觀察諸法行經

CHAPTER THREE: THE PROPHECY OF ENLIGHTENMENT

II—Thereupon, the Blessed One further addressed the great bodhisattva Joyful King:

“O Joyful King! Suppose, again, that a bodhisattva, relying upon the sentient beings belonging to me, for as many kalpas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, practices giving, guards the precepts, recollects patience, arouses diligence, enters meditative concentration, and cultivates wisdom. Suppose, again, that another bodhisattva has faith in and understands the selflessness of all dharmas.

The latter surpasses the former in the accumulation of merit produced and will swiftly attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. Why is this? O Joyful King!

Long ago, in the past, incalculable kalpas ago—beyond calculation, immeasurable, limitless, and inconceivable—at that kala (immovable), at that samaya (equanimity), a Tathagata appeared in the world named King of the Majestic Wheel of Jewel-Light, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, Blessed One.

His world was named Possessing Jewels, and the kalpa was named Proceeding Accordingly.

“Furthermore, O Joyful King! At that kala and that samaya, the world Possessing Jewels of that Blessed One, the Tathagata King of the Majestic Wheel of Jewel-Light, was wealthy, abundant, and exceedingly delightful. It was crowded with many bustling people. The land was as level as the palm of a hand, without shards or gravel, and abounded in gold and silver. It was like touching cloth of ki-chan-lau-ni-ca. Eight intersecting roads adorned it, all entirely the blue color of vaidurya. Throughout most of the land, golden Jambunada lotus flowers arose naturally. The flowers were as large as chariot wheels, beautiful in color and delightfully fragrant.

“That world was vast, containing as many as sixty-four kotis of hundreds of thousands of continents. Within each group of four continents were sixty-four kotis of hundreds of thousands of cities. Each of those great cities was thirty-two yojanas wide, had walls made of the seven precious substances, and was inhabited by many kotis of nayutas of hundreds of thousands of sentient beings. Each great city was surrounded by twelve thousand villages, towns, wards, and settlements. Every one of those great cities was also adorned and surrounded by five hundred pleasure gardens filled with various jeweled trees bearing fragrant flowers and fruits.

“Within every one of those gardens were thirty-two flower ponds, each brimming with water endowed with the eight qualities. Golden sand covered their beds; jeweled railings surrounded them, interspersed with bars of vaidurya. Jeweled utpala, padma, kumuda, and pundarika flowers and others grew in those gardens. Birds such as geese, wild geese, harmonious-voiced birds, peacocks, mandarin ducks, kalavinkas, and jivajivakas dwelt among those utpala, padma, kumuda, and pundarika flowers, each producing its own call.

“O Joyful King! At that kala and that samaya, the Blessed One, the Tathagata King of the Majestic Wheel of Jewel-Light, had a garden named Delightful to Behold, within which the Blessed One dwelt. The king who ruled that realm, named Possessing the Moon, resided there together with seventy-two kotis of sravakas and eighty-four kotis of bodhisattvas, all irreversible.

“O Joyful King! The realm ruled by King Possessing the Moon contained seventy-two kotis of dwelling places. Within those territories were eight intersecting roads. Furthermore, O Joyful King! The realm ruled by King Possessing the Moon was sixty-four yojanas wide, with walls of the seven precious substances, railings of the seven precious substances, various jeweled gateposts, and rows of tala trees, all draped with nets hung with small bells.

“Furthermore, O Joyful King! At that kala and that samaya, within the realm ruled by King Possessing the Moon there was a king named Jewel-Moon, who exercised the sovereign power of a wheel-turning monarch over four thousand continents and administered royal governance in accordance with the Dharma.

“Furthermore, O Joyful King! King Jewel-Moon, throughout the realm of King Possessing the Moon, had palaces and residences constructed from the seven precious substances. Each was four yojanas wide and had seven concentric walls, and so forth, up to nets hung with bells made of the seven precious substances surrounding them, with nets of mani jewels spread above them.

“In the four directions around those palaces and residences were four great gardens. The first was named Chariot of Variegated Paintings, the second Ever-Blooming Flowers, the third Rare to Behold, and the fourth Delight in Right Conduct. Various kinds of trees grew in those great gardens: jeweled trees, flower-bearing trees, fragrant trees, fruit-bearing trees, ornament-bearing trees, garment-bearing trees, music-producing trees, pusha trees (rich sand), moon-rising trees, and sun-rising flame trees.

“Every one of those great gardens contained four great flower ponds filled with chandana water, encircled by jeweled railings, their beds spread with Jambunada golden sand. Jeweled utpala, padma, kumuda, and pundarika flowers covered the surfaces of those ponds. Mandarin ducks called together in harmony.

“Furthermore, O Joyful King! King Jewel-Moon had forty-two thousand women who ranked among celestial maidens. Among them was a foremost celestial woman named Possessing Merit. Her beauty shone more brilliantly than that of all the gods.

“Furthermore, O Joyful King! King Jewel-Moon had twelve thousand sons, whose forms and complexions were supremely wondrous, inspiring faith and affection in all who saw them. The foremost son was endowed with perfectly pure form and was adorned throughout his body with twenty-eight marks of a great man.

“O Joyful King! King Jewel-Moon left his palace and went to the garden named Delightful to Behold in Thought, where he wandered and enjoyed himself. Suddenly, upon the instep of the foremost celestial woman named Possessing Merit, a child appeared through transformation. His form and complexion were supremely wondrous, inspiring faith and affection in all who saw him, and he was fully endowed with the twenty-eight marks of a great man. At the moment of his birth, the child spoke these words: ‘All conditioned activities are impermanent, without abiding and without repose; through delusion they turn toward conditioned dharmas.’ The child then continued by speaking these verses:

All conditioned activities are impermanent and never rest;

They do not abide, are not enduring, and through delusion turn toward dharmas.

Ordinary and lesser beings conceive this to be lasting peace,

For, through desire and heedlessness, they lack right mindfulness.

Humans and gods who follow “existence and desire”

Are all impermanent, their essential nature subject to exhaustion.

Never have they known contentment or revulsion toward desire;

Uncertain, suffering desire is the root of suffering.

There is a Blessed One named Jewel-Light;

He teaches the stainless, unconditioned Dharma,

Wherein the faculties become quiescent and cease,

And the noble, undefiled bliss of bodhi.

Hear now these words that I declare:

A Tathagata’s appearance in the world is difficult to encounter.

Therefore, let us go together before the Blessed One, the Well-Gone One,

The God above gods, whose conduct is radiant.

“O Joyful King! At that time, King Jewel-Moon addressed the child in verse:

Are you a god, a naga, a yaksha, or a spirit?

O child, explain this meaning to me.

Immediately upon birth, you spoke such words

And uttered praise of the Buddha’s Dharma.

Where did you die before coming into this world?

What is your name? Tell me!

Your light shines throughout the entire garden;

You manifest the majestic spiritual power of supreme virtue.

“The child replied:

In the eastern direction there is a noble man,

A guiding teacher named Sumeru-Mass.

Having died there, I came into this world;

I wish to behold Dharma King Jewel-Light.

Thus, Supreme Dharma is my name.

I now vow to cultivate the wisdom of a Buddha.

If you wish to hear the most honored teaching,

You should go with me before the Well-Gone One.”

O King of Joy! At that time, King Moon-Jewel, together with the youth Dharma-Supreme, the women, the princes, and a great multitude surrounding them, went weeping to the Garden of Delightful Views, toward the place of the Blessed One Jewel-Radiance Majestic-Wheel-King Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Enlightened One. Upon arriving, the king bowed at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated him three times to the right, and then withdrew to stand to one side.

The great multitude accompanying the king also bowed at the feet of the Blessed One Jewel-Radiance Majestic-Wheel-King and then withdrew to stand to one side. After the youth Dharma-Supreme had paid homage at the feet of that Blessed One, he cried out there before him and spoke these words: “Blessed One! The Tathagata Sumeru-Accumulation sends his greetings and asks whether the Blessed One has little illness and little affliction, whether he dwells and moves with ease, and whether his strength and activities are comfortable.” Having spoken, the youth stood before the Blessed One Jewel-Radiance Majestic-Wheel-King Tathagata and addressed that Blessed One in verse:

Supreme One, inconceivably worthy of offerings,

Most Victorious One, who expounds the practice free from contention,

Delivering immeasurably many sentient beings,

Lord of Men seated upon the throne, I now bow before you.

In these three thousand worlds you are the King of the Teaching;

The Blessed One bestows the precious Dharma,

Widely revealing to beings the treasury of Dharma-jewels,

Vanquishing King Mara and the hosts of rakshasas.

Amid the assembly, like the moon, you shine everywhere,

Teaching the path that crosses to the shore of liberation;

Teacher of the five powers and the five faculties,

Sugata of the five eyes, I take refuge in you.

The Teacher has utterly transcended all afflictions;

Journeying throughout this land, you are a Wheel-Turning King,

Casting off the three defilements as though clearing the eyes,

Your eyes are pure, undefiled by worldly things.

Mahoragas, humans, and all living beings—

None fails to turn toward the Supreme Person.

Most Victorious One, neither high nor low,

I now reverently bow to the Kinsman of the Worlds (one close to the world).

In gain and loss, your conduct remains impartial;

Your marks bloom like flowers, O moon among men (moon-like man?).

Like a lotus, you are unstained by worldly dharmas;

Kinsman of the Worlds, you cause the branches of craving to be severed.

Well-tamed and fully perfected, your mind has been subdued;

Impartial in giving and moral discipline, your mind is free from anger.

Sentient beings difficult to tame, you have tamed;

Moon among men, the Sugata has subdued the mind (?).

Your speech is gentle, skillful, and pleasing;

When you speak, you can move the three thousand worlds.

Gods, nagas, asuras, and humans as well

Think, “It is I who utter these words.”

This is emptiness, devoid of a sentient being’s nature;

There are no characteristics, and aspirations too are relinquished.

Here you teach that there is “nowhere to go”;

There is also no coming, nor is there death.

The dharmadhatu is unmoving and has no dwelling place;

It clings neither to a former nor a later life.

The interval between them is like empty space;

You teach this Dharma as free from thought.

The Blessed One constantly teaches the ultimate reality;

Within it, beings of every world turn about in delusion.

Like the blind, filled with affliction and wrath,

They give rise to notions of self and person.

These dharmas resemble clouds and illusions;

What the eye sees is unmoving and empty.

If this supremely wondrous patience is attained,

The Teacher will always attend upon those people.

It is like drawing all manner of things in empty space:

There is no place, not a single place to abide.

Thus, the place of abiding is naturally known,

And therefore there is not a single place to abide.

Sounds, when heard, possess no reality;

Nor can any dwelling place be seen.

Whether hearing or speaking, it is likewise so;

Their intrinsic nature is unmoving and empty.

O Victor in the Dharma, their essence and characteristics are also empty;

One will see their manifestations as illusions.

If one sees without making distinctions in this way,

One will see the Sugata in just the same manner.

Realms and non-realms—all realms are equal;

All Buddhas are equal in the Buddha’s merit;

All dharmas are equal, quiescent, and empty;

All sentient beings are equally devoid of sentient beings.

The inexhaustible is utterly exhausted within exhaustion;

The inexhaustible is utterly exhausted outside exhaustion.

That exhaustion is not exhausted; exhaustion is inexhaustible;

Such patience accords with this forever.

Discrimination upon discrimination gives rise to discrimination,

Yet dharmas have no place from which they arise.

If they have arisen, they have eternally not arisen;

Such patience accords with this forever.

Seeing views, one constantly finds no essence of seeing;

Or one sees that things are not as thus contemplated.

Or one sees that these dharmas are empty;

Such patience accords with this forever.

Never has one been able to know the former life;

The supreme ultimate reality lies in not knowing.

Reality is eternally devoid of reality; if one comprehends this,

Then that former limit (former life) is accordingly cut off.

Amid boundaries, one relies upon neither the bounded nor the boundless;

One never abides on this shore or the other shore.

If there is no dwelling place within the three realms of existence,

Then one abides there within ultimate reality.

If one abides there within ultimate reality,

Then there is no dwelling place within the three realms.

If there is no dwelling place within the three realms,

Then one constantly abides within ultimate reality.

If form is seen as gathered foam,

And feeling is known to be like a rising bubble,

While perception is like a fiercely blazing flame,

Then, knowing this, one abides within ultimate reality.

The aggregates are conditioned and impermanent;

If formations are discerned as resembling a plantain tree,

And consciousness is known to be like an illusion,

Then that mass, dispersed, has been extinguished.

If one skillfully cultivates loving-kindness and compassion,

Relying upon neither oneself nor others,

And cultivates the supreme, pure practice of mindfulness,

Then one will become a Buddha, like the gods of the Pure Abodes.

If one completely transcends all afflictions,

Then one has never grasped or clung.

Abandoning all possessions, relinquishing them entirely—

Such generosity is praised by the Buddha.

If one sees the body as the moon reflected in water,

Knows spoken words to be like an echo,

And knows the mind to be like lightning in the sky,

Such moral discipline is supreme within the three realms.

If patience is fully mastered, one reaches the other shore;

That mind is not harmed by external things.

One can know the six faculties to be like an empty village;

Such patience is praised by the Sugata.

Fearless, if one delights in solitary tranquility,

With lucid wisdom repeatedly traversing its sphere,

Body and mind quiescent, conduct upright and pure—

Such diligence is supreme within the three realms.

If one extinguishes the intrinsic nature of affliction,

Empty of discrimination, one is a person of quiescent wisdom.

If perceptions do not turn within the three realms,

Then such samadhi is praised by the Sugata.

If one knows that no person exists herein,

Then one immediately attains supreme wisdom.

Thus, transcending conceptual proliferation, one is quiescent;

Within the three realms, that wisdom is unsurpassed.

If one does not grow weary within existence,

While practicing austerities for kalpas in pursuit of wisdom,

And never yearns for an inferior vehicle,

Then all the hosts of Mara are terrified.

As one might take a drop of water from the ocean,

So have I spoken of the supreme merits of the Most Victorious One.

The Buddha-Dharma is vast and without bounds;

Never can its furthest shore be reached.

O Joyful King! At that time, when the youth Dharmottara recited these verses before the Blessed One, the Tathagata Jewel-Light Majestic Wheel-King, the entire trichiliocosm shook in six ways; hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of musical instruments sounded simultaneously, and fragrant substances, garlands, unguents, and powdered incense rained down. Eight thousand bodhisattvas attained patience with regard to the unarisen nature of dharmas. King Jeweled Moon, together with the women, the youths, and that great assembly, all aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed perfect enlightenment.

O Joyful King! The youth Dharmottara then addressed the Blessed One, the Tathagata Jewel-Light Majestic Wheel-King, saying: “Blessed One! Through which samadhis will great bodhisattvas be able to gather all dharmas?

How will they gather the meritorious adornments of a Buddha-land? How will they bring assemblies of shravakas and bodhisattvas to fulfillment? How will they obtain unsurpassed wealth and enjoyments?

How will they transcend all maras and evil afflictions? How will they perfect right mindfulness, right intention, right aspiration, moral shame, moral dread, steadfastness, and wisdom? How will they retain all that they have heard?

How will they perfect the five superknowledges and supreme wisdom? How will they attain unattached eloquence and delight in teaching dharanis? How will they perfect eloquence?

How will they perfect the six paramitas? How will they obtain perfect birth, family, lineage, physical form, and enjoyments? How will their speech and actions delight others?

How will they perfect all virtues? How will they become skilled in entering and emerging from meditative absorptions, liberations, and samadhis? How will they perfect the various merits of wisdom and, even before attaining universal knowledge, continually perform the deeds of a Buddha for sentient beings?”

When the youth had spoken thus before that Buddha, the Blessed One, the Tathagata Jewel-Light Majestic Wheel-King, said to the youth Dharmottara: “Youth, listen! Listen well, and carefully reflect upon this! I shall expound it for you. If great bodhisattvas perfect samadhi, they will attain these qualities and immeasurable, innumerable, incalculable other supreme virtues; they will also swiftly proceed toward the seat of enlightenment. Youth, there is a samadhi called Resolute Observation of the Practices of All Dharmas. Upon attaining this samadhi, great bodhisattvas transcend every realm of mara and swiftly awaken to unsurpassed perfect enlightenment.” The Tathagata then extensively explained this samadhi to that youth in verse:

As one speaks, so should one act;

Having acted, one does not speak falsely.

Pure in body, speech, and mind,

One possesses loving-kindness that benefits others.

Never forgetting compassion,

And weary of all sensual conduct,

One joyfully and constantly seeks the Dharma,

And never abandons the wisdom of one’s vows.

Skillful in words of loving-kindness,

One enters into knowledge of sentient beings.

One does not begrudge bodily deeds,

And harbors no craving for the body.

One must immediately abandon harsh speech

And allow no idle speculation within the mind.

One rescues sentient beings from suffering

And awakens those who are heedless.

One teaches the diligent what accords with the path,

And leads the remorseful out of remorse.

One does not abide in the perception of sentient beings.

(The Sanskrit text is missing one line.)

One does not discriminate perceptions of things,

And remains far removed from smoke and grasping.

All characteristics will also cease;

One remains unmoved amid enjoyments.

One should constantly seek wisdom

And remain far removed from worldly speech.

One should seek to attain the supramundane,

With right mindfulness never forgotten.

Mindfully accord with all dharmas;

Thus will one become skillful and wise.

Bring every undertaking to fulfillment,

While acting in harmony with the world.

One should believe in karmic retribution

And remain far removed from disbelief.

One should have faith in all Buddhas

And constantly remain mindful accordingly.

One should always confess one’s transgressions,

Rejoice in accumulated merit,

Entreat all Buddhas to teach,

And bow in homage before the Blessed Ones.

Always subdue pride and arrogance,

And never weary of doing good.

Always apply oneself diligently;

Whatever one intends to do, do not abandon it.

Accomplish the practice of true cultivation,

And understand the causes of what is created.

Do not follow names and conventional designations;

When reproached, do not become angry.

Do not cling to words,

Nor regard them as ultimately true.

One need not abide in the Desire Realm,

Nor among the classes of the Form and Formless Realms.

As karma has been performed, its recompense is experienced;

One should believe in that result.

Share the things one uses,

And instruct others without harming them.

Remain impartial toward sentient beings,

And do not harm even a single person.

Be angry with neither the diligent nor the indolent,

And resent no one for what they have attained.

One’s wholesome aspirations should be fulfilled;

Protect one’s vows in accordance with the Dharma.

Never depart from moral discipline,

And utterly eliminate pride.

Transform the faults of resentment and anger,

And uproot delusion as well.

Do not give rise to lustful conduct;

Be content with whatever one obtains.

Leave behind all intimates and relatives.

When no gain comes, let the mind not sink;

When gain is obtained, do not become elated;

Rejoice only in attaining the benefit of the Dharma.

Always distribute things impartially,

And abandon hoarding.

Upon hearing abusive words,

Patiently endure them in silence.

Always guard one’s speech,

And proclaim the vehicle of enlightenment.

Always exhort others to apply themselves diligently,

And remain close to those who practice with vigor.

Constantly inquire of the wise,

And carefully cultivate right concentration.

Do not abandon dwelling in solitude;

Abide in dhutanga practice and fewness of desires.

One should have confident understanding of emptiness

And remain unattached to things.

Do not rely upon or linger in villages;

Harbor no sensual craving within any realm.

Do not perceive a self within,

And do not become attached to sensory objects.

Eliminate all inverted conceptions,

And constantly guard the mind.

One should bring forth wisdom

And continually perform deeds of right conduct.

Let the mind never be timid or fainthearted;

Be mindful of the pure field of merit.

All conditioned formations should be relinquished;

Having given, seek no reward.

Do not entertain the thought that one observes moral discipline,

And make no distinctions concerning patience.

Do not conceive of having aroused diligence,

Nor rely upon meditative concentration.

Do not forget any dharma;

Through wisdom, one should awaken and penetrate them.

One should enter all the paramitas;

Among lucid virtues, contemplate what has never been before.

Hearing of another’s virtues, feel no anger or jealousy;

Maintain an impartial mind toward the conditioned and the unconditioned.

At all times take nirvana as one’s support,

And always remain far removed from the conditioned.

Continually recognize liberation as peaceful and secure;

Regard a village as one would a murderer.

Always give rise to love for the state of nirvana,

And constantly abide in harmony and patient forbearance.

Keep a joyful countenance and do not frown;

Upon seeing others, be the first to inquire after them.

Treat elders with loving-kindness, compassion, and respect,

And skillfully maintain continuity of the mind of wisdom.

Never rebuke or punish others;

If disputes arise, cause them to subside.

Always praise places of tranquility,

And constantly teach concord, bringing sentient beings into harmony.

Toward the loved and the unloved, remain ever impartial;

One should always seek the Gateway of Dharani.

Love all living beings as a mother does;

Love noble beings as a father does.

Love and respect close companions;

Love bodhisattvas as one loves the Buddha, the Blessed One.

Love the Dharma as one loves one’s own body,

And seek to hear teachings without weariness or satisfaction.

Having heard the Dharma, practice it correctly;

Always make offerings to the Tathagata.

Have confident understanding of the supreme Dharma,

With neither timidity nor indolence.

Always make offerings to the Three Jewels;

Patiently endure improper words.

Never cling fondly to one’s own body,

And do not begrudge even one’s life.

Live a pure life and always seek alms;

Do not abandon dhutanga practice, but follow the proper sequence.

Never leave one’s solitary dwelling;

Go far, and farther still, abandoning the multitude.

Do not delight in dwelling with householders,

And do not disrupt those who have gone forth.

Without attachment or deceit, first speak kind words,

And guide many people into the wisdom of the Buddha.

When teaching the Dharma, let the mind be fearless;

Skillfully employ expedient means to discern others.

Always keep the Buddha present within the mind,

And constantly contemplate the Dharma without heedlessness;

Likewise, always show reverence toward the Sangha.

Always make offerings to the wise,

And remain constantly close to those skilled in wisdom and expedient means.

Always act without contention toward those established in concentration;

With a benevolent heart, assist those who practice diligently.

Be mindful of cultivating the Dharma, and have faith in meritorious deeds.

Teach and transform sentient beings, causing them to do good;

Love those who have faith, and maintain an upright heart.

Whenever suffering is encountered, be able to dispel it.

Always rely on timely practice; abandon what is untimely.

Always practice fear of wrongdoing and a sense of shame;

Amid those evils, give rise to shame and dread.

Having completely abandoned all improper conduct,

Always draw near to those of right conduct.

For the sake of liberation, guard the precepts,

And likewise seek to enter the noble practices.

Always be mindful of cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness,

And constantly draw near to the four right efforts.

The four bases of spiritual power will also be perfected,

And the faculties will likewise arise.

One should seek the powers as well as concentration,

And constantly contemplate the seven factors of awakening.

One should always cultivate the eightfold path,

And also seek to gather together shamatha.

Vipashyana always gives rise to truth;

With a mind already filled with sympathetic joy, contemplate.

Within the Dharma of sympathetic joy, joy arises again,

And one will also transcend all objects of attachment.

Hearing of the state without abiding, do not be afraid;

Regarding what cannot be attained, do not be negligent.

One should always aspire to the practice of bodhi.

Believe in and extol the practices performed by the Buddha.

One should become disenchanted with and abandon practices bound to sense realms,

And should also relinquish practices formerly performed.

Purify one’s own karma and do not speak of others’ faults;

Never violate the disciplinary practices, but always carry them out.

Skillfully study the prohibitive precepts of individual liberation;

Abandon the untimely and always rely on timely practice.

Skillfully considering both departure and return,

Know the measure of good things and restrain oneself from them;

Within the lineage of the noble ones, always know contentment,

And likewise seek entry into the higher knowledges.

Within samadhi, one must take up an object,

And concerning the practice of concentration, know how to enter it.

One must enter what is desired, giving rise to the resolve for beings,

In accordance with the words spoken by the guiding teacher.

One should also embrace the teaching of non-self;

If there are diligent practitioners, cause them to rejoice.

Be mindful of cultivation in accord with the Supreme Essence;

One should always be mindful of this samadhi.

Having heard, trust in the right practice of the shravakas;

One should study and follow the path of the pratyekabuddhas.

The lineage of all Buddhas destroys the path of Mara;

One should always seek this samadhi.

The practice of supreme awakening is initiated through giving;

Those who do not retreat practice as the World-Honored One did.

Through many kotis of kalpas, the wise practice wisdom;

Indeed, the ocean of learning is the domain of Dharma practice.

Within this realm, the Dharma is honored;

If there is faithful understanding, it is the gate of true reality.

This manifestation is the dwelling place of the Buddhas;

Within this treasury of Dharma, seek precious jewels.

Within this field, seek that fruit;

The heat of the afflictions is within the delightful garden.

Delighting in upholding the Dharma—this is the garden;

Craving and views are that samadhi.

Those who seek the pure qualities are born from this mother;

Those who have desires attain non-reliance.

Supremely wondrous marks will bind them,

And beauties conforming to those marks will also appear.

Here, adorned lands abide securely;

Here too, one hears and preserves the teaching.

All manner of things arise; here one accords with awakening;

The words are pure and the speech is true.

One can also transcend the realm of Mara,

Gather what is far-reaching, and don the armor.

Destroy the afflictions by relying upon discipline;

This also shatters all unwholesome things.

Desiring all wholesome qualities to flourish,

Desiring one’s aspirations to serve as adornments,

Even Mara cannot destroy the great assembly;

The exposition of this is likewise inexhaustible.

This seeks equality with the world;

The treatise masters among non-Buddhists are not right and true.

This can transcend the Dharma of the shravakas;

It is the condition for the supreme state of a pratyekabuddha.

This preserves the wisdom of omniscience;

Here also abide the destinations of sentient beings.

This can truly instruct and admonish people.

At such a time, choose the words of a spiritual friend.

For those whose faculties are stainless, this is the divine eye;

And one should seek the Dharma eye.

Seeking one who teaches the Dharma—this lights the torch;

Seeking words of truthful vows—this brings true fulfillment.

Seeking one endowed with giving—this is relinquishment;

Seeking the view of liberation—this accords with diligence.

Seeking one who delights in concentration—this is pure faith;

Desiring to hear the ocean of Dharma—this is right practice.

The phrase that settles the stream of delusion—this is power;

Desiring to seek the path of Dharma—this is the equal master.

For the sake of sublime purity and adornment,

Disciplining one’s own mind—that is Brahma-conduct.

Skillful means in seeking the Dharma—this is a joyful mind;

And non-retrogression—this is the practice.

This is the practice of proceeding toward eloquence;

Always be mindful of those who are wise and of keen faculties.

This is the initial task of skillful means;

The bull-king among men—that is the banner of wisdom.

Those who seek supremacy have this as their bow and arrow;

Seeking non-self is Narayana (?).

If one proceeds toward universal wisdom, this is the path;

Seeking wholesome liberation is equality in precepts.

This is the place where devas always bow in homage;

This is the place where nagas continually scatter flowers;

And where people all present offerings.

The yakshas praise it as rare and excellent;

Hundreds of arhats also bow in rejoicing.

The Supreme Devas of bodhi also extol it;

All Tathagatas remain mindful of it.

Those who wish to guard the faculties have it as their citadel;

Abiding in accordance with the Dharma accords with skillful means.

Relying upon concentration, one attains equality;

Those who harbor doubts are caused to disperse them.

Those who harbor delusion are caused to sever it entirely;

The affliction of pride is caused to perish.

Those who wish to cross to the other shore are enabled to cross;

For the bondage of illness, this is good medicine.

For those who are ill, this is true healing;

It can extract the poisoned arrow of the afflictions.

Those who wish to accord with reason should form this contemplation;

Amid the assembly, they roar the lion’s roar without fear.

In the presence of the Sugata, seek to hear the Dharma;

This constant path is nirvana.

It can sever all evil destinies,

And enable one to transcend the three realms.

Those seeking a realm of merit are adorned by this;

The diamond-like concentration is united with it,

Giving rise at last to the lion throne.

In seeking merit, this is never lost;

Whatever one seeks is all gathered within this.

Those who are always weary and deficient are inspired to aspire;

Those who have not yet generated diligence are caused to form the aspiration.

Those who cling to conditions are caused to become firmly established;

Distinctive Dharma practices shelter them and cause them to abide.

Possessing the essence of equality, this brings accomplishment;

Relying on objects of arrogance and heedlessness, this dispels them.

Whatever is overbearing, this causes one to relinquish.

It knows every kind of wisdom throughout the whole oceanic continent;

For those seeking wisdom, it gives rise to wisdom.

Merit sought through establishing assemblies is never lost;

Reliance upon the three realms of existence is brought to an end by this.

In seeking bodhi, there is always no mark.

The dharmas of the three times are empty;

Having known this, do not abandon them.

At all times, with wisdom in skillful means,

Act for the sake of all worlds.

The Buddha lineage sighs in praise;

The wisdom of the Buddhas arises from this.

Do not seek to find faults

In the one who teaches the Dharma;

Likewise, do not slight

What that person has seen but you have not yet learned.

Do not become angry with the Dharma teacher;

Draw near and show reverence.

On hearing the truth, one must know it as true;

Do not slander the wise.

When giving the Dharma, expect no material thing;

When teaching the Dharma, do not be miserly.

When hearing the Dharma, honor it fully;

Do not let the mind become scattered and confused.

Devote yourself wholeheartedly to teaching the Dharma.

If you see those who delight in desire,

Do not cease the gift of Dharma;

Do not become involved in other matters.

Patiently endure direct questioning,

Whether one asks for the sake of liberation

Or whether one bears an evil mind;

Amid it all, cultivate patience.

Regret and doubt as well—

Sever them all for their sake.

If you see those who have not attained the path,

Proclaim the path for them.

When contemplating this concentration,

One easily attains the wisdom of the World-Honored One.

In all deeds and all offerings,

Remain beside the Dharma teacher.

Seek the supreme eightfold path;

Do not become involved in other matters.

If an evil mind contends and quarrels,

Subdue those who are difficult to tame.

Do not rely on that “equal sufficiency”;

One should seek the bases of spiritual power.

Mindfulness, wisdom, and the sphere of practice—

Those who seek the Dharma

All arise and declare:

If the resolve for the practice of bodhi is generated,

The words of the Buddha’s wisdom are revealed.

They abide securely throughout those realms,

Teaching and transforming sentient beings.

If that Dharma teacher speaks,

Its flavor is exceedingly delicious.

If one practices in the aranya

And seeks the mastery of spiritual powers,

One roars the lion’s roar.

The practices of those wise ones

Are praised together with quiescent cessation.

When heat is ended, there is coolness;

This is the phrase “not falling.”

Teaching benefit releases bonds;

Joy and bliss arise in the body.

That mind is also thrilled with awe and joy;

The wise sport in wisdom.

They seek all-pervading wisdom

And have pure faith in those dharmas.

Abiding in the Buddha’s wisdom without retreat,

They are resolute for bodhi.

The pure qualities are cultivated in accord;

All evils are cast away.

With the black auxiliaries destroyed,

The pure qualities then return of themselves.

Those who train in the precepts,

If they wish to seek merit,

Those people shall attain it.

If they seek, they shall accord with it;

Those people shall attain

The marks of dignity adorning their bodies.

This practice the Buddha knows in accord;

Having drawn near to the noble ones,

Bright wisdom illuminates within wisdom,

And universal wisdom and Buddha-wisdom are perfected.

Having abided here, they shall behold

A koti of dignified noble ones.

Herein lies great power.

When the wise inquire about their doubts,

Those doubts are cut away,

And all delusions are utterly extinguished.

Herein the Buddha-Dharma arises,

And one receives the praise of the Victorious One.

They abandon evil destinies

And all the afflictions they possess;

They do not lose any merit.

If they aspire to merit,

They shall form affinities with the wise.

Their love of the Dharma becomes supreme,

And they rejoice in the Dharma-eye,

Drawing near to courageous people.

Their exposition of the Dharma flows like a stream.

If they wish to seek skillful speech,

Once they have spoken, they shall safeguard

What is possessed by those who teach the Dharma,

And they shall understand all causes and conditions,

Delighting in meeting those on whom they may rely.

Among all dharmas they accord skillfully,

Distinguishing harmony from disharmony,

The essence of wisdom from skillful means,

Having spoken of all dharmas.

Thus they reveal all dharmas

Through true and genuine contemplative wisdom.

To sever the net of craving,

They must abandon every attachment and desire;

Ignorance is dissolved within,

And manifest illumination shall be attained.

Universally knowing the nature of enumeration within,

Therein they are said to be unattached.

Knowing the mind and its manifold thoughts,

These have now been extensively explained;

Form and name encompass

All that has been spoken herein.

Observing the place of the six faculties,

They see it as an empty village;

Understanding external contact,

They shall behold the Buddha’s wisdom.

If they are free from the three kinds of speech,

They grasp what lies within;

And they extinguish the three kinds of craving—

This is what is spoken herein.

It is said herein that they relinquish

Whatever place in which they are born,

And sever all becoming.

It is taught in this samadhi

That the arising of compounded illness is ended forever,

And one departs from the deadly poison of name.

Within the quiescence of all suffering,

The streams of discrimination,

The worries that cause delight,

And evil thoughts are dispersed,

Perfecting pure skillful means.

If one practices this Dharma

And fully examines it,

If there is a quest for supreme attainment,

One brings illumination into evil anger.

If there are deluded eyes,

Herein the Buddha’s thunder resounds.

When the wheel of Dharma is turned,

This powerful practice is extolled.

If there is worldly wisdom,

Herein it is wholly dispelled.

If there are turbid and disorderly afflictions,

Herein all views are destroyed.

Whatever notion of self one relies upon,

Whatever one receives and preserves,

All are fully explained herein,

Unmingled with Buddha-wisdom.

Thus shall supreme attainment be gained,

And all dharmas continually increase.

This is the path of skillful wisdom,

Where pure dharmas ever gather in quiescence,

Far removed from all evil karma.

Ever cultivate mindfulness of the Buddha-Dharma;

What is spoken shall be free of outflows.

Do not sever the lineage of the Blessed One;

One should abide herein,

So that the Dharma lineage shines forth

And the noble Sangha gathers all in.

One should subdue disputatious masters

When followers of other paths seek to rise.

Proclaiming the Dharma as good,

They shall raise their praises.

Constantly practicing the bodhi conduct,

They entertain no conceptual thought therein.

Like the moon, toward all sentient beings

They constantly give rise to thoughts of friendship.

Regarding all dharmas as the orb of the sun,

They always maintain right reflection.

They continually give rise to the perception of a teacher

Within that meditative reflection.

This samadhi is like a king,

Extensively proclaimed for sentient beings,

Guiding the wise along the way

Toward right faith in pure dharmas.

The fruit of amrita ripens to perfection,

Causing mindfulness of former lives to abide.

Conception is without defilement,

And the ways of delusion are renounced.

When the boundless merits

Of the Buddha, the Great Sage, are praised;

When the wisdom of the Blessed One is upheld;

When what the Well-Gone One taught

Is transcribed with wisdom;

And when it is proclaimed—merit shall be attained.

Having departed far from other paths,

This is the immovable place.

The words accepted by the world

Are the words of all Buddhas.

The merits of the Buddhas of the past

Are sought in future lives;

The Buddhas abiding in the present—

These are the treasuries of jewels.

To lead sentient beings into the practice,

The Sravaka Vehicle is taught.

With wisdom that never forgets,

The Buddha-Dharma is the seal.

From this comes that mighty power;

This is the unchanging jewel,

And all wisdom is swiftly perfected.

Those wishing to inquire into the Buddha’s merits

Delight in the Dharma without weariness,

Quench all fires of affliction,

And shall perfect the wisdom of skillful means.

They contemplate the earth dhatu distinctly;

The water dhatu shall enter within;

They enter the samadhi of the fire dhatu;

For the wind dhatu there is no abiding place.

They are not deluded concerning the space dhatu,

And the consciousness dhatu appears within wisdom.

They are caused to enter the Dharma-dhatu,

To become disenchanted with and depart from all conditioned formations,

To dissolve every defiled craving,

And to deepen their revulsion toward the oceans of becoming.

They eliminate all calamities,

And also thoroughly understand other practices;

If one wished to explain them, there would be no end.

Within undefiled skillful means,

They shall accordantly know the point of emergence.

Having abandoned the view of self,

They also depart far from what belongs to self.

Defiled attachments must be dispersed,

And arrogance should be subdued.

Like a dog going about for food,

They are not greedy when alms are given.

Having eaten, they should be fully satisfied;

After eating, they must know contentment.

In the aggregates, nothing can be lacking;

They must swiftly cross the great flood.

No treatise can refute them.

They are pure and upright, clinging to no conditions,

And remain far removed from sloth and torpor.

They draw near to those who teach the Dharma,

Immediately transcend restlessness and frivolity,

And should also extinguish doubt.

They cause all desires to dissolve

And likewise depart far from indolence.

The self cannot be found;

They cause non-self to be clearly revealed.

They do not abide together with the life faculty,

Nor should they cling to dharmas.

They do not dispute concerning the Dharma,

But speak in accord with meaning and impartiality.

Using a mind skilled in contemplation,

They see that all practices possessed are empty.

They must draw near to the wise

And be timid in no place.

Therein they must have faithful understanding;

Amid the assembly, they should not be afraid.

They speak of the merits of others

And do not exalt themselves.

The practice of Universal Wisdom

Must always be cultivated.

Unattached to any dwelling place,

They are like birds flying away without a trace.

They should not practice for gain or support,

Nor should they give thought to themselves.

Their minds should not become diminished;

They skillfully know the place for walking meditation.

They must cultivate mindfulness in accord,

Without conceptual thought or longing recollection,

And should also seek liberation,

Always dwelling in a place of serenity.

Constantly mindful in cultivating the pure conduct,

They shall swiftly attain samadhi.

Loving-kindness arises from an impartial mind;

Compassion gathers and guides in accord;

With sympathetic joy, they delight in the Dharma;

As for equanimity, attachment must always be abandoned.

Through morality they cherish others;

Through samadhi they shall awaken to the Dharma;

Through wisdom they do what should be done,

And afterward suffer no remorse.

They must bring forth inexhaustible wisdom

And should also employ skillful words.

Though the word “self” enters their speech,

In what they say they seek no gain.

They do not delight in miscellaneous talk;

Thus they abide without weariness or deficiency.

Neither rejecting nor adding anything,

All dharmas are bodhisattvas.

Do not destroy or scatter any dharma;

Thus speak with luminous clarity.

Do not deceive sentient beings;

Take refuge in the Three Jewels.

Embrace the True Dharma completely,

And make aspirations firm and steadfast.

Do not delight in the Lesser Vehicle;

Day and night, practice diligently in harmony.

For the sake of seeking all dharmas,

Universal Wisdom returns from there.

All Buddhas are this treasury;

Samadhi is like the ocean.

O Joyful King! At that time, the Tathagata King of the Majestic Wheel of Jeweled Light extensively expounded this “Samadhi of Decisive Contemplation and Teaching of the Practices of All Dharmas” in verse for the youth Supreme Dharma. When he taught this samadhi, King Jeweled Moon, his children, and his retinue attained non-retrogression from unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. A full one thousand beings aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, and the stages of training of immeasurable beings advanced.

O Joyful King! What do you think? At that time and on that occasion, who was the youth named Supreme Dharma? Was he someone else? You should not regard him as another person. Why is this? Good son, you yourself were, at that time and on that occasion, the youth named Supreme Dharma. Good son, the one who at that time and on that occasion was King Jeweled Moon is none other than the great bodhisattva Maitreya today. The king’s children are none other than the assembly of great bodhisattvas now gathered and seated here.

O Joyful King! At that time, the great bodhisattva Supreme Dharma, together with his father, mother, elders, friends, and spiritual companions—a full thirty-six thousand kotis of beings—renounced the household life and went forth in the teaching of the Tathagata, the Blessed One, King of the Majestic Wheel of Jeweled Light. O Joyful King! Delighting in that Blessed One’s teaching, very many of them became bhikshus, bhikshunis, upasakas, and upasikas.

At that time, the Blessed One, knowing the meaning of this matter and wishing to elucidate it further, then spoke the following verses:

I recall that many kotis of kalpas ago,

There was a Supreme Victor named Jeweled Light.

His Sangha was exceedingly numerous,

And there were bodhisattvas whose defilements had ended.

That Buddha-land was delightful and pure,

Naturally adorned like a celestial palace;

Its ornaments, gardens, villages, towns, and cities

Were strewn with flowers, level as the palm of a hand.

Within it was a king named Jeweled Moon,

Sovereign and master of thousands of continents.

Complete in merit and wisdom, he was a sage,

Possessing vast supernormal powers and boundless treasuries.

While the king delighted in roaming through a forest garden,

His celestial consort, having conceived, gave birth to a son.

Named Supreme Dharma, he was worthy of admiration,

Adorned with excellent marks and radiant with golden color.

As soon as the youth was born, he spoke wondrous words,

Proclaiming and praising the Buddha’s Dharma.

He spoke of the evils of household life, devoid of the virtue of leisure,

And also declared all the faults of sensual desire.

He guided and transformed his parents and relatives;

The wise youth resolved to establish them in pure faith.

That king rejoiced and leapt with delight,

And went toward the Supreme Victor, the Great Sage.

The youth did not return inside the household,

But remained with his father in the garden,

Together with his relatives and the great assembly—

Three billion six hundred million before the Blessed One.

That great elephant among kings arrived there

And beheld Jeweled Light, the Dharma King.

His heart grew still more joyful, filled with supreme devotion;

He bowed at his feet and sat to one side.

Supreme Dharma also bowed at the Supreme Victor’s feet,

Then joined his palms and attended upon the Blessed One.

Having thus paid reverence to that Buddha,

The youth extolled him in verses of praise.

Before the Supreme Victor, he offered abundant praise

To the true virtues of the Dharma-body, the guiding teacher.

The king, his children, and their followers

Aroused the aspiration for bodhi.

Supreme Dharma questioned the Buddha,

Who taught this samadhi, quiescent and free from defilement:

“Those who valiantly abide in this samadhi

Awaken to bodhi and subdue Mara.”

The Honored One among Two-Footed Beings accepted the request,

Knowing that the youth’s mind possessed pure faith.

He then taught him this samadhi, difficult to behold,

And, with great majesty and virtue, praised it in verse.

When that Buddha taught this samadhi—

The bodhi of all Buddhas, quiescent and free from defilement—

The king, his children, and all his subjects

At once became established in the Buddha’s wisdom, never to regress.

Many trainees and those beyond training were gathered there;

Having heard of such a quiescent samadhi,

Many more kotis of living beings

Aroused the aspiration for bodhi.

The king, his children, and their followers

Were all made to weary of and relinquish the meritorious pleasures of the five desires.

At that time, the youth served as their leader,

And there they immediately renounced the household life and went forth.

All who delighted in that guiding teacher

Filled every place, both humans and devas.

The followers of that Sugata were exceedingly numerous;

Their number could not easily be measured.

Joyful King! In that former age,

You were precisely the youth called Supreme Dharma!

The one who was his royal father then

Is now the bodhisattva Maitreya!

All the princes who existed at that time

Are precisely the members of the assembly seated here!

Know the beings within this continuum of realms,

And cause them to purify their conduct.

Therefore, having heard this quiescent samadhi,

You should accept and uphold it, ever with pure faith.

Constantly teach it to others without withholding it;

Then the Buddha’s wisdom will not be difficult to attain.

The measure of that merit cannot easily be known,

Though it be described for immeasurable kalpas.

If you can preserve this supreme samadhi,

Teach it to beings and do not be heedless.

At that time, the great bodhisattva Joyful King addressed the Buddha, saying:

“Rare indeed, O Blessed One! This samadhi produces abundant benefit. It can bestow upon bodhisattvas the virtuous qualities of the Dharma and cause them to progress in their successive births. O Blessed One! When bodhisattvas attain this samadhi, which dharmas should they approach, cultivate in mindfulness, and practice extensively? Which dharmas should they not approach, not cultivate in mindfulness, and not practice extensively? Excellent indeed, O Blessed One! Which dharmas should be present, and which should be absent? O Blessed One, I pray that you will expound this extensively for me! O Sugata, I pray that you will distinguish and explain it for me! Which dharmas should a bodhisattva possess, and which should a bodhisattva not possess?”

The Buddha said:

– O Joyful King! A bodhisattva does not grow weary within transmigration. A bodhisattva makes no distinctions among sentient beings. A bodhisattva does not appropriate wealth. A bodhisattva is not partial in giving. A bodhisattva is never disrespectful toward training; in upholding the precepts, nothing is produced; his mind is not afflicted by fever, his mind is not timid, he entertains no erroneous thoughts, and he does not attain anything through unreflective thought. Among sentient beings, a bodhisattva does not kill; he does not steal another’s property; he is not attached to another’s wife; he does not utter words that create evil karma; he does not speak divisively, harshly, or frivolously; he does not covet what belongs to others; he does not follow anger and hatred; he does not hold the view of a dense forest of manifold practices; he does not transgress the aspiration for bodhi; he does not slander the Dharma or disdain the Sangha; there is no venerable person whom he does not respect; he is not afraid at the gates of liberation; he does not grow weary in working for others; he does not praise himself or disparage others; he does not conform to practices that perpetuate transmigration, while there is no practice leading beyond transmigration that he does not follow; once he has made a vow, he certainly does not alter it; what he has undertaken, he certainly does not repeatedly abandon; he is grateful for what others do, yet expects nothing for what he himself does; he does not despise the powerless or disparage those who have not yet learned; he does not cling to wife and children and harbors neither affection nor aversion; he keeps no private secrets from his teacher, and conceals nothing when teaching the Dharma as a master; he entertains no thought of harming any dharma; he does not weary of giving the Dharma or become indolent in seeking the Dharma; he does not teach because he is bound by gain; he does not make friends for the sake of gifts; he does not serve others with flattery or speak duplicitously; he does not draw near and render service in order to deceive; he does not despise the Dharma; he is free from self and what belongs to self; he does not cling to the body or cherish his life; he holds no view of self and creates no enmity; he slanders neither what is true nor what is untrue; when others fall away from the Dharma, he does not angrily expose their faults; his affection is not merely temporary; he does not betray his friends; he does not deceive those close to him; regarding what is true and untrue, he does not transgress through exalting one or debasing the other, nor does he practice deception; he does not direct others at an improper time; he entertains no thought of rivalry toward other sentient beings; he is not indolent in initiating undertakings; he does not impair patience; he does not answer harsh words in kind; he does not remain bound by resentment; he does not bully the lowly; he takes no delight in jesting speech; there is nothing exquisite that he will not relinquish; there is no food or drink that he will not share; when giving, he does not offer inferior things; he engages in no improper conduct with women and harbors no defilement toward men; he does not abandon right faith; he is not lax in the precepts of training; there is nothing of which he is not morally ashamed or apprehensive; he is never shameless; he is not deficient in merit or learning; having given, he does not regret it; he is not confused concerning wisdom; there is nothing within the Three Jewels that he does not revere; he does not regard conventional truth as substantial; he does not enter into defiled attachment to ultimate truth; he does not hold the view of a dense forest of practices; he does not grasp at self; he does not lose right mindfulness; he does not act contrary to the right efforts; he is not intoxicated by the bases of spiritual power; his faculties are not feeble and his powers are not weak; there is nothing among the factors of awakening that he does not understand; he does not waver from the Path; in samadhi, he does not cling to characteristics; in shamatha, he does not abide in a fixed state; in vipashyana, he makes no discriminations; he does not realize knowledge and liberation for himself alone; he is unobstructed regarding the truths; there is no ‘perfection leading to the other shore’ that he does not arouse; he does not cling to the aggregates, rely upon the dhatus, or attain at an improper time; among the shravakas, he does not seek realization for himself (100). Among the bodhisattvas, there is none whom he does not regard as a teacher; within the ayatanas, he entertains no conceptual thought; he relies upon none of the sense objects; he is not born into an evil destiny through his own karma; while dwelling in the womb, he experiences no suffering; he takes no delight in transmigration, yet entertains no perception of suffering in transmigration; he has no fear in any place of birth; there is no sentient being for whom he is not a field of merit; he does not lack seeds, and when planting them in a field he ultimately expects nothing; among the fields of merit constituted by recipients, none is left empty or deficient; in generosity he is not constrained by measure, and in upholding the precepts he is not constrained by measure; patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom likewise are not constrained by measure, and even transmigration is not constrained by measure; his loving-kindness excludes no one, and his great compassion is not partial; he has no pride of family, no pride of wealth, no pride of physical form, no pride of sovereignty, no pride of retinue, no pride of great learning, no pride of upholding the precepts, no pride of dwelling in seclusion, and no conceit in the dhutanga virtues or in having few desires; he has neither the conceit of superiority nor anger and delusion; he has no latent tendency of craving; amid inversions, he does not take them as real; regarding purity and impurity, he does not take them as two; he does not yearn for birth in heaven or delight in sensual desire; he certainly does not associate closely with those whose karma is incompatible; he is never lacking in diligent harmony; he does not uphold worldly doctrines; toward followers of other paths, there is none for whom he does not feel compassion; he entertains no thoughts of bondage regarding things; he does not seek pleasure for his own body; he has no feigned affection and does not rely upon Mara. O Joyful King! Once the great bodhisattvas have made a vow, they certainly do not alter it until they finally reach the seat of bodhi (150). O Joyful King! All these great bodhisattvas are empty; if something belonging to oneself or another ought not to be done, one should not do it. Within this, who is able to practice the Dharma? O Joyful King! Bodhisattvas must not slander. A bodhisattva who does not slander others himself attains stability. In all undertakings, he must remain unmoved and unremitting and must shoulder the heavy burden. He must not follow dark deeds. In bright deeds, he must bring benefit. He must transcend limited practices and must also enter immeasurable practices. He must distance himself from acts steeped in attachment, yet never distance himself from the measure of the Dharma. He shall be liberated from the suffering of birth and death. Once born into a life governed by discriminative thought, he shall not be liberated. He must not embrace unwholesome karma. He must bring the faculties under restraint. In giving away the afflictions, a bodhisattva must be miserly; in giving the Dharma, a bodhisattva must not be stingy or withholding. He must not train in the teachings of other paths. He must diligently train in everything the Buddha has permitted to be learned. Toward tolerance of wrong views, he must be intolerant. In tolerance grounded in right view, he must be fully patient. In performing evil karma, he must be indolent. In performing wholesome karma, he must arouse diligence. Regarding birth in the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, he must forget all thoughts of it. In roaming through the five superknowledges, he must savor samadhi. Regarding frightful spells, paths employing poison, and rites that raise substitutes to die in one’s place, he must remain ignorant. Regarding supramundane knowledge, he must cultivate wisdom. Like the moon, he must be impartial toward all sentient beings and cause the bright dharmas to increase. Like the sun, he must dispel darkness and produce the radiant light of wisdom. Like the earth, which is detached from both, he must be impartial toward all sentient beings. Like water, toward both the clean and the unclean, he must feel no aversion to any impurity.

One should be like fire, burning away all afflictions. One should be like the wind, attached to none of the dharmas. One should be like empty space, possessing immeasurable wisdom.

One should be like the ocean, never satisfied in seeking roots of goodness. One should be like Mount Meru, unable to be subdued by other doctrines and disputations. One should be like the lotus, undefiled and unattached by the eight worldly dharmas.

One should be like trees, making no distinctions. One should be like an enduring lineage, with an inexhaustible Dharma that no affliction can trample down. While coursing among the destinies of sentient beings, one should proceed toward them without attachment to any destiny, and one should turn inward toward nirvana.

One should prepare the field of goodness and remove the evil, sharp thorns of anger. One should carefully choose faith as the beginning of practice. One should attain the great fruit by teaching the Four Truths.

One should obtain great benefit within the Buddha-Dharma. One should attain unobstructed wisdom in liberation, samadhi, and samapatti. One should attain joy through the joy of Dharma.

One should cross beyond the mire of suffering in birth and death. One should enter into accordance through skillful means. One should perform wholesome karma and separate oneself from what is not in accord.

One should contemplate wholesome patience in realization. One should speak loving words with inward pure faith. One should become a steadfast friend all the way to nirvana, for such is the most excellent friendship.

One should be sincere and honest, without deception. One should be upright, without flattery or deviousness. One should be gentle and easy to dwell with.

One should be pleasing, with inward faith and tenderness. One should go everywhere, adapting and moving in accordance with circumstances. One should bring nourishment and refreshment through Great Compassion.

One should yearn for the seat of bodhi. One should be free from craving amid sensual desires. One should bring fulfillment to the sravakas.

One should instruct and transform the pratyekabuddhas. One should maintain mindfulness of roots of goodness. One should remain alert to what is unwholesome.

One should guard and preserve the true Dharma. One should ensure that the lineage of the Three Jewels is never severed. One should cause all wholesome dharmas to blaze brightly.

O King of Joy! Great bodhisattvas should bring all evil karma to cessation. O King of Joy!

I have spoken briefly of the unwholesome dharmas that bodhisattvas do not possess. As for the conduct and wholesome dharmas that they should possess, I have said that they do possess them. Thus should you train!

Such are the words of instruction I have spoken!

When the Buddha taught this sutra, the Great Bodhisattva King of Joy rejoiced, as did the great bodhisattvas who had come from other directions and assembled there, together with the great multitude of devas, humans, asuras, gandharvas, and others. Upon hearing the Buddha’s words, there was no one who did not rejoice in accord with them. Delighted and exultant beyond restraint, they diligently made offerings. They all rejoiced greatly in what the Buddha had taught.