大乘理趣六波羅蜜多經

FASCICLE 8
Chapter 9: THE PERFECTION OF MEDITATIVE CONCENTRATION (PART 1)
At that time, the Blessed One was seated upon the Lion King's throne, adorned with various precious mani jewels, and surrounded by immeasurable and innumerable assemblies of great bodhisattvas. When those bodhisattvas manifested as devas, assemblies of devas surrounded them; when they manifested as dragons, assemblies of dragons surrounded them; and so on, until when they manifested as nonhuman beings, assemblies of nonhuman beings surrounded them; when they manifested as bodhisattvas, assemblies of bodhisattvas surrounded them. Their brilliant radiance illuminated the entire great assembly, leaving no place untouched.
The great bodhisattva Maitreya rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt, joined his palms reverently, and addressed the Buddha:
“Great Sage, Blessed One! Out of great loving-kindness and great compassion, the Blessed One has benefited and brought peace and happiness to the assembly of bodhisattvas by teaching the perfection of diligence. I beseech you, in your compassion, to expound the perfection of meditative concentration, so that sentient beings may give rise to the practices of the Great Vehicle. How should they contemplate, and how should they cultivate, so that the perfection of meditative concentration may be fulfilled? We earnestly wish to hear this. I beseech you to expound it.”
The Blessed One said to the great bodhisattva Maitreya:
“Excellent, excellent! Good man, you now ask about such a profound meaning in order to bring peace, happiness, and benefit to all beings. Listen clearly and reflect upon it carefully. I shall distinguish and explain it for you.
“Any good man or good woman who gives rise to the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi should carefully contemplate as follows: The Buddha path is extremely profound, and no one can reach it. There is only one Dharma that benefits sentient beings: right concentration. A bodhisattva who has not attained this concentration does not yet possess a mind that is pure, unmoving, and sees that samsara and nirvana do not have two distinct characteristics.

For this reason, in order to liberate beings, one should employ skillful means and diligently cultivate in accordance with signless meditation and right wisdom, which are like pure space: undefiled, eternally abiding, and unchanging. Furthermore, contemplate this concentration as being like the full moon. All deluded thoughts are like drifting clouds, while this right concentration is like a cool breeze that dispels all the clouds obscuring the sky, making it radiant and pure, its light shining brilliantly everywhere, so that all sentient beings who behold it rejoice.

This body is impermanent;
Distracted, one creates evil karma.
If one does not cultivate meditative concentration,
At death one falls into the three evil destinies.

The minds of beings delusively arise,
Like diseased eyes seeing flowers in empty space.
Only concentration and wisdom can cure them completely;
Thus have all Buddhas taught.

If, even within a single thought,
One cultivates meditation and the mind remains unmoved,
It is like someone encountering bandits and robbers:
It is difficult to safeguard one's life and body.

“Maitreya! A great bodhisattva who wishes to cultivate the perfection of meditative concentration must first draw near to a great spiritual friend and keep far away from evil companions. All evil deeds and ill repute in the world arise because of evil companions.

All good deeds, praise, merit, and virtue are acquired through good companions. Relying upon good companions, one upholds pure morality to adorn the Dharma body. A person who breaks the precepts is like one who parches seed grain, making it impossible for any wholesome dharma to sprout, much less for profound, undefiled concentration to increase.

Knowing this, one should single-mindedly uphold pure morality and fear committing even the slightest offense. One would rather have one's body shattered and flesh torn apart than violate the precepts, as was clearly explained in the section on the perfection of morality.
“A great bodhisattva who wishes to cultivate the perfection of meditative concentration should relinquish all commercial livelihoods and agricultural work. Why? Because if one does not relinquish them, they will disturb one's mind; how then could one abide in profound meditative concentration? Therefore, throughout the four modes of deportment, a great bodhisattva always skillfully gathers in the mind and eliminates deluded thoughts. Even upon hearing clamorous sounds, the bodhisattva remains undisturbed.
“It is like capturing a venomous snake and placing it inside a bamboo tube: its body naturally straightens. A bodhisattva is likewise. When the crookedness of deluded thought is placed within meditative concentration, one attains genuine right view, neither abiding in samsara nor entering nirvana, and remains far removed from all deviousness.

If one thus skillfully restrains the six faculties and does not permit them to run heedlessly after objects, then although the eyes see forms, they do not grasp their characteristics, and one abides in the liberation of meditative concentration. The same is true of the ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind; one always observes and reflects with right wisdom. All roots of virtue created through the three kinds of karma are dedicated to benefiting oneself and others, and to bringing benefit in the present and the future.

If an action brings no such benefit, the bodhisattva, upon examining it, will certainly not perform it.
“Just as a stone statue erected in the world remains unmoving, so too should one's bodily, verbal, and mental karma remain unmoving. If an angry person reviles and insults one, one should give rise to compassion. If one's offerings and material gains are seized, one should not become angry.

If one is struck or reviled, one should leave and seek a secluded place free from troubles, sit in the full lotus posture, maintain right mindfulness, and contemplate. Taking great compassion as one's dwelling, wisdom as a drum, and awakening as the drumstick, one should declare to the afflictions: ‘You bandits of affliction should know that you arise from deluded thought. The abode of my Dharma body is for the performance of wholesome deeds; this is no place for your activities.

Depart at once! If you do not, I shall take your lives.’ After one has spoken thus, the afflictions will immediately retreat and dissolve of themselves.”

Next, one must guard and protect oneself skillfully, allowing no heedlessness. With the mantra of great compassion, one fulfills the wishes of all sentient beings; with wisdom and skillful means as the great general, and the four foundations of mindfulness as guards, one establishes the mind-king of original awakening within the palace of meditation on the ultimate truth, secure, unmoving, and firm as vajra. With the sword of wisdom, one cuts down the bandits of affliction, destroys the army of birth and death, vanquishes the hosts of Mara, and shoulders every burden so that sentient beings may attain liberation.

The bodhisattva then says to his own mind: “In the past, you made a vow; now you must strive to fulfill it. The Tathagatas of the past predicted that you would realize bodhi and universally deliver all beings. At that time, before the Buddhas of the ten directions and the sages and noble ones of the Three Vehicles, you vowed to rescue all sentient beings in the five destinies and bring them to liberation.

Now sentient beings have no support, no refuge, no one to rescue them, and nowhere to turn. If you enter nirvana and abandon birth and death, you will violate your former vow. In the world, even followers of the Confucian tradition practice loyalty and trustworthiness and do not go back on their word; how much less should you, having made this vow in the past, now fail to act in accordance with it.

Maintain right mindfulness and remain single-minded and unmoving, so as to rescue sentient beings from the prison of birth and death and establish them securely in unsurpassed great parinirvana.”
Having reflected in this way, he abides in the profound meditation of the Mahayana. This is how a great bodhisattva cultivates the perfection of meditation.
The Buddha said to Maitreya:
There are sixteen kinds of perfection of meditation that no sravaka or pratyekabuddha can know:
1.Completely comprehending birth and death without being subject to birth and death is the meditation of a bodhisattva abiding in the Tathagata’s pure meditation.
2.Not craving the flavor of meditation is the meditation of a bodhisattva who does not abide in the signs of concentration or distraction.
3.Possessing great compassion is the meditation of a bodhisattva who eliminates the hindrances and adversities of sentient beings.
4.Increasing right concentration is the meditation of a bodhisattva who clearly sees that the three realms are not as they appear to be.
5.Accomplishing supernormal powers is the meditation of a bodhisattva who clearly understands the mental activities of sentient beings.
6.Skillfully disciplining the mind is the meditation of a bodhisattva who abides neither in what is disciplined nor in what is undisciplined.
7.Relying on signless wisdom and attaining pure liberation that surpasses other meditative concentrations is the meditation of a bodhisattva who has mastery over both the Form Realm and the Formless Realm.
8.Serenity, utter serenity, is the meditation of a bodhisattva that surpasses the meditative concentrations of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas.
9.Being incapable of disturbance by anyone is the meditation of a bodhisattva who clearly understands that the originally pure mind is unmoving.
10.Counteracting the violation of the precepts is the meditation of a bodhisattva who eliminates sentient beings’ habitual tendencies of affliction.
11.Entering the gateway of wisdom is the meditation of a bodhisattva who fully comprehends that the world is like an illusion or a dream.
12.Knowing the minds of sentient beings is the meditation of a bodhisattva who clearly understands that all sentient beings are empty by nature.
13.Perpetuating the Three Jewels is the meditation of a bodhisattva who beholds the Tathagata appearing in the world.
14.Attaining mastery of the Dharma is the meditation of a bodhisattva who clearly understands that all dharmas are Buddhadharma.
15.Permanently abiding and indestructible is the meditation of a bodhisattva who manifests everywhere while perpetually remaining serene.
16.Universally illuminating all things is the meditation of a bodhisattva who perceives the equality of the dharmadhatu.
Maitreya, you should know! These are the sixteen kinds of perfection of meditation possessed by great bodhisattvas but unattainable by sravakas and pratyekabuddhas. A great bodhisattva should arouse this supreme right concentration in this manner.

It is like a person who needs fire and uses wood as kindling: holding two fire-sticks in his hands, he must continuously rub them together before fire is produced; if he repeatedly stops to rest, it will be difficult to obtain fire. A great bodhisattva is likewise. When seeking the fire of omniscient wisdom, he takes concentration as kindling and, with the hands of patient endurance, perseveres diligently without pause; only then can he produce the fire of all-knowledge.

Once that fire has arisen, it burns the firewood of affliction. He then bathes himself clean with the water of generosity, anoints his body with the fragrance of moral discipline, sits upon the throne of great compassion, assumes the station of Dharma King, and pours down a great rain of Dharma to benefit sentient beings, ultimately attaining the bliss and liberation of great nirvana.
Maitreya! Because the minds of great bodhisattvas have not yet matured, they may waver within right concentration, like unruly horses that are difficult to tame. You should know that such persons have regressed and lost their meditation. Therefore, throughout the four postures, they should always remain within that supreme right concentration and never relinquish it even for a short while.
A bodhisattva has three kinds of mind:
1.Lazy.
2.Diligent.
3.Neither lazy nor diligent.
Knowing this, a bodhisattva skillfully disciplines the mind and becomes ever more diligent in order to eliminate indolence and laziness, craving for sleep, and entanglement in the arduous affairs of worldly livelihood. When both such exertion and laziness have been relinquished, the mind becomes upright, complete, and tranquil. It is like a person traveling a long distance: if he goes too quickly, he will become exhausted; if he goes too slowly, he will not arrive.

By maintaining a middle course between speed and slowness, he will gradually reach his destination. A great bodhisattva is likewise: he should settle his mind by means of the Middle Way. Even if his body were consumed by fire, he would remain securely established and unmoving, abiding in right concentration without attachment to its flavor.

Through the power of great wisdom, he continually abides in serenity and rescues sentient beings from the ocean of birth and death so that they may attain liberation. He must separately seal the mind with each of the sixteen kinds of concentration. If even the slightest stirring of thought arises in a single instant, he should use the hook of right wisdom to observe it, restrain it, and bring it to a halt, abiding in unremitting diligence as he cultivates the perfection of meditation.
Maitreya! In cultivating meditation, a great bodhisattva encounters five hindrances that obscure all sentient beings:
1.Sensual desire.
2.Ill will.
3.Restlessness and remorse.
4.Sloth and torpor.
5.Doubt.
Only after eliminating these five coverings can one enter meditation and render body and mind unmoving. Therefore, a bodhisattva must examine where they arise from and how they may be left behind.
First, a great bodhisattva should contemplate sensual form as being like the moon reflected in water: when the water moves, the moon moves; when the mind arises, dharmas also arise.
The mind of sensual desire is likewise: from thought to thought it never remains still, arising here and ceasing there. He should further contemplate sensual form as being like a great serpent in the wilderness. When its venomous rage arises, it spreads its head like a parasol. A traveler, oppressed by the heat, rushes beneath the parasol for shelter, but contact with the serpent’s poisonous vapor causes him to lose his life. A person of sensual desire is likewise: traveling through the wilderness of birth and death, he falsely perceives an object of desire and immediately gives rise to attachment and defilement. As soon as the perception of desire arises, it destroys his meditation. This is called being covered by sensual desire.
He should further contemplate the nature of desire as being like the fires of hell that burn sentient beings; like a cascading torrent that engulfs everything, without the slightest compassion; like a rakshasa that torments sentient beings; like a prison guard who injures a person’s hands and feet; like a sharp blade; like a butcher who takes the lives of beings; like touching poison and thereby meeting death; like falling from a high mountain into a deep ravine and suffering immense anguish; like a pitch-dark night in which nothing can be seen; like leprosy that cannot be cured; and like the great ocean, which is difficult to drain dry.

Sensual desire is deeper and broader even than the great ocean, and the five desires are weightier than Mount Sumeru. It is like the luxuriant fruit of the kimpaka tree, most pleasing to behold, yet whoever touches it immediately dies. It is like a goat tethered to a post, certain to die, or like wearing a crown of red-hot gold and being burned to death by it.

As in the past, wheel-turning kings, Shakra Devendra, the Four Great Heavenly Kings, the celestial mighty ones Narayana, and all sentient beings raised armies and fought one another because of sensual desire, until their bones were heaped as high as Mount Vipula. As it was in the past, so it is in the present and will be in the future.
People in the world deeply love their relatives, parents, and siblings, and would not begrudge even sacrificing their own lives for them. Yet because of sensual desire, they come to hate one another, give rise to malicious thoughts, and kill one another. Those who crave sensual beauty suffer for two reasons:
1. Though wealthy and honored, because they crave sensual pleasure, they endure humiliation and every kind of contempt.
2. The knife of sensual desire gouges out the eye of wisdom, leaving them unable to discern anything, like blind people.
Because of these causes and conditions, after death they fall into hell and undergo immeasurable suffering.
Furthermore, those consumed by sensual desire never know contentment. They are like a fire to which more fuel is added, like kings who covet territory, merchants who covet wealth and profit, those seeking wisdom and understanding who thirst to hear the Dharma, or bodhisattvas who delight in liberating sentient beings. In pursuing these aims, such people strive to fulfill them without weariness.

Those consumed by sensual desire are likewise insatiable, continually seeking objects of desire amid sorrow and hardship. Once they obtain them, they cling tightly to them, thereby increasing their suffering a hundredfold; after death they fall into hell and undergo intense torment. Those who seek meditative concentration never even think of sensual desire, their sworn enemy, much less draw near to it.

This is called being covered by sensual desire.
Those covered by anger are like people intoxicated with wine, whose complexions change when they drink. Anger is the same: it alters their appearance and makes their bodies and minds tremble. They may slander and torment others; or when the fire of anger consumes their minds, how could they cultivate meditative concentration? No bandit severs merit more thoroughly than anger. Therefore, anyone who wishes to cultivate meditative concentration should keep far away from it.
Those covered by restlessness and remorse are like mad people, their bodies and minds distracted and confused. They may depend upon relatives and neighbors to survive from day to day, deludedly pursuing painful and pleasurable affairs and recalling the good and evil deeds they have performed. Thus agitated, they cannot become tranquil. This covers equanimity in conduct and obstructs right concentration. This is called being covered by restlessness and remorse.
Those obstructed by torpor become languid and weary, with furrowed brows and downcast faces, dull and incapable of doing anything. Torpor covers pliancy and obstructs contemplative wisdom. Practitioners of meditative concentration should eliminate it. This is called being covered by torpor.
Those covered by doubt are constantly suspicious, confused, and unable to determine either matters or principles. Doubt obstructs generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, wisdom, and the causes and effects of the three times; it prevents the nature and characteristics of the Three Jewels from becoming manifest. How, then, could there be wondrous meditative concentration? This is called being covered by doubt.
Because of these five coverings, training and practice are difficult to accomplish, and moral discipline, concentration, and wisdom cannot manifest. Knowing this, one should reflect upon it most carefully. Those who cultivate meditative concentration should keep far away from these coverings. They must practice diligently before they can extinguish the suffering of desire and attain profound meditative concentration without attachment. Through this meditative concentration, they realize the five wisdoms of direct knowledge, namely: the wisdom and direct knowledge of the divine eye, the wisdom and direct knowledge of the divine ear, the wisdom and direct knowledge of others’ minds,
the wisdom and direct knowledge of past abodes, and the wisdom and direct knowledge of miraculous manifestations.
What is the wisdom and direct knowledge of the divine eye? Through the power of the divine eye, one thoroughly perceives the immeasurable, boundless Buddha-worlds throughout the ten directions. One sees all classes of sentient beings—those born from eggs, born from wombs, born from moisture, and born through transformation; those with form and those without form; those with perception, those without perception, and those who are neither percipient nor non-percipient—as clearly as an amra fruit in the palm of one’s hand.

All those sentient beings are bound by suffering. Having contemplated this, the bodhisattva gives rise to great compassion: “These sentient beings have fallen into the ocean of birth and death, into the great pit of filthy excrement. How could I now abandon them and refuse to rescue them?” The bodhisattva therefore becomes ever more diligent, without weariness of body or mind, and immediately arouses the Buddha-recollection samadhi.

Through the power of this concentration, the bodhisattva sees all the Buddhas of the ten directions filling the whole of space, seated upon vajra thrones and attaining perfect enlightenment. The bodhisattva may see Buddhas first turning the Dharma wheel; or see Buddhas dwelling in celestial palaces; or see Tathagatas descending from jeweled thrones; or see Tathagatas entering villages to seek alms; or see Tathagatas teaching the Dharma according to beings’ capacities.

The bodhisattva may see manifested bodies teaching the Dharma to kings, ministers, householders, and brahmins; or manifested bodies teaching the Dharma to bhikshus, bhikshunis, male lay followers, and female lay followers; or manifested bodies teaching the Dharma to devas, nagas, yakshas, asuras, gandharvas, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans; or manifested bodies teaching the Dharma to hungry ghosts, pishachas, kumbhandas, Putana-kashtha, Putanas, King Yamaraja, hungry ghosts, animals, and others.

In every case, the Dharma is taught in the sounds of each particular kind of being, so that those of every kind and every realm all say, “The Tathagata is teaching the Dharma for me,” enabling them all to understand clearly and rejoice beyond measure.
Or the bodhisattva may see Buddhas teaching the six paramitas to bodhisattvas, teaching the twelve links of dependent origination to pratyekabuddhas, teaching the Dharma of the Four Truths to shravakas, or exhorting sentient beings to abide in the ten wholesome deeds. The bodhisattva may see Buddhas manifesting as Brahma kings to teach the Dharma, or manifesting as Shakra to teach the Dharma, or manifesting as the Four Heavenly Kings, Protectors of the World, to teach the Dharma.

They may manifest as Maheshvara Deva, Narayana Deva, the Sun Deva, the Moon Deva, nagas, yakshas, seers, brahmins, and others to teach the Dharma. Or they may manifest as wheel-turning kings, kings, chief ministers, men, women, preceptors, acharyas, or as Buddhas and their disciples to teach the Dharma. Or they may manifest among hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals to teach the Dharma.

As soon as these beings hear the teaching, they leave behind suffering, calamity, hunger, and thirst; they no longer harm one another but instead extend loving-kindness and compassion to one another.
Or the bodhisattva may see a Buddha manifesting entry into parinirvana in the sala grove in order to teach the Dharma; or, after the Buddha’s nirvana, see the division of his relics and the construction of monasteries and stupas, through which he manifests to teach the Dharma, enabling sentient beings who come to make offerings to attain liberation. All the forms in which the Buddhas thus manifest serve to rescue sentient beings and carry them beyond birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Such forms fill the realm of space, together with countless other wonders, all transformations produced through the sovereign miraculous powers of the Buddhas—truly rare events. Although bodhisattvas behold all these miraculous transformations, this is called merely the divine eye arising from meditative concentration; it is not called a paramita.
The divine eye attained by great bodhisattvas surpasses the divine eye attained by all devas, nagas, beings of the eight classes, those in training, those beyond training, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas. The divine eye of great bodhisattvas is supreme, most excellent, most honored, and most wondrous; it is ultimately bright and pure and possesses great power. Through this divine eye, great bodhisattvas see immeasurable and boundless Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the past walking, standing, lying down, and sitting, displaying countless forms of dignified conduct, immeasurable gateways of practice, meditative concentrations and liberations, the wondrous wisdom of the Ten Bhumi, dharani gateways, unobstructed eloquence, and skillful means, all brought to perfection.
The pure divine eye of great bodhisattvas sees colors, forms, and images without obstruction, attachment, defilement, or grasping at the characteristics of any color, form, or image, and is far removed from all latent tendencies toward wrong views. This eye faculty is intrinsically pure by nature and does not depend upon any object realm.

This faculty of the eye does not arise from any habitual tendencies, latent afflictions, or defilements; nor is it tainted, deluded, disturbed, or obscured. Moreover, it is free from discrimination and is not entangled in the afflictive obstruction or the cognitive obstruction; it has mastery over all dharmas. This faculty of the eye can penetrate the equality of all dharmas and abide in true liberation.

This divine eye also clearly knows all differences in faculties and dispositions. Its characteristics cannot be destroyed, and in a single instant it can see all kinds of sentient beings. The essential nature of this divine eye is luminous and pure.

It can abandon all impure and confused dharmas, clearly understand the nature of compassion, and neither forsake sentient beings nor become attached, covetous, or harmful. This divine eye is the realm of ultimate truth, born of absolute truth, with wisdom as its guide and forerunner. Abiding in great compassion, it comprehends and penetrates all dharmas and their profound meanings, free from all conceptual elaborations.

It speaks truthfully of what has been seen and heard; keeps far from all unwholesome dharmas; and directs the mind unobstructedly toward unsurpassed bodhi. On seeing the miserly, it exhorts them to practice generosity; on seeing those who violate the precepts, it has compassion for them; on seeing the angry, it instructs them in patience; on seeing the indolent, it exhorts them to diligence; on seeing those whose minds are distracted, it exhorts them to cultivate meditative concentration; on seeing the ignorant, it instructs them to study wisdom; those who follow an unlawful path it guides back to the path of the true Dharma;

and those whose minds incline toward the Lesser Vehicle it instructs in the Great Vehicle, so that all sentient beings may enter omniscience, attain supernormal powers, perfect bodhi, and accomplish the wisdom of omniscience.
Maitreya, you should know: this is called a great bodhisattva’s cultivation of the prajnaparamita of meditative concentration, through which the pure supernormal knowledge of the divine eye is attained.
Maitreya! What is meant by a great bodhisattva’s cultivation of the prajnaparamita of meditative concentration through which the supernormal knowledge of the divine ear is attained? It means that the power of the divine ear attained by a great bodhisattva surpasses the divine ears of devas, nagas, the eight classes of beings, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas. The divine ear attained by a great bodhisattva is supreme, most honored, most excellent, most wondrous, utterly clear, and endowed with immensely great power. Why is this? It is because the merit of this attainment is dedicated to unsurpassed bodhi.
With this divine ear, a great bodhisattva can hear all the sounds of the Buddhas, Tathagatas, pratyekabuddhas, shravakas, devas, nagas, the eight classes of beings, humans and nonhumans, and even beings in the hells, hungry ghosts, animals, sentient beings, and insentient things. However many kinds of mental states there may be, the divine ear hears them all, as well as the sounds arising from the distinct activities of the three kinds of karma.

Such a bodhisattva knows all of these things as they truly are. Whenever beings utter words, thereby producing wholesome or unwholesome causes, or speak covetous words in beguiling tones, the bodhisattva’s divine ear also knows them as they truly are. Whether the reasoning expressed is correct but the words are coarse; whether the reasoning is incorrect but the words are gentle; whether both the words and the reasoning are excellent; or whether both are coarse—with this divine ear, the bodhisattva knows them all as they truly are.
This divine ear can hear all the voices of ordinary beings and noble ones. It feels no aversion toward ordinary beings and no elation toward noble ones. Its mind delights in the realm of the noble ones, while toward the realm of ordinary beings it gives rise to great compassion. Thus, this divine ear knows as they truly are the beginning, middle, and end of every sound, without giving rise to attachment.
This divine ear hears sounds throughout all the immeasurable and boundless worlds of the ten directions. It knows as they truly are all the sounds of the Buddhas teaching the Dharma; the mind is neither distracted nor forgetful. It teaches the Dharma according to the faculties of sentient beings and clearly comprehends that the nature of dharmas is empty, steadfast yet not steadfast, neither false nor real. Upon hearing a single utterance of the true Dharma from a Tathagata, it hears all the Dharma gates of innumerable Buddhas. It hears them all simultaneously, without confusion or disturbance, and without their obstructing one another. It can receive and retain every sentence, passage, and phrase, and knows as they truly are the meaning, nature, and characteristics of each.
It also hears the voice of the Tathagata teaching the Dharma in accordance with the sounds of each kind of sentient being, enabling them to penetrate the true characteristics and attain liberation. It then dedicates this merit to the purity of the Tathagata’s divine ear, vowing that in future lives it will not even hear the names of the two vehicles, the shravakas and pratyekabuddhas.
Maitreya, you should know: this is called a great bodhisattva’s cultivation of meditative concentration through which the pure supernormal knowledge of the divine ear is attained.
Maitreya! What is meant by a great bodhisattva’s supernormal knowledge of others’ minds? It means that the bodhisattva knows whether the minds of all sentient beings in the past, present, and future are unwholesome, wholesome, or neutral. The bodhisattva also knows the differences among the karmic causes and effects of all sentient beings in the past, and knows whether the minds of all beings are great or small, neither great nor small, desirous or free from desire, defiled or pure, ignorant or wise, expansive or narrow, concentrated or distracted, bound or liberated, victorious or defeated, exalted or inferior, and so forth.
The bodhisattva also knows whether sentient beings have minds corresponding to generosity, observance of the precepts, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, wisdom, loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity, characteristics, or the absence of characteristics; and knows all the minds of sentient beings corresponding to shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas of the Great Vehicle. Some of these sentient beings possess such roots of virtue yet are born into noble families and perform lowly deeds; some are born into lowly families yet possess pure natures; some have unwholesome mental dispositions yet perform pure deeds; some are pure in both respects; and some are unwholesome in both respects.

The bodhisattva knows as they truly are all the differences in the mental activities of sentient beings in the past and teaches them the Dharma according to their needs. This is called the supernormal knowledge of others’ minds that clearly knows all sentient beings in the past.
The bodhisattva also clearly knows that, because sentient beings practice generosity in the present, they produce the cause for pure moral discipline in the future. The bodhisattva further knows that because sentient beings observe the precepts in the present, they produce the cause for patience in the future; because they practice patience in the present, they produce the cause for diligence in the future; because they practice diligence in the present, they produce the cause for meditative concentration in the future; because they cultivate wholesome characteristics in the present, they produce the cause for wisdom free from characteristics in the future; and because they cultivate a small measure of goodness in the present, they produce the cause for the Great Vehicle in the future.

A great bodhisattva knows as they truly are the causal conditions and characteristics of such mental states. Responding to conditions, the bodhisattva tirelessly rescues beings and leads them deeply into the Buddha’s wisdom, which neither increases nor diminishes, teaching the Dharma in this way without cease. Toward the Dharma, the bodhisattva never harbors a miserly mind.

This is called the bodhisattva’s supernormal knowledge of others’ minds that clearly knows the future.
The bodhisattva also knows whether sentient beings in the present have minds of desire or minds free from desire, faulty or faultless minds, ignorant or wise minds, expansive or narrow minds, concentrated or distracted minds, agitated or unagitated minds, bound or liberated minds, defiled or undefiled minds, vast or immeasurable minds, exalted or inferior minds, and so forth. The bodhisattva knows them all as they truly are. The bodhisattva also knows as they truly are those sentient beings bound by immeasurable afflictions.
Having known this, the bodhisattva teaches the Dharma in accordance with the differing faculties and needs of each being.

Whether the mind is awakened or no-mind is realized, without attachment to self or others, the bodhisattva employs skillful means, wisdom, and meditative concentration, clearly knowing whether the faculties of sentient beings are sharp or dull, so as to eradicate forever the root source of the afflictions of birth and death. The bodhisattva thoroughly understands that the original nature is empty, complete and without deficiency, undefiled and unattached, without fault, sediment, impurity, or coarseness; clearly knows that all dharmas are like magical illusions; and knows the diverse mental activities of sentient beings.
Maitreya, you should know! This is called the great bodhisattva’s cultivation of meditative concentration whereby the purified superknowledge of knowing the minds of others is attained.
Maitreya! What is meant by a great bodhisattva cultivating meditative concentration and attaining the superknowledge of recollecting past lives? It means abiding on the Immovable Ground, realizing the equality of dharmas, and completely understanding the true nature of all dharmas.

With purified wisdom, the bodhisattva abides in shamatha and vipashyana, the union of calm abiding and insight, never forgetting anything whatsoever. With wisdom as the guide, the three kinds of karma are purified; adorned with merit and wisdom, the bodhisattva awakens naturally without relying upon a teacher’s instruction and is able to reach the other shore of peaceful nirvana. With such wisdom, the great bodhisattva recollects all past lives—from one life, two lives, ten or twenty lives, up to one kalpa or hundreds of thousands of myriads of nayutas of kalpas.

Throughout all those kalpas, whether worlds came into being or were destroyed, the bodhisattva remembers and knows them all. During those kalpas, the great bodhisattva clearly remembers and knows that sentient beings were born into such families, had such parents, belonged to such clans, bore such names, possessed such appearances and strength, lived for such lengths of time, and experienced all such sufferings and joys.

The bodhisattva remembers and knows all sentient beings who died here and were born there, and the various lineages of the bodhisattva’s own bodies and those of others throughout immeasurable lives. The bodhisattva clearly remembers and knows all roots of virtue and even the exhortations beings gave one another, and dedicates them all to unsurpassed bodhi.
Furthermore, the bodhisattva contemplates the bodies assumed in birth and death throughout the past as impermanent, suffering, empty, without self, and impure. Knowing this, the bodhisattva gives rise to no conceit regarding physical attributes, length of life, wealth, nobility, or power, and does not seek the karmic rewards of becoming Shakra, Brahma, one of the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world, a celestial being, or a human being. The bodhisattva acts solely with great compassion to benefit and bring happiness to sentient beings, taking birth in accordance with the power of vows.
The bodhisattva also knows the evil karma created throughout countless past kalpas and therefore feels profound remorse, preferring to relinquish life itself in the present life rather than dare to create evil karma again. The bodhisattva dedicates all wholesome karma created throughout immeasurable lives to unsurpassed bodhi and universally bestows it upon all sentient beings throughout the Dharma realm, without seeking the supreme rewards of the mundane world. The bodhisattva perpetuates the Three Jewels until the end of the future, never abandoning this task and never resting.
Maitreya, you should know! This is called the great bodhisattva’s cultivation of meditative concentration whereby the purified superknowledge of recollecting past lives is attained.
Maitreya! What is meant by a great bodhisattva cultivating the paramita of meditative concentration and attaining the superknowledge of miraculous manifestations, thereby bringing immeasurable benefit and happiness? It means that the bodhisattva, abiding on the Immovable Ground, realizes true quiescence and eliminates all sorrow and suffering, mental joy and bliss, inhalation and exhalation, and so forth.

Neither arising nor ceasing, the bodhisattva abides in the true Dharma realm and can fully manifest miraculous transformations: the bodhisattva may make the body resemble a mass of fire, emitting great light throughout the trichiliocosm; or may pour forth water from the body like a great rain; or may touch the sun and moon, exercising sovereign mastery over their radiant splendor. The bodhisattva may manifest a body so vast that it reaches the Brahma Heaven, or a body as tiny as a mustard seed; may cause the great earth to quake like the waves of the sea; may manifest many bodies from one body or make many bodies into one; may disappear or appear while teaching immeasurable Dharma; may enter deeply into mountains and rocks or pass through them;

may ascend or descend like lightning conducting light, coming and going in complete freedom; may walk or sit in midair like a bird soaring through the sky; may sink into the earth as though entering water or walk upon water as though walking upon land; and may disappear and appear freely without obstruction.

Such miraculous powers are all exercised for the benefit and happiness of every sentient being.
Furthermore, through the universal gateway of great compassion, the bodhisattva manifests countless bodies: the body of a Buddha, a bodhisattva, a shravaka, a pratyekabuddha, Shakra, Brahma, and many other kinds of bodies. The bodhisattva manifests a body in accordance with the faculties and inclinations of each kind of being in each realm. When sentient beings rely upon their own power and become haughty, the bodhisattva manifests an appropriate body and teaches the Dharma to tame them.

The bodhisattva may become Shakra, Brahma, one of the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world, or the mighty warrior Narayana. In order to overcome them, the bodhisattva lifts Mount Sumeru and casts it into immeasurably distant worlds, as easily as tossing a mango back to its original place. Yet celestial and human beings do not know that they have undergone any movement, nor is the bodhisattva’s miraculous power diminished.
Furthermore, throughout the trichiliocosm—from the Akanishtha Heaven above to the palaces of the nagas below—the bodhisattva can grasp this world in the right hand for an entire kalpa and, whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, remain entirely unobstructed. The bodhisattva then returns it to its original place, without harming any sentient being of the aquatic races, and none of them knows that any movement has occurred. By displaying such sovereign miraculous powers, the bodhisattva causes all proud sentient beings to be tamed so that they will listen to the Dharma.
Through miraculous power, the bodhisattva exercises mastery according to intention, like a wish-fulfilling jewel that grants whatever is sought. The bodhisattva may transform the great ocean into the water held in a cow’s hoofprint or transform the water in a cow’s hoofprint into the great ocean; may manifest a conflagration reaching as high as the First Dhyana, a deluge reaching as high as the Second Dhyana, or a windstorm reaching as high as the Third Dhyana; and may transform water into fire or fire into water. Through all manner of superior, middling, or inferior transformations, the bodhisattva exercises mastery at will, and no one can disturb them. Apart from the Buddha, the Blessed One, no one can thwart them.
Employing these vast miraculous transformations, the bodhisattva teaches the Dharma extensively or briefly, according to the faculties and conditions of sentient beings, so that they may attain liberation. Such sovereign miraculous powers of the bodhisattva cannot be obstructed by any celestial Mara or Mara of the afflictions. The bodhisattva therefore transcends the celestial Maras and the Maras of the afflictions and enters the realm of the Buddha. The bodhisattva then rescues sentient beings and enables them to attain liberation according to their faculties and conditions, without interruption and without ever being shaken.
Maitreya, you should know! This is called the great bodhisattva’s cultivation of meditative concentration whereby the superknowledge of miraculous manifestations and sovereign transformation is attained.
The five superknowledges described above are called merely meditative concentration and are not called paramita.
Maitreya! After bodhisattvas have attained these five superknowledges, they should diligently cultivate the paramita of meditative concentration for the sake of unsurpassed bodhi and attain the stage of non-retrogression. It is like a poor person who begins digging for a treasure. Seeing nothing unusual at first, the person remains indolent; but by digging ever deeper without stopping, the person gradually sees a few unusual signs. At that point, the person applies vigorous and unremitting diligence and, by never stopping, obtains the treasure. The great bodhisattva is likewise. Before realizing unsurpassed bodhi, the bodhisattva should diligently cultivate meditative concentration day and night without rest, until unsurpassed bodhi is attained.
Maitreya! For all sentient beings to give rise to such an aspiration toward meditative concentration is not difficult; what is truly difficult is to cultivate accordingly without ever becoming indolent until accomplishment is reached.

Suppose the army of a powerful kingdom invades and seizes another kingdom. Taking it is not difficult, but having taken it, guarding it carefully is difficult indeed.
The same is true of non-Buddhist teachers who cultivate meditative concentration. Without associating with good spiritual friends or hearing the true Dharma, they seek false liberation, attain the concentrations of the Formless Realm, and claim to have realized nirvana. When they die, these people fall into hell.

They are like a foolish man who raises a venomous snake and regularly gives it cow’s milk to drink. Why? Because all physicians in the world say that cow’s milk counteracts poison.

After the snake drinks the cow’s milk, its venom becomes even stronger. The foolish man thinks that the snake’s venom has been completely eliminated, so he approaches and handles it, only to be bitten to death. All sentient beings are likewise.

Day and night they nourish this poisonous body, and because they seek comfort and pleasure, they constantly supply it with food and drink without moderation. When impermanence suddenly arrives, the poisonous demon of death arises, destroys all their wholesome qualities, and sends them into the three painful destinies.
Maitreya, the meditative concentration attained by shravakas and pratyekabuddhas merely eliminates the hindrance of afflictions. Since they lack great compassion and seek only to enter nirvana, it is not true meditative concentration. Ordinary sentient beings, meanwhile, are not free because their bodily, verbal, and mental karma is perpetually bound by eighty-four thousand afflictions.

Suppose someone continually makes offerings to hostile rakshasas and evil spirits in order gradually to subdue them. The hostile rakshasas and evil spirits of the afflictions, however, are not like this: when supplied with forms and fragrances, the afflictions blaze ever more fiercely and become difficult to subdue. How, then, can one cultivate meditative concentration and attain liberation?

Without meditative concentration, how can there be wisdom? Without right wisdom, the ten wholesome actions cannot exist either, and one will fall into hell, the realm of hungry ghosts, or the animal realm. Therefore, great bodhisattvas should cultivate the pure conduct of the four immeasurable minds and arouse loving-kindness that “guides and transforms without conditions,” encompassing the entire dharmadhatu.

Why is this? Because a bodhisattva’s loving-kindness and compassion have no limit, are inconceivable, and have no boundary. Just as sentient beings pervade the worlds throughout the ten directions, so too are a bodhisattva’s loving-kindness and compassion equally vast.

Just as space has no limit, so too is a bodhisattva’s loving-kindness and compassion. Thus one should know that, as sentient beings are endless, a bodhisattva’s loving-kindness and compassion are also endless. As true emptiness is endless, loving-kindness and compassion are also endless.

Therefore, a bodhisattva’s genuine loving-kindness and compassion are inexhaustible.
The Bodhisattva Maitreya said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! A bodhisattva possesses such vast loving-kindness and compassion toward sentient beings. If there is any analogy by which this may be explained, I beseech you to instruct us.”
The World-Honored One said:
“Good man! No single minor matter can serve as an analogy that fully expresses it. Maitreya, you should know!

Suppose that in the eastern direction there were worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and that in the south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, and below, there were equally many. If all those Ganges-sands worlds throughout the ten directions were combined into a single sea filled with water, and if every world throughout the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, were completely filled with sentient beings, and each sentient being in turn took a single hair, dipped it into that sea, and transferred a drop of water elsewhere, continuing in this way for an entire kalpa, then although the water of the sea might be exhausted, those sentient beings would still not come to an end.
“Good man! Toward each of the sentient beings throughout the worlds of the ten directions, who are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges throughout the ten directions, a bodhisattva possesses vast loving-kindness and compassion.
“Good man! What do you think? Does such loving-kindness and compassion have any limit?”
The Bodhisattva Maitreya replied:
“World-Honored One! Even if space could conceivably be measured, this loving-kindness and compassion could never be exhausted.”
The Buddha said:
“If a great bodhisattva hears that such loving-kindness and compassion have no limit and does not become startled, doubtful, or afraid, you should know that this bodhisattva also possesses such inexhaustible loving-kindness and compassion. This compassionate mind can protect both oneself and others; eliminate every evil, lawsuit, dispute, and quarrel; and prevent sentient beings from committing offenses, so that their three kinds of karma are subdued, they always dwell in peace and happiness, and they remain far removed from all enmity.

It causes those filled with anger to become patient and compassionate; brings an end to the sufferings of warfare and armed conflict; protects all sentient beings and frees them from every form of deceit; and causes their good reputation to spread afar. They receive the reverence and offerings of Shakra, Brahma, and the Four Heavenly Kings, and adorn their bodies with jeweled garlands of loving-kindness. Such bodhisattvas go foremost, guiding sentient beings along the path of liberation, so that those inclined toward the Two Vehicles return to the Mahayana.

They gather and accumulate all the provisions for bodhi, refuse to become slaves to worldly merit and its rewards, constantly adorn their bodies with excellent marks, possess complete and perfect faculties, escape the eight adversities, are reborn in the heavens, and practice the Noble Eightfold Path to reach the farther shore of nirvana.
“Bodhisattvas who cultivate loving-kindness and compassion do not cling to the five desires and maintain an impartial mind toward all sentient beings. When practicing generosity, their minds make no distinctions. They uphold pure precepts and aid those who have violated the precepts.

They demonstrate the power of patience so that others may relinquish anger. They cultivate diligence and accord entirely with the true Dharma. They abide in right concentration and, with loving-kindness and compassion, rescue sentient beings.

They attain vast wisdom and transcend the world. At that time, afflictions and bodhi no longer bear the marks of duality. With great loving-kindness flowing from their intrinsic nature, they vanquish the armies of Mara, bring peace and happiness to all sentient beings, and never abandon them in this life or in future lives.

Whether walking, standing, lying down, or sitting, they constantly cultivate and practice, eliminating self-conceit and remaining far removed from heedlessness. Those endowed with loving-kindness and compassion wear the robe of moral shame and dread of wrongdoing, anoint themselves with the fragrance of pure precepts, eradicate worldly habitual tendencies of affliction, and benefit all sentient beings, bringing them peace and happiness.

The loving-kindness and compassion of shravakas seek only their own benefit, whereas the loving-kindness and compassion of bodhisattvas protect and rescue all sentient beings.
“Maitreya! Loving-kindness is of three kinds:
1. Loving-kindness with sentient beings as its object.
2. Loving-kindness with dharmas as its object.
3. Objectless loving-kindness.
“What is loving-kindness with sentient beings as its object? It means that when one first arouses the aspiration, one universally contemplates sentient beings and gives rise to great compassion.
“What is loving-kindness with dharmas as its object? It means that during cultivation, one contemplates all dharmas; this is called loving-kindness with dharmas as its object.
“What is objectless loving-kindness? It means realizing the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, in which there are no dual characteristics.
“Maitreya, you should know! This is the mind of great compassion of a great bodhisattva abiding in the true dharmadhatu.”