中陰經

CHAPTER ONE

THE TATHAGATA’S FIVE GREAT VOWS TO ENTER THE INTERMEDIATE STATE AND TEACH SENTIENT BEINGS

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was forty-nine paces north of the Twin Sala Trees near the city of Kapilavastu. At midnight on the eighth day, just as the morning star arose, the Tathagata suddenly departed from the relics of his fragmented body, in accordance with the five Great Vows of all Buddhas.

When the Buddha was born, heaven and earth in the six directions all trembled, and the Buddhas of the ten directions all came to lend their support. This was the first Great Vow.

How did the six directions tremble? When the east rose, the west sank; when the west rose, the east sank. When the north rose, the south sank; when the south rose, the north sank. Then, when the four directions rose together, the center sank; and when the center rose, all four directions sank.

Just as the Tathagata took seven steps, the whole world shook, and the Buddhas of the ten directions all came to lend their support. This was the second Great Vow.

The Tathagata went beneath the bodhi tree and sat in the full lotus posture. He vowed: If I do not attain Buddhahood, I shall not leave this place. At that moment, heaven and earth trembled, and the Buddhas of the ten directions all came to lend their support. This was the third Great Vow.

Even upon hearing the name of the Tathagata, Mara Papiyan’s mind was not terrified. Through the power of this vow, heaven and earth shook, and the Buddhas of the ten directions all came to lend their support. This was the fourth Great Vow.

The Tathagata relinquished his body and lifespan, manifested passing into extinction, and entered the body of the intermediate state to teach sentient beings. At that time, heaven and earth trembled, and the Buddhas of the ten directions all came to offer praise. This was the fifth Great Vow.

The Blessed One then entered the Flame Samadhi, causing all sentient beings throughout the three realms—devas, nagas, ghosts and spirits, asuras, kimnaras, gandharvas, garudas, kumbhandas, putanas, humans, and nonhumans—to see the Tathagata seated upon a precious lotus flower.

At that time, the Blessed One faced his relics and spoke this verse:

Throughout innumerable kalpas,

This earth element has sustained you.

Now I take leave of you,

Joyful as a snake shedding its skin.

Within the five paths of birth and death,

You have been present everywhere.

For a brief time this body is cast aside;

In quiescent extinction, what is there to cling to?

Spiritual might enters the earth realm;

Could you not thereby be delivered?

Alas, the suffering of separation!

Life and death revolve without end.

The awesome spiritual power of the Buddhas arrives,

With innumerable places in which to bring deliverance.

When the Blessed One had finished speaking this verse, he emitted eighty-four thousand kotis of rays of light from the soles of his feet up to the ushnisha upon his crown. They illuminated the entire three-thousandfold great-thousand world-system and extended as far as the realm of empty space. All sentient beings in this realm saw the light. Some followed the light and came, while some Buddhas dispatched bodhisattvas to the Saha world.

The Blessed One then contemplated inwardly: This body of the intermediate state is exceedingly subtle and can be seen only by a Buddha, a Blessed One. Even sentient beings at the stages of Training and Beyond Training, from the First Abode and Second Abode through the Ninth Abode, cannot perceive that realm.

I shall now employ the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power and enter the Illumination Samadhi, enabling the fourfold assembly—bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas—to perceive this subtle form. At that time, the Blessed One again entered the Unobstructed Concentration.

He contemplated sentient beings within the realm of emptiness as they arose and ceased. In accordance with the observance of the prohibitory precepts practiced by the Tathagatas, within empty and tranquil quiescence he contemplated the perception of impurity, the one hundred and seventy practices of suffering rooted in causes and conditions, and the twelve links of birth and death that bind sentient beings. Thereupon, the Blessed One spoke this verse:

I now enter the subtle and wondrous,

The exceedingly subtle form of the intermediate state,

To teach and deliver those sentient beings—

Surpassing what is done in Jambudvipa.

The characteristic of permanence—nowhere attached;

The characteristic of bliss—empty, without fixed nature.

Establishing the foundation of virtue and the Path,

Free from defilement and without craving or attachment.

Since innumerable kalpas past,

I have rescued those difficult to deliver;

How much more so these bodies of the intermediate state,

Than which nothing is more difficult.

Now my heart bears a great vow,

Neither confused nor defiled:

The root of bodhi, virtue, and the Path,

The Dharma of pure conduct made complete.

When the Blessed One had finished speaking this verse, he again emitted light from the curl of white hair between his eyebrows. It illuminated immeasurable and boundless kotis of worlds in the east, south, west, and north. He then gathered the light back; it circled the Buddha seven times and entered the ushnisha upon his crown.

Then Bodhisattva Maitreya rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt, placed his palms together before his chest, and addressed the Buddha: Excellent, Blessed One! This is something never before heard or seen. The bodies of sentient beings in the intermediate state are exceedingly subtle. What are their lifespans, whether long or short, their food and drink, whether fine or coarse, and the various other aspects of their existence? We wish to hear of them. The Blessed One said: Listen carefully and reflect well upon this. I shall now explain it distinctly for you.

What do you think, Maitreya? In Jambudvipa, when a child is newly born, its mother cradles and nurses it with her own milk until the age of three. How much milk does it consume? Maitreya replied: It drinks as much as one hundred and eighty hu of milk. Moreover, while still in its mother’s womb, it was already nourished by a portion of her blood.

In the continent of Eastern Purvavideha, from birth until the age of three, a child drinks as much as one thousand eight hundred hu of milk.

In the continent of Western Aparagodaniya, from birth until the age of three, a child drinks as much as eight hundred and eighty hu.

In the continent of Northern Uttarakuru, a child can sit upright as soon as it is born. Many passersby place a fingertip into the infant’s mouth for it to suck. After seven days, the child is fully grown. This continent has no milk. Sentient beings in the intermediate state rely upon the wind for food and drink.

The lifespan of sentient beings in Jambudvipa is one hundred years. In Eastern Purvavideha it is five hundred years. In Western Aparagodaniya it is two hundred and fifty years, and in Uttarakuru it is one thousand years. The lifespan of a body in the intermediate state is only seven days. The faces of the people of Jambudvipa are broad above and narrow below, shaped like a pear. The faces of the people of Purvavideha are round. Those of Aparagodaniya are narrow above and broad below, while those of Uttarakuru are square. The appearance of sentient beings in the intermediate state resembles that of the devas of the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Transformations. In this realm, the name of Buddha Sakyamuni has completely disappeared.

The Tathagata Wondrous Awakening appeared in the world, fully endowed with the ten epithets: Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly and Universally Awakened One, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, Blessed One. Seated in midair upon a precious lotus flower, he emitted light from the characteristic of his tongue, illuminating throughout eighty-seven kotis of worlds in the east, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.

One of these lands was named Transformation, and its Buddha was called Firm. He taught sentient beings by means of the One Vehicle. Upon seeing the light, that Buddha said to the bodhisattvas and their retinues: Do you see this light?

The bodhisattvas replied: We have seen it. Blessed One, we do not know which Buddha’s radiance has shone upon this world. The Buddha then said: Eighty-seven kotis of worlds to the west, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, lies a world called Saha.

Its Buddha is named Sakyamuni. He has now provisionally passed into extinction and relinquished the relics of his body, intending to enter the intermediate state to teach sentient beings. This is the light of Buddha Wondrous Awakening.

If you wish to go to that realm, now is precisely the right time.

At that time, thirteen billion bodhisattvas in that land, following the Buddha’s instruction, journeyed to the Saha World. The Buddha further enjoined them: “When you arrive in that land, pay homage and make offerings; do not be indolent or arrogant. Convey on my behalf my inquiries concerning his health and the progress of his teaching.” Having received this instruction, the bodhisattvas bowed at the Buddha’s feet and circumambulated him seven times to the right. Suddenly, the Buddha was no longer visible, and they had arrived in the Saha World.

Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds to the south was a world named Liberation. Its Buddha was called True Purity Tathagata, fully endowed with the ten epithets. He asked the bodhisattvas: “Do you see this light?” The bodhisattvas replied: “We see it.

Yet we do not know which Buddha’s radiance is illuminating our world.” That Buddha said: “Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds to the north is the Saha World, whose Buddha is called Shakyamuni. He is now manifesting extinction, relinquishing his body and relics, and intends to enter the intermediate existence to teach and transform beings. This is the light of the Wondrous Enlightenment Tathagata.

Now is precisely the time for you to journey to that world.” At that time, thirteen billion bodhisattvas in the Liberation World obeyed the instruction and journeyed to the Saha World. The Buddha enjoined them: “When you arrive in that world, draw near and make offerings; do not be indolent or arrogant. Convey on my behalf my inquiries concerning the health and teaching work of the Wondrous Enlightenment Tathagata.” Having obeyed the instruction, the bodhisattvas bowed at the Tathagata’s feet and circumambulated him seven times to the right.

Suddenly, they no longer saw the Buddha, and they had arrived in the Saha World.

Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds to the north was a world named Lapis Lazuli. Its Buddha was called Thunderous Sound Tathagata, fully endowed with the ten epithets. He asked the bodhisattvas: “Do you see this light?” The bodhisattvas replied: “We see it, but we do not know which Buddha’s radiance is illuminating this world.” That Buddha said: “Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds to the south is a world named Saha, whose Buddha is called Shakyamuni.

He is now manifesting the appearance of extinction, relinquishing his body and relics, and intends to enter the intermediate existence to teach and transform beings. This is the light of the Wondrous Enlightenment Tathagata. Now is precisely the time for you to depart.” Then thirteen billion bodhisattvas in the Lapis Lazuli World obeyed the Buddha’s instruction and journeyed to the Saha World.

The Buddha enjoined them: “When you arrive in that world, pay homage and make offerings; do not be indolent or arrogant. Convey on my behalf my inquiries concerning the health and teaching work of the Wondrous Enlightenment Tathagata.” Having heard this, the bodhisattvas bowed at the Buddha’s feet and circumambulated him seven times to the right. Suddenly, they no longer saw him, and they had arrived in the Saha World.

Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds to the northeast was a world named Empty Purity. Its Buddha was called Akashagarbha, fully endowed with the ten epithets, and there were thirteen billion bodhisattvas there.

Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds to the southeast was a world named Blazing Radiance. Its Buddha was called Vast Manifestation Tathagata, fully endowed with the ten epithets, and there were thirteen billion bodhisattvas there.

Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds to the southwest was a world named Constellations. Its Buddha was called Moonlight Tathagata, fully endowed with the ten epithets, and there were thirteen billion bodhisattvas there.

Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds to the northwest was a world named Vanquishing Mara. Its Buddha was called Courageous Subduer Tathagata, fully endowed with the ten epithets, and there were thirteen billion bodhisattvas there.

Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds above was a world named Ocean Accumulation. Its Buddha was called Supremely Wondrous Tathagata, fully endowed with the ten epithets, and there were thirteen billion bodhisattvas there.

Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds below was a world named Penetrating Comprehension. Its Buddha was called Fearless Tathagata, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Completely Awakened One, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, Blessed One. He asked the bodhisattvas: “Do you see this light?” The bodhisattvas replied: “We see it, but we do not know which Buddha’s radiance this is.” That Buddha said: “Eighty-seven billion Ganges-sands of worlds above is a world named Saha.

Its Buddha is called Shakyamuni. He is now manifesting extinction, relinquishing his body and relics, and intends to enter the intermediate existence to teach and transform beings. This is the light of the Wondrous Enlightenment Tathagata.

Now is precisely the time for you to depart.” Thirteen billion bodhisattvas in that Buddha-land obeyed the Buddha’s instruction and journeyed to the Saha World. The Buddha further enjoined them: “When you arrive in that land, pay homage and make offerings; do not be indolent or arrogant. Convey on my behalf my inquiries concerning the health and teaching work of the Wondrous Enlightenment Tathagata.” Having heard this, the bodhisattvas bowed at the Buddha’s feet and circumambulated him seven times to the right.

Suddenly, they no longer saw him, and they had arrived in the Saha World. The bodhisattvas then bowed in homage and made offerings to the Wondrous Enlightenment Tathagata. After paying homage, each sat down facing a different direction.

At that time, the Wondrous Enlightenment Tathagata extended his long, broad tongue, beautiful as a lotus blossom and red as an utpala flower, reaching past his ears on both the left and right. He declared: “For innumerable asamkhyeya kalpas, I have practiced pure conduct free from falsehood. The causal conditions of the sentient beings whom I was to deliver have come to an end, like a corpse abandoned in a desolate field.

Now I shall once again establish affinities and initiate practices. Among the bodhisattvas present here, some have established effective practices, some have only first given rise to the aspiration, and the fourfold assembly includes those who have never yet established any practice. They now rely upon the awesome spiritual power of the Buddha to be received and guided, so that the great assembly may know the past, future, and present.

The Dharma of all Buddhas is rare and inconceivable.” Having spoken, he then uttered these verses:

Those deluded through many lives

Do not enter the undefiled Dharma;

They wander endlessly through the five paths,

Defiled and devoid of pure conduct.

Although I abide in this realm,

I have utterly ended the suffering of the five desires.

Excellent indeed were my former vows;

Today they have been fulfilled.

When someone spits out saliva,

Would a wise person drink it?

For innumerable kalpas

I have cultivated the Buddha’s pure conduct,

Casting off one body and then assuming another—

How could it be merely one or two kalpas?

If a person of clear wisdom

Draws my relics upon the ground,

That person may still behold my form.

There are those who have not attained liberation,

Through the long night ever undergoing birth and death,

Living in delusion along the five paths,

Cut off and extinguished, with no path remaining.

They seek the Buddha’s realization of nirvana.

Formerly I was called Shakyamuni;

The relics of my body remain to transform beings.

Now I enter the realm of emptiness,

Teaching and delivering all beings in the intermediate existence.

When the Blessed One spoke these verses, eighty-four thousand nayutas of sentient beings all grew weary of birth and death and together gave rise to the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi. Seven billion sentient beings were cleansed of all defilements and attained the pure Dharma-eye. Seventy million members of Bodhisattva Majie’s assembly then rose from their seats, arranged their robes, placed their palms together, and withdrew.

CHAPTER TWO

THE WONDROUS ENLIGHTENMENT TATHAGATA LEADS THE BODHISATTVAS INTO THE INTERMEDIATE EXISTENCE TO TEACH AND TRANSFORM BEINGS

At that time, the Tathagata Wondrous Enlightenment, the Perfectly Enlightened One, fully understood that the beings of the intermediate state no longer harbored a single stray thought. Therefore, he entered the intermediate state, received the Dharma of the prohibitive precepts, gained many benefits, and delivered immeasurably many beings. He established a great vow to carry out the work of a Buddha.

Then the Tathagata Wondrous Enlightenment entered the Samadhi of the Invisible Crown, causing the great assembly of bodhisattvas—countless thousands of kotis beyond measure—to become identical in physical form to the Tathagata Wondrous Enlightenment, without any difference. At that very moment, Mahakasyapa, the bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas in Jambudvipa, together with devas, nagas, ghosts, spirits, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, gandharvas, kumbhandas, putanas, humans, and nonhumans, as well as eight kotis and one hundred thousand beings of the kings of the eight kingdoms, all entered the intermediate state through the power of spiritual abilities.

At that time, the Blessed One, amidst the assemblies, spoke these verses:

The delusion of the intermediate state—

Blind and dark, not knowing the Three Honored Ones;

Bodies turn through the five destinies,

Led onward according to their deeds.

Some fall into the two heavenly paths;

Some enter the realms of the three paths.

Alas, how truly pitiable!

Now the Tathagata has arrived;

Those in the intermediate state have been delivered,

And my vow has also been fulfilled.

The formless receive teachings through forms;

Cut off thought and uproot it completely.

All Buddhas of the three times

Practice this very Dharma.

The Dharma of form blazes by itself;

Extinguish it through the path of concentrated mind.

The Tathagata—the mark of reality—

Neither arises nor begins nor ceases.

Contemplate the body as empty within and without;

Clearly know that phenomena are impermanent.

Proceed from the root of delusion and craving,

Like ashes covering glowing coals.

The foolish say that the fire is gone,

But in truth the fire remains.

The mind is the root and cause of poison;

Good and evil follow that mind.

Those who do good arrive at good;

Those who do evil arrive at evil.

Those who commit evil deeds

May claim there is no karmic retribution;

But when their karmic recompense arrives,

Who could undergo it in their place?

They violate the precepts and do not practice the Dharma,

Yet proclaim that none are their equal;

Naked, they subsist on fruit

And worship the spirits of the sun and moon.

Of themselves they fall into the three evil paths;

In what kalpa will they escape?

Those who are not disciples of the Buddha,

Though nearby, remain far from me.

When the Tathagata Wondrous Enlightenment had finished speaking these verses, he immediately used his spiritual power to enter the intermediate state, where he transformed into being lofty halls and lecture halls made of the seven treasures. There, silken banners and streamers were spread overhead; the stairs were made of gold and silver, and the ground was of vaidurya. Behind the gardens were bathing pools fashioned from the seven treasures, where wild geese, mandarin ducks, and other precious birds raised their songs together. The Blessed One then used his spiritual power to cause those beings to live for spans of seven days, six days, five days, four days, three days, two days, and one day, after which their lives ended.

At that time, the Blessed One contemplated the aspirations and inclinations in the minds of those beings. He wished to distinguish clearly every aspect of their respective stages of abiding, such as the four orientations and four attainments, the nine abidings of those who have first generated the aspiration, each possessing its own domain, and the domains of the stages pertaining to the cause and fruition of a pratyekabuddha.

At that time, the Blessed One manifested seven hundred kotis of nayutas of lofty seats made of the seven treasures. Upon each lofty seat was a transformation Buddha, and every transformation Buddha spoke four extraordinary sets of verses:

All conditioned activities are impermanent;

Consciousness is a phenomenon of external sense objects.

Whatever arises must cease;

That cessation itself is bliss.

There is no birth, aging, illness, or death,

Nor are there the three realms of existence.

To enter completely the realm of empty space

Is the home of all Buddhas.

Without fear and without defilement,

Unstained by desire and craving,

Adornments and the five desires

Are utterly exhausted, with nothing remaining.

If the hundred and eight cravings are ended,

Accumulated phenomena are also eliminated.

First extinguished, they do not arise afterward:

These are the thirty-seven factors of the path.

Emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness

Are the path traversed by the Buddhas.

Those beings of keen faculties,

Upon hearing this, harbor no hesitation.

They use the sword of wisdom to sever all,

Like fire consuming a mountain of copper.

Sentient beings are difficult to awaken;

The Buddhas have previously declared:

When the roots of transgression are deep and firm,

Though one may pity them, how can they be saved?

Those in the intermediate state assume various bodies,

Which are revealed in accordance with verbal teachings.

Though they did not previously generate the aspiration,

Upon hearing the Dharma, they are delivered.

While the Buddha was speaking these verses, seven billion eight hundred million and one hundred thousand nayutas of beings in the intermediate state formed the intention for the unsurpassed true and perfect path and generated bodhicitta.

At that time, the Tathagata Wondrous Enlightenment suddenly rose from the midst of the assembly and ascended to the Lofty Seat of Awe. Bodhisattvas possessing spiritual powers from the ten directions sat on his left. Mahakasyapa and the fourfold assembly of bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas from Jambudvipa sat on his right. The devas, nagas, ghosts, spirits, and great kings sat behind the Buddha.

From the realms of the Four Heavenly Kings, the first Trayastrimsa Heaven King, the Yama Heaven, Tusita Heaven, Delight-in-Transformation Heaven, Parinirmita Heaven, Abhassara Heaven, Avrha Heaven, Subhakrtsna Heaven, Parittasubha Heaven, Sudrsa Heaven, Sudarsana Heaven, and Akanistha Heaven, celestial beings scattered flowers as offerings from within empty space and played various kinds of heavenly music.

The beings of the intermediate state received the teaching before the Tathagata. At that time, the Blessed One used the majestic spiritual power of a Buddha to cause each of those beings to think: “The Buddha is teaching the Dharma solely for me and for no one else.” The Blessed One then spoke these verses:

The Tathagata’s enlightenment is immeasurable;

His spiritual powers cannot be fathomed.

He passes in and out through mountain walls and rocks

As a bird soars through empty space.

Throughout many kalpas in the past,

I cultivated abundant merit and virtue.

Never ceasing to deliver beings,

I caused them to generate bodhicitta.

What coming or going is there in nirvana?

Nor do I perceive anyone as delivered.

From between the Twin Trees,

I transformed my body and came to this place.

Long ago, when I generated the aspiration for the path,

I vowed to deliver sentient beings.

So long as even one person remains undelivered,

I shall never abandon them.

Examining these beings of the intermediate state,

I see that their capacities are high, middling, and low.

I employ only the meaning of three phrases:

The Dharma of the Four Noble Truths and true suchness.

Only when lust, anger, and delusion have diminished

Can they be removed through meditative concentration.

Eight hundred grievous illnesses,

And eighty-four thousand defilements—

Generosity, morality, patience,

Diligence, meditation, and wisdom

Require skillful means

To sever the roots of the three poisons.

Form fundamentally is not mine;

Who, then, is master of the root of craving for form?

To understand fully that form is formless

Is worthy of being called the practice of a brahmacarin.

Before I attained Buddhahood,

I was deluded by form,

Fell into the four inverted views,

And sank into the ocean of birth and death.

Only now do I understand the root of form

And see the reality of form.

Feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness

Are impure and are not the true path.

The skandhas, ayatanas, and eighteen dhatus,

Together with the Dharma of the twenty-two faculties—

Each and every one is thoroughly understood,

In serene stillness, without attachment.

The beings in the intermediate state of the Desire Realm

Have exceedingly subtle sensory defilements,

Just like a newly sewn robe

Soiled by dust and dirt.

One possessing the eye of wisdom

Shakes the robe, and the dust flies away.

How are the beings of the intermediate state

Any different from this?

Their lust, anger, and delusion are subtle;

Upon hearing the Dharma, they awaken at once.

Only direct the mind without wavering,

And one immediately attains stream-entry.

Through the three turnings and twelve aspects,

One next attains once-returning.

When all constituent parts are destroyed,

One obtains the fruit of non-returning.

When suffering ceases and delusion and craving are removed,

One attains arhatship.

In the past there were eight myriad kotis

Who attained the first two fruits;

Eighty-four thousand kotis

Were practitioners on the path of non-returning;

One million two thousand kotis,

And Ganges’ sands of arhats,

With the six spiritual powers and translucent bodies,

Turned toward the various Buddha vehicles.

Eighty-four thousand kotis

Turned their minds toward the bodhisattva path,

Their multitude as numerous as motes of dust.

While I was in Jambudvipa,

Who could calculate my ascetic practices?

I gave away kingdoms, wealth, wives, and children,

My head, eyes, bones, blood, and marrow.

My mind was as steadfast as vajra,

Never disturbed by Mara.

Rejoice in this great and blessed fortune—

What vow could remain unfulfilled?

At that time, the beings seated above formed this thought: “The Buddha is teaching the Dharma solely for me and for no one else.” Those inclined toward the sravaka path attained the fruit of a sravaka. Those inclined toward pratyekabuddhahood attained the fruit of a pratyekabuddha. Those inclined toward the path of bodhi attained the fruit of bodhi.

CHAPTER THREE

THE TATHAGATA WONDROUS ENLIGHTENMENT MANIFESTS DIVIDED BODIES AND ENTERS THE INTERMEDIATE STATE

At that time, in the assembly there was a bodhisattva named King of Transformative Samadhi. He rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee touching the ground, joined his palms, and addressed the Buddha: “Excellent, World-Honored One! May you expound the principles clearly for the sake of sentient beings, so that once the sound has gone forth, those who hear the Dharma may easily be delivered.

“Yet there are also those who are difficult to deliver. Among sentient beings, some have little lust, anger, and delusion, while others have much lust, anger, and delusion; some abide in dharmas having an object, while others abide in dharmas having no object; some are able to perceive dharmas, while others are unable to perceive dharmas; some abide in conditioned dharmas, while others abide in unconditioned dharmas; some abide in defiled dharmas, while others abide in undefiled dharmas; some are able to receive predictions concerning the Dharma, while others are unable to receive predictions concerning the Dharma; some presently abide in the dharmas of the desire realm; some presently abide in dharmas that do not lead to liberation;

some abide in the dharmas of the form realm, while others abide in the dharmas of the formless realm; some abide in the dharma of the intermediate existence with subtle form, while others presently abide in the dharma of the intermediate existence without subtle form; some presently abide in the dharma of five-colored conscious form, while others presently abide in the dharma of five-colored unconscious form; some presently abide in the consciousness of neither perception nor non-perception, while others do not abide in the consciousness of neither perception nor non-perception; some presently abide in the first station through the ninth station, while others presently abide in the first station yet not the first station.

Some presently abide in the ninth station yet not the ninth station.... I humbly beseech the World-Honored One to expound each of these extensively, so that the bodhisattvas may put an end to all doubt and sentient beings who hear the Dharma may attain liberation.”

Then the World-Honored One, in a gentle and pure Brahma voice, praised the Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi: “Excellent! Excellent, bodhisattva! Before the Tathagata you have uttered the lion’s roar. I shall now distinguish each detail for you. Listen carefully and reflect upon what you have asked.

“As for dharmas that can be perceived and dharmas that cannot be perceived: does the eye perceive form because form impinges upon the eye?” The Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi said: “There is no eye that perceives form, yet neither is it apart from the eye; and there is no form that impinges upon the eye, yet neither is it apart from form.”

The Buddha told the Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi: “Bodhisattva, the eye is not form, and form is not the eye. What, then, is it that perceives?” The Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi addressed the Buddha: “The dharma of consciousness truly abides, and only then does contemplation of dharmas arise.”

The Buddha told the Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi: “What do you think, bodhisattva? Is consciousness an existent dharma, or is consciousness a nonexistent dharma?” The Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi addressed the Buddha: “Consciousness is not conditioned, yet it is not apart from the conditioned. Consciousness is not unconditioned, yet it is not apart from the unconditioned.”

The Buddha asked the Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi: “What is conditioned, and what is unconditioned?” The Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi replied: “Arising is conditioned; abiding is unconditioned. With regard to the Dharma of ultimate truth, neither non-arising nor abiding is perceived. The Dharma-nature is pure, without form and without consciousness.

In the Dharma of nirvana there is nowhere for attachment to alight. The eye is not form; there are neither dharmas that can be perceived nor dharmas that cannot be perceived. The past eye, past form, and past consciousness; the future eye, future form, and past consciousness; the present eye, present form, and present consciousness—there are no eye, form, or consciousness, yet neither is there an absence of eye, form, or consciousness.

This is the pure Dharma of nirvana.”

At that time, the Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi wished to hear the Tathagata speak about having an object and having no object. The Buddha asked the Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi: “Does sound have an object, or does it have no object?” The Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi replied: “Sound both has an object and has no object.” The Buddha said: “Sound has no object, yet neither is it without an object.

What do you think, King of Transformative Samadhi? When this sound is answered by that response, is it existent or nonexistent, empty or real? What do you think?

Can writing be inscribed upon empty space?” King of Transformative Samadhi replied: “World-Honored One, it cannot. Why is this? Throughout innumerable kalpas, the Tathagata cultivated the various practices, yet he perceived neither existence nor nonexistence; he perceived neither the three periods of time nor the absence of the three periods of time.

The same is true even of neither perception nor non-perception.”

The Bodhisattva King of Transformative Samadhi then addressed the Buddha: “Each of the contemplations of dharmas above has now been understood. I only beseech the Tathagata, the Most True, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Universally Enlightened, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One, to explain three subtle and wondrous dharmas. What is most wondrous concerning the form of the intermediate existence, the form of five-colored consciousness, and the consciousness of neither perception nor non-perception?”

At that time, the World-Honored One knew that doubts had arisen in the minds of all those assembled, and from his seat he spoke these verses:

I endured suffering in the three realms,

My deluded mind confused by craving and ignorance.

Throughout innumerable kalpas gone by,

I clung to existence and clung to nonexistence.

Having destroyed the kalpas of cyclic existence,

Only now have I attained Buddhahood.

Bearing my vast and great vows,

I deliver all those not yet delivered.

Nothing surpasses the Buddha’s power;

Who in the three realms can equal the Buddha?

Single-minded, without a divided mind,

I vowed that I myself would attain Buddhahood.

From the Buddha Right Mantra,

I first brought forth the unequaled mind.

The bonds of desire that bind one fast

Are firm and difficult to sever completely.

The samadhi of emptiness, signlessness, and vows—

I discerned these three samadhis.

First contemplating the breath going out and coming in,

I considered the paths of good and evil.

Resolute and single-minded in diligent effort,

I advanced without losing proper deportment.

Like one who beholds a great fire

Burning those burdened with grave offenses,

Those with merit are born in the Heaven of Radiant Sound;

In other regions dwell those of meager merit.

When the three classes of sentient beings

Assume form in the intermediate existence,

Their transformations are beyond measure;

Who other than I could explain them?

Sentient beings of five-colored consciousness

Differ throughout the three realms.

The Supreme Victor, the Tathagata,

Enters that consciousness to teach and transform them.

He explains and distinguishes everything from beginning to end,

So the one hundred and eight forms of craving do not run rampant.

To those wishing to attain stream-entry,

He teaches the path of the stream-enterer.

To those wishing to attain non-returning,

He teaches the path of the non-returner.

To those wishing to become arhats,

He teaches the path of the arhat.

To those wishing to become pratyekabuddhas,

He teaches the path of the pratyekabuddha.

To those wishing to follow the bodhisattva path,

He teaches the bodhisattva Dharma.

Those who attained stream-entry

Numbered three billion two hundred million.

Those who attained once-returning

Numbered four billion two hundred million.

Those who attained non-returning

Numbered five billion two hundred million.

Those who attained arhatship

Numbered six billion two hundred million.

Those who attained pratyekabuddhahood

Numbered seven billion two hundred million.

Those who attained the bodhisattva path

Numbered eight billion two hundred million.

The World-Honored One then repeated these verses:

Fundamentally, I have no mind and no dharmas;

I employ them provisionally only to teach and transform.

Seeing smoke, one knows there is fire;

Seeing clouds, one knows there will be rain.

From the manner of his steps, one recognizes a noble man;

Seeing the stars, one knows the moon is present.

I have eliminated every thought of self:

There is neither self nor no-self.

Throughout many countless kalpas,

The months and days could not be reckoned.

The Buddha realized this through contemplation;

How could ordinary beings understand?

Excellent is the Great Sage, the Honored One,

Who universally delivers beings throughout the ten directions.

Having departed from the dharmas of the desire realm,

He teaches and transforms bodies in the intermediate existence.

The Dharma taught by all Buddhas is this:

Entering the skandhas, one does not perceive them.

All these sentient beings

Bring forth vows that are each distinct.

I bind my very own self;

Self and other share a single essence.

One must contemplate the source,

Contemplating both the root and the branches.

Every thought that arises—

How difficult it is to eliminate!

Defilements were stronger than I,

And I fell into the three evil paths.

Now I am stronger than they;

Destroying them, I realize nirvana.

Excellent is the Great Sage, the Honored One,

Who walks alone, unsurpassed by anyone.

Upon beholding the Supreme Great Sage, the Honored One,

The people of Jambudvipa attain deliverance.

There are three kinds of bodily conduct,

Four kinds of verbal conduct,

And three kinds of mental conduct—

A sea of affliction, death, and birth.

The nine abodes of sentient beings

Are places through which consciousness passes.

Distinguishing self from no-self,

There is neither self nor person.

All Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,

Possess minds vast and without bounds.

Every thought of every sentient being

They receive without limit.

With purified bodies, they commit no evil;

Their speech is ever pure;

Their minds are pure like the Buddha’s mind—

This is the Dharma of all Buddhas.

The body is a Dharma-vessel of suffering;

How could this concern only the three periods of time?

Who other than I could know it?

Who can know this path of suffering?

The merit and virtue of the Tathagata—

What excellent marks could ever compare with them?”

His chest has the form of a lion;

Each pore emits radiant light.

His palms bear a thousand wheels,

Teaching the paths of good and evil.

His tongue and teeth radiate light,

Liberating countless multitudes.

His eyes, ears, nose, and hair...

Who could compare with his ushnisha?

Even empty space may be exhausted,

But the Buddha’s marks are difficult to fathom.

As soon as the Tathagata finished speaking these verses, eight billion beings in the intermediate state within the realm of Nirvana Without Remainder aroused the Vajra Mind. Each of those beings would become a Buddha bearing the same name as the Tathagata Wondrous Enlightenment.

The Buddha told Bodhisattva King of Meditative Transformation: “Concerning what you have asked—conditioned by outflows and free from outflows; relative and non-relative; visible and invisible; and the dharmas of the past, present, and future—I shall now explain them to you.”

Bodhisattva King of Meditative Transformation said: “World-Honored One, I wish to hear.” The Buddha told Bodhisattva King of Meditative Transformation: “Listen carefully and reflect well. I shall distinguish these matters clearly for you. What do you think, King of Meditative Transformation?

What is the exhaustion of conditions? What is the non-exhaustion of conditions? The defiling dust of the six sense entrances is exceedingly heavy, causing one to become deluded by and attached to all dharmas.

There is the Dharma of contemplating inwardly and outwardly the incoming and outgoing breath. Eighty-four thousand Dharma methods lead to the attainment of nirvana. If each thought that arises cannot be extinguished, then every thought will assume its corresponding form.

There are eighty-four thousand dharmas with outflows and thirty-seven dharmas free from outflows, conditioned and unconditioned dharmas; none of these is the path of nirvana.

The body is pure and commits no evil;

The mouth speaks truthful words;

The mind is pure and abides in samadhi;

These four pervade all things:

They are precisely the bodhisattva’s practice.”

CHAPTER FOUR

BODHISATTVA BHADRAPALA’S INQUIRY

At that time, Bodhisattva Bhadrapala rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee upon the ground, joined his palms, knelt before the Buddha, and said: “Excellent, World-Honored One! The minds and consciousnesses of the three classes of beings—those of the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm—are difficult to measure and distinguish. Which are with outflows? Which are free from outflows? Which are conditioned? Which are unconditioned? Which possess form, and which are formless? Which possess desire, and which are free from desire? And which are determinate, and which are indeterminate?”

At that time, having heard Bodhisattva Bhadrapala ask these questions, the World-Honored One immediately spoke these verses:

While dwelling within the womb,

Many kinds of bodies are received.

What came before has ceased; what followed has arisen;

Ceasing and arising are countless.

Among the three classes of beings’ consciousness,

Defilements and sense objects all differ.

Some awaken upon hearing sounds;

Some see forms and attain the Way.

I, the Buddha Wondrous Enlightenment,

Have now descended into the intermediate state,

Clearly distinguishing each and every one:

Dharmas with outflows and free from outflows,

Realization, attainment, and fruition of the Way.

Those with the five form-consciousnesses are easily liberated;

This class shares a single realm,

Neither with outflows nor free from outflows.

The beings in the intermediate state

Are no different from my own body.

The body of the five skandhas suffers pain,

Like a wheel revolving without end.

Fundamentally, I have no word called “self”;

How could the three skandhas have a voice?

Contemplate the body’s thirty-six constituents,

The measurable dharmas of the Desire Realm,

The classes of form and formless consciousness,

And these beings in the intermediate state.

The consciousness of sentient beings with the five forms

Follows the suffering of the three realms.

Ignorance, delusion, craving, and confusion—

Their hidden marks are not nonexistent.

Outflows are the root of the Truth of Suffering;

Severing the fetters cannot be compared with form.

The Truth of Origination has twenty-eight aspects;

In quiescence, afflictions are exhausted.

The thirty-seven factors of the Way—

The Truth of the Path—is the true fruit.

Bhadrapala, you should clearly understand

Dharmas with outflows and free from outflows,

Determinate and indeterminate dharmas;

I shall now explain them to you.

The determinate are good and evil;

The indeterminate are dharmas of delusion.

Falling into the paths of birth and death,

Who but I can rescue them?

As soon as the Buddha, the World-Honored One, finished speaking these words, nine billion one hundred million beings all aroused the aspiration for the Unsurpassed Way, and four billion seven hundred million nayutas of beings all attained the fruit of arhatship.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE TREE OF THE WAY

At that time, among those seated in the assembly was a bodhisattva named Tree King. He immediately rose from his seat, adjusted his robe to bare his right shoulder, placed his right knee upon the ground, joined his palms, knelt before the Buddha, and said: “Excellent, World-Honored One! What the Tathagata has taught is exceedingly extraordinary. It is unclear whether the Tathagata intends to speak of what is with outflows or what is free from outflows. I beseech the World-Honored One to explain each statement: what is with outflows, and what is free from outflows?”

The Buddha said: “That which arises and ceases is with outflows; that which neither arises nor ceases is free from outflows. The existence of a self and a body is with outflows; neither self nor body is free from outflows. The eye in relation to form is with outflows; neither eye nor form is free from outflows.

The existence of consciousness, perception, and form is with outflows; neither consciousness, perception, nor form is free from outflows. Where the three abodes of consciousness abide and there is a body, that is with outflows; where each consciousness in each abode has its own form, that is free from outflows. Possessing Form, Neither Perception nor Non-Perception, is the Measured Dharma That Has Function; the place of non-function is the Ground of the Third Dhyana.

Weariness with birth and death is called Non-Function. With aspiration or without aspiration, one enters the First Dhyana. Excellent indeed is that bliss, wherein the mind does not waver.

Mindfulness, purity, joy, and ease preserve the five practices. Accomplishing perception and cessation is the Dharma of the joyful practice of entering and emerging.

One hundred and eight cravings in a single thought.

A hundred million activities in between.

Perception after perception can never be exhausted;

Only when that exists does the body exist.

Without that, there is no perception of self.

For countless kalpas, I

Have attained this only by relinquishing self.

Where the three consciousnesses pass,

There is neither existence nor self.

How lamentable is the suffering of the three realms!

Receiving bodies, beings endure the calamity of birth and death.

It is like the art of illusion,

Using the hand to frighten a child.

The conscious spirit is formless, like a conjuration;

Its arising and ceasing are ever impermanent.

I possess no body or self;

How then could there be a dharma of conscious form?

Dharmas of perception and non-perception—

Nor does one see any consciousness.

Where, then, could the four skandhas abide?

Neither I nor you exist.

Through many distant kalpas,

I have passed among the three consciousnesses.

Among devas, dragons, ghosts, and spirits,

Where is Wondrous Enlightenment not present?

I perform all wholesome dharmas

And vow to liberate countless beings.

According to their bodies, I teach and transform them;

My responsive transformations cannot be measured.

The Tathagata’s pure practices

Extend everywhere without limit.

Spiritual powers illuminate within and without,

Observing throughout the three times.

The classes possessing form and those without form

Contemplate the ten perceptual fetters.

The suffering of afflictions no longer remains.

Where could empty space have a boundary?

How could any coming or going be seen?

Within the mind, there is no conceptual thought.

Through patience, merit is perfected;

Accumulated, it fulfills the Buddha’s Way,

Rejoicing in the tranquil stillness of nirvana.

Though arising occurs, no arising is seen;

Though birth occurs, no birth is seen.

How then could arising and cessation exist?

Humans and devas

End thought and reach the other shore.

The eye is trapped within the three realms,

Crossing the ocean of birth and death.

Because of delusion regarding form,

Craving binds and fetters me.

The Buddha’s power knows no fear,

Abiding continually within the three realms

For the sake of others, not for oneself,

Receiving and guiding sentient beings.

Constantly employing the four foundations of mindfulness,

How could such merit be measured?

The treasure-flower of the seven factors of enlightenment,

The five powers and the five faculties,

The samadhis of emptiness and signlessness,

The thirty-seven aids to the Way,

And the six paramitas reaching the other shore—

Through skillful means, birth and death are transformed.

Passing back and forth through the realm of empty space,

Without traversing numbers of kalpas,

Those attaining the Way are like motes of dust.

Those liberated and those not yet liberated

Hear the Dharma forever proclaimed in a single voice;

Where then could thoughts of self and other remain?

The Dharma of contemplating the mind of the Way—

Those who hear it are without limit.

Distinguishing the inner and outer body,

One nowhere sees arising or cessation.

Bind the mind to mindfulness of breathing:

When the breath is short, know it is short;

When the breath is long, know it is long.

When perception is concentrated, know it is concentrated;

When perception is distracted, know it is distracted.

What practice could surpass this purity—

Single-minded, without distracted perceptions?

At this time, the World-Honored One immediately spoke these verses:

Where the Buddha’s power is exercised,

It refreshes devas and humans everywhere.

Those Beyond Training and Those Still in Training,

Down to ordinary beings,

Sever all mental signs and thoughts,

And all arrive at fearlessness.

Distinguishing emptiness and signlessness,

They cultivate the pure seat of enlightenment.

The tree of the Buddha’s Way is adorned,

Causing all to share a single appearance.

Turning the unsurpassed Dharma wheel,

The sound of the Dharma drum is raised on high.

None among the hosts of Mara

Could ever turn it.

Opening the treasury of the Dharma’s amrita,

It showers upon all classes of beings,

Rescuing and liberating countless multitudes

Without discriminating among any class.

The place of supreme reception and liberation—

How could those who attain it ever be counted?

Excellent indeed, inconceivable,

Those delivered beyond all reckoning.

The practices I established in ages past

Can be fathomed by the Buddha alone.

Do not cling to self or dharmas;

May the Dharma forever benefit beings.

Through meritorious practice, transcend the three realms

And enter the realm of nirvana,

Pure and free from the slightest defilement,

Like the radiance of the moon and stars.

At that time, when the Blessed One spoke these verses, eight billion four hundred million, together with countless hundreds of thousands of millions, of beings in the intermediate state were entirely freed from all dust and defilement and attained the purified Dharma-eye. Furthermore, one billion beings of Five-Colored Consciousness aroused the aspiration toward the path of awakening from which there is no regression.

END OF THE FIRST FASCICLE OF THE SUTRA ON THE INTERMEDIATE STATE