大寶積經

“Furthermore, O Vidyutprāpta! Having accomplished such wisdom, a great bodhisattva clearly understands the faculties, conduct, intentions, and inclinations of all beings. If he sees beings of strong sensual desire, then, wishing to tame them and heal the sickness of craving, he may appear like an ordinary person, enjoying sensual pleasures and possessing a wife, children, and property; yet he remains undefiled and unattached, like a lotus flower.

“There are foolish and ignorant beings who do not understand the bodhisattva’s skillful means. They think, ‘How could a wise person indulge in sensual pleasures just like an ordinary person?’ They declare that the bodhisattva has departed far from bodhi. Because the minds of such beings are not tranquil, they give rise to great anger and have neither reverence nor faith in the bodhisattva. Consequently, after death they fall into a great hell. Yet through the causes and conditions of the great bodhisattva’s secret work of transformation, once the retribution for their offenses has ended, they will certainly enter into equality.

“O Vidyutprāpta! Suppose a blazing fire were fed with any quantity of grass and wood: all of it would burn and become fire. So too, the bodhisattva’s wisdom blazes brilliantly. Whether beings are governed by greed, anger, and delusion, or whether they are wholesome or unwholesome, when the bodhisattva practices together with them, they all become radiant and are transformed into wisdom. This is called a unique quality of a bodhisattva.

“O Vidyutprāpta! Mount Sumeru possesses a unique characteristic: its four faces are composed of four precious substances. Beings have various complexions—blue, yellow, red, or white—but if they approach the mountain’s face of beryl, they all take on the single color of beryl; and if they approach its faces of pure gold, silver, or crystal, they take on the color of that face.

So too, a bodhisattva who has attained such unique qualities practices together with beings, whether they are governed by greed, anger, and delusion, or whether they are wholesome or unwholesome, whenever they come to him, and causes them all to realize and enter the wisdom of a bodhisattva. Because their minds are impure and they have committed evil karma, they may fall into the hells or be born as hungry ghosts or animals in Jambudvīpa.

Yet through the bodhisattva’s unique merit and the power of his vows, once their painful retribution has ended, they will certainly attain unsurpassed bodhi.

“O Vidyutprāpta! Immeasurable, boundless, and innumerable kalpas ago, during an age of the five defilements, a Buddha appeared in the world named Jewel-Heap Merit and Renown Tathāgata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened 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. At that time, as in the present age, the human lifespan was one hundred and twenty years.

Those beings were burdened by intense sensual desire, anger, and delusion. Covered by afflictions, they opposed their parents, siblings, and friends and were disobedient to their preceptors and ācāryas. They knew no gratitude, constantly harbored malice, practiced deceit and theft, harmed one another, and committed unreasonable deeds.

They had neither reverence nor faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Being greedy and miserly, they practiced the ways of hungry ghosts. In that Buddha-land were such evil beings, exceedingly difficult to tame.

Because of the power of his former vows, that Buddha attained unsurpassed bodhi in that evil age. He also had a great assembly of twenty-two thousand śrāvakas. At that time, a king named Vast Longevity ruled freely over the land and governed Jambudvīpa.

His faith in the Buddha’s Dharma was pure. He invited the Buddha and the Sangha to spend the summer retreat and prepared abundant offerings for them.

“At that time there was a bhikṣu whose Dharma name was Stainless. Endowed with eloquence, he skillfully taught the Dharma and instructed beings without ever becoming weary, and everyone delighted in listening to him. Whenever Dharma Master Stainless taught the Dharma, he sought nothing for himself. His countenance was joyful and welcoming; he was vigorous, handsome, and dignified, and beings delighted in making offerings to him, honoring, revering, and praising him.

“At the same time, a young, newly ordained bhikṣu followed Dharma Master Stainless. He entered and left the royal palace without obstruction and received offerings of food, drink, robes, bedding, and medicine. In that assembly, however, most bhikṣus did not know how to cultivate discipline of body, morality, mind, and wisdom. They did not revere the Buddha,

the Dharma, or the Sangha. They clung to eternalism, annihilationism, and belief in a self; slandered the true Dharma; and were frivolous and difficult to tame. They did not restrain their faculties but dwelt in what was contrary to Dharma. Although they did not practice the conduct of śramaṇas, they called themselves śramaṇas. Their bodily, verbal, and mental actions were corrupt.

“After that summer retreat, Jewel-Heap Merit and Renown Tathāgata entered nirvana. King Vast Longevity offered red sandalwood for the cremation and then built eight billion jeweled stupas, each with railings of red sandalwood and golden lotus flowers on all four sides.

“Bhikṣu Stainless had been predicted by that Buddha to be foremost in learning. After the Buddha’s parinirvana, he propagated the true Dharma, traveling through cities, towns, and villages and teaching immeasurable hundreds of thousands of beings, establishing them in unsurpassed bodhi.

“At that time, many evil bhikṣus who did not know how to practice constantly harbored jealousy and were deluded by Māra. They went before the king and said, ‘The bhikṣu Stainless, whom Your Majesty reveres as a teacher and allows to enter and leave the royal palace without restriction, has not abandoned sensual desire. He eats at improper times and adorns himself with perfumes and flowers. He certainly does not practice pure conduct and should not receive offerings. We have therefore come to report this matter so that Your Majesty will not develop false faith in what is called the true Dharma after the Buddha’s parinirvana.’

“There was also a māra named Extremely Evil who transformed himself into the appearance of a bhikṣu, approached the king, and made the same accusations.

“Having repeatedly heard such reports, King Vast Longevity thought, ‘Bhikṣu Stainless practices diligently and possesses wisdom. I revere him, and he could never have committed such misconduct.’

“As soon as the king had formed this thought, the māras manifested the upper halves of their bodies in the sky and said to him:

“‘Your Majesty should be skilled in statecraft and clearly understand the proper occasion. If you do not, you lack the qualities of a human king. These arhats, disciples of the Buddha, possess great wisdom; why do you not heed their words, but instead follow an annihilationist view? The bhikṣus have sincerely reported this to you for your benefit. That evil annihilationist does not truly practice pure conduct. Even now he is amusing himself with the women of the palace. Quickly enter with your attendants and see for yourself; then your doubts will end.’

“Hearing this proclamation from the sky, the king was alarmed. He immediately led his attendants into the palace to investigate.

“At that time, Bhikṣu Stainless was in the palace expounding the ultimate meaning: all dharmas are empty in their own nature and are devoid of self and possessions of a self. Deluded by Māra, however, the king and his attendants saw the women of the palace seated all around the bhikṣu. Enraged like a maddened elephant, the king ordered a caṇḍāla to take the bhikṣu away and punish him for defiling the royal palace.

Controlled by Māra’s power, the ministers and royal household all hated the innocent bhikṣu and wished to kill him. When the caṇḍāla approached with a knife, Bhikṣu Stainless wept sorrowfully. The king rebuked him, saying, ‘You have broken the law and must pay the penalty.

Why do you weep?’ Stainless replied, ‘It is difficult for me to testify on my own behalf. Please wait a moment, and I shall provide proof.’ The king then stopped the caṇḍāla temporarily to see what Stainless would do.

“Bhikṣu Stainless, who had accomplished superior aspiration and practiced loving-kindness for the benefit of the world, joined his palms and made this solemn declaration: ‘If I have not committed this deed, may the earth quake in six ways and may beautiful flowers rain down from the sky.’ As soon as he had made this vow, the earth quaked in six ways, and the sky was filled with a rain of celestial flowers. The māras departed in grief.

“Seeing this auspicious sign, the king immediately developed reverence and faith. Bowing at Stainless’s feet, he begged him to be gracious. The king reproached himself, saying, ‘I shall fall into hell. I beseech you to forgive and protect me. How could I have encountered evil people and given rise to such a malicious mind? All who follow me are evil companions, and no one helps me. In the ten directions I have nowhere to turn; only the Great Teacher can be my refuge. I shall abandon the throne and take refuge in the Great Teacher for the rest of my life.’

“Bhikṣu Stainless knew the aspirations of the king and his household, and so taught them the ultimate meaning. On hearing this teaching of ultimate meaning, King Vast Longevity attained right faith. Together with ten billion members of his household, he relinquished the throne, went forth, and cultivated the dhūta practices, never accepting personal invitations to offerings. Within the palace, eighty thousand women heard the ultimate meaning and were all established on the stage of non-retrogression.

“For twenty-four years, the king practiced according to the Buddha’s teaching and constantly repented day and night, yet his karmic offenses were still not completely exhausted. The king’s ten billion attendants, who had formerly harbored evil thoughts toward Dharma Master Stainless, fell after death into the Avīci hell, where they suffered for many hundreds of millions of years. When the retribution for their offenses ended, they encountered a Tathāgata. Because of the residual retribution arising from their former act of intimidation, they were constantly thin and weak. In succession, they practiced and made offerings to one hundred billion Buddhas, and in other lands they all attained unsurpassed bodhi under the same name: Meritorious Renown.

“Because King Vast Longevity had given rise to a malicious mind toward the loving and patient Bhikṣu Stainless, he followed that evil karma and fell into the Great Wailing Hell for many hundreds of millions of years. When his retribution was exhausted, he obtained a human body and encountered Universal-Eye Tathāgata, whom he attended and constantly served with offerings. Thereafter, he served eight billion koṭis of Buddhas.

He subsequently attained perfect enlightenment and is none other than I, Śākyamuni Buddha, today. Those evil bhikṣus who sought to harm that innocent Dharma master will in the future attain buddhahood; they are none other than the present Bodhisattva Maitreya. The eighty thousand palace women who possessed pure faith planted roots of merit and served immeasurable Buddhas.

Today they have again made great vows to benefit beings. They will serve one hundred billion Buddhas, and all will attain perfect enlightenment.

“Now I tell you all: never give rise to anger or thoughts of harm. One who practices loving-kindness and patience is praised by the Buddha and will swiftly accomplish the fruit of bodhi.

“Therefore, O Vidyutprāpta, if you do not clearly understand the faculties, dispositions, and aspirations of beings, you must never at any time give rise to anger or thoughts of harm.

“O Vidyutprāpta! Among all mountains, Mount Sumeru is foremost. So too, among all forms of wisdom, the Tathāgata’s wisdom is supreme and unsurpassed.

“Among all bodies of water, the great ocean is supreme. So too, among all forms of wisdom, the Tathāgata’s wisdom is the deepest and greatest.

“Among all kings, the wheel-turning sage king is the most honored and exalted. So too, among all forms of wisdom, the Tathāgata’s wisdom is unsurpassed and most exalted.

“O Vidyutprāpta! Because the Tathāgata has accomplished such wisdom, he clearly knows every action governed by greed, anger, and delusion and every moment-to-moment transformation in the minds of all beings. In the time of a single finger snap, he can gather them all in and accept them.

“O Vidyutprāpta! The Tathāgata has accomplished omniscient wisdom. A clear-sighted person looking at five āmalaka fruits in the palm of his hand sees them effortlessly and without doubt. So too, the Tathāgata clearly knows the mental conduct of all beings and teaches many kinds of Dharma within the great assembly. Throughout immeasurable and innumerable worlds, I see and clearly know those beings whose conduct accords with greed, who are tormented by sensual desire, who worry day and night, and who let their time pass in vain. I see and clearly know all the bodily and verbal karma they create while tormented by craving.

“I see and clearly know those beings whose conduct accords with anger, whose minds are covered by rage, and who envy one another. Through their malice, they fall into the Avīci hell.

“I see and clearly know those beings whose conduct accords with delusion, who are darkened by ignorance, bewildered and attached, and delight in following wrong views.

“I see and clearly know which beings are capable and which are incapable; which progress and which regress; which have planted roots of goodness in the Tathāgata Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, or the Śrāvaka Vehicle.

“Having accomplished such wisdom, the Tathāgata can clearly know, within the great assembly, the differences in the mental conduct of beings. Knowing that the time is not appropriate, the Tathāgata remains silent and leaves them aside, merely considering that those beings are deluded regarding the true Dharma and do not understand that the Tathāgata possesses supreme powers over the faculties. Because he knows the proper time well, the Tathāgata clearly sees and knows who can be tamed, who possesses superior aspiration, who can practice patience, and who will accept wholesome instruction. Having clearly known this, the Tathāgata gathers in and benefits those beings.

“O Vidyutprāpta! Beginning bodhisattvas who have not yet entered the stage of certainty cannot clearly understand the superior dispositions and conduct of beings. Whether laypeople or monastics, such bodhisattvas must not give rise to hatred or thoughts of harm, lest they continually bring decline, injury, sorrow, and distress upon themselves.

“Therefore, from the moment a bodhisattva first gives rise to the resolve for enlightenment, he should regard everyone established in the Mahāyāna as a Buddha. As for other beings, even when seeing them create evil karma, he should not give rise to thoughts of harming them. Why? Because the Tathāgata has always said that if a person has even a slight deficiency in the pure Dharma, that person can never enter nirvana.

“If a bodhisattva sees beings whose conduct accords with greed, he should reflect, ‘Their being consumed by the tormenting fire of sensual desire is my fault.’ If he sees beings consumed by the tormenting fires of anger and delusion, he should likewise regard this as his own fault. Why? Because when a bodhisattva sees beings suffering, he must seek skillful medicine to heal them. Formerly I vowed to remove the sicknesses of beings, yet now I have left them abandoned; this is my fault. A bodhisattva accomplishes this mode of attention and examines his own faults. He gives rise to great loving-kindness toward beings and, even if they kill him or cut his body to pieces, never entertains a thought of retaliation.

“O Vidyutprāpta! When a bodhisattva properly practices in this way, all evil karma from the past is completely exhausted without remainder, and future evil karma never arises.

“O Vidyutprāpta! Immeasurable and innumerable kalpas ago, before Dīpaṃkara Buddha, a Buddha named Victorious Birth Tathāgata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened 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 appeared in the world. His land was named Radiance, and he dwelt in a forest near the royal city Peaceful Security.

At that time, there was a caṇḍāla named Fearsome, who was cruel, fond of killing, devoid of loving-kindness, and whose hands were stained with blood. Everyone who saw him was terrified. One day, this caṇḍāla tied an ox inside his house and entered, intending to slaughter it.

Terrified, the ox broke its rope and ran directly toward the forest where Victorious Birth Tathāgata was dwelling. The caṇḍāla pursued it with a knife. Overcome with fear, the ox fell into a deep pit and, near death, bellowed in anguish.

The caṇḍāla caught up and, seeing the ox in the pit, became even more enraged. Knife in hand, he descended into the pit and prepared to kill it.

“At that time, Victorious Birth Tathāgata was in that forest, surrounded by an immeasurable great assembly, extensively teaching the Dharma gateway of dependent origination: conditioned by ignorance are formations; conditioned by formations is consciousness; conditioned by consciousness are name and form; conditioned by name and form are the six sense entrances; conditioned by the six sense entrances is contact; conditioned by contact is feeling; conditioned by feeling is craving; conditioned by craving is grasping; conditioned by grasping is becoming; conditioned by becoming is birth; and conditioned by birth are aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, and distress.

From these causes and conditions arises the entire great mass of suffering. Within this chain, ignorance has no thought or awareness of formations, and so forth until birth has no thought or awareness of aging and death, while aging and death likewise have no thought or awareness of birth. The nature of these dharmas cannot be apprehended.

They neither act nor conceive; they have neither self nor possessions of a self. Their original nature is pure, and they do not know one another. Ordinary beings, because they have not heard such Dharma, grasp form as the self, believe the self possesses form, or that form belongs to the self.

They grasp feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness in the same way. Because they thus cling to self and possessions of a self, they regard the impermanent as permanent, suffering as pleasure, the impure as pure, and what is devoid of self as a self. In this way, the four inversions arise.

Because their views are inverted, they are deluded by ignorance and do not contemplate correctly. Following their defiled and attached minds, they are bound by craving, and thus the cycle of birth and death continues without interruption. Because the wise skillfully contemplate the characteristics of the dharma-dhātu, they do not perceive even the slightest apprehensible characteristic of a self, person, being, life span, birth, aging, sickness, death, bondage, or killing.

“While the caṇḍāla Fearsome was there, he heard from afar the sound of the Tathāgata teaching the Dharma and immediately awakened. His intention to kill ceased. He cast aside his knife, climbed out of the pit, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and said, ‘Blessed One! I now wish to go forth and cultivate the path within the Buddha’s Dharma.’ Victorious Birth Tathāgata consented, saying, ‘Welcome, bhikṣu!’ Fearsome instantly became a śramaṇa and received the full precepts.

“That Buddha knew that Fearsome’s aspiration had gradually matured, and so extensively taught him the practices of bodhisattvas.

“On hearing the Dharma, the śramaṇa Fearsome realized the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and dwelt on the stage of non-retrogression.

“The ox heard the Tathāgata’s teaching of the verses on dependent origination and the Buddha’s wondrous voice. Its heart filled with joy, and after death it was born in Tuṣita Heaven, where it beheld Bodhisattva Maitreya and accomplished right faith.

“O Vidyutprāpta! The mental conduct of beings is exceedingly profound, subtle, secret, difficult to discern, and difficult to know. Therefore, a bodhisattva seeking unsurpassed bodhi must skillfully understand the faculties and conduct of all beings. Toward all beings, the bodhisattva abides in a mind of equality and a mind free from obstruction. Unattached to any dharma, he relinquishes all possessions, upholds pure morality, abides in patience, arouses diligence, enters meditative concentration, and contemplates the nature of all dharmas as it truly is.

“O Vidyutprāpta! A bodhisattva who thus perfects the six pāramitās swiftly realizes unsurpassed bodhi. What does it mean to perfect them? It means to practice relying upon omniscience.

“What is the great bodhisattva’s Dharma treasury?

“O Vidyutprāpta! When a bodhisattva sees any form, he clearly knows, as it truly is, that from the beginning it has never arisen and that its own nature is pure. Because he is skilled regarding form, the bodhisattva accomplishes the four unobstructed eloquences: unobstructed eloquence in Dharma, unobstructed eloquence in meaning, unobstructed eloquence in expression, and unobstructed eloquence in joyful exposition.

“Unobstructed eloquence in Dharma is to contemplate and clearly know all dharmas of form as they truly are.

“Unobstructed eloquence in meaning is to have no obstruction regarding the meaning of all dharmas of form. What is the meaning of form? It is the ultimate meaning. What is the ultimate meaning? It is that form cannot be apprehended. Accomplishing the wisdom of ultimate meaning is called unobstructed eloquence in meaning.

“Unobstructed eloquence in expression is to use unobstructed wisdom and skillful language to distinguish and teach the Dharma concerning all forms.

“Unobstructed eloquence in joyful exposition is to reveal, explain, and teach concerning all forms according to the capacities of beings, without ever becoming defiled or attached.

“Having accomplished such wisdom, the bodhisattva uses effortless wisdom to teach the Dharma appropriately, in accordance with the dispositions and inclinations of all beings who are deluded by and attached to dharmas of form; yet within the dharma-dhātu there are no dual characteristics.

“The same is extensively taught regarding sound, odor, taste, touch, and dharmas.

“This is called the bodhisattva’s Dharma treasury. Having realized this Dharma treasury, the bodhisattva wishes to tame beings who are deluded regarding these spheres. According to their inclinations, in each and every place, for one kalpa or for more than one kalpa, he expounds with many kinds of skillful language. Yet the limits of those spheres cannot be apprehended, the bodhisattva’s wisdom does not diminish, and he never departs from the dharma-dhātu, which accords with nonduality because it is free from differentiation.

“This is called the bodhisattva’s skillful exposition of the undifferentiated characteristics of all dharmas. Having attained this Dharma treasury, he can teach beings appropriately, enabling them to acquire the inexhaustible wealth of Dharma and forever ending the poverty of birth and death.

“These are called the great bodhisattva’s five kinds of treasury: the treasury, the great treasury, the inexhaustible treasury, the universally inexhaustible treasury, and the boundless treasury. Because a bodhisattva who accomplishes such a treasury perfects supreme merit, he swiftly attains unsurpassed bodhi with little effort.”

When the Buddha taught this Dharma gateway of the treasury, Bodhisattva Vidyutprāpta attained a dhāraṇī; five hundred bodhisattvas attained the Lightning-Radiance Samādhi; and thirty-six thousand devas gave rise to the resolve for unsurpassed bodhi.

At that time, Bodhisattva Moon Banner said, “Blessed One! The Buddha has spoken of effortless wisdom. What is its meaning?”

The Buddha said, “O Moon Banner! If a bodhisattva, while practicing wholesome dharmas, applies body and mind to conditions and deliberately creates actions, this is called effort.

“If a bodhisattva’s body and mind are tamed, free from conception and dependence, and separated from the characteristics of cultivation; if, because he has accomplished the wisdom of his former vows, he manifests in various appropriate ways throughout hundreds of thousands of Buddha-lands without ever moving within the dharma-dhātu; if he constantly teaches the Dharma without perceiving even the slightest characteristic of any dharma; if he matures beings by means of the four methods of gathering, while no being is actually liberated; if he adorns and purifies all Buddha-lands without perceiving any impure Buddha-land; if he constantly recollects the Buddhas without contemplating their physical characteristics;

and if he travels to Buddha-lands without departing from the dharma-dhātu—this is called the bodhisattva’s effortless wisdom.

“Because he has accomplished such effortless wisdom, he fulfills all the hopes of beings without ever becoming attached to what he does.”

When the Blessed One taught this effortless wisdom, the great trichiliocosm quaked in six ways. Śakra Devānām Indra and the gods of Trāyastriṃśa Heaven rained down many kinds of celestial flowers from the sky—mandārava, utpala, kumuda, padma, and puṇḍarīka flowers—and sandalwood incense, scattering them all upon the Buddha. Celestial drums sounded of themselves, and a great radiance, never seen before, shone everywhere. Any being touched by it experienced coolness and ease in body.

The Blessed One said to Bodhisattva Vidyutprāpta, “All Buddhas of the past revealed, explained, and taught this Dharma gateway in this very place. Future Buddhas who appear in the world will also teach this Dharma gateway here. At present, throughout immeasurable and innumerable worlds, the Buddhas emit great radiance so that this Dharma gateway will never be cut off.”

At that time, the elder Ānanda rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, joined his palms, and said, “Blessed One! What is the name of this sutra, and how should we uphold it?”

The Buddha said, “Ānanda! This sutra is called The Inexhaustible Treasury. It is also called The Teaching of the Undifferentiated Characteristics of All Dharmas. You should uphold this sutra under these names.”

When the Buddha had spoken this sutra, Bodhisattva Vidyutprāpta, the elder Ānanda, the fourfold assembly, and the entire world with its gods, humans, asuras, gandharvas, and others heard the Buddha’s teaching. They all rejoiced greatly, faithfully accepted it, and practiced accordingly.

DHARMA ASSEMBLY OF THE INEXHAUSTIBLE TREASURY — THE TWENTIETH

END