文殊師利所說摩訶般若波羅蜜經

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling in the Jeta Grove Vihāra in the country of Śrāvastī, together with a thousand bhikṣus following the Saṅgha and ten thousand great Bodhisattvas who came to hear the Dharma. All these ones adorned themselves with the most exalted of ornaments, and all had come to abide upon stages from which there is no more falling back.

The names of these venerable ones were: Maitreya Bodhisattva, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva of Unobstructed Eloquence, Bodhisattva Who Never Lets Go of Striving, together with a number of such bodhisattvas all assembled there. As the day was just dawning, the venerable Mañjuśrī, the great Bodhisattva who is forever youthful, went from his dwelling place over to where the Buddha was abiding; having arrived, he stood waiting for the Buddha outside the door.

At that time the great Śrāvakas — Śāriputra, Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra, Mahāmaudgalyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, Mahākātyāyana, and Mahākauṣṭhila — all went from their dwelling places to pay homage to the Buddha, and arriving there they stood waiting together outside. The Buddha knew that the great assembly had now fully gathered, so he rose from his dwelling place, went outside, spread out his sitting cloth, and sat down upon it.

Then the Buddha addressed Śāriputra:

"What reason have you today that, just as the day was dawning, you came to stand waiting beside the door?"

Śāriputra replied:

"World-Honored One! The venerable Mañjuśrī, the ever-youthful Bodhisattva, came first of all to stand waiting beside the door; we are only those who arrived afterward."

The Buddha then turned and asked Mañjuśrī:

"Is it truly so that you came first of all, hoping to pay homage to the Tathāgata?"

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī then answered:

"It is just so, World-Honored One! I have indeed come here hoping to pay homage to the Tathāgata. Why do I do so? It is because I delight in the true Dharma and wish to bring benefit to sentient beings. I contemplate the Tathāgata as the mark of suchness, the mark of non-difference, the mark of non-moving, the mark of non-doing, the mark of non-arising, the mark of non-ceasing, the mark of not-being, the mark of not-non-being, neither abiding in a direction nor apart from a direction, neither of the three times nor not of the three times, neither a dual mark nor a non-dual mark, neither a defiled mark nor a pure mark... I employ this right contemplation of the Tathāgata in order to bring true benefit to sentient beings."

The Buddha said to Mañjuśrī:

"Mañjuśrī! If you have the full capacity to behold the Tathāgata in such a way, then the mind retains no impression and yet it is not that it retains no impression; it accumulates no image and yet it is not that it accumulates none."

At that point Śāriputra said to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī:

"According to the words you have just spoken, your seeing of the Tathāgata is truly rare in the world. For the sake of all sentient beings, to see the Tathāgata while the mind retains no impression or image of sentient beings; to teach and transform all sentient beings and lead them toward Nirvāṇa while yet not retaining the mark of Nirvāṇa; for the sake of all sentient beings to cultivate vast merit, yet what mind there sees any mark or appearance of that cultivating adornment?"

The venerable Mañjuśrī, the ever-youthful Bodhisattva, then said to Śāriputra:

"Just so! Just so! As you have said: all this is for the sake of all sentient beings, cultivating vast merit, and yet the mind constantly sees not the slightest mark or appearance of a sentient being; for the sake of sentient beings cultivating merit and establishing exalted virtue, and yet the realm of sentient beings neither increases nor decreases.

Suppose there were a Buddha abiding in the world who lived for one kalpa or more than a kalpa, and one world were taught and transformed by this Buddha in such a way; and again suppose there were measureless, boundless Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, each such Buddha abiding in the world for a kalpa or more than a kalpa, expounding the Dharma day and night without a single thought of pausing in his mind, and each Buddha delivering measureless sentient beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, causing this number of sentient beings all to enter into Nirvāṇa — yet the realm of sentient beings would neither increase nor decrease.

And so too the Buddhas who teach and transform the worlds throughout all the ten directions: each Buddha, expounding the Dharma and teaching and transforming, delivers measureless sentient beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, leading all of them to enter Nirvāṇa, and yet the realm of sentient beings neither increases nor decreases.

"Why is this?

"Because the defining mark of a sentient being is unobtainable — it cannot be found — and therefore the realm of sentient beings never increases nor ever decreases."

Śāriputra again asked the venerable Mañjuśrī:

"If the realm of sentient beings neither increases nor decreases, why then does the Bodhisattva, for the sake of sentient beings, seek the unsurpassed wisdom of awakening? Why does he constantly practice the deed of expounding the Dharma?"

The venerable Mañjuśrī turned toward the Buddha and said:

"If all sentient beings are without mark, then there is no such thing as a Bodhisattva seeking the unsurpassed wisdom of awakening, and there are also no sentient beings for whose sake the Bodhisattva might expound the Dharma. Why is this? It is because, even in the Dharma the teacher imparts to us, there is not a single dharma that can be obtained at all."

Thereupon the Buddha said to Mañjuśrī:

"If there are no sentient beings, why then is it said that there are sentient beings and a realm of sentient beings?"

Mañjuśrī replied:

"The mark of the realm of sentient beings is like the realm of the Buddhas."

"Is the realm of sentient beings limited in measure?"

"The measure of the realm of sentient beings is like the measure of the realm of the Buddhas."

"Does the measure of the realm of sentient beings have a boundary?"

"The measure of the realm of sentient beings truly lies beyond the scope of estimation."

"Is the mark of the realm of sentient beings something that abides?"

"Sentient beings are non-abiding, like empty space."

The Buddha again asked Mañjuśrī:

"When one cultivates the Prajñāpāramitā in such a way, how then does one abide in the Prajñāpāramitā?"

Mañjuśrī replied:

"Taking the dharma of non-abiding as one's abiding is to abide in the Prajñāpāramitā."

The Buddha asked again:

"How is it that the dharma of non-abiding is called abiding in the Prajñāpāramitā?"

"To employ the mark of non-abiding is precisely to abide in the Prajñāpāramitā."

The Buddha said to Mañjuśrī:

"When one abides in the Prajñāpāramitā, how do the roots of goodness increase? How do they decrease?"

Mañjuśrī replied:

"If one has thus abided in the Prajñāpāramitā, the roots of goodness neither increase nor decrease; and so too with all dharmas — they neither increase nor decrease. The nature and mark of the Prajñāpāramitā neither increase nor decrease.

"World-Honored One! Cultivating the Prajñāpāramitā in this way, one does not abandon the dharma of the ordinary person, yet one also does not grasp at the dharma of the noble and worthy ones. Why do I say this?

Because abiding in the Prajñāpāramitā, one sees no dharma whatever that may be grasped or let go. Cultivating the Prajñāpāramitā, one also does not see a Nirvāṇa that is worthy of delight, nor a saṃsāra that should be loathed. Why is this so?

Because, since one does not see saṃsāra as existing, how then could one still loathe it? And since one does not see Nirvāṇa as existing, how could one still delight in it? If one cultivates the Prajñāpāramitā in this way, one does not see defilements as filthy things to be cast off, nor pure merit as something to be sought; and toward all dharmas the mind does not waver, neither pursuing nor fleeing.

Why is this? Because one does not see the Dharma-realm as having increase or decrease, conformity or opposition. World-Honored One!

If one can be thus, only then is it called cultivating the Prajñāpāramitā.

"World-Honored One! Not to see dharmas as having arising or ceasing is to cultivate the Prajñāpāramitā.

"World-Honored One! Not to see dharmas as having increase or decrease — the mind without seeking; not to see a dharma-mark to be sought after; not to see what is good and fine or bad and ugly; not to regard anything as lofty and noble or lowly and base; neither grasping nor letting go. Why is this? Dharmas have no good and fine or bad and ugly, because they are beyond all marks. Dharmas have no lofty nobility or lowly baseness, because they are equal to the nature of dharmas. Dharmas should not be grasped or let go, because they abide in the true reality-limit. This is the cultivation of the Prajñāpāramitā."

The Buddha again asked Mañjuśrī:

"Is it not so that the Dharma realized by the Buddha is unsurpassedly excellent?"

Mañjuśrī replied:

"I do not see any dharma that has a mark of being excellent — there is only suchness as such. The Tathāgata, by his own awakening, knows that all dharmas are empty; this he has realized and understood."

The Buddha replied:

"Just so! Just so! The Tathāgata, the Rightly Awakened One, has himself realized the emptiness of dharmas."

Mañjuśrī asked the Buddha:

"World-Honored One! Within the emptiness of dharmas, is there still some mark of excellence that can be grasped?"

The Buddha replied:

"Excellent! Very good! Mañjuśrī! As you have just asked — is this the true Dharma?" Then the Buddha continued: "Is the unsurpassed indeed the Buddha-Dharma?"

Mañjuśrī replied:

"As the Buddha has taught, the unsurpassed is the Buddha-Dharma. Why do I say this? Because there is no dharma that can be obtained — that is the unsurpassed.

"World-Honored One! Cultivating the Prajñāpāramitā in this way is not called a vessel of the Dharma; it is not the dharma of the ordinary person, nor is it the Buddha-Dharma, nor is it a dharma of growth.

"World-Honored One! When one cultivates the Prajñāpāramitā, one sees no dharma whatever by which to discriminate or to ponder."

The Buddha asked:

"Do you then not ponder upon the Buddha-Dharma?"

Mañjuśrī replied:

"It is not so, World-Honored One! As I ponder, I do not see that there is any Buddha-Dharma, nor can I discriminate it as the dharma of the ordinary person, or the dharma of the Śrāvaka, or the dharma of the Pratyekabuddha. This is called the unsurpassed Buddha-Dharma.

"Furthermore, World-Honored One! When one cultivates the Prajñāpāramitā, one does not see the mark of the ordinary person, does not see the mark of the Buddha-Dharma, and does not see any dharma as having a fixed and determined mark. When one cultivates the Prajñāpāramitā, one also does not see the desire-realm, the form-realm, the formless-realm, or the realm of cessation. Why is this? Because wherever one sees a dharma existing, there is a mark of extinction and exhaustion.

"When one cultivates the Prajñāpāramitā, one does not see a Buddha-Dharma to be sought after, nor a dharma of the ordinary person to be cast off; one does not see that the dharma of the ordinary person must be wholly removed, and one does not see a mind that realizes and knows the Buddha-Dharma."

The Buddha taught:

"Excellent! Very good! Mañjuśrī, you have spoken in a most profound and clear manner about the mark of the Prajñāpāramitā, which is the Dharma-seal that the great Bodhisattva must cultivate and learn. Even the Śrāvakas, the Pratyekabuddhas, those still in training, and those beyond training must not let go of this seal of realization in order to cultivate the fruits of the Way.

"Mañjuśrī! If there is anyone who, on merely hearing this Dharma, has a mind that is not alarmed nor afraid, you should know that this person has already planted roots of goodness before a thousand Buddhas, and indeed has sown the seeds of merit before a hundred thousand koṭis of Buddhas, and so now has the full capacity to hear this Dharma of the Prajñāpāramitā without seeing himself tremble in fear."

Mañjuśrī said to the Buddha:

"World-Honored One! I wish to say something further about the meaning of the Prajñāpāramitā."

The Buddha replied:

"Very well, speak on!"

"World-Honored One! When one cultivates the Prajñāpāramitā, one sees no dharma that should be abided in, and also sees no realm that should be grasped or let go. Why is this so?

Because the Tathāgatas do not see a mark of the realm of the Buddhas; how then would they grasp at the realm of the Śrāvaka, the Pratyekabuddha, or the ordinary person? One does not retain the mark of thought and conception, and also does not retain the mark of the inconceivable; one realizes for oneself the EMPTINESS OF DHARMAS, which lies beyond the domain of intellectual knowledge, and one does not see dharmas as having any such marks or appearances.

A great Bodhisattva who is able to cultivate in this way has surely made offerings to measureless hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of Buddhas and has planted all manner of roots of goodness, and so has the full capacity to comprehend the profound Dharma of the Prajñāpāramitā without giving rise to a mind of fear.

"World-Honored One! Furthermore, when one cultivates the Prajñāpāramitā, one does not see being bound or being released, and toward the ordinary person on through the persons of the three vehicles one sees no mark of difference or distinction."

The Buddha said to Mañjuśrī:

"Mañjuśrī! And you — how many Buddhas have you made offerings to?"

Mañjuśrī replied:

"I and the Buddhas have marks like a magical illusion; I have not seen anyone who is the one making offerings, nor anyone who is the one receiving them."

"Now then, do you abide in the Buddha-vehicle?"

"As I ponder it, I have not seen even a single dharma; how then could I abide in the Buddha-vehicle?"

"Then have you not attained the Buddha-vehicle?"

"That Buddha-vehicle is no more than a mere name; it cannot be grasped and cannot be seen — how could I attain it?"

"Mañjuśrī! Have you attained unobstructed wisdom?"

"I am myself the unobstructed already; why then should there be any matter of using the unobstructed to attain the unobstructed?"

"Are you seated at the seat of awakening?"

"All the Tathāgatas have not sat at the seat of awakening; why then should I, alone and apart, sit at the seat of awakening? Why is there such a matter at all? Because it is evident that all dharmas abide in the true reality-limit."

"What is the true reality-limit?"

"The view of the self is the true reality-limit."

"How is the view of the self the true reality-limit?"

"The mark of the view of the self is suchness as such — neither real nor unreal, neither coming nor going; it is the self and yet it is also not the self — this is the true reality-limit."

Śāriputra said to the Buddha:

"World-Honored One! If anyone can clearly discern this true meaning, he is called a great Bodhisattva. Why do I say this? Because he is one who has the full capacity to comprehend the lofty and far-reaching Prajñāpāramitā, while his mind is never afraid, never alarmed, never regretful."

Maitreya Bodhisattva also said to the Buddha:

"World-Honored One! One who hears the Prajñāpāramitā in this way and perfects the mark of the Dharma is already near to the place where the Buddha sits. Why is this? Because the Tathāgata has presently awakened to this mark of the Dharma."

Mañjuśrī again said:

"World-Honored One! One who hears this lofty and far-reaching Prajñāpāramitā without fear, without alarm, without confusion, without regret — you should know that such a one has already seen the Buddha."

At that time there was a faithful laywoman named Markless (Animittā) who also raised her voice and said to the Buddha:

"World-Honored One! The dharma of the ordinary person, of the Śrāvaka, of the Pratyekabuddha, of the Bodhisattva, of the Buddha... all these dharmas are without mark. Therefore, to hear the Prajñāpāramitā without fear, without alarm, without confusion, without regret — why is this? Because all dharmas are originally without mark."

The Buddha said to Śāriputra:

"Śāriputra! If there is any good man or good woman who, hearing this lofty and far-reaching Prajñāpāramitā, can in his mind realize its truth without fear, without alarm, without confusion, without regret, you should know that this person abides in the stage of non-retrogression.

"If there is a person who hears the Prajñāpāramitā and whose mind is unafraid, who furthermore delights in it and upholds it, rejoicing with no thought of weariness — such a one has already perfected the Perfection of Giving, the Perfection of Discipline, the Perfection of Patience, the Perfection of Vigor, the Perfection of Meditation, and the Perfection of Wisdom. He is also fully able to set forth the Prajñāpāramitā clearly so that others may believe and understand it, and may then practice it in accordance with the teaching."

The Buddha again said to Mañjuśrī:

"Upon contemplating what meaning do you attain unsurpassed perfect awakening and abide in unsurpassed perfect awakening?"

Mañjuśrī replied:

"I do not attain unsurpassed perfect awakening. Since I do not abide in the Buddha-vehicle, how then could I ever attain unsurpassed perfect awakening? What I have just said is itself the mark of perfect awakening."

The Buddha praised Mañjuśrī:

"Excellent! Very right! You have the full capacity, with respect to this lofty and far-reaching Dharma, to set forth its meaning in a most skillful manner. You have followed the Buddhas of past ages and planted roots of goodness for a very long time, and through the markless dharma you have purely cultivated the holy life."

Mañjuśrī said:

"Ordinarily one sees a mark existing, and so when it is absent one calls it 'markless'; but I at present see neither a mark existing nor a markless absence — how then can you say that I, through the markless dharma, purely cultivate the holy life?"

The Buddha asked Mañjuśrī:

"Do you see the realm of the Śrāvaka?"

"I see it."

"How do you see it?"

"I do not give rise to seeing it as the ordinary person sees, nor as the noble and worthy ones see, nor as those still in training see, nor as those who have attained the Way see, nor as the Great Vehicle sees, nor as the Small Vehicle sees; I do not see it as already tamed, nor see it as not yet tamed — it is not a seeing, and yet it is also not a non-seeing."

Śāriputra then asked Mañjuśrī:

"Now you contemplate the Śrāvaka-vehicle in this way; but when you contemplate the Buddha-vehicle, how is it?"

Mañjuśrī replied:

"I do not see a Bodhisattva-dharma, and also do not see the cultivation of the practice of bodhi, nor a person who realizes the fruit of bodhi."

Śāriputra asked again:

"What is the Buddha? What is contemplation?"

Mañjuśrī, pressing the question back, asked:

"What is the 'self'?"

"The self is no more than a name, and the name in turn is without mark."

"Just so! Just so! As the self is only a name, the Buddha too is only another kind of name. The mark of the name is itself empty — this is bodhi. One does not chase after a name in order to seek the mark of bodhi; the mark of bodhi is beyond all speech and discourse. Why is this? Because speech and bodhi are both empty.

"Again, Śāriputra! You ask me, what is the Buddha? What is contemplation? To contemplate the Buddha is to realize that which is unarisen and unceasing, neither coming nor going, neither a name nor a mark — that is called the Buddha. Just as one contemplates the true mark of one's own body, so too is the contemplation of the Buddha. Only those of wisdom can understand it. This, as set forth above, is called the contemplation of the Buddha."

At that very moment Śāriputra said again to the Buddha:

"World-Honored One! What the venerable Mañjuśrī has spoken about the Prajñāpāramitā is truly not within the domain of understanding of beginning Bodhisattvas."

The venerable Mañjuśrī continued:

"Not only are beginning Bodhisattvas unable to understand it; even those of the two vehicles whose practice and merit are already perfected still lack the capacity to understand it. The Dharma I have spoken in this way is such that hardly anyone is able to understand it. Why? Because the mark of bodhi truly cannot be understood by relying on any dharma whatever — it is not seen, not heard, not remembered, not arisen, not ceased, not spoken, not heard. The nature and mark of bodhi are thus empty and still — not realized, not known, without form, without mark — how then can it be said that there will be someone who attains bodhi?"

Śāriputra again asked Mañjuśrī:

"Does the Buddha, within the Dharma-realm, not realize bodhi?"

"It is not so!

"Śāriputra! Why do I say this? Because the World-Honored One is himself the Dharma-realm; how could there be any matter of using the Dharma-realm to realize the Dharma-realm!

"Śāriputra! The mark of the Dharma-realm is itself bodhi. Why is this? Because within the Dharma-realm there is no mark of sentient beings, for the reason that all dharmas are empty. That all dharmas are empty is itself bodhi — without a dual mark, beyond all discrimination.

"Śāriputra! Within the absence of discrimination there is no one who knows; where there is no one who knows, there is no speech; where there is no mark of speech, it is neither existent nor non-existent, neither knowing nor not-knowing. All dharmas are thus.

Why? Because all dharmas are beyond all seeing and knowing, their own nature being fixed and determined — like the offenses of immediate retribution, which cannot be estimated. Why do I say this?

Because the true mark of dharmas cannot be destroyed, and the offenses of immediate retribution are likewise so: being without an inherent nature, they neither ascend to the heavens nor fall into the hells, and neither can they enter Nirvāṇa. Why? Because all karmic conditions abide in the true reality-limit, neither going nor coming, neither cause nor effect.

Why?

"Because the Dharma-realm is without boundary, having no interval before or after. Therefore, Śāriputra! If a person sees that some bhikṣu who has violated the grave precepts does not fall into hell, and that one who is pure and cultivates the practice does not enter Nirvāṇa — such a bhikṣu is neither one who should be made offerings to nor one who should not be made offerings to; he is neither one whose defilements are wholly purified nor one who still has defilements.

"Why?

"Because toward all dharmas the mind remains uniformly equal."

"What is called the patient acceptance of the non-retrogressing Dharma?"

"Where there is not the slightest dharma having even a trace of any mark of arising or ceasing — that is the patient acceptance of the non-retrogressing Dharma."

"And what is the bhikṣu who is not tamed?"

"The Arhat who has wholly exhausted the defilements is precisely the one who is 'not tamed.' Why? Because the fetters have already been wholly removed, there is nothing further that needs to be tamed, and so he is called 'not tamed.'

"If the mind's activity is in error, this is called an ordinary person, because ordinary sentient beings do not conform to the Dharma-realm, and so this is called error."

"Excellent! As you have taught, only now do I clearly understand the meaning of the Arhat who has wholly exhausted the defilements."

"Just so! I myself am the true Arhat who has wholly exhausted the defilements, because I have cut off the desire and longing to seek the fruit of the Śrāvaka and the Pratyekabuddha; therefore am I called one who has wholly exhausted the defilements and attained the fruit of Arhatship."

The Buddha said to Mañjuśrī:

"When Bodhisattvas sit at the seat of awakening, do they awaken to unsurpassed bodhi?"

"When a Bodhisattva sits at the seat of awakening, there is no awakening to unsurpassed bodhi. Why do I say this? Because in the mark of bodhi there is not the slightest dharma that can be attained — and that is why it is called unsurpassed bodhi. Bodhi is without mark; no one can sit down upon it, and no one can rise up from it. For this reason I do not see a Bodhisattva sitting at the seat of awakening, nor do I see any awakening to and realization of unsurpassed bodhi.

"World-Honored One! Bodhi is itself the five offenses of immediate retribution, and the five offenses of immediate retribution are themselves bodhi. Bodhi and the five offenses are not two differing marks: there is no awakening and no one who awakens, no seeing and no one who sees, no knowing and no one who knows, no discriminating and no one who discriminates... Such marks as these are called bodhi, and seeing the mark of the five offenses is likewise so. If anyone says that he sees bodhi in order to grasp and realize it, you should know that this person belongs to the class of the overweeningly arrogant."

At that moment the Buddha said to Mañjuśrī:

"You say that I AM ( ) the Tathāgata — does this also mean that I MAKE ( ) the Tathāgata?"

"It is not so, World-Honored One! Have I not said that the Tathāgata does not make the Tathāgata? There is no mark of SUCHNESS by which one could say 'MAKING SUCHNESS.' Nor are the Tathāgata and wisdom two separate marks. That which by its NATURE makes the Tathāgata is only a name; how then could I say that I AM the Tathāgata?"

The Buddha asked:

"Do you doubt the Tathāgata?"

"No, World-Honored One! I contemplate the Tathāgata as having no fixed and determined nature, neither arising nor ceasing, and so I no longer have any lingering doubt."

"Do you then now not think that the Tathāgata appears in the world?"

"If the Tathāgata appears in the world, then the whole Dharma-realm will also be present in the world."

"Do you hold that all the Buddhas, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, enter into Nirvāṇa?"

"The Buddhas are of a single mark, beyond all understanding and estimation."

"Just so! Just so! The Buddha is of a single mark — a mark that cannot be estimated."

"World-Honored One! Does the Buddha now abide in the world?"

"It is just so."

"If the Buddha abides in the world, then the Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges ought also to abide in the world. Why do I say this? Because all the Buddhas are equally of a single mark, a mark that cannot be estimated.

"A mark that cannot be estimated is unarisen and unceasing. If the Buddhas of the future appear in the world, then all the other Buddhas too will appear in the world. Why? Because within that which cannot be estimated there is no mark of abiding in past, future, or present; it is only that sentient beings, through clinging and grasping, retain the notion that the Buddha has appeared in the world and has passed into extinction."

The Buddha said to Mañjuśrī:

"This belongs to the domain of understanding of the Tathāgata, the Arhat, and the non-retrogressing Bodhisattva. Why is this? Because these three kinds of beings, on hearing this profound Dharma, give rise neither to a mind of disparagement nor to one of praise."

Mañjuśrī said to the Buddha:

"World-Honored One! Since it is thus beyond all estimation, how could anyone disparage it? Who could praise it?"

The Buddha replied:

"Mañjuśrī! The Tathāgata is beyond all thought and estimation, and the ordinary person is also beyond all thought and estimation."

"World-Honored One! Is the ordinary person also beyond all thought and estimation?"

"He too is beyond all thought and estimation. Why? Because all marks of mind are beyond all thought and estimation."

"If it is said in this way — that the Tathāgata is beyond all thought and estimation, and the ordinary person is also beyond all thought and estimation — then the countless Buddhas now seeking Nirvāṇa are only vainly wasting their hard toil. Why do I say this? Because the dharma that is beyond all thought and estimation is itself Nirvāṇa, since the two are equal and without difference.

"If there is any good man or good woman who has cultivated roots of goodness over a long expanse of time and drawn near to good and wise friends, only then will such a one come to know that the ordinary person is beyond all estimation, and that the Buddhas are likewise beyond all thought and estimation."

The Buddha again said to Mañjuśrī:

"Do you wish to place the Tathāgata in the supreme rank among sentient beings?"

"I wish to place the Tathāgata in the supreme, foremost rank among all sentient beings. Yet the mark of a sentient being cannot be found either."

"Do you wish for the Tathāgata to attain the Dharma that is difficult to estimate?"

"I wish for the Tathāgata to attain the Dharma that is difficult to estimate, yet in the dharmas there is no such attainment."

"Do you wish to have the Tathāgata expound the Dharma to teach and transform?"

"I wish for the Tathāgata to expound the Dharma to teach and transform, yet both the one who speaks and the one who hears are unobtainable. Why? Because one abides in the Dharma-realm, and in the Dharma-realm sentient beings have no mark of difference or distinction."

"Do you wish to make the Tathāgata an unsurpassed field of merit?"

"The Tathāgata is an inexhaustible field of merit, a mark of inexhaustibility. The mark of inexhaustibility is itself the unsurpassed field of merit. It is neither a field of merit nor a non-field of merit; it is without any marks of brightness or darkness, arising or ceasing — that is the field of merit. If anyone is able to understand the mark of the field of merit in this way, he will plant roots of goodness in a firm and unshakable manner, neither increasing nor decreasing."

"What is it to plant without increase and without decrease?"

"The mark of the field of merit is truly most difficult to estimate; if there is anyone who abides herein, cultivating roots of goodness in accordance with the true Dharma, that too is truly difficult to estimate. To plant in this way is called neither increasing nor decreasing, and is also the supreme and unsurpassed field of merit."

At that very moment, through the spiritual power of the Buddha, the whole earth quaked and shook in six ways, manifesting the mark of impermanence. Sixteen thousand people thereupon attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas; seven hundred bhikṣus, three thousand laymen, forty thousand laywomen, and sixty koṭis of nayutas of devas of the six heavens of the desire realm — all these persons departed far from the dust and defilement and attained the pure Dharma-eye with respect to all dharmas.