持心梵天所問經
Chinese title:持心梵天所問經
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Chapter 5: RAISING DIFFICULT QUESTIONS
At that time, Bodhisattva Minh Võng addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! Having heard the Tathagata clearly expound the Dharma gateway of Great Compassion, why is Brahma Trì Tâm neither joyful nor sorrowful?”
Brahma Trì Tâm replied:
“Great Being! One who cultivates and perceives twofold practices still experiences joy and sorrow. Knowing that the realm of ultimate reality is forever free of twofold practices, one is therefore neither joyful nor sorrowful. It is like an illusionist performing strange and wondrous feats of magic: although he performs them, he is neither joyful nor sorrowful.
“Great Being! If one can enter the true characteristic of all dharmas, one sees the true characteristic and the manifestations and transformations of the Tathagata, and therefore is neither joyful nor sorrowful. Regarding the Tathagata’s transformative activities and the eloquence heard in the Tathagata’s exposition, one is neither joyful nor sorrowful. If one understands all dharmas in this way, then all illusory phenomena are seen as equal and without difference. Thus, one is not solicitously joyful toward the Tathagata, nor does one harbor a disparaging attitude toward sentient beings.”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng again asked:
“Worthy One! Have you clearly understood the illusory characteristics of all dharmas?”
The Brahma replied:
“Great Being! Only one who practices and abides within all dharmas could ask this question.”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng again asked:
“What practice do you undertake?”
The Brahma replied:
“I undertake all the practices undertaken by ordinary beings.”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng asked:
“Ordinary beings act in accordance with lust, anger, and delusion; they cling to the body, regarding it as possessing a self and what belongs to a self, and they follow wrong views. Why do you undertake those practices?”
The Brahma replied:
“Is it not because the Great Being wishes ordinary beings to cease being ordinary beings and to accomplish all dharmas?”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng said:
“I take no delight in the dharmas of ordinary beings, so why would I wish to accomplish those dharmas?”
The Brahma said:
“Great Being! In all dharmas, there is nothing to be accomplished. Dharmas have no abiding place, no place of accumulation, no bondage, and no place of loss. Therefore, should one not also refrain from conceiving of karmic recompense?”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng said:
“Worthy One! To depart from lust, anger, and delusion and not practice any dharma is called practicing in accordance with characteristics. If anyone practices both the practices of ordinary beings described above and the practices of sages and saints, that person has given rise to two dharmas.
“Furthermore, Worthy One, in every practice there is nothing that is practiced; in every act of teaching and transformation there is no one who is taught or transformed; among all places there is no place; and among all destinations there is nowhere to go.”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng again asked:
“Worthy One! What does it mean to say that in every practice there is nothing that is practiced?”
The Brahma replied:
“Great Being! Even if one were to cultivate for hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of kalpas, one could not perceive any increase or decrease in the Dharma-nature. Therefore, in every practice there is nothing that is practiced.”
He again asked the Brahma:
“What does it mean to say that in every act of teaching and transformation there is no one who is taught or transformed, and that among all places there is no place?”
The Brahma replied:
“All dharmas are the sphere of the Tathagata’s teaching and transformation and are the domain of the Tathagata. Therefore, in every act of teaching and transformation there is no one who is taught or transformed, and among all places there is no place.”
He again asked:
“What does it mean to say that among all destinations there is nowhere to go?”
The Brahma replied:
“Upon examination, there is neither a person nor a destination. Therefore, among all destinations there is nowhere to go.”
At that time, the World-Honored One praised Brahma Trì Tâm:
“Excellent, excellent! If one wishes to expound this teaching, one should expound it in this way.”
Then Bodhisattva Minh Võng asked Brahma Trì Tâm:
“According to what you have just said, you have cultivated all the practices of ordinary beings. If so, is everything you attain inverted?”
The Brahma replied:
“How could there be any arising that leads to transformative activity?”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng again asked:
“If there is no arising, how can sentient beings be taught and transformed?”
The Brahma replied:
“Just as the Tathagata is transformation-born, so too am I transformation-born, like him.”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng asked:
“If the Tathagata is transformation-born, how can there be birth?”
The Brahma replied:
“If a manifestation is needed, the Tathagata will manifest it, for who could construct the realm of a Buddha?”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng asked:
“You speak of transformation, manifestation, and realms. Although something appears, is there in fact no transformation?”
The Brahma replied:
“If you wish to know my place of birth, you should contemplate it in this way: that place of birth is also a realm established through causes and conditions.”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng asked:
“Do you not engage in transformative activity because of the causes and conditions of samsara?”
The Brahma replied:
“I do not engage in transformative activity because of the causes and conditions of samsara.”
Bodhisattva Minh Võng asked:
“Then why is there fear concerning the realm?”
The Brahma replied:
“Just as dharmas arise through causes and conditions, so too does the cause of fear concerning the realm. Knowing clearly that it has no source, one also knows that there is no regression.”
At that time, Elder Śāriputra addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! Any person, or any among the assemblies of devas, dragons, and others, who comprehends these words will obtain immeasurable merit. Why is this? Today, merely hearing the World-Honored One speak the names of these Great Beings fills us with great delight; how much more so when we hear the Tathagata expound the true Dharma. It is like a tree that does not rely upon the earth but abides in empty space, while nevertheless fully displaying its trunk, roots, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits.
“Thus, Great Sage, the modes of practice of these Great Beings should also be contemplated in this way. They abide in all dharmas while manifesting birth, manifesting a beginning and an end, existence and disappearance, turning and revolving, coming and going, and appearing throughout Buddha-lands. Although they employ such wondrous ‘corresponding wisdom,’ they abide freely in unobstructed eloquence. What good man or good woman, seeing such transformations of wisdom, would not arouse the aspiration to seek unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment?”
At that time, within the assembly was a bodhisattva named Phổ Hoa, who asked Elder Śāriputra:
“Venerable One! Have you not already realized the Dharma-nature? The World-Honored One has also declared you foremost in wisdom. Why do you not employ that awe-inspiring power to perform transformations?”
Venerable Śāriputra replied:
“The World-Honored One has said that within the realm of the śrāvakas, I am foremost in wisdom.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Hoa asked:
“Venerable One! Are there many realms concerning which the Dharma may be expounded?”
Venerable Śāriputra replied:
“There are not.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Hoa asked:
“Venerable One! Can that realm be expounded?”
Venerable Śāriputra replied:
“The exposition is just like the realm that has been entered.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Hoa asked:
“Have you understood that the Dharma-nature is without limit?”
Venerable Śāriputra replied:
“Indeed!”
Bodhisattva Phổ Hoa asked:
“Venerable Sariputra, how is it that the teaching of the Dharma accords with the realm one has entered? Venerable One, the scope of the teaching accords with the scope of the realm one has entered. Yet that scope constrains the Dharma-nature, while the Dharma-nature itself is without limit.”
Venerable Sariputra asked:
“Does that Dharma-nature not enter into characteristics?”
Bodhisattva Universal Flower asked:
“Venerable Sariputra, if the Dharma-nature does not enter into characteristics, then within the Dharma-nature there is no object that enters into characteristics. For what reason, then, do you earnestly seek liberation through the Dharma-nature?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“It is not so.”
Bodhisattva Universal Flower asked again:
“If one accords equally with the Dharma, is that also like entering the Dharma-nature?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“I wish to see and hear about this.”
Bodhisattva Universal Flower said:
“Venerable Sariputra, can the Dharma-nature be recollected? Can the dharmas be expounded or comprehended?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“They cannot.”
Bodhisattva Universal Flower asked:
“Venerable One, can the Dharma be expounded, seen, or heard?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“The Blessed One has said that two kinds of people attain immeasurable merit: those who diligently expound the Dharma and those who listen to it single-mindedly. Therefore, when you expound the teaching, I shall listen to that Dharma.”
Brahma Upholder of the Mind asked:
“Venerable Sariputra, can you bring thoughts to an end, abide in samadhi, and contemplate while listening to the Dharma?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“Great Being, in that samadhi there is complete cessation; there are not two distinct activities involved in listening to the meaning and principles of the teaching.”
The Brahma asked:
“Venerable Sariputra, have you attained the peace and the fundamentally quiescent nature of all dharmas?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“Great Being, all dharmas are originally pure and quiescent.”
The Brahma said:
“Venerable One, if that is so, one cannot continually remain in meditative stillness in order to listen to the true Dharma. Why? Because all dharmas are originally quiescent.”
Venerable Sariputra asked:
“Good man, can you expound the true Dharma without emerging from samadhi?”
The Brahma replied:
“Venerable Sariputra, when contemplating the dharmas, how could anything be attained? Yet you maintain that one can expound the true Dharma without emerging from samadhi?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“It is not so.”
The Brahma asked again:
“Venerable One, do all ordinary beings constantly abide in samadhi?”
Venerable Sariputra said:
“What samadhi of concentrated mind have all ordinary beings attained?”
The Brahma replied:
“Because all dharmas have nowhere toward which they proceed, this is called constantly abiding in samadhi.”
Venerable Sariputra asked:
“Then are all ordinary beings the same as sages and noble ones?”
The Brahma replied:
“Venerable Sariputra, it is so. As I contemplate the matter, I do not perceive any distinction between ordinary beings and sages and noble ones. Why? Because the dharmas of sages and noble ones are not extinguished, nor do the dharmas of ordinary beings arise. All dharmas are equal. Therefore, there is no one who attains liberation.”
Venerable Sariputra asked:
“Good man, in what way are the dharmas without origin?”
The Brahma said:
“As the Venerable One clearly knows, can the dharmas of sages and noble ones be brought into existence?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“They cannot.”
The Brahma asked:
“Have you extinguished the dharmas of ordinary beings?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“They cannot be extinguished.”
The Brahma asked:
“Have you attained the dharmas of sages and noble ones?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“I have not attained them.”
He asked again:
“Have you clearly understood the dharmas of ordinary beings?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“They cannot be understood.”
The Brahma asked:
“How does the Venerable One know what is timely?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“According to the Dharma as comprehended, separation from ordinary beings is also without origin. Equality is also Suchness, and therefore there is no liberation. Cessation is also Suchness, and being without origin is likewise Suchness.”
The Brahma said:
“Venerable Sariputra, that Dharma is without origin and also without differentiation. A dharma is said to be without origin because it has nowhere toward which it proceeds. Suchness is also without origin, because all dharmas enter emptiness.”
Then the Elder Sariputra addressed the Buddha:
“O God of Gods! Just as a great blazing fire consumes everything, so too these good men thoroughly comprehend the entire Dharma-nature in regard to every Dharma that has been expounded.”
The Blessed One replied:
“So it is, Sariputra! These good men expound the Dharma-nature exactly as you have said.”
At that time, Bodhisattva Luminous Net said to Venerable Sariputra:
“The Buddha has praised you as foremost in wisdom. How, then, is your wisdom manifested?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“Bodhisattva Luminous Net, sravakas rely upon sound, contemplate their own bodies, and thereby attain liberation. The Buddha praised me as foremost in wisdom among the sravakas; he did not say that I possess the wisdom of the bodhisattvas.”
Bodhisattva Luminous Net asked:
“Venerable Sariputra, when examining wisdom, can one speak of its characteristics?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“One cannot.”
Bodhisattva Luminous Net asked:
“Is not that wisdom all-pervasive and equal?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“So it is. As you have said, wisdom is equal.”
Bodhisattva Luminous Net asked:
“Why is it that knowing all dharmas to be equally all-pervasive is true wisdom, yet the Venerable One speaks of wisdom as having limits?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“So it is, worthy one! Wisdom and the Dharma-nature are without limit. Yet a limit appears according to the realm entered by a person, the source of that person’s wisdom, and the practices that person carries out.”
Bodhisattva Luminous Net asked:
“In your view, is wisdom without limit or does it have limits?”
Venerable Sariputra replied:
“It is without limit.”
Bodhisattva Luminous Net asked:
“Why, then, do you bind yourself by claiming that wisdom has limits?”
Thereupon Venerable Sariputra remained silent and gave no reply.
Then the worthy Mahakasyapa, relying upon the Buddha’s awe-inspiring spiritual power, asked:
“Blessed One, why is Bodhisattva Luminous Net named Luminous Net?”
At that time, the Blessed One knew that the Elder Mahakasyapa had made this request because he wished the assembly to see fully and clearly the origin of the bodhisattva’s merit. He therefore said to Bodhisattva Luminous Net:
“Good man, for the sake of devas and humans, display the brilliant and pure light of the merit you have created. Cause bodhisattvas who possess roots of virtue, together with those whose aspirations have matured, to arouse the mind of bodhi, and cause them to advance with ever greater diligence.”
Having heard the Buddha’s teaching, Bodhisattva Radiant Net adjusted his robes and then, from the fingertips and webbing of his right hand, emitted a light that illuminated the Buddha lands throughout the ten directions, penetrating everywhere without limit. That light shone universally throughout all the worlds of immeasurable Buddhas, beyond all reckoning. Beings in the three evil realms—the hells, the realm of hungry ghosts, and the animal realm—as well as beings who were blind, deaf, mute, stammering, lame, sick, emaciated, insane, ignorant, consumed by desire, anger, and delusion, without clothing, afflicted by hunger and thirst, imprisoned, destitute, ugly, aged and near death, miserly, jealous, transgressing the precepts, wrathful, indolent, heedless, possessed of evil understanding,
devoid of faith, unwilling to learn, without shame, fallen into the sixty-two inverted views, born amid the eight difficulties, or dwelling in places devoid of peace—all who encountered this light immediately attained happiness and ease.
At that time, those beings were freed from desire, anger, delusion, and affliction, and were no longer tormented.
Then, before the Blessed One, everyone in the assembly—bodhisattvas, shravakas, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, bhikshus, bhikshunis, male and female lay devotees, and others—appeared alike in the color of pure gold. All possessed the excellent marks and countenances of the Tathagata, together with the invisible crown protrusion and bodies like vajra. Everyone in the assembly sat upon naturally manifested lotus flowers, beneath curtains fashioned from jewels and canopies made of all kinds of precious substances. All appeared alike, naturally manifesting bodies like the Buddha’s. The entire assembly attained happiness and ease, like bodhisattvas who, having attained samadhi, give rise to a joyful mind.
At that time, everyone in the assembly was amazed and experienced what they had never known before. They all saw one another as resembling the Tathagata, perceived their own bodies as free from every fault, and also emitted light. At that very moment, four bodhisattvas suddenly arose naturally from the direction below. Standing with palms joined, they each thought, “To which Tathagata should we bow in reverence?”
A voice immediately resounded from empty space: “Because of the supreme light of Bodhisattva Radiant Net, everyone in the assembly has been caused to possess an appearance like that of the Tathagata.”
When the four bodhisattvas heard these words, they regarded them as unprecedented and spoke in unison:
“We earnestly desire to behold the Tathagata. Yet now everyone in the assembly has the same appearance, just as all dharmas are equal and without distinction. If these words are true, may we be permitted to behold the Tathagata’s magnificently adorned bodily form and make offerings to him.”
The four bodhisattvas then saw the Blessed One seated upon a precious lion lotus throne seven feet above the ground. They immediately bowed at the Buddha’s feet and said:
“O God Among Gods! This is truly unprecedented. The wisdom of the Tathagata is inexhaustible and its essential nature is pure. The merit and power of the vows of Bodhisattva Radiant Net are likewise so. That bodhisattva emitted light, causing so many beings to manifest majestic bodily forms.”
The Blessed One said to Bodhisattva Radiant Net:
“Good man, withdraw the brilliant light you have manifested. You have performed the work of a Buddha and established many causes and conditions that have led immeasurable beings to arouse the mind of bodhi.”
Obeying the Buddha’s instruction, Bodhisattva Radiant Net immediately withdrew the light. At that very moment, all the deportment and forms of the assembly returned to their former state, while only the Tathagata remained seated alone upon the Lion Throne.
The elder Mahakashyapa addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One, from what dwelling place have these four bodhisattvas come?”
The four bodhisattvas replied:
“We have come from the direction below, from the world of another Buddha.”
He further asked:
“What is the name of that world?”
The four bodhisattvas replied:
“That world is called Universal Manifestation of Myriad Jewels.”
He further asked:
“What is the honored name of that Blessed One, the Most True One? Is he presently teaching the Dharma?”
The four bodhisattvas replied:
“That Tathagata is named Single Jeweled Canopy. He is presently expounding the true Dharma.”
The elder Kashyapa asked:
“How far away is that world?”
The four bodhisattvas replied:
“The Blessed One clearly knows the distance.”
The elder Kashyapa asked:
“Through what causes and conditions have you worthy ones come here?”
The four bodhisattvas replied:
“While in that Buddha land in the direction below, we saw the light emitted by Bodhisattva Radiant Net reach us and heard the names of the Blessed One Able Sage and Bodhisattva Radiant Net. We therefore wished to come to this realm to draw near to the Blessed One, bow in reverence, make offerings, and behold Bodhisattva Radiant Net.”
The elder Mahakashyapa again addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One, how far from this realm is the World of Universal Manifestation of Myriad Jewels, where the Buddha Single Jeweled Canopy dwells?”
The Buddha told the elder Mahakashyapa:
“In the direction below, thirty-two Ganges-sands of Buddha lands away, there is a world called Universal Manifestation of Myriad Jewels, where the Buddha Single Jeweled Canopy dwells. These four bodhisattvas have come from that realm.”
The elder Mahakashyapa addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One, how long did it take them to travel from that realm to this realm?”
The Buddha taught:
“They arrived in this realm within a single thought.”
The elder Mahakashyapa addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One, it is truly difficult to equal the Great Sage! The bodhisattva-mahasattva emitted light, and the spiritual powers of the noble ones are indeed lofty and sublime. The light of Bodhisattva Radiant Net shone to boundless distances, causing these four bodhisattvas to arrive here instantly. All who behold such manifestations of spiritual power, majestic might, and wisdom will surely vow to establish the Mahayana.”
The Blessed One told the elder Kashyapa:
“It is just as you say. The course of practice and transformation followed by bodhisattvas is truly immeasurable; shravakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot compare with them.”
Chapter 6: INQUIRY
At that time, the elder Mahakashyapa said to Bodhisattva Radiant Net:
“Mahasattva, through what causes and conditions did you manifest this light, causing everyone throughout the assembly to possess bodies like pure gold, majestic and radiant like that of the Tathagata?”
Bodhisattva Radiant Net replied:
“Venerable Mahakashyapa, you should ask the Blessed One. He will explain it clearly for you.”
The elder Mahakashyapa then questioned the Great Sage.
The Buddha told the elder Mahakashyapa:
“When Bodhisattva Radiant Net attains Buddhahood, the bodies of everyone in his assembly will be like pure gold. They will all attain happiness and ease, possess wholehearted faith, and attain all forms of transcendent wisdom. There will be no designation of shravaka or pratyekabuddha; there will be only an assembly of bodhisattva-mahasattvas.”
The elder Mahakashyapa addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One, when Bodhisattva Radiant Net is born by transformation in that Buddha land, will he immediately attain Buddhahood?”
The Blessed One replied:
“Kashyapa, it is just as you say. Bodhisattva Radiant Net will immediately attain Buddhahood.”
At that time, forty-four thousand people all aroused the aspiration to attain unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment and vowed to be born in that land. They spoke in unison:
“When Bodhisattva Radiant Net attains Buddhahood, we vow to be born in that Buddha’s land.”
The elder Mahakashyapa again addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One, after how many more kalpas will Bodhisattva Radiant Net attain unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment?”
The Buddha told the elder Mahakashyapa:
“Ask Bodhisattva Radiant Net. He will tell you how much longer it will be before he attains Buddhahood.”
The elder Mahakashyapa asked Bodhisattva Radiant Net:
“Great Being! How much longer will it be before you attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“Venerable Kasyapa! If someone were to ask a person conjured by a magician how much longer it would be before he attained unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment, how would that conjured person answer?”
Venerable Kasyapa said:
“Great Being! A person conjured by a magician is false and has no real existence; therefore, he could not answer.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“Indeed! All dharmas are like magical illusions, arising spontaneously. Why, then, does the Venerable One ask me how much longer it will be before I attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment?”
Venerable Kasyapa asked:
“Great Being! A person conjured by a magician is quiescent, incapable of discrimination, devoid of thought, and without speech. Is the Great Being’s relation to all dharmas likewise? If so, how can you guide and benefit sentient beings?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“If the Path is true reality, then persons are also true reality. If persons are true reality, illusions are also true reality. If illusions are true reality, sentient beings are also true reality. If sentient beings are true reality, all dharmas are also true reality.
“Venerable Mahakasyapa! Because I know this to be so, I cannot regard anything as beneficial or not beneficial. It is neither beneficial nor not beneficial; there is no deliverance, yet neither is there an absence of deliverance.”
Elder Kasyapa asked:
“Does the Great Being not guide sentient beings to abide in the Buddha Path?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang said:
“Does the Tathagata’s Path abide in characteristics?”
Elder Kasyapa replied:
“It has no abiding.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang said:
“Therefore, I do not establish sentient beings in the Buddha Path, nor do I cause them to abide in the attainments of sravakas or pratyekabuddhas.”
Elder Kasyapa asked:
“Great Being! What, then, do you establish?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“Just as there is no basis upon which anything may be established, so too is what I establish.”
Elder Kasyapa asked:
“If there is no basis, then nothing can be established, nor can there be any regression—is that so?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“Indeed! Because there is no basis, nothing can be established, nor can there be any regression. The Buddha Path has no basis and is likewise: it is established where there is nothing to establish. Therefore, I say that no dharma can be established and none ever regresses.”
Elder Kasyapa asked:
“Great Being! If you speak of neither establishment nor regression, how do you teach and transform sentient beings?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“One who supposes that there is attainment, aspiration, or subtle profundity cannot teach and transform sentient beings. One who regards any dharma as capable of regression likewise cannot teach and transform them.”
Elder Kasyapa asked:
“Great Being! Do you not rescue sentient beings from birth and death?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“I do not apprehend birth and death, nor is there any object of cognition; how much less could I rescue sentient beings?”
Elder Kasyapa asked:
“Do you not teach and transform all sentient beings, gradually leading them to nirvana?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“I do not apprehend nirvana, nor is there any object of cognition; by what, then, could I teach and transform sentient beings?”
Venerable Kasyapa asked:
“Great Being! If sentient beings ultimately attain no cessation, why do you teach and guide countless people to cultivate the Buddha Path? Do those sentient beings not seek cessation?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“A bodhisattva who supposes that birth and death and nirvana exist, and who, on account of the perception of sentient beings, speaks of persons practicing the Buddha Path, is not called a bodhisattva and is not one who seeks the Buddha Path.”
Elder Kasyapa asked:
“Great Being! How do you practice?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“I do not practice in accordance with birth and death, do not practice in accordance with cessation, and do not follow the perception of sentient beings.
“Venerable Kasyapa! You just asked how I practice. I practice precisely as the Tathagata taught that practice should be undertaken.”
Elder Kasyapa said:
“The Tathagata taught that there is no place of practice.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“All the characteristics of sentient beings are likewise; one should not suppose that there is any place of practice.”
Elder Kasyapa asked:
“Great Being! Is the contemplation of sentient beings’ modes of conduct also like this? Why, then, do sentient beings act through greed, anger, and delusion, while the Tathagata teaches and transforms them without ever being defiled, bound, or forgetful?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang said:
“Elder! If you wish to inquire about characteristics, then answer me according to your own understanding.
“Elder! Do you possess greed, anger, and delusion?”
Elder Kasyapa replied:
“No.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang asked:
“Can greed, anger, and delusion be eliminated?”
Venerable Kasyapa replied:
“They cannot.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang asked:
“If the Elder possesses no greed, anger, or delusion, and greed, anger, and delusion cannot be eliminated, where, then, are greed, anger, and delusion?”
Elder Kasyapa replied:
“Great Being! Because ordinary beings are deluded, they dwell amid inversions. Their thoughts and ideas are constantly seeking, and in relation to what accords with them or does not accord with them, they act through greed, anger, and delusion. Sages and noble ones, however, clearly know that all dharmas are inverted. Therefore, they do not act according to thoughts and ideas; there is nothing that does not accord with them, and they do not act through greed, anger, and delusion.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang said:
“Venerable One! What do you think? Dharmas arising from inversion—are they known exhaustively? Do they arise, or do they not arise?”
Elder Kasyapa replied:
“Great Being! Dharmas neither arise nor do not arise.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang asked:
“Indeed! Venerable Kasyapa! What do you think? Since dharmas do not arise and have no real existence, is there anything from which dharmas are produced?”
Elder Kasyapa replied:
“There is nothing from which dharmas are produced.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang asked:
“Indeed! Venerable Kasyapa! Since dharmas are non-arising, if one wished to cause sentient beings to arise, from where would those sentient beings arise?”
Elder Kasyapa replied:
“It is not so.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang asked:
“Because seeking arises, do dharmas arise in dependence upon greed, anger, and delusion?”
Elder Kasyapa replied:
“It is not so.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang said:
“Venerable Mahakasyapa! Therefore, how could there be greed, anger, and delusion upon which sentient beings depend, to which they become attached and defiled, and from which afflictions then arise?”
Elder Kasyapa replied:
“Indeed, indeed! Great Being! All dharmas are originally pure and have never possessed greed, anger, or delusion.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang said:
“For this reason, I say that all dharmas are like magical illusions and are the true reality of the Tathagata.”
When this Dharma was expounded, forty-four thousand bodhisattvas attained the patient acceptance of accordance with the Dharma.
At that time, Elder Mahakasyapa addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! Those who see Bodhisattva Mingwang with their own eyes will not fall into the evil destinies, and Maras and their retinues will be unable to harm them. Those who hear Bodhisattva Mingwang expound the Dharma belong to the ranks of bodhisattvas and will never fall into the realms of sravakas or pratyekabuddhas, for they have received the teaching of Bodhisattva Mingwang.”
The Buddha then praised the merits of Bodhisattva Mingwang’s land. He said to Venerable Kasyapa:
-In every land of the Buddhas to which Bodhisattva Mingwang has gone, that Bodhisattva has taught and delivered countless sentient beings. Venerable Kasyapa! Have you seen the light of Bodhisattva Mingwang?
Venerable Kasyapa replied:
-World-Honored One, I have seen it!
The World-Honored One said:
-Suppose the trichiliocosm were filled with mustard seeds: their number could still be known. Yet the sentient beings whom Bodhisattva Mingwang has taught and established upon the path to Buddhahood cannot be measured.
Venerable Kasyapa, you should know! Sentient beings who behold the light of Bodhisattva Mingwang obtain such benefit; how much more so when that Bodhisattva employs skillful means to expound the true Dharma.
Furthermore, Kasyapa! Listen attentively, and I shall describe the extraordinary land called the Place Adorned with Perfect Merit and Purity belonging to Bodhisattva Mingwang. After six million seven hundred thousand asamkhya kalpas, Bodhisattva Mingwang will attain Buddhahood with the name King of Universally Radiant, All-Stirring Light, endowed with the ten epithets: Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One.
His land will be called Supreme Equal Assembly. As soon as that Bodhisattva reaches the seat of enlightenment, he will attain Buddhahood. In that Buddha’s land there will be no maras or realms of mara; all will seek to attain unsurpassed bodhi.
The ground of that land will be made entirely of precious sandalwood, level as the palm of a hand. The bodily forms of its sentient beings will all be beautiful, and the land will be secure and fertile. That Buddha-land will be formed from every kind of jewel and will contain none of the impurities of sand, stones, thorns, or brambles.
It will have none of the calamities of evil realms or suffering, nor the eight difficulties or any unsafe place. There will also be a great profusion of jeweled lotuses, exuding exquisite fragrances and displaying every color throughout that vast realm, boundless in all four directions. Tathagata King of Universally Radiant, All-Stirring Light will have an immeasurable assembly of bodhisattvas.
That noble assembly will practice in reliance upon the Buddha’s Dharma, fully endowed with majestic spiritual transformations and adorned with light. They will attain the treasury of dharanis, unobstructed eloquence, complete wisdom, and great spiritual power and majestic virtue. They will subdue the maras, always possess a sense of shame concerning whatever they think, diligently cultivate the practice of the noble ones, and teach through wisdom.
The Buddha said to Venerable Kasyapa:
-Furthermore, that Buddha-land will have no women. All the bodhisattvas will be born by transformation from lotus flowers and will naturally grow to maturity, taking meditative concentration as their food. Their dwellings, places for walking meditation, beds, palaces, bathing pools, gardens, groves, and all possessions will be like those in the heavenly realms. Tathagata King of Universally Radiant, All-Stirring Light will not use written words to expound the true Dharma. When the Buddha’s light merely shines upon their bodies, the bodhisattvas will immediately attain the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.
That light will completely remove every impurity of greed, anger, and delusion. It will shine upon other Buddha-lands, causing all sentient beings in those lands to eliminate every defilement associated with sensual forms, become entirely flawless, and conform to the true Dharma.
The Buddha said to Venerable Kasyapa:
-Within that Buddha’s light, thirty-two Dharma gates will naturally be proclaimed. What are these thirty-two Dharma gates?
1. All dharmas are empty; therefore, all cognition is pure.
2. All dharmas are signless; therefore, they are free from every perception and thought.
3. All dharmas are wishless; therefore, they transcend the three realms.
4. All dharmas are without sensual desire because their intrinsic nature is pure and quiescent.
5. All dharmas are without anger; therefore, all characteristics are extinguished.
6. All dharmas are without delusion; therefore, they are free from all darkness.
7. All dharmas do not come; therefore, there is no arising.
8. All dharmas will come; therefore, they accord with contemplative examination.
9. All dharmas do not abide; therefore, they are established in true suchness.
10. All dharmas are completely liberated; therefore, there is no past, future, or present.
11. All dharmas are without difference; therefore, they are true suchness itself.
12. All dharmas are unborn; therefore, there is no karmic retribution.
13. All dharmas do not lead to karmic results; therefore, they have no place of birth.
14. All dharmas are uncreated because they arise from conditioned formations.
15. All dharmas are without form because they exist in dependence upon thought.
16. All dharmas are without appearance; therefore, they are free from the objects that arise.
17. All dharmas are certain and real; therefore, they are clearly known to be true.
18. All dharmas are true; therefore, they are all equal.
19. All dharmas are without a person; therefore, no person can be apprehended.
20. All dharmas are without a lifespan; therefore, they are ultimately true.
21. All dharmas are insentient; therefore, they cannot be transmitted or conferred.
22. All dharmas are relinquished; therefore, all fetters are extinguished.
23. All dharmas are without attachment; therefore, they are not scorched by afflictions.
24. All dharmas are undefiled because their intrinsic nature is pure and uncontaminated.
25. All dharmas have a single characteristic because the realm of truth is originally quiescent.
26. All dharmas are quiescent because they are equal with meditative concentration.
27. All dharmas abide at their source because they arise through conditions.
28. All dharmas have no created root; therefore, they cannot be conditionally supported or destroyed.
29. All dharmas abide in Dharma-nature; therefore, they universally penetrate everything.
30. All dharmas are without conditional support; therefore, they do not become mutually confused.
31. All dharmas are awakened; therefore, they appear as they truly are.
32. All dharmas are unconditioned; therefore, there are no objects.
The Buddha said to Venerable Kasyapa:
-The light of Tathagata King of Universally Radiant, All-Stirring Light will issue sounds such as these. That light will shine upon the bodhisattvas, enabling them to perform the works of a Buddha. Because that Buddha’s land will contain no activities of mara, these works will neither be obstructed nor abandoned.
The Buddha said to Venerable Kasyapa:
-Furthermore, the lifespan of that Tathagata will be limitless.
At that time, the Venerable Mahakasyapa said to the Buddha:
-World-Honored One! Anyone who wishes to be born in that land should purify a Buddha-realm as Bodhisattva Mingwang has done, thereby immediately becoming fully endowed with all merits.
The Buddha taught:
-It is exactly as you say! Before incalculable hundreds of thousands of kotis of Tathagatas, Bodhisattva Mingwang has fully manifested his pure aspiration.
At that time, Brahma Sustainer of the Mind asked Bodhisattva Mingwang:
-Worthy One, have you now received a prediction from the Tathagata?
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
-Brahma! All sentient beings receive predictions from the Tathagata.
Brahma said:
-How does one receive a prediction from the Buddha?
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
-Each person receives karmic results according to their deeds, and through this also receives a prediction.
Brahma asked:
-Through what cause does one receive a prediction, and why did you, Worthy One, receive a prediction?
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
-Brahma! What is called a condition is this: the body performs no action, the mouth utters no words, and the mind cannot cognize. In such a state, can merit or wrongdoing be created?
Brahma replied:
-They cannot be created.
Bodhisattva Mingwang asked:
-Does that path to Buddhahood possess characteristics of practice?
Brahma replied:
-No! The path has no form and makes no distinctions. Because the path has no name, it also has no characteristics of practice.
Bodhisattva Mingwang asked:
“If there is no fabrication, can one cause the path to arise in a form that may be realized?”
Brahma replied:
“It cannot be done.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang said:
“Therefore, Brahma, you should know: if there is no fabrication, then there is no karmic result, no characteristic of action, and no nature of the characteristic of action. This itself is the path. One who attains this path is as though receiving a prediction, yet such a prediction cannot be conferred by means of form or characteristic.”
Brahma asked:
“Venerable One! Can one receive a prediction without practicing the six paramitas?”
Bodhisattva Mingwang replied:
“So it is, Brahma! One practices the six paramitas and only afterward receives a prediction.
“Furthermore, noble sages must free themselves from all afflictions; this is called the perfection of generosity. Neither giving rise to anything nor fabricating anything is called the perfection of moral discipline. Being able to endure everything is called the perfection of patience. Always remaining tranquil and serene is called the perfection of diligence. Abiding in accordance with Suchness is called the perfection of meditative concentration. Fully understanding all things is called the perfection of wisdom.
“Brahma! Does a bodhisattva who cultivates these six paramitas manifest any characteristic of practice?”
Brahma replied:
“No characteristic of practice is manifested. Why is this? If practitioners consider that they are practicing and that there is an object of practice, this is not called practice. Only those who have no object of practice are truly engaged in the practice.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang said:
“Therefore, Brahma, just as you have said, having no object of practice is precisely the practice of the Buddha path.
“Furthermore, regarding your question as to whether I have received a prediction of Buddhahood: the Dharma-nature has no source. Whoever sees that the Dharma-nature has no source receives a prediction; thus, my receiving of a prediction is also like this.”
Brahma said:
“Venerable One! Since the Dharma-nature has no source, the nature of all dharmas cannot receive a prediction.”
Bodhisattva Mingwang said:
“The characteristic of receiving a prediction is likewise so. The source-free state and the Dharma-nature are equally the same, without difference.”
At that time, Brahma Trì Tâm addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One! How should bodhisattvas conduct their practice so that they may receive a prediction of attaining unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment?”
The Buddha said:
“Brahma! The course of a bodhisattva’s practice is not to practice according to arising or cessation; not to practice according to good or evil; not to practice according to the mundane or the supramundane; not to act according to what is blameworthy or meritorious; not to act according to what is erroneous, nor according to what is not erroneous; not to practice according to the contaminated, nor according to the uncontaminated; not to act according to the conditioned, nor according to the unconditioned; not to act according to existence, nor to abandon existence; not to cultivate diligence, nor to abandon diligence; not to eliminate, nor not to eliminate; not to act according to samsara, nor according to nirvana; not to practice according to what is seen, nor to have an object of hearing;
not to act according to thoughts, nor to have an object of cognition; not to practice generosity, yet not to be miserly; not to uphold the precepts, yet not to violate them; not to practice patience, yet not to be impatient; not to practice diligence, yet not to be indolent; not to cultivate meditative concentration, nor to have an object of meditation; nor to have an object of meditation; not to practice wisdom, yet not to be without wisdom; to have no attainment and no object into which to enter.”
The Buddha told Brahma:
“When a bodhisattva practices in this manner, the Tathagata will confer upon that bodhisattva the prediction of attaining unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. Why is this? Brahma, you should practice in accord with Suchness.
Whoever engages in practice has an object of fabrication. Whether one gives rise to perceptions in cultivating the Buddha path or cultivates the Buddha path without giving rise to perceptions; whether one cultivates the Buddha path through fabrication or non-fabrication; whether there is heedlessness or no heedlessness, afflictions or freedom from afflictions—one who practices the path in this manner is not practicing the Buddha path.
Therefore, Brahma, you should know: one should not contemplate in this way. If a bodhisattva transcends all objects of fabrication, that bodhisattva receives a prediction.”
Brahma addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One! What is a prediction, and what does it mean to receive a prediction?”
The Buddha said:
“All dharmas being free from the two characteristics is called a prediction. Not fabricating the two characteristics with respect to any dharma is called a prediction. Regarding all objects that have arisen as equal to all forms and characteristics is called a prediction. Purity and serenity of body, speech, and mind is called a prediction.”
The Buddha said:
“Brahma! The Tathagata recalls that in a past kalpa there was a kalpa named Joyful Vision. During that kalpa, I made offerings to seven billion two hundred million Buddhas, yet I did not receive a prediction from those Tathagatas.
“Furthermore, there was a kalpa named Skillful Transformation. During that kalpa, I again made offerings to two billion two hundred million Buddhas, yet I still did not receive a prediction.
“Furthermore, there was a kalpa named Brahma’s Praise. During that kalpa, I again made offerings to eighteen thousand Buddhas, yet I still did not receive a prediction.
“Furthermore, there was a kalpa named Joy and Delight. During that kalpa, I again made offerings to three million two hundred thousand Buddhas, yet I still did not receive a prediction from those Tathagatas. Later in the past, there was another kalpa named Great Vehicle. During that kalpa, eight million four hundred thousand Buddhas appeared in the world. I again made offerings to all those Tathagatas, presenting various kinds of suitable offerings at the appropriate times, yet I still did not receive a prediction from those Tathagatas.”
The Buddha taught:
“Brahma! Furthermore, in past kalpas, I proclaimed the names of the Tathagatas. Since ancient times, I had made offerings to very many Buddhas and cultivated pure practices in their presence. I gave away everything, offering up all that I possessed. I observed the precepts perfectly, constantly practiced patience, cultivated loving-kindness and compassion, freed myself from afflictions, diligently exerted myself, received and retained everything I heard, practiced meditative concentration with one-pointed and concentrated mind, taught serenity, and inquired about wisdom; yet I still did not receive a prediction from those Tathagatas. Why? Because there were still objects of fabrication and states of dependence.
“Brahma, you should know: one must transcend all fabrication; only this is called a bodhisattva’s receiving of a prediction. Later, when I encountered Tathagata Dīpaṃkara, I immediately attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. Tathagata Dīpaṃkara conferred this prediction upon me: ‘In a future age, you will attain Buddhahood with the name Năng Nhân and will be endowed with the ten epithets: Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly and Completely Awakened One, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer of Persons to Be Tamed, Teacher of Devas and Humans, Buddha, Blessed One.’
“At that time, I transcended all fabrication and perfected the six paramitas. Why is this? Relinquishing all perceptions is called the perfection of generosity. Extinguishing all conditions is called the perfection of moral discipline. Patiently enduring all realms is called the perfection of patience. Remaining quiescent amid all formations is called the perfection of diligence. Not giving rise to any thought is called the perfection of meditative concentration. Clearly knowing the intrinsic nature of the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas to be pure is called the perfection of wisdom.”
When I encountered the Tathagata Dipankara, I immediately perfected the six paramitas. From the time I first generated the aspiration until now, I have given away everything that could be given; yet the merit from offering those five lotus blossoms was a hundred or a thousand times greater, ten thousand kotis of times greater, even more than a hundred million kotis of times greater—beyond comparison and beyond analogy.
From the time I first generated the aspiration until I perfected the practice of giving, I upheld the precepts, always practiced patience and gentleness toward all dharmas, possessed a sense of shame, endured hardships, applied myself earnestly and diligently, cultivated without ever growing weary, and constantly abided in tranquil meditation without attachment. From the time I first generated the aspiration, I always contemplated wisdom without negligence, including the prajnaparamita and the other paramitas.
I cultivated them a hundred or a thousand times, ten thousand kotis of times, even more than a hundred million kotis of times—beyond comparison and beyond analogy. Therefore, Brahma, you should know that at that time I immediately perfected the six paramitas.
Brahma said:
“World-Honored One! What does it mean to perfect the six paramitas?”
The Buddha told Brahma:
“Not dwelling in recollection of giving, not becoming attached to upholding the precepts, not conceptualizing patience, not grasping at diligence, not abiding in meditation, and knowing wisdom to be nondual—this is called perfecting the six paramitas.”
Brahma again asked:
“World-Honored One! If one perfects the six paramitas, what else can one perfect?”
The World-Honored One replied:
“If one perfects the six paramitas, one will perfect all-knowing wisdom.”
Brahma said:
“World-Honored One! If one perfects the six paramitas, how does one perfect all-knowing wisdom?”
The Buddha taught:
“Brahma! When giving is equal, all-knowing wisdom is equal. Because upholding the precepts is equal, all-knowing wisdom is equal. When patience is equal, all-knowing wisdom is equal. When diligence is equal, all-knowing wisdom is equal. When meditation is equal, all-knowing wisdom is equal. When wisdom is equal, all-knowing wisdom is also equal. Because one can thus abide in equality, all dharmas are equal, and one immediately attains equality with all-knowing wisdom.
“Furthermore, Brahma! When mindfulness of giving is perfected, all-knowing wisdom is perfected. When mindfulness of upholding the precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom is perfected, all-knowing wisdom is perfected. To be free from any conception of all-knowing wisdom is called perfecting the six paramitas and also perfecting all-knowing wisdom. Thus, Brahma, if one can fully practice the six paramitas, one attains the perfection of all-knowing wisdom.”
Brahma again said:
“World-Honored One! What does it mean to perfect all-knowing wisdom?”
The World-Honored One replied:
“When the eye does not cling to forms, the ear does not cling to sounds, the nose does not cling to fragrances, the tongue does not cling to flavors, the body does not cling to tactile objects, and the mind does not grasp dharmas; when dharmas abide neither within nor without, have no cause, offer no object to be grasped, and are not themselves objects of recollection, one completely perfects all-knowing wisdom. This is called perfecting all-knowing wisdom.
Thus, the eye does not cling to forms; the ear, to sounds; the nose, to fragrances; the tongue, to flavors; the body, to tactile objects; or the mind, to dharmas. Therefore, the Tathagata’s wisdom is unobstructed, and his vision is without limit. He attains all-knowing wisdom but does not grasp it.
Why is this? If one wishes to accomplish all-knowing wisdom, one should make no contrived effort, nor is there any act of contrived effort. Because there is no contrived effort, it is called manifestation.
Because the equality of all conditioned activities is manifested, there is no grasping at all-knowing wisdom.
“Brahma! It is like all dharmas depending upon empty space, while empty space itself has nothing upon which it depends. Clearly knowing that all dharmas are likewise, one may still seek to rely upon all-knowing wisdom in order to attain it; yet all-knowing wisdom itself has nowhere upon which to rely and nothing to seek.”
Brahma said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! What is this all-knowing wisdom called? Why is it called all-knowing wisdom?”
The Buddha taught:
“Brahma! ‘All-knowing wisdom’ is merely a provisional designation. Clearly knowing that all conditioned activities have no object to be grasped, and that this is not the Dharma of the shravakas or pratyekabuddhas, is called all-knowing wisdom. Eliminating all conceptions is called all-knowing wisdom.
Clearly knowing every destination is called all-knowing wisdom. Wisdom that has no limits and thoroughly understands all the activities of sentient beings is called all-knowing wisdom. Knowing everything, adapting to circumstances in accordance with what has been learned, not cultivating according to the wisdom of the pratyekabuddhas, penetrating everything without exception, and manifesting teachings and transformations at the proper time is called all-knowing wisdom.
Treating sentient beings equally at the proper time according to their illnesses is called all-knowing wisdom. Eradicating every kind of illness is called all-knowing wisdom. Destroying all obstacles and all roots of dependence and attachment is called all-knowing wisdom.
Constantly abiding in meditation is called all-knowing wisdom. Penetrating all dharmas without any remaining doubt is called all-knowing wisdom. Completely penetrating everything everywhere, knowing all things without exception, opening the wisdom of the mundane and supramundane worlds, clearly distinguishing them, expounding them fully, and comprehending everything is called all-knowing wisdom.
Brahma! This is what is called all-knowing wisdom.”
At that time, Brahma Upholder of the Mind said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! This is truly unprecedented. The minds of the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, are manifested through wisdom, yet those minds are originally pure. The Tathagata thoroughly understands every activity of the minds of sentient beings.
“World-Honored One! No good man or good woman who hears this teaching on all-knowing wisdom would fail to generate the aspiration to attain unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment, and ultimately acquire immeasurable and sublime merit.”
At that time, Bodhisattva Luminous Net said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! If a bodhisattva generates the aspiration for bodhi while seeking merit, that person does not truly cherish the Buddha Way, nor does that person establish the Mahayana. Why is this? Because all dharmas are devoid of merit and are also beyond all dualistic opposition.
“O God among gods! This is not the merit of a bodhisattva.
“World-Honored One! One who has no conditioned dependence is truly said to establish the Buddha Way. Solely out of loving-kindness and compassion, such a one seeks to eliminate the suffering, afflictions, and adversities of sentient beings.
Although personally enduring hardships and suffering, one never grows weary. Because one’s mind is immeasurable, one does not fear either the beginning or the end. One does not forget the Buddha’s teachings, safeguards the true Dharma, reveres the noble ones, uses wholesome dharmas to eliminate unwholesome dharmas, and employs the Dharma gates of liberation to deliver all beings.
One treats every kind of illness and eradicates it at the root, rescues all sentient beings and enables them to be born in favorable realms, and assists everyone without entertaining thoughts of love or hatred. One is not attached to worldly dharmas, escapes the adversities of birth and death, and reaches the unconditioned state of peace and security.
“O God among gods! Furthermore, bodhisattvas should harbor no doubts, should not seek anything on account of the activities of sentient beings, and should have no object about which to doubt.
“World-Honored One! Bodhisattvas are not swayed by suffering or pleasure.
“O God among gods! What is the pure lineage of a bodhisattva?”
The World-Honored One taught:
—If a bodhisattva is born into the lineage of a wheel-turning sage-king, is born in the heaven of Shakra or Brahma, or is born in any other place, this in itself is not purity of lineage. A bodhisattva should fully establish the roots of merit and bring forth the roots of wholesome dharmas for sentient beings. This is called purity of the bodhisattva’s lineage.
Furthermore, even when born among animals, if one remains free from all views, is fully endowed with loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity, impartiality, and the joy of the Dharma, and one’s mind is no longer defiled, this is called purity of the bodhisattva’s lineage. Giving is purity of lineage because it is free from stinginess. Observance of the precepts is purity of lineage because one is not scorched by afflictions.
Patience is purity of lineage because it is free from anger. Diligence is purity of lineage because it is never indolent. Meditative concentration is purity of lineage because the mind is always unified, concentrated, and serene.
Wisdom is purity of lineage because it is not obscured by darkness. This is called the bodhisattva’s removal of all impurities without abandoning the mind of bodhi. It is the purity of the bodhisattva’s lineage because the bodhisattva takes no delight in the vehicles of the shravakas or pratyekabuddhas.
Chapter 7: DISCOURSE
At that time, Brahma Trì Tâm addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! Why does Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ sit silently within the assembly, neither teaching nor engaging in discourse?”
The Buddha said to Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ:
“Can you teach the Dharma for the assembly? If there is anything that remains unclear, please ask about it.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! Can perfect enlightenment be attained by relying upon the meaning of the Dharma? Can that Dharma be expounded?”
The Buddha said:
“Phổ Thủ! The Dharma cannot be expounded.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ asked:
“World-Honored One! Does the Dharma possess words, and can it be contemplated and expounded?”
The Buddha said:
“The Dharma has no words; it cannot be contemplated, nor can it be expounded.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ said:
“World-Honored One! If all dharmas have no words, cannot be contemplated, and cannot be discussed, then they cannot be expounded.”
Brahma Trì Tâm said to Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ:
“Has the Venerable One not expounded the true Dharma for sentient beings?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Brahma! Can the Dharma-nature be expounded by dividing it into two?”
The Brahma replied:
“It cannot.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ asked:
“Does this Dharma-nature enter into all dharmas?”
The Brahma replied:
“It does.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ said:
“Brahma! If this is so, the Dharma-nature is fundamentally nondual, yet it pervades all dharmas. How, then, can the Dharma be expounded for sentient beings?”
The Brahma asked:
“Whoever teaches the Dharma still clings to self and what belongs to self. How, then, can it be said that there are no dual characteristics?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Brahma! If there is something attained, can there be one who expounds it or one who hears it?”
The Brahma asked:
“Has the Tathagata not expounded this true Dharma?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Brahma! Although the Tathagata expounds the Dharma, there are no dual characteristics. Why is this? Because the Tathagata is nondual and does not construct dual characteristics.”
The Brahma asked:
“If all dharmas have no dual characteristics, who creates these dual characteristics?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Sentient beings rely upon names and cling to a self and what belongs to a self. Because ordinary beings are deluded, they create dual characteristics. In truth, these two characteristics are entirely without difference. Even when innumerable distinctions are created, they still do not differ. Because all dharmas are true reality, they have no dual characteristics, nor can dual characteristics be created.”
The Brahma asked:
“How can one know that the Dharma is nondual?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Brahma! If there is something that can be known, this is called duality. One who can know the Dharma as nondual understands the teaching. Although the Tathagata teaches that there is true Dharma, the Tathagata has no object to which the Dharma is taught. Why is this? Because all dharmas are without written characters.”
The Brahma asked:
“Does the Dharma taught by the Tathagata have a destination toward which it leads?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Brahma! To lead toward that which has no object toward which to lead—this alone is called the Tathagata’s teaching of the Dharma.”
The Brahma asked:
“Does the Dharma taught by the Tathagata not lead toward nirvana?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Brahma! Is nirvana a place to which one can go?”
The Brahma said:
“Then nirvana has no place to which one goes or arrives?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“That is so. The Tathagata teaches the Dharma leading toward that which has no object toward which to lead.”
The Brahma asked:
“Who can hear this Dharma?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One whose mind is impartial.”
The Brahma asked:
“What is an impartial mind?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“There is no one who teaches, nor any object of hearing.”
The Brahma asked:
“Who can hear the Dharma expounded by the Tathagata?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Within the Dharma-nature, there is no object of hearing.”
The Brahma asked:
“Upon what should one rely to understand this Dharma clearly?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One who can know it clearly does not engage in disputation.”
The Brahma asked:
“What is a bhikshu who delights in disputation?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One who claims that something accords with suchness or does not accord with suchness is said to engage in disputation. To say that something has causes and conditions or lacks causes and conditions is called disputation. To say, ‘This is an affliction; this is bondage,’ is called disputation. To say, ‘This Dharma is good; this Dharma is bad,’ is called disputation. To speak of one who observes the precepts or one who breaks the precepts is called disputation. To say, ‘This is to be retained’ or ‘This is to be relinquished’ is called disputation. To claim that there is attainment or that there is a particular time is called disputation.
“Furthermore, Brahma, to claim that something has a name or has no name, or to give rise to other distinctions among dharmas, is all called disputation. The Tathagata teaches the Dharma without disputation, without affliction, without contrivance, and without arguments over which to dispute. One who does so is called a shramana. A shramana is free from desire and impartial toward all forms.”
The Brahma asked:
“What is a bhikshu who practices according to the Buddha’s teaching?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Brahma! Suppose one endures being driven away in order to hear the teaching, yet does not regard this as an affliction. This is called following the Buddha’s teaching without ever becoming heedless. Not clinging to dualistic wisdom is following the Buddha’s teaching. Seeking to enter into realization without becoming deluded is following the Buddha’s teaching. Not disputing over one’s aspiration is following the Buddha’s teaching. Protecting and upholding the true Dharma is following the Buddha’s teaching. Not damaging the true Dharma is following the Buddha’s teaching.”
The Brahma asked:
“What is a bhikshu who protects and upholds the true Dharma?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One who universally preserves everything without damaging it is said to protect and uphold the true Dharma. Not contradicting the Dharma-nature is protecting and upholding the true Dharma.”
The Brahma asked:
“What is a bhikshu who draws near to the Tathagata and follows the teaching in order to practice correctly?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“If a bhikshu, with regard to all dharmas, perceives neither distance nor proximity and has no object of perception, that bhikshu is said to draw near to the Tathagata. Reverently following the teaching is called practicing in proper sequence.”
The Brahma asked:
“What is a bhikshu who attends upon the Buddha?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Brahmā! If a bhikshu’s body performs no action, if there is also no object upon which action is performed, if there are no words and no thoughts, this is called making offerings to and attending upon the Buddha.”
Brahmā asked:
“What does it mean to make offerings to the Tathagata?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One should not make offerings of clothing and food, but should reverently follow the Buddha.”
Brahmā asked:
“Who can see the Tathagata?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One who does not cling to the physical eye, does not cling to the divine eye, does not cling to the wisdom eye, and also does not perceive any object to which one might cling.”
Brahmā asked:
“Who can see the Dharma?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One who does not annihilate the Dharma of dependent origination sees the Dharma.”
Brahmā asked:
“Who can see the Dharma of dependent origination?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One who does not arise from equality. If equality does not arise, then there is no arising.”
Brahmā asked:
“Who attains supernormal powers?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One who does not give rise to the outflows and for whom there is also no object to be eliminated.”
Brahmā asked:
“Who can train under the Tathagata?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One who neither acts nor gives rise to anything, and who also relinquishes nothing.”
Brahmā asked:
“What does it mean to attain equality?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“In the three realms, there is no object whatsoever to be attained.”
Brahmā asked:
“What does it mean to teach and transform skillfully?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“To no longer depend upon any existing dharma.”
Brahmā asked:
“What is peace and happiness?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“It belongs to one who does not cling to self or what belongs to self.”
Brahmā asked:
“Who attains liberation?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One who is not bound by the fetters.”
Brahmā asked:
“Who is delivered?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One for whom there is no place of birth and death and who also does not attain cessation.”
Brahmā asked:
“When a bhikshu exhausts all the outflows, what does he exhaust?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“Brahmā! At all points of exhaustion, he does not perceive any object to be exhausted. One who knows that the outflows have no source and clearly understands this is said to have exhausted the outflows.”
Brahmā asked:
“What is true speech that brings all words to an end?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“It belongs to one who can discern and clearly comprehend difficult matters.”
Brahmā asked:
“Who realizes the path?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“When ordinary beings realize the path, they do not think that they have attained anything. With regard to the Dharma of the noble ones, there is likewise nowhere to proceed; thus, they should thoroughly understand all dharmas.”
Brahmā asked:
“Who can see the Noble Truths?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“The Noble Truths cannot be seen. Why is this? Whatever anyone regards as seeing is false. Therefore, having no act of observation is called seeing the Noble Truths.”
Brahmā asked:
“How should one contemplate in order to see the Noble Truths?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“To have no object to be seen in any seeing is called seeing the Noble Truths.”
Brahmā asked:
“Where should one seek the Noble Truths?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One should seek them within the four inversions.”
Brahmā asked:
“Why do you say this?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“The four inversions are investigated to the very source, yet ultimately there is no permanence, no happiness, no self or what belongs to self; there is no purity. That true dharma of impermanence is precisely not permanence; the absence of happiness is precisely not happiness; the absence of self is precisely not self; and the absence of emptiness is precisely not emptiness.
“Furthermore, Brahmā! To recognize that there is no happiness in any dharma is to seek the Noble Truths. One who seeks the Noble Truths sees no suffering, abandons no origin of suffering, realizes no cessation, and also cultivates no path.”
Brahmā asked:
“What does it mean to cultivate the path?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“One does not conceive of acting, nor does one conceive of non-action. One abandons the two characteristics of path and non-path in seeking the path and attains nothing whatsoever among all dharmas. This alone is called the path. With regard to the path, there is neither arising nor non-arising, neither elimination nor non-elimination, neither birth and death nor cessation. Why is this? Because there is neither arising nor an absence of arising. This is called the path of the noble ones.”
At that time, Phổ Hạnh, son of the brahmin Đại Tánh, said to Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ:
“How does an upasaka take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“If an upasaka does not give rise to the two views, that upasaka takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. He does not cling to a self, does not cling to another person, does not cling to the Buddha or to himself, does not cling to the Dharma or to himself, and does not cling to the Sangha or to himself. If he gives rise to no views, that upasaka has taken refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
“If an upasaka does not seek to see the Buddha through form, nor seek to see the Buddha through feeling, perception, formations, or consciousness, and neither acts nor hopes to attain Buddhahood, this is called taking refuge in the Buddha.
“If he makes no distinctions among dharmas, neither regarding them as alike nor comparing them, this is called taking refuge in the Dharma.
“If he has no dependence upon conditioned dharmas, seeks no peace and happiness in conditioned dharmas, and also seeks no peace and happiness in unconditioned dharmas, this is called taking refuge in the Sangha.
“If an upasaka does not cling to the Buddha and does not cling to the Dharma or the Sangha, this is called taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Hạnh asked:
“When a bodhisattva seeks the path to Buddhahood, what does he seek?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“He seeks it in empty space. Why is this? Because the path is equal, like empty space.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Hạnh asked:
“How does a bodhisattva seek the path to Buddhahood?”
Bodhisattva Phổ Thủ replied:
“If, amid all seeking, a bodhisattva perceives no object to be sought, clearly understands all dharmas, and, by clearly understanding all dharmas, comprehends sentient beings, this is called a bodhisattva seeking the path to Buddhahood.”
Bodhisattva Phổ Hạnh then addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One! Why is a bodhisattva called a bodhisattva?”
The Buddha said:
“Good man! If a bodhisattva sees sentient beings holding wrong views and gives rise to loving-kindness and compassion, enabling them to acquire right view and guiding them to enter the true path, that bodhisattva is called a bodhisattva. Why is this? That bodhisattva neither abides nor fails to abide, but makes vows solely for the sake of sentient beings. Because immeasurable sentient beings have fallen into wrong views, he establishes his resolve.
“Therefore, good man, because a bodhisattva gives rise to loving-kindness and compassion for sentient beings who have fallen into wrong views and establishes his resolve upon the path, he is called a bodhisattva.”
At that time, Bodhisattva Đạo Ý addressed the Buddha:
“Blessed One! We also wish to speak about what it means to be called a bodhisattva.”
The Buddha said:
“If you wish to speak, do so as you please.”
Bodhisattva Đạo Ý addressed the Buddha:
“Suppose a man or woman in the world diligently observes the eight precepts for one day and one night, neither violating nor neglecting them.
“Great Sage! In the same way, from the moment a bodhisattva first gives rise to the aspiration until attaining Buddhahood, he constantly observes the eight precepts. This is called a bodhisattva.”
Bodhisattva Kiên Ý said:
“If a bodhisattva’s mind is steadfast and he fully practices loving-kindness, he is called a bodhisattva.”
Bodhisattva Độ Nhân said:
—Just as a boat or a bridge carries people across a river yet never perceives hardship and makes no distinctions, a practitioner whose mind is like this example is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Abandoning Evil said:
—If a bodhisattva establishes Buddha lands and is thereby able to eradicate all evils completely, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara said:
—If, upon seeing a bodhisattva, sentient beings resolve to advance toward the path to Buddhahood, and merely contemplating the bodhisattva’s name enables them to attain liberation, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta said:
—One whose every step causes the entire trichiliocosm of Buddha lands and all the palaces of Mara to tremble is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Weary of Affliction said:
—Suppose that throughout kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, one diligently and earnestly strives day and night, or practices continuously for half a month, one month, twelve months, ten years, one thousand years, or hundreds of thousands of millions of years before a Buddha appears in the world. Or suppose that one makes offerings to Tathagatas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and practices in purity, only thereafter receiving a prediction of Buddhahood. One then arouses great compassion for sentient beings and establishes the path to Buddhahood, never forgetting it, never becoming heedless, harboring no doubt, and never growing indolent. That one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Guide said:
—If one arouses great compassion for sentient beings who have fallen onto false paths, enabling them to abide in the right path, without negligence or expectation of reward, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Great Mountain said:
—One who remains impartial toward all dharmas, like a great mountain, and makes no distinctions is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Hook and Summons said:
—One who does not perceive any eradication of all afflictions is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Courageous Mind said:
—If, while contemplating all dharmas with the mind, one gives rise to patient acceptance without any increase or decrease, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Wishing to Roar the Lion’s Roar said:
—One who, free from anxiety and fear, teaches those of other paths through the wondrous Dharma is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva No Thought said:
—If one uses mind to enter mind, wherein there is neither thought nor absence of thought, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Deva Son Excellent Beneficence said:
—If one is born in the celestial palaces yet remains undefiled by attachment and does not cling even to the dharma of freedom from desire, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Truthful Speech said:
—If one always speaks truthful words, and one’s speech accords with suchness and truth yet is also not deemed to accord with truth, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Love and Reverence said:
—If one sees all forms as forms of the Buddha, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Ever Sorrowful said:
—If, seeing sentient beings fallen into the paths of samsara, one takes no delight in any pleasure but thinks only, “I shall rescue all sentient beings,” that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva None Can Withstand said:
—World-Honored One! One who is not disturbed by the mara of sensual desire is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Ever-Smiling Joyful Faculties said:
—One who possesses immeasurable joy, whose faculties rejoice, who has perfected one’s vows and practices, and whose work is accomplished is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Destroying All Nets of Doubt said:
—One who never departs from the mind and harbors no doubt concerning any dharma is called a bodhisattva.
Maiden Lion said:
—One who perceives neither a dharma of woman nor a dharma of man and can manifest innumerable bodily forms to teach and transform sentient beings is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Jewel Maiden said:
—One who takes no delight in precious jewels but delights only in the Three Jewels—the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—is called a bodhisattva.
Layman Sorrow-Free Giving said:
—If one is neither inverted nor deluded, and if a bodhisattva, with respect to the path and all dharmas, has nothing to attain, neither gives rise to anything nor eradicates anything, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Elder Bhadrapala said:
—If a bodhisattva uses names as provisional means to guide sentient beings toward the path to Buddhahood, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Maiden Jewel Moon said:
—If one always acts with reverence, cultivates the pure life, and practices giving impartially, without discrimination or desire—much less seeking wealth and riches—that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Fragrant Flower said:
—Just as the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three perfume their bodies with the fragrance of morality, a bodhisattva emits no other fragrance but only the fragrance of the Dharma of the precepts and is therefore called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Creating Joy said:
—One who delights in no other dharmas but seeks only to accomplish three things—making offerings to the Buddha, expounding the sutras and Dharma, and teaching and transforming sentient beings—is called a bodhisattva.
Brahma Firm Mind said:
—Suppose a bodhisattva seeks no dharmas and does not even seek the scriptures of the Buddhas, but relies solely upon their radiance to attain awakening. That one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Maitreya said:
—If any sentient being who sees a bodhisattva immediately practices the samadhi of loving-kindness, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Universal Chief said:
—If a bodhisattva expounds all dharmas yet has no object to expound, gives rise to no conception of dharmas, and does not recollect or think of any dharma, that one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Net of Light said:
—Suppose the radiance manifested by a bodhisattva can completely eradicate afflictions and sensual desire. That one is called a bodhisattva.
Bodhisattva Universal Flower said:
—One who sees the Tathagatas throughout the Buddha lands of the ten directions as though they were a forest of flowers is called a bodhisattva.
Thus, each of the bodhisattvas gave an explanation according to their own aspiration.
At that time, the World-Honored One said to Bodhisattva Universal Practice:
—If a bodhisattva endures all manner of suffering and affliction for the sake of sentient beings, yet never forgets the source of all merit and virtue and never abandons sentient beings, that one is called a bodhisattva.
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