大方廣佛華嚴經

19. CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE PALACE OF THE YAMA HEAVEN

(First Part of the Chinese Edition, Fascicle 19)

At that time, through the spiritual power of the Buddha, throughout the worlds of the ten directions, in Jambudvipa and upon the summit of Mount Sumeru, the Tathagata was seen seated amid the assembly. The bodhisattvas, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring spiritual might, expounded the wondrous Dharma. Every being believed that the Buddha was always present before them.

Then the Blessed One, without leaving the Bodhi tree or the summit of Mount Sumeru, proceeded to the Jeweled Adornment Palace in the Palace of the Yama Heaven.

When the Yama Heaven King saw the Buddha approaching from afar, he immediately used his spiritual power to conjure, in the midst of the palace, a lion throne of jeweled lotus repositories with a million tiers. A million golden nets, a million floral canopies, a million garland canopies, a million incense canopies, and a million jeweled canopies were spread above the jeweled throne. Floral parasols, garland parasols, incense parasols, and jeweled parasols, each numbering a million, were arrayed on all four sides, shining with a million rays of light.

A million Yama Heaven Kings reverently bowed their heads in homage; a million Brahma Kings rejoiced with delight; a million bodhisattvas extolled and praised; a million musical ensembles played in harmony; and a million Dharma sounds resounded without cease.

A million kinds of flower clouds, a million kinds of garland clouds, a million adornments, a million kinds of garment clouds, and a million kinds of radiant mani clouds encircled the throne. They arose from a million roots of goodness, were protected and sustained by a million Buddhas, were increased by a million kinds of merit and virtue, were purified and adorned by a million profound resolves and a million vows, were brought forth by a million meritorious practices, were established through a million Dharmas, and were manifested through a million spiritual powers. They constantly emitted a million voices revealing all Dharmas.

After arranging the jeweled throne, the Yama Heaven King went forth to welcome the Blessed One. With palms joined reverently, he addressed the Buddha, saying: “Excellent, O Sugata! Excellent, O Tathagata, Worthy One, Supremely and Perfectly Enlightened One! Out of compassion, please dwell within this palace.”

The Buddha accepted the invitation and immediately ascended the jeweled throne. In all the Yama Heaven palaces throughout the worlds of the ten directions, the same occurred.

The Heaven King then recollected the roots of goodness he had cultivated in the presence of Buddhas of the past and, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, spoke these verses:

Renowned Tathagata, known throughout the ten directions,

Supreme among all auspicious ones,

The Buddha once entered this mani palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Jewel King Tathagata, lamp of the world,

Supreme among all auspicious ones,

The Buddha once entered this pure palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Joyful-Eyed Tathagata, whose vision is unobstructed,

Supreme among all auspicious ones,

The Buddha once entered this adorned palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Burning Lamp Tathagata, illuminator of the world,

Supreme among all auspicious ones,

The Buddha once entered this stainless palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Well-Enlightened Tathagata, who has no teacher,

Supreme among all auspicious ones,

The Buddha once entered this jeweled incense palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Heavenly Victory Tathagata, lamp within the world,

Supreme among all auspicious ones,

The Buddha once entered this wondrous incense palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Nondeparting Tathagata, foremost in eloquence,

Supreme among all auspicious ones,

The Buddha once entered this universal-eye palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Unsurpassed Tathagata, replete with merit and virtue,

Supreme among all auspicious ones,

The Buddha once entered this well-adorned palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Ascetic-Practice Tathagata, benefactor of the world,

Supreme among all auspicious ones,

The Buddha once entered this universally adorned palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Throughout the worlds of the ten directions, all the Yama Heaven Kings praised the Buddha’s merit and virtue in this same way.

When the Blessed One entered the mani palace and sat cross-legged upon the jeweled lion throne, the palace suddenly became as vast and spacious as all the dwelling places of the heavenly multitudes combined. The same occurred throughout the worlds of the ten directions.

20. CHAPTER TWENTY: VERSES OF PRAISE IN THE YAMA PALACE

(Middle Part of the Chinese Edition, Fascicle 19)

At that time, through the spiritual power of the Buddha, from each of the ten directions came a great bodhisattva, each accompanied by as many bodhisattvas as there are dust motes in a Buddha-land. They came from worlds beyond lands as numerous as the dust motes in one hundred thousand Buddha-lands.

The names of those ten bodhisattvas were:

Bodhisattva Forest of Merit and Virtue, Bodhisattva Forest of Wisdom, Bodhisattva Forest of Victory, Bodhisattva Forest of Fearlessness, Bodhisattva Forest of Shame and Remorse, Bodhisattva Forest of Vigor, Bodhisattva Forest of Power, Bodhisattva Forest of Practice, Bodhisattva Forest of Enlightenment, and Bodhisattva Forest of Knowledge.

The lands from which they came, respectively, were:

World of Wisdom of the Body, World of Banner Wisdom, World of Jewel Wisdom, World of Supreme Wisdom, World of Lamp Wisdom, World of Vajra Wisdom, World of Blissful Wisdom, World of Sun Wisdom, World of Pure Wisdom, and World of Brahma Wisdom.

The Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, in those worlds, respectively, were:

Buddha Eternally Abiding Eye, Buddha Unsurpassed Eye, Buddha Unattached Eye, Buddha Immovable Eye, Buddha Heavenly Eye, Buddha Eye of Liberation, Buddha Eye of Careful Discernment, Buddha Eye of Luminous Marks, Buddha Supreme Eye, and Buddha Eye of Serene Purity.

These bodhisattvas approached the jeweled throne and bowed their heads in homage to the Buddha. Then each went in the direction from which he had come, separately manifested a lion throne of lotus repositories, and sat cross-legged upon it.

The same occurred in all the Yama heavens throughout the worlds of the ten directions. The bodhisattvas, lands, and Tathagatas also bore the same names and titles as those given above.

Then, from the soles of his two feet, the Blessed One emitted hundreds of thousands of kotis of beautifully colored rays of light, illuminating throughout the worlds of the ten directions. All places of enlightenment, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas were fully revealed.

At that time, Bodhisattva Forest of Merit and Virtue, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses:

The Buddha emits great radiance,

Illuminating everywhere throughout the ten directions;

All behold the Honored One of Devas and Humans,

Who penetrates all things without obstruction.

The Buddha sits within the Palace of Yama,

Pervading all lands in the ten directions;

This occurrence is exceedingly wondrous,

Most rare within the world.

The Heaven King of the Yama Heaven

Praises the ten Tathagatas;

As seen within this assembly,

So it is in every assembly.

Those assemblies of bodhisattvas

Bear the same names as we do;

In every place throughout the ten directions,

They expound the unsurpassed Dharma.

Their native lands

Likewise bear names no different from ours;

Each, before the Buddha of his own land,

Purely cultivates the Brahma conduct.

Those Tathagatas

Likewise all bear the same names;

Their lands are all prosperous and joyful,

And their spiritual powers are freely mastered.

All the assemblies in the ten directions

Behold the Buddha present here;

Some see him in the human realm,

While others see him in heavenly palaces.

The Tathagata dwells universally

Throughout all lands;

We now behold the Buddha

Here within this heavenly palace.

Long ago, he made the resolve for bodhi

To reach universally the lands of the ten directions;

Therefore, the Buddha’s awe-inspiring power

Pervades everywhere, inconceivable.

Free from worldly craving,

Replete with boundless virtues,

He therefore attained the power of spiritual penetrations,

And all beings can behold him.

He journeys throughout the lands of the ten directions,

Unobstructed like empty space;

One body is immeasurable bodies,

Yet the characteristics of his body cannot be apprehended.

The Buddha’s merit and virtue are boundless;

How could they ever be fathomed or known?

Neither abiding nor departing,

He enters universally throughout the Dharma realm.

Bodhisattva Forest of Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses:

The guiding teacher of the world,

The unsurpassed one free from defilement—

Even throughout inconceivable kalpas,

It is difficult to encounter the Buddha.

The Buddha emits great radiance,

Which all the world universally beholds;

For the multitudes, he extensively expounds and reveals the Dharma,

Benefiting all living beings.

The Tathagata appears in the world

To dispel the darkness of delusion;

He is the brilliant lamp of the world,

Rare and difficult to behold.

Having cultivated giving, morality, and patience,

Vigor and meditative concentration,

And the prajnaparamita,

He uses these to illuminate the world.

The Tathagata has no equal

None can be found to compare with Him.

Those who do not understand the true Dharma

Cannot behold the Buddha.

The Buddha’s body and spiritual powers

Are sovereign and inconceivable;

Neither going nor coming,

He teaches the Dharma to liberate sentient beings.

Whoever sees or hears

The pure Guiding Teacher

Forever escapes the evil destinies

And leaves all suffering far behind.

Though throughout immeasurable, countless kalpas

One cultivates the practices of bodhi,

If one cannot understand this meaning,

One cannot attain Buddhahood.

Though for inconceivable kalpas

One makes offerings to immeasurable Buddhas,

If one can understand this meaning,

One’s merit surpasses that former merit.

Though one offers precious treasures to the Buddhas,

Filling immeasurable lands,

If one does not understand this meaning,

One will never attain bodhi.

At that time, Bodhisattva Supreme Forest, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses:

As in the height of summer,

When the sky is clear, without cloud or haze,

The sun sends forth its radiance,

Illuminating all ten directions.

Its light is without measure;

No one can fathom it.

This is so even for those with keen sight—

How much more so for the blind.

All Buddhas are likewise:

Their merit has no boundary;

Even throughout inconceivable kalpas,

It cannot be discerned or known.

Dharmas come from no place,

Nor do they arise from anywhere;

They cannot be discriminatively known.

No dharma ever arrives;

Therefore, none arises.

Since there is no arising,

There is likewise no cessation.

All dharmas are unborn;

All dharmas are unceasing.

Whoever knows this as it is—

That person beholds the Buddha.

Because dharmas are unborn,

They have no intrinsic nature.

Whoever discernibly knows this

Penetrates the profound meaning.

Since dharmas have no nature,

They cannot be apprehended.

Understanding dharmas in this way,

Ultimately there is nothing understood.

Arising is spoken of

Because various lands appear;

One who knows the nature of lands

Will not be deluded in mind.

The nature of the lands of the world

Is contemplated entirely as it truly is.

Whoever understands this

Can skillfully expound every meaning.

Bodhisattva Fearless Forest, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses:

The Tathagata’s body is vast,

Extending throughout the Dharma-realm;

Without leaving this jeweled throne,

It pervades every place.

Whoever hears this Dharma

And reverently believes and delights in it

Forever leaves the three evil destinies

And all suffering and calamity.

Suppose there were someone

Who traveled through immeasurable worlds,

Single-mindedly wishing to hear

Of the Buddha’s sovereign powers.

Such Buddha-Dharma

Is unsurpassed bodhi;

Even if one wished to hear it but briefly,

No one could obtain the opportunity.

Whoever in times past

Believed in such Buddha-Dharma

Has already become the Honored One Perfect in Both Wisdom and Merit,

A radiant lamp for the world.

Whoever shall hear

Of the Buddha’s sovereign powers

And, having heard, gives rise to faith—

That person shall become a Buddha.

If anyone at present

Can believe this Buddha-Dharma,

That person too shall attain perfect awakening

And teach the Dharma with fearlessness.

Throughout immeasurable, countless kalpas,

This Dharma is exceedingly difficult to encounter.

If someone is able to hear it,

It is through the power of former vows.

Whoever can receive and uphold

Such Buddha-Dharma,

And, having upheld it, expounds it far and wide—

That person shall become a Buddha.

How much more so one who strives diligently,

Whose resolve is steadfast and never abandoned;

Know that such a person

Will certainly attain bodhi.

At that time, Bodhisattva Forest of Conscience and Shame, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses:

Whoever is able to hear

This rare and sovereign Dharma

And gives rise to a joyful heart

Quickly dispels the net of delusion.

The One Who Sees and Knows All

Himself spoke these words:

“There is nothing the Buddha does not know;

Therefore, He is inconceivable.”

Wisdom does not arise

From ignorance;

The world is ever shrouded in darkness,

Therefore wisdom cannot arise from it.

Just as form and the formless

Are not one and the same,

So too are wisdom and ignorance:

Their essences are entirely distinct.

Just as characteristics and the absence of characteristics,

Samsara and nirvana,

Are discerned as wholly different,

So too are wisdom and ignorance.

When a world has just come into being,

It bears no mark of decay;

Wisdom and ignorance are likewise:

The two do not occur simultaneously.

Just as a bodhisattva’s initial resolve

Does not coexist with the subsequent resolve,

Wisdom and ignorance are likewise:

The two states of mind do not occur simultaneously.

Just as the various bodies of consciousness

Are each distinct and do not combine,

Wisdom and ignorance are likewise:

Ultimately, they do not combine.

Just as agada medicine

Can eliminate every poison,

One who possesses wisdom is likewise

Able to eliminate ignorance.

None is above the Tathagata,

Nor is anyone equal to Him;

Nothing can compare with Him—

Therefore, He is difficult to encounter.

Bodhisattva Forest of Diligent Vigor, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses:

Dharmas are without differentiation,

Yet no one can know this;

Only Buddhas together with Buddhas know it,

For their wisdom is ultimate.

Just as gold and its golden color

Are not different in nature,

So too are Dharma and non-Dharma,

Sentient beings and non-sentient beings;

Neither of the two is truly real.

Thus, within the nature of all dharmas,

No real meaning can be found.

Just as in the future

None of the characteristics yet exist.

Just as the characteristics of arising and cessation

Are all unreal,

So too are all dharmas:

Their intrinsic nature has never existed.

Nirvana cannot be grasped;

Time is spoken of as twofold.

All dharmas are likewise,

Appearing different through discrimination.

Just as, depending upon what is counted,

There comes to be that which counts,

Though its nature has never existed—

Thus should one understand dharmas.

Just as in the science of numbers,

One is added until immeasurability is reached,

The act of counting has no intrinsic nature;

Distinctions arise only through cognition.

Just as the various worlds

Are destroyed by the kalpa fire,

Yet space is never damaged,

The Buddha’s wisdom is likewise.

Just as sentient beings throughout the ten directions

All conceive characteristics of space,

So too do worldly beings

Delusively discriminate the Buddhas.

At that time, Bodhisattva Forest of Power, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses:

The entire realm of sentient beings

Abides within the three times;

All sentient beings of the three times

Abide within the five skandhas.

Karma is the root of the skandhas;

Mind is the root of all karma.

That mind is like an illusion;

The world is likewise.

The world is not made by itself,

Nor is it made by something else;

Yet it comes into being

And also comes to decay.

Although the world comes into being,

Although the world comes to decay,

One who fully understands the world

Should not speak of these as two things.

What is the world?

What is not the world?

World and non-world

Are merely different names!

The three times and the five skandhas

Are conventionally called the world;

Their cessation is called the non-world—

Thus these are merely provisional names.

What are called the skandhas?

What nature do the skandhas possess?

The nature of the skandhas cannot be extinguished;

Therefore, it is said to be unborn.

When these skandhas are discerned,

Their nature is originally empty and quiescent.

Because they are empty, they cannot cease:

This is the meaning of the unborn.

Sentient beings are thus;

All Buddhas are likewise.

Buddhas and all Buddha-Dharmas

Have no intrinsic nature.

One who knows these dharmas

As they truly are, without inversion,

Beholds the One Who Sees and Knows All

Ever present before oneself.

Bodhisattva Forest of Practice, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses:

Just as, throughout the lands of the ten directions,

All elements of earth

Are intrinsically nonexistent,

Yet there is nowhere they do not pervade.

The Buddha’s body is likewise,

Pervading all worlds;

Its various forms and characteristics

Neither abide nor arrive anywhere.

Only because of various karmas

Is the name “sentient being” spoken;

Yet apart from sentient beings,

No karma can be found.

The nature of karma is originally empty and quiescent;

It is that upon which sentient beings depend.

Universally producing various forms and appearances,

It nevertheless arrives nowhere.

Such forms and appearances

Arise through the inconceivable power of karma.

When their fundamental source is fully understood,

Nothing is seen within.

The Buddha’s body is likewise

Inconceivable;

Its various forms and characteristics

Appear throughout the lands of the ten directions.

The body is not the Buddha,

Nor is the Buddha the body;

He takes Dharma alone as His body,

Penetrating all dharmas.

Whoever beholds the Buddha’s body

As pure as the nature of Dharma

Will have no doubt or delusion

Concerning any Buddha-Dharma.

Whoever sees that all dharmas

Are in their original nature like nirvana

Thereby beholds the Tathagata,

Ultimately abiding nowhere.

If one cultivates right mindfulness,

Clearly beholding perfect enlightenment,

Without characteristics, without discrimination,

This one is called a Prince of the Dharma King.

At that time, Bodhisattva Awakening Grove, relying upon the Buddha’s awesome power, contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses:

Just as a painter

Distributes various colors,

Falsely apprehending diverse appearances,

Though the great elements do not differ.

Within the great elements there is no form;

Within form there are no great elements;

Yet apart from the great elements

No color can be found.

Within the mind there is no painting;

Within the painting there is no mind;

Yet without departing from the mind,

No painting can be found.

That mind never abides;

Measureless and inconceivable,

It manifests all forms,

Each unaware of all the others.

Just as a painter

Cannot know his own mind,

Yet through the mind creates paintings,

So too is the nature of all dharmas.

The mind is like a painter,

Able to paint the various worlds;

The five skandhas arise from the mind—

There is no dharma it does not create.

As is the mind, so too is the Buddha;

As is the Buddha, so too are sentient beings.

One should know that Buddha and mind

Are both inexhaustible in their essential nature.

If one knows the workings of the mind

And universally reveals them to all worlds,

That person then beholds the Buddha

And understands the Buddha’s true nature.

The mind does not abide in the body;

The body does not abide in the mind;

Yet they can perform the work of the Buddha

With unprecedented mastery.

If one wishes to understand clearly

All Buddhas of the three times,

One should contemplate the nature of the Dharma-realm:

Everything is created by mind alone.

Bodhisattva Wisdom Grove, relying upon the Buddha’s awesome power, contemplated the ten directions and spoke these verses:

What is apprehended cannot be grasped;

What is seen cannot be beheld;

What is heard cannot be heard;

The single mind is inconceivable.

The measurable and the immeasurable—

Neither can be grasped.

If anyone should wish to grasp them,

Ultimately they cannot be attained.

To speak of what should not be spoken

Is to deceive oneself;

One’s own undertaking will not succeed,

Nor will it cause beings to rejoice.

Should someone wish to praise

The Buddha’s boundless, wondrously formed body,

Even throughout innumerable kalpas,

It could never be fully described.

Just as a wish-fulfilling jewel

Can manifest every color,

Though itself colorless, it displays colors;

The Buddhas are likewise.

Again, just as pure empty space

Is not form and cannot be seen,

Though all forms appear within it,

No one beholds empty space.

The Buddhas are likewise:

They universally manifest measureless forms,

Yet are not objects of the mind,

And cannot be seen by anyone.

Though one hears the Tathagata’s voice,

The sound itself is not the Buddha;

Yet neither apart from that sound

Can one know the Perfectly Enlightened One.

Bodhi neither comes nor goes

And is free from every discrimination;

How, then, could anyone therein

Claim to have beheld it?

The Buddhas possess no dharma;

Where, then, could the Buddha have spoken?

Beings merely follow their own minds

And suppose that the Buddha teaches the Dharma.

21. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THE TEN PRACTICES

(Latter Part of the Chinese Edition, From Fascicle 19 Through the End of Fascicle 20)

At that time, through the Buddha’s spiritual power, Bodhisattva Merit Grove entered the bodhisattva samadhi of wholesome contemplation. After he entered this samadhi, in each of the ten directions, beyond worlds as numerous as the dust motes in ten thousand Buddha-lands, Buddhas as numerous as the dust motes in ten thousand Buddha-lands, all bearing the name Merit Grove, appeared before Bodhisattva Merit Grove and said to him:

“Excellent, Disciple of the Buddha! You are able to enter this samadhi of wholesome contemplation! Tathagatas in each of the ten directions, as numerous as the dust motes in ten thousand Buddha-lands and all sharing the same name, together bestow their empowering aid upon you.

It is also through the power of the vows and spiritual might of Buddha Vairocana, and through the power of the wholesome roots of all bodhisattvas, that you have been enabled to enter this samadhi and expound the Dharma: to increase the Buddha’s wisdom; to enter deeply into the Dharma-realm; to understand the realm of sentient beings; to enter without obstruction; to practice without hindrance; to attain measureless skillful means; to embrace the nature of omniscience; to awaken to all dharmas; to know every faculty and disposition; and to be able to receive, retain, explain, and teach all dharmas.

That is, you are to bring forth the ten practices of the bodhisattva.

“Disciple of the Buddha! Relying upon the Buddha’s awesome power, you should expound the Dharma of these ten practices.”

After exhorting him, the Buddhas immediately bestowed upon Bodhisattva Merit Grove unobstructed wisdom, unattached wisdom, uninterrupted wisdom, teacherless wisdom, wisdom free from delusion, non-discriminating wisdom, unerring wisdom, measureless wisdom, unsurpassed wisdom, wisdom free from indolence, and inalienable wisdom.

Why was this? Because such is the efficacious power of this samadhi.

All the Buddhas extended their right hands and stroked the crown of Bodhisattva Merit Grove’s head.

Bodhisattva Merit Grove then emerged from samadhi and said to the bodhisattvas:

“Disciples of the Buddha! The practices of bodhisattvas are inconceivable. Those practices are equal in extent to the Dharma-realm and the realm of empty space, for bodhisattvas cultivate them by learning from the Buddhas of the three times.

“What are the practices of bodhisattvas?

“Disciples of the Buddha! Mahabodhisattvas have ten practices, proclaimed by all Buddhas of the three times:

“The first is the Practice of Joy; the second is the Practice of Benefiting; the third is the Practice of Nonopposition; the fourth is the Practice of Indomitability; the fifth is the Practice Free from Delusion and Confusion; the sixth is the Practice of Skillful Manifestation; the seventh is the Practice of Nonattachment; the eighth is the Practice Difficult to Attain; the ninth is the Practice of Wholesome Dharmas; and the tenth is the Practice of Truth.

“What is the bodhisattva’s Practice of Joy?

“This bodhisattva is a great donor. Whatever he possesses, he can give it all away. His mind remains impartial, without the slightest regret. He does not expect reward, seek fame, or covet profit. He acts solely to rescue and protect all sentient beings; to gather in sentient beings; to benefit sentient beings; to study the original practices of the Buddhas; to remember the original practices of the Buddhas; to cherish the original practices of the Buddhas; to purify the original practices of the Buddhas; to increase the original practices of the Buddhas; to maintain the original practices of the Buddhas; to reveal the original practices of the Buddhas; to expound the original practices of the Buddhas; and to enable sentient beings to escape suffering and attain happiness.

“When a mahabodhisattva cultivates this practice, he causes all sentient beings to rejoice and delight. Wherever there is a place or realm afflicted by poverty and deprivation, the bodhisattva, through the power of his vows, is born there into a noble and wealthy household possessing inexhaustible riches. Suppose that in every thought measureless sentient beings came before the bodhisattva and, because of hunger and thirst, begged for flesh from his body to eat.

The bodhisattva would immediately cut flesh from his own body and respectfully offer it to them, satisfying their hearts and causing them to rejoice. He would never become frightened or refuse them, but would only further increase his mind of impartial loving-kindness. Thus, sentient beings would all come to make requests of him.

Seeing them come to beg, the bodhisattva would rejoice all the more, thinking: ‘I have gained a great benefit. These sentient beings are my fields of merit and my spiritual friends. Without my seeking or inviting them, they have come to teach me how to enter the Buddha-Dharma.

I should cultivate, study, and practice in this way, never acting contrary to the wishes of sentient beings.’

“The bodhisattva further thinks: ‘May all the wholesome roots that I have cultivated, will cultivate, am able to cultivate, or am now cultivating cause me to receive an immense body in every world, so that I may provide flesh from my body to all sentient beings suffering from hunger. May this flesh remain forever and be cut away without exhaustion. So long as even one sentient being has not yet been satisfied, I vow not to relinquish my life.

Through these wholesome roots, may I attain unsurpassed bodhi and realize great nirvana. May all sentient beings who have eaten my flesh likewise attain unsurpassed bodhi, attain the wisdom of equality, perfect all Buddha-dharmas, extensively perform the work of the Buddhas, and ultimately enter nirvana without remainder. If even one sentient being remains unsatisfied at heart, I shall never attain unsurpassed bodhi.’ He benefits sentient beings through bodhi in this way, yet entertains no perception of a self, perception of a sentient being, perception of existence, perception of a living being, perception of various kinds, perception of a pudgala, perception of a person, perception of a manava, perception of an agent, or perception of an experiencer.

He contemplates only the boundlessness of the Dharma-realm and the realm of sentient beings; he contemplates the dharma of emptiness, the dharma of nonexistence, the dharma without characteristics, the dharma without substance, the dharma without location, the dharma without reliance, and the dharma without action.”

While contemplating in this way, he sees neither his own body, nor the object given, nor the recipient, nor the field of merit, nor karma, nor retribution, nor fruit, nor great fruit, nor small fruit.

At that time, the bodhisattva contemplates the bodies of all beings throughout the three times and sees that they all immediately decay and perish. He thinks: “How strange that ignorant beings, devoid of wisdom, undergo countless frail bodies in samsara without a moment’s respite. They swiftly proceed toward destruction; whether their bodies have already perished, are now perishing, or will perish, they are unable to use an impermanent body to seek an enduring body.

“I must learn what all Buddhas have learned, so that I may realize all-knowledge and know all dharmas. Then, for the sake of beings, I shall expound the equality of the three times, in accord with the quiescent and indestructible nature of dharmas, enabling them forever to attain peace, security, and happiness.”

This is called the bodhisattva’s first practice, the Practice of Joy.

Disciples of the Buddha! What is the bodhisattva’s Practice of Benefiting Beings?

This bodhisattva safeguards pure precepts, his mind remaining unattached to sights, sounds, fragrances, tastes, and tactile objects. He also teaches beings this nonattachment. He seeks neither power and influence, nor noble lineage, nor wealth, nor physical beauty, nor royal sovereignty; he is attached to none of these. He only steadfastly upholds the pure precepts. He thinks: “By upholding the pure precepts, I shall certainly abandon all entanglements and bonds, craving and seeking, afflictive torment, oppressive hardships, slander, confusion, and defilement, and shall attain the impartial true Dharma praised by the Buddha.”

While the bodhisattva thus upholds the pure precepts, suppose that in a single day countless great evil maras were to bring countless celestial maidens of unsurpassed beauty, magnificently adorned, dancing, making music, and playing auspicious instruments, intending to bewilder and disturb this bodhisattva’s resolve upon the path. The bodhisattva would immediately reflect: “These objects of the five desires obstruct the path and even obstruct unsurpassed bodhi.” Therefore, the bodhisattva does not give rise to even a single thought of sensual desire, and his mind is as pure as that of a Buddha. The sole exception is when he employs skillful means to teach and transform beings, yet even then he never departs from the mind of all-knowledge.

The bodhisattva would never, for the sake of the five desires, harm or afflict even a single being. He would rather relinquish his own life than ever cause distress to beings.

From the time the bodhisattva first beheld a Buddha until the present, he has never entertained even a single thought of sensual desire, much less acted upon one.

The bodhisattva constantly thinks: “Beings continually dwell upon the five desires, incline toward the five desires, and crave and cling to the five desires. Their minds are certain to become intoxicated and submerged in them, and consequently they wander on in cyclic existence without freedom.

“Now I must enable these maras and celestial maidens to abide in the pure precepts, never regress from all-knowledge, attain unsurpassed bodhi, and ultimately enter nirvana without remainder. This is what I must practice. I must learn from the Buddha, abandon evil conduct, attachment to self, and delusion, and enter all Buddhadharmas through wisdom.

I shall expound the Dharma to beings and enable them to eliminate their inverted views. Yet I know that apart from beings there are no inverted views, and apart from inverted views there are no beings; beings do not exist within inverted views, nor do inverted views exist within beings. Inverted views are not beings, nor are beings inverted views.

Inverted views are neither internal nor external dharmas, and beings likewise are neither internal nor external dharmas. All dharmas are false and unreal, swiftly arising and swiftly ceasing, without stability, like dreams, illusions, shadows, and echoes—deceptions that beguile the foolish.

“Understanding this, one immediately awakens to all conditioned dharmas, thoroughly comprehends samsara and nirvana, realizes the Buddha’s bodhi, crosses over oneself and enables others to cross over, crosses over oneself and enables others to cross over, liberates oneself and enables others to be liberated, disciplines oneself and enables others to be disciplined, attains quiescence and enables others to attain quiescence, secures peace for oneself and enables others to be secure in peace, frees oneself from defilement and enables others to be free from defilement, purifies oneself and enables others to be purified, enters nirvana oneself and enables others to enter nirvana, attains happiness oneself and enables others to attain happiness.”

This bodhisattva further thinks: “I must accord with all Tathagatas, leave behind all worldly conduct, perfect all Buddhadharmas, abide in unsurpassed equality, regard all beings equally, fully comprehend the faultless realm, end discrimination, relinquish attachment, skillfully attain liberation, and keep my mind constantly established in the profound wisdom that is unsurpassed, inexpressible, unsupported, unmoving, immeasurable, boundless, inexhaustible, and formless.”

This is called the bodhisattva’s second practice, the Practice of Benefiting Beings.

What is the bodhisattva’s Practice Free from Opposition?

This bodhisattva constantly cultivates the Dharma of patience: he is humble and respectful, harms neither himself nor others nor both himself and others, clings neither to himself nor to others nor to both, and does not crave fame or material gain.

He thinks only: “I must constantly expound the Dharma to beings, enabling them to abandon all evil, end their afflictions, and remain always patient, gentle, and harmonious.”

Having perfected the Dharma of patience in this way, suppose countless evil beings were to approach the bodhisattva, revile, taunt, and curse him with countless abusive words, while simultaneously striking and slashing him with knives and clubs for countless kalpas without ceasing. Subjected to such extreme torment and on the verge of death, the bodhisattva would think: “If, because of this suffering and humiliation, my mind becomes disturbed, then I have failed to discipline myself, guard myself, illuminate myself, cultivate myself, establish myself in right concentration, bring myself to quiescence, or cherish myself, and have instead produced attachment. How then could I cause the minds of others to become pure?”

At that time, the bodhisattva further thinks: “Throughout beginningless kalpas I have remained in samsara and undergone manifold sufferings and afflictions.”

Having reflected in this way, he encourages himself all the more, causing his mind to become pure and joyful. He skillfully disciplines and gathers himself, and is able to establish himself within the Buddhadharma while also enabling beings to attain this Dharma. He further reflects: “This body is empty and quiescent, devoid of self and possessions of self, unreal, its nature empty and nondual.

In it there is neither suffering nor pleasure, because all dharmas are empty. I must clearly understand this and explain it extensively to others, enabling beings to eliminate these views. Therefore, although I now undergo suffering and humiliation, I must patiently endure them: out of compassion for beings, to benefit beings, to bring happiness to beings, to embrace and guide beings, not to abandon beings, to awaken myself and enable others to awaken, and so that my resolve to advance toward the Buddha-path may never regress.”

This is the bodhisattva’s third practice, the Practice Free from Opposition.

Disciples of the Buddha! What is the bodhisattva’s Indomitable Practice?

This bodhisattva cultivates the practice of diligence: foremost diligence, great diligence, excellent diligence, distinguished diligence, supreme diligence, most wondrous diligence, superior diligence, unsurpassed diligence, unequaled diligence, and universally pervasive diligence.

His nature is free from greed, anger, and delusion; his nature is free from arrogance, concealment, stinginess, jealousy, flattery, and deceit; and by nature he possesses shame and moral dread. He never strives diligently in order to afflict sentient beings, but strives diligently only to extinguish all afflictions; strives diligently only to uproot the roots of affliction; strives diligently only to know all realms of sentient beings; strives diligently only to know how all sentient beings die here and are born elsewhere; strives diligently only to know the afflictions of all sentient beings; strives diligently only to know the spheres of all sentient beings; strives diligently only to know the superior and inferior faculties of all sentient beings;

strives diligently only to know the mental activities of all sentient beings; strives diligently only to know the entire Dharma-realm; strives diligently only to know the fundamental nature of all Buddha-Dharmas; strives diligently only to know the nature of equality of all Buddha-Dharmas; strives diligently only to know the equal nature of the three times; strives diligently only to attain the luminous wisdom of all Buddha-Dharmas; strives diligently only to realize the wisdom of all Buddha-Dharmas; strives diligently only to know the one true characteristic of all Buddha-Dharmas; strives diligently only to know the boundlessness of all Buddha-Dharmas; strives diligently only to attain the vast, decisive, skillful wisdom of all Buddha-Dharmas;

and strives diligently only to attain the wisdom that expounds the phrases and meanings of all Buddha-Dharmas.

Having fully accomplished such a practice of diligence, the bodhisattva is able, for each sentient being in innumerable worlds, to endure suffering in the Avici hell for innumerable kalpas, so that those sentient beings may encounter a Buddha, enjoy happiness, and ultimately attain nirvana without remainder; only afterward will he realize unsurpassed bodhi.

Suppose someone were to say: “There are immeasurable and innumerable great oceans. You must dip the tip of a hair into them, removing them drop by drop until they are dry; and you must grind immeasurable and innumerable worlds into dust, clearly counting the number of those drops and particles. For the sake of sentient beings, throughout as many kalpas as there are drops and particles, you must endure suffering without cease.”

Even upon hearing these words, the bodhisattva would never entertain a single thought of retreat or fear. Instead, he would become all the more joyful and delighted: “How fortunate I am to have gained this great benefit! Through my strength, those immeasurable sentient beings will be forever delivered from suffering.”

This bodhisattva employs skillful means throughout all worlds, enabling all sentient beings ultimately to attain nirvana without remainder.

This is called the bodhisattva’s fourth practice, the Practice of Indomitable Perseverance.

What is the bodhisattva’s Practice Free from Deluded Confusion?

Disciples of the Buddha! This bodhisattva perfects right mindfulness. His mind is undistracted, steadfast, unmoving, supreme, pure, vast, immeasurable, and free from delusion.

Because of this right mindfulness, he skillfully understands all languages of the world and can retain the verbal teachings concerning supramundane dharmas. Thus, he can retain the verbal teachings concerning form dharmas and non-form dharmas; he can retain the verbal teachings establishing the intrinsic nature of form, and so forth, up to and including the verbal teachings concerning the intrinsic nature of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, while his mind remains free from deluded confusion.

As he dies here and is born elsewhere in the world, his mind is free from deluded confusion. When entering and emerging from the womb, his mind is free from deluded confusion. When arousing the mind of bodhi, his mind is free from deluded confusion. When attending spiritual teachers, his mind is free from deluded confusion. When diligently cultivating the Buddha-Dharma, his mind is free from deluded confusion. When clearly discerning the deeds of Mara, his mind is free from deluded confusion. When abandoning the works of Mara, his mind is free from deluded confusion. While cultivating bodhisattva practices for ineffable kalpas, his mind is free from deluded confusion.

This bodhisattva perfects immeasurable right mindfulness such as this. Throughout immeasurable and innumerable kalpas, he hears the true Dharma from Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and spiritual teachers: profound Dharma, vast Dharma, Dharma of adornment, Dharma of manifold adornments, Dharma expounding the various bodies of names, phrases, and syllables, Dharma of the bodhisattvas’ adornments, Dharma of the unsurpassed spiritual powers and radiance of the Buddhas, Dharma of pure and correct supreme understanding, Dharma that is unattached to all worlds, Dharma that distinguishes all worlds, exceedingly vast Dharma, Dharma that dispels delusion and clearly illuminates all sentient beings, Dharma shared in common with all worlds, Dharma not shared in common with all worlds,

Dharma of the bodhisattvas’ unsurpassed wisdom, and Dharma of mastery in omniscience.

Having heard such Dharmas, the bodhisattva does not forget or lose them throughout innumerable kalpas. His mind constantly recollects them without interruption.

Why is this? Because throughout immeasurable kalpas of practice, the bodhisattva never disturbs or confuses even a single sentient being, causing that being to lose right mindfulness; he never damages the true Dharma or severs roots of goodness, and his mind continually increases in vast wisdom.

Furthermore, no kind of sound can delude or confuse this bodhisattva: sounds raised high through spiritual powers, coarse and turbid sounds, sounds that terrify people, pleasing sounds, displeasing sounds, sounds that disturb auditory consciousness, or sounds that obstruct the faculty of hearing.

Although this bodhisattva hears immeasurable and innumerable sounds such as these, both agreeable and disagreeable, he never entertains a single distracted thought. That is, his right mindfulness is not confused, his sphere of cognition is not confused, his samadhi is not confused, his entry into the profound Dharma is not confused, his practice of the conduct of bodhi is not confused, his arousal of the mind of bodhi is not confused, his recollection of the Buddhas is not confused, his contemplation of the true Dharma is not confused, his wisdom for teaching and delivering sentient beings is not confused, his wisdom for purifying sentient beings is not confused, and his decisive understanding of profound meanings is not confused.

Because he commits no evil karma, he has no obstruction of evil karma. Because he gives rise to no afflictions, he has no obstruction of afflictions. Because he does not treat the Dharma with contempt, he has no obstruction concerning the Dharma.

Because he does not slander the true Dharma, he has no obstruction of retribution.

This bodhisattva enters right concentration and abides in the Dharma of accomplishment. He reflects upon and observes all sounds, skillfully knowing the characteristics of their arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing, and skillfully knowing the nature of their arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing. Upon hearing sounds, this bodhisattva gives rise neither to greed nor anger and does not lose right mindfulness. He skillfully apprehends their characteristics without becoming attached to them, knowing that all sounds have no existent locus, are truly unobtainable, have no creator, and have no primal beginning; they are identical with the Dharma-realm and do not differ from it.

This bodhisattva perfects such tranquil conduct of body, speech, and mind and proceeds directly toward omniscience without retreating. He skillfully enters all gateways of meditative concentration, knows that all samadhis have the same essential nature, comprehends that all dharmas are boundless, attains true wisdom concerning all dharmas, attains the profound samadhi free from sound, attains innumerable gateways of samadhi, and increases the immeasurable mind of great equality.

Then, within a single thought, this bodhisattva attains innumerable hundreds of thousands of samadhis. Upon hearing such sounds, his mind is neither deluded nor confused, and his samadhis gradually become ever more expansive.

This bodhisattva thinks: “I must cause all sentient beings to abide in unsurpassed pure mindfulness, attain ultimate non-retrogression in omniscience, and completely accomplish nirvana without remainder.”

This is called the bodhisattva’s fifth practice, the Practice Free from Deluded Confusion.

What is the bodhisattva’s Practice of Skillful Manifestation?

The bodhisattva’s three modes of karma—body, speech, and mind—are all pure, and both his abiding and his manifestations are unobtainable. He knows that the three modes of karma are all nonexistent. Because they are not false, there is no bondage.

Whatever he manifests is without intrinsic nature and without dependence. He abides with a mind accordant with reality, knows the intrinsic nature of immeasurable states of mind, and knows the intrinsic nature of all dharmas. Unobtainable and signless, this is extremely profound and difficult to enter.

He abides in the right position of suchness, the Dharma-nature. Though skillful means arise, there is no karmic retribution. Neither arising nor ceasing, he abides in the realm of nirvana, abides in the nature of quiescence, and abides in the true nature that is without intrinsic nature.

The path of language is cut off; he transcends all worlds and has no dependence. He enters the Dharma free from discrimination and without bondage or attachment; enters the true Dharma of supreme wisdom; and enters the supramundane Dharma that the world cannot comprehend.

This is the skillful means by which this bodhisattva manifests the appearance of birth.

This bodhisattva reflects: All sentient beings take non-nature as their nature; all dharmas take the unconditioned as their nature; all lands take signlessness as their nature; all three periods of time exist only through verbal designation; all verbal designations have no basis in any dharma; and all dharmas likewise have no basis in verbal designation.

Thus, this bodhisattva understands that all dharmas are exceedingly profound, that all worlds are utterly quiescent, and that nothing can be added to the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma is not different from worldly dharmas, and worldly dharmas are not different from the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma and worldly dharmas are neither confused nor distinct from one another. The bodhisattva clearly knows that the essential nature of the Dharma-realm is equal and impartial, universally enters the three periods of time, and never abandons the mind of great bodhi. The bodhisattva never retreats from the resolve to teach and transform sentient beings, continually increases the mind of great, impartial loving-kindness, and becomes a refuge and support for all sentient beings.

The bodhisattva then further reflects: If I do not bring sentient beings to maturity, who will bring them to maturity? If I do not tame sentient beings, who will tame them? If I do not teach and transform sentient beings, who will teach and transform them? If I do not awaken sentient beings, who will awaken them? If I do not purify sentient beings, who will purify them? These are the things that I ought to practice.

This bodhisattva further reflects: If I alone understand this exceedingly profound Dharma, then only I will attain liberation and realize unsurpassed bodhi, while sentient beings, blind and benighted, will fall into a path of great peril, bound by afflictions like gravely ill people who constantly endure suffering and pain. Imprisoned by craving and attachment, they cannot free themselves; they cannot escape the realms of hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, or King Yama; they cannot extinguish suffering or abandon evil karma.

They constantly dwell in delusion and darkness, unable to see reality. Revolving through birth and death, they cannot escape. They remain amid the eight difficulties, stained by defilements; afflictions obscure their minds, and wrong views prevent them from practicing the right path.

Having contemplated these sentient beings, this bodhisattva reflects: If these sentient beings have not yet matured and have not yet been tamed, it would be improper for me to abandon them and realize unsurpassed bodhi. First, throughout ineffable, ineffable kalpas, I shall teach sentient beings and practice the bodhisattva conduct. Those who have not yet matured, I shall first bring to maturity; those who have not yet been tamed, I shall first tame.

While this bodhisattva abides in the conduct described above, if any among the devas, Maras, Brahmas, sramanas, brahmins, all beings of the world, gandharvas, asuras, and others should see this bodhisattva, dwell together with the bodhisattva even briefly, honor and make offerings to the bodhisattva, or merely hear the bodhisattva's teaching once and bear it in mind, their encounter will never have been in vain; they will certainly attain unsurpassed bodhi.

This is called the bodhisattva’s sixth practice, the Practice of Skillful Manifestation.