Mahāyāna — Northern Canon · Linh Sơn Vietnamese Mahāyāna Canon

大方廣佛華嚴經

Chinese title:大方廣佛華嚴經

📖4,762 words · ~19 min read

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🪷 AI interpretation

36. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: THE PRACTICE OF SAMANTABHADRA

(Complete Chinese Canon, Volume 49)

The great bodhisattva Samantabhadra again addressed the assembly of bodhisattvas:

Children of the Buddhas! As previously stated, what has been taught is only a brief account of a small portion of the Tathagata’s realm, given according to the capacities and needs of sentient beings.

Why is this?

The Buddha-Bhagavats appear in the world for ignorant sentient beings who commit evil, cling to self and what belongs to self, attach themselves to the body, are deluded, confused, and doubtful, discriminate through wrong views, remain bound by fetters, follow the stream of birth and death, and are far removed from the Tathagata’s path.

Children of the Buddhas! I see no fault as grave as a bodhisattva giving rise to anger toward another bodhisattva. Why? Because when a bodhisattva becomes angry with another bodhisattva, he immediately brings to fulfillment a million gateways of obstruction.

What are these million gateways of obstruction?

They are: obstruction to seeing bodhi; obstruction to hearing the true Dharma; obstruction causing birth in an impure world; obstruction causing birth in an evil destiny; obstruction causing birth amid adversities; obstruction of frequent illness; obstruction of being frequently slandered; obstruction causing birth among the stubborn and dull; obstruction that destroys right mindfulness; obstruction that diminishes wisdom; obstruction of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; obstruction by evil spiritual guides; obstruction by evil companions; obstruction of delighting in cultivation of the Lesser Vehicle; obstruction of delighting in intimacy with ignorant ordinary people; obstruction of lacking joyful faith in persons of great spiritual power;

obstruction of delighting to dwell with those who have abandoned right view; obstruction causing birth in a non-Buddhist household; obstruction of dwelling in Māra’s realm; obstruction of departing from the Buddha’s teaching; obstruction of not seeing good friends; obstruction placing wholesome roots in peril; obstruction increasing unwholesome qualities; obstruction causing birth in an inferior station; obstruction causing birth in a borderland; obstruction causing birth in an evil household; obstruction causing birth among evil spirits, evil nāgas, evil yakṣas, evil gandharvas, evil asuras, evil garuḍas, evil kiṃnaras, evil mahoragas, and evil rākṣasas; obstruction of taking no delight in the Buddhadharma; obstruction of delighting in childish pursuits;

obstruction of delighting in the Lesser Vehicle; obstruction of taking no pleasure in the Great Vehicle; obstruction of a habitually fearful nature; obstruction of a mind constantly afflicted by sorrow; obstruction of delighting in birth and death; obstruction of not devoting oneself to the Buddhadharma; obstruction of taking no delight in seeing or hearing the Buddha’s sovereign spiritual powers; obstruction of not obtaining the faculties of a bodhisattva; obstruction of not practicing a bodhisattva’s pure conduct; obstruction of losing a bodhisattva’s profound resolve; obstruction of not producing a bodhisattva’s great vows; obstruction of not generating the aspiration for omniscience; obstruction of laziness regarding bodhisattva practices;

obstruction of being unable to purify all karma; obstruction of being unable to gather vast merit; obstruction preventing the power of wisdom from becoming keen and luminous; obstruction severing vast wisdom; obstruction of not preserving bodhisattva practices; obstruction of delighting in disparaging the teachings of omniscience; obstruction of becoming separated from the bodhi of all Buddhas; obstruction of delighting to remain in Māra’s realm; obstruction of not devotedly cultivating the Buddha’s realm; obstruction of not resolutely making a bodhisattva’s vast vows; obstruction of taking no delight in dwelling with bodhisattvas; obstruction of not seeking a bodhisattva’s wholesome roots; obstruction of a nature filled with doubt; obstruction of a mind constantly darkened by ignorance;

obstruction of refusing to relinquish because one cannot practice a bodhisattva’s impartial giving; obstruction of breaking precepts because one cannot maintain the Buddha’s precepts; obstruction of producing delusion, affliction, anger, and hatred because one cannot enter the gateway of patient endurance; obstruction of producing laziness because one cannot practice a bodhisattva’s great vigor; obstruction of producing distraction because one cannot attain samādhis; obstruction of producing evil wisdom because one does not cultivate prajnaparamita; obstruction of lacking skill regarding what is and is not possible; obstruction of lacking skillful means in liberating sentient beings; obstruction of being unable to contemplate through bodhisattva wisdom;

obstruction of being unable to understand a bodhisattva’s Dharma of liberation; obstruction of having eyes like one born blind because one has not perfected a bodhisattva’s ten vast kinds of eyes; obstruction of having a mouth like a mute sheep because one’s ears do not hear the unobstructed Dharma; obstruction of an impaired faculty of smell because one lacks the excellent marks; obstruction concerning the tongue because one cannot clearly discern the speech of sentient beings; obstruction concerning the body because one despises sentient beings; obstruction concerning the mind because the mind is often deranged and confused; obstruction concerning bodily karma because one does not maintain the three kinds of discipline;

obstruction concerning verbal karma because one constantly commits the four verbal faults; obstruction concerning mental karma because of abundant greed, anger, and wrong views; obstruction of seeking the Dharma with the mind of a thief; obstruction severing the bodhisattva’s realm; obstruction of becoming timid and retreating amid the courageous Dharma of bodhisattvas; obstruction of becoming indolent on the bodhisattva’s path of liberation; obstruction of giving up at the gateway of the radiant wisdom of bodhisattvas; obstruction of becoming weak in the bodhisattva’s power of mindfulness; obstruction of being unable to uphold the Tathagata’s teaching; obstruction of being unable to approach the bodhisattva’s path transcending birth;

obstruction of being unable to cultivate the unfailing bodhisattva path; obstruction of conforming to the fixed stages of the Two Vehicles; and obstruction of becoming separated from the lineage of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times.

Children of the Buddhas! If a bodhisattva gives rise to a single thought of anger toward another bodhisattva, he brings to fulfillment such a million gateways of obstruction. I see no evil fault as grave as a bodhisattva becoming angry with another bodhisattva. Therefore, great bodhisattvas who wish quickly to perfect bodhisattva practice must diligently cultivate ten dharmas:

First, never abandon any sentient being.

Second, regard all bodhisattvas as Buddhas.

Third, never slander any Buddhadharma.

Fourth, know that all lands are inexhaustible.

Fifth, possess profound joyful faith in bodhisattva practices.

Sixth, never abandon the mind of bodhi, which is equal to space and the dharma-dhatu.

Seventh, contemplate bodhi and enter the Tathagata’s powers.

Eighth, diligently cultivate unobstructed eloquence.

Ninth, teach and transform sentient beings without weariness.

Tenth, dwell in all worlds without a mind of defiled attachment.

Children of the Buddhas! Having abided in these ten dharmas, a great bodhisattva can perfect ten kinds of purity:

First, the purity of penetrating the exceedingly profound Dharma.

Second, the purity of drawing near good spiritual friends.

Third, the purity of preserving the Dharma of all Buddhas.

Fourth, the purity of comprehending the realm of space.

Fifth, the purity of deeply entering the dharma-dhatu.

Sixth, the purity of contemplating the boundless mind.

Seventh, the purity of sharing wholesome roots with bodhisattvas.

Eighth, the purity of not attaching to any kalpa.

Ninth, the purity of contemplating the three times.

Tenth, the purity of cultivating all Buddhadharmas.

Children of the Buddhas! Having abided in these ten dharmas, a great bodhisattva perfects ten kinds of vast wisdom:

First, wisdom knowing every mental activity of sentient beings.

Second, wisdom knowing every karmic retribution of sentient beings.

Third, wisdom knowing all Buddhadharmas.

Fourth, wisdom knowing the profound and esoteric purport of all Buddhadharmas.

Fifth, wisdom knowing all dhāraṇī gateways.

Sixth, wisdom knowing all scripts and forms of eloquence.

Seventh, wisdom knowing the languages, sounds, expressions, eloquence, and skillful means of all sentient beings.

Eighth, wisdom manifesting one’s body throughout all worlds.

Ninth, wisdom manifesting one’s image throughout all assemblies and places of enlightenment.

Tenth, wisdom fully possessing omniscience in every place of birth.

Children of the Buddhas! Having abided in these ten wisdoms, a great bodhisattva attains ten kinds of universal interpenetration:

First, all worlds enter one pore, and one pore enters all worlds.

Second, all bodies of sentient beings enter one body, and one body enters all bodies of sentient beings.

Third, all kalpas enter one thought, and one thought enters all kalpas.

Fourth, all Buddhadharmas enter one dharma, and one dharma enters all Buddhadharmas.

Fifth, ineffable places enter one place, and one place enters ineffable places.

Sixth, ineffable faculties enter one faculty, and one faculty enters ineffable faculties.

Seventh, all faculties enter non-faculty, and non-faculty enters all faculties.

Eighth, all perceptions enter one perception, and one perception enters all perceptions.

Ninth, all sounds of speech enter one sound of speech, and one sound of speech enters all sounds of speech.

Tenth, all three times enter one time, and one time enters all three times.

Children of the Buddhas! Having contemplated in this manner, a great bodhisattva abides in ten sublime minds:

First, the sublime mind abiding in all languages and non-languages of every world.

Second, the sublime mind abiding in all thoughts of sentient beings without dependence.

Third, the sublime mind abiding at the ultimate extent of space.

Fourth, the sublime mind abiding in the boundless dharma-dhatu.

Fifth, the sublime mind abiding in the profundity and mystery of all Buddhadharmas.

Sixth, the sublime mind abiding in the exceedingly profound and undifferentiated Dharma.

Seventh, the sublime mind abiding in the elimination of every doubt and delusion.

Eighth, the sublime mind abiding in the equality and non-differentiation of all times.

Ninth, the sublime mind abiding in the equality of all Buddhas of the three times.

Tenth, the sublime mind abiding in the immeasurable powers of all Buddhas.

Children of the Buddhas! Having abided in these ten sublime minds, a great bodhisattva attains ten kinds of skillful wisdom concerning the Buddhadharma:

First, skillful wisdom that comprehends and gives rise to the exceedingly profound and vast Buddhadharma.

Second, skillful wisdom that expounds the many kinds of Buddhadharma.

Third, skillful wisdom that realizes and enters the equality of the Buddhadharma.

Fourth, skillful wisdom that clearly understands the distinctions within the Buddhadharma.

Fifth, skillful wisdom that awakens to and understands the non-differentiation of the Buddhadharma.

Sixth, skillful wisdom that deeply enters the adornments of the Buddhadharma.

Seventh, skillful wisdom that enters the Buddhadharma through one skillful means.

Eighth, skillful wisdom that enters the Buddhadharma through immeasurable skillful means.

Ninth, skillful wisdom that knows the boundless and undifferentiated Buddhadharma.

Tenth, skillful wisdom that, through the power of one’s own mind, never retreats from any Buddhadharma.

Children of the Buddhas! Having heard this Dharma, great bodhisattvas should respectfully accept and uphold it. By accepting and upholding this Dharma, with little effort they quickly attain unsurpassed complete and perfect enlightenment, fully acquire all Buddhadharmas, and become equal to the Buddhadharma of the three times.

Then, through the Buddha’s spiritual power and because the Dharma is thus, in each of the ten directions worlds as numerous as the dust motes in ten ineffable hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of Buddha-lands quaked in six ways. Clouds rained down every flower surpassing those of the devas, as well as clouds of incense, powdered incense, garments, canopies, banners, pennants, maṇi jewels, and every kind of adornment.

There rained clouds of music, clouds of bodhisattvas, clouds of ineffable forms and characteristics of the Tathagata, and clouds of ineffable praises proclaiming, “Excellent!” There also rained clouds of the Tathagata’s voice filling the entire dharma-dhatu, clouds of ineffable world-adornments, clouds of ineffable growth in bodhi, clouds of ineffable radiant light, and clouds of ineffable spiritual powers of teaching the Dharma.

Just as in this world the Tathagata was seen attaining complete and perfect enlightenment at the bodhi seat beneath the bodhi tree, within the bodhisattva palace, and expounding this Dharma, so too was it in every world throughout the ten directions.

Then, through the Buddha’s spiritual power and because the Dharma is thus, from beyond worlds in every direction as numerous as the dust motes in ten ineffable Buddha-lands, great bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes in ten Buddha-lands came to this realm. Filling all ten directions, they said in unison:

“Excellent! Excellent! The Buddha’s child Samantabhadra is able to teach the profound Dharma of the Tathagata’s extremely great vows and predictions.

“Buddha’s child! We are all named Samantabhadra. We have come to this realm from Universal Excellence World, from the presence of the Tathagata Universal Banner Sovereign. Through the Buddha’s spiritual power, we expound this Dharma everywhere. In every place it is entirely equal to what has been taught in this assembly, without addition or diminution.

“We have all come to this place of enlightenment, borne by the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, to bear witness for you, Buddha’s child.

“Just as great bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes in ten Buddha-lands have come to this place of enlightenment to bear witness, so too is it in all worlds throughout the ten directions.”

Then the great bodhisattva Samantabhadra, through the Buddha’s spiritual power and the power of his own wholesome roots, contemplated the ten directions to the utmost extent of the dharma-dhatu. Wishing to reveal bodhisattva practices, proclaim the Tathagata’s realm of bodhi, describe the realm of great vows and the numbers of kalpas in all worlds, explain how Buddhas appear in the world according to the needs of each time, explain how the Tathagata appears according to the ripened faculties of sentient beings so that they may make offerings, show that the Tathagata’s appearance in the world is never fruitless, show that wholesome roots once planted certainly bear fruit,

and explain how bodhisattvas of great spiritual power manifest forms and teach the Dharma for the awakening of all sentient beings, he spoke these verses:

Children of the Buddhas, be joyful;Cast away all coverings and obstructions.Single-mindedly and reverently hearThe practices and vows of bodhisattvas.

The bodhisattvas of ancient times,Supreme lions among humankind—How they cultivated their practicesI shall now relate in due order.

I shall also speak of the numbers of kalpas,Of worlds and their various karmas,And how the Unequaled OnesAppeared within those worlds.

How the Buddhas of the pastAppeared through their great vows,And how, for the sake of sentient beings,They extinguished every suffering and affliction.

All the Lions of Discourse,Having successively fulfilled their cultivation,Attained the Buddhas’ Dharma of equality,The realm of omniscience.

Seeing all the Lions among HumansThroughout worlds of the pastCasting forth a vast net of lightThat universally illumined the ten directions,

They reflected and made this vow:“I shall become a Lamp of the World,Perfectly endowed with the Buddha’s virtues,The ten powers and omniscience.

“All sentient beings are deeply burdenedBy greed, anger, and delusion.I shall liberate them allAnd end the suffering of evil paths.”

Having made vows such as these,Firm and irreversible,They perfected bodhisattva practicesAnd attained ten unobstructed powers.

Having made such vows,They cultivated without fear or retreat.None of their deeds was fruitless;Thus were they called Lions of Discourse.

Within a single Auspicious Kalpa,A thousand Buddhas appear in the world.The universal vision of those BuddhasI shall describe successively.

As in one Auspicious Kalpa,So it is throughout immeasurable kalpas.The deeds of future BuddhasI shall distinctly explain.

As with one lineage of Buddha-lands,So it is throughout immeasurable lands.The practices of the future Ten-Powered OnesI shall now proclaim.

Buddhas appear one after another,According to their vows and names,According to their predictions,And according to their spans of life.

According to the true Dharma they cultivated,They single-mindedly sought the unobstructed path;According to the beings to be liberated,The true Dharma abided in the world.

According to the purified Buddha-lands,The sentient beings and wheels of Dharma,They taught at proper and improper times,Successively liberating multitudes.

According to sentient beings’ karma,Their deeds, faith, and understanding—Superior, middling, or inferior—They liberated and led them to cultivate.

Entering wisdom such as this,They cultivated supreme practices,Constantly performed Samantabhadra’s deeds,And vastly liberated all beings.

Their bodily karma was unobstructed,Their verbal karma entirely pure,Their mental conduct was likewise pure;Thus it was throughout the three times.

Bodhisattvas cultivating in this wayPerfect the path of Samantabhadra,Produce pure wisdom,And illumine the entire dharma-dhatu.

The kalpas of future ages,And ineffable lands,They clearly know in a single thought,Without making distinctions therein.

Practitioners able to enterSuch a supreme stage—Of these bodhisattva dharmasI shall speak but a small part.

With wisdom boundless and limitless,They penetrate the Buddha’s realm,Skillfully enter everything,And never retreat from their deeds.

Perfecting Samantabhadra’s wisdom,Fulfilling Samantabhadra’s vows,And entering unequaled wisdom,I shall proclaim their practices.

Within a single mote of dustThey see every world.Should any sentient being hear this,The confused may doubt and lose their minds.

As it is within one mote of dust,So it is within every mote:All worlds enter therein,In such an inconceivable manner.

Within each mote are foundThe dharmas of the ten directions and three times;Their lands and species are all immeasurable,Yet all can be distinctly known.

Within every mote there areImmeasurable Buddha-lands;Their kinds are all immeasurable,Yet all are known within one mote.

Every various and diverse characteristicExisting throughout the dharma-dhatu,And all the differences among species,They can distinguish and clearly know.

Deeply entering subtle wisdom,They distinguish all worlds;The formation and destruction of every kalpaThey can clearly explain.

Knowing kalpas long and short,They see the three times as one thought;Practices alike and unlikeThey can distinctly understand.

They deeply enter all worlds,Whether vast or not vast:One body in immeasurable lands,Immeasurable bodies in one land.

All the diverse kinds of worldsExisting throughout the ten directions,With their vast and immeasurable characteristics,They know in their entirety.

Throughout all three times,In immeasurable lands,Possessing exceedingly profound wisdom,They know their formation and decay.

Worlds throughout the ten directionsMay form or may be destroyed;Though they are thus ineffable,The worthy know them all profoundly.

Some lands are adornedWith many kinds of ground;Their species too are ornamented—This comes from purified karma.

Some worlds containImmeasurable kinds of defilement;These arise through sentient beings,Everything corresponding precisely to karma.

Immeasurable and boundless landsAre clearly known as a single land;Entering all such lands,Their number cannot be known.

All worlds enterWithin a single land;Yet the worlds do not become one,Nor are they confused together.

Worlds may face upward or downward,May be high or may be low;All arise from sentient beings’ perceptions,And all can be distinctly known.

Vast worlds,Immeasurable and boundless—They know the many as oneAnd know the one as many.

All children of SamantabhadraEmploy Samantabhadra’s wisdomTo know clearly the number of lands,A number without boundary.

They know worlds to be like magical creations:Lands are magical, beings are magical,Dharmas and Buddhas are magical;All are ultimately so.

All worlds,Subtle lands and vast lands,With their many wondrous adornments,Are all produced by karma.

Immeasurable children of the Buddhas,Well trained in entering the dharma-dhatu,With sovereign spiritual powers,Pervade the entire ten directions.

Even through kalpas equal to the number of beings,Were one to speak the names of those lands,They could never all be exhausted,Unless revealed by the Buddha.

The differences among the namesOf worlds and Tathagatas,Though told throughout immeasurable kalpas,Could never be exhausted.

How much less could supreme wisdom,The Buddhadharmas of the three times,Born from the dharma-dhatuAnd filling the Tathagata’s ground, be exhausted?

With pure and unobstructed mindfulness,With boundless, unobstructed wisdom,They distinctly proclaim the dharma-dhatuAnd reach the further shore.

Worlds of the past,Vast or subtle,And the adornments cultivated therein,They know within a single thought.

The Lions among HumansCultivated the practices of Buddhas,Attained complete and perfect enlightenment,And displayed every sovereignty.

Likewise, throughout future ages,Through immeasurable successive kalpas,However many Tathagatas there will be,Bodhisattvas know them all.

However many practices and vows,However many realms,Cultivated diligently in such ways,Wherein they attain perfect enlightenment;

They also know those assemblies,Their life spans, and transformed beings,And how, through these Dharma gateways,They turn the Dharma wheel for all.

Bodhisattvas who know in this wayAbide in Samantabhadra’s practices;Their wisdom is entirely clearAnd gives rise to all Buddhas.

All Buddha-landsExisting in the present age—They deeply enter these landsAnd penetrate the dharma-dhatu.

All present BuddhasWithin those worldsPossess sovereignty over the DharmaAnd unobstructed discourse.

They also know those assemblies,The power of pure lands and responsive transformations;Throughout immeasurable kotis of kalpasThey constantly contemplate these matters.

All the awesome spiritual powersOf the World-Honored Guides,Their inexhaustible treasury of wisdom—All are completely known.

They produce unobstructed eyes,Unobstructed ears, nose, and body,And a broad, long, unobstructed tongueThat can cause beings to rejoice.

Their supreme mind is unobstructed,Vast, universal, and pure;Their wisdom universally pervadesAnd knows all dharmas of the three times.

They master every transformation:Transformation of lands and beings,Transformation of worlds and discipline,Ultimately reaching transformation’s further shore.

The differences within the worldAll abide through perception;Entering the Buddhas’ wisdom of skillful means,They clearly know them all.

Before ineffable assemblies,They manifest a body for each,Causing all to behold the TathagataAnd liberating boundless multitudes.

The wisdom of all Buddhas is exceedingly profound,Like the sun appearing,Manifesting everywhere without cessationThroughout all lands.

They comprehend that all worldsAre mere provisional names without reality;Sentient beings and worldsAre like dreams and reflections of light.

Regarding all worldly dharmas,They do not produce discriminating attachment;Those who skillfully transcend discriminationDo not even perceive discrimination.

Immeasurable, innumerable kalpasThey understand as a single thought;Knowing that thought itself is no-thought,Thus they behold the world.

Immeasurable landsThey transcend in a single thought;They pass through immeasurable kalpasWithout moving from their original place.

Ineffable kalpasAre but the space of an instant;They perceive neither long nor short,Ultimately realizing the dharma of the kṣaṇa.

The mind abides in the world,And the world abides in the mind;Here they do not falsely discriminateBetween duality and non-duality.

Sentient beings, worlds, and kalpas,Buddhas and Buddhadharmas—All are like magical illusions;The dharma-dhatu is wholly equal.

Throughout lands in the ten directionsThey display immeasurable bodies;Knowing that bodies arise from conditions,They ultimately cling to nothing.

Relying upon nondual wisdom,Lions among Humans appear;They do not attach to nondual dharmas,Knowing neither two nor not-two.

They understand all worldsAs mirages and reflections,As echoes and dreams,As illusions and transformations.

Entering in accord with thisThe sphere of conduct of all Buddhas,They perfect Samantabhadra’s wisdomAnd illumine the profound dharma-dhatu.

Attachment to beings, lands, and defilements—All of it they abandon;Yet they produce the mind of great compassionAnd purify every world.

Bodhisattvas constantly and rightly recollectThe sublime Dharma of the Lions of Discourse;Pure as empty space,They employ great skillful means.

Seeing the world confused and inverted,They aspire to liberate everyone;All their conduct is pureAnd pervades every world.

Buddhas and bodhisattvas,Buddhadharmas and worldly dharmas—When their true nature is seen,None of them differ.

The Tathagata-garbha, the Dharma-body,Universally enters the world;Though present within the world,It is unstained by worldly dharmas.

Just as in clear waterReflections neither come nor go,So too should one understandThe Dharma-body pervading the world.

Thus transcending defiled attachment,Body and world are both purified,Quiescent like empty space,And altogether unborn.

Knowing the body to be inexhaustible,Neither born nor destroyed,Neither permanent nor impermanent,They manifest throughout all worlds.

They eliminate every wrong viewAnd reveal right view;The Dharma-nature neither comes nor goes,And they cling neither to self nor what belongs to self.

Like an illusionistMagically displaying various things:Those things come from nowhere,And when gone, return nowhere.

The nature of illusion is not measurable,Nor is it immeasurable;Within the great assemblyIt manifests measure and immeasurability.

With this quiescent and concentrated mind,They cultivate wholesome roots,Giving rise to all Buddhas—Neither measurable nor immeasurable.

Measure and immeasurabilityAre wholly false conceptions;Comprehending every kind of being,They attach to neither measure nor immeasurability.

The Buddha’s exceedingly profound DharmaIs vast and utterly quiescent;With immeasurable, profound wisdom,They know the profundity of all beings.

Bodhisattvas transcend confusion and inversion;Their pure minds continue without interruption.Skillfully employing spiritual powers,They liberate immeasurable sentient beings.

Those not yet secure they make secure;Those secure they guide to the place of enlightenment.Though universally pervading the dharma-dhatu,Their minds attach nowhere.

They do not abide in the limit of reality,Nor enter nirvana;Thus they universally traverse the world,Awakening all multitudes.

They clearly know the number of dharmasAnd the number of sentient beings, yet do not cling;They universally rain the rain of Dharma,Moistening and filling the entire world.

Throughout all worlds,In every thought they attain perfect enlightenment,Yet cultivate bodhisattva practicesWithout ever retreating.

Every kind of body in the worldThey clearly know in its entirety;Knowing the Dharma-body in this way,They attain the bodies of all Buddhas.

They universally know all sentient beings,All kalpas and all lands;The ten directions have no boundary,Yet all enter their ocean of wisdom.

The bodies of sentient beings are immeasurable;For their sake they manifest bodies.The bodies of Buddhas are immeasurable,And the wise behold them all.

Within a single thought they clearly knowThe appearance of all Tathagatas;Though praised throughout immeasurable kalpas,It could never be exhausted.

All Buddhas manifest bodiesAnd enter nirvana in place after place;Within one thought, immeasurableAnd diverse śarīras appear.

In future ages,Whoever seeks the fruit of Buddhahood—Their immeasurable bodhi-mindsAre all known by decisive wisdom.

However many Tathagatas there areThroughout the three times,To know them allIs called abiding in Samantabhadra’s practice.

Thus distinctly knowingImmeasurable stages of practice,They enter the abode of wisdom,And never retreat from that Dharma.

Subtle, vast wisdomDeeply enters the Tathagata’s realm;Having entered, it never retreats—This is called Samantabhadra’s wisdom.

All Supreme OnesUniversally enter the Buddha’s realm;Cultivating without retreat,They attain unsurpassed bodhi.

Minds are immeasurable and boundless,And their karmas are all diverse;All are gathered through perception and wisdom,And all are equally and clearly known.

Defiled and undefiled minds,Minds of trainees and those beyond training,Ineffable kinds of mind—They know each in every thought.

They clearly know them as neither one nor two,Neither defiled nor pure,And likewise not confused together;All arise from mental perception.

Thus they clearly beholdAll sentient beings:Their mental perceptions are all differentAnd produce every kind of world.

Through such skillful means,They cultivate supreme practices,Are transformation-born from the Buddhadharma,And are called Samantabhadra.

Sentient beings falsely producePerceptions good, evil, and of every kind;Through these they may be born among devasOr fall into the hells.

Bodhisattvas contemplate the worldAs born from karma and false conception;Because false conceptions are boundless,Worlds too are immeasurable.

All landsAppear through the net of false conception;By the net of illusory skillful means,They enter them all in a single thought.

Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body,And the mental faculty likewise—All differing perceptions in the worldThey can equally enter.

Within every realm of the eye,Immeasurable eyes enter;Their diverse kinds and naturesAre immeasurable and ineffable.

What they see is without differentiation,Yet is not confused together;Each accords with its own karmaAnd experiences its corresponding result.

Samantabhadra’s power is immeasurableAnd knows all of these;Every realm of the eyeGreat wisdom can enter.

All such worldsThey can distinctly know;Yet while cultivating every practice,They never retreat.

The speech of Buddhas, the speech of beings,And even the speech of lands;All speech throughout the three timesThey completely understand.

The future within the past,The present within the future—The three times behold one another,And each is entirely clear.

Through immeasurable ways such as these,They awaken all worlds;The boundary of the skillful means of omniscienceCan never be found.

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Translation source: Linh Sơn Pháp Bảo Đại Tạng KinhLicense: Linh Sơn Pháp Bảo Đại Tạng Kinh (Việt dịch) · nguồn: rongmotamhon.net (Liên Phật Hội) · EN: AI translation from Vietnamese source, awaiting source English

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