大乘理趣六波羅蜜多經

FASCICLE 3

Chapter 4: NON-RETROGRESSION

At that time, the great bodhisattva Maitreya bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet and said:
“Great Sage, World-Honored One! The World-Honored One has spoken of the five kinds of mind through which bodhisattvas cultivating the Great Vehicle realize the stage of non-retrogression. But how should they arouse the mind of great compassion, and how should they practice? I beseech the Tathagata, out of compassion for sentient beings, to expound this for the benefit and well-being of living beings.”
The World-Honored One said:
“Excellent, excellent! Good man, your question is most fitting. Listen carefully and reflect well. I shall explain and distinguish this matter for you, removing the net of your doubts.
“The five kinds of resolve are as follows:
“First is the mind of great compassion: One must steadfastly maintain this mind and never relinquish it, reflecting upon those beings in the evil destiny of hell and recollecting the sufferings described in the sutras. You should know that I shall now recount this teaching for you. Contemplate all sentient beings as those who, in past lives, were my parents, clansmen, relatives, and honored elders, and who are now dwelling in the hells and undergoing suffering, surrounded by thirteen masses of fire.

Two flames enter through their feet, pierce upward through the crowns of their heads, and emerge; two other flames enter through the crowns of their heads, pierce straight downward through their feet, and emerge; two flames enter through their backs and pierce through their chests; two enter through their chests and pierce through their backs; two flames enter through their left sides, pierce through their right sides, and emerge; two enter through their right sides, pierce through their left sides, and emerge; and one flame coils around them, burning them from head to foot.

The bodies of the beings in this hell are as soft and frail as clarified butter. Those flames converge and burn them. The fire of hell consumes the fire of the human world as though burning a firework until not the slightest remnant remains.

Some beings, scorched by the flames, run everywhere seeking someone to rescue them, but who is there even to know of their plight?
“Other beings attempt to flee, but with no way of escape, they are forced to run into the flames. Some are suddenly cast into deep pits of foul excrement. Within those pits are worms with needle-sharp iron beaks sixteen finger-widths long, which gnaw through the beings’ skin, bones, marrow, and brains.

Some beings are roasted and boiled amid hot ashes. Some sink and rise in water. The jailers then strain them out with a great iron net, as though scooping up fish, and cast them down to lie or sit upon blazing iron ground, where they are scorched and roasted.

Next, the jailers seize their tongues with iron pincers and pull them out, then pour boiling molten copper into their mouths. They lose consciousness and die for a long time, but immediately return to life. They try to flee in hope of escaping, but cannot.

Iron hooks are then used to seek them out and drag them back. Iron birds with iron beaks fly after them and peck until their flesh and bones are torn apart, and then devour them.
“When these beings see a grove of trees, they try to climb them in order to escape. Yet iron thorns grow upon those trees, each sixteen finger-widths long and glowing red-hot. As soon as the beings climb, the sharp points turn downward, stab into their chests, and pierce through their backs.

They undergo immeasurable suffering and cannot escape, however much they wish to do so. Crows fly to them, peck out both their eyes, break open their skulls, and eat their marrow. Though they wish to descend, the thorns turn upward, causing their eyes, ears, noses, tongues, bodies, the flesh of their arms and legs, and all ten finger joints to fall away.

They try to climb the trees to hide but cannot, for the jailers seize them, place them in iron sacks, and pound them back and forth with red-hot iron pestles.
“Other beings have their arms, legs, heads, and hair—their five extremities—sawn apart and mangled by the jailers. Some are placed in iron mortars and pounded from the head downward with iron pestles. Others are cast into cauldrons of boiling water, where they are stirred back and forth with iron tridents and boiled until their flesh disintegrates, leaving only bones, yet their lives still continue. In another hell, mineral ore is used to construct dwellings. Fire fiercely burns those dwellings, melting the ore so that it drips down drop by drop like arrowheads.
“There is also a hell surrounded on four sides by iron mountains. The beings between them are crushed when two mountains close together, sometimes from the south and north and sometimes from the east and west. When the two mountains close upon them, the blood and pus of the beings trapped within flow out.

In another hell, iron serpents coil around the bodies of beings from their feet to their heads and then peck at their skulls. They constrict them so tightly that the brain and marrow are forced up to the crowns of their heads, where the serpents suck them out and devour them, leaving only skin and bones. Other beings in hell are impaled by jailers with iron tridents from their feet up through the crowns of their heads and shoulders.

Flames blaze crimson along the tridents, while fire also issues from the beings’ eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. In another hell, beings are forced to lie upon blazing iron ground or roll upon it. They are then bound with black iron cords and beaten.
“They are also split apart with axes and hatchets, just as carpenters hew fresh timber. Other beings are completely flayed by the jailers from head to foot, and their skins are fashioned into reins. With bits held in their mouths, the beings crawl toward the summit of a lofty mountain.

That mountain is blazing hot. The jailers drive them upward and lash them with whips. Their myriad sufferings cannot be expressed.

Since beginningless time, all these beings have been my paternal and maternal relatives and my parents. Now they wander through cyclic existence in the hells, undergoing the sufferings described above throughout countless kalpas. When their evil karma is exhausted, they may temporarily be born in the heavens.

If they commit evil deeds in the heavenly realm, they fall back into the hells.
“Having contemplated beings undergoing these sufferings, a great bodhisattva arouses great compassion. Next, the bodhisattva contemplates the realm of hungry ghosts and is likewise filled with sorrow. The bodhisattva sees that one day and night among hungry ghosts equals one month in the human realm.

Counting days as months, twelve such days constitute one year. Hungry ghosts live for five hundred years, equivalent to fifteen thousand human years, continually afflicted by hunger and thirst. Their ears do not even hear the name of drinking water, much less do their eyes behold it!

The body of such a hungry ghost resembles Mount Tai, its head is like a great house, and its neck is as narrow as the eye of a needle. The hair of its head hangs down and covers both shoulders, cutting its body like iron blades, and then turns into raging flames that consume its body as fire burns firewood. The pain is unbearable.

The hair beneath both armpits grows long enough to cover the waist and abdomen, while the hair over the private parts reaches to the knees. For countless years and months, they continually undergo the suffering of being cut by blades and burned by fire.
“Sometimes they see water from afar and run toward it, but as they draw near they tumble headlong. Through the power of their evil karma, the water turns into blood and pus, foul excrement, or burning sand. On both banks stand jailers bearing bows and arrows, knives, clubs, axes, spears, and lances, who beat them and inflict grievous suffering. Scorched by the fires of hunger and consumed by feverish thirst, they lose their senses and run back toward the raging flames, where they are burned without even realizing it. The jailers pursue and beat, slash, and stab them, causing their hands, feet, and other limbs to fall off and break apart.
“There are also hungry ghosts who give birth to five children in the morning and then devour them. In the evening they give birth to five more and devour those as well, yet their hunger and thirst are never satisfied. Sometimes, when rain falls, they turn their mouths upward to catch it.

Because of their karma, when a single drop of water enters their mouths and descends into their bellies, it turns into a raging flame that pierces straight through their bodies and emerges outside. During the heat of summer, when the wind blows, hungry ghosts are swept into the desert. From below, burning sand scorches them, while from above the sun roasts them.

Tormented by hunger, thirst, and heat, they see the shade of a tree in the distance and try to run beneath it for shelter, but the tree’s shadow avoids them and moves elsewhere. Why is this? In former times, when these beings lived in the human realm, they held sacrificial assemblies.

When they saw beggars approaching, they were miserly and gave them nothing. Moreover, without cause, they beat and reviled them and then drove them away. Because they created such karma, they now undergo this retribution.”

There are also hungry ghosts who, on moonlit nights when the sky is perfectly clear and unobscured by clouds and the light shines everywhere, feel scorching heat like that of the summer months whenever this light touches them. There are also hungry ghosts who, in winter, encounter fierce winds. Through the force of karma, the winds blow these hungry ghosts into icy mountains like flying dust, where they suffer bitter cold.

They undergo such suffering for immeasurable kalpas, and when they die there, they fall back into hell. Thus they pass back and forth for immeasurable years. When their evil karma is exhausted and they are able to become human, they are born into poor, miserly families that practice no generosity.

They must beg to stay alive, yet remain greedy and miserly. Because of their poverty and misery, they commit the offenses of the ten unwholesome courses of karma. When they die there, they again fall into hell and undergo every kind of suffering.

When their suffering there ends, they are reborn among the hungry ghosts. Thus they pass back and forth for innumerable kalpas, enduring such suffering. Throughout the immeasurable and boundless kalpas of birth and death in the past, these sentient beings have all been my parents and my relatives of the six degrees of kinship, and for my sake they created evil karma.

Now, among the hungry ghosts, they undergo these painful retributions. Seeing such suffering, the great bodhisattva arouses the mind of great compassion.

Furthermore, Maitreya, just as it is with the hungry ghosts, next contemplate the animals in the same way. There are beasts such as deer, musk deer, wildcats, foxes, rabbits, tigers, leopards, wolves, and many other kinds of animals; and there are flying birds such as chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants, wild geese, and mandarin ducks. Some walk or perch in trees, some fly, and some swim.

They are constantly afraid of human power, never able to eat or drink in peace, and remain fearful day and night. There are also animals living beneath the water, such as soft-shelled turtles, turtles, fish, snails, clams, and frogs, which are continually caught in the nets spread throughout the waters of birth and death. There are also animals such as snakes, dragons, lizards, insects, and mice, which are born in darkness and die in darkness.

There are also animals such as lice, bedbugs, and fleas, which cling to human bodies to live and also die upon human bodies. Other animals live upon corpses, in damp and filthy places, or dependent upon plants and trees; wherever they are born, there they die. Those born through transformation also die through transformation; these include maggots, worms, insects, and butterflies.

There are also animals that constantly consume blood, pus, and filthy substances, regarding them as sweet delicacies. These include pigs, dogs, dung beetles, flies, and horseflies. When they smell a stench, they consider it fragrant and delicious and fly or rush toward it, afraid that they will not obtain a share.

There are also animals that do not eat fresh grass but consume only thorns, and do not drink clean water but drink only filthy water.

There are also animals that not only live upon grass but constantly eat grass, such as elephants, horses, buffaloes, cattle, and camels. Some are controlled by iron hooks driven into their heads; some have their noses pierced; some have bridles binding their jaws; and some have packs or yokes fastened upon their necks for transport. They are constantly whipped and shouted at and must go quickly or slowly according to their masters’ commands.

At times they become emaciated and weak, rising only to fall again, suffering limitless pain and no longer possessing their former strength. All of this occurs because of deeds committed in previous lives, for which they must now undergo such painful retribution. Some consumed the offerings of the faithful without diligently practicing and studying.

Because they must continually repay those debts from past lives, they undergo this affliction. They are driven about and endure whipping, yet even this is insufficient to discharge their debts. Some are slaughtered in excruciating pain and are unable to express what they wish to say.

While alive, they lack water and grass; when ill, they receive no medicine or treatment; and after death, they are skinned and made into food for humans. After dying, they fall into hell. Why is this?

Because their minds are deluded and ignorant, they do not distinguish good from evil, do not remember the hardship their parents endured in giving birth to and raising them, do not understand cause and effect, do not hear the true Dharma, and do not practice generosity, uphold the precepts, or plant roots of goodness. They think only of water and grass and know nothing else. All these animals are raised by humans.

Besides these domesticated animals, there are other animals, such as lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, and the creatures living in water and on land described above, which harm, devour, and consume one another. Because of that karma, they must fall into hell and undergo manifold suffering for immeasurable kalpas. When their offenses in hell are exhausted, they again enter the animal realm.

Thus they pass back and forth for immeasurable kalpas. Throughout the immeasurable and boundless kalpas of birth and death in past lives, these animals have been my parents and my relatives of the six degrees of kinship. For my sake they created much evil karma, and now they must become animals and undergo this painful retribution.

Having contemplated this suffering, the great bodhisattva opens wide the vast heart of great compassion.

Having thus contemplated the animals, next contemplate the human realm. Some sentient beings, though born human, suffer greatly from poverty, hunger, and thirst. They have no clothes to wear; they walk through mud and sleep in the rain, reap grain amid the frost, and weed beneath the scorching sun.

They toil day and night until their hands and feet are exhausted. Their hair is disheveled, their bodies sickly and emaciated, and they can only shuffle forward one step at a time. They beg from house to house but never obtain a single full meal.

At night they sleep with empty stomachs. They wish to help others but have nothing with which to help. Although they speak and act, others do not trust or follow them.

Although they may be good-looking, they are instead treated with contempt. They continually practice patience to benefit everyone, yet are criticized as weak. They may possess literary talent, yet no one records their writings.

When they visit relatives, they are suspected of having come in search of food. If they take refuge in and have faith in the Three Jewels, they are disparaged as seekers of fame. If they praise someone, they are accused of flattery.

Or they are born into lowly families, find no peace or happiness, remain dependent upon others, and live merely to preserve their lives. They endure cold and heat without knowing warmth or coolness. They carry water and gather firewood, shrinking from no hardship, yet their masters show them no compassion.

At the slightest error or delay, they are beaten. These are retributions created and undergone by themselves; they are not inflicted by any god or human being. Because their merit is meager, they bring suffering upon themselves, and this suffering is worse than the suffering of death.

They are like a withered tree whose branches and leaves have all fallen away, upon which no bird comes to perch. Those of meager merit are likewise.

At that time, the Blessed One restated this meaning in verse:

Maitreya, hunger and poverty are exceedingly painful. Though impoverished people may constantly draw near to and praise others, because they lack merit, calamities immediately follow them. Because of poverty and misery, they are continually humiliated and reviled; consequently, they create still more evil karma and fall into hell. There are also people born into wealthy and noble families who possess many servants, elephants, horses, buffaloes, and goats, and whose clansmen and relatives constantly surround them. The pleasures they enjoy surpass even those of the heavenly realms. When bewildered by the five desires, greed and anger arise within them, followed by pride and arrogance, and they treat everyone with contempt.

At that time, the Blessed One spoke this verse:

Failing to restrain the five faculties, they are ever heedless;
The harm of greed is like a hostile foe.
Attached to the five desires, they are like drunkards;
Rich and poor alike suffer in birth and death.

The Buddha said to the great bodhisattva Maitreya:

“All sentient beings are ignorant of the present and the future. The karma they have created follows them as a shadow follows a form. All these sufferings are rooted in craving and desire. Moreover, they do not cultivate themselves or seek wholesome Dharma, but burn away all the pure qualities accumulated in previous lives. After death, they fall into the three evil destinies. Why is this so?”

Because of lust, they take life; relying on their own power, they seize the possessions of others; by every means they take another’s wife and indulge in sexual misconduct, making no distinction between kin and strangers. Driven by desire, they lie and deceive, embellish their speech, revile and disparage sentient beings with harsh words, speak with a double tongue, and habitually say “he” and “she” in order to sow discord between the two sides.

They do not foster harmony and mutual respect among their relatives and clansmen, but remain ever greedy, envious, arrogant, and conceited, while the fire of anger consumes all their wholesome karma. They praise non-Buddhist paths and disparage the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; they make offerings to heavenly spirits in search of blessings, unaware of the profound debt they owe to the Three Jewels, who throughout innumerable past kalpas have undergone great hardship for their sake.

One who cultivates supreme practices as provisions for bodhi and perfects omniscience is called a Buddha. Bodhisattvas serve as bright lamps amid the darkness of sentient beings’ birth and death; they are refuges and rescuers, boats and floating rafts that save living beings and establish gods and humans upon the further shore of nirvana.
Yet sentient beings follow wrong views, pride, and haughtiness. Like drunken people, they are bound by the five sensual desires and do not cultivate wholesome dharmas. After death, they fall into hell, are born as animals or hungry ghosts, or become impoverished humans who undergo sufferings as though both body and mind had been pierced by poisoned arrows. All these sufferings arise from failing to cultivate wholesome dharmas. Having contemplated this, the bodhisattva brings forth vast compassion.
The bodhisattva next contemplates the heavenly realms. Gods live long lives and are free from suffering, but as death approaches, the five signs of decline appear:
1. The flowers upon their heads wither.
2. Their celestial garments become soiled with dust.
3. Sweat flows from their armpits.
4. Their eyes continually blink.
5. They no longer delight in their seats.
When these five signs appear, the newly arrived celestial maidens all keep their distance, regarding the dying god as though he were grass. The celestial maidens who have long known him love him dearly and therefore remain constantly by his side. As he approaches death, he moans and weeps in sorrow, and everyone comes to inquire after him. The god then says:
“The newly arrived celestial maidens—I loved them without partiality, so why do they now regard me with contempt, as though I were grass, while you grieve and feel compassion for me? For this reason, I love the celestial maidens who have long known me and am angry with those newly arrived. Now that the five signs have appeared before my eyes, I know with certainty that I am about to die and leave this celestial palace, with its melodious sounds, marvelous sights and fragrances, and gratifying, delightful sensual pleasures.

Bewildered by these things, I can no longer recollect clearly. Must I truly abandon this palace? My life is now about to end, and I cannot remain long in the heavenly realm.

This suffering is like an arrow piercing my heart. I have no refuge or support, no relatives, no guide, and nowhere to return. Though I cry out in anguish, no one comes to save me.

Have the gods abandoned me because they are preoccupied with pleasure?”
He further thinks: “I shall soon lose the city and palace of Sudarshana. Never again shall I behold Lord Shakra, nor ever again see that radiant palace. Each day I rode Shakra’s precious elephant into the gardens, but now I shall never see it again.

I must bid eternal farewell to the Parushaka Garden, its garments, shoes, helmets, and all the rest. Never again shall I sit feasting and drinking in the Mishraka Grove. Never again shall I wander in the Nandana Grove beneath the Parijataka and Kalpavriksha trees, nor ever again adorn myself with white jade and marble ornaments.

I shall be separated from the deliberations in the Sudharma Hall. Never again shall I bathe in the excellent Mandakini Pool. It will be difficult to taste the four kinds of amrita, and I shall no longer hear the five kinds of gentle, harmonious music.

Alas! How painful this is! Impermanence comes so swiftly, causing me alone to suffer in this way.

Is death occurring with every kshana of arising and ceasing? The lives of the gods are truly like illusions and dreams. To remove my garments and cast them upon the ground rends my body and mind as though I had been struck by a serpent’s venom; the suffering is terrible.

I long for another god to show compassion and save my life, prolonging it for even a few more days—would that not bring me joy? Remove these five signs of decline from me! Do not let me fall among the ox-headed creatures in the mountains or among the tiny creatures in the sea.”
Although he speaks in this way, none of the gods can save him.
Having said this, the god thinks: “Those gods cannot rescue me or prolong my life. Before long, I shall certainly die!”
As he is about to pass away, this god sees for himself the place where he will next be born—whether in hell, among animals, or as a hungry ghost. Upon seeing that sign, he moans and wails, loses consciousness, falls to the ground, rolls his eyes upward, and immediately dies, falling according to his karma into one of the three lower realms. From this it should be known that there is tremendous suffering even in the heavenly realms, and that samsara continues endlessly, with no knowing when it will cease. Having contemplated the suffering of the heavenly realms, the great bodhisattva brings forth vast loving-kindness and compassion.
“Maitreya, you should know! Suppose someone were to dip the corner of a bow case into the great ocean. Which would be greater: the water adhering to the bow case or the water in the great ocean?”
The great bodhisattva Maitreya said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! The water upon the corner of that bow case would be extremely little. How could it compare with the water in the ocean? The great ocean is exceedingly deep and vast; how could the water upon the bow case equal it?”
The World-Honored One said to Maitreya:
“Good man! Those who die in the human and heavenly realms and fall into the three lower realms are as numerous as the waters of the great ocean, while those who are reborn in the human and heavenly realms are as few as the water upon the corner of the bow case. Those who fall into the three lower realms must undergo boundless suffering, which cannot be fully expressed and is inconceivable.

The sufferings of the three lower realms have already been briefly described above. What has been spoken is like a single grain of sand from the Ganges, while what remains unspoken is like all the sands of the Ganges. Their lifespans are likewise immense.

One hundred years in the human realm equals one day and one night in the heaven of Lord Shakra. Thirty such days and nights constitute one month, and twelve months constitute one year. If the lifespan in that heaven is a full one thousand years, it amounts altogether to more than three kotis and six billion human years.

Yet this lifespan equals only one day and one night in the great Black-Rope Hell. Thirty days and nights there constitute one month, twelve months constitute one year, and beings live there for a full one thousand years. One thousand years there equals one day and one night in the great Crushing Hell.

Thirty days and nights there constitute one month, twelve months constitute one year, and beings live there for a full two thousand years. Ultimately, the lifespan in the great Avici Hell extends to one intermediate kalpa. Therefore, it should be known that beings in the hells live for an exceedingly long time.

When gods approach death, they use their divine eyes to observe and comprehend all these things, and so they suffer intense sorrow. All their sensual pleasures are but momentary and completely vanish. If those pleasures and sufferings were divided into sixteen parts, a single part of the suffering arising here could extinguish all sixteen parts of heavenly bliss.
“Seeing the gods afflicted by such suffering as they approach death, the great bodhisattva brings forth vast loving-kindness and compassion.
“Maitreya, you should know! This is the foremost vast loving-kindness and compassion of a great bodhisattva. Furthermore, the bodhisattva should bring forth a mind of great diligence to rescue sentient beings and convey them to the peaceful and blissful further shore of nirvana. It is like a merchant who thinks: ‘My parents and relatives are all poor and afflicted. How can I rescue them from this misery?’ After reflecting in this way, he sees no other means than to enter the great ocean in search of a wish-fulfilling jewel, bring it home, and use it to help them all. Having formed this resolve, he immediately enters the ocean to obtain the wish-fulfilling jewel and bring it back. Thereafter, he finds the wish-fulfilling jewel in the ocean and fastens it atop a tall banner.”

A wish-fulfilling jewel can rain down many precious gems, clothing, food and drink, incense, flowers, and music. One’s parents and kinsfolk may use them as they wish, and all their needs will be fully met.
A great bodhisattva who arouses the bodhicitta and seeks omniscience is likewise. Such a bodhisattva constantly reflects: “All sentient beings have been my parents and my relatives among the six degrees of kinship. On my account, they must undergo the cycle of birth and death and are presently enduring many sufferings.

By what means may I deliver them? Having reflected thus, I find no other way than to enter the Dharma-ocean of the six paramitas and seek the wish-fulfilling jewel of omniscience, in order to rescue suffering beings.” Having reflected in this way, the bodhisattva enters the Dharma-ocean to seek the wish-fulfilling jewel of knowledge of all modes, and then raises it upon the banner of Dharma. Great clouds of loving-kindness spread everywhere, raining down all the spiritual powers and virtues of the dharani gateways.

The bodhisattva takes moral shame and moral dread as clothing, generosity as a dwelling, the fragrance of pure precepts as incense, patience as a floral garland, diligence as food, meditative concentration as a bed, the nectar of wisdom as food and drink, the empty and quiescent nature of all dharmas as a resting place, great nirvana as a jeweled city, and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas as good spiritual friends. Having obtained the precious jewel of knowledge of all modes, the bodhisattva thus rains down countless wondrous treasures, clothing, incense, flowers, music, and so forth.

Apart from the Supreme Tamer and Great Teacher, no one can rescue beings from their sufferings and calamities so that they attain the ultimate peace and bliss of nirvana.”
Having reflected thus, the great bodhisattva knows with certainty that he has realized the stage of non-retrogression. He further makes this vow:
Wherever I may be born amid suffering and calamity, may I undergo the sufferings of sentient beings in their stead. I do not wish to realize the liberation of nirvana, nor will I abandon sentient beings to enjoy peace and happiness by myself. Why is this?

Because after all shravakas and pratyekabuddhas attain liberation and enter nirvana, they remain there forever, neither benefiting sentient beings nor proclaiming the virtues of the Buddha’s body. Great bodhisattvas, however, remain within the three lower realms, exhorting and transforming sentient beings so that they abandon evil karma, cultivate wholesome dharmas, escape all suffering, and attain liberation within the human realm.

Therefore, great bodhisattvas benefit all sentient beings throughout the ten directions, and for this reason they may receive the offerings of the devas of the Trayastrimsha Heaven, the Great Brahma Heaven-Kings, Maheshvara, and non-Buddhist seers. Bodhisattvas who realize this stage of non-retrogression are praised and given predictions of Buddhahood by the Buddhas of the three times. Great bodhisattvas who cultivate the Mahayana attain mastery and fearlessness, like lion kings.

All sentient beings who follow them will bring every fear to an end and proceed directly toward bodhi. Shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and arhats, upon hearing the bodhisattva’s instruction, enter deep into mountain caves, cover their heads with their robes, and turn toward nirvana; how, then, could they equal those who cultivate the bodhisattva practices of the Mahayana, benefiting both themselves and others? Therefore, the bodhisattva becomes ever more diligent, preferring to remain in the three lower realms and endure immeasurable suffering rather than ever seeking benefit for himself alone and abiding in
nirvana. All sentient beings who, in the past, present, or future, have created or will create evil karma, will fall into the lower realms and undergo suffering. I vow to undergo it in their stead with this body.

Whatever wholesome deeds and virtuous dharmas I have attained through practice in the past and present, I vow to dedicate them all so that every sentient being may swiftly realize nirvana. I vow to relinquish all wealth, treasures, and precious objects. When beaten, reviled, or insulted, I vow to endure patiently and never retaliate, and I pray that those beings may be freed from their offenses.

Throughout immeasurable, boundless asamkhyeya kalpas, I vow to accomplish every deed that is difficult to perform. For the sake of sentient beings, I will seek the unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment of bodhi, diligently cultivate meditative concentration and liberation, and realize the stage of non-retrogression.
Just as immeasurable and boundless great bodhisattvas in the past diligently cultivated omniscience, so too shall I practice. Why is this? Because I wish to deliver all sentient beings from samsara and bring them to the shore of liberation, unsurpassed nirvana.
I further vow to lead into nirvana all kinds of sentient beings—those born from eggs, wombs, moisture, or transformation; those with form or without form; those with perception or without perception; and those who are neither percipient nor non-percipient—and to enable them to perfect the six paramitas and completely attain the unsurpassed Buddha-body, adorned with a hundred merits, the thirty-two excellent marks, and the eighty beautiful characteristics, with an aureole surpassing the radiance of hundreds of thousands of suns, so that sentient beings may gaze upon it with joyful delight and never grow weary.
I further vow that all sentient beings throughout the worlds of the ten directions may possess virtuous adornments like those of a Buddha.
He further makes this vow:
For the sake of all sentient beings throughout the dharmadhatu who are beaten and rebuked, constantly bound and tormented, humiliated, threatened with death, or forced into servitude without being permitted to resist, I vow to relinquish this body. May all such sentient beings be freed from their offenses.
Having made this vow, he further reflects: “May I swiftly fulfill this aspiration.”
I further vow to use this body throughout the five realms to bring benefit, peace, and happiness to all sentient beings. For those who have no refuge, I shall be their refuge. For those journeying through foreign lands, I shall be their guide.

I shall be a raft for those entering the sea and a bridge or causeway for those crossing rivers and streams. I shall be springs and wells for those in the wilderness; firewood and torches for those suffering from cold; coolness for those afflicted by heat; a bright lamp in dark places; and soft bedding for the sick. I shall be delicious food for the hungry, sweet water for the thirsty, and clothing for the naked.

During drought and famine, I shall become rain that waters the five kinds of grain. For those afflicted by illness, I shall be excellent medicine that swiftly cures their disease and prolongs their lives. I shall serve orphans, widowers, and widows.

For the poor and suffering, I shall be a treasury, following them and dwelling together with them, never abandoning them. For those traveling afar, I shall be a companion and a carriage so that they may reach their destination. If anyone holds wrong views, I shall teach the Right Dharma and enable that person to abide in right view.

I vow to enter the hells and rescue sentient beings from their sufferings. I shall be born among hungry ghosts and become delicious, sweet, and cooling food, dispelling their burning hunger and thirst. I shall transform into a mountain of flesh so that animals such as tigers, leopards, jackals, bears, lions, and others may eat their fill.
I further vow: May any sentient being who eats my flesh be fully satisfied and no longer devour others of its own kind. I shall become fresh, tender grass for elephants, horses, cattle, goats, deer, antelopes, and other creatures to eat. I shall ensure that all sentient beings—whether they eat flesh, grass, or the various kinds of grain—may eat and drink freely until fully satisfied. Among humans, may they enjoy pleasures as they wish. I vow to provide for them so that they lack nothing.
He further makes this vow: May I accomplish all dharani bodies. Wherever sentient beings dwell, I shall become a wish-fulfilling tree to protect and rescue them, and a jeweled vase that produces countless forms of wealth, supplying all sentient beings until they are fully provided for and satisfied. Or I shall become a physician who cures all their illnesses.

With the hand of great compassion, I shall hold the key to the Dharma-gate, open the city of nirvana, and reveal and teach the Buddha’s knowledge and vision. Throughout three asamkhyeya kalpas, I shall perform deeds that are painful and difficult, in order to establish sentient beings in true nirvana and liberation. Wherever I am born, I shall always be diligent and never indolent, bringing benefit, peace, and happiness to all sentient beings.

To rescue sentient beings in the hells, I shall undergo immeasurable suffering and regard it as the bliss of nirvana.
He further makes this vow: As long as even one sentient being has not attained liberation, I vow to remain forever in the hells and not realize bodhi.
O Maitreya!

It should be known that this is the second form of diligence by which a great bodhisattva seeks the wisdom of omniscience.

Furthermore, Maitreya, after practicing this conduct, one should give rise to three kinds of surpassing resolve in order to seek the stage of non-retrogression, diligently cultivating for as many as three incalculable kalpas without interruption for even a single kshana. Some maras may assume the guise of shramanas, brahmins, ascetics, or many other forms, mingling among followers of the Mahayana to seek out faults and cause those who cultivate diligently to retreat.

They may also say: “The Buddha Way is distant. Over hundreds and thousands of kalpas, one must do what is difficult to do and relinquish what is difficult to relinquish, such as kingdoms and cities, wives and children, elephants and horses, the seven treasures, male and female servants, one’s body, hands, and feet, without attachment or regret. Only after practicing such giving for a hundred thousand kalpas does one attain bodhi.

Immeasurable beings who have cultivated in this way have still not become Buddhas; they have retreated and sought to realize nirvana for themselves. Even if one attains Buddhahood, one nevertheless enters nirvana. Since there is only one kind of nirvana, why labor so strenuously in ascetic practice?

If you wish to seek benefit, you should cultivate two things:

1. Seek to enjoy happiness in this present life, freely partaking of all the supremely wondrous pleasures of the five desires among devas and humans. Even if there is a little suffering, do not be afraid. Why? Just as a farmer would not refrain from planting rice for fear of insects, so too is the enjoyment of happiness among devas and humans: although there is a little suffering, the happiness is boundless. If you cultivate only for yourself, what is there to worry about or fear?

2. Seek nirvana for yourself. Let this life be your final life; attain arhatship and gain liberation. Why undergo hardship to seek the fruit of Buddhahood? If one cannot incline toward the Two Vehicles, one should enjoy all the happiness of devas and humans. If one later grows weary of it and renounces it, one can also quickly enter nirvana. It is like one person who exerts little effort yet gains great benefit, while another expends enormous effort but accomplishes nothing. Even if you undergo every hardship, you will accomplish nothing and will merely deceive yourself. Come now and stay with me. Whether advancing toward or remaining in supramundane nirvana, remain together with me in one place.”

Maitreya, you should know: when a great bodhisattva cultivating the Mahayana hears such words, he does not believe or follow them, but instead thinks: “This is an evil mara who has come to disturb me, obstruct me, and entice me so that I will retreat from bodhi.” Having recognized this, the bodhisattva resolves: “I vow never to violate my former aspiration by heeding these words. I am determined to seek the fruit of unsurpassed Buddhahood, and I vow never to retreat from the Mahayana.”

The bodhisattva then gives rise to three kinds of resolve:

1. All sentient beings have been my parents and relatives in former lives throughout beginningless kalpas. In the cycle of birth and death, they have endured immense hardships and such torments as those of the sixteen hells—the eight cold and eight hot hells—and many other forms of suffering. They have likewise undergone such sufferings among hungry ghosts, animals, devas, and humans. How, then, could I fail to cherish my parents and my paternal and maternal kin from former lives? Therefore, I vow to attain bodhi and must not retreat.

Maitreya, this is the first resolve of non-retrogression brought forth by a great bodhisattva.

2. All sentient beings, since beginningless time, have been my parents. Whenever I was born within a mother’s womb, she could find no ease in eating, lying down, sleeping, or resting, and giving birth and raising me caused her immense hardship.

Through the great compassionate love of her heart and blood, she produced milk, never growing weary. She spat out what was bitter and swallowed what was acrid, cultivated merit, and hoped that I would grow to maturity. If, because of scant merit, I unfortunately died young, my parents cried out in anguish, tore their hair, beat their breasts, and shed torrents of tears, finding no flavor in their food.

In every birth, they had to suffer in this way. Since coming into the world, the tears I have shed have exceeded the waters of the four seas, and the mother’s milk I have drunk has exceeded the waters of the four great rivers.

Furthermore, all sentient beings, since beginningless time, have become my parents through bonds of affection and have sacrificed their lives for my sake; therefore, even now they have not escaped samsara. Had these sentient beings diligently cultivated unsurpassed bodhi, they would certainly have become Buddhas, but because of me they have remained subject to birth, death, and samsara. Furthermore, all sentient beings, since beginningless time, have committed evil karma out of affection for me, without giving rise to remorse or reforming themselves.

If this evil karma had physical form, it would surpass Mount Sumeru in magnitude. Because they created so much of it, they have fallen into the three evil destinies and have not yet exhausted their suffering even now. How, then, could I forget their kindness and betray their devotion, appropriating nirvana for myself and seeking my own liberation?

It is like a group of people who have all violated the king’s law and are bound and confined in prison. They wish to escape but have no way out. Among them, one person sees a small opening in the wall and, by employing many means, manages to escape through it. In this way, that person is freed from suffering and calamity. Those of the Two Vehicles are likewise. Formerly, they shared the same delusion and craving as other sentient beings and were bound within the prison of birth and death in the three realms. They wished to escape but had no means. Among them, one person perceived the gate of the Four Noble Truths, understood the path of cultivating suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path, attained the fruit of arhatship, and realized nirvana.

Practitioners of the Mahayana are not like this. They vow to attain liberation together with all sentient beings, taking moral discipline and concentration as their two hands, wisdom as a blade, and great compassion as a hook and key, in order to destroy the bandits of the afflictions, crush the armies of birth and death, open the city of nirvana, and ascend to the palace of wisdom.

Maitreya, you should know: this is the second resolve of non-retrogression of a great bodhisattva cultivating the Mahayana.

3. A great bodhisattva thinks thus: “Throughout beginningless kalpas of wandering in samsara until now, sentient beings, being mutually dependent, have created karma of body, speech, and mind that brought suffering upon others. They have disturbed others’ minds, causing anger to arise; seized others’ property to satisfy every craving; and killed sentient beings and consumed their flesh and blood, committing such killing immeasurably and boundlessly. If a victim had not yet died, they would think day and night about how to bring about that being’s death so that they could take its flesh and blood and eat and drink their fill.

“Moreover, out of arrogance and conceit, they reviled and humiliated others, saying: ‘Those are not my own words.’ When they heard that another person had surpassed them in some matter, jealousy arose in their minds, and, unable to bear it, they sought to poison that person to death. Seeing others in hardship, they had no loving-kindness or compassion, but instead rejoiced uncontrollably and wished that those people would die young.

Seeing others honored and wealthy, they wished that those people would be convicted and punished, imprisoned, and reduced to poverty and misery. They wished others to suffer so that they themselves might enjoy glory, wealth, and honor. They wished others’ possessions to dwindle away day and night, while wishing their own possessions to increase daily.

They wished others to be sorrowful while they themselves remained forever at ease. They wished others to be hated while they themselves were loved. They wished others to encounter many enemies while they themselves encountered many friends.

They wished others to fall while they themselves rose higher. They wished others to be destitute while they alone were wealthy. They wished themselves to possess wisdom while others remained foolish.

“Throughout beginningless birth and death, day and night they entertained thoughts such as these, seeking happiness only for themselves, wishing benefits always to accrue to themselves and suffering to befall others. There was not a single sentient being whom they did not violate or harm. They did not want others’ good deeds to become renowned; their mouths expressed agreement while their hearts opposed it, and by every means they oppressed others, causing them constant unease. Deeds such as these are innumerable and cannot be fully described.

“Moreover, with harsh and evil words, they instructed and guided beings of the present and future to fall into dangerous and perilous paths.”

Falsely claiming to have seen or known something in order to testify against others, causing them to lose their property or official positions; using divisive speech to sow disorder among intimates and strangers; employing manifold deceitful schemes to make people hate one another—such persons fall into hell and do not know when they will emerge. They use harsh words to revile others, like arrows or bullets striking their bodies and minds, wounds that are not forgotten until death.

They fabricate writings filled with manifold abuse, using false words to harm sentient beings, and utter many other kinds of speech such as these. Or they become heterodox seers holding wrong views; their minds scorched by the fire of anger, they preach evil doctrines. Blazing with rage, they oppress sentient beings and devise spells, sorceries, enchantments, and talismans that cause beings to abandon cultivation and harm one another, spreading disease everywhere.

They cause the healthy to become emaciated and ill, the young to become old, bright eyes to become blind, keen ears to become deaf, the beautiful to become ugly, the noble to contract leprosy, those who do good to commit evil, the wise to become deranged and deluded, the long-lived to die prematurely, and the wealthy and honored to become poor and miserable. Thus, even to this day, their wandering through samsara has never ceased.
Again, I recall that in the past I was a teacher of heterodox doctrines and wrong views. I taught people that what was contrary to the Dharma was the True Dharma, and that the True Dharma was contrary to the Dharma, causing innumerable sentient beings to retreat from the resolve for bodhi and fall into lawlessness and wrong views. When I died, I fell into the realms of hell beings, animals, and hungry ghosts.
There were also sentient beings in a former life who accepted my instructions and cast themselves from towering mountains into the Yamuna River, where they died, believing that they would thereby be reborn in heaven. Even now, they still remain fallen.
Again, there were immeasurable sentient beings who went to the region between two rivers: south of the Ganges and north of the Yamuna—a tributary of the Ganges that joins it at Prayaga—where there stood a luxuriant and flourishing sacred tree called Nigrodha, verdant and spreading cool shade over broad, level ground. They made this place their ritual ground and erected three iron spears beneath the tree. Those beings who wished to be reborn in heaven first practiced giving at that place, then shaved off their beards and hair and entered the river to bathe, hoping to cleanse themselves of the defilements of sin.

Afterward they climbed the tree and plunged headfirst onto the spearpoints, killing themselves. After their deaths, it was said that they had been reborn in heaven. Thus, from beginningless time until now, their wandering through samsara has never ceased.
There were also sentient beings who studied my false teachings and were habitually miserly, refusing to give. When they saw others practicing giving, they became angry; when they saw someone receiving a gift, they likewise became enraged. Why was this? Because they believed that when there is a giver and a recipient, both fall into hell through the karmic conditions created thereby. Because they held such a view, they have suffered as hungry ghosts for immeasurable kalpas and have not yet escaped.
There were also sentient beings who accepted my false teachings and slaughtered many cattle and sheep, using their blood as sacrifices to heaven. Why was this? They believed: “These cattle and sheep were bestowed upon us by heaven; when we consume their flesh and blood, we are making an offering to heaven.” From beginningless time, they accepted and practiced this teaching. After death they fell into the evil destinies, where they maimed, devoured, and consumed one another. Because of their delusion, they could not realize nirvana.
There were also sentient beings who accepted my false teachings and constantly slandered the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. There were also sentient beings who accepted my false teachings and did not believe in the causes and effects of good and evil throughout the three times. They said that there is no giving and no offering, that there are no resulting fruits, that there is no Dharma that protects beings and dispels demons, that there are neither good deeds nor evil deeds, and that karma has no fruit.

They said that there is neither this life nor another life; that there are no hell beings, hungry ghosts, or animals; that there are no gods or humans and no fathers or mothers. They claimed that all sentient beings are like intoxicating liquor: a brewer prepares glutinous rice, regulating warmth and coolness until it becomes fine liquor, and whoever drinks it immediately becomes intoxicated. Was this liquor produced by a father and mother?

Sentient beings, they said, are the same: through the union of a father and mother, driven by former passionate attachment, this body of mine came to be. After I die, I shall never live again, just as when a tree has been cut down and burned, it becomes charcoal and ashes. How could these ashes have come from the tree?

This body of mine is likewise: once dead, it will never live again. Therefore, one may know with certainty that cause and effect do not exist. Because of this, they showed no reverence toward their parents or teachers and elders, but instead reviled them.

For immeasurable kalpas I continued teaching these false doctrines, causing sentient beings to fall into hell.
Some adherents of heterodox paths burn their bodies with fire; some submerge themselves in water and drown; some roll upon sharp spears until they die; and some practice the discipline of dogs, eating excrement in hopes of being reborn in a heavenly realm. Some practice the discipline of cattle: traveling as cattle do, drinking water and eating grass, wearing nothing to cover their bodies, and failing to distinguish the six classes of kinship, they engage recklessly in sexual misconduct.

Some adherents of heterodox paths fast without eating, standing throughout the entire day and eating only after the following night. Some scorch their bodies with the five kinds of heat and turn to follow the sun. Some stand with one leg raised high.

Some worship the moon: during the waxing fortnight, they eat one morsel on the first day, two morsels on the second, and so forth until, at the full moon, they eat fifteen morsels. During the waning fortnight, on the first day they reduce their food by one morsel, on the second by two morsels, and so forth until, at the end of the dark fortnight, they eat only one morsel or sometimes nothing at all. Some observe the discipline of chickens, scattering food upon the ground and scratching it out with their feet before picking it up to eat, and crying out when the appointed time arrives.

Some go naked, knowing no shame. Some burn their hair; at midday they stand beneath the open sky and move with the sun, while in bitterly cold weather they stand in the shade and fan themselves. Some, after killing a person, use the skull as a vessel for food and drink.

Some go naked without shame and smear their bodies with ashes. Some smear their bodies with black charcoal. Some string the joints of skull bones together to make rosaries, garlands, rings, and bracelets with which to adorn their bodies.

Some weave clothing from horses’ tails and manes; some make clothing from tree bark; some make clothing from vulture feathers; and some make clothing from chicken feathers.
Adherents of heterodox paths such as these teach sentient beings false doctrines.
Because of my verbal karma, innumerable sentient beings remain ignorant and obscured even to this day and have not attained liberation. Moreover, from beginningless time until now, through bodily evil deeds I have tormented sentient beings. As a jailer, I seized their tongues with iron pincers and poured boiling molten copper into them.

I also smashed their bones with iron pestles and sawed sentient beings apart with iron saws. At times I drove sentient beings into forests of swords, tore out their intestines and five viscera, and ate them. At times I tightly bound sentient beings with iron cords and cast them into rivers of ashes, then dragged them out again and placed them upon blazing trees, like fish being tossed back and forth in a pan.

At times I forced them to stand or sit and scooped at them with red-hot iron ladles. At times I poured boiling molten copper into their mouths and compelled them to drink it. At times I used iron pincers to pull out the tongues of sentient beings, stretching them long and broad, and then plowed over them with iron plowshares, just like the torments of hell described above.
Throughout beginningless kalpas, I have been involved in deeds such as these… With each bodily action I tormented sentient beings. I also became lions, tigers, leopards, jackals, wolves, bears, and other beasts, eating flesh, drinking blood, and maiming sentient beings.

Or, occupying honored positions as kings and officials, or living as commoners, elders, householders, and others, I perverted the law to exact taxes, beat people without cause, disobeyed the king’s laws, and harmed sentient beings. Therefore, I reflect: From beginningless time until now, I have continually afflicted sentient beings throughout the five destinies—beheading them, gouging out their eyes, slicing off their ears, cutting off their noses, severing their tongues, eating their flesh, splitting their bones to extract the marrow, and cutting off their hands and feet until they died.

Or, when born as a human being, one became a butcher, hunted animals, caught fish, and spread nets to take the lives of sentient beings such as oxen, goats, deer, antelopes, foxes, rabbits, chickens, pigs, fish, soft-shelled turtles, and tortoises… cutting their bodies into pieces and piling them together for sale. In this way, one killed and traded in innumerable sentient beings throughout immeasurable koti kalpas.
“O Maitreya! A great bodhisattva who cultivates the Mahayana should give rise to this resolve and contemplate thus: ‘Because of greed, anger, and delusion, I have created many evil karmas through body, speech, and mind, deceiving and harming all sentient beings, who are now falling into the hells, the realm of hungry ghosts, and the animal realm, where they undergo manifold sufferings. I am now ashamed and remorseful, and I reproach myself: how can I repay the debt of gratitude I owe them?

Reflecting in this way, I see no other means of repaying this transgression. I can only resolve wholeheartedly to seek unsurpassed bodhi, for otherwise I could never fully repay my old debts. After attaining unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment, I shall deliver the sentient beings who dwell in this desolate wilderness of samsara and bring them to the peaceful and blissful city of nirvana.

With the wish-fulfilling jewel of omniscient wisdom, I shall repay the profound debts incurred since beginningless time.’
“Maitreya, you should know: this is the third resolve of a great bodhisattva—the resolve of non-retrogression.
“With the first two resolves, one strives diligently in cultivation without indolence. With the third resolve, one cultivates single-mindedly and realizes the stage of non-retrogression.
“O Maitreya! By cultivating the Mahayana through these five kinds of resolve, one swiftly accomplishes omniscient wisdom.”