佛說未曾有正法經

At that time, in the middle of the night, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī expounded the Dharma-gate of the Bodhisattva Treasury to the bodhisattvas, saying:

"O great beings! You should understand clearly the Dharma-gate of the Bodhisattva Treasury. There is not a single dharma that lies outside the Bodhisattva Treasury. All dharmas, whether worldly or transcendent, conditioned or unconditioned, wholesome or unwholesome, with marks or without marks, with outflows or without outflows, are all the Bodhisattva Treasury.

"O good sons! It is like this: within the three-thousandfold great-thousandfold world-system there are a hundred koṭis of the four great continents, a hundred koṭis of suns and moons, a hundred koṭis of Mount Sumeru, and a hundred koṭis of great oceans, yet all of these do not lie outside the three-thousandfold great-thousandfold world-system. The Bodhisattva Dharma Treasury is likewise: all the dharmas of ordinary beings, the dharmas of the śrāvakas, the dharmas of the pratyekabuddhas, and even the dharmas of all the Buddhas do not lie outside the Bodhisattva Treasury.

Why is this so? Because the Śrāvaka Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and the Vehicle of all Buddhas are all of one and the same vehicle. It is like a great tree: though its trunk, branches, twigs, and leaves are luxuriant and flourishing, they all share a single root.

The Bodhisattva Treasury, because it is fundamentally that which gives rise to the dharmas of the Three Vehicles, is yet without distinction; it is vast and immeasurable, beyond all reckoning. It is like the great ocean, broad and boundless, without shore or limit. Even if the lord of the asuras, the yakṣas, and so forth, down to the mighty strongmen, wished to measure that ocean, they could not come to know it.

The śrāvakas, the pratyekabuddhas, and all the multitudes of gods and humans who wish to know the Bodhisattva Dharma Treasury likewise cannot exhaust it. Even those endowed with wisdom who wish to know the bodhisattva's Dharma of discipline, concentration, and wisdom are unable to know it. Only one who has entered into the Bodhisattva Treasury is able to know it for himself.

"O good sons! It is like all the beings dwelling within the great ocean who drink only the water of the ocean and cannot know the savor of the rivers. One who cultivates the Bodhisattva Vehicle knows only the Bodhisattva Dharma Treasury and does not delight in the paths of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.

"O good sons! Within the Bodhisattva Treasury there are also said to be three, namely: the śrāvakas, the pratyekabuddhas, and the ordinary beings. To hear only the principle of the Four Truths and thereby realize nirvāṇa—this is called the Śrāvaka Treasury. To delight only in the principle of dependent arising and thereby realize nirvāṇa—this is called the Pratyekabuddha Treasury. As for the Bodhisattva Treasury, it is the realization of the All-Knowing Wisdom.

"O good sons! You should know that the Śrāvaka Treasury, the Pratyekabuddha Treasury, and the Bodhisattva Treasury are all equal and the same. It is because of the desires of beings that there is the study of the Three Vehicles.

The reason those who study seek the śrāvaka path is that their wisdom is shallow and narrow, not magnanimous; fearing the suffering of saṃsāra, they greatly delight in the dharma of the Four Truths in order to realize nirvāṇa and seek peace and security. Those who delight in seeking the pratyekabuddha path still have minds that are obstructed and limited; they lack a magnanimous mind toward beings, lack the mind of great compassion to carry out conduct that benefits others, and regard the realization of nirvāṇa as the ultimate end.

The great bodhisattvas who study the Bodhisattva Treasury, with minds vast and immeasurable, cannot be measured by the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. Only the bodhisattvas who cultivate and study that Dharma are able to understand it clearly.

"O good sons! The śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas delight only in their own vehicles, cultivating the various roots of goodness in order to seek the fruit of the Two Vehicles; but as for the Dharma of the bodhisattvas, they have no way of knowing it. When the bodhisattvas contemplate the dharma of the śrāvakas, they realize and know completely the whole path of the Four Truths, discerning it with utmost clarity, yet they do not realize that fruit; when they contemplate the dharma of the pratyekabuddhas, they realize and know completely the twelve links of dependent origination, discerning them clearly, yet they do not realize that fruit.

The bodhisattvas fulfill all practices and penetrate all things. It is like a precious vessel of vaiḍūrya that holds various objects: those objects all take on a single transparent color, alike. The dharma of the śrāvakas and the pratyekabuddhas, when it enters into the Bodhisattva Treasury, is fundamentally no different.

Therefore the great bodhisattvas, having entered into the Bodhisattva Treasury, see all dharmas as equal and undifferentiated: there is no mark of the dharma of the Buddhas, no mark of the dharma of the bodhisattvas, no mark of the dharma of the Two Vehicles. With regard to all dharmas there is no recollection or thought, for they are apart from all language and letters, not set forth, not displayed. Why is this so?

Because being without marks, they cannot be contemplated; because being without meaning, they cannot be recalled or thought upon. One who studies thus embraces the All-Knowing Wisdom.

"O good sons! This is called the Bodhisattva Treasury, penetrating, sovereign, and unobstructed in just this way."

In the latter part of the night, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī again expounded the Vajra phrase concerning the Irreversible Turning of the Dharma Wheel to the great bodhisattvas. The Bodhisattva said:

"O good sons! If any great bodhisattva skillfully expounds the Dharma so that the listeners understand it clearly, then the speaker, the listeners, and all are the irreversible Dharma; it does not move or turn, and it cannot be destroyed.

"O good sons! As for the irreversible Dharma—whether the vehicle or the realm of the vehicle, whether the Buddha, the Dharma, or the Saṃgha—all are the irreversible turning wheel. Why is this so? The irreversible turning wheel is the dharma-realm. If one departs from the dharma-realm, there is nothing from which it could arise; that wheel has no mark of turning, and therefore it is called the turning of the Dharma Wheel. Not different, not two—this is precisely the self-nature of the dharma-realm.

"O good sons! Therefore, whoever cultivates the bodhisattva practices and knows in this way attains liberation and attains the irreversible turning wheel. A great bodhisattva who knows clearly in this way has already attained liberation and will realize the fruit of the Tathāgata, bringing great benefit to all beings; with regard to the gate of liberation there are no two dharmas to be attained.

The mark of liberation of the Tathāgata and the mark of liberation of all dharmas are the same. All dharmas have neither a mark of liberation nor two marks. Why is this so?

Because the body is not liberated and the mind is also not liberated, for the self-nature of these two dharmas is the mark of liberation; and all dharmas are likewise. The bodhisattvas who know clearly in this way—this is the irreversible turning wheel.

"Good sons, you should know that the irreversible turning wheel has nothing that turns. Why is this so? Because form and the self-nature of form fundamentally have nothing that turns; feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are likewise—the self-nature of consciousness also has nothing that turns. The self-natures of all dharmas have nothing that turns; this is precisely the vehicle of the irreversible turning wheel. That wheel, from of old, is indestructible: it is neither marked nor markless, neither having something to be attained nor without something to be attained, neither spoken nor not spoken, without name, without attachment.

"Furthermore, the marks of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, the gates of liberation, are dharmas of discrimination that cannot be attained—through what could they be attained? All those marks are like empty space, having nothing on which to rely. The self-natures of all dharmas have no place in which to abide; this is called the Vajra phrase concerning the irreversible turning wheel.

"O good sons! The emptiness of the nature of all dharmas cannot be destroyed. This Vajra phrase, being apart from all views, abides in just this way: this is the gate of liberation of emptiness.

This Vajra phrase, being apart from all discriminations, abides in just this way: this is the gate of liberation of signlessness. This Vajra phrase, being far apart from all doubts and delusions, abides in just this way: this is the gate of liberation of wishlessness. This Vajra phrase, being far apart from all clinging to existence, abides in just this way: this is the dharma-realm.

The Vajra phrase, being far apart from all dharmas, without self, without volitional activity, without greed, without attachment, with its self-nature abiding peacefully in the pure nirvāṇa—this is called the Vajra phrase."

In the first part of the night, the middle of the night, and the latter part of the night, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī expounded all the dharmas to the bodhisattvas. Those bodhisattvas all attained the Samādhi of the Radiant Flower Dharma-gate. From the pores of the bodies of those bodhisattvas there issued forth hundreds of thousands of rays of light. Within each ray of light there appeared hundreds of thousands of Buddhas. Each Buddha, in the world-systems of the ten directions, carried out the work of a Buddha for the sake of beings.

After the food and drink had been prepared, the king of the country of Magadha came at early dawn to the place of the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and said to the Bodhisattva:

"The time has now come. I beg you, sir, to come and receive my offering."

The Bodhisattva accepted the invitation, and the king then returned to his palace.

At that time, in the morning, the Venerable Mahākāśyapa donned his robe, took up his bowl, and together with five hundred bhikṣus entered the great city of Rājagṛha to beg for food in due order. Halfway along the road, the Venerable One reflected: "Now let me not enter this city, but let me go to the place of the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī to hear the True Dharma." Having reflected thus, the Venerable One together with the company of bhikṣus went to the place of the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Arriving there, the Venerable One joyfully paid homage and inquired after the Bodhisattva's well-being, then withdrew and stood to one side.

Then the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī asked the Venerable Mahākāśyapa:

"Why is it that, when the time for the meal has come, Kāśyapa has carried his bowl and come here?"

Kāśyapa replied:

"I had intended to enter the city of Rājagṛha to beg for food, but I came here first."

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said:

"Let me offer food and drink to you and the company of bhikṣus!"

Kāśyapa answered:

"O Bodhisattva! This cannot be! I have come here in order to hear the Dharma, not to beg for food and drink."

Mañjuśrī said:

"Venerable One, you should know that one who seeks the Path has two kinds of nourishment: the first is food and drink, and the second is the wondrous Dharma."

Kāśyapa replied:

"O great being! The sentient beings of this world, if they are apart from food and drink, cannot subsist; if they cannot nourish their physical bodies, how can they hear and receive the True Dharma?"

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said:

"Venerable One, accept the food and drink. I will offer it to you. After you have received the offering, you will not depart from saṃsāra, nor will you realize nirvāṇa; you will not depart from the dharma of ordinary beings, nor will you depart from the dharma of the Noble Path. Why is this so? Because the one who receives the offering and the one who gives the offering neither increase nor decrease; there is no dharma to be born and no dharma to perish, no dharma to be studied and no dharma to be attained. Therefore I will offer food and drink to you."

Kāśyapa said to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī:

"Excellent! The Bodhisattva is a great benefactor. To give in such a way is indeed true giving."

At that time, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī reflected: "Let me enter the great city of Rājagṛha and, for the sake of the king of the country of Magadha, perform a great work of a Buddha." Having thought thus, the Bodhisattva then entered the Samādhi of the Sovereign Spiritual Penetrations and Transformations. Within that samādhi he emitted a great light that illuminated throughout the Sahā world, so that the three-thousandfold great-thousandfold world-system was seen as clearly as the palm of one's hand.

All the sentient beings of the hells and the animal realm, reached by that light, were freed from all their sufferings; not a single being gave rise to a mind of the three poisons, nor did any longer harbor enmity and hatred toward one another, but loved one another as child and mother. The entire three-thousandfold great-thousandfold world-system quaked in six ways. At that time, the devaputras of the Realm of Desire and the Realm of Form all came to make offerings to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī.

They played hundreds of thousands of musical strains, and beautiful celestial flowers rained down, filling the roads everywhere as adornment. By his spiritual power the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī caused that road to become level like the palm of a hand, adorned with countless precious jewels, and strewn with beautiful flowers as large as chariot wheels—namely, the utpala, kumuda, puṇḍarīka, and other such flowers. Moreover, he spread a net of jewels overhead and set up jeweled banners, pennants, and canopies that filled the empty sky.

Again he caused to appear terraces of the seven jewels and various jeweled trees. Upon those jeweled trees, the flowers and fruits were of precious vaiḍūrya, joined and linked together with cords of jewels. Each flowering jeweled tree gave forth a subtle, wondrous fragrance that wafted throughout, for a yojana around.

Among that grove of trees there were ponds whose floors were of pure golden sand, filled with water of the eight qualities, in which grew many beautiful flowers—namely, the utpala, padma, kumuda, puṇḍarīka, and other such flowers.

There were also such birds as mandarin ducks, wild geese, and wild ducks coming and going amid them. Beneath each tree there were twenty-five celestial maidens holding sandalwood incense to make offerings. While in samādhi, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī manifested such surpassing wonders as these. After emerging from samādhi, the Bodhisattva said to the Venerable Kāśyapa:

"Now let us, you and I, go to the great city of Rājagṛha and enter the palace of the king of the country of Magadha to receive the offering of food. The Venerable One, being elder and senior, should go ahead. As for me, I shall follow behind."

Kāśyapa replied:

"O Bodhisattva! This cannot be. The great being possesses great wisdom, immeasurable spiritual penetrations, vast learning, and eloquence; you expound penetratingly the Dharma of liberation and are praised by my Buddha, the World-Honored One.

Beings who behold you all give rise to the mind of bodhi and cultivate the bodhisattva practice. Among the assembly of śrāvakas, though I am called an elder and senior, I cannot accomplish this; how should I dare to go ahead? I beg to follow behind the Bodhisattva.

Why is this so? Because all beings who have newly given rise to the mind of bodhi, and all the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, are not even comparable to me—how much less to one who has long practiced the bodhisattva path. It is like a lion cub, newly born, who at once possesses great strength, bold and fearless of anything; the scent upon its body spreads with the wind, and whatever herd of beasts smells it is all terrified.

Even the great elephant, though possessed of much strength such that no one in all the world can subdue it, when it smells the scent of the newly born lion cub, must likewise be struck with fear. Whatever being gives rise to the mind of bodhi, valiant and firm, all the hosts of Māra are filled with dread; the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot in any way compare with such a one. Hearing the Buddha expound the Mahāyāna Dharma, the great bodhisattvas, their minds unmoved, are filled with great joy and roar the lion's roar, subduing all.

Therefore the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, within the true Dharma where there are no Three Vehicles, takes only the mind of bodhi as supreme; for all wholesome dharmas arise from the mind of bodhi. Now that the Bodhisattva goes ahead, it is like the mind of bodhi giving rise to immeasurable wholesome dharmas."

Thereupon, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī went ahead, the host of great bodhisattvas went on either side, and the host of śrāvakas went behind; leaving their dwelling place, they entered the city of Rājagṛha. At that time the heavens rained down many kinds of flowers, and in the empty sky there arose hundreds of thousands of musical strains; a great radiance was emitted, illuminating the whole great assembly, and within that light there again rained down many lotus flowers. The people within the city of Rājagṛha, beholding the Bodhisattva, were filled with great joy in their hearts and scattered various fragrant flowers as offerings.

At that time, hearing that the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, together with eighty thousand great bodhisattvas and a host of five hundred śrāvakas, had arrived at the assembly, the king of the country of Magadha reflected: "I have already prepared five hundred portions of food and drink, but now this host of bodhisattvas is very numerous and the food is little—how now can it be made sufficient, and where shall there be enough room for them to sit?" While the king was thinking thus, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī then dispatched Vaiśravaṇa, the Heavenly King, and Kumbhīra, the lord of the great yakṣas, who in an instant transformed themselves into youths and came before the king, saying:

"Great King, do not be troubled or anxious. The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī possesses great expedient means; his merit and wisdom are inconceivable. He is able to take a single portion of food and supply it to all beings throughout the three-thousandfold great-thousandfold world-system, so that all are fully satisfied while the food yet remains in surplus. Now this host of eighty thousand bodhisattvas and five hundred śrāvakas—that number is not many, so what need has the king to worry? Why is this so? Because the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī's merit and wisdom are fundamentally inexhaustible, and the food too is inexhaustible."

Hearing them speak thus, the king of the country of Magadha was greatly joyful and delighted; toward the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī the king was reverent, respectful, and truly won over. Together with his retinue he took fragrant flowers, powdered incense, and ointment incense, played various musical strains, and came forth to welcome the Bodhisattva. Beholding the Bodhisattva, the king knelt and bowed, inquired after his well-being, scattered flowers and incense, and went ahead to escort the Bodhisattva into the royal palace.

After arriving at the royal palace, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said to the Bodhisattva Samantāloka (Universal Illumination):

"O good son! Prepare the place of practice; the time has now come."

Receiving the command, the Bodhisattva Samantāloka then used the power of his spiritual penetrations to make the king's palace suddenly become vast, pure, and beautiful, adorned in every manner without any obstruction; he hung various kinds of flowers, set up banners, pennants, jeweled canopies, and strings of jewels, adorning it into the most magnificent place of practice. The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī then said to the Bodhisattva Dharmottara (Dharma-Supreme):

"O good son! For my sake, arrange the supremely wondrous seats for the great assembly."

At that time, in the snap of a finger, the Bodhisattva Dharmottara summoned eighty-three thousand fine and beautiful seats that appeared in the place of practice, adorned with every kind of precious jewel. Those seats filled the place of practice everywhere, yet it was not crowded.

At that time, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī then went to his seat and sat down, and bade the host of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas go to their own seats.

Then the king of the country of Magadha said before the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī:

"I humbly beg the Bodhisattva and the great assembly to have compassion on me; wait a little longer and the food and drink will be brought."

At that time, the Four Great Heavenly Kings, together with their retinues, came to the place of practice and paid homage and made offerings to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and the great assembly. There was also Śakra, Lord of the Devas, together with his retinue and the retinue of asuras, who all brought powdered sandalwood incense to the place of practice to make offerings to the great assembly. There was also the Great Brahmā Heavenly King, lord of the Sahā world, who transformed himself into a youth and, together with the host of Brahmā gods, stood as attendants on either side, each holding a precious fly-whisk, and came to the place of practice.

After paying homage to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, they stood to one side. The host of Brahmā gods who came also held precious fly-whisks and stood to one side of the bodhisattvas and the host of śrāvakas. There was also the dragon king Anavatapta who came to the place of practice and stood in the empty sky; concealing his body, he let down strings of jewels.

From within those strings of jewels there poured forth water of the eight qualities, which all the great assembly could not use up.

At that time the king of the country of Magadha thought thus: "These bodhisattvas all have no almsbowls—how then are they to eat?" Knowing the king's thought, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said to the king:

"King, do not think in this way. These bodhisattvas do not carry almsbowls. Whenever there is need, all the almsbowls from their own Buddha-lands will naturally arrive."

The king was greatly joyful and then said to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī:

"In which Buddha-lands do these bodhisattvas dwell, and from where have they come? I wish to hear the names of the Buddhas and the lands of the bodhisattvas who have come here."

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said:

"Great King, you should know! In the eastern direction there is a land named Constant Purity. The Buddha there, named Auspicious-Sound Tathāgata, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Completely Enlightened, is at present expounding the Dharma. These bodhisattvas have come from that land to receive the king's offering, that the Great King may behold this rare event."

Right at that moment, the world Constant Purity sent forth eighty-three thousand precious bowls. Through the awesome spiritual power of that Buddha and the power of the practices and vows of the bodhisattvas, those precious bowls came from the empty sky to this Sahā world. Arriving at Lake Anavatapta, eighty-three thousand dragon maidens took the water of the eight qualities and washed them clean, then all brought them before the bodhisattvas. Beholding such an event, the king of the country of Magadha praised it as truly inconceivable and unprecedented, and his heart was filled with great joy.

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said to the king:

"The almsbowls of the bodhisattvas have now arrived; let the king serve out the food and drink as an offering to the great assembly."

The king then brought forth all the food and drink that had been prepared and presented it as an offering to the Bodhisattva and the great assembly.

At that time the great assembly in the place of practice were each and all fully satisfied; there was not a single one who lacked anything. Seeing that the food and drink yet remained in surplus, the king said to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī:

"How rare indeed, O great being! I brought a little food to offer throughout the great assembly, yet there is still surplus."

The Bodhisattva said:

"O Great King! Because the true Dharma is inexhaustible, the food too, from its source, is inexhaustible."

After they had finished eating, the great assembly of bodhisattvas all cast their bowls up into the empty sky, where they were not shaken.

The king said to the Bodhisattva:

"In what do those bowls abide?"

The Bodhisattva said:

"O Great King! Does the true Dharma have a place in which it abides?"

The king answered:

"The true Dharma has no place in which it abides."

The Bodhisattva said:

"Great King, you should know! Just as the true Dharma has no place in which it abides, those bowls too have no place in which they abide. If the bowls had a place in which to abide, then so too would all dharmas.

"Great King, you should know! Because the nature of all dharmas is emptiness, they must abide in just this way."

After making offerings to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and the great assembly, the king of the country of Magadha stood before the Bodhisattva and spoke with a heart thirsting to hear the Bodhisattva's Dharma; the king then said to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī:

"The Bodhisattva, with a mind of great compassion, expound for my sake the rare Dharma!"

The Bodhisattva said:

"O Great King! As for the rare Dharma, even if Buddhas, Tathāgatas, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Completely Enlightened Ones, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, were to speak for a hundred thousand kalpas, they could not exhaust it."

Hearing this, the king was startled, bewildered, and not glad. At that time the Venerable Mahākāśyapa said to the king:

"King, do not suppose that Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges cannot expound the rare Dharma, or that the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī too cannot expound it. Rather, it is because the Dharma of the Buddhas is inexhaustible and cannot be exhausted through speech. Follow your own inclination and question the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. This great being possesses immeasurable powers of skillful expedient means and can surely expound the rare Dharma for you."

Hearing this, the king then awakened to understanding and said to the Venerable One:

"Just now, hearing the Bodhisattva speak, I had a doubt; thanks to the Venerable One's words, I have been awakened to understanding."

The king then said to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī:

"The Bodhisattva, as well as Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, are all unable to expound the rare Dharma—hearing this, my heart is not bewildered. I humbly beg the Bodhisattva to resolve my doubt."

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said:

"O Great King! Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are all able to expound the rare Dharma. The Dharma in which there is nothing to be spoken—that is the rare Dharma.

"O Great King! With regard to all dharmas, when the mind has no place in which it abides, that Dharma cannot be spoken; even the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, cannot speak it. With regard to the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, does the Great King behold any mark?"

The king answered:

"No!"

The Bodhisattva asked again:

"Can the arising of mind be beheld? Can the perishing of mind be beheld?"

The king answered:

"No!"

The Bodhisattva asked:

"Conditioned dharmas, unconditioned dharmas, true dharmas, false dharmas—can any of these be beheld?"

The king answered:

"They cannot be beheld."

The Bodhisattva asked:

"Among all dharmas is there any mark to be beheld; among all dharmas is there anything to be spoken?"

The king answered:

"No!"

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said:

"O Great King! It is by reason of this meaning that I say: the rare Dharma, Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges cannot expound. Furthermore, Great King! Empty space has no mark and does not move; smoke, clouds, dust, and mist cannot adhere to it. The nature of empty space is fundamentally pure; there is no dharma that defiles it, nor any dharma that purifies it. The Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, understand clearly that all dharmas are like empty space. It is by reason of this meaning that Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges cannot exhaust the telling of it.

"Furthermore, Great King! Within the mark of non-abiding, the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are still and unmoving, functioning yet ever tranquil. Why is this so?

Because the Dharma does not change, because it is apart from place and non-place. The Dharma cannot be attained, because it is apart from all marks of grasping. Great King, you should know!

All dharmas are neither born nor not born, neither great nor small, neither true nor not true, neither possessed of perception nor without perception, without volitional activity yet not without volitional activity, without wisdom and without folly, without grasping of marks yet not without grasping of marks, neither accumulating nor dispersing, neither coming nor going, neither inverted nor apart from inversion, neither being afflictions nor apart from afflictions, neither spontaneously arising nor arising from other things.

"O Great King! All dharmas are like empty space, unmoving; all dharmas have no equal, for they have no companion; all dharmas have no two marks, for they are without discrimination; all dharmas have no boundary, for they cannot be beheld; all dharmas have no measure, for they are neither great nor small; all dharmas are inexhaustible, for they ever turn; all dharmas are vast, for they pervade the dharma-realm; all dharmas have no place in which to abide, for they have no inside, outside, or middle; all dharmas are without discrimination, for they are apart from false imagining.

All dharmas are permanent, for they do not change; all dharmas are blissful, for they are without suffering and affliction. All dharmas have a sovereign master, for they are apart from false clinging. All dharmas are pure, for they have no defilement.

All dharmas are still and tranquil, for they are ever settled and clear. All dharmas have nothing to be attained, for they are apart from the mark of self. All dharmas cannot be delighted in, for the mark of liberation.

All dharmas do not cast away this, for they are apart from self-grasping. All dharmas are indestructible, for they are apart from all marks. All dharmas are of one savor, for they share the same nature of liberation.

All dharmas are of one mark, for they are apart from differing perceptions. All dharmas are empty, for they are apart from all views. All dharmas are without marks, for their marks are pure.

All dharmas are without wish, for they are apart from the three times. All dharmas are not outside the three times, for the past, present, and future cannot be attained. Saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are fundamentally equal, and therefore all dharmas are equal.

"O Great King! Since all dharmas are thus, do afflictions and doubts still arise?"

The king answered:

"No! Because all dharmas are empty, how could afflictions and doubts still remain?"

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī said:

"If afflictions do not arise, then the Dharma is not spoken. The nature of afflictions, being empty, is equal with all dharmas. Saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are fundamentally equal. Afflictions and bodhi too are equal."

— End of the fourth fascicle —