicle, through its spiritual power, gathers in and transforms icchantikas, there must also be causes and conditions. Thus, one should know that delusion and awakening share the same conditions, yet the knowing mind differs in each person.

Sages and ordinary beings share the same suchness, but are divided through awakening and conceptualization. Although they possess the same skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas, one side sees a self and a person, while the other sees no-self; thus they become far removed from the true meaning. With respect to mind, mentation, and consciousness, some teachings hold them to be the self, while others hold them to be separate from the self, yet the essence of awareness has never changed.

Because attachments are broken and one returns to truth, three natures are established: the imagined, the dependent, and the perfectly accomplished. By revealing that the self is empty, the two wisdoms are established: the emptiness of persons and the emptiness of dharmas. When one thoroughly comprehends the true characteristics of all dharmas, names and characteristics are themselves suchness.

When one skillfully knows the true emptiness of self-nature, deluded conceptualization is transformed into right wisdom.

A bodhisattva, like the self-nature of deluded conceptualization, manifests a physical body in dependence upon conditioned arising. Entering the state in which all dharmas are illusory, without falling into existence or nonexistence, the bodhisattva journeys throughout all lands. Though liberating beings universally, there are no beings who attain cessation.

Though revealing the profound meaning, the bodhisattva does not fall into speech. To counteract the discriminating mind, it is said that there are no external objects. To dispel the conception of no-self, the gateway of the Tathagata-garbha is taught.

Do not become ensnared in skillful means; one should simply realize the Dharma within. The profound principle of “the emptiness of emptiness” cannot be revealed through language. Those who advance to the highest of the highest stages will attain the domain of self-realized wisdom.

Free from the four alternatives—existence, nonexistence, both existence and nonexistence, and neither existence nor nonexistence—and transcending the three members of proposition, reason, and example, it appears in the luminous reflection of the moon upon water and goes beyond establishment and denigration.

Four dhyanas are taught—the first, second, third, and fourth dhyanas—but with respect to the bliss of the noble ones, there are only three. Emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness accord most closely with ultimate truth. Sensation, quiescence, and awareness within the body should be silently united.

Melt away the ice of mind, mentation, and consciousness that gives rise to samsara, and return to the land of the nirvana of the Tathagata-garbha. Self-nature is without affairs; it is neither annihilationist nor eternalist. The illusory flower of awakening is neither destroyed nor dies.

Therefore, any nirvana falsely perceived outside self-nature belongs to causes and conditions and exists only in words. Illusory dharmas remain amid samsara, appearing together with confusion, yet right there they are unborn. Because they lack self-nature, they are said to be unborn.

Because they are unborn, they are said to be like illusions. Illusory dharmas never depart from the domain of Manjusri and Samantabhadra and therefore cannot be expressed in words. The nature of the principle of the unborn is detachment; therefore, it is not within the knowledge of non-Buddhist schools or the Lesser Vehicle and is beyond thought and discussion.

The four fruits do not lie outside the measures of mind, and both kinds of awakening arise from selecting nirvana. Apart from the alaya-consciousness, there is no nature that stores. Apart from non-awakening, there is no alaya. The seven evolving consciousnesses are originally unborn; it is only because of vain discrimination that non-awakening increases. Because of non-awakening, conditioned arising falsely presents the characteristic of birth. When one awakens to the falsity born of delusion, the perfectly accomplished nature manifests of itself.

The ten directions and the three times are alike the One Vehicle; the mundane and supramundane originally possess no two selves. When one penetrates the authentic transmission, one sees that deluded conceptualization has no self-nature; the essential purport of self-realization is fully understood without dependence upon another. Only then does one know that mind does not give rise to conditions and conditions do not give rise to mind.

When both mind and conditions cease, quiescent illumination pervades sands of the Ganges. Phenomena and principle interpenetrate; emptiness and existence appear as reflections in the ocean-seal samadhi. One bhumi—the bodhisattva stages from the first through the tenth—is all bhumis, and all bhumis are one bhumi.

Thoroughly understanding that dharmas are originally unborn, one integrates the reflections appearing in mirrors and water. When functioning arises in accord with self-nature, all categories are arranged within luminous emptiness. Sever the arhats’ external forms and destroy the sentient mind of the body of awakening.

For the Buddha, there is neither self nor other; the Dharma is the same in ancient times and today. Ultimately, there is not a single word, yet in accordance with different kinds of beings, there are the three bodies.

If one clings to existence, one becomes ensnared again in causelessness. If one accepts nonexistence, one falls into the destruction of the Dharma. The dharmadhatu is originally unborn of itself; through delusion, it arises in dependence upon conditions.

Since nature and characteristics are quiescent, how could a mind that clings to existence be permitted? Cause and effect are perfectly clear, and it is difficult to escape karma even when no agent is found. Only by clinging to neither existence nor nonexistence can one enter one’s own school, the Mind School.

Skillful means adapted to capacities cannot remain unspoken. Words arise from the principle of mind, and through words the principle of mind is attained. The various things that are unreal are precisely the supreme reality whose self-nature is originally empty.

Where deluded conceptualization arises, deluded conceptualization is itself unborn; how could it differ as it follows conditions? To see one as born and another as unborn is to form wrong views through deluded perception. The four characteristics—self, person, sentient being, and life span—and the four immeasurables—loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity—are nondual within true awakening.

Because one enters the meaning through words, the scriptures reveal the source of mind. Distinguishing consciousness and understanding wisdom, one attains the stage of the Tathagata of oneself merely through conditions. Mind is the self-nature of all dharmas; abiding within mind, there is no characteristic of transformation.

In all continuity, awakening is the revealing cause; only by returning to original awakening does one know things as they truly are.

To prevent deluded attachment, the emptiness of dharmas is taught. To free beings from fear, the existence of nature is taught. Yet none of these words reaches the ultimate; they are merely skillful means employed to reveal it.

Only when no proposition is established do the individual characteristics of dharmas become clear. This is not the absence of wisdom, for deluded conceptualization and ignorance are distinct in themselves. The wondrous purport of the definitive teaching lies before words.

A practitioner who attains the essential principle awakens beyond conventional reasoning. To rely upon words in grasping meaning is to be deceived by names and language. Only by reaching the Dharma’s divergent path can one dispel worldly theories.

One must know not only how to transcend words and phrases without lapsing into silence, but also how to comprehend fully the conditions of mind without falling into annihilation. Then the opposition between true and false is immediately harmonized. This is the way of counteraction in which both subject and object cease.

The Dharma of liberation as it truly is can be known only through personal realization. Non-abiding nirvana is the Dharma of equality, neither cause nor effect. The Tathagata’s awareness has a self but no other; the physical body itself is the Dharma body.

How could the skillful responsive manifestations of the Buddhas be nonexistent or meaningless?

The absence of self-nature is not nonexistence; a different name is not existence. Not nonexistence means that dharmas are unborn and do not cease through conditions. Not existence means that dharmas do not perish, so why would they await conditions to arise?

Because they do not cease through conditions, for the sake of sentient beings they are said to be unborn. Because they do not await conditions to arise, for the sake of sentient beings they are said to be unceasing. Skillful means are provisionally borrowed and set forth to construct the chapters and verses of the Mahayana.

Therefore, only one who is skilled in meaning is called learned. The analogy of looking at the finger is a rebuke to fools. The characteristic of non-perception is the true nature of deluded conceptualization.

To transcend the interlocking chain of the twelve links of dependent origination is the discriminating wisdom of emptiness. The two evil views—eternalism and annihilationism—arise only because of delusion concerning all dharmas. The three realms spring forth from mind; one should abide solely in self-realization.

Neither permanence nor impermanence has any fixed self-nature. The distinctions between acceptance and nonacceptance all depend upon the person. Awakening to dharmas as possessing distinct characteristics still belongs to the meditative concentration of the Two Vehicles.

A bodhisattva remains mindful of the original vows and must await awakening at the eighth bhumi before sustaining them. Once one has awakened from the dream of crossing the river, only then does the light of the blazing flame pervade everywhere.

The stages of abiding have no inherent existence; ultimately, how do they differ from the initial resolve? The adornment of the Buddha-ground is swiftly attained; original awakening itself is supreme. If one clings to the noble wisdom of self-realization as eternally unborn, there is error, for it would then be no different from empty space.

Because it is realized through skillful means and cultivation, it is not the same as the causally produced doctrines of non-Buddhist schools. The self-nature is undefiled, yet through non-awakening it becomes the cause of the various destinies. The seven evolving consciousnesses grasp and sustain; although there is no self, the residual fault of habitual tendencies still remains.

The nature of the Tathagata-garbha is originally free from arising and cessation, yet because of adventitious defilements it appears as though turbid or pure. To enter the ultimate from the conventional, one must rely upon the five dharmas. Through wisdom one reaches purity and reveals the One Mind.

The Buddhas of the three times utterly transcend all that the world venerates, for they establish penetrating realization of the mind itself; they are not like the udumbara flower. Uncontaminated habitual tendencies do not bear the meaning of momentariness; if one abides in the True Dharma, one regards them as a city of the Gandharvas. The six paramitas are also distinguished as provisional and true.

The three Buddha-bodies—the Dharma-body, reward-body, and transformation-body—mutually illuminate one another. Urging those of the Two Vehicles onward to the ultimate, and exhorting beings in the three realms to cultivate purity, all belong to provisional establishments and are teachings spoken by the Buddha's transformation-body. But when discussing the originally abiding Dharma-body, there is ultimately no language; only the non-vehicle is taught so that people may personally accord with and awaken to it.

Original awakening is pure and does not depend upon the perfuming influence of meritorious effort. Since the self-nature is already adorned, how could it allow defilement? Thus it is said: “Fundamental wisdom shines; discriminating wisdom is complete.

Beginning and end, root and branch, converge ultimately at the place beyond words.”

In summary, the Great Way leaves no trace and is present only before one's eyes. The place of ultimate principle cuts off all conceptual measurement; there is no discussion of what lies beyond the kalpas. Therefore, the Blessed One closed the door of his chamber in the kingdom of Magadha, and Vimalakirti remained silent in the city of Vaisali.

Speaking without speaking, they disclosed the myriad phenomena in all their profusion; hearing without hearing, they gathered the thousand capacities into quiescence. The moment one becomes entangled in emotional calculation, one has already fallen into the present moment. One need only return; what need is there to display forms and appearances?

Therefore, on that night he attained Buddhahood, and on that night he entered nirvana; in the interval he did not speak a single word. The original limit of samsara and the original limit of nirvana—when followed in accord, how could there be two streams? The wonder lies in not knowing, and the error also lies in not knowing.

Delusion is this non-proposition, and awakening is also this non-proposition. The entire body is within the dream, yet upon awakening it still has not left the pillow and quilt. Amid discriminating perceptions, turning back is nothing apart from looking into a mirror.

It is like water holding the moon, limpid both within and without; like a mirror reflecting space, with emptiness and luminosity intermingling. From antiquity to the present, from light to darkness, how could its splendor be increased by the presence of a person? How could its empty luminosity be diminished by an empty kalpa?

Those who lose it share this same knowing mind. Those who attain it do not alter seeing and hearing. One must know that it is present; what need is there to make it absent again?

How could the mani jewel be divided into five colors? How could the elephant's entire body be concealed from the group of blind men? To preserve the true and discard the false, one can hardly avoid the reproach of “continuing the lineage of ducks while severing the lineage of herons.” To open darkness and obstruct light, one cannot escape the laughter of those who say one is “moving mountains to fill ravines.”

For the eight consciousnesses are originally empty, and the five dharmas are all provisional. The two selves—the self of persons and the self of dharmas—falsely maintain themselves. The three natures are mistakenly established in dependence upon one another.

A thousand errors and ten thousand differences are nothing more than a single delusion. Exhausting beginning and end, one ultimately returns to the thought of the present moment. Faith in the direct and immediate Dharma-gate has no external cause; only when one realizes the Dharma of complete retention does the matter reach its conclusion.

The prior non-awakening and the subsequent non-awakening are truly as difficult to distinguish as milk mixed with water. When the sage cleanses ordinary sentiments, yet ordinary sentiments obscure the sage's vision, it is like a fragment of charcoal in darkness—easy to recognize. How could one know that when emotional attachment vanishes, wisdom accords; when conceptualization ends, the essence is complete?

Therefore it is said: “The Great Way is present only before one's eyes; at the place of ultimate principle, why discuss what lies beyond the kalpas?”

I. INTRODUCTION:

A. THE OCCASION FOR THE SUTRA:

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling upon the summit of Mount Lanka by the southern sea, adorned with many kinds of precious flowers, together with a great Sangha of bhiksus and an assembly of great bodhisattvas. Those great bodhisattvas had come from other Buddha-lands.

They possessed powers of mastery, immeasurable samadhis, and playful spiritual powers; the great bodhisattva Mahamati was foremost among them. They had all received consecration from the Buddhas and skillfully understood the meaning of the realms manifested by mind itself. In accordance with the various kinds of beings, their diverse mental and material dispositions, and their immeasurable means of liberation, they manifested universally among each class.

They had attained ultimate penetration of the five dharmas, the three self-natures, the eight consciousnesses, and the two kinds of no-self.

At the Nirvana assembly, Ananda asked the Buddha: “When the sutras are compiled, what phrase should be placed at their beginning?” The Buddha taught: “The phrase ‘Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling at…’ should be used as the standard opening for all sutras.” In this sutra, the Buddha directly points out that the present faculties and bodies of beings and their surrounding world are all manifestations of mind alone.

Like dreams and illusions, they are neither existent nor nonexistent. With a single thought of non-awakening, the ten thousand dharmas appear together. If illumination arises precisely there, there is only the One Mind and nothing else.

This is the inconceivable realm of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, not something known by those of the Two Vehicles or by non-Buddhist practitioners. Therefore, those for whom this teaching was given, together with the great bodhisattvas who came to the assembly, had all attained mastery of samadhi and playful spiritual powers, and skillfully understood every realm manifested by mind itself. In accordance with the various mental and material dispositions of beings, they established skillful means to liberate them, and had attained ultimate penetration of the five dharmas, the three self-natures, the eight consciousnesses, and the two kinds of no-self.

They were fully capable of receiving the Tathagata's supreme definitive meaning, without falling into the net of doubt or being confused and disturbed by non-Buddhist practitioners or followers of the Two Vehicles. The great bhiksus gathered in this assembly were all manifestations of the One Vehicle; they were not like the sravakas of fixed nature, who are incapable of arousing the Mahayana resolve. Thus, this account of the occasion accords with and reveals the sutra's essential purport of Mind Only.

B. VERSES OF PRAISE BY THE PRINCIPAL RECIPIENT

At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati, together with Bodhisattva Mati, had traveled throughout all the Buddha-lands. Relying upon the Buddha's spiritual power, he rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee upon the ground, joined his palms reverently, and praised the Buddha in verse:

The lands of the Buddhas are precisely the lands of sentient beings. These bodhisattvas are able to penetrate the realm of the Buddha directly within the everyday activities of sentient beings. It is said: “Seeing all forms, they see only the forms of the Buddha; hearing all sounds, they hear only the voice of the Buddha; traveling throughout all lands, they travel only through the lands of the Buddhas.” Therefore, above, they relied upon the spiritual power of the Buddhas, and below, for the sake of the assembly, they uttered words of praise. All their praises of the Buddha implicitly contain the meaning of the sutra; they have no separate purport.

The world is free from birth and death,

Just like flowers in empty space.

Wisdom sees neither being nor nonbeing,

Yet gives rise to the mind of great compassion.

All dharmas are like illusions,

Far removed from discriminating consciousness.

Wisdom sees neither being nor nonbeing,

Yet gives rise to the mind of great compassion.

Far removed from views of annihilation and permanence,

The world is ever like a dream.

Wisdom sees neither being nor nonbeing,

Yet gives rise to the mind of great compassion.

“The world is like flowers in empty space; all dharmas are like illusions; the world is ever like a dream.” These words mean that directly within the everyday activities of sentient beings, one sees the inconceivable realm of the Tathagata. It is not made to exist or not exist through the exertion of contemplative wisdom. The Tathagata takes pity upon these sentient beings, who cannot awaken for themselves and vainly follow discriminating consciousness, falsely clinging to annihilation and permanence.

He gives rise to great compassion and establishes skillful means to liberate them. The bodhisattvas deeply understood this intent; therefore, within their praises of the Buddha, they distinctly revealed the purport of the entire sutra. This is what is meant by “skillfully understanding the meaning of the realms manifested in accordance with mind.”

Knowing the no-self of persons and dharmas,

The afflictive and cognitive obstructions (nhĩ diệm),

Are ever pure and without attributes;

Thus one gives rise to the mind of great compassion.

Ordinary beings cling to the five skandhas within the body as a self, and therefore afflictions arise dependent upon them. Those of the Two Vehicles contemplate the five skandhas as being without self, yet have not relinquished the known. Both belong to delusion; it is not a matter of one being shallow and the other profound.

Here, the words “the selflessness of persons and dharmas, and the afflictive and cognitive obstructions, are always intrinsically pure” are all words in praise of the Buddha. Yet they also clearly indicate that ordinary beings and those of the Two Vehicles are, right where they stand, entirely empty; only because of non-awakening do they delusively perceive transmigration. The Tathagata understands this clearly and therefore gives rise to great compassion to liberate them.

Although there are no sentient beings who attain cessation and liberation, the ten inexhaustible vows are nevertheless profound and vast. Considered according to the Three Subtle Aspects:

Dependent upon non-awakening, the mind moves; this is called the Aspect of Karma.

Dependent upon the mind’s movement, the capacity to perceive arises; this is called the Aspect of Turning.

Dependent upon the capacity to perceive, objects delusively appear; this is called the Aspect of Manifestation.

These three belong to the eighth consciousness and are the habits of falsity and deception beginninglessly accumulated. Then, dependent upon the Aspect of Manifestation, discrimination in relation to objects develops into the Six Coarse Aspects.

The Aspect of Cognition is the innate attachment to dharmas.

Dependent upon cognition, thoughts arise without ceasing; this is called the Aspect of Continuity and is the discriminative attachment to dharmas. These two attachments to a self in dharmas, although belonging to the seventh consciousness, have roots that are truly difficult to perceive. Because they arise dependent upon non-awakening, they are extremely subtle. Even at the eleventh ground, that of Equal Enlightenment, there remain two aspects of cognitive ignorance; therefore, they cannot be perceived by those of the Two Vehicles. The term “the known” means jñeya.

Dependent upon thought, grasping arises; this is called the Aspect of Grasping and is the innate attachment to a personal self.

Dependent upon grasping, conceptual reckoning arises; this is called the Aspect of Conceptualizing Names and Words and is the discriminative attachment to a personal self. These two attachments to a personal self give rise to all the roots of affliction and also belong to the seventh consciousness. However, because they depend upon the discrimination of objects as that which is grasped, those of the Two Vehicles, by contemplating the selflessness of persons, can also eliminate them, while the attachment to a self in dharmas belonging to the seventh consciousness remains uneliminated.

Master Xuanzang assigns discriminative attachment to the sixth consciousness and innate attachment to the seventh consciousness. Here, however, their causes of arising are being considered, and so both are generally said to belong to the seventh consciousness.

Dependent upon delusion, karma is produced; this is called the Aspect of Producing Karma.

Dependent upon karma, retribution is incurred; this is called the Aspect of Bondage through Suffering.

These two aspects pertain to gods and human beings. Yet, in summary, the Three Subtle Aspects and the Six Coarse Aspects all arise from non-awakening. If there is awakening, they are entirely nonexistent; therefore, it is said that they are “always pure and without characteristics.”

All things are without nirvana;

There is no nirvana of the Buddha;

There is no Buddha entering nirvana;

Far removed from the knower and the known,

Whether existent or nonexistent,

Both are entirely transcended.

The preceding four verses state that everything in the daily activities of sentient beings is the realm of the Tathagata. This verse states that the Tathagata’s nirvana is no different from the birth and death of sentient beings; therefore, it says, “All things are without nirvana.” If there were nirvana, how could there not be birth and death? Once there is birth and death, there are sentient beings undergoing birth and death and sentient beings entering birth and death.

If there are sentient beings undergoing birth and death, then there is the Buddha’s nirvana. If there are sentient beings entering birth and death, then there is a Buddha entering nirvana. Thus, the knower and the known clearly become mutually opposed.

How could one know that all sentient beings have already entered nirvana and need not enter nirvana again? The Tathagata sees this clearly and therefore accords with the original limit: birth and death and nirvana are both like dreams and illusions. Once the mind that distinguishes subject and object has ceased, one no longer falls into views of existence or nonexistence.

Supreme, right, and true enlightenment cannot be reached through exhaustive reflection, comparison, and calculation.

Contemplate the silent serenity of Muni;

Thus one is far removed from arising.

This is called non-grasping;

This life and the next are pure.

The Dharma-body is without nature and without arising; it is neither mind nor consciousness. This is the silent serenity of Muni, which immediately transcends all views and all characteristics of arising and cessation. If this contemplation arises, all attachments are severed within a single kshana. At once, one’s own eye opens wide, and extending directly into the future, pure mindfulness naturally continues without interruption. This is what the Sixth Patriarch meant by “the preceding thought does not arise, and the succeeding thought does not cease.” These words of praise to the Buddha are used to point out where practitioners must direct their attention.

II — THE MAIN EXPOSITION.

A — Indicating the vast and wondrous Dharma gate of the ultimate meaning, beyond words and beyond realization

— The One Hundred and Eight Questions.

At that time, after Bodhisattva Mahamati had spoken verses praising the Buddha, he introduced himself, saying: “My name is Mahamati. I have penetrated the Mahayana, and now I present one hundred and eight questions to the Supremely Honored One, the Buddha.” The bodhisattva himself stated that he had penetrated the Mahayana because he wished people of his time and later generations to understand that the meanings asked about here are all essential points of the One Vehicle, not the differentiated doctrines of the various vehicles.

After the Knower of the World, the Buddha, had heard those verses, he surveyed the entire assembly and said to the Buddha’s children: “Children of the Buddha! You may now ask whatever you wish, and I shall explain to you the realm of self-realization.”

The realm of self-realization is that which all Buddhas throughout the ten directions and the three times realize. Throughout the four fascicles, this is repeatedly examined and clarified, and nothing lies outside this meaning; therefore, it is presented first.

At that time, the great Bodhisattva Mahamati, responding to what the Buddha had said, bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet, joined his palms reverently, and asked in verse:

How is that mindfulness purified?

How does mindfulness increase?

How is delusion perceived,

And how does delusion increase?

What are the transformed characteristics of the realms

And the various assemblies of non-Buddhists?

Why is there no succession of stages,

And why is it called non-reception?

Mindfulness here means deluded awareness. Delusion means non-awakening. True suchness, being without inherent nature, moves delusively through non-awakening; as soon as deluded views arise, deluded awareness appears.

If one wishes to purify deluded awareness, one must investigate thoroughly the point from which deluded awareness arises. If one wishes to awaken to non-awakening, one must examine completely the point from which non-awakening is born. Only then can one know that true suchness, being without inherent nature, is the secret indication of all Buddhas; therefore, it must be asked about first.

“Realms” means worlds or lands. “Transformed characteristics” means all the manifestations and transformations within the six paths. Non-Buddhists are mentioned first, and non-reception is raised afterward, in order to distinguish the erroneous from the correct.

Non-reception is the silent serenity of Muni: not receiving a single dharma and transcending all characteristics. “Succession” means the successive sequence of the grounds. The Diamond Sutra says, “It is because of the unconditioned Dharma that distinctions exist.”

Why are they called children of the Buddha?

To what place does liberation lead?

Who is bound, and who is liberated?

What are the realms of dhyana?

Why are there three vehicles?

I humbly pray that you explain them.

From where does dependent origination arise?

What are the agent and that which is acted upon?

What are the doctrines of sameness and difference?

What is it that increases?

What are the formless samadhis

And the attainment of cessation?

What is the cessation of perception?

Why does one awaken from samadhi?

How do activities arise,

And how does one proceed and sustain the body?

How are distinctions manifested?

How do the various grounds arise?

The question “To what place does liberation lead?” is intended to reveal the silent serenity of Muni, in which there is neither bondage nor liberation; therefore, it is followed by “Who is bound, and who is liberated?” To say that there is neither liberation nor bondage means that they are merely delusively perceived according to delusion and awakening. The realms of dhyana refer to the various meditative concentrations of ordinary beings and sages.

Dependent origination means dharmas born from causes and conditions. The agent and that which is acted upon refer to karmic cause and karmic result—the acting subject and the object acted upon. The doctrines of sameness and difference refer to the erroneous doctrines of non-Buddhists.

“Increase” asks: Through what causes do cause and effect within the three realms increase? The formless samadhis are the four formless attainments. The attainment of cessation is the concentration of complete cessation.

The cessation of perception is the concentration without perception. “Awakening from samadhi” asks why the Tathagata awakens from samadhi, gives rise to various functions, and manifests a body that walks and stands. “Manifesting distinctions” means manifesting and teaching the various differentiated dharmas.

“The arising of the various grounds” means establishing the practices and characteristics of the grounds.

Who is the one who destroys the three realms?

Where, and in what kind of body,

And to what place is one reborn?

What is a Child of the Supreme One?

Through what causes are supernormal powers attained,

And mastery of samadhi?

What is the mind of samadhi?

Supreme One, please explain this for me.

To break through the three realms refers generally to followers of the Three Vehicles transcending the three realms. Having transcended the three realms, where do they abide, what bodies do they assume, and to what places are they reborn? It is said that the sages of the Three Vehicles all transcend the three realms, yet their bodies and lands are not the same, and their responsive and transformation bodies differ from one another. “Children of the Most Excellent One” refers to the bodhisattvas. Supernormal powers are the six kinds of supernormal power. Samadhi is translated as “right reception” (right concentration). Does the mind in samadhi—the mind abiding in right concentration—accord with or differ from the Dharma of right concentration?

What is called the storehouse?

What are manas and consciousness?

What is arising together with cessation?

What is seeing and then returning?

What is spiritual lineage,

Non-lineage, and the measure of mind?

What is the establishment of characteristics,

And what is the meaning of non-self?

How are there no sentient beings,

And how is this spoken of conventionally?

The storehouse is the storehouse consciousness. Manas is the seventh consciousness. Consciousness means the sixth consciousness together with the preceding five consciousnesses.

Arising and cessation refer to the manifestation, arising, and cessation of the sense faculties and consciousnesses. Seeing means seeing that which arises and ceases. Returning means returning to that which is unseen.

Within this one mind, there are the distinct storehouse, manas, and consciousnesses. There is also the distinction between seeing arising and cessation and seeing non-arising and non-cessation. Yet all these delusive distinctions of delusion and awakening can have no real existence.

Spiritual lineage means the lineages of the Three Vehicles. Non-lineage means having no spiritual lineage and refers to followers of non-Buddhist paths and icchantikas. The measure of mind means that, although there is one mind, each has its own measure.

The established characteristic is the characteristic of self. The meaning of non-self is the characteristic of selflessness. “Sentient being” is another designation for the characteristic of self.

Since neither self nor dharmas inherently contain any sentient being, why is it conventionally said that sentient beings exist?

What is the view of annihilation,

And how does the eternalist view not arise?

Why are the Buddha and non-Buddhists

Not opposed in this characteristic?

Why, in later ages,

Are there various different schools?

What is emptiness, and why is it so?

What is momentary dissolution?

Annihilationism and eternalism are both wrong views of non-Buddhists. The non-arising of views means that these two attachments to views do not arise; this is the true Dharma of the Tathagata. The statement that the characteristics of the Buddha and non-Buddhists are not opposed is made from the perspective of their inclusion within the one equal mind.

The different schools are the different collections of scriptures compiled by the disciples after the Buddha’s nirvana. If it is said that in the one equal mind the Buddha and non-Buddhists do not differ, why did the disciples within the Buddha’s Dharma then perceive differences? Emptiness means that the nature of all dharmas is empty.

Since dharmas are presently perceived, why are they said to be empty? A ksana is an extremely subtle moment of thought. Thought after thought never ceases, and no ksana abides; this is not something the ignorant can know.

How does birth from the womb occur?

How is the world unmoving?

For what reason is it like an illusion or dream,

Or like a city of gandharvas,

A mirage seen in the world,

Or the moon’s reflection on the water?

Why are the factors of awakening taught,

Together with the factors of bodhi?

How are lands disturbed?

How does the view of existence arise?

Birth from the womb means the birth of sentient beings into bodies subject to the segmented cycle of birth and death. The world’s being unmoving means that, although lands are constantly changing, the true nature ever abides. Illusions, dreams, cities of gandharvas, mirages, and the moon reflected on water are all analogies for the unreality of sentient beings and the world.

“For what reason is it like” means this: the world of sentient beings’ birth and death is plainly present and continually changing, yet it is said to be like a dream or illusion—who will awaken to and know this? The factors of awakening and bodhi both refer to right wisdom, namely, awakening to the dreamlike and illusory nature of the world. The disturbance of lands means that lands change.

The arising of the view of existence means that, although lands change, ignorant sentient beings delusively see them as truly existent. Why, then, are awakening and delusion so far apart?

How is there neither arising nor cessation,

And how is the world like flowers in empty space?

How does one awaken to the world?

How is freedom from words taught?

Who is free from false thinking?

How is it likened to empty space?

How many kinds of suchness are there?

How many minds of paramita are there?

Through what causes does one traverse the grounds?

Who reaches the place where nothing is experienced?

Neither arising nor cessation, and flowers in empty space, are both spoken with reference to the world. The world is originally neither arising nor ceasing, yet arising and cessation are falsely perceived. It is originally like flowers in empty space, yet it is falsely seen as truly existent.

This can be seen only upon awakening. To awaken to the world means to awaken to the fact that this world neither arises nor ceases and is like flowers in empty space. Having awakened to the world, one immediately understands that it is illusory, does not fall into either existence or nonexistence, and cannot be reached through speech; hence it is said to be free from words.

Once speech is left behind, discrimination immediately ceases. All dharmas are likened to empty space; seeing the source and true characteristic, one reaches the other shore. One passes through all the grounds and arrives where there is nothing to be experienced.

These may be realized successively, yet the questions are asked so that the Blessed One might explain them clearly. “How many kinds of suchness are there?” asks how many distinctions exist among followers of the Three Vehicles who realize true suchness. “How many minds of paramita are there?” means that those who cross beyond birth and death are likewise distinguished according to the Three Vehicles.

What are the two kinds of non-self?

How is the known purified?

How many kinds of wisdom are there?

How many kinds of moral discipline are there for sentient beings?

What produces the various precious substances,

Pearls, mani jewels, and the rest?

What produces the various languages,

And the various dispositions of sentient beings?

Of the two kinds of non-self, the non-self of dharmas is extremely subtle, so the known is mentioned again. “The known” refers to the cognitive obstruction, which belongs to attachment to dharmas. Wisdom includes fundamental wisdom and differentiated wisdom.

Moral discipline includes the precepts of bhiksus and the precepts of bodhisattvas. Mani and other precious substances belong to the material world. Languages and dispositions belong to the world of sentient beings.

Among these questions, some concern the material world, some the world of sentient beings, some the supramundane, some the Buddha, some the Buddha’s disciples, some the ignorant, and some non-Buddhists. Their order is not fixed; they are intermingled all at once and need not be classified. One need only understand their meaning according to the words.

It should be known that all arise from the one true Dharma realm, within which differences are delusively perceived—an inconceivable illusion.

The fields of knowledge and technical arts—

Who revealed them?

How many kinds of gatha are there,

Long recitations and short verses?

How many kinds of doctrines are there,

And what is called a treatise?

Why do food and drink arise?

And why do the various sensual desires arise?

What is called a king,

A wheel-turning monarch, and a lesser king?

How are kingdoms protected?

How many kinds of devas are there?

What are the great earth,

The stars, the sun, and the moon?

How many grades are there

Among practitioners of liberation?

How many kinds of disciples are there?

What is an acarya?

How many grades of Buddhas are there,

And how many birth stories?

The fields of knowledge are the five sciences: 1) the science of language; 2) the science of arts and crafts; 3) the science of medicine; 4) the science of logic, which examines the false and the true; and 5) the inner science, which clearly explains the Five Vehicles. The first three sciences are external disciplines. The latter two belong to the inner teachings.

Gatha is translated as “verse.” Long recitations and short verses are both forms of scriptural teaching. A doctrine is a principle that is stated. A treatise separately explains the inner and external teachings.

These questions ask how many kinds of Dharma teaching there are. Food and drink, sensual desires, kings, devas, the great earth, stars, the sun, and the moon are collectively questions about the names and characteristics of the two worlds: the world of sentient beings and the material world. Practitioners, disciples, acaryas, Buddhas, and birth stories are distinct names and characteristics of the supramundane.

Practitioners include followers of all Three Vehicles. Disciples include bodhisattvas and sravakas. Acarya is translated as “exemplary master.” There are five kinds of exemplary masters.

Birth stories concern the deeds manifested throughout the Tathagata’s many lifetimes of practice until attaining Buddhahood.

Mara and the non-Buddhists—

How many kinds are there of each?

Intrinsic nature and mind—

How many kinds are there of each?

How are measures conventionally established?

I humbly pray that the Most Excellent One will explain.

What are empty space, wind, and clouds?

What are mindfulness and intelligence?

What are forests,

And what are dense grasses?

What are elephants, horses, and deer,

And what is capture?

What is baseness,

And what causes baseness?

How are the six seasons encompassed?

What is an icchantika?

Men, women, and pandakas—

From what causes are all these born?

Nature and mind both refer to the faculties and inclinations of sentient beings. “Constructed measures” means that the mind-nature is provisionally measured through conceptual construction. Intellectual acumen means worldly knowledge and eloquence. “Encompassing the six seasons” means that in the Western Regions, two months constitute one season, and one year is divided into six seasons. “Icchantika”: icchan is translated as “faith,” and tika as “incomplete”; thus, it means that faith is incomplete. This also asks about the distinctions in the names and characteristics of sentient beings and the container-world.

How does cultivation regress?

How does cultivation arise?

What methods do meditation masters use,

And what kinds of persons do they establish?

Sentient beings are born in the various realms—

What are their characteristics and classes?

In cultivation there are advance and regression. Arising means advance. The methods of meditation differ as sudden and gradual, because the capacities of people, great and small, are not the same. These are distinctions pertaining to the supramundane. The various realms are the six destinies and the four modes of birth. “Characteristics and classes” means the characteristics and classes of the various realms. Through illusory delusion, the world of sentient beings divides itself into many paths.

What is wealth,

And through what causes is wealth obtained?

What is the Sakya clan,

And through what causes did the Sakya clan arise?

What is the Sugarcane lineage?

O Unsurpassed Honored One, please explain.

Who was the Long-Penance Seer,

And what did he teach?

Why does the Tathagata

Manifest throughout all times and realms,

Amid various classes of name and form,

Surrounded by the Sons of the Victorious One?

Why should meat not be eaten?

Why is eating meat prohibited?

How many kinds of meat-eating are there,

And for what reasons should meat be eaten?

This continues to ask about distinctions in the mundane and supramundane. Regarding the Sakya clan and the Sugarcane lineage: in the exceedingly distant past, there was a bodhisattva who was the crown prince of a kingdom. He yielded the throne to his younger brother and left home to cultivate the Way.

He studied under the brahmin Gautama and consequently changed his clan name to Gautama. Later, he returned to a monastery outside the city in the Sugarcane Garden. There he was seized and wounded by bandits, and his blood flowed all over the ground.

The elder Gautama saw this with his divine eye and, using his supernormal powers, went to the Sugarcane Garden. He collected the blood in two vessels, placing one on the right and one on the left. He made this vow: “If this ascetic’s mind is utterly sincere, may this blood transform into human beings.” Ten months later, of the two vessels containing blood, one transformed into a man and the other into a woman, and thus the Sugarcane lineage arose.

Later, a secondary consort of King Ikshvaku bore four sons who received the praise of the chief queen. The king expelled the four sons from the kingdom, and they dwelt on Snow Mountain in a forest of straight trees. Their mother sought them out and arranged a family for each of them, all of which was duly accomplished.

When the king heard this news, he rejoiced greatly and said: “These truly are Sakya sons, well able to establish and sustain themselves.” Because of this, they were called Sakya. Sakya is translated as “capable,” meaning endowed with ability. The fourth son, named Adornment, was the ancestor of King Suddhodana.

“All times and realms” means manifesting universally in accordance with each kind throughout all times and all realms.

What are the forms of the sun and moon,

Mount Sumeru and the Lotus,

The Lion realm of supreme appearance,

And worlds tilted, upright, or inverted,

Like the celestial net of Lord Sakra?

Some are made entirely of precious jewels,

Some resemble lutes or hourglass drums,

And some have the forms of various flowers;

Some are apart from the light of sun and moon.

How are there immeasurable worlds such as these?

Sumeru is Mount Wondrously High, which presides over the four continents and constitutes one world. “Lotus” is the Lotus Treasury World. “Lion” is the most beautiful realm among all worlds. Some worlds are tilted and some inverted, comprising beautiful and ugly worlds like the celestial net of Lord Sakra. Sakra’s celestial net has one thousand jewels, each jewel interreflecting the radiance of all the others, signifying inexhaustibility. The sun and moon, the lute, the hourglass drum, flowers, and fruits all describe the forms of worlds. “Precious jewels” means that there are worlds formed from precious jewels. “Apart from the light of sun and moon” refers to the Stainless Radiance World, which does not depend upon the light of the sun or moon.

What is a transformation Buddha?

What is a reward-born Buddha?

What is the Buddha of Suchness?

What is the Buddha of Wisdom?

Why, in the Desire Realm,

Does one not attain Perfect, Complete Awakening?

Why, in Akanishtha Heaven,

Does one attain bodhi after transcending desire?

When the Sugata enters nirvana,

Who preserves the true Dharma?

How long does the Teacher of gods remain?

How long does the true Dharma endure?

How many kinds are there

Of siddhantas and views?

What is the Vinaya section for bhikshus,

And through what causes and conditions did it arise?

Those Sons of the Victorious One,

Pratyekabuddhas, and shravakas—

For what reason are there a hundred transformations?

What are the hundred instances of non-reception?

A transformation Buddha is a transformation body numbering in the hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of millions, manifested in accordance with various kinds of beings. The great transformation is the thousand-zhang body of Locana, manifested for bodhisattvas of the ten bhumis; it is also called the other-enjoyment body. Suchness and wisdom both refer to the Dharma-body.

Suchness is original awakening, while wisdom is initial awakening. This is the self-enjoyment body, because initial awakening and original awakening unite as one, and principle and wisdom interpenetrate without obstruction. Locana attained the Way of bodhi in Akanishtha Heaven, not in the Desire Realm.

This manifests the attainment of purity through freedom from desire. “Who preserves the true Dharma?” asks what faculties and inclinations are capable of transmitting and preserving the true Dharma. The presence of Buddhas in the world and the abiding of the true Dharma in the world each have proximate and remote causes and conditions, as well as causes pertaining to oneself and others.

Siddha means “universally,” and anta means “giving.” “Views” refers to the capacities of those to be transformed. This means that the Tathagata universally bestows the teaching upon the various capacities of sentient beings. Altogether, there are four kinds:

The worldly siddhanta brings the benefit of joy.

The counteractive siddhanta brings the benefit of eliminating evil.

3- The individual siddhanta brings the benefit of giving rise to wholesome dharmas.

4- The siddhanta of ultimate truth brings the benefit of awakening to principle.

Vinaya is translated as “discipline,” and a bhikshu is one who upholds the discipline. “Causes and conditions” means the causes and conditions for establishing precepts. “A hundred transformations” and “a hundred instances of non-reception” describe distinctions among bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and shravakas. “Transformation” refers to transformational birth-and-death: because they have not yet reached Buddhahood, they still expediently transform a coarse body into a subtle and wondrous body. “Non-reception” means nirvana without remainder, which practitioners of all three vehicles realize.

What are mundane superknowledges?

What is the supramundane?

What is the seventh bhumi?

I humbly pray that you expound these matters.

How many kinds of Sangha are there?

What is disrupting the Sangha?

What is the treatise on methods of healing,

And what are its causes and conditions?

A bodhisattva of the fifth bhumi who enters worldly life to benefit sentient beings is said to possess mundane superknowledges. Only upon reaching the seventh bhumi, when the causes of birth have been exhausted, is one called supramundane. The Sangha comprises the Mahayana and the Two Vehicles. Disrupting the Sangha means violating the discipline and corrupting right view. The Buddha is likened to a skilled physician to illustrate how the Tathagata manifests in accordance with conditions and gives medicine suited to the illness, like a skilled physician in the world.

Why did the Great Muni

Declare as follows:

“Kasyapa, Krakucchanda,

And Kanakamuni were all myself”?

Why does he teach annihilationism and eternalism,

As well as self and non-self?

Why does he not at all times

Expound the meaning of truth,

But instead, for sentient beings,

Teach discriminations of the mind’s measures?

For what reason are there forests of male and female trees,

Haritaki and amalaka trees,

Mount Kailasa and the Iron Encircling Mountains,

The Vajra Mountains and all the others,

Adorned with immeasurable precious jewels

And filled with seers and gandharvas?

Kasyapa, Krakucchanda, and Kanakamuni are myself; this means that, from the beginning, self and other have borne no marks of oneness or duality. This is a true statement. Yet there is also talk of permanence and annihilation, of self and non-self; for the sake of sentient beings, distinctions concerning the measures of mind are extensively taught, all because faculties may be great or small and teachings may be heterodox or orthodox.

Annihilation, permanence, and self all refer to non-Buddhist paths. Non-self refers to the Two Vehicles. The forest of men and women is the Sitavana Forest, where the trees bear fruit shaped like men and women.

Haritaki and amalaka are the names of two kinds of fruit. These are the trees and fruits presently before us. Extending this inference to Mount Kailasa, the Iron Encircling Mountains, and the Vajra Mountains, with their immeasurable adornments, all of them are filled with immortals and spirits.

What are the causes by which everything within the limits of what is seen and heard, and beyond what is seen and heard, comes to be, and by what names are they ultimately called? This cannot be understood by the conceptual mind. Only then does one realize that the one hundred and eight statements encompass the entirety of the mundane and supramundane.

Yet they do not go beyond the five dharmas, the three self-natures, the eight consciousnesses, and the two kinds of non-self. Suddenly, they strike directly upon the gate of truth. Unexpectedly, they point out the conventional truth, seemingly without sequence; all are manifestations of mind itself.

Since the illusory, inconceivable realm has neither shallowness nor depth, how could it be divided into difficult and easy? Only through realization can it be known.

(This section is missing its final passage)