Toh 9The Noble Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines

Summary

The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines is
among the most important scriptures underlying both the “vast” and the “profound”
approaches to Buddhist thought and practice. Known as the “middle-length” version, being
the second longest of the three long Perfection of Wisdom
sūtras, it fills three volumes of the Kangyur. Like the two other long sūtras, it records
the major teaching on the perfection of wisdom given by the Buddha Śākyamuni on Vulture
Peak, detailing all aspects of the path to enlightenment while at the same time
emphasizing how bodhisattvas must put them into practice without taking them—or any
aspects of enlightenment itself—as having even the slightest true existence.

Acknowledgements

Translation by the Padmakara Translation Group. A complete draft by Gyurme Dorje
was first edited by Charles Hastings, then revised and further edited by John Canti. The
introduction was written by John Canti. We are grateful for the advice and help received
from Gareth Sparham, Greg Seton, and Nathaniel Rich.

This translation is dedicated to the memory of our late colleague, long-time
friend, and vajra brother Gyurme Dorje (1950–2020), who worked assiduously on this
translation in his final years and into the very last months of his life. We would also
like to express our gratitude to his wife, Xiaohong, for the extraordinary support she
gave him on so many levels.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000:
Translating the Words of the Buddha.

The generous sponsorship of Kris Yao and Xiang-Jen Yao, which helped make the
work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.

Introduction

The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines is
one of the three so-called “long” sūtras on the Perfection of Wisdom, or
Prajñāpāramitā. It
fills three complete volumes of the Degé Kangyur, and of all the Prajñāpāramitā
sūtras it is second in length only to the massive Perfection of
Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines (Toh 8), which fills twelve
volumes. The third and shortest of the three “long” sūtras, the Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines (Toh 10), fills two and a half volumes.

All three sūtras have a similar structure, closely parallel content, and
convey the same teaching: detailed presentations of everything that causes,
conditions, and propagates the state of suffering, and of everything that either
brings about, or is constituted by, the awakening from that state of suffering.
Pervading these presentations is the constant message characteristic of the
Prajñāpāramitā sūtras: that despite the importance of understanding all the phenomena
of defilement and of putting into practice all the phenomena of the path leading to
purification, none of the phenomena that are known, practiced, or attained must ever
be taken as having any ultimately real existence if true awakening is to be
attained.

The phenomena that are comprised by defilement and purification are
grouped in the numerous sets or lists (mātṛkā or “matrices”) that have characterized Buddhist teachings from
their earliest origins. These sets and subsets of phenomena (dharma) became, of course, a particular
feature of the systematizing Abhidharma texts, but in parallel also came to constitute
an important component of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. Their inclusion, which in the
“long” sūtras is even more extensive than in the earlier Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Toh 12), may have
served to confirm the continuity of the Prajñāpāramitā’s more profound and difficult
perspective on Buddhist practice with earlier forms, as well as to highlight its
distinctiveness. In each of the three long sutras, the discussions between the Buddha
and the other interlocutors on these sets of dharmas follow one another in almost
identical sequence, and the differences in length among the three are almost entirely
due to the different degrees to which each set is unpacked into the individual items that it comprises.

While the exhaustive presentation of dharmas that these texts contain
provides an important scriptural basis for the classic Buddhist understanding and
categorization of phenomena in general, their intent goes much farther than the
descriptive itemizing characteristic of the Abhidharma. Most obviously, in his
dialectical treatment of each topic the Buddha explicitly undermines any tendencies on
the part of his disciples, however subtle they may be, to take any dharma as real or
truly existing, or even to adopt it as a point of reference. It is from this
“profound” theme of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras that the fullest forms of Buddhist
philosophical understanding of emptiness developed, as exemplified by the great
Madhyamaka treatises of Nāgārjuna and later scholars; it is also this theme that led
to the practice traditions of Chan, Thiền, Sŏn, and Zen.

Rather less obviously, for it remains largely implicit (especially in the
progressive order in which he sets them out), the Buddha’s instructions on how to
overcome and abandon those tendencies form an integrated series of practices—the
actual path that the bodhisattva must take toward complete awakening—and by extension
a description of how a practitioner’s mind may be progressively brought to a direct
realization of the ultimate. These “vast” instructions were explained to Asaṅga by
Maitreya and are an underlying element of the great Yogācāra treatises as well as the
key by which many later Indian commentaries explain the Prajñāpāramitā
sūtras.

The Early Spread of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras

Buddhist tradition holds that the Prajñāpāramitā was taught by the Buddha
on Gṛdhrakūṭa (“Vulture Peak”), the craggy hill near the city of Rājagṛha, capital of
the Indian kingdom of Magadha. Some accounts say that this teaching took place over a
period of some thirty years, while others say twelve years. Nevertheless, not only the
three long sūtras but all five of the longer so-called “mother sūtras” are traditionally said
to be accounts of the same teaching by the Buddha given on a single occasion. This assertion is made on the
basis of two points: first that the Buddha’s interlocutors are the same, and second
that a prophecy made by the Buddha included in all of them could only have been made
once. Indeed, the multiplicity of versions of this single teaching is
not even limited to the five long sūtras in the canon, for several even longer
versions are said to have been recorded for the needs of nonhuman beings. While the
longest of the versions preserved in the Kangyur, The Perfection
of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines (Toh 8), is said to have been
destined for the nāgas—from whose realm it was retrieved by Nāgārjuna—it is also said
that there is a sūtra for the gods with ten million lines, and that the
longest version of all, destined for the gandharvas, is a sūtra in one billion
lines.

From a historical perspective, versions of Prajñāpāramitā sūtras in
writing seem to have first appeared in the first centuries bce and ce. The sūtra’s own exhortation to
readers to write it out in the form of books may be associated with the early
Mahāyāna’s embrace of written texts. Modern scholars have disagreed about which of the
geographically dispersed Buddhist communities may have first given rise to the
Prajñāpāramitā literature, some favoring its origin among the Mahāsāṅghikas of Andhra
in the south of India, while others point to evidence of its early flourishing in the
northwest regions such as Gandhāra. Whichever may be the case, a birch-bark scroll
from the northwest, found in Bajaur (a district of present-day Pakistan near the
Afghan border), radiocarbon-dated to the first century ce,
is the oldest known Prajñāpāramitā manuscript. Like most of the earliest birch-bark
scrolls from the region it is in the Gāndhārī language, written in Kharoṣṭhī
script. The
fragmentary portion of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtra it contains cannot be matched to any
recension among the known versions of the sūtras, and may therefore represent an
intermediate stage during their evolution from even earlier Prakrit versions into the
differentiated sūtras we know today, in their Chinese and Tibetan translations and in
the later Sanskrit texts preserved mainly in Nepal.

Different hypotheses regarding the steps and order in which that evolution
took place have been proposed, one being that The Perfection of
Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Aṣṭasāhasrikā) represents an early version that first led to further long
“mother” versions by a process of expansion in the first three centuries ce, and subsequently to the many short versions—notably the
“Heart” and “Diamond
Cutter” sūtras (Hṛdaya and Vajracchedikā)—by an opposite contraction from the
fourth to the sixth century, after which even more compressed and sometimes “tantric”
versions appeared, as well as texts in which the Prajñāpāramitā is worshiped as a
female “mother” deity. The neatness of this schema, however, may overlook some of
the evidence. For instance, there are reasons for suspecting that the Vajracchedikā may date to as early as the second century
ce.

It is important to bear in mind that the naming of the different versions
by the number of lines
they contain is likely to have been
a later development, applied as a means of classifying the profusion of circulating
texts of different lengths. It was already in use by the time these texts were first
translated into Tibetan in the late eighth and early ninth centuries, but it is not a
feature of the earlier Chinese translations. The earliest evidence of this
nomenclature appears to be in the Chinese literature, in the record of a lecture by
the early sixth century translator Bodhiruci, and its widespread adoption in the centuries that
followed may have served to limit further profusion and even reduce the variety of
different texts by fixing their number. Nevertheless, its retrospective application to
earlier texts may obscure rather than clarify their recensional affinities, and the
comparison of parallel passages across recensions of all the sūtras remains a valid
means of exploring qualitative textual differences regardless of the quantitative
affiliation defined by the particular title.

This is particularly true of the longest versions of the sūtra, i.e., the
sūtras in Ten Thousand Lines, Eighteen Thousand Lines, Twenty-Five Thousand
Lines, and One Hundred Thousand Lines, which
are better seen as a group, often termed “the Long Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras.” It
includes texts that exist variably in Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan, different
recensional relationships between which can be distinguished independently of the
“length” denominations into which they are categorized.

The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines in

Central Asia and China

Coming to The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five
Thousand Lines itself, we do not know—apart from placing it with
reasonable probability within the process of the expansion of longer texts as
mentioned above—when or where it first appeared as a distinct redaction of the
Prajñāpāramitā sūtra, or even in what language. As is the case with many canonical
works, the earliest historical mentions predate any surviving physical texts, and come
from accounts of its first translation into Chinese.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, physical evidence that might corroborate the
earliest of these historical records is unavailable, since the very oldest surviving
manuscripts that are identifiable witnesses of The Perfection of
Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines (with the cautions mentioned above)
are considerably later fragments in Sanskrit or Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit from Khotan,
Gilgit, and from unknown Central Asian locations, dating from the fifth or sixth
century —by which time earlier recensions of the sūtra had already been
well established for three or four centuries in China and in multiple translations.

There are separate accounts relating how two copies of such recensions,
both representing a long Prajñāpāramitā sūtra of between eighteen and twenty thousand
lines, were brought from Khotan to China to be translated into
Chinese, both at around the same time in the second half of the third century ce. These copies of the sūtra would certainly have been in
an Indic language, and at least by this period such versions of the sūtra were
presumably known and used at many sites in the area of Buddhist influence along the
cultural and trade routes extending from northwest India up into Central Asia and the
Silk Roads skirting the Tarim Basin. Nevertheless, the sūtra’s presence in Khotan at
this date may represent early evidence of Mahāyāna influence in what had not long
before been a predominantly non-Mahāyāna Buddhist community.

The story begins in 260 ce when the Chinese
monk Zhu Shixing, who had studied Lokaksema’s early translation of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Taishō
224) in Luoyang, set out westward to find the
“more complete” text that had been heard about in China but had not been seen. He had
been determined to travel all the way to India if necessary but, finding the text in
Khotan, did not have to go any further. After various trials and tribulations, he sent
a copy to China with his Khotanese disciple Puṇyadhana, but himself remained in Khotan
for the rest of his life. Puṇyadhana set out from Khotan with the manuscript in 282
but it was only some five years later that he arrived in Cangyuan, where Mokṣala and
others translated it in 291 (Taishō 221).

Mokṣala’s translation, despite the earlier start, ended up being the
second Chinese translation to be completed, for in the meantime a Khotanese monk called Gītamitra had brought another Sanskrit manuscript
from Khotan to China, this time to Chang’an, where he assisted the great translator
Dharmarakṣa to produce the earliest Chinese translation (Taishō 222) in 286.

These accounts underline the importance of the Central Asian oasis states
of the Tarim Basin in the spread of Buddhism to China in general, as well as in the
early transmission of the long Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It is noteworthy that all these
scholar-monks responsible in their different ways for
the transmission of these texts to China—Puṇyadhana, Gītamitra, and Mokṣala
himself—were all Khotanese, and that Dharmarakṣa was himself a Central Asian born in
Dunhuang, probably of Yuezhi ethnicity.

What remains of Dharmarakṣa’s translation today is incomplete and includes
only the first twenty-seven chapters, while Mokṣala’s is more complete and contains
ninety chapters. The considerable differences that can be discerned between the two
texts (in addition to the incomplete nature of the former) are partly due to these two
translators’ quite different styles, but also reflect what must have been substantial
differences between their Indic source texts despite the close proximity in which they
seem to have coexisted in Khotan.

In the early years of the fifth century yet another Central Asian, the
great Kuchean translator Kumārajīva, produced his own complete translation (Taishō
223) comprising ninety chapters. This third
Chinese translation became the best known and most studied, partly because of
Kumārajīva’s readable style and literary renown, but also because it was accompanied
by his parallel translation of selections from an encyclopedic commentarial work,
known as the Dazhidu lun (*Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, Taishō 1509) and attributed to
Nāgārjuna. This translation of the commentary became an authoritative and
detailed source of Mahāyāna doctrine for Chinese scholars, but its presumed Sanskrit
original has left no mention at all in any Indic source. If its traces are to be found
at all in India, as indeed they may be, they are mostly indirect.

Finally, in the mid-seventh century Xuanzang translated a massive
compilation of Prajñāpāramitā texts he had brought from his travels in India, known
as the Large Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra (Taishō
220), its content and structure probably based on
a collection compiled in India rather than being of his own devising. The first
section or “assembly” of the compilation represents a text
similar to The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand
Lines, although the original Sanskrit text that Xuanzang used was probably
even longer. It is the second section, containing eighty-five chapters, that
represents the fourth and last Chinese translation of The
Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines. It is worth noting
here that in Xuanzang’s Chinese translations, as in the Tibetan translations, the language and structure of the
two longest sūtras, The Hundred Thousand Lines and The Twenty-Five Thousand Lines, are noticeably similar
except for the degree of repetition and expansion of the lists of dharmas, whereas the
third section, representing The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen
Thousand Lines, has more differences in content and may reflect a more
elaborated and possibly later text.

It is important to emphasize again here that the categorization of these
early translations into sūtras denominated as having a certain length in terms of
“lines” (śloka) had
not yet become the more definitive naming system that evolved in later centuries. All
these texts can most usefully be seen as versions of the “Large Perfection of Wisdom”
(Mahāprajñāpāramitā) sūtra, as distinct from
the mid-length Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand
Lines and the many short versions of the sūtra, each of which followed
their own evolutionary path. The texts, even in different languages, of the “Large
Perfection of Wisdom,” differentiated as they are by greater or lesser degrees of
expansion of the lists of dharmas, show complex patterns of textual proximity that do
not necessarily follow their numerical denominations.

The work that, despite this reserve, we can nevertheless call The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines,
particularly in the form of Kumārajīva’s translation and its accompanying commentary,
has arguably been among the most important influences on Chinese Buddhism. Yet the
ways in which the sūtra was interpreted and used in China led in strikingly different
directions from those taken by Indian and Tibetan scholars. This is partly because the
massively detailed Dazhidu lun commentary, so
influential in China, had remained largely unknown in India (see above), and partly
because of the comprehensive way in which Kumārajīva and his followers presented
Mahāyāna thought and practice, integrating the Prajñāpāramitā with Nāgārjuna and
Āryadeva’s Madhyamaka treatises as well as with other Mahāyāna sūtras in the textual
corpus of the San lun zong or “Three Treatises” school, the influence of which later
spread to Korea and Japan. But another major determinant in this respect is simply
that the sūtra’s influence and spread in China was early, and effectively predated the
influential new turns that—while Kumārajīva was still at work on his translations in
Chang’an—the study of the sūtra was just beginning to take in India.

Meanwhile in India…

At an unknown date in the mid-fourth century, a brilliant young Gandhāran
scholar in Puruṣapura (modern Peshawar in Pakistan) is said to have attained mastery
of all the available Buddhist scriptures and treatises except—to his frustration—the
Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, which he could not fully understand. He sought advice from his
teachers, one of whom recommended that he should seek the divine help of the
bodhisattva and future buddha Maitreya in retreat. He therefore set off to Central
India and spent twelve years arduously but (in his own estimation) fruitlessly
practicing in a cave until, at the point of giving up his quest, he had a vision of
Maitreya in person and was taken by him to the Tuṣita
heaven. There he received and wrote down a set of treatises known as the “Five
Teachings of Maitreya” (byams chos sde lnga).

Such, in brief, is the legendary account transmitted in Tibetan Buddhist
tradition about how Asaṅga (ca. 320–90) wrote down the five important treatises that
Tibetan tradition attributes to Maitreya. All five treatises are said—in the legendary account, and by
some commentators, too—to be Maitreya’s explanations of the Prajñāpāramitā, but one
of them in particular, The Ornament of Clear Realization
(Abhisamayālaṃkāra), bears an explicit
relationship to it and seems to have had a powerful influence on the exegesis of the
Prajñāpāramitā texts, both in the great Buddhist monastic universities of Nālandā,
Vikramaśilā, and Odantapuri in India, and after their decline in Kashmir and Tibet
where their scholastic traditions continued. Surprisingly, however, and despite
Xuanzang’s familiarity with Asaṅga’s other works, it was not translated into Chinese
and had no influence at all on Chinese scholarship.

The Ornament of Clear Realization is a short and somewhat
cryptic text, not a commentary in the usual sense but rather a key to the implicit
structure and essential points of the longer Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It can be applied
to any of the “six mother sūtras,” which indeed are collectively so called because
they all follow that very structure and all include the full set of all eight “clear
realizations” (abhisamaya, mngon par rtogs pa) that constitute the
main divisions of the Ornament. Each of these eight
divisions is subdivided into a hierarchy of further divisions, making seventy points
in all. The seventy points follow the order of the topics discussed in the long
versions of the sūtra and, at a low resolution, can be mapped more or less closely to
them all—although at higher resolutions the hypothetical version of the text that is
inferentially discernible from the Ornament’s details
does not correspond exactly to any one of the extant witnesses, even those of The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines to
which it is most closely related and on which it is often said to be based.

The influence that The Ornament of Clear
Realization exerted on the interpretation of the Prajñāpāramitā is
evident from the range of Prajñāpāramitā treatises by Indian authors that have
survived, either in Sanskrit or in Tibetan translations in the Tengyur. There are no
fewer than twenty-one such treatises based on the
Ornament: twelve that apply its enumeration of topics as commentaries to
the different “mother” versions of the sūtra, and nine that are (in various senses) commentaries on
the Ornament itself. The long commentary attributed
in the Chinese tradition to Nāgārjuna, the Dazhidu
lun (see above)—which would, of course have predated the appearance of
The Ornament of Clear Realization by a century or two
if the attribution is correct—seems to have left virtually no evident traces in the
Indian literature, and Nāgārjuna’s Madhyamaka
works, which can be viewed as general treatises on the doctrines of the
Prajñāpāramitā, are not usually counted as part of the Prajñāpāramitā literature as
such. Only
Dignāga’s Piṇḍārthasaṅgraha (Toh
3809) and two other treatises, both incorporating the Sanskrit term
bṛhaṭṭīkā in the titles by which
they are most commonly known (Toh 3807 and 3808), comment
on the long Prajñāpāramitā sūtras without specific reference to The Ornament of Clear Realization, although all three use terms and
concepts from the other Maitreya-Asaṅga treatises and the Yogācāra system in
general.

Toward the end of the flowering of Buddhist learning that took place in
India between the sixth and twelfth centuries ce in the
monastic universities of the Gupta and Pāla periods, it is clear that The Ornament of Clear Realization had become the preeminent
focus for the study of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. Whether this happened early all at
once, gradually over a long period, or in different times in different places remains
less clear, although the snapshots provided by the Tibetan translations of this
literature, reflecting as they presumably do the availability and perceived importance
of different texts at different periods, may provide some clues.

The Prajñāpāramitā Takes Root in Tibet

The great cultural transfer of Buddhist literature, practice, and
scholarship that began in the Tibetan imperial period of the late eighth and early
ninth centuries, particularly during the reigns of Tri Songdetsen and Ralpachen,
naturally included translating the Prajñāpāramitā texts available in India at the
time. By the time the two surviving inventories of the early ninth century, the
Denkarma and Phangthangma, had been compiled, all the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras had been
translated, but only some of the treatises and commentaries.

The accounts of Tibetan historians concerning the early translation period
focus principally on the various translators, translations, and manuscripts of The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand
Lines, but most of the other sūtras, long and short, are listed in the
two inventories, including The Perfection of Wisdom in
Twenty-Five Thousand Lines.

Of the treatises, the two bṛhaṭṭīkā commentaries on the long sūtras (mentioned above) are listed
in the inventories, as are a number of commentaries on the short sūtras. It is not
entirely certain whether or not there was an early translation of The Ornament of Clear Realization itself, as the entry that appears to
mention it may be read in different ways, but there were early translations of one,
and possibly two, of Haribhadra’s most important commentaries on it, and of a commentary by one of his students,
Buddhaśrījñāna. It is worth remembering that Haribhadra himself
may have studied with Śāntarakṣita and is likely to have been still alive and active
when these early translations were made.

It was nevertheless only in the later period of translation, under the
successive influences of Rinchen Sangpo, Atiśa Dipaṃkaraśrījñāna, and particularly
Ngok Lotsāwa Loden Sherab, that the full panoply of Prajñāpāramitā and Ornament of Clear Realization treatises appear to have been
extensively studied. Ngok and his circle replaced or revised many of the older
translations and supplemented them with translations of works by later Indian
scholars, including Smṛtijñānakīrti, Dharmaśrī, Ratnākaraśānti, Abhayākaragupta, and
Atiśa himself, which had not even been composed at the time of the early translation
period.

In other words, while the prevailing state of Prajñāpāramitā study in
India at the time was reflected in the early period Tibetan translations, its
evolution had by no means come to an end and was continuing, contemporaneously with
the implantation of Buddhism in Tibet. Indeed, that evolution continued within Tibet
in subsequent centuries, following the rather abrupt decline of Buddhism in
northeastern India and, some time later, in the northwest and Kashmir, too. Several
major exegetical lineages and systems of Prajñāpāramitā study were founded in both
eastern and central Tibet, particularly to begin with at Sangphu but also
at Sakya, Tsurphu, Jonang, Mindröling, and the three great Gelukpa monasteries around
Lhasa. Study of the Prajñāpāramitā scriptures in the light of The Ornament of Clear Realization, although often in parallel with study
of the Madhyamaka, became a distinct, specialist topic pursued by innumerable great
scholars down to the present day. Over the centuries almost two hundred and
fifty ever more detailed commentaries and synthetic
treatises have been composed in Tibetan by almost all the best-known scholastic
authors.

In common with the other long versions of the sūtra, The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines was translated in
the early period of translation, as mentioned above. Although its colophon does not
mention the translators who worked on it, the various Kangyur catalogs agree that it
was translated “at the time of Yeshé Dé and others,” and the fact that it is mentioned in
the two early imperial inventories is evidence that its translation was completed by
around 813 ce at the latest.

The Tibetan version of the text found in the Kangyur—the version
translated here—contains certain archaic spellings (used in an unusual, inconsistent
pattern), certain archaic terms, and renders some bodhisattvas’ names in nonstandard
ways; these features may indicate that it was not as extensively revised as were some
other canonical texts in the early ninth-century revisions. Its language is strikingly
similar to that of The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred
Thousand Lines, both in these respects and in the exact correspondence of
the very numerous passages common to both sūtras. Indeed, it is evident that the two
texts—at least as they are found in the Degé Kangyur today—must have been translated
in close relationship, whether in parallel or in sequence, and very likely that the
same translators were responsible for both. In contrast, the Tibetan translation of the third of the long sūtras,
The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines,
diverges noticeably from the other two in its language and use of certain terms and
names, even though its content and structure are essentially the same and it is quite
plausibly the work of the same translators. It is difficult to be sure whether or not those
differences in the Tibetan reflect differences in the source from which The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines was
translated, but a parallel discrepancy can be seen in the Chinese of Xuanzang’s
translation (see above

), which—to the extent that there is an equivalence
of the three long sūtras in Tibetan with Xuanzang’s three “assemblies”—suggests that
The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
may have diverged in its textual evolution relative to the other two versions some
time before it was translated into Chinese and Tibetan.

Kangyur and Tengyur Versions of the Sūtra

The version of The Perfection of Wisdom in
Twenty-Five Thousand Lines as found in the Kangyur and translated here
(Toh 9 in the Degé Kangyur) no doubt reflects one of
several Sanskrit versions that were circulating in India at the time it was
translated—i.e., in the early period—and may even include elements taken from more
than one source. It is not, however, the only canonical version of the sūtra in
Tibetan, for another was adopted by scholars in the later period and is now found
in the Tengyur (Toh 3790).

That Tengyur version of the sūtra is known colloquially in Tibetan as
the “eight-chapter version of the Twenty-Five
Thousand” (nyi khri le’u brgyad ma),
and the compilation of the Sanskrit text that was its source is attributed to
Haribhadra. Although it is sometimes presented as a commentary written by
Haribhadra (hence its inclusion in the Tengyur), it is better described as a
slightly different version of the sūtra, with some relatively minor differences of
order, modifications in certain places, and added structural divisions in the form
of brief headings that follow the eight principal topics and their subheadings as
set out in The Ornament of Clear
Realization. Western scholars, following Conze, have often referred to
it as the “recast” or “revised” version, but such a description is misleading in
implying the primacy of some “unrevised” version entirely free from exegetical
redaction. In the evolution of the many coexisting versions of the long sūtra,
there has been no such clear distinction between scriptural transmission and
exegetical development.

The Tengyur version is a Tibetan translation that, according to its
colophon, was made from a Sanskrit manuscript in a Yambu (Kathmandu) monastery by the Newar paṇḍita Śāntibhadra and
the Tibetan translator Naktso Lotsāwa Tsultrim Gyalwa (nag tsho lo tsA ba tshul khrims rgyal ba, 1011–64, closely
associated with Atiśa). Nevertheless, the Tibetan translation appears to have been
made using the early translation of the Kangyur version (i.e., Toh 9) as the basis
upon which the relatively small number of changes necessary to align it with the
Sanskrit manuscript in question were made. A large majority of passages are common
to the two versions and nearly identical; to describe the Tengyur version as a
different translation is therefore somewhat misleading. At the same time, the fact
that the later translation was probably made using the earlier as its starting
point does not necessarily imply the same chronological relationship between the
two Sanskrit source texts. The existence of this alternative, Tengyur version
again bears witness to the continuing evolution in the interpretation and study of
the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras in India, and increasingly in parallel in Tibet itself,
during the four or five centuries that mark the introduction of Buddhist
literature to Tibet.

In the monastic colleges still active today that specialize in
Prajñāpāramitā studies, it is the Tengyur (“eight-chapter”) version of The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines
to which reference is predominantly made, either directly or because it is the
version effectively integrated in the commentaries. To the extent that the
curricula of colleges today reflect those of their forebears back through the
centuries, the Tengyur version may well have been the principal focus of detailed
study since the time it was translated—which, although in the later translation
period, still predated by several centuries the emergence of the Kangyur and
Tengyur as the established canonical collections.

The present Kangyur version has nevertheless remained in place, and in
particular represents the sūtra in terms of its being the sacred, scriptural
“words of the Buddha” (buddhavacana), along with the other sūtras, for reading and
recitation if not for detailed analysis and study. The existence of an alternative
may even have contributed to the fact that this version seems to have preserved
more features of its early translation than many other canonical texts.

Sanskrit Texts of The Perfection of

Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines

To have in mind the versions of the sūtra that exist in Tibetan makes it
easier to understand the relationship of the surviving Sanskrit texts to those
versions.

In brief, the Sanskrit manuscripts we have of this specific sūtra—as
denominated by its length, i.e., The Perfection of Wisdom in
Twenty-Five Thousand Lines itself—are of a later date than the Tibetan
translations, being copies of manuscripts preserved by the Newar Buddhist tradition in
Nepal and not generally more than a few centuries old. Manuscripts of that recension
are preserved in Cambridge, Tokyo, Paris, and Kolkata. A critical edition of the
section corresponding to the first of the eight abhisamaya topics was published by Nalinaksha Dutt in 1934, and more
recently a complete edition in several volumes by Takayasu Kimura has appeared
(1986–2007), with concordances to the various manuscripts and the Tibetan and Chinese
translations.

These manuscripts of the so-called “Nepalese recension,” and the editions
made from them, correspond most closely to the Tengyur “eight-chapter” version of the
sūtra, and like it are explicitly aligned to the order of topics in The Ornament of Clear Realization. However, since most passages of
the Kangyur and Tengyur versions are either identical or very similar (as noted
above), these complete Sanskrit manuscripts are still useful and informative
references for reading the present Kangyur version.

The Sanskrit manuscripts of The Perfection of Wisdom in
One Hundred Thousand Lines are also of Nepalese origin and are of relatively
recent date. Nevertheless, from a recensional perspective they are closer to the present, Kangyur
version of The Perfection of Wisdom in
Twenty-Five Thousand Lines than the Sanskrit manuscripts of The Perfection of Wisdom in
Twenty-Five Thousand Lines just mentioned, which correspond more to the eight-chapter Tengyur
version.
These Hundred Thousand Sanskrit manuscripts are thus an important reference for the
study of this text. In the first decade of the twentieth century, Pratāpacandra Ghoṣa
produced an edition of the first twelve chapters from three manuscripts kept in
Kolkata and one in Cambridge. More recently, Kimura has been publishing an edition
from manuscripts kept in Tokyo of further portions of the text, so far in four
volumes, the last in 2014.

Several other incomplete or fragmentary Indic manuscripts are also
important references, in part because they are older than the “Nepalese” recensions.
The oldest known Prajñāpāramitā text of all, radiocarbon-dated to the first century
ce, is the Gāndhāri birch-bark manuscript from Bajaur,
as already mentioned above (

), which is not closely
identifiable with any surviving version but perhaps belongs to the hypothetical period
when precursor versions resembling The Perfection of Wisdom in
Twenty-Five Thousand Lines had not yet given rise to any of the “Larger
Perfection of Wisdom” series.

The earliest surviving manuscript of a “Larger” version is another
birch-bark scroll, this one found along with a large number of other texts in Gilgit
in 1931. It is in Sanskrit, is almost complete, and can be dated by details of its script to the sixth or
seventh century ce. Although it was
thought at first by Edward Conze to be a hybrid
consisting of parts of The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five
Thousand Lines and parts of The Perfection of Wisdom
in Eighteen Thousand Lines, it is now taken as one among the many
coexisting versions of the “Larger” sūtra series. As the
most complete of the Gilgit Prajñāpāramitā manuscripts, it is a very important
source; the others are incomplete fragments. Another, similar Sanskrit manuscript of a
generic “Larger” version was found in Dunhuang.

Somewhat later manuscripts include a set of ninety-one fragments inscribed
on copper, identifiable as belonging to a version of The
Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines, found in Sri Lanka in
1923 in the remains of a stūpa. These Indikuṭasāya
Copper Plaques are written in a Sinhalese script of the eighth or ninth century. More
substantial fragments, found more recently in Sri Lanka at Anuradhapura, are written
on several large gold sheets in a ninth century script. These Sri Lankan
fragments of The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand
Lines contain passages in an order that conforms to The Ornament of Clear Realization but do not include the exegetical
subdivision headings characteristic of the Tibetan translation in the Tengyur or the
later “Nepalese” Sanskrit versions. In other words, they can be taken as representing
an intermediate phase in a multiplicity of recensions ranging between these latter
versions on the one hand, and on the other those earlier recensions—like the
hypothetical Sanskrit text from which the present Kangyur version must have
translated—that appear to have been the least influenced by the
Ornament.

Finally, this discussion of the Sanskrit manuscripts related to the
present sūtra would be incomplete without a mention of the last four chapters in this
Kangyur version of the text, chapters 73 to 76, which, as mentioned below, are not
present in any Indic version directly identifiable with this particular recension.
Nevertheless, the Sanskrit of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight
Thousand Lines closely matches them in content, and Vaidya’s 1960 edition
provides a convenient reference.

Structure and Content

The Structure and Its Correspondences with the Other

Long Sūtras

The sūtra, which fills three volumes in the Degé Kangyur, is divided
into seventy-six chapters of quite unequal length. The chapter divisions
correspond, to a greater or lesser extent, to those in the other long versions of
the Prajñāpāramitā. Of the three longest sūtras, only The
Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines provides chapter
titles for all its eighty-seven chapters; in the present text, only seventeen of
the seventy-six chapters have explicit titles. As mentioned below (

and

),
some of these chapter titles (which in the source texts are found in the chapter
colophons at the end of each chapter rather than as initial titles) are probably
intended to encompass a group of preceding chapters as well.

At the most basic level, the structure common to the three long sūtras
can be divided into three parts:

The first chapter which, as in many sūtras, provides the
setting or context (nidāna, gleng
gzhi), and is common to all the long versions of the sūtra,
with differences in length due to different degrees of expansion and some
other minor differences in content;

The main subject matter of the Buddha’s dialogues with his
disciples, covered in the bulk of the subsequent chapters, providing the
parallel in content of all the sūtras; and

Several final chapters variably included (and not included at
all in The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred
Thousand Lines), which can be viewed as supplementary
elements—this is where the three long versions differ most, apart from the
extent of their repetitive expansion or contraction.

Thus, the first seventy-one chapters of the present text match in
content all seventy-two chapters of The Perfection of Wisdom
in One Hundred Thousand Lines, but in
more condensed form. The Hundred Thousand ends at the
equivalent of this point.

Many of the chapter breaks in the present text also correspond to
those in The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand
Lines with its yet more condensed subject matter, but since the
shorter text has more breaks, the first seventy-one chapters in the present text
correspond to the first eighty-two of the eighty-seven chapters of the Eighteen Thousand.

Coming now to the variably included final chapters, the seventy-second
chapter of the present text is known as “The Maitreya Chapter” and is found only
here in this text (both the Kangyur and Tengyur versions) and in the Eighteen Thousand. More will be said about it
below.

The final four chapters of the present text, 73 to 76, cover the story
of Sadāprarudita and Dharmodgata, and also (at the end of chapter 76), the
Buddha’s entrustment of the text to Ānanda. These four chapters are not included
in the Nepalese Sanskrit manuscripts or the Tengyur version of the text, nor in the Hundred Thousand, but are included (as three final chapters rather
than four) in both the Eighteen Thousand and the
Eight Thousand. The content of the equivalent
chapters in those two texts is almost identical to the content of these chapters
here, although the Tibetan translation in this text is clearly a different one
made by a different translator team. It nevertheless matches closely, as mentioned
above, the surviving Sanskrit of that part of the Eight
Thousand. More will be said about the content of these narrative
chapters below.

The Content and Its Topical Divisions

As already mentioned, the sūtra opens with the setting of the context
for the Buddha’s teaching of the Prajñāpāramitā. He is on Vulture Peak near
Rājagṛha, surrounded by a gathering of arhat monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, and
countless bodhisattvas, of whom thirty-seven are named at this point. After a
sequence of meditative stabilities and miraculous displays in which he emanates
lights that allay the sufferings of beings in world systems throughout the
trichiliocosm and make visible the buddhas teaching in the buddhafields in the ten
directions, buddhas and bodhisattvas in each of those buddhafields become aware
that a teaching is about to take place, and amid further miraculous displays the
bodhisattvas arrive in this world with their offerings to attend the teachings.

The main subject matter, the teachings that the Buddha then gives,
unfold as the rest of the text from the beginning of the second chapter. A very
broad description of the sūtra’s principal theme, which is common to all the
Prajñāpāramitā texts, has been sketched above in the opening paragraphs of this
introduction.

At a first reading and without exegetical guidance, the sūtra’s very
extensive presentation of its subject matter may seem somewhat disorganized and
unstructured. There are nevertheless several much-studied ways of understanding
how the teaching can be classified into different sections and topics. What
follows is an extremely abbreviated outline of three such ways among those
mentioned in the commentaries: the “three approaches” (or “gateways”); the “eleven
discourses”; and The Ornament
of Clear Realization’s eight principal topics or “clear realizations”
and their seventy subtopics.

The three approaches (sgo gsum) are the brief, intermediate, and detailed
teachings, destined respectively for those whose faculties allow them to
understand terse, middling, or extensive explanations:

(1) The brief teaching comes at the start of
chapter 2, and consists only of the Buddha’s statement:

“Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to
attain consummate buddhahood with respect to all phenomena in all
their aspects should persevere in the perfection of wisdom.” (

)

(2) The intermediate teaching follows
immediately and continues through the discussions between Śāriputra,
Subhūti, and the Buddha to the end of chapter 13. The Buddha responds to
Śāriputra’s question about what the brief teaching means in terms of the
four topics into which it can be subdivided: what a bodhisattva great
being is, what it is to attain consummate buddhahood with respect to all
phenomena in all their aspects, what persevering means, and what the
perfection of wisdom is. Four practices are taught (armor-like,
engagement, accumulation, and deliverance), and then, in some detail,
eight aspects related to the “persevering.” The last of these eight is a
discussion, starting with chapter 8, that arrives at an authoritative
conclusion, including twenty-eight or twenty-nine questions, further
dialogue between Subhūti and Śāriputra, and in chapters 11, 12, and 13 a
long discussion of the Great Vehicle, its attributes, and its results.
This entire intermediate teaching is sometimes referred to as “the chapter
of Subhūti,” which is also the chapter title this text gives to the last
chapter in this section, the thirteenth; that chapter title may be
intended to cover the entire group of chapters 3 through 12, too. The
intermediate teaching corresponds to the first chapter of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand
Lines, is
centered on all-aspect omniscience, and by teaching nonconceptual
perfection of wisdom focuses on ultimate truth.

(3) The detailed teaching is covered by most of
the rest of the text, from chapter 14 to the end of chapter 71 (it does
not include the Maitreya chapter or the final Sadāprarudita and
Dharmodgata chapters). It contains a long series of points to be explained
and is divided into two parts: (a) The first part begins
with the questions put to Subhūti by Śakra, lord of the gods. The first
ten of its chapters, 14 through 23, in which Śakra figures prominently,
are probably intended to be covered by the title “Śakra” given in the
chapter colophon of chapter 23, and among many important points they
explain are how a bodhisattva’s knowledge encompasses that of śrāvakas and
pratyekabuddhas, and the benefits, protections, and vast merit conferred
by appreciating, honoring, and knowing the perfection of wisdom.
Subsequent chapters cover a range of topics, from the dedication of merit,
in chapter 24, up to how a bodhisattva’s progress to awakening becomes
irreversible, in chapter 40. (b) The second part comprises
the discussions prompted by Subhūti’s two hundred and seventy-seven
questions, which start in chapter 41 and end in chapter 71. It is centered
on knowledge of the paths, and in teaching both conceptual and
nonconceptual perfection of wisdom it explains both relative and ultimate
truths.

The eleven formulations (rnam grangs bcu gcig) are mentioned in several
commentaries detailing the interlocutor concerned, but are not explicitly
correlated with particular locations in the texts. Following the mentions in the
two bṛhaṭṭīkā commentaries (Toh
3807 and 3808) and Sparham, we may speculatively
identify some of them in the present text as follows:

(1) to Śāriputra, from the beginning of chapter 2 as far as

;

(2) by Subhūti, the rest of chapter 2 to the end of chapter
13;

(3) to Śakra, chapter 14, but possibly including several
subsequent chapters as well;

(4) to Subhūti, difficult to identify;

(5) to Maitreya, the first part of chapter 24;

(6) to Subhūti, perhaps the rest of chapter 24 from

;

(7) to Śakra, perhaps chapter 25 to

;

(8) to Subhūti, perhaps starting in chapter 25 at

, but very likely chapters 41 to
71;

(9) to Maitreya, chapter 72;

(10) to Subhūti, again difficult to identify with any
certainty; and

(11) the narrative of Sadāprarudita and Dharmodgata and
entrustment of the sūtra to Ānanda, chapters 73 to 76.

It is possible that the list is not intended to follow a sequential
order in all instances. In any case, further study on this approach to the sūtras
would be desirable.

)—and indeed that is the
raison d’être of the Tengyur
version. Nevertheless, included in the following list of the eight principal
topics and their subdivision into seventy points is an approximate matching of the
eight topics themselves to the content of the chapters of this sūtra, based on how
the equivalent passages of the Sanskrit text can be identified in the Tibetan of
this version. The seventy points of
the Ornament are more difficult to match with the
present text, and indeed many of them are not even mentioned in the sutra; some,
however, can be discerned—not always in the same order as in the Ornament.

(1) All-aspect omniscience (sarvākārajñatā, rnam pa thams cad mkhyen pa nyid) is covered in chapters 2 to 13.
Its ten topics are (i) setting of the mind on enlightenment; (ii) the instructions
concerning its application within the Great Vehicle; (iii) the four aspects of
becoming established on the path of preparation, comprising warmth, peak,
acceptance, and supremacy; (iv) the naturally present affinity with the spiritual
family, which is the basis for attaining the Great Vehicle; (v) the referents
through which the Great Vehicle is attained; (vi) the goals attained through the
Great Vehicle; (vii) the armor-like practice; (viii) practice through engagement;
(ix) practice through the provisions of merit and wisdom; and (x) practice of
definitive deliverance.

(2) Knowledge of the path (mārgajñatā, lam
gyi rnam pa shes pa nyid) is covered in chapters 14 to 27. Its
eleven topics are (i) essential aspects for understanding the path; (ii) knowledge
of the path which is that of the śrāvakas; (iii) knowledge of the path which is
that of the pratyekabuddhas; (iv) the beneficial path of insight, which accords
with the Great Vehicle; (v) the functions of the path of cultivation; (vi) the
aspirational path of cultivation; (vii) the path of cultivation resulting in
eulogy, exhortation, and praise; (viii) the path of cultivation resulting in
dedication; (ix) the path of cultivation resulting in sympathetic rejoicing; (x)
the path of cultivation resulting in attainment; and (xi) the path of meditation
resulting in purity.

(3) Knowledge of all the dharmas (sarvajñatā, thams cad shes pa nyid) is covered in chapter 28. Its
nine topics are (i) the basic understanding that wisdom leads to not remaining in
cyclic existence; (ii) the basic understanding that compassion leads to not
remaining in quiescence; (iii) the basic understanding that lack of skillful means
leads to distance from the perfection of wisdom; (iv) the basic understanding that
skillful means lead to proximity to it; (v) the basic understanding of the
discordant factors associated with the fixation of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas;
(vi) the remedial factors countering those fixations; (vii) training in the
aforementioned basic understandings; (viii) training in the sameness of those
basic understandings; and (ix) the path of insight which integrates these basic
understandings.

(4) Clear realization of all aspects (sarvākārābhisambodha, rnam kun mngon rdzogs rtogs pa) is
covered in chapters 29 to 44. Its eleven topics are (i) the aspects of the three
kinds of knowledge (1–3 above); (ii) training in those aspects; (iii) the
qualities acquired through those trainings; (iv) the defects to be eliminated
during training; (v) the defining characteristics of training; (vii) the path of
provisions in accord with liberation; (vii) the path of preparation in accord with
the four degrees of penetration (1.iii above); (viii) the signs of irreversibility
in bodhisattva trainees; (ix) training in the sameness of cyclic existence and
quiescence; (x) the training associated with the pure realms; and (xi) training in
skillful means for the sake of others.

(5) Culminating clear realization (mūrdhābhisamaya, rtse mor phyin pa’i mngon rtogs) is
covered in chapters 45 through to the first few paragraphs of chapter 59. Its
eight topics are (i) the culminating training of warmth on the path of
preparation; (ii) the culminating training in the peak on the path of preparation;
(iii) the culminating training in acceptance on the path of preparation; (iv) the
culminating training in supremacy on the path of preparation; (v) the culminating
training on the path of insight; (vi) the culminating training on the path of
cultivation; (vii) the culminating uninterrupted training on the path of
cultivation, comprising the adamantine meditative stability; and (viii) the
mistaken notions that are to be eliminated.

(6) Serial clear realization (ānupūrvābhisamaya, mthar gyis pa’i mngon rtogs) is
covered by most of chapter 59, from after the first few paragraphs, through to the
first few paragraphs of chapter 60. Its thirteen topics are (i–vi) the serial
trainings in the six perfections of generosity, ethical discipline, tolerance,
perseverance, meditative concentration, and wisdom; (vii–xii) the serial training
in the six recollections of the spiritual teacher, the Buddha, the Dharma, the
Saṅgha, ethical discipline, and generosity; and (xiii) the serial training in the
realization that phenomena are without essential nature.

(7) Instantaneous clear realization (ekakṣaṇābhisamaya, skad cig ma gcig gis mngon par rtogs
pa) is covered in most of chapter 60, from after the first few
paragraphs, through to the end of chapter 61. Its four topics are (i)
instantaneous training in terms of maturation, (ii) instantaneous training in
terms of nonmaturation, (iii) instantaneous training in terms of the lack of
defining characteristics, and (iv) instantaneous training in terms of
nonduality.

(8) The fruitional buddha body of reality (dharmakāyābhisamaya, ’bras bu chos sku) is covered in
chapters 62 to 71. Its four topics are (i) the buddha body of essentiality, (ii)
the buddha body of wisdom and reality, (iii) the buddha body of perfect resource,
and (iv) the buddha body of emanation.

The Protagonists: Śāriputra, Subhūti, Śakra, and the

Others

Most of the interest in the Perfection of Wisdom sūtras shown by
commentators, whether traditional or modern, has understandably been focused on
the doctrinal content rather than the narrative structure, which is sometimes even
dismissed as contrived and largely irrelevant. But while the narrative content may
not be these sūtras’ most essential feature, it has both purpose and meaning. An
appreciation of how the teachings are said to unfold, and of who is saying what,
why, and in answer to what question, adds a rich and rewarding layer of
understanding for anyone reading these difficult texts closely. Who, then, are the
protagonists in this work, and why are they the protagonists and not others?

The most obvious feature of all the longer Perfection of Wisdom
sūtras in this regard is that much of the discussion occurs between the Buddha and
his śrāvaka disciples, although the subject matter lies at the heart of the
Mahāyāna, the path of bodhisattvas.

A number of Mahāyāna sūtras feature conversations between the
Buddha, bodhisattvas, and śrāvaka disciples in which the śrāvaka disciples are
depicted as rigid and limited in their views compared to the bodhisattvas. But in
the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras this is not the case. Substantial statements about the
perfection of wisdom are made not only by the Buddha in answer to the śrāvaka
interlocutors’ questions, but also directly by the śrāvaka interlocutors
themselves. Indeed very little is said by any bodhisattvas, despite their explicit
presence at the teaching recounted in these sūtras. Even Mañjuśrī, who could be
expected to have a leading role, is simply said to be present among the other
bodhisattvas, but no more. Avalokiteśvara too, so central in the Heart Sūtra, is merely present in the audience. The sole
exception is Maitreya, who takes part in the dialogue a few times and—most
notably—is the Buddha’s main interlocutor for the important “Maitreya chapter”
(chapter 72 here in the Twenty-Five Thousand), on
which see below (

–

); but their status is different, as
figures from the past in a narrative related by the Buddha.

Instead, much of the teaching on the Perfection of Wisdom is set out
in the form of exchanges between the Buddha and his śrāvaka disciples. Seven or
eight names of well-known disciples are variously mentioned in the sūtra
collectively as small groups concerned in the discussions on particular topics,
sometimes along with the bodhisattvas, but the only ones among them who speak as
individuals are Śāriputra, Subhūti, Pūrṇa
Maitrāyaṇīputra, and Ānanda.

Of these, it is to Śāriputra—without Śāriputra having
asked any question—that the Buddha addresses the brief statement at the beginning
of chapter 2 that starts off the entire teaching. In the canonical literature, Śāriputra (whose name takes
the longer form Śāradvatīputra in the sūtra) is “foremost of those with great
wisdom” of the disciples, the
specialist in the distinction and analysis of dharmas characteristic of the
Abhidharma, and it is therefore fitting, as the Dazhidu
lun points out, that the teaching should initially be
addressed to him. Śāriputra then asks for more detail, and the Buddha’s response
forms the entirety of the rest of the long chapter, which is accordingly known as
the “Śāriputra chapter” and forms a survey of what is meant by the bodhisattva’s
practice of the perfection of wisdom that is relatively easy to
understand—suggesting that it is the material particularly appropriate to
Śāriputra’s perspective. Nevertheless, in subsequent chapters, Śāriputra continues
to participate. He does so mainly by asking questions, many of them put to Subhūti
rather than to the Buddha himself, and makes few statements of his own.
Nevertheless, he is wise and experienced enough even to be able to correct a
misunderstanding of Śakra’s at one point (

).
Śāriputra is appreciative and respectful of the teaching, and wants to understand
it in terms of his own framework. The other interlocutors treat Śāriputra’s
perspective on it respectfully. Implicitly, however, as the sūtra proceeds it
becomes clear that Śāriputra’s category-based understanding lacks the profundity
of Subhūti’s.

Indeed, it is Subhūti who is by far the most
prominent protagonist in these sūtras. At the beginning of chapter 3, the Buddha
asks Subhūti to address the bodhisattvas and tell them how a bodhisattva will
become emancipated in the perfection of wisdom. This important passage sets the
scene for the rest of the intermediate teaching (on which see

above), all of which (up to the end of chapter
13) is referred to as the “Subhūti chapter” since much of the teaching is either
delivered by Subhūti himself, or given by the Buddha in response to Subhūti’s
questions. This does not mean, however, that Subhūti’s participation as a
protagonist is limited to that section of the sūtra. His conspicuous presence and
his major statements continue throughout, and there are only a few (mostly short)
chapters in the rest of the text in which Subhūti does not figure at all.

Subhūti is an intriguing figure. As an arhat, he is declared by the
Buddha in the canonical literature to hold two distinctions of the “foremost
among…” type: “foremost among those worthy of donations” and “foremost among those
dwelling free of afflicted mental states.” In the Chinese canon he has another distinction, that
of being “foremost among those dwelling in meditation on emptiness.” Despite these mentions
of his distinctions Subhūti figures surprisingly rarely in the Pali
canon. In the
Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya corpus he seems to be mentioned even less, but the one
story about him, found in the Vinayakṣudrakavastu
(Toh 6) as well as in the Pali paracanonical literature, is perhaps significant in
explaining his interest in the most profound views; it has also
traditionally been used to place the timing of the Prajñāpāramitā teachings in the
main events of the Buddha’s life. In the Lokottaravāda Mahāvastu
he does not appear at all. In the Mahāyāna sūtras, however, he figures much more
frequently, and his appearances as a protagonist mostly show him in a respectful
light that conforms to the personal characteristics alluded to in the Pali and
Mūlasarvastivāda literature: those of someone interested above all in meditative
practice and the profound view of impermanence, emptiness, nonself, and the
ultimate that transcends conceptual notions. In the Lotus Sūtra he is one of the small group of śrāvakas whose future
full awakening to buddhahood is prophesied by the Buddha. On the other hand, there are also a
few Mahāyāna works, as there are for other śrāvaka disciples, in which he is
demonstratively outclassed by bodhisattvas.

That Subhūti’s role in the Perfection of Wisdom sūtras is not
presented as paradoxical—a śrāvaka arhat who teaches the perfection of wisdom to
bodhisattvas—is perhaps surprising at first sight, but is an important key to
understanding the long sūtras.

First of all, to practice the perfection of wisdom, as
is made clear in the sūtra, is not itself the exclusive domain of the bodhisattva
path. For example, Śāriputra himself confirms to Subhūti at the end of chapter 4
(

) that śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, as
well as bodhisattvas, “should earnestly study, take up, uphold, recite, master,
and focus their attention correctly on this very perfection of wisdom.” Moreover,
as Subhūti starts his explanations to Śakra in chapter 14 (

) by exhorting the gods to become
bodhisattvas, he also implies that although śrāvaka arhats are (from their own
perspective) in their last life, there is nothing to prevent them from spending
their remaining time practicing the perfection of wisdom.

Is it a different matter for a śrāvaka to teach the
perfection of wisdom—especially to bodhisattvas? The important role of śrāvakas in
the past teaching the six perfections to future bodhisattvas, and thus ensuring
the emergence of future buddhas, is mentioned by Subhūti in chapter 14 (

). If there is nevertheless any basis for a
śrāvaka teaching the perfection of wisdom to be seen as paradoxical, it is exposed
and dispelled early on, at least from a formal perspective. No sooner has the
Buddha asked Subhūti to teach than some of the arhats and bodhisattvas present
wonder whether he will teach using his own understanding and inspired speech, or
through the power of the Buddha (

); Subhūti
replies immediately (

) that a śrāvaka like him
can only teach anything through the power of the Buddha. A good deal of room for
interpretation is nonetheless left in this passage—first in what is meant by
“inspired speech” (pratibhāna,
spobs pa), then also in the
details of Subhūti’s disclaimer, but most of all in the way Subhūti begins to
respond to what the Buddha has asked him to do (

). For instead of launching straight into a teaching of his own, he asks how he
could possibly teach bodhisattvas a perfection of wisdom when neither bodhisattvas
nor a perfection of wisdom can be identified other than their mere designations.
This key prompt elicits a long teaching by the Buddha on just that topic that
lasts for several chapters, punctuated by further questions from Subhūti and long
statements by him addressed either to the Buddha, or to Sāriputra when the latter
again asks for clarification. Indeed that central question continues to echo
throughout the text.

On a few particular occasions we are reminded that Subhūti, or in
other places Śāriputra, speaks by the power of the Buddha. But each of the two
arhats remains firmly in character, and it is clear that—while both are
technically on the same level—Subhūti is someone of a very different category and
status compared to Śāriputra. He also has a quite different role. While both at
times seek clarifications from the Buddha, Śāriputra does little more than elicit
such clarifications, whether from the Buddha or from Subhūti—while Subhūti, on the
other hand, makes long and extensive statements of his own. Indeed, at one point
in chapter 13 (

) Śāriputra exclaims that
Subhūti should have been declared “foremost among those who teach the Dharma,”
which of course was not one of his official distinctions.

The question of what is meant by Subhūti speaking by the power of
the Buddha takes a new turn later in the discussions, when Śakra is advised by
Sāriputra that the perfection of wisdom should be sought in Subhūti’s discourse
(

). Subhūti emphatically deflects the
assertion that his discourse might be his own and not derived from
the power and blessings of the Buddha, but then goes on to deconstruct all notions
that there are such things as the power and blessings of a tathāgata that can be
apprehended in any way.

Further light on how Subhūti is able to expound the very meaning of
the Buddha’s words so profoundly comes in an earlier remark by Śāriputra (

):

“Venerable Subhūti, you are the son and heir of the Blessed
Lord! Born from his mouth, arisen from the Dharma, emanated by the Dharma,
inheritor of the Dharma, not an inheritor of material things but one who sees
the dharmas in plain sight and witnesses them in the body, you are the one
said by the Blessed Lord to be foremost among śrāvakas who practice without
afflicted mental states, and this teaching of yours has all the likeness of
that quality.”

Another important facet of Subhūti’s characteristic quality is
brought out in an observation made by Śakra at the end of chapter 49 (

), when what he himself has just said is once
again deconstructed by Subhūti:

“Whatever the elder Subhūti teaches, he does so commencing with
emptiness. There is nothing to impede him, just as there is nothing to impede
an arrow fired into the sky. In the same way, when the elder Subhūti teaches
the Dharma there is nothing to impede him.”

The unimpeded flight path of an arrow does seem an apt image for
Subhūti’s approach to everything. As he demonstrates from the start in his
response to the Buddha instructing him to teach, he feels no hesitation at all in
pursuing to the very end each and every implication of the teaching. Nothing will
stop him.

In chapter 50, the Buddha tells Śakra (

), that although Subhūti is fully immersed in
nonapprehension, emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, the degree to which he
dwells in the perfection of wisdom is insignificant compared to the profundity of
the way bodhisattvas do so. This reminder of Subhūti’s standing, after so much
brilliance displayed in so many of his discourses, may
come as something of a shock. However, the Buddha has already given Śāriputra a
decisive explanation of what it is that makes the difference in an important
statement early on (

–

). It is not the wisdom itself, which is single
and undifferentiated whether for a śrāvaka or a bodhisattva; it is the motivation
for seeking to realize it. Bodhisattvas seek that wisdom in order to bring all
beings to enlightenment. So what Subhūti teaches so magnificently (whether from
his own understanding or by the Buddha’s power) on the one hand, and how that
teaching is actually to be applied on the other, are two different things. In that
respect Subhūti does not seem to have gone all the way—that is, if there is a
Subhūti to be apprehended at all.

Another arhat, Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra, who in the
canon bears the distinction of being “foremost in teaching the doctrine,” has a
relatively minor role in the sūtra, but asks pertinent questions of the other
interlocutors. His main contribution is in chapter 8, when he spontaneously
proposes to offer his own “inspired eloquence” on the subject of why bodhisattvas
are called “great beings” and what is meant by the “Great Vehicle.” His lengthy
statements on this particular subject are preceded by much shorter ones by
Śāriputra and Subhūti, and are followed by the Buddha’s own explanation. It is not
that the viewpoint of each is corrected by the following speaker. These four
perspectives on a single topic provide the clearest picture of how the possible
different viewpoints are seen as contributing to the overall picture.

The role taken in the sūtra by the Buddha’s personal attendant
Ānanda is mostly his accustomed one of asking why the Buddha
smiles, and then of receiving predictions of future events, and of being entrusted
with the preservation and transmission of the teachings. But he also asks other
questions at a few points in the text: on the perfections in chapter 21, and about
Māra’s activities in chapter 46.

Last in this brief survey of the interlocutors, but by no means
least, comes a figure who is neither bodhisattva, nor arhat: Śakra,
chief of the gods of the Trāyastrimśa realm. A magnificent, powerful, and
long-lived (but not eternal) being in his own right, Śakra has taken a personal
role at several key points in the Buddha’s past and present lives and quest for
enlightenment. The Buddha knows him well,
and addresses him by his personal name, Kauśika—as indeed do the other
interlocutors. Śakra first appears at the start of the detailed teaching, i.e. at
the beginning of chapter 14. He is accompanied by a vast assembly of gods and, as
their spokesman, immediately begins questioning Subhūti. The long section
featuring Śakra and the gods, from chapter 14 through 23, is known as the Śakra
section of the text, but in fact Śakra continues to contribute to the conversation
by asking pertinent questions in subsequent chapters, too. Ostensibly Śakra and
the gods are present to promise their support of bodhisattvas who practice the
perfection of wisdom, but Śakra’s questions to the Buddha and to Subhūti provide
many more opportunities for everyone present to learn about further aspects of the
perfection of wisdom. Śakra is clearly a wise and highly intelligent leader in his
own right, with the broad perspective over time and place that goes with his
status. However, at one point (

) the Buddha,
having congratulated Śakra on having thought to ask such a good question, then
goes on to remark that it is through the power of the buddhas that Śakra’s
questions arise.

Like all the other protagonists, he is thus both a participant with
his own individual status, character, and interests,
and at the same time one among the cast of dramatis
personae with a role to play as the Buddha orchestrates his epic
demonstration of the perfection of wisdom.

Selected Features of the Sūtra

One set of terms particular to the Prajñāpāramitā texts, and
essential to a complete understanding of them, is the three kinds of
knowledge. They are (1) all-aspect omniscience
(sarvākārajñāna, rnam pa thams cad mkhyen pa nyid),
synonymous in most respects with buddhahood, the complete and perfect
enlightenment (or awakening) specific to a tathāgata, and including the
realization of the true nature of phenomena, their being unborn, and their full
extent; (2) knowledge of the path (mārgajñatā, lam
gyi rnam pa shes pa nyid), the knowledge that evolves in
bodhisattvas as they train on their own path with all its different phases, but
also including knowledge of the paths of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas as well as
knowing that all paths are unborn and without essential nature of their own; and
(3) knowledge of all the dharmas (sarvajñatā, thams
cad shes pa nyid), the knowledge realized by śrāvakas and
pratyekabuddhas that the dharmas such as the aggregates, elements, and sense
fields are devoid of the self of an individual. This third kind of knowledge can
easily be confused, as one reads parts of the text, with what in other works is
called “omniscience” (sarvajñatā,
thams cad mkhen pa nyid), in
the sense of a buddha’s complete enlightenment.

In the text, all-aspect omniscience is often mentioned in the
repeated enumerations of the dharmas of purification in the form “up to and
including all-aspect omniscience,” while in some enumerations all three kinds of
knowledge are mentioned as a set, in ascending order. Nevertheless, it is only
later in the text, in chapter 53 (

–

) that they are briefly defined. They
feature as the first three of the eight main topics of The
Ornament of Clear Realization (see above) and are explained in
extensive detail in that text and its sub-commentaries.

The order in which the three kinds of knowledge are presented in
The Ornament of Clear Realization
merits a brief explanation. All-aspect omniscience is,
of course, the final fruition of the path, and in a progressive description of the
stages of the path one might expect it to be explained at the end. But as the goal
that must be identified when “setting the mind on enlightenment” it needs to be
understood from the outset. Phrases such as “focusing their attention with
all-aspect omniscience in mind” convey this identification of all-aspect
omniscience as the goal, even though of course that level of omniscience is far
from being fully realized at the outset.

Conversely, knowledge of all the dharmas, being the realization
attained by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, might be considered a starting point on
the path rather than a subsequent stage on it. However, The
Ornament of Clear Realization makes clear that, despite the positive
value of realizing the absence of the individual self
of the dharmas, the subtle fixation characteristic of the way that śrāvakas and
pratyekabuddhas view their own realization becomes an obstacle to further
progress, of which bodhisattvas must become aware as they apply skillful means and
their knowledge of the path to ensure that they remedy any such fixation, whether
in themselves or others.

As already mentioned, the sūtra, like the other Prajñāpāramitā
works, contains extensive lists of the dharmas of both affliction
and purification, mostly drawn from the same classifications of phenomena so
characteristic of the Buddha’s teachings that are found compiled in the Abhidharma
or other treatises. These lists are indeed expounded, in part, to make sure that
not a single dharma is taken to exist essentially or be otherwise misconstrued.
But the dharmas themselves are not meant to be erased entirely from view, and the
importance of understanding or practicing them, as appropriate, is implicitly
upheld. Being so detailed, the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras thus represent a significant
reference for a wide variety of fundamental sets of Mahāyāna Buddhist knowledge,
and this text in particular has served as a repository of such knowledge—not only
in China, where the vast commentary based on it and attributed to Nāgārjuna, the
Dazhidu lun (see above

), became a standard encyclopedia of Mahāyāna
thought, but less obviously in India and Tibet, too.

These lists of dharmas tend to be mentioned in abbreviated form in
many passages throughout the text, but at certain unpredictable points, often in response to a
question put by an interlocutor, the Buddha or Subhūti unfolds a particular list
and teaches more extensively on its content, providing what amounts in some cases
to a canonical gloss of a particular term or topic.

As an example of a well-known topic mentioned frequently in the sūtra
and explained in some detail in a particular passage, we could mention the
four applications of mindfulness, of which the Buddha gives an
explanation at the start of chapter 9 (

–

), focusing mainly on mindfulness of the
body.

Another example, this time of a less frequently encountered list,
might be the twenty things that a bodhisattva great being who dwells on the
seventh level should not engage in, which appears in chapter 10 (

).

Of particular interest also in this text are the eighteen
aspects of emptiness listed in chapters 2 and 8 (

and

respectively); and the detailed lists of the qualities of buddhahood to be found
in chapter 63: the ten powers (

), the four fearlessnesses (

–

), the eighteen distinct
qualities (

), the
thirty-two major marks (

),
and the eighty minor marks (

).

Probably the best-known Prajñāpāramitā text of all is the so-called
“Heart Sūtra,” more formally known as The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom, the Blessed
Mother (Bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāhṛdaya, Toh 21). Although its origins are difficult to
establish with certainty, it may well have started as an extract of the longer
sūtras, and it is interesting in
that light to see passages in this text reminiscent of it. Notably, in the second
chapter of this text at

a passage starting
“physical forms are not other than emptiness and emptiness is not other than
physical forms” is strikingly similar to the most memorable statement in the
Heart Sūtra, and continues for some paragraphs to
run parallel to that statement. However striking the parallel, there are
interesting differences, and the context provided by the much longer preceding and
subsequent discussion is different, too.

Here the statement is made not by Avalokiteśvara as in the Heart Sūtra, but by the Buddha himself. Indeed,
Avalokiteśvara is not among the interlocutors of the long sūtras at all, although
he is mentioned at the start of the text as one of the bodhisattva great beings
present in the assembly. As in the Heart Sūtra,
nevertheless, it is Śāriputra who is being addressed, a detail that one might
expect to have been conserved if it was this passage that was the original source
of the hypothetical extract.

As in many Mahāyāna texts, an important role is played by different,
named meditative stabilities (samādhi).

Some are generic ones that may possibly be the same as those with the
same names described in other texts. For example, in the context narrative of
chapter 1, the Buddha himself is seen first in the king of meditative
stabilities (samādhirāja) (

) and then in the meditative stability named
lion’s play (siṃhavikrīḍita).

Of great interest to specialists in this literature (though perhaps
of less obvious relevance to a general understanding of its applications) are the
extensive lists of named meditative stabilities. In chapter 4 (

), chapter 6 (

), and chapter
8 (

)
respectively, lists of 32, 119, and again 119 are named, which despite differences
between the lists are seemingly intended to represent the same set.

In chapter 73, the first of three relating the story of
Sadāprarudita, 51 meditative stabilities that manifested to him are listed (

), and later in the same narrative, in
chapter 75, comes another list of 24 meditative stabilities (

) that he realized. This last
set of named meditations matches a preceding list of the qualities of the
perfection of wisdom, taught immediately beforehand by Dharmodgata.

A close comparison of the names of the meditative stabilities
mentioned in the different versions of this sūtra, and possible correlations with
mentions in other canonical texts, would be desirable. A useful explanation of how
to view these often-puzzling lists is provided by the Long
Commentary (Toh 3808):

The buddhas’ and bodhisattvas’ nonconceptual, extraordinary
states of mind without outflows are called meditative
stabilities because they privilege nondistraction and activity
that is not carried out with thought construction. Those meditative
stabilities are not concentrations, because concentrations are included in the
activity of those who have form. And even though they are one in their nature
as states of mind, through the force of earlier endeavors, insofar as they are
catalysts for different distinct activities they are set forth with different
names governed by the work they do. Furthermore, they are not within the range
of others’ thought, because they are self-reflexive analytic knowledges. You
should take them as they are said to be in the Sūtra, and not subject them to
logical analysis.

Chapter 72 in this version is the important passage widely known in
the Tibetan tradition as “the Maitreya chapter” (although the
chapter colophon gives it the title “the divisions of the bodhisattva’s
training”). It is found in Sanskrit in the “Nepalese” recensions of the The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines
(see above,

) and, in Tibetan, only in this
sūtra and its Tengyur version (Toh 3790) and in The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand
Lines. It appears to have been translated twice into Tibetan
from the Sanskrit, as the language and terminology of the Tibetan here in this
text are significantly different from those of the same passage in the Tengyur
version and the Eighteen Thousand. Since it is not
found at all in other Prajñāpāramitā sūtras—the Gilgit “larger sūtra”
manuscripts, the Hundred Thousand, or any of the
Chinese translations—some scholars have thought it plausible that it may be a
later addition to the Prajñāpāramitā literature, although there seems to be no
evidence that it circulated as an independent text.

From a doctrinal viewpoint, too, there are significant differences in
comparison with other chapters, principally the Buddha’s explanation to Maitreya
of how three subdivisions of the essenceless nature of each and all the dharmas,
from form up to and including the qualities of the buddhas, can be applied (

): imagined (parikalpita, yongs su brtags pa
), conceptualized (vikalpita, rnam par brtags pa), and real (dharmatā, chos nyid). Although the last two terms are not the same
as those used in the “three natures” (trisvabhāva) theory of the Yogācāra—the “dependent nature”
(paratantra, gzhan dbang) for the second and the
“consummate reality” (pariniṣpanna, yongs su grub
pa) for the third—some commentators, notably the authors of the two
bṛhaṭṭīkā
commentaries, have generally taken them to be equivalent in meaning and
applied them to the understanding of the whole sūtra.

As a result, the brilliant but unorthodox founder of the Jonang
school, Dolpopa (dol po pa shes rab rgyal
mtshan, 1292–1361), included the Maitreya chapter in his list of
sūtras of definitive meaning, thus implicitly distinguishing it from the rest of
the Prajñāpāramitā and other scriptures of the Second Turning, which
Dolpopa—unlike adherents of the rangtong (rang
stong) view and those more moderate than him of the shentong (gzhan stong)—did not consider to be of definitive meaning. The
Maitreya chapter has continued to figure in such lists, and for some purposes to
be taken as doctrinally distinct from the rest of the sūtra.

The last three and a half chapters of the text contain the long
narrative of the bodhisattva Sadāprarudita and his teacher
Dharmodgata. The story of Sadāprarudita’s quest, how he is guided to
Dharmodgata’s city and temple, and how with the help and support of a merchant’s
daughter he overcomes all difficulties, serves and makes offerings to Dharmodgata,
and finally receives and practices his teachings, is told to Subhūti by the Buddha
to exemplify how one should seek and practice the Prajñāpāramitā teachings.

As mentioned above (

), these
chapters are not included in the extant Sanskrit manuscripts of any of the long
versions of the sūtra, but only in The Perfection of Wisdom
in Eight Thousand Lines, yet were almost certainly present in the
Sanskrit from which this Kangyur version of the text was translated.

The story has been cited frequently in later literature as an
inspiring example of how to seek the teachings and serve a teacher. A detailed
retelling of the narrative by Tsongkhapa is, interestingly, included in the Lhasa
Kangyur volume that contains The Perfection of Wisdom in
Eight Thousand Lines, and Patrul
Rinpoche includes an abridged but still lengthy version in the chapter on “How to
Follow a Spiritual Friend” in his widely read Kunsang
Lama’i Shelung. The story echoes in
some respects those in other sūtras and avadānas of bodhisattvas giving away their
own bodies out of compassion, as well as sūtras that emphasize the importance of
the teacher. But
Sadāprarudita’s particular conviction—that nothing, even his own life, is more
important than receiving the teachings—also complements in a significant way the
better known stories of disciples serving tantric teachers.

English Translation

The first comprehensive English translation of a work related to this
text to appear was Edward Conze’s abridged translation constituting a generic
Prajñāpāramitā “large sūtra,” published in 1975. Conze chose neither to reproduce all
the many repetitive phrases of the sūtras, nor to match his translation to a single
source text, but rather to present the topics and discussions in the sūtra in a
synoptic way that “rendered the course of the argument intelligible.” In this goal he
was at least partly successful, although his translation conveys little of the
literary style of the Prajñāpāramitā works. The pioneering work of this extraordinary
scholar on many of the sūtras of the genre has provided a solid basis for Western
interest in and study of this literature, but since his time no translator had taken
on the daunting task of translating the long Prajñāpāramitā sūtras in full.

In 2018, 84000 published our translation of The
Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines and, in 2022, Gareth Sparham’s
translation of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand
Lines. The present translation of The Perfection of
Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines is the latest addition to this
collection, and work on The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred
Thousand Lines is currently in progress.

This translation was made principally from the version of the Tibetan
text found in the Degé Kangyur, also taking account of variants as listed in the
Pedurma comparative edition and in some cases consulting the Stok Palace Kangyur. The
most significant variants are mentioned in notes.

The available editions of the Nepalese Sanskrit manuscripts, Dutt’s for
the first thirteen chapters and Kimura’s thereafter, with Vaidya’s edition of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines for the
Sadāprarudita narrative, were consulted closely but with the circumspection
appropriate to the fact that they represent recensions closer to the Tibetan
“eight-chapter” Tengyur version than to this one. Nevertheless, for the large majority
of matching passages they provide useful information, and much of the Sanskrit
terminology in the glossary was verified from these sources. Folio references to these
editions are noted within this translation as “{Dt.}” for Dutt, “{Ki. I-IV}” for
Kimura indicating four different volumes, and “{Va.}” for Vaidya.

The interested reader who compares passages in this translation with
their equivalents in translations of the other versions of the long Prajñāpāramitā
sūtra will no doubt find differences of terminology,
expression, style, and even interpretation. Such differences may reflect the range of
choices and preferences that translators must make in their work, as well as
differences in the source texts, for no single translation could ever claim to convey
the exact intention of every sentence in its source. To consult a variety of
translations is, in fact, a good way of broadening one’s understanding of a text.

In the case of these particular texts, the many different versions that
exist in Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan open up a very wide perspective indeed. The
editors and translators of 84000 will continue to add new translations of the works of
this genre and to improve existing ones in the light of comparisons, commentaries, and
further research.

We are delighted to introduce readers to a new translation, however
imperfect for now, of another sūtra from this extraordinary body of literature that
records the Buddha’s profound teachings on the perfection of wisdom.

The Translation

##
The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines

Chapter 1: The Context

{Dt.4} Homage to all the buddhas and
bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying on Vulture
Peak near Rājagṛha, with a large monastic gathering comprising some five thousand
monks. All of them were arhats who had attained the cessation of contaminants, free of
afflicted mental states, fully controlled, their minds thoroughly liberated, their
wisdom well liberated, thoroughbreds, mighty elephants, their tasks accomplished,
their work completed, their burdens relinquished, their own objectives fulfilled, the
fetters binding them to the rebirth process completely severed, their minds thoroughly
liberated through perfect instruction, supreme in their perfection of all mental powers, with
the exception of just one person— the venerable Ānanda, still a trainee who had
entered the stream. Also present were some five hundred nuns headed by Yaśodharā and
Mahāprajāpatī, and a great many laymen and laywomen, all of whom had seen the
Dharma.

There, too, were innumerable, inestimable bodhisattva
great beings, all of whom had attained the dhāraṇīs and attained the meditative
stabilities,
acting in accord with emptiness, their perceptual range being one of signlessness,
their aspirations free from deliberation, their attainments the acceptance of the
sameness of all phenomena and the dhāraṇī of nonattachment. They possessed inspired eloquence that was unimpeded
and had comprehended the inexhaustible teachings according to their exact knowledge.
Using miraculous displays through their great extrasensory powers, their extrasensory powers never failing, and with engaging
speech, without indolence but with perseverance, without regard for
their bodies or their lives, their conduct unpretentious, without insincerity, and
without thoughts of ulterior fame, profit, or respect, free from self-interest they
taught the Dharma. They had realized and integrated the sublime acceptance of the
profound dharmas. They had acquired great fearlessness, without discouragement, and
they had gone completely beyond all the works of Māra. Having interrupted the
continuity of karmic obscurations, they had overcome karma, the afflicted mental
states, and hostile forces, and in the face of all challenges had remained
undefeated. They were difficult for all
śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas to fathom. Through their realization they were skilled in
analyzing and teaching the Dharma, and they had energetically applied themselves to
their aspirations over countless eons. Smiling and communicative, their faces without frowns
of anger, with their sweet, gentle words they were skilled in addressing others in
melodic verse. As their inspired eloquence flowed uninterrupted, they possessed the
fearlessness that overwhelmed endless assemblies. From the wisdom that they had taught
for endless tens of millions of eons, they were skilled in emancipation. They had comprehended that all phenomena are like a
magical display, a mirage, a reflection of the moon in water, a dream, an echo, an
optical aberration, empty space, a castle in the sky, a phantom, or a reflection.
{Dt.5} Without discouragement, they were
skilled in comprehending the mental attitudes, subtle knowledge, conduct, and interests of all beings. Their attitude toward all beings was
free of any animosity, and their tolerance was immense. They were skilled in the
wisdom that brings the sameness of all phenomena to be understood, and because they
were possessed of profound reality their depth was hard to estimate. They had fully
attained power over their own minds, and they had entirely attained power over all
phenomena. They were liberated from all past actions, afflicted mental states, and
obscurations of view. They were skilled in teaching how to understand
dependence, and had engaged in all the
inexhaustible modes of dependent origination, were free from all views, latent
impulses, and obsessions, and had abandoned all fetters. They were skilled in bringing about
peace from all actions and afflicted mental states, skilled in the primordial wisdom
that brings realization of the truth, constantly and uninterruptedly considering all
phenomena to resemble an echo, fearless in their measureless teachings of the ways of
the Dharma, and skilled in bringing forth comprehension of the true nature itself.
Their progress was governed by their aspiration to establish infinite buddhafields.
Constantly and uninterruptedly they brought into being the meditative stability of
recollecting the buddhas who reside in countless world systems; they were skilled in
attending buddhas wherever they appear and skilled in requesting innumerable buddhas
to teach. They were skilled in bringing about peace from the afflicted mental states
that are generated through the diverse false views of beings, and skilled in bringing
forth realization of the wisdom that revels in the miraculous production of a hundred
thousand meditative stabilities. Every one of them had qualities of which a full
description would be incomplete even if infinite eons were spent on it.

Among them were the following: the bodhisattva great being Bhadrapāla,
along with Ratnākara, Ratnagarbha, Ratnadatta, Sārthavāha, Naradatta,
Guhagupta, Varuṇadeva, Indradatta,
Bhadrabala, Uttaramati, Viśeṣamati, Vardhamānamati, Anantamati, Amoghadarśin,
Anāvaraṇamati, Susaṃprasthita, Suvikrāntavikrāmin, Anantavīrya, Nityodyukta,
Nityayukta, Anikṣiptadhura, Sūryagarbha, Candragarbha, Anupamamati, Avalokiteśvara,
Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, Mārabalapramardin, Vajramati,
Ratnamudrāhasta, Nityotkṣiptahasta, Mahākaruṇācintin, Mahāvyūha, Vyūharāja,
Merukūṭa, and the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, heading many hundred billion
trillions of accompanying bodhisattvas.

At that time, the Blessed One himself arranged his seat, the lion throne,
and sat upright with his legs crossed, directing his attention. Seated there, he was
absorbed in the meditative stability called king of meditative
stabilities, in which all meditative stabilities are gathered,
comprehended, pursued, and subsumed.

The Blessed One, mindful and with full awareness, then arose from that
meditative stability and observed this buddhafield with clairvoyance. {Dt.6} Seeing in this manner, he sent forth lights from
his entire body. Sixty hundred
billion trillion rays of light issued from each of the two wheels with a thousand
spokes that were imprinted on the soles of his feet. Sixty hundred billion trillion
rays of light also issued from the ten toes of his two feet. Sixty hundred billion
trillion rays of light also issued respectively from his two ankles, his two shins,
his two knees, his two thighs, his two hips, his navel, the two sides of his ribs, and
from the śrīvatsa at his heart, which
is one of the major marks of a great person. Sixty hundred billion trillion rays of
light also issued respectively from each of his ten fingers, and similarly, sixty hundred billion
trillion rays of light also issued respectively from his two arms, his two shoulders,
his neck, his four incisors, his forty teeth, his two eyes, his two ears, his two
nostrils, the hair ringlet between his eyebrows, his uṣṇīṣa, and his mouth. All those sets of sixty hundred
billion trillion rays of light permeated this great trichiliocosm with a great
brightness. The world systems of the eastern direction, numerous as the grains of sand
of the river Gaṅgā, were permeated with a great brightness. The world systems of each
of the other cardinal directions—south, west, and north—and those of the intermediate
directions—northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest—along with those of the
nadir and the zenith, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, were also
permeated with a great brightness. All beings who beheld these rays of light and who
were touched by that light became assured of reaching unsurpassed, complete
enlightenment. {Dt.7}

Then again, the Blessed One caused light rays to be diffused from all his
pores, and that light again permeated these world systems of the great trichiliocosm
with a great brightness. The world systems of the eastern direction, numerous as the
grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, were permeated with a great brightness. The world
systems of each of the other cardinal directions—south, west, and north—and those of
the intermediate directions—northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest—along with
those of the nadir and the zenith, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā,
were also permeated with a great brightness. All beings who beheld that light and who
were touched by that light became assured of reaching unsurpassed, complete
enlightenment.

Then again, with the natural light of the tathāgatas the Blessed One
caused these world systems of the great trichiliocosm to be permeated with a great
brightness. The world systems of the eastern direction, numerous as the grains of sand
of the river Gaṅgā, were permeated with a great brightness. The world systems of each
of the other cardinal directions—south, west, and north—and those of the intermediate
directions—northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest—along with those of the
nadir and the zenith, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, were also
permeated with a great brightness. All beings who beheld that light and who were
touched by that light became assured of reaching unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.

Then the Blessed One extended his tongue from his mouth. Covering this
entire great trichiliocosm with his tongue, he smiled, and from his tongue emanated
many hundred billion trillion variegated rays of light. On all those rays of light, in
their entirety, manifold lotus flowers appeared, fashioned of diverse gemstones, of
golden color, with a thousand petals, diverse, beautiful to behold, pleasant,
exquisitely shaded, scented, soft, and blissful to the touch like
kācalindika.
On those lotus flowers were seated many forms of tathāgatas, and the Dharma teaching
they taught was this very Dharma teaching concerning the six perfections. They
departed for the world systems of the eastern direction, numerous as the grains of
sand of the river Gaṅgā, and on arriving there, they taught this very Dharma teaching
concerning the six perfections. {Dt.8} They
departed for the world systems of each of the other cardinal directions—south, west,
and north—and those of the intermediate directions—northeast, southeast, southwest,
and northwest—along with those of the nadir and the zenith, numerous as the grains of sand of the
river Gaṅgā, and on arriving there, they also taught this very Dharma teaching
concerning the six perfections. All beings who heard those teachings became assured of
reaching unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.

Then, while seated on the lion throne, the Blessed One became absorbed in
the meditative stability of the buddhas called the lion’s play,
and manifested his miraculous abilities. By manifesting those miraculous abilities, he
caused these world systems of the great trichiliocosm to shake in six ways. That is to
say, they shook, shuddered, and juddered; they rocked, reeled, and tottered; they
quivered, careened, and convulsed; they trembled, throbbed, and quaked; they rumbled,
roared, and thundered; and they faltered, lurched, and staggered. As their eastern
sides reared up their western sides plunged down; as their western sides reared up
their eastern sides plunged down; as their southern sides reared up their northern
sides plunged down; as their northern sides reared up their southern sides plunged
down; as their edges reared up their centers plunged down; and as their centers reared
up their edges plunged down. Then, slowly and gradually, they all settled, whereupon
all beings experienced spiritual and temporal well-being.

At that time, in a single fleeting instant, in this great trichiliocosm,
the hells, the animal realms, the worlds of Yama, the states that lack freedom, the
lower realms, the evil destinies, and as many places of unfortunate rebirth as there
are, were all interrupted and emptied of the beings born in them. All of those beings
were then reborn equal in fortune to human beings, or similarly they were reborn equal
in fortune to the gods of the Caturmahārājakāyika, Trayastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita,
Nirmāṇarata, and Paranirmitavaśavartin realms. {Dt.9} Then those gods and those human beings, with joy, appreciation,
and ease, recollected their former lives. Having recollected those lives they felt
joy, appreciation, and ease, and departed for where there were blessed ones. On
arriving there they paid homage at their feet. Placing their hands together, they
bowed toward those tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas.

In the world systems of the eastern direction, numerous as the grains of
sand of the river Gaṅgā, and in the world systems of each of the other cardinal
directions—south, west, and north—and those of the intermediate directions—northeast,
southeast, southwest, and northwest—along with those of the nadir and the zenith,
numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, the hells, the animal realms, and
the worlds of Yama were again all interrupted, and the states that lack freedom
vanished. All the beings in them were reborn equal in fortune to human beings and to
the gods. Then those human beings and those gods, with joy, appreciation, and ease,
recollected their former lives. Having recollected those lives they felt joy,
appreciation, and ease, and each departed for the buddhafields where those respective
tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas resided. On arriving there they paid
homage at their feet. Placing their hands together, they bowed toward those
tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas.

At that time, in this great trichiliocosm, all those who were blind, as
many as there were, saw sights. Those who were deaf heard sounds. Those who were insane regained their
wits. Those who were agitated attained a state of mind without agitation. Those
without clothing obtained clothing. Those who were destitute obtained wealth. Those
who were hungry obtained food. Those who were thirsty obtained drink. Those afflicted
with ill health became free from disease. Those with physical disabilities and
imperfect sense faculties were restored to full perfection of body and senses, and
flourished. Those who were weary were refreshed. Those who had not forsaken
nonvirtuous ways of acting and livelihood of body, speech, and mind forsook those
nonvirtuous ways of acting and livelihood of body, speech, and mind. {Dt.10} All beings too became even-minded toward all
other beings, considering one another as just like their father, mother, brother,
sister, partner, ally, or friend. All beings too acquired the paths of the ten
virtuous actions, and they maintained the practice of chastity and purity, without the
stench of immorality and without the notion of nonvirtue. At that time all beings
possessed every kind of happiness such that their happiness resembled, by comparison,
the happiness experienced by monks absorbed in the third meditative concentration. At
that time all beings possessed wisdom such that they knew as follows: “Excellent is generosity!
Excellent is peace! Excellent is discipline! Excellent is restraint! Excellent is
truth! Excellent is
carefulness! Excellent is loving kindness! Excellent is compassion! Excellent is the
practice of chastity! Excellent is nonviolence with respect to all living creatures!”

At that time the Blessed One, seated on the lion throne, resembled, as an
analogy, the unobscured sun in the pure expanse of space, or the orb of the full moon.
His light filled this great trichiliocosm, with its Mount Sumerus and all that
surrounded them, its god realms, Indra realms, Vaśavartin realms, gods, asuras, Brahmā
realms, and Pure Abodes, outshining them all. While he remained seated, he himself was
adorned with light, of lustrous complexion, sparkling, gleaming, and shining in
splendor and glory. And while the Blessed One remained seated, outshining this great
trichiliocosm, adorned with light, of lustrous complexion, sparkling, gleaming, and
shining in splendor and glory, he similarly outshone the world systems of the eastern
direction, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, being adorned with
light, of lustrous complexion, sparkling, gleaming, and shining in splendor and glory.
Similarly, he outshone the world systems of each of the other cardinal
directions—south, west, and north—and those of the intermediate directions—northeast,
southeast, southwest, and northwest—along with those of the nadir and the zenith,
numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, being adorned with light, of
lustrous complexion, sparkling, gleaming, and shining in splendor and glory. Just as
Sumeru, king of mountains, continues to outshine all other dark mountains, beautiful,
sparkling, gleaming, and shining; just as the orb of the moon continues to outshine
all the constellations of stars, adorned, sparkling, gleaming, and shining; and just
as the orb of the sun continues to outshine all other lights, adorned, sparkling,
gleaming, and shining, so did the Blessed One, adorned with light, of lustrous
complexion, sparkling, gleaming, and shining in splendor and glory, outshine the
worlds of the ten directions, with their gods, Indra realms, Brahmā realms, and
Pure Abodes.

Then the Blessed One again showed, in this great trichiliocosm, his own
original body just as it is. All the gods, as many as there are, of the Pure Abodes,
{Dt.11} the Ābhāsvara realms, the Brahmā realms, and the
Paranirmitavaśavartin, Nirmāṇarata, Tuṣita, Yāma, Trayastriṃśa, and
Caturmahārājakāyika realms, saw the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
seated on the lion throne. They were delighted. They rejoiced. They were contented.
Their extreme joy gave rise to such delight and contentment that they took many
heavenly flowers, garlands, perfumes, unguents, powders, and heavenly pastes; heavenly
blue lotuses, day lotuses, night lotuses, white lotuses, water lilies, and fragrant
water lilies; and heavenly crocuses, mangosteen leaves, heavenly robes, ornaments,
parasols, victory banners, and heavenly ribbons, and set out for the place where the
Blessed One was seated. Going there, they sprinkled, scattered, and
showered down upon the Blessed One those flowers, garlands, perfumes, unguents,
powders, pastes, blue lotuses, day lotuses, night lotuses, white lotuses, water
lilies, fragrant water lilies, crocuses, mangosteen leaves, heavenly robes, ornaments,
parasols, victory banners, and heavenly ribbons.

All human beings who were disciplined and suitable recipients of the
teachings, as many as there were in this great trichiliocosm, also brought all kinds
of flowers, ones that grow in water and grow on the plains, and they set out for the
place where the Blessed One was seated. Going there, they offered these to the Blessed
One.

Through the blessings of the Blessed One all these flowers, garlands,
perfumes, unguents, powders, and so forth, and the robes, ornaments, parasols, victory
banners, and ribbons, immediately formed a towering mansion of flowers and the like,
extending into the sky above the head of the Blessed One, and as large as the great
trichiliocosm. From that towering mansion, heavenly flowers and many wreaths of silk
were suspended, draped, and floated in the air. This whole great trichiliocosm was
exquisitely adorned by the flowers and wreaths of silk, and it was exquisitely
adorned, too, by the golden light of the Blessed One, sparkling, gleaming, and
shining. In this great trichiliocosm the world systems of the eastern direction, as
many as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, were permeated and illuminated by that
light of the Blessed One. The world systems of each of the other cardinal
directions—south, west, and north—and those of the intermediate directions—northeast,
southeast, southwest, and northwest—along with those of the nadir and the zenith,
numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, were also permeated and illuminated
by that light of the Blessed One. {Dt.12} There,
the human beings of the Jambudvīpas beheld the body of the Tathāgata that one can never tire of
beholding, thinking, “The Tathāgata is seated before us, teaching the Dharma.” And
just as the human beings of the Jambudvīpas had that thought, in the same manner, the
inhabitants of the Aparagodānīyas, Pūrvavidehas, and Uttarakurus, the gods of
Caturmahārājakāyikas, and those of the other realms, up to and including the
Akaniṣṭhas, and similarly all the human beings and all the gods of the chiliocosm, the
dichiliocosm, and the great trichiliocosm, beheld the body of the Tathāgata that one
can never tire of beholding, thinking, “The Tathāgata is seated before us, teaching
the Dharma.”

Then again, while seated on that lion throne, the Blessed One sent forth
lights that illuminated this great trichiliocosm. He illuminated all the world systems
of the eastern direction, and each of the other cardinal directions—south, west, and
north—and those of the intermediate directions—northeast, southeast, southwest, and
northwest—along with those of the nadir and the zenith, numerous as the grains of sand
of the river Gaṅgā. Through that light all beings, as many as there were in this great
trichiliocosm, beheld the many tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas of the
world systems of the eastern direction, numerous as the grains of sand of the river
Gaṅgā, along with their monastic communities of śrāvakas and their assemblies of
bodhisattvas. And in these world systems of the eastern direction, numerous as the
grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, those assemblies of beings, as many as there were,
also beheld in this great trichiliocosm the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely
awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, residing together with the community of monks and the
assembly of bodhisattvas. Similarly, in the world systems of each of the other
cardinal directions—south, west, and north—and those of the intermediate
directions—northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest—along with those of the
nadir and the zenith, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, those
assemblies of beings, as many as there were, also beheld in this great trichiliocosm
the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, residing
together with the community of monks and the assembly of bodhisattvas.

Beyond all the world systems in the eastern direction, more numerous than
the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is the world system called Ratnavatī.
There resided and lived the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha called
Ratnākara, teaching this very perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. At
that time, in that world system there was a bodhisattva great being named Samantaraśmi
who, on beholding that great light, the great trembling of the earth, and the body of
a tathāgata that one can never tire of beholding, set out for the place where that
blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Ratnākara was residing.
Going there, he asked that blessed one, the tathāgata Ratnākara, the following:
“Blessed Lord, what are the causes {Dt.13} and what
are the conditions for such a great light to emerge in the world, for a narrow stretch of
land to tremble in this manner, and for the body of a tathāgata, such as this, to be
present?”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Ratnākara, replied to the bodhisattva
great being Samantaraśmi, “Noble son, west from here, beyond world systems numerous as
the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is a world system called Patient
Endurance. There a tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha named Śākyamuni
resides and is alive at present. He teaches the perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva
great beings. Such is his power.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Samantaraśmi said to that blessed one,
the tathāgata Ratnākara, “Blessed Lord, I too will go to that world system of Patient
Endurance to behold the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, to pay homage and respect to him, and indeed to see all those bodhisattva
great beings, most of whom are youthful ones, have acquired dhāraṇī and exact
knowledge, and have mastered all the meditative stabilities and meditative
absorptions.”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Ratnākara, then replied, “Go then, noble
son, for I know the right time for this has arrived!”

The tathāgata Ratnākara gave the bodhisattva great being Samantaraśmi a
thousand lotus flowers, made of diverse jewels, golden in color, each with a thousand
petals, and
instructed him, “Noble son! You should scatter these lotuses toward the Blessed One,
the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, saying, ‘Blessed Lord,
these golden-colored lotuses with a thousand petals have been sent as an offering to
you, Blessed Lord, by that blessed one, the tathāgata Ratnākara, who inquires if you,
Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good health, strong,
comfortable, and well?’ Noble son, you should conduct yourself with care in that
buddhafield. If you ask why, it is because bodhisattva great beings who are born in
that world system are hard to satisfy. Beware of harm there.” {Dt.14}

Then the bodhisattva great being Samantaraśmi received from that blessed
one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Ratnākara those golden
thousand-petaled lotuses. Accompanied by many hundred billion trillions of
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women, he
vanished from that buddhafield. After serving, respecting, honoring, and worshiping
all the blessed lord buddhas who resided and were alive in the eastern direction, as
many as there were, with flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, unguents, powders,
robes, ornaments, parasols, victory banners, and ribbons, through the great miraculous
ability of the bodhisattvas and through the great power of the bodhisattvas, he then
set out for that place where the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely
awakened Buddha Śākyamuni resided. Arriving there, he bowed his head toward the feet
of the Blessed One and took a place to one side. Having taken a place to one side, the
bodhisattva great being Samantaraśmi then addressed the Blessed One as follows: “That
blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Ratnākara, has sent
these golden-colored, thousand-petaled lotuses as an offering to you, Blessed Lord,
inquiring if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good
health, strong, comfortable, and well?”

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Śākyamuni, took those lotuses and
scattered them in the world systems of the eastern direction, numerous as the grains
of sand of the river Gaṅgā, where the tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas
resided. The lotuses fully covered all those world systems, and upon those lotuses
many bodies of the tathāgatas were seated, teaching this very doctrine, from the six
perfections onward. All beings who heard that teaching of the Dharma became assured of
reaching unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Those bodhisattvas in the form of
householders, mendicants, young men, and young women also served, venerated, honored,
and worshiped the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, through the roots of their respective virtuous actions, and took places to
one side.
{Dt.15}

Beyond all the world systems in the southern direction, more numerous
than the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is the world system called
Sarvaśokāpagata. There resides and lives the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened
buddha called Aśokaśrī, teaching this very perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great
beings. At that time, in that world system there was a bodhisattva great being named
Vigataśoka who, on beholding that great light, the great trembling of the earth, and
the body of a tathāgata that one can never tire of beholding, set out for the place
where that blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Aśokaśrī was
residing. Going there, he asked that blessed one, the tathāgata Aśokaśrī, the
following: “Blessed Lord, what are the causes and what are the conditions for such a
great light to emerge in the world, for a narrow stretch of land to tremble in this
manner, and for the body of a tathāgata, such as this, to be present?”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Aśokaśrī, replied to the bodhisattva
great being Vigataśoka, “Noble son, north from here, beyond world systems numerous as
the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is a world system called Patient
Endurance. There a tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha named Śākyamuni
resides and is alive at present. He teaches the perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva
great beings. Such is his power.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Vigataśoka said to that blessed one, the
tathāgata Aśokaśrī, “Blessed Lord, I too will go to that world system of Patient
Endurance to behold the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, to pay homage and respect to him, and indeed to see all those bodhisattva
great beings, most of whom are youthful ones, have acquired dhāraṇī and exact
knowledge, and have mastered all the meditative stabilities and meditative
absorptions.”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Aśokaśrī, then replied, “Go then, noble
son, for I know the right time for this has arrived!”

The tathāgata Aśokaśrī gave the bodhisattva great being Vigataśoka a
thousand lotus flowers, made of diverse jewels, golden in color, each with a thousand
petals, and instructed him, “Noble son, you should scatter these lotuses toward the
Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, saying,
‘Blessed Lord, these golden-colored lotuses with a thousand petals have been sent as
an offering to you, Blessed Lord, by that blessed one, the tathāgata Aśokaśrī, who
inquires if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good
health, strong, comfortable, and well?’ Noble son, you should conduct yourself with
care in that buddhafield. If you ask why, it is because bodhisattva great beings who
are born in that world system are hard to satisfy. Beware of harm there.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Vigataśoka received from that blessed one, the
tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Aśokaśrī, those golden-colored,
thousand-petaled lotuses. Accompanied by many hundred billion trillions of
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women, he
vanished from that buddhafield. After serving, respecting, honoring, and worshiping
all the blessed lord buddhas who resided and were alive in the southern direction, as
many as there were, with flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, unguents, powders,
robes, ornaments, parasols, victory banners, and ribbons, through the great miraculous
ability of the bodhisattvas and through the great power of the bodhisattvas, he then
set out for that place where the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely
awakened Buddha Śākyamuni resided. Arriving there, he bowed his head toward the feet
of the Blessed One and took a place to one side. Having taken a place to one side, the
bodhisattva great being Vigataśoka then addressed the Blessed One as follows: “That
blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Aśokaśrī, has sent these
golden-colored, thousand-petaled lotuses as an offering to you, Blessed Lord,
inquiring if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good
health, strong, comfortable, and well?”

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Śākyamuni, took those lotuses and
scattered them in the world systems of the southern direction, numerous as the grains
of sand of the river Gaṅgā, where the tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas
resided. The
lotuses fully covered all those world systems, and upon them many bodies of the
tathāgatas were seated, teaching this very doctrine from the six perfections onward.
All beings who heard that teaching of the Dharma became assured of reaching
unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Those bodhisattvas in the form of householders,
mendicants, young men, and young women also served, venerated, honored, and worshiped
the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, with the
roots of their respective virtuous actions, and then took places to one side.

Beyond all the world systems in the western direction, more numerous than
the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is the world system called Upaśāntā.
There resides and lives the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha called
Ratnārcis, teaching this very perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. At
that time, in that world system there was a bodhisattva great being named Cāritramati
who, on beholding that great light, the trembling of the earth, and the body of a
tathāgata that one can never tire of beholding, set out for the place where that
blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Ratnārcis, was residing.
Going there, he asked that blessed one, the tathāgata Ratnārcis, the following:
“Blessed Lord, what are the causes and what are the conditions for such a great light
to emerge in the world, for a narrow stretch of land to tremble in this manner, and
for the body of a tathāgata, such as this, to be present?”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Ratnārcis, replied to the bodhisattva
great being Cāritramati, “Noble son, east from here, beyond world systems numerous as
the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is a world system called Patient
Endurance. There a tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha named Śākyamuni
resides and is alive at present. He teaches the perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva
great beings. Such is his power.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Cāritramati said to that blessed one,
the tathāgata Ratnārcis, “Blessed Lord, I too will go to that world system of Patient
Endurance to behold the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, to pay homage and respect to him, and indeed to see all those bodhisattva
great beings, most of whom are youthful ones, have acquired dhāraṇī and exact
knowledge, and have mastered all the meditative stabilities and meditative
absorptions.”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Ratnārcis, then replied, “Go then, noble
son, for I know the right time for this has arrived!”

The tathāgata Ratnārcis gave the bodhisattva great being Cāritramati a
thousand lotus flowers, made of diverse jewels, golden in color, each with a thousand
petals, and instructed him, “Noble son, you should scatter these lotuses toward the
Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, saying,
‘Blessed Lord, these golden-colored lotuses with a thousand petals have been sent as
an offering to you, Blessed Lord, by that blessed one, the tathāgata Ratnārcis, who
inquires if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good health,
strong, comfortable, and well?’ Noble son, you should conduct yourself with care in
that buddhafield. If you ask why, it is because bodhisattva great beings who are born
in that world system are hard to satisfy. Beware of harm there.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Cāritramati received from that blessed
one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Ratnārcis, those golden-colored,
thousand-petaled lotuses. Accompanied by many hundred billion trillions of
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women, he
vanished from that buddhafield. After serving, respecting, honoring, and worshiping
all the blessed lord buddhas who resided and were alive in the western direction, as
many as there were, with flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, unguents, powders,
robes, ornaments, parasols, victory banners, and ribbons, through the great miraculous
ability of the bodhisattvas and through the great power of the bodhisattvas, he then
set out for that place where the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely
awakened Buddha Śākyamuni resided. Arriving there, he bowed his head toward the feet
of the Blessed One and took a place to one side. Having taken a place to one side,
the
bodhisattva great being Cāritramati then addressed the Blessed One as follows: “That
blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Ratnārcis, has sent
these golden-colored, thousand-petaled lotuses as an offering to you, Blessed Lord,
inquiring if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good
health, strong, comfortable, and well?”

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Śākyamuni, took those lotuses and
scattered them in the world systems of the western direction, numerous as the grains
of sand of the river Gaṅgā, where the tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas
resided. The lotuses fully covered all those world systems, and upon them many bodies
of the tathāgatas were seated, teaching this very doctrine, from the six perfections
onward. All beings who heard that teaching of the Dharma became assured of reaching
unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Those bodhisattvas in the form of householders,
mendicants, young men, and young women also served, venerated, honored, and worshiped
the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha Śākyamuni, with the
roots of their respective virtuous actions, and then took places to one side.

Beyond all the world systems in the northern direction, more numerous
than the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is the world system called Jayā. There
resides and lives the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha called Jayendra,
teaching this very perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. At that time, in
that world system there was a bodhisattva great being named Jayadatta who, on
beholding that great light, the great trembling of the earth, and the body of a
tathāgata that one can never tire of beholding, set out for the place where that
blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Jayendra was residing.
Going there, he asked that blessed one, the tathāgata Jayendra, the following:
“Blessed Lord, what are the causes and what are the conditions for such a great light
to emerge in the world, for a narrow stretch of land to tremble in this manner, and
for the body of a tathāgata, such as this, to be present?”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Jayendra, replied to the bodhisattva
great being Jayadatta, “Noble son, south from here, beyond world systems numerous as
the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is a world system called Patient
Endurance. There a tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha named Śākyamuni
resides and is alive at present. He teaches the perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva
great beings. Such is his power.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Jayadatta said to that blessed one, the
tathāgata Jayendra, “Blessed Lord, I too will go to that world system of Patient
Endurance to behold the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, to pay homage and respect to him, and indeed to see all those bodhisattva
great beings, most of whom are youthful ones, have acquired dhāraṇī and exact
knowledge, and have mastered all the meditative stabilities and meditative
absorptions.”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Jayendra, then replied, “Go then, noble
son, for I know the right time for this has arrived!”

The tathāgata Jayendra gave the bodhisattva great being Jayadatta a
thousand lotus flowers, made of diverse jewels, golden in color, each with a thousand
petals, and instructed him, “Noble son, you should scatter these lotuses toward the
Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, saying,
‘Blessed Lord, these golden-colored lotuses with a thousand petals have been sent as
an offering to you, Blessed Lord, by that blessed one, the tathāgata Jayendra, who
inquires if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good
health, strong, comfortable, and well?’ Noble son, you should conduct yourself with
care in that buddhafield. If you ask why, it is because bodhisattva great beings who
are born in that world system are hard to satisfy. Beware of harm there.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Jayadatta received from that blessed
one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Jayendra, those golden-colored,
thousand-petaled lotuses. Accompanied by many hundred billion trillions of
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women, he
vanished from that buddhafield. After serving, respecting, honoring, and worshiping
all the blessed lord buddhas who resided and were alive in the northern direction, as
many as there were, with flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, unguents, powders,
robes, ornaments, parasols, victory banners, and ribbons, through the great miraculous
ability of the bodhisattvas and through the great power of the bodhisattvas, he then
set out for that place where the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely
awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, resided. Arriving there, he bowed his head toward the feet
of the Blessed One and took a place to one side. Having taken a place to one side, the
bodhisattva great being Jayadatta then addressed the Blessed One as follows: “That
blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Jayendra, has sent these
golden-colored, thousand-petaled lotuses as an offering to you, Blessed Lord,
inquiring if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good
health, strong, comfortable, and well?”

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Śākyamuni, took those lotuses, and
scattered them in the world systems of the northern direction, numerous as the grains
of sand of the river Gaṅgā, where the tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas
resided. The
lotuses fully covered all those world systems, and upon them many bodies of the
tathāgatas were seated, teaching this very doctrine, from the six perfections onward.
All beings who heard that teaching of the Dharma became assured of reaching
unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Those bodhisattvas in the form of householders,
mendicants, young men, and young women also served, venerated, honored, and worshiped
the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, with the
roots of their respective virtuous actions, and then took places to one side. {Dt.16}

Beyond all the world systems in the northeastern intermediate direction,
more numerous than the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is the world system
called Samādhyalaṅkṛta. There resides and lives the tathāgata, arhat, completely
awakened buddha called Samādhihastyuttaraśrī, teaching this very perfection of
wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. At that time, in that world system there was a
bodhisattva great being named Vijayavikrāmin who, on beholding that great light, the
great trembling of the earth, and the body of a tathāgata that one can never tire of
beholding, set out for the place where that blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened Buddha Samādhihastyuttaraśrī was residing. Going there, he asked that blessed
one, the tathāgata Samādhihastyuttaraśrī, the following: “Blessed Lord, what are the
causes and what are the conditions for such a great light to emerge in the world, for
a narrow stretch of land to tremble in this manner, and for the body of a tathāgata,
such as this, to be present?”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Samādhihastyuttaraśrī, replied to the
bodhisattva great being Vijayavikrāmin, “Noble son, in the intermediate direction
southwest from here, beyond world systems numerous as the grains of sand of the river
Gaṅgā, there is a world system called Patient Endurance. There a tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened buddha named Śākyamuni resides and is alive at present. He teaches
the perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. Such is his power.”

The bodhisattva great being Vijayavikrāmin said to that blessed one, the
tathāgata Samādhihastyuttaraśrī, “Blessed Lord, I too will go to that world system
of Patient Endurance to behold the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely
awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, to pay homage and respect to him, and indeed to see all
those bodhisattva great beings, most of whom are youthful ones, have acquired dhāraṇī
and exact knowledge, and have mastered all the meditative stabilities and meditative
absorptions.”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Samādhihastyuttaraśrī, then replied,
“Go then,
noble son, for I know the right time for this has arrived!”

The tathāgata Samādhihastyuttaraśrī gave the bodhisattva great being
Vijayavikrāmin a thousand lotus flowers, made of diverse jewels, golden in color, each
with a thousand petals, and instructed him, “Noble son, you should scatter these
lotuses toward the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, saying, ‘Blessed Lord, these golden-colored lotuses with a thousand petals
have been sent as an offering to you, Blessed Lord, by that blessed one, the tathāgata
Samādhihastyuttaraśrī, who inquires if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness,
free from all harms, in good health, strong, comfortable, and well?’ Noble son, you
should conduct yourself with care in that buddhafield. If you ask why, it is because
bodhisattva great beings who are born in that world system are hard to satisfy. Beware
of harm there.”

The bodhisattva great being Vijayavikrāmin received from that blessed
one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha Samādhihastyuttaraśrī, those
golden-colored, thousand-petaled lotuses. Accompanied by many hundred billion
trillions of bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and
young women, he vanished from that buddhafield. After serving, respecting, honoring,
and worshiping all the blessed lord buddhas who resided and were alive in the
northeastern intermediate direction, as many as there were, with flowers, perfumes,
incense, garlands, unguents, powders, robes, ornaments, parasols, victory banners, and
ribbons, through the great miraculous ability of the bodhisattvas and through the
great power of the bodhisattvas, he then set out for that place where the Blessed One,
the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, resided. Arriving there,
he bowed his head toward the feet of the Blessed One and took a place to one side.
Having taken a place to one side, the bodhisattva great being Vijayavikrāmin then
addressed the Blessed One as follows: “That blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened Buddha Samādhihastyuttaraśrī, has sent these golden-colored,
thousand-petaled lotuses as an offering to you, Blessed Lord, inquiring if you,
Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good health, strong,
comfortable, and well?”

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Śākyamuni, took those lotuses and
scattered them in the world systems of the northeastern intermediate direction,
numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, where the tathāgatas, arhats,
completely awakened buddhas resided. The lotuses fully covered all those world
systems, and upon them many bodies of the tathāgatas were seated, teaching this very
doctrine, from the six perfections onward. All beings who heard that teaching of the
Dharma became assured of reaching unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Those
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women also
served, venerated, honored, and worshiped the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, with the roots of their respective virtuous
actions, and then took places to one side.

Beyond all the world systems in the southeastern intermediate direction,
more numerous than the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is the world system
called Bodhimaṇḍalākārasurucirā. There resides and lives the tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened buddha called Padmottaraśrī, teaching this very perfection of
wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. At that time, in that world system there was a
bodhisattva great being named Padmahasta who, on beholding that great light, the great
trembling of the earth, and the body of a tathāgata that one can never tire of
beholding, set out for the place where that blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened Buddha Padmottaraśrī, was residing. Going there, he asked that
blessed one, the tathāgata Padmottaraśrī, the following: “Blessed Lord, what are the
causes and what are the conditions for such a great light to emerge in the world, for
a narrow stretch of land to tremble in this manner, and for the body of a tathāgata,
such as this, to be present?”

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Padmottaraśrī, replied to the
bodhisattva great being Padmahasta, “Noble son, in the intermediate direction
northwest from here, beyond world systems numerous as the grains of sand of the river
Gaṅgā, there is a world system called Patient Endurance. There a tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened buddha named Śākyamuni resides and is alive at present. He teaches
the perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. Such is his power.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Padmahasta said to that blessed one, the
tathāgata Padmottaraśrī, “Blessed Lord, I too will go to that world system of Patient
Endurance to behold the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, to pay homage and respect to him, and indeed to see all those bodhisattva
great beings, most of whom are youthful ones, have acquired dhāraṇī and exact
knowledge, and have mastered all the meditative stabilities and meditative
absorptions.”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Padmottaraśrī, then replied, “Go then,
noble son, for I know the right time for this has arrived!”

The tathāgata Padmottaraśrī gave the bodhisattva great being Padmahasta a
thousand lotus flowers, made of diverse jewels, golden in color, each with a thousand
petals, and instructed him, “Noble son, you should scatter these lotuses toward the
Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, saying,
‘Blessed Lord, these golden-colored lotuses with a thousand petals have been sent as
an offering to you, Blessed Lord, by that blessed one, the tathāgata Padmottaraśrī,
who inquires if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good health,
strong, comfortable, and well?’ Noble son, you should conduct yourself with care in
that buddhafield. If you ask why, it is because bodhisattva great beings who are born
in that world system are hard to satisfy. Beware of harm there.”

The bodhisattva great being Padmahasta received from that blessed one,
the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Padmottaraśrī, those golden-colored,
thousand-petaled lotuses. Accompanied by many hundred billion trillions of
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women, he
vanished from that buddhafield. After serving, respecting, honoring, and worshiping
all the blessed lord buddhas who resided and were alive in the southeastern
intermediate direction, as many as there were, with flowers, perfumes, incense,
garlands, unguents, powders, robes, ornaments, parasols, victory banners, and ribbons,
through the great miraculous ability of the bodhisattvas and through the great power
of the bodhisattvas, he then set out for that place where the Blessed One, the
tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, resided. Arriving there, he
bowed his head toward the feet of the Blessed One and took a place to one side.
Having taken a
place to one side, the bodhisattva great being Padmahasta then addressed the Blessed
One as follows: “That blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Padmottaraśrī, has sent these golden-colored, thousand-petaled lotuses as an offering
to you, Blessed Lord, inquiring if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free
from all harms, in good health, strong, comfortable, and well?”

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Śākyamuni, took those lotuses and
scattered them in the world systems of the southeastern intermediate direction,
numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, where the tathāgatas, arhats,
completely awakened buddhas resided. The lotuses fully covered all those world
systems, and upon them many bodies of the tathāgatas were seated, teaching this very
doctrine, from the six perfections onward. All beings who heard that teaching of the
Dharma became assured of reaching unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Those
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women also
served, venerated, honored, and worshiped the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat.
completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, with the roots of their respective virtuous
actions, and then took places to one side.

Beyond all the world systems in the southwestern intermediate direction,
more numerous than the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is the world system
called Vigatarajaḥsañcayā. There resides and lives the tathāgata, arhat, completely
awakened buddha called Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottamaśrī, teaching this very perfection
of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. At that time, in that world system there was a
bodhisattva great being named Sūryaprabhāsa who, on beholding that great light, the
great trembling of the earth, and the body of a tathāgata that one can never tire of
beholding, set out for the place where that blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened Buddha Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottamaśrī, was residing. Going there,
he asked that blessed one, the tathāgata Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottamaśrī, the
following: “Blessed Lord, what are the causes and what are the conditions for such a
great light to emerge in the world, for a narrow stretch of land to tremble in this
manner, and for the body of a tathāgata, such as this, to be present?”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottamaśrī, replied
to the bodhisattva great being Sūryaprabhāsa, “Noble son, in the intermediate
direction northeast from here, beyond world systems numerous as the grains of sand of
the river Gaṅgā, there is a world system called Patient Endurance. There a tathāgata,
arhat, completely awakened buddha named Śākyamuni resides and is alive at present. He
teaches the perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. Such is his
power.”

The bodhisattva great being Sūryaprabhāsa said to that blessed one, the
tathāgata Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottamaśrī, “Blessed Lord, I too will go to that world
system of Patient Endurance to behold the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, to pay homage and respect to him, and indeed
also to see all those bodhisattva great beings, most of whom are youthful ones, have
acquired dhāraṇī and exact knowledge, and have mastered all the meditative stabilities
and meditative absorptions.”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottamaśrī, then
replied, “Go then, noble son, for I know the right time for this has arrived!”

The tathāgata Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottamaśrī gave the bodhisattva great
being Sūryaprabhāsa a thousand lotus flowers made of diverse jewels, golden in color,
each with a thousand petals, and instructed him, “Noble son, you should scatter these
lotuses toward the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, saying, ‘Blessed Lord, these golden-colored lotuses with a thousand petals
have been sent as an offering to you, Blessed Lord, by that blessed one, the tathāgata
Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottamaśrī, who inquires if you, Blessed Lord, are free from
sickness, free from all harms, in good health, strong, comfortable, and well?’
Noble son, you
should conduct yourself with care in that buddhafield. If you ask why, it is because
bodhisattva great beings who are born in that world system are hard to satisfy. Beware
of harm there.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Sūryaprabhāsa received from that blessed
one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottamaśrī,
those golden-colored, thousand-petaled lotuses. Accompanied by many hundred billion
trillions of bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and
young women, he vanished from that buddhafield. After serving, respecting, honoring,
and worshiping all the blessed lord buddhas who resided and were alive in the
southwestern intermediate direction, as many as there were, with flowers, perfumes,
incense, garlands, unguents, powders, robes, ornaments, parasols, victory banners, and
ribbons, through the great miraculous ability of the bodhisattvas and through the
great power of the bodhisattvas, he then set out for that place where the Blessed One,
the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, resided. Arriving there,
he bowed his head toward the feet of the Blessed One and took a place to one side.
Having taken a place to one side, the bodhisattva great being Sūryaprabhāsa then addressed the
Blessed One as follows: “That blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened
Buddha Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottamaśrī, has sent these golden-colored,
thousand-petaled lotuses as an offering to you, Blessed Lord, inquiring if you,
Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good health, strong,
comfortable, and well?”

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Śākyamuni, took those lotuses and
scattered them in the world systems of the southwestern intermediate direction,
numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, where the tathāgatas, arhats,
completely awakened buddhas resided. The lotuses fully covered all those world
systems, and upon them many bodies of the tathāgatas were seated, teaching this very
doctrine, from the six perfections onward. All beings who heard that teaching of the
Dharma became assured of reaching unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Those
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women also
served, venerated, honored, and worshiped the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, with the roots of their respective virtuous
actions, and then took places to one side.

Beyond all the world systems in the northwestern intermediate direction,
more numerous than the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is the world system
called Vaśībhūtā. There resides and lives the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened
buddha called Ekacchatra, teaching this very perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great
beings. At that time, in that world system there was a bodhisattva great being named
Ratnottama who, on beholding that great light, the great trembling of the earth, and
the body of a tathāgata that one can never tire of beholding, set out for the place
where that blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Ekacchatra,
was residing. Going there, he asked that blessed one, the tathāgata Ekacchatra, the
following: “Blessed Lord, what are the causes and what are the conditions for such a
great light to emerge in the world, for a narrow stretch of land to tremble in this
manner, and for the body of a tathāgata, such as this, to be present?”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Ekacchatra, replied to the bodhisattva
great being Ratnottama, “Noble son, in the intermediate direction southeast from here,
beyond world systems numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is a
world system called Patient Endurance. There a tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened
buddha named Śākyamuni resides and is alive at present. He teaches the perfection of
wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. Such is his power.”

The bodhisattva great being Ratnottama said to that blessed one, the
tathāgata Ekacchatra, “Blessed Lord, I too will go to that world system of Patient
Endurance to behold the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, to pay homage and respect to him, and indeed to see all those bodhisattva
great beings, most of whom are youthful ones, have acquired dhāraṇī and exact
knowledge, and have mastered all the meditative stabilities and meditative
absorptions.”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Ekacchatra, then replied, “Go then, noble
son, for I know the right time for this has arrived!”

The tathāgata Ekacchatra gave the bodhisattva great being Ratnottama a
thousand lotus flowers, made of diverse jewels, golden in color, each with a thousand
petals, and instructed him, “Noble son, you should scatter these lotuses toward the
Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, saying,
‘Blessed Lord, these golden-colored lotuses with a thousand petals have been sent as
an offering to you, Blessed Lord, by that blessed one, the tathāgata Ekacchatra, who
inquires if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good
health, strong, comfortable, and well?’ Noble son, you should conduct yourself with
care in that buddhafield. If you ask why, it is because bodhisattva great beings who are
born in that world system are hard to satisfy. Beware of harm there.”

The bodhisattva great being Ratnottama received from that blessed one,
the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha Ekacchatra, those golden-colored,
thousand-petaled lotuses. Accompanied by many hundred billion trillions of
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women, he
vanished from that buddhafield. After serving, respecting, honoring, and worshiping
all the blessed lord buddhas who resided and were alive in the northwestern
intermediate direction, as many as there were, with flowers, perfumes, incense,
garlands, unguents, powders, robes, ornaments, parasols, victory banners, and ribbons,
through the great miraculous ability of the bodhisattvas and through the great power
of the bodhisattvas, he then set out for that place where the Blessed One, the
tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, resided. Arriving there, he
bowed his head toward the feet of the Blessed One and took a place to one side. Having
taken a place to one side, the bodhisattva great being Ratnottama then addressed the
Blessed One as follows: “That blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened
buddha Ekacchatra, has sent these golden-colored, thousand-petaled lotuses as an
offering to you, Blessed Lord, inquiring if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness,
free from all harms, in good health, strong, comfortable, and well?” {Dt.17}

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Śākyamuni, took those lotuses and
scattered them in the world systems of the northwestern intermediate direction,
numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, where the tathāgatas, arhats,
completely awakened buddhas resided. The lotuses fully covered all those world
systems, and upon them many bodies of the tathāgatas were seated, teaching this very
doctrine, from the six perfections onward. All beings who heard that teaching of the
Dharma became assured of reaching unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Those
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women also
served, venerated, honored, and worshiped the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat,
completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, with the roots of their respective virtuous
actions, and then took places to one side.

Beyond all the world systems in the direction of the nadir, more numerous
than the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is the world system called Padmā.
There resides and lives the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha called
Padmaśrī, teaching this very perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings.
At that time,
in that world system there was a bodhisattva great being named Padmottara who, on
beholding that great light, the great trembling of the earth, and the body of a
tathāgata that one can never tire of beholding, set out for the place where that
blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Padmaśrī, was residing.
Going there, he asked that blessed one, the tathāgata Padmaśrī, the following:
“Blessed Lord, what are the causes and what are the conditions for such a great light
to emerge in the world, for a narrow stretch of land to tremble in this manner, and
for the body of a tathāgata, such as this, to be present?”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Padmaśrī, replied to the bodhisattva
great being Padmottara, “Noble son, from here, in the direction of the zenith, beyond
world systems numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is a world
system called Patient Endurance. There a tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha
named Śākyamuni resides and is alive at present. He teaches the perfection of wisdom
to bodhisattva great beings. Such is his power.”

The bodhisattva great being Padmottara said to that blessed one, the
tathāgata Padmaśrī, “Blessed Lord! I too will go to that world system of Patient
Endurance to behold the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, to pay
homage and respect to him, and indeed to see all those bodhisattva great beings, most
of whom are youthful ones, have acquired dhāraṇī and exact knowledge, and have
mastered all the meditative stabilities and meditative absorptions.”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Padmaśrī, then replied, “Go then, noble
son, for I know the right time for this has arrived!”

The tathāgata Padmaśrī gave the bodhisattva great being Padmottara a
thousand lotus flowers, made of diverse jewels, golden in color, each with a thousand
petals, and instructed him, “Noble son, you should scatter these lotuses toward the
Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, saying,
‘Blessed Lord, these golden-colored lotuses with a thousand petals have been sent as
an offering to you, Blessed Lord, by that blessed one, the tathāgata Padmaśrī, who
inquires if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good
health, strong, comfortable, and well?’ Noble son, you should conduct yourself with
care in that buddhafield. If you ask why, it is because bodhisattva great beings who
are born in that world system are hard to satisfy. Beware of harm there.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Padmottara received from that blessed
one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Padmaśrī, those golden-colored,
thousand-petaled lotuses. Accompanied by many hundred billion trillions of
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women, he
vanished from that buddhafield. After serving, respecting, honoring, and worshiping
all the blessed lord buddhas who resided and were alive in the direction of the nadir,
as many as there were, with flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, unguents, powders,
robes, ornaments, parasols, victory banners, and ribbons, through the great miraculous
ability of the bodhisattvas and through the great power of the bodhisattvas, he then
set out for that place where the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely
awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, resided. Arriving there, he bowed his head toward the feet
of the Blessed One and took a place to one side. Having taken a place to one side, the
bodhisattva great being Padmottara then addressed the Blessed One as follows: “That
blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Padmaśrī, has sent these
golden-colored, thousand-petaled lotuses as an offering to you, Blessed Lord,
inquiring if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all harms, in good
health, strong, comfortable, and well?”

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Śākyamuni, took those lotuses and scattered them in
the world systems in the direction of the nadir, numerous as the grains of sand of the
river Gaṅgā, where the tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas resided. The
lotuses fully covered all those world systems, and upon them many bodies of the
tathāgatas were seated, teaching this very doctrine, from the six perfections
themselves onward. All beings who heard that teaching of the Dharma became assured of
reaching unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Those bodhisattvas in the form of
householders, mendicants, young men, and young women also served, venerated, honored,
and worshiped the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, with the roots of their respective virtuous actions, and then took places
to one side.

Beyond all the world systems in the direction of the zenith, more
numerous than the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is the world system called
Nandā. There resides and lives the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha called
Nandaśrī, teaching this very perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. At that
time, in that world system there was a bodhisattva great being named Nandadatta who,
on beholding that great light, the great trembling of the earth, and the body of a
tathāgata that one can never tire of beholding, set out for the place where that
blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Nandaśrī, was residing.
Going there, he asked that blessed one, the tathāgata Nandaśrī, the following:
“Blessed Lord,
what are the causes and what are the conditions for such a great light to emerge in
the world, for a narrow stretch of land to tremble in this manner, and for the body of
a tathāgata, such as this, to be present?”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Nandaśrī, replied to the bodhisattva
great being Nandadatta, “Noble son, from here, in the direction of the nadir, beyond
world systems numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, there is a world
system called Patient Endurance. There a tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened buddha
named Śākyamuni resides and is alive at present. He teaches the perfection of wisdom
to bodhisattva great beings. Such is his power.”

The bodhisattva great being Nandadatta said to that blessed one, the
tathāgata Nandaśrī, “Blessed Lord, I too will go to that world system of Patient
Endurance to behold the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, to pay homage and respect to him, and indeed to see all those bodhisattva
great beings, most of whom are youthful ones, have acquired dhāraṇī and exact
knowledge, and have mastered all the meditative stabilities and meditative
absorptions.”

That blessed one, the tathāgata Nandaśrī, then replied, “Go then, noble
son, for I know the right time for this has arrived!”

The tathāgata Nandaśrī gave to the bodhisattva great being
Nandadatta a thousand lotus flowers, made of diverse jewels, golden in color, each
with a thousand petals, and instructed him, “Noble son, you should scatter these
lotuses toward the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Śākyamuni, saying, ‘Blessed Lord, these golden-colored lotuses with a thousand petals
have been sent as an offering to you, Blessed Lord, by that blessed one, the tathāgata
Nandaśrī, who inquires if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from all
harms, in good health, strong, comfortable, and well?’ Noble son, you should conduct
yourself with care in that buddhafield. If you ask why, it is because bodhisattva
great beings who are born in that world system are hard to satisfy. Beware of harm
there.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Nandadatta received from that blessed
one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Nandaśrī, those golden-colored,
thousand-petaled lotuses. Accompanied by many hundred billion trillions of
bodhisattvas in the form of householders, mendicants, young men, and young women, he
vanished from that buddhafield. After serving, respecting, honoring, and worshiping
all the blessed lord buddhas who resided and were alive in the direction of the
zenith, as many as there were, with flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, unguents,
powders, robes, ornaments, parasols, victory banners, and ribbons, through the great
miraculous ability of the bodhisattvas and through the great power of the
bodhisattvas, he then set out for that place where the Blessed One, the tathāgata,
arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, resided. Arriving there, he bowed his
head toward the feet of the Blessed One and took a place to one side. Having taken a
place to one side, the bodhisattva great being Nandadatta then addressed the Blessed
One as follows: “That blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Nandaśrī, has sent these golden-colored, thousand-petaled lotuses as an offering to
you, Blessed Lord, inquiring if you, Blessed Lord, are free from sickness, free from
all harms, in good health, strong, comfortable, and well?”

The Blessed One, the tathāgata Śākyamuni, took those lotuses and
scattered them in the world systems in the direction of the zenith, numerous as the
grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, where the tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened
buddhas resided. The lotuses fully covered all those world systems, and upon them many
bodies of the tathāgatas were seated, teaching this very doctrine, from the six
perfections onward. All beings who heard that teaching of the Dharma became assured of
reaching unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Those bodhisattvas in the form of
householders,
mendicants, young men, and young women also served, venerated, honored, and worshiped
the Blessed One, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, with the
roots of their respective virtuous actions, and then took places to one side.

At that time, in a single fleeting instant, this great trichiliocosm was
completely transformed into the nature of gemstones, replete with scattered flowers
and completely bedecked with wreaths and bundles of silk. Various kinds of incense
wafted from various containers, and it was completely adorned with wish-granting
trees, the tips of their branches ornate and fully ripe with fruits, and with all
kinds of flowering trees, fruit trees, trees of fragrance, trees of garlands, trees of
powders, and trees of incense, just like the world system of Padmavatī,
the buddhafield of that blessed one, the tathāgata, arhat, completely awakened Buddha
Samantakusuma, where the crown prince Mañjuśrī resides alongside the god Susthitamati
and other bodhisattva great beings of mighty splendor.

This completes the first chapter, “The Context,” from “The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines.”

Chapter 2: Śāriputra

At that time, when the Blessed One thus understood that the entire world
had assembled—a great multitude with its gods, māras, Brahmā divinities, all kinds of
beings including ascetics and brahmins, gods, humans, and asuras, as well as numerous
bodhisattva great beings most of whom were crown princes— he said to the venerable
Śāradvatīputra: {Dt.18}

“Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to attain consummate
buddhahood with respect to all phenomena in all their aspects should persevere in the
perfection of wisdom.”

The venerable Śāradvatīputra then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed Lord,
how should bodhisattva great beings who wish to attain consummate buddhahood with
respect to all phenomena in all their aspects persevere in the perfection of
wisdom?”

The Blessed One replied to Śāradvatīputra, “Śāradvatīputra, in this
regard, bodhisattva great beings should stay in the perfection of wisdom without there
being any place to stay. That is, they should perfect the perfection of generosity
without there being any giving up, since no gift, giver, or recipient is apprehended.
They should perfect the perfection of ethical discipline, since there are no downfalls
or nondownfalls to be committed. They should perfect the perfection of tolerance,
since there is no disturbance. They should perfect the perfection of perseverance,
since there is no weakening of physical or mental effort. They should perfect the
perfection of meditative concentration, since there is no experience to relish. They
should perfect the perfection of wisdom, since no phenomena are apprehended.

“Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings, abiding in the perfection of
wisdom, should perfect the four applications of mindfulness since mindfulness is not
apprehended. They should perfect the four correct exertions, the
four supports for miraculous ability, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven
branches of enlightenment, and the noble eightfold path. They should perfect the
meditative stability of emptiness, the meditative stability of signlessness, and the
meditative stability of wishlessness. They should cultivate the four meditative
concentrations, the four immeasurable attitudes, the four formless absorptions, the
eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the five
extrasensory powers, the contemplation of a bloated corpse, the contemplation of a
worm-infested corpse, the contemplation of a putrefied corpse, the contemplation of a
bloody corpse, {Dt.20} the contemplation of a
blue-black corpse, the contemplation of a devoured corpse, the contemplation of a
dismembered corpse, the contemplation of a skeleton, the contemplation of an immolated
corpse, and the contemplation of the unpleasantness of food. They should cultivate the
recollection of the Buddha, the recollection of the Dharma, the recollection of the
Saṅgha, the recollection of ethical discipline, the recollection of giving away, the
recollection of the god realms, the recollection of breathing, the recollection of
disillusionment, the recollection of death, and the
recollection of the body; the perception of impermanence, the perception of suffering,
the perception of nonself, the perception of unattractiveness, the perception of
death, the perception of disinterest with respect to all mundane phenomena, and the
perception that all mundane phenomena are unreliable; and the knowledge of suffering,
the knowledge of the origin of suffering, the knowledge of the cessation of suffering,
the knowledge of the path, the knowledge of the extinction of
contaminants, the knowledge that contaminants will not arise again, the knowledge of
phenomena, the knowledge of phenomena that is subsequently realized, the knowledge of
the relative, the knowledge that is masterful, and the knowledge that is semantic.
They should perfect the meditative stability endowed with ideation and scrutiny,
the meditative
stability free from ideation and endowed merely with scrutiny, the meditative
stability devoid of both ideation and scrutiny, the faculties that will enable
knowledge of all that is unknown, the faculties that acquire the knowledge of all
phenomena, the faculties endowed with the knowledge of all phenomena, the sense fields of mastery, the sense fields of
complete suffusion, the four attractive qualities of a bodhisattva,
the four determinations, the ten levels, the ten modes of conduct, the ten aspects of
tolerance, the twenty higher aspirations, omniscient wisdom, stillness, the knowing of
higher insight, the three knowledges, the four kinds of exact knowledge, the four
fearlessnesses, {Dt.21} the five undiminished
extrasensory powers, the six perfections, the seven aspects of spiritual wealth, the
eight notions of saintly beings, the nine states of beings, the ten powers of the
tathāgatas, the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, great loving kindness,
great compassion, great empathetic joy, and great equanimity.

“Bodhisattva great beings who wish to attain consummate buddhahood,
all-aspect omniscience in all its finest aspects, and who wish to attain the knowledge
of the path, the knowledge of all the dharmas, and knowledge of the aspects of all
beings’ minds, their conduct, and their knowledge, should persevere in the perfection
of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who wish to abandon all the afflicted mental
states and their connecting propensities should persevere in the perfection of
wisdom.

“So it is, Śāradvatīputra, that bodhisattva great beings should persevere
in the perfection of wisdom.

“Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to enter a
bodhisattva’s full maturity should persevere in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva
great beings who wish to know the levels of the śrāvakas and the levels of the
pratyekabuddhas, who wish to transcend those levels, who wish to remain at the level
at which progress is irreversible, who wish to dwell in the six extrasensory powers,
who wish to understand all beings’ wavering minds and conduct, who wish to surpass the
understanding of all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and who wish to attain the many
dhāraṇī gateways and the gateways of meditative stability should all train in the
perfection of wisdom.

“Bodhisattva great beings who wish to
surpass, with a single setting of the mind on enlightenment while rejoicing in them,
all the virtuous roots of generosity practiced by sons and daughters of the family of
those following the śrāvakas’ and pratyekabuddhas’ vehicles; {Dt.22} who wish to surpass, with a single setting of the mind on
enlightenment while rejoicing in them, the ethical discipline, meditative stability,
wisdom, liberation, and seeing the wisdom of liberation of all śrāvakas and
pratyekabuddhas; and who wish to surpass, with a single setting of the mind on
enlightenment while rejoicing in them, all the meditative concentrations, liberation,
meditative stabilities, and meditative absorptions of all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas
should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, if bodhisattva great beings, for the benefit
of all beings, offer even a small gift and wonder how it is that through dedication by
skillful means these gifts can become immeasurable, countless, and inestimable
those
bodhisattva great beings should train in the perfection of wisdom. Similarly, if for
the benefit of all beings they maintain even a little ethical discipline; cultivate
even a little tolerance; apply even a little perseverance; are absorbed in even a
little meditative concentration; and cultivate even a little wisdom, and wonder how it
is that through dedication by skillful means these can become immeasurable, countless,
and inestimable, those bodhisattva great beings should also train in the perfection of
wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to dwell in
the perfection of generosity and wish to perfect the perfection of generosity, and
similarly who wish to practice the perfection of ethical discipline and wish to
perfect the perfection of ethical discipline, who wish to practice the perfection of
tolerance and wish to perfect the perfection of tolerance, who wish to practice the
perfection of perseverance and wish to perfect the perfection of perseverance, who
wish to practice the perfection of meditative concentration and wish to perfect the
perfection of meditative concentration, and who wish to practice the perfection of
wisdom and wish to perfect the perfection of wisdom, should all train in the
perfection of wisdom. {Dt.23}

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wonder how it is
that they themselves will behold the body of the buddhas in all their lives, how it is
that they will be encouraged by the buddhas, how it is that they will be kept in mind
by the buddhas,
how it is that they will please the buddhas, and how it is that they will be accepted
by the buddhas, should also train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to
accomplish the body of the buddhas and who wish to attain the thirty-two major marks
of a great person should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Bodhisattva great beings who wish to attain the eighty minor marks, who
wish throughout all their lives to recall their succession of former lives, who wish
never to give up the mind of enlightenment, who wish to attain bodhisattva conduct
that is unspoiled, who wish to forsake all evil friends and all evil associates, who
wish to serve and respect all buddhas and bodhisattvas who are virtuous spiritual
mentors, who wish to defeat Māra and all the gods belonging to the class of Māra, who
wish to purify all obscurations, and who wish to be unobscured with respect to all
phenomena should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to perfect
the family of the bodhisattvas, who wish to accomplish the family of the buddhas, and
who wish to maintain the lineage of the Three Precious Jewels without interruption
should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to attain
the level of a crown prince, who wish never to be separated from all the buddhas and
bodhisattvas, who wish to go beyond the levels of the bodhisattvas, and who wish to swiftly
perfect the level of the tathāgatas should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who take delight in
perfecting in this way whichever roots of virtuous action with which they might serve,
venerate, honor, and worship the blessed lord buddhas should train in the perfection
of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, when bodhisattva great beings wish to delight
all beings, wish to fulfill the aspirations of all beings, and think that they should
satisfy all beings with all necessities and resources such as food, drink, clothing,
ornaments, flowers, incense, garlands, unguents, powders, bedding, seats, dwellings,
medicines, goods, riches, grains, embellishments, jewels, pearls, beryl, conch,
quartz, coral, pure gold, silver, orchards, and kingdoms, they too should train in the
perfection of wisdom. {Dt.24}

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to establish
all beings, as many as there are in the world systems of all directions, numerous as
the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, in the paths of the ten virtuous actions, and
who wish to establish them in the four meditative concentrations, the four
immeasurable attitudes, the five extrasensory powers, taking refuge in the Three
Jewels, and devotion to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha should train in the
perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to bring
into the Great Vehicle the beings in all worlds within the whole infinity of the realm
of phenomena and the very reaches of the realm of space, and who wish to establish
them in the perfection of generosity, the perfection of ethical discipline, the
perfection of tolerance, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative
concentration, and the perfection of wisdom, should train in the perfection of
wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to render
even a single virtuous setting of the mind on enlightenment inexhaustible until the
moment they are on the seat of enlightenment should train in the perfection of
wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who are eager for all
the blessed lord buddhas, as many as there are in the world systems of the eastern
direction, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, to praise their
qualities should train in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who are
eager for all the blessed lord buddhas, as many as there are likewise in each of the
world systems of the southern, western, northern, northeastern, southeastern,
southwestern, and northwestern directions, and at the nadir and the zenith, numerous
as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, to praise their qualities should train in
the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who, with a single
thought, wish to journey to all those buddhafields of the
eastern direction, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, should train in the
perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who, with a single thought, wish to
journey likewise to all those buddhafields of the southern, western, northern,
northeastern, southeastern, southwestern, and northwestern directions, and at the
nadir and the zenith, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, should train
in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish, by voicing
a single sound, to make themselves heard in all those buddhafields of the eastern
direction, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, should train in the
perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who wish, by voicing a single sound, to
make themselves heard likewise in all those buddhafields of the southern, western,
northern, northeastern, southeastern, southwestern, and northwestern directions, and
at the nadir and the zenith, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, should
train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to remain
for the sake of buddhas continuing to be born without interruption, who wish the
family of bodhisattvas to reach accomplishment, and who wish to remain so that the family of the buddhas might continue
without interruption should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to dwell in
the emptiness of internal phenomena should train in the perfection of wisdom.
Similarly, those who wish to dwell in the emptiness of external phenomena, the
emptiness of both external and internal phenomena, the emptiness of emptiness, the
emptiness of great extent, the emptiness of ultimate reality, the emptiness of
conditioned phenomena, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, the emptiness of the
unlimited, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, the emptiness of
nonexclusion, the emptiness of inherent existence, the emptiness of all phenomena, the
emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, the emptiness of nonapprehensibility,
the emptiness of nonentities, the emptiness of essential nature, and the emptiness of
the essential nature of nonentities should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to
comprehend the referential condition, the predominant condition, the immediate
condition, and the causal condition, and those who wish to comprehend the aspects and
defining characteristics of the real nature, should train in the perfection of
wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to
comprehend the real nature of all phenomena, the unmistaken real nature, the one and
only real nature, the unchanging real nature, and the genuine, definitive real nature
should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to
comprehend the realm of phenomena with respect to all phenomena and who wish to
comprehend the very limit of reality with respect to all phenomena should train in the
perfection of wisdom. {Dt.27}

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to know all
the worlds of the great trichiliocosm, numerous as the grains of sand of the river
Gaṅgā, should train in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who wish to
lift, on the tip of a filament that is one hundredth of the width of a hair, all the
masses of water contained in the great trichiliocosm, including the great oceans,
rivers, great rivers, tributaries, springs, lakes, pools, and ponds, and wish too to cause
no harm to the living creatures inhabiting them, should train in the perfection of
wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish with a
single breath to extinguish all the masses of burning fire that there are in the great
trichiliocosm, when all of them have burst into a single blazing flame like the eon’s
final conflagration, should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish with a
single fingertip to cover and suppress all the patterns of wind there are in the great
trichiliocosm that scatter, disperse, and destroy this great trichiliocosm as if it
were just a handful of chaff, should train in the perfection of wisdom. {Dt.28}

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish a single
cross-legged posture of theirs to completely fill however much there is of the great
trichiliocosm’s entire expanse of space should train in the perfection of
wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, if bodhisattva great beings have the thought
that with a single tuft of hair they will gather and sweep up as many Mount Sumerus,
along with their encircling Cakravāḍa and Mahācakravāḍa mountain ranges, as there are
in the great trichiliocosm, and hurl them beyond the countless, inestimable world
systems, they too
should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to know, in
terms of their minute particles, all the great trichiliocosm’s many trees, grasses,
bushes, plants and woodlands, and its terrestial rocks, clays, gravels, hills, and
mountains, should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish with a
single alms bowl to provide for all the blessed lord buddhas who reside in the world
systems of the eastern direction, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā,
along with their assemblies of bodhisattvas and communities of śrāvakas, and likewise
who wish with a single flower, a single garland, a single piece of incense, a single
unguent, a single powder, a single robe, a single ornament, a single parasol, a single
victory banner, or a single ribbon to serve, respect, honor, and worship them, should
train in the perfection of wisdom. Likewise, bodhisattva great beings who wish with a
single alms bowl to provide for all the blessed lord buddhas who reside in the world
systems of the southern, western, northern, northeastern, southeastern, southwestern,
and northwestern directions, and in the nadir and the zenith, numerous as the grains
of sand of the river Gaṅgā, along with their assemblies of bodhisattvas and
communities of śrāvakas, and likewise who wish with a single flower, a single garland,
a single piece of incense, a single unguent, a single powder, a single robe, a single ornament, a
single parasol, a single victory banner, or a single ribbon to serve, respect, honor,
and worship them, should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, those bodhisattva great beings who wish to
establish all beings, as many as are present in the world systems of the eastern
direction, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, in the aggregate of
ethical discipline; who wish to establish them also in the aggregate of meditative
stability, the aggregate of wisdom, the aggregate of liberation, and the aggregate of
seeing the wisdom of liberation; who wish to establish them in the fruit of entering
the stream to nirvāṇa; and who wish to establish them in the fruit of being destined
for only one more rebirth, the fruit of no longer being subject to rebirth, in
arhatship, and individual enlightenment, up to and including the expanse
of nirvāṇa where there is no residue of the aggregates, should all train in the
perfection of wisdom. Those bodhisattva great beings who wish likewise to establish
all beings, as many as are present in the world systems of the southern, western,
northern, northeastern, southeastern, southwestern, and northwestern directions, along
with the directions of the nadir and the zenith, numerous as the grains of sand of the
river Gaṅgā, in the aggregate of ethical discipline; who wish to establish them also
in the aggregate of meditative stability, the aggregate of wisdom, the aggregate of
liberation, and the aggregate of seeing the wisdom of liberation; who wish to
establish them in the fruit of entering the stream to nirvāṇa; who wish to establish
them in the fruit of being destined for only one more rebirth, the fruit of no longer
being subject to rebirth, in arhatship, and individual enlightenment;
and who wish
to establish them in the expanse of nirvāṇa where there is no residue of the
aggregates should all train in the perfection of wisdom. {Dt.29}

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to bring all
beings, as many as there are in all the world systems of the ten directions, to final
nirvāṇa by means of the vehicles of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and by means of
the Great Vehicle, should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish, as they
practice the perfection of wisdom and engage in acts of generosity, to train in such a
way that when they give their gifts in that way the following great fruits will come
to pass: that when they give their gifts in that way, they will be born into great and
lofty royal
families; that when they give their gifts in that way, they will be born into great
and lofty priestly families; that when they give their gifts in that way, they will be
born into great and lofty householder families; that when they give their gifts in
that way, by maintaining that very generosity, they will be born among the gods of the
Caturmahārājakāyika realm; that when they give their gifts in that way, by
maintaining that very generosity, they will be born among the gods of the
Trayastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarata, and Paranirmitavaśavartin realms; that
when they give their gifts in that way, by maintaining that very generosity, they will
attain the first meditative concentration, they will attain the second, third, and
fourth meditative concentrations, they will become absorbed in the meditative
absorption of the sphere of infinite space, and they will become absorbed in the
meditative absorption of the sphere of infinite consciousness, in the meditative
absorption of the sphere of nothing-at-all, and in the meditative absorption of the
sphere of neither perception nor nonperception; that when they give their gifts in
that way, the
thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment will emerge; that when they give their
gifts in that way, emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness will emerge; and that
when they give their gifts in that way, they will attain the fruit of entering the
stream to nirvāṇa, the fruit of being destined for only one more rebirth, the fruit of
no longer being subject to rebirth, arhatship, individual enlightenment,
and unsurpassed, complete enlightenment—[such bodhisattva great beings] should train
in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, when bodhisattva great beings practice the
perfection of wisdom, if they give their gifts with skill in means in that way, they
will perfect the perfection of generosity. They should train likewise in the
perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection of tolerance, the perfection of
perseverance, the perfection of meditative concentration, and the perfection of
wisdom.”

Then the venerable Śāradvatīputra asked the Blessed One, “Blessed Lord,
how do bodhisattva great beings, when they give their gifts, perfect the perfection of
generosity? How do they perfect the perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection
of tolerance, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative
concentration, and the perfection of wisdom?”

“Śāradvatīputra,” replied the Blessed One, “the perfection of generosity
is perfected through purity with respect to the three spheres—without apprehending a
gift, a giver, or a recipient. Similarly, the perfection of ethical discipline
is perfected
since there are no downfalls and no nondownfalls to be committed. The perfection of
tolerance is perfected since there is no disturbance. The perfection of perseverance
is perfected since there are no physical or mental endeavors to be neglected. The
perfection of meditative concentration is perfected since there is no disturbance or
thought. The perfection of wisdom is perfected by knowing all phenomena without
apprehending anything.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to know and
who wish to acquire all the attributes of the lord buddhas of the past, future, and
present should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to go
beyond conditioned and unconditioned dharmas should train in the perfection of wisdom.
Bodhisattva great beings who wish to go beyond all dharmas—dharmas that are
contaminated and uncontaminated, virtuous and nonvirtuous, specific and indeterminate,
definitive and nondefinitive, occurring and nonoccurring, obscured and distinguished,
as well as the dharmas of ordinary people, the dharmas of sublime beings, the dharmas
that are learned, the dharmas that are not learned, the dharmas of the śrāvakas and
pratyekabuddhas, and the dharmas of the bodhisattvas and the dharmas of the
buddhas—should all train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to comprehend
the real nature of all dharmas arising in the past, in the future, and in the present
should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to
conclusively determine that all dharmas are nonarising, and those who wish to realize
the very limit of reality with respect to all dharmas, should train in the perfection
of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to have
precedence over all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas should train in the perfection of
wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to serve all
the lord buddhas should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to be
present within the intimate retinue of all the lord buddhas should train in the
perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to have
many attendants and who wish to acquire a retinue of bodhisattvas should train in the
perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to purify
the gifts of all donors should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to have
states of mind unimpeded with respect to generosity, those who wish to abandon states
of mind of poor morality, those who wish to reject malicious states of mind, and those
who wish that indolent states of mind, agitated states of mind, and deluded states of
mind might not arise should all train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to establish
all beings in the meritorious foundations that arise from generosity, and those who
wish to establish them in the meritorious foundations that arise from ethical
discipline, {Dt.30} that arise from meditation,
that arise from service, and that arise from all material phenomena, should train in
the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to develop
the five eyes in their entirety should train in the perfection of wisdom. That is to
say, those who wish to develop the eye of flesh, the eye of divine clairvoyance, the
eye of wisdom, the eye of the Dharma, and the eye of the buddhas should train in the
perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to behold
with the eye of divine clairvoyance all the lord buddhas, as many as there are who
reside in the world systems of the eastern direction, numerous as the grains of sand
of the river Gaṅgā, and all the lord buddhas, as many as there are who reside in the
world systems of the southern, western, northern, northeastern, southeastern,
southwestern, and northwestern directions, as well as in the nadir and the zenith,
numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā; those who wish to hear with the ear
of divine clairaudience all the Dharmas that those lord buddhas are teaching; and
those who wish to comprehend the minds of those lord buddhas, who wish to recollect the bodhisattva
conduct in which those lord buddhas had formerly engaged, and who wish to behold the
manifold miraculous and emanational abilities of those lord buddhas should all train
in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to retain
all the Dharmas that those lord buddhas are teaching in the world systems of all the
ten directions, through the uninterrupted power and force of recollection, and those
who wish not to squander all these teachings until they have attained consummate
buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, should train in the perfection of
wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to behold
and who wish to attain the buddhafields of the lord buddhas of the past, future,
{Dt.31} and present, along with many pure
lands, should train in the perfection of wisdom.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who wish to hear all
the teachings whatsoever of the tathāgatas, even those that cannot be heard by
śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas, including the discourses, the sayings in prose and verse,
the prophetic declarations, the verses, the aphorisms, the contexts, the quotations,
the tales of past lives, the most extensive teachings, the narratives, the established
instructions, and the marvelous events, and those who wish to take them up, who wish
to uphold them, who wish to recite them, who wish to master them, who wish to apply
them earnestly and without error, who wish to teach them extensively to others, and
who wish to teach them in an authentic manner, should train in the perfection of
wisdom.