分別功德論

The first established verse states: “The Venerable Kasyapa reflected upon the foundation of the true Dharma” (Kasyapa reflects upon the foundation of the true Dharma): This means that he reflected upon the exceedingly vast body of teachings in the sutras and Dharma. How may this be known? The Venerable Kasyapa used comparisons to clarify its extent.

The series of comparisons begins with ten donkeys, saying: The strength of ten donkeys does not equal the strength of one ordinary camel. The strength of ten ordinary camels does not equal the strength of one ordinary elephant. The strength of ten ordinary elephants does not equal the strength of one Slender-Footed elephant.

The strength of ten Slender-Footed elephants does not equal the strength of one Food-Guiding elephant. The strength of ten Food-Guiding elephants does not equal the strength of one Lotus elephant. The strength of ten Lotus elephants does not equal the strength of one Blue-Lotus elephant.

The strength of ten Blue-Lotus elephants does not equal the strength of one Red-Lotus elephant. The strength of ten Red-Lotus elephants does not equal the strength of one White-Lotus elephant. The strength of ten White-Lotus elephants does not equal the strength of one Snow-Mountain elephant.

The strength of ten Snow-Mountain elephants does not equal the strength of one Fragrant Elephant. From the donkey through the Fragrant Elephant constitutes one part. Eighty-four thousand such Fragrant Elephants serve as a comparison for the outer and inner portions of the scriptures.

The full number of these Fragrant Elephants serves as a comparison for the matters that the Venerable Ananda heard and knew. In broad outline, such comparisons can convey their immense quantity. But if one wished to express every single thing in writing, one could not master it in an entire lifetime.

Reflecting upon the sutras and Dharma, they are exceedingly vast. How could they be made to circulate widely throughout the world so that sentient beings for a thousand generations might receive the blessings of the true Dharma? Examining the matter deeply and penetrating its principle, who could compile and transmit the Dharma?

Only the Venerable Ananda could accomplish the collection.

The Venerable Kasyapa immediately struck the gandhi to assemble the community. At that time, eighty-four thousand arhats came together in obedience to the summons. They were all undefiled and liberated in both ways.

These Worthies and Sages were summoned because they were all capable of entering the attainment of cessation. Those who enter the attainment of cessation can bring merit to sentient beings in the present life and rescue them from every kind of suffering and distress. The arhats throughout the great trichiliocosm were too numerous to count; apart from those in the three destinies, each group was many times greater.

On this occasion, only those of sharp faculties who were liberated in both ways and could deliver sentient beings through the attainment of cessation were selected. They were therefore called a field of merit.

How may this be made clear? Long ago, when Sakra, Lord of the Devas, had exhausted his merit and was about to die, the five signs of decline appeared. His heart became fearful, and he sought help.

He was about to go to the Buddha for rescue, but, reflecting that the Buddha’s benevolence was always vast and gentle, he feared there would not be enough time to avert the end of his life. He then thought of the Venerable Sariputra and Maudgalyayana, but also feared that they could not save his life. Only the Venerable Mahakasyapa, through the wondrous power of the attainment of cessation, could rescue him immediately from this peril.

He therefore went to the dwelling of the Venerable Kasyapa. At that time, the Venerable Kasyapa was preparing to visit the homes of the poor. Considering carefully how to gain the merit that would save him, Sakra was about to manifest his celestial body, but feared that the Venerable One would not accept his offering.

He therefore manifested a grass hut along the road, with a sick and feeble person inside. The Venerable Kasyapa arrived to beg for alms. The sick person extended his arm and offered food.

The Venerable Kasyapa received it in his bowl, whereupon it turned into amrita. Sakra then resumed his celestial form in midair. The Venerable Kasyapa said: “Why have you spoken falsely and deceived me?”

The deva replied: “I have not spoken falsely. I offered my gift with utmost sincerity. I am Sakra, Lord of the Devas. The five signs of decline have appeared, and my life is about to end. Therefore, I came here to supplicate you and beg you to save my life.”

The Venerable Kasyapa silently consented.

Sakra went to the Buddha and listened to the Dharma. Shortly afterward he fell asleep; after sleeping, he awoke. The Buddha told Sakra: “You died just now, but you have now come back to life and will no longer die. Your body has been restored to its former state.”

This was the response brought about by the wondrous power of the Venerable Kasyapa’s attainment of cessation. The reason the Venerable Kasyapa regarded the wondrous power of the attainment of cessation as supreme was that he had originally been a pratyekabuddha. It is the way of pratyekabuddhas not to teach the Dharma in order to transform others, but to rely exclusively upon supernormal powers to inspire them, manifesting transformations from samadhi. Although the Venerable Mahakasyapa had attained arhatship, his original consciousness remained. Thus, he selected eighty-four thousand virtuous members of the community whose power could produce responses equal to his own.

Question: It is said that the power of the Venerable Kasyapa’s attainment was superior because he had originally been a pratyekabuddha. Were all these arhats also pratyekabuddhas?

Answer: Although they were not pratyekabuddhas, they had thoroughly cultivated the attainment of cessation, and so their wondrous power was the same. Therefore, it is said that the Venerable Kasyapa and the Sangha were a field of merit for sentient beings.

– The verse says: “All attained arhatship and liberation of mind”: They were those liberated in both ways.

– The verse says: “Freed from fetters and attachments, they became a field of merit”: This means that all the eighty-four thousand members of the community summoned by the Venerable Kasyapa attained liberation in both ways. Because the attainment of cessation could enable sentient beings in the present life to escape suffering and later attain nirvana, the verse says: “They became a field of merit.”

– The verse says: “He assembled the four groups”: This is an abbreviated statement; in principle, the four groups are representative. There are also eight groups of humans and devas: ksatriyas, brahmins, householders, sramanas, the Four Great Kings, the devas of the Thirty-Three, Mara kings, and Brahma kings. These are the eight groups, making twelve groups altogether.

– “The four groups”: This initially sets forth the essential part.

– “The profound and wondrous dharmas”: This means the twelve links of dependent origination. The Buddha told the Venerable Ananda that the twelve links of dependent origination were exceedingly profound and wondrous. The Venerable Ananda said: “What is profound and wondrous about this dependent origination?” The Buddha replied: “Do not say that it is not profound and wondrous. You yourself, in a former life, also once said that it was not profound and wondrous.”

Long ago, there was an Asura king whose body was eighty thousand yojanas tall, with a thousand yojanas between his upper and lower lips. The king had a young son whom he always cherished, holding the child upon his knee. The ocean was 3,360,000 miles deep, yet when the Asura king stood in it, the water reached only to his navel.

Seeing his father thus, the child thought the ocean shallow and wanted to enter the water. His royal father said: “You cannot! The ocean is deep, and you will drown.” The child nevertheless insisted on entering the water.

The royal father released him, and the child sank to the bottom of the ocean, crying out in terror. His father then extended his arm, seized him, and pulled him out of the water. He said: “I told you that you could not enter, but you did not believe me.”

What corresponds to this in the present? The Asura king of that time is now I myself. The child was none other than you, Ananda. Formerly, you did not believe that the ocean was deep, and now again you do not believe. Merely contemplate how ignorance conditions formations: you still cannot clearly understand even this, much less comprehend the thirty-seven factors of awakening.

The Tathagata taught four inconceivable things. What are the four? Sentient beings are inconceivable. The world is inconceivable. Dragons are inconceivable. The Buddha is inconceivable.

The reason the world is inconceivable is this: Long ago, the Venerable Purnamaitrayaniputra and a brahmin ascetic held a discussion. The brahmin ascetic said: “Once I went to a pond and sat upon its bank in contemplation. I saw an army of four divisions approach and enter the hollow of a lotus flower.

I was astonished and did not know whether my eyes had deceived me or whether it had truly happened. When I told others, none believed me. I therefore went to the Buddha’s dwelling and reported what I had seen.

The Buddha said: ‘It is true and not false. An Asura raised an army of four divisions to fight the devas. The Asura was defeated and fled into the hollow of a lotus flower to conceal himself.’” This cannot be reached through conjecture; therefore, the world is said to be inconceivable.

Some say that the world was created by Brahma; others say that it was made by the devas of the six heavens.

The brahmin ascetic further asked: “By whom was Brahma created?” Some say: “Brahma had a father.” Others say that he created himself. To say that he had a father means that the lotus flower was his father. Elsewhere it is asked: “Whence did the lotus flower arise?” Answer: “It arose from the navel of Udayana.” “Whence did Udayana arise?” Answer: “He arose from King Sansa.” Again it is asked: “From what lineage did King Sansa arise?” Answer: “He arose from the ksatriya caste.” Again it is said: “Brahma belongs to the brahmin caste, yet now it is said that he arose from a ksatriya.

Can this be maintained?” It is also said that during the conflagration of a kalpa, the broad outline can be separately discerned. Why is this said? Answer: When a kalpa is consumed by fire, everything from the boundary of the earth upward through the fifteen heavens is completely burned away.

Matters of this kind can be known. Yet it is also said that the heavens from the sixteenth level upward through the Heaven of the Thirty-Three remain. Although other worlds in that interval are burned, these remain.

Consequently, it is again said that this cannot be known. This is why the world is inconceivable.

Some say: After the conflagration of the kalpa, water fills the region occupied by fire. The Vairambha wind blows and forms the palaces. Below lies fertile earth.

A host of devas from the Abhasvara Heaven travel for pleasure to that land and gradually taste its fertile earth. Their bodily forms then become heavy, and they can no longer return to their dwelling. Those who eat much of that earth turn into women; gradually becoming slender, they delight in eating cakes made from flour obtained from the earth.

Having lost their supernormal powers and radiance, those devas become humans again. By doing good, they are born in the heavens; by doing evil, they fall into the three evil destinies. They wander through the five destinies without any fixed state.

If one wished to know the causes to their ultimate end, the root of even one person could not be known, much less could all sentient beings be measured and examined. This is why sentient beings are inconceivable.

Why are dragons said to be inconceivable? Whenever clouds arise and rain falls, it is due to dragons. Does rain issue from the dragons’ eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, or from their bodies? Or does it originate from their minds?

There are five kinds of devas dwelling in dependence upon Mount Sumeru, and they too can send down rain. Why, then, are dragons alone said to send down heavenly rain? Heavenly rain descends as a fine mist. Large drops that fall are called “dragon rain.”

What are the five kinds of devas? The first are the Crooked-Foot devas. The second are the Summit devas.

The third are the Heedless devas. The fourth are the Powerful devas. The fifth are the devas of the Four Kings.

When the Asuras raise their forces to fight the devas, they first battle the Crooked-Foot devas. If they do not prevail, they then proceed to the Summit devas. Next, they reach the Heedless devas and the devas of the Four Kings, and finally the devas of the Thirty-Three.

When those below the Heaven of the Four Kings wish to fight, they use rain to resist the enemy, for they have no other weapons. There are two kinds of rain: joyful rain and angry rain. Rain that falls gently and harmoniously is joyful.

Thunder, lightning, and repeated thunderbolts are angry. Asuras also send down rain. Devas also send down rain.

Dragons also send down rain. Each produces rain, and the principle cannot be definitively determined. Thus it is said that dragons sending down rain is inconceivable.

The Buddha is inconceivable: Formerly, while the Buddha was in a quiet chamber, Brahma devas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges came to his dwelling. They wished to know in which samadhi the Buddha was abiding, but they could not know. Such supernormal powers manifested hidden and mysterious deeds. Even those of the Two Vehicles cannot conceive of them; how much less could ordinary beings fathom them!

The Venerable Ananda first nominated the Venerable Kasyapa, saying: “The Elder is capable of undertaking the task of expounding the Dharma for sentient beings. This is because the Great Virtuous One is a venerable elder of long training, possesses extensive knowledge, and was entrusted by the Blessed One to ensure that the true Dharma would long abide in the world for the sake of sentient beings in future ages. For this reason, the Tathagata yielded half his seat to you. You are the senior elder of the Sangha, and your wisdom is broad and comprehensive. I beg you, out of compassion, to proclaim the treasure of the Dharma!”

The foreign masters say: The reason the Venerable Kasyapa did not teach the Dharma was that, of the four kinds of eloquence, he lacked eloquence in expression.

It is also said: The Venerable One had originally been a pratyekabuddha and transformed others solely through supernormal powers. At first, he did not expound the Dharma. The Venerable Kasyapa declined, saying of himself: “I am old and feeble, my faculties are dim, and I have forgotten much.” It was said to him: “Could the true Dharma of the Four Noble Truths ever perish? It is like a vajra, which cannot be worn away. Only the four great elements subject to birth and death increase and diminish.”

The Sarvastivada masters further say: Nine kinds of arhats are subject to retrogression. Through how many circumstances do they retrogress? There are four circumstances:

1. Advanced age.

2. The torment of illness.

3. Delight in traveling to distant regions.

4. Taking unsuitable medicine.

Only through these four circumstances do mistakes and forgetfulness occur.

How could the wondrous wisdom of ultimate truth be forgotten? The Venerable Kasyapa urged the Venerable Ananda: “You are now still young and strong. Moreover, you possess many kinds of knowledge, such as knowledge derived from hearing; you retain everything, have an excellent memory, and whenever the Buddha preached a sutra, he regularly entrusted it to you and charged you to preserve it. Therefore, you should proclaim the sutras and Dharma widely.”

How is it known that the Venerable Ananda possessed great knowledge?

Formerly, east of the city of Sravasti stood a great nyagrodha tree whose shade covered five hundred carts. In the city lived a brahmin ascetic skilled in calculation, foremost among the ninety-five schools. One day, beneath the shade of that nyagrodha tree, the brahmin ascetic met the Venerable Ananda and said to him: “People say that among Gautama’s disciples, you are foremost in wisdom.

Is this so?” The Venerable Ananda replied: “I do possess some small measure of knowledge.” The brahmin ascetic said: “May I ask you one thing? How many trunks, sections, branches, and leaves does this great tree have?” The Venerable Ananda looked up at the tree and immediately replied: “This tree has such-and-such a number of trunks, sections, branches, and leaves.” Having spoken, he departed. Remaining behind, the brahmin ascetic thought: “This sramana certainly does not know their number, and that is why he answered in such a way.

I should now test him.” He climbed the tree, plucked leaves from several places—sixty leaves in all—and hid them in an earthen mound. The Venerable Ananda returned from seeking alms. The brahmin ascetic asked again: “I have just forgotten the number you gave earlier.” The Venerable Ananda looked up at the tree, surveyed it thoroughly, and said: “Why is the number of leaves on this tree now deficient?” The brahmin ascetic asked: “How many leaves are missing?” The Venerable Ananda replied: “Sixty leaves are missing.” The brahmin ascetic immediately joined his palms and bowed in homage,

saying: “Truly unprecedented!” He further asked: “Are you an arhat?” Answer: “No.” “Are you an anagamin or a sakrdagamin?” Answer: “Neither.” “Are you a srotapanna?” Answer: “Why do you ask this?” The brahmin ascetic further asked: “Do you have a teacher?” The Venerable Ananda answered: “Yes.

The prince who was the son of King Suddhodana renounced the household life, cultivated the path, and became a Buddha. He is my teacher.” The brahmin ascetic thought: “This ability comes from his teacher’s wisdom; it is not knowledge that is his alone.” He then followed the Venerable Ananda to the Buddha, sought ordination as a sramana, and immediately attained arhatship. Thus it is known that the Venerable Ananda possessed great knowledge.

The reason the Venerable Ananda first honored and nominated the Venerable Kasyapa was that the Venerable Mahakasyapa was the senior elder and an object of reverence. Moreover, throughout five hundred former lives he had always been Ananda’s father. Because Ananda’s knowledge of past lives caused him to revere and feel attached to Kasyapa, their bond was all the deeper.

The reason the Venerable Mahakasyapa was always solicitous toward the Venerable Ananda was that their affinities had accumulated profoundly since the distant past, and his debt of kindness had not yet been fully repaid. Furthermore, the Venerable Ananda was widely learned, possessed great knowledge and an excellent memory, and was foremost in the community. No one surpassed him in connecting and assembling as many as eighty thousand kinds of texts.

The two needed to rely upon one another to bring benefit together. If they suddenly discovered a thousand catties of gold tablets and then discussed a method and joined forces to carry them back, they could put them to great use. The combined wisdom of the Venerable Kasyapa and the Venerable Ananda accords with this analogy.

By joining their strength, the treasure of the Dharma would endure.

At that time, the Venerable Ananda said: “The sutras are immeasurable; who can gather them completely into a single collection?” (“The sutras are immeasurable” refers to the twelve divisions of scripture.) Some speak of ten matters and then discuss two. Some speak of three matters but then discuss eleven. The upper and lower portions have no sequence and cannot form one collection.

Some say: “When the Tathagata taught the Dharma, he sometimes spoke teachings of exhortation, sometimes spoke of cutting off the fetters, and sometimes spoke of birth among devas and humans.” If arranged according to these topics, they likewise could not form a single collection. The Venerable Ananda reflected: “One should follow one; two should follow two; and three, four, five, six, up to ten should each be set forth together according to its category.”

Some said: “In principle, it cannot be done this way. Examining the Buddha’s words, they cannot be matched in numerical sequence.” The Venerable Ananda reflected further: “The sutras and Dharma are immeasurably vast and should be divided into three collections.” The Venerable Ananda formed this thought privately. A deva of the Suddhavasa Heaven secretly informed the Venerable Ananda: “Indeed, they should be arranged in three divisions.” Following the deva’s message, he divided them into three parts: the first was Sutra, the second was Vinaya, and the third was Abhidharma.

Sutra comprises the Dharma preached by the Buddha, whether for devas and sovereigns or for groups of non-Buddhists and followers of other teachings. By making distinctions according to each matter, all could be instructed and brought to understanding.

A sutra is like a thread that stitches meanings together and forms them into a practice of Dharma; therefore, it is called Sutra.

Vinaya is the disciplinary code of prohibitions. It was taught for the twofold Sangha to prevent evil and restrain wrongdoing. It contains either two hundred and fifty rules or five hundred rules. It establishes Dharma to guard against transgression, like the secret treasury of a king, which does not fall under the jurisdiction of external officials; therefore, it is called the Inner Treasury. This treasury of precepts is likewise not something to be heard by sramaneras, male lay devotees, or female lay devotees (upasakas and upasikas); therefore, it is called the Vinaya Pitaka.

Abhidharma is the great Dharma. It is called great because it contains the great wisdom of the Four Noble Truths and the characteristics of all dharmas and eliminates the various wrong views, ignorance, and deeply rooted delusion; therefore, it is called the great Dharma. It is also called the incomparable Dharma. The eight knowledges, the ten wisdoms, and undefiled right view surmount the obstructions of the three realms and are unsurpassed; therefore, it is called the Incomparable Dharma. The Venerable Katyayaniputra compiled the sutras, extracted and summarized their essential wisdom, presented it to the Buddha, and received his approval; therefore, it is called the Great Dharma Treasury.

The Venerable Ananda further reflected: “The meanings of these three Pitakas correspond to the three liberations. How does Sutra correspond? Its principle of wondrous wisdom accords with emptiness. Vinaya restrains evil, and its profound principle is equal to signlessness. The right view of the great Dharma follows the path of wishlessness. Thus they are called the three Pitakas and the three liberations, whose profound paths wondrously correspond.”

The Venerable Ananda further considered: “Sutra is the great foundation, and its meaning is divided into four sections. Why should text and meaning be intermingled? Matters and principles should be brought together, and the greater and lesser should follow in sequence. The first is the Ekottarika, next is called the Madhyama, the third is called the Dirgha, and the fourth is called the Samyukta.”

Taking one as the foundation, it proceeds successively to ten. Because one, two, three, and so forth increase according to their subject matter, it is called the Ekottarika, the Numerical Collection.

The Madhyama is neither large nor small, neither long nor short. Its subjects accord with the middle; therefore, it is called the Madhyama, the Middle-Length Collection.

The Dirgha speaks of matters extending far into the past, continuing through kalpas without interruption; it treats the origins, conclusions, and causes of events, the deeds spanning seven Buddhas, and the Wheel-Turning Sage Kings with their seven treasures. Therefore, it is called the Dirgha, the Long Collection.

The Samyukta consists of sutras with separate sections and conclusions that are difficult to recite and remember. Their many subjects and minute details delight the mind yet cause forgetfulness; therefore, it is called the Samyukta, the Connected Collection.

After the Venerable Ananda had compiled the three Pitakas, he selected ten sutras to constitute one verse. He did this because he feared that reciters in future ages would forget or make mistakes. Upon seeing a title, they would remember the source and, by examining it, understand it themselves. Therefore, he made ten sutras into one verse. It is called the Miscellaneous Pitaka because it was not spoken by one person alone. Some portions were preached by the Buddha, some by his disciples, and some were verses of praise recited by devas. Some concern the former causes and conditions cultivated by the bodhisattva throughout three asamkhyeya kalpas. Since their texts and meanings are not of one kind and exceed those of the three Pitakas, it is called the Miscellaneous Pitaka.

While the Buddha was in the world, King Ajatasatru asked him about the practices of bodhisattvas, and the Tathagata fully expounded the Dharma for the king. For example, the king asked the Buddha: “What is called Dharma?” Answer: “Dharma is the Bodhisattva Pitaka.” All the authoritative Vaipulya sutras concern matters within the Bodhisattva Pitaka. Formerly, while the Buddha was in the world, it was called the Treasury of Great Beings.

The Venerable Ananda compiled it, making what are now four Pitakas; taken together, they are called the five Pitakas. There is also the meaning of the one Dharma, which is likewise profound, difficult to retain, difficult to recite, and impossible to recollect. (The one Dharma is the Dharma of emptiness.) Quiescent, without sound or echo, without mind or thought, peacefully free from perception, it is “supreme emptiness,” the nondual meaning.

It admits of nothing that can be examined or measured; therefore, it is said to be difficult to retain. There are no words with which to respond; therefore, it is called difficult to recite. There is no thought by which it can be contemplated; therefore, it is said to be impossible to recollect.

This is what is meant by profound meaning.

Furthermore, one Dharma is the foundation of all numbers. One is the first number, and ten is the last. After reaching the end at ten, one begins again. Even into the thousands and tens of thousands, counting always begins with one. Thus the number of ones cannot be exhausted. In the sutras, whether there is one meaning, one Dharma, one practice, or one matter, each is grouped together accordingly without losing its organizing thread. Therefore, this is said.

Two dharmas follow two: They may be called good and evil; they may be presented as calming and insight; or they may be called name and form. Calming is empty, while insight is real. Calming is the concentration of samadhi: peaceful, with perceptions extinguished, vast and beyond conceptual meaning; therefore, it is called empty. Insight is said to be real because it discriminates active phenomena, right and wrong, good and bad; consciousness distinguishes and clearly knows them, while the mind remains unconfused. Therefore, it is called real.

Three dharmas are arranged according to three. The three are giving, merit, and contemplation. These three practices are worldly dharmas leading to birth in heaven. Practicing the three gates of liberation is a Dharma leading to nirvana. There are three dharmas, three practices, three merits, and three portions of the Dharma body. Each set of three is grouped together, like jewels strung upon a thread.

Four dharmas are based upon four. The same applies to five. Five dharmas are followed by six.

Six are followed by seven. The meanings of the eight dharmas are extensive. Nine is followed by the tenth.

The Dharma proceeds from ten to eleven. Numbers of this kind all follow groups of matters in twos, threes, and other such categories. The Venerable Ananda then ascended the seat.

The seat was the Lion Seat. The sutras use the analogy of a Lion Seat because the lion is king among beasts and always dwells upon high ground, never in low or sunken places; thus it is an analogy for the high seat. It also signifies fearlessness.

The Venerable Ananda’s learning and knowledge were immeasurable. Among the sravakas, he alone strode forth without fear; therefore, it is called the Fearless Seat. (Thus the Venerable Ananda ascended the high seat.) The bodhisattva Maitreya praised him: “Excellent! Joyous indeed!” (The reason the bodhisattva Maitreya appeared and descended was that he feared the Venerable Ananda would combine the bodhisattva Dharma with the three Pitakas, leaving the Great and Small Vehicles undifferentiated.) He said that gold and base metal should not be strung together.

Therefore, he earnestly requested that they be divided into separate collections. Long ago, the Holy King Mahadeva possessed the four Brahma halls, which were transmitted successively until eighty-four thousand kings all possessed Brahma halls. Yet Mahadeva alone was a Great Being; all the rest were “minor branches.” Accordingly, the Mahayana is difficult to practice, and most incline toward the sravaka path.

The bodhisattva Maitreya also knew that the Venerable Ananda had divided the teachings into three Pitakas, but he still feared that later students would concentrate exclusively upon the Dharma of emptiness, cut off the fetters, and attain realization. He therefore revealed and extolled the Mahayana and separated it into its own Pitaka. Thus he taught the practices of the six paramitas, the essential subject of Great Beings.

He taught: Giving is of two kinds: giving through faith and giving through fear. When one establishes the faculty of faith and attains acceptance, it is called giving through faith. Giving under the coercion of power and not from one’s original intention is called giving through fear.

Faith perfects the paramita; fear merely seeks merit. The spiritual and the worldly differ and distinguish themselves without need of words. Some say: Those who give away their heads and eyes have reached the seventh stage or above.

Those who give wealth and material possessions are at the sixth stage or below. From there, they may retrogress; without falling into samsara, they aspire toward nirvana. How may this be clarified?

The Great Chapter on Original Nonbeing says that sixty bodhisattvas attained the path of arhatship. This is precisely such a case.

Precepts like vajra are the precepts of the Mahayana. Precepts like bricks and tiles are the precepts of the Hinayana. Why?

Because vajra cannot be destroyed. Formerly, there was a bodhisattva who was a bhiksu of surpassing dignity and beauty. He went out seeking alms and encountered a beautiful young woman on the road.

When the woman saw the bodhisattva, desire arose in her mind, and she wished to become husband and wife with him. She then thought: “It is impossible for us to speak openly of this here. If only he will sit near me, I shall produce the unsurpassed aspiration.” The bodhisattva knew the woman’s mind, so he went forward and sat beside her.

After a moment, the woman seemed about to move closer. The bhiksu remained silent and did not respond. She moved closer once again.

As though deliberately remaining unconcerned, the bhiksu then expounded the Dharma of emptiness to her: “Whence did the eye originally come, and where will it go? Would you say it came from your parents? Before they united, this eye did not exist; when it later disintegrates, where will it go?” Accordingly, the eye cannot truly be found.

The five faculties are likewise. The young woman suddenly comprehended emptiness and attained srotapanna. When he should have spoken of existence, he instead taught emptiness.

The Dharma of bodhisattvas is to enter existence while teaching emptiness; therefore, what he did did not fully accord with her original intention.

At that time, the Venerable Ananda saw this bhiksu sitting with the woman and thought that he had violated the deportment of a bhiksu. He returned and reported to the Buddha: “I have just seen a bhiksu sitting with a woman.” Because the Buddha already knew the circumstances, he remained silent. That bhiksu knew that the Venerable Ananda had reported him to the Blessed One.

He thought that ordinarily he should not go there, but feared that someone might slander him and thereby incur an offense. He wished to manifest a transformation, but the Buddha had originally forbidden it; nevertheless, the bhiksu flew directly to the Buddha. The Buddha told the Venerable Ananda: “The bhiksu whom you just saw violating the discipline is the bhiksu who has now flown here.

Have you ever seen anyone who committed sexual misconduct able to fly? This bhiksu sat together with the woman just now because at that time she thought: ‘If this bhiksu will sit with me, I shall produce the unsurpassed aspiration!’ Knowing the woman’s thought and intention, he sat with her and immediately expounded the Dharma of emptiness, distinguishing the emptiness of the eye and likewise of the other five faculties.

The woman became frightened and attained the fruit of entering the stream of the Path. Because fear arose in her mind and she feared samsara, she attained the Hinayana. If that bhiksu had instead taught her the practice of existence, he would have fulfilled her original aspiration.

From this matter, it should be known that this bodhisattva was not yet fully accomplished, though he did not retrogress in observing people; his skill in discerning minds was not yet complete.” This is called the vajra precept. One who practices the perfection of patience silently accepts abuse and slander without responding. A bodhisattva practicing patience always employs loving-kindness and the other immeasurable qualities, regarding self and others equally.

When self and others are equal, enemy and friend are nondual. Therefore, the sutra says: “The loving-kindness of the Hinayana reaches only the skin. The loving-kindness of a Great Being penetrates to the bones and marrow.” How may this be clarified?

If someone severs the hands and feet of a bodhisattva, the blood that flows forth immediately turns into milk. This is evidence of a mind of loving-kindness. A bhiksu practicing patience can attain such a thing. It is like a mother who, upon giving birth, immediately produces milk. Through the response evoked by loving thought, the blood naturally transforms.

Such a Great Being enters the Samadhi of Loving-Kindness and can therefore produce milk in response. One who practices loving-kindness to the utmost may hold a bow and arrows, yet sentient beings will still come to seek refuge with him. One whose practice of loving-kindness is incomplete may carry neither knife nor staff, yet all who see him will flee.

From this evidence, the distinction between the Great and Small Vehicles reveals itself. A bodhisattva performs both good and evil actions. Good action means diligently cultivating meritorious virtues.

As for evil action, long ago the youth Agnidatta slandered Kasyapa Buddha, saying: “What path could this bald-headed sramana possess? If a path so difficult to attain can be attained, then he has attained it.” Because of this, he later had to undergo six years of hardship before attaining the path. Within the teaching he left behind, the bhiksus often debated this matter.

It was as though his mouth could not say it, yet he had to speak in reply. The six years of ascetic practice were a karmic retribution he should not have had to undergo, yet did undergo. These were the bodhisattva’s evil bodily and verbal actions.

Meditation means entering the path of quiescence, peacefully unmoving. Wisdom knows quantities as numerous as motes of dust and the sands of the Ganges. Its recollection and recording cannot be calculated.

The clear understanding of wisdom cannot be exhausted. All the practices of these six limitless perfections (paramitas) belong to the Bodhisattva Pitaka and should not be combined with the three Pitakas. There was a reason the Venerable Ananda wished to distinguish the Great and Small Vehicles.

Others did not understand it together with him; its principle is itself empty and difficult to clarify. A Great Being’s doubt concerning emptiness means that he does not seize upon realization; therefore, it is called doubt.

END OF FASCICLE ONE