Toh 131Kinh Đại Thừa Cao Quý "Tam-muội Trí Ấn Như Lai"

Summary

In The Absorption of the Thus-Gone One’s Wisdom
Seal, a vast number of bodhisattvas request the Buddha Śākyamuni to
teach them about his state of meditative absorption. In his responses to various
interlocutors, including the bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī and Maitreya, the Buddha
expounds on this profound state, exhorting them to accomplish it themselves. The
sūtra also describes the qualities of bodhisattvas and their stages of
development.

Acknowledgements

This sūtra was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under
the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Joseph McClellan produced the
translation and wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor compared the draft
translation with the Tibetan, and edited the text.

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

Introduction

The Absorption of the Thus-Gone
One’s Wisdom Seal is a sūtra significant in the canon of the
Great Vehicle for its rich description of the highest levels of Buddhist
absorption, as well as for its unique discussion of the stages of a
bodhisattva’s journey and the qualities that pertain to them.

It is a scripture that appears to have enjoyed a measure of sustained
popularity in Asia. Of the three Chinese translations
the earliest was completed by the translator Zhi Qian sometime between
223 and 253 ce, while the Tibetan translation was
produced almost six centuries later during the great imperial translation
project of the early ninth century. In between these two notable efforts to
propagate the sūtra outside India, we also know of citations
of this text in the works of at least two Indian scholars: in the sixth
century by Bhāviveka and in the eighth century by
Kamalaśīla. We have evidence, therefore, of the continuing relevance of this
sūtra during the formative centuries of the Great Vehicle tradition in
India.

Nevertheless, to our knowledge this scripture has until now remained unexplored by
modern scholars, and no translation of the text has been made since the
Tibetan translation was produced in the early ninth century. There is no extant
Sanskrit manuscript and, while a comparison with the Chinese translations remains a desirable
future goal, our translation is based entirely on the Tibetan source texts,
the Tibetan Degé block print with reference to the
Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the
Stok Palace manuscript.

The sūtra is one of eleven sūtras in the Kangyur with titles including the
term “The Absorption of…” (Sanskrit samādhi, Tibetan
ting nge ’dzin). In the
Degé Kangyur and other Kangyurs of the Tshalpa (tshal pa)
lineage these texts are grouped together, and although that might seem to
suggest that they could be construed as forming an unofficial subgenre of sūtra literature,
the sharing of a common term in the title is simply one of several
organizing principles used to order the titles in these Kangyurs without implying
that the common term in question necessarily constitutes a common theme as
such. Indeed, the significance of the term “absorption” or samādhi
clearly varies from sūtra to sūtra within this group of texts.
For example, in the famous King of Samādhis Sūtra (Samādhirājasūtra,
Toh 127),
samādhi does not
appear to refer to an altered state of mind, or to meditative absorption.
Instead, the term is used to encapsulate a whole range of practices and qualities
that the sūtra presents in a detailed list, with no explicit mention of states of deep
meditative concentration. Nevertheless, in
most other sūtras within this group of texts, the term seems to
lean more toward referring to specific meditative
states to be accessed and accomplished.

It is in that respect that the current sūtra resembles some of these other works,
describing as it does a particular meditative absorption that the rest of the
title qualifies as “the thus-gone one’s wisdom seal.” Here,
thus-gone one (Skt. tathāgatha)
is a common epithet of a fully
awakened being. We have translated this term from the Tibetan
de bzhin gshegs pa,
“one who has thus gone,” whereas the Chinese equivalent,
ru lai, reads closer
to “thus-come one.” The final term, wisdom seal (Skt.
jñānamudrā), qualifies the absorption in which the
thus-gone one dwells. Seal (Skt. mudrā) has a rich and varied
usage in Buddhist literature. Generally, it refers to a stamp or brand, like
a royal seal that is used to mark property. Since the thus-gone one’s
absorption is infinite and unimpeded, all of reality falls into its domain.
Thus, all of reality is subsumed in, or sealed by, the wisdom actualized in
this absorption.

Like many Great Vehicle sūtras, The Absorption
of the Thus-Gone One’s Wisdom Seal situates ancient India and
Buddha Śākyamuni in a much larger, cosmic context. The opening scene takes
place in the famous Veṇuvana (Bamboo Grove) monastic compound, near Rājagṛha,
the capital of the former kingdom of Magadha (present-day Bihar). Here the Buddha is dwelling
with a vast retinue of monks and bodhisattvas when he enters into an exalted
state of absorption called the thus-gone one’s wisdom
seal, indescribable except in ways that suggest its sheer
ineffability: it is “formless, indefinable, ungraspable, unimpeded, and not
apparent.”

The power of this state of absorption affects the entire
trichiliocosm, inspiring buddhas and bodhisattvas dwelling in faraway realms
to intensify their spiritual activity. Cosmic buddhas exhort their
innumerable bodhisattva disciples to seize the opportunity to go to the Veṇuvana
and learn about this absorption, which will be the culmination of their
training. Accordingly, the bodhisattvas magically travel there, eager to
receive teachings about this exalted state. Countless gods and nonhuman
beings, hearers, and monks join them in their quest. When they arrive,
however, the Buddha is nowhere to be seen, as their perceptions are not
attuned to the state in which he is absorbed. In dismay, the
assembly, led by a group of close disciples including Mahāmaudgalyāyana and
Subhūti, turns to the great bodhisattva Mañjuśrī for advice on how to
communicate with the Buddha. He simply tells them to look inward: they will
find the Buddha within their own absorptions.

Thus, a line of communication is established with the Buddha, who
now begins to teach them about this absorption, which is the hallmark of all
thus-gone ones. The teaching follows an extensive apophatic methodology, in
which the Buddha negates any proposition that may be made about this most
profound state of absorption: “This absorption is formless, indefinable,
ungraspable, unimpeded, and not apparent. It is beyond knowledge and not an
object of knowledge.” Upon concluding his teaching about
the absorption of the thus-gone one’s
wisdom seal, all those in attendance purify negative karma
accumulated over innumerable eons and ensure that their progress to unsurpassed and
perfect awakening is irreversible.

The discourse then shifts, and the Buddha addresses Maitreya,
explaining seven ways in which bodhisattvas arouse the mind of awakening. He
also lists two sets of five qualities that characterize a nonregressing
bodhisattva, as well as five that mark an incorrigible, flawed individual on
the bodhisattva path. To illustrate the exemplary bodhisattva, the Buddha
recounts a past-life memory of the deeds of a great king named Puṇyodgata,
who was a devotee of the buddha Śaśiketu.

Following this discourse, countless female devotees, led by one of the queens of King Bimbisāra and one of his daughters, promise their service to the Dharma in all subsequent lives. This delights the Buddha, who beams a smile at them. The
women, captivated, eloquently enjoin the Buddha to give them a teaching
about the causes, qualities, and implications of his smile. In response, the
Buddha recounts more past-life memories, this time about the noble deeds of
an ancient ruler named Puṇyaraśmi, who was an exemplary guardian of the
Dharma. The Buddha also describes the degenerate age, in which the influence
of the Dharma will wane. During this time, he explains, it will be
especially important for those who follow him to train in the sūtra of
The Absorption of the Thus-Gone One’s Wisdom Seal,
and to master the absorption it describes. The Buddha then highlights
differences between bodhisattvas based on whether they have aroused the mind
of awakening and the roots of virtue in the presence of hundreds, of thousands,
or of millions of buddhas. In short, the latter have the greatest resolve to
traverse the path and are least susceptible to any kind of regression.
However, they will still suffer. The sūtra explains that whatever negative
karma remains for these bodhisattvas will be purified through instances of
ordinary human misfortune: they will be criticized, they will suffer bouts
of depression, they will be born into dysfunctional families, they will face
adverse economic conditions, and so forth. Bodhisattvas of the highest order
will bear these pains and persevere on the path; others will falter.

Toward the end of the sūtra, the Buddha addresses Mañjuśrī,
Maitreya, and an assembly of distinguished disciples who ask him to explain
the meaning of the term Dharma itself. Thus begins a
long synonymic chain of significant Buddhist terms: inexhaustible, unborn,
uninterrupted, uncollected, ungraspable, nonabiding, and groundless, until
the final term nirvāṇa.
This list echoes the terms used earlier in the sūtra to describe
the absorption of the thus-gone one’s
wisdom seal. Given this definition of the Dharma, the
disciples wonder how they should act as its protectors. The Buddha explains
that if they indeed realize the meaning of what he has taught them,
“ultimately we find nothing at all—no Dharma and no conflict with the
Dharma.” Then, in a set of philosophically rich verses, he instructs them further in
the ultimate truth, beyond concepts and characteristics. The sūtra concludes
with another exhortation to the gathered assembly to accomplish
the absorption of the thus-gone one’s
wisdom seal.

The Translation

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra

The Absorption of the Thus-Gone One’s Wisdom

Seal

Homage to all buddhas and
bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time: The Blessed One was in the Kalandakanivāpa,
at the Veṇuvana near Rājagṛha. He was there together
with a great saṅgha of twelve hundred fifty monks, and with three hundred
million bodhisattvas, all of whom had attained dhāraṇī, unobstructed
eloquence, and mastery over absorption. They dwelled in the absorption of
emptiness, their domain was free of marks, their aspiration was uncontrived,
they dwelled in the absence of wishes, and their conduct was natural. They
had attained the dhāraṇīs that accomplish limitless gateways. They had
attained acceptance regarding sameness, they had attained sameness, and they
had attained unobstructed dhāraṇī. They knew the higher or lower
capacities of all beings and had precise knowledge of
beings’ thoughts and actions.

At that time, the Blessed One settled into the absorption that is
the blessing of the thus-gone one, that enters the domain of all the
buddhas. This absorption is formless, indefinable, ungraspable, unimpeded,
and not apparent. It is beyond knowledge and not an object of knowledge. It
is free from mentation, mind, and consciousness. It is rootless,
unsupported, and beyond observation. It is an incomparable, unequaled, and
matchless state. It has no notion of “mine,” is free from grasping, is free
from anything to avoid, and is uncreated. It never went and never came. It
does not go and does not stay. It is without interruption, baseless, and
without marks. It is free of all marks. It is beyond accepting and
rejecting. It is uncompounded and beyond any accumulation. It is beyond
assembling and beyond separating. It is without mind and free from mind. It
is unoriginated, beginningless, unestablished, nonarising, and totally
nonoccurring. It is utterly beyond movement, perfectly without movement,
totally empty, beyond association, and without superimpositions regarding
any phenomenon. It is a dhāraṇī gateway to enter the domain of all buddhas. It is
known as the thus-gone one’s wisdom seal.

As soon as he settled into that absorption, neither the Blessed
One’s body nor the characteristics of his body appeared; neither his mind
nor the characteristics of his mind appeared; neither his robes nor the
characteristics of his robes appeared; neither his cushion nor the
characteristics of his cushion appeared; neither his sleeping nor the
characteristics of his sleeping appeared; neither his walking nor the
characteristics of his walking appeared; neither his rising nor the
characteristics of his rising appeared; neither his remaining nor the
characteristics of his remaining appeared; neither his shadow nor the
characteristics of his shadow appeared; neither his sitting nor the
characteristics of his sitting appeared; and neither his sounds nor the
characteristics of his sounds appeared.

At that point, through the power of this absorption,
and through the blessings of the Buddha, a bright light
filled the entire trichiliocosm. So bright was this light that everywhere in the
trichiliocosm the moonlight was
outshone, as was the sunlight and the light of stars, fire,
jewels, and lightning. The radiance of gandharvas, kinnaras, gods of the realms of desire
and form, constellations, and divine palaces was outshone. So too were that of Śakra, Brahmā,
and the protectors of the worlds.

Through the Buddha’s blessings and the power of his absorption, some of the
gods could no longer smell their divine fragrances, and the
whole trichiliocosm was suffused by an aroma sweeter than any other scent that completely
transcended the fragrances of the gods. All the dark spaces between
the worlds were brought into the light, as were the major and minor mountain ranges that
surround the worlds. Mount Meru and all the other principal mountains like it were
illuminated, as were the Black Peaks. Subsequently, however, they did not
appear to the eye faculties of sentient beings.

The entire trichiliocosm was encompassed in a net of jewels. The
entire Sahā buddha realm was decorated with silk hangings, suffused with
frankincense, and strewn with a variety of flowers. Through the power of the
Buddha, the Kalandakanivāpa in the Veṇuvana, along with Vulture Peak Mountain,
became as level as the palm of a hand and were saturated with the
delicious and captivating scent of a giant hundred-thousand-petaled lotus
flower composed of various jewels the size of chariot-wheels. From the sky,
a lattice-like jeweled canopy appeared, which covered and adorned
everything. All of Magadha became soft to the touch, like kācilindika
cloth.

Then in the east, in as many buddha realms as there are grains of
sand in the Ganges, the individual blessed buddhas exhorted a limitless,
innumerable, and immeasurable number of hundreds of thousands of bodhisattva
great beings who were just one life away from unexcelled and perfect
awakening, “Sons of noble family, you should go into
the Sahā world. That is where the blessed one, the thus-gone one, the worthy one,
the perfect buddha Śākyamuni presently resides. He lives there and teaches
the Dharma. Now he has settled into the absorption that is a dhāraṇī gateway
to enter the domain of all buddhas known as the thus-gone one’s
wisdom seal. Sons of noble family, even engaging in the six
perfections for a hundred thousand eons, but without skillful means, bears no
comparison to the esteem bodhisattvas will feel merely hearing about this absorption.
Therefore, go and hear about this absorption.”

The bodhisattva great beings listened accordingly to the respective
thus-gone ones and paid these blessed ones homage. Then, in an instant, they
all disappeared from those buddha realms and, by giving rise to their
magical powers of superknowledge, they came to the Sahā world, to the four
central continents, to the continent of Jambudvīpa, to the town of Rājagṛha,
to the Veṇuvana, and into the Kalandakanivāpa, where the blessed one, the thus-gone
one, the worthy one, the perfect buddha Śākyamuni was. Upon
arriving, they bowed their heads to the feet of the blessed one, the
thus-gone one, the worthy one, the perfect buddha Śākyamuni. They then
circled the Blessed One three times and stood to one side. The Blessed One
welcomed them and they took their places cross-legged upon a great lotus
composed of various jewels.

The same thing happened in the south, west, north, below, above,
—throughout the cardinal and intermediate
directions, and everywhere in between. In all the ten directions, in as many
buddha realms as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, individual blessed
buddhas exhorted a limitless, innumerable, and immeasurable number of
hundreds of thousands of bodhisattva great beings who were just one life
away from unexcelled and perfect awakening, “Sons of noble family, you
should go into the Sahā world. That is where the blessed one, the thus-gone one,
the worthy one, the perfect buddha Śākyamuni presently resides. He lives
there and teaches the Dharma. Now he has settled into the absorption that is
a dhāraṇī gateway to enter the domain of all buddhas, known as the
thus-gone one’s wisdom seal. Sons of noble family, even engaging in the six
perfections for a hundred thousand eons, but without skillful means, bears no
comparison to the esteem bodhisattvas will feel merely hearing about this absorption.
Therefore, go and hear about this absorption.”

The bodhisattva great beings listened accordingly to the respective
thus-gone ones and paid these blessed ones homage. Then, in an instant, they
all disappeared from those buddha realms and, by giving rise to their
magical powers of superknowledge, they came to the Sahā world, to the four
central continents, to the continent of Jambudvīpa, to the town of Rājagṛha,
to the Veṇuvana, and into the Kalandakanivāpa, where the blessed one, the thus-gone
one, the worthy one, the perfect buddha Śākyamuni was. Upon arriving, they
bowed their heads to the feet of the blessed one, the thus-gone one, the
worthy one, the perfect buddha Śākyamuni. They then circled the Blessed One
three times and stood to one side. The Blessed One welcomed them and they
took their places cross-legged upon a great lotus composed of various jewels.

Throughout this great trichiliocosm, all the monks—whether engaged
with the vehicle of the hearers, the vehicle of the solitary buddhas, or the
bodhisattva vehicle—each in their own individual realms, stirred and,
through the blessings and power of the Buddha, they all came to Vulture Peak
Mountain, where the Blessed One resided. Upon arriving, they could not see
the Blessed One anywhere. Not seeing him, they joined their palms and paid
homage to him.

Through the radiance of the absorption of the thus-gone
one’s wisdom seal, instantly, in that very moment, eight
hundred million bodhisattvas gathered at the Kalandakanivāpa in the Veṇuvana, where
they sat down in the Blessed One’s retinue. Three hundred thousand hearers
also gathered together and took their seats. Within this great trichiliocosm, many
other beings arrived at the Kalandakanivāpa in the Veṇuvana, where the Blessed One
was. They included Śakra, Brahmā, the guardians of the world, Maheśvara,
the gods of the pure realms, all gods including their lords, all nāgas and
their lords, all yakṣas and their lords, all gandharvas and their lords, all
asuras and their lords, all garuḍas and their lords, all kinnaras and their
lords, all mahoragas and their lords, as well as all suparṇis and their
lords. Each of these groups also brought with them many quadrillions of
servants. As they arrived at the Kalandakanivāpa in the Veṇuvana, where the Blessed
One was, no one could see the Blessed One anywhere. Not seeing him, they
joined their palms and paid homage to him.

At that time the powerful and eminent bodhisattva great
beings, hearers, gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras,
mahoragas, humans, nonhumans, monks, nuns, and male and female lay
practitioners were all assembled. No place was left unfilled in
this great trichiliocosm, from the peak of existence on down. Not even the space for the tip of a hair
was left unfilled.

Then the elder Śāradvatīputra, Mahāmaudgalyāyana, the elder
Kauṣṭhila, Mahākātyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, the venerable Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra,
and the elder Subhūti—all those great hearers—turned to the youthful
Mañjuśrī and asked, “Mañjuśrī, where is the Thus-Gone One right now? What
does his body look like? How is he present?”

The youthful Mañjuśrī replied to the great hearers, “Venerable ones,
you are great hearers, and you possess insight and miraculous abilities. You
are powerful and mighty, you have mastered the absorptions of the erudite,
and you have long observed pure conduct. Venerable ones, you should enter
your own absorptions and search for the Thus-Gone One’s body and his presence. You
should strive to discover where the Thus-Gone One’s body is, what his
body is like, and how he is present.”

Thereupon the hearers settled into their own absorptions and
investigated this entire trichiliocosm. They looked, but they still could
not see the Thus-Gone One’s body, nor could they see
his presence. Then, when the great hearers did not see the Thus-Gone One’s body
nor his presence upon completely investigating the trichiliocosm, they arose
from their respective absorptions and addressed the youthful Mañjuśrī as
follows: “Mañjuśrī, we fail to see the Thus-Gone One’s body or his
presence.”

Mañjuśrī replied to the great hearers, “Then all you venerable great
hearers must silently join your palms and one-pointedly hold the Thus-Gone
One in your mind for a moment. Do this, and you will see his body and
witness his presence.”

Just then, the Blessed One, who was aware and cognizant of this,
emerged from his absorption. As soon as the Blessed One emerged from his
absorption, the entire trichiliocosm shook in six ways, with eighteen signs:
it quivered, trembled, and quaked; it wobbled, rocked, and swayed; it
vibrated, shuddered, and reeled; it rattled, shook, and convulsed; it
clattered, rattled, and clanged; and it boomed, thundered, and roared. The
world became exceedingly brilliant, open, and vivid.

As an offering to the Blessed One, a rain of divine flowers fell to
the accompaniment of divine cymbals and song. At that point venerable
Śāradvatīputra arose from his seat, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and
knelt on his right knee. Joining his palms, he bowed toward the Blessed One
and asked, “Blessed One, in what kind of absorption
did you abide so that even the eye of insight of the great hearers was
unable to see the Thus-Gone One’s body? Blessed One, what is the Thus-Gone
One’s presence like?”

The Blessed One replied to venerable Śāradvatīputra,
“Śāradvatīputra, this absorption is not a stage of the hearers or solitary
buddhas. Śāradvatīputra, it is on the level of the thus-gone ones. This
magical display and miracle of the buddhas is inconceivable. Nevertheless,
Śāradvatīputra, listen well and keep this in mind. I will now teach you a
little bit about the body of the Thus-Gone One.”

“Very well, Blessed One!” Venerable Śāradvatīputra replied, and he
listened as the Blessed One had instructed.

Then the Blessed One explained to him, “Śāradvatīputra, the true
body of the Thus-Gone One transcends any view, like the sky. It is
incorporeal, uncreated, unborn, and unceasing. It is nonoccurring, truly
nonoccurring, and utterly nonoccurring. It is unobtained, unimputed,
nonengaging, unestablished, boundless, and limitless. It is peaceful,
placid, and absolutely serene. It is nonabiding, nonarising, ineffable,
beyond mind, and beyond origination. It is unmoving, utterly unmoving, and
free of movement. It is totally pure. It is nothing whatsoever and exists in
no way. It is beyond appropriation and acceptance. It is without motion,
without activity, and without support. It is unborn, unarisen, without
action, and without ripening. It is unseen, unheard, uncognized, detached,
not bound, and not released. It does not exist. It is not recalled, not
held, not experienced, and not seen. It is beyond
cognition, is not an object of cognition, and is characterized by absence of
cognition.

“It is without mind. It is unfathomable and unimaginable. It is not
mind. It is devoid of mind. It possesses the mind of sameness. Nothing is the
same as it, and it cannot be comprehended by any act of mind. It has not gone
anywhere, does not go anywhere, is without going, and has eliminated any
going. It is uninterrupted, immeasurable, uninterruptible, boundless,
unobservable, and marvelous. It has no substance and is no substance. It is
insubstantial. It is not a distinction and has no distinctions. It is
nonarising, truly nonarising, unshakable, nondiscursive, nonconceptual,
beginningless, unestablished, and wholly unestablished. It is not
accomplished, without pervasion, and motionless. It is not clear, not
tangible, and not a thing to be desired. It has no light and does not
appear. It is not apprehended and has no appearance. It is without darkness,
is not darkness, and is free of darkness. It is not lucidity. It is without
abode and free of abode. It is not at peace, by no means at peace, without
peace, and free from peace. It is the same as peace. It is pure, totally pure,
and wholly pure.

“It is nothing whatsoever, beyond appropriation, and without
perpetuation. It is without friendship, without strife, and free from
strife. It is present through its way of not being present. It is without ties, free from
ties, limpid, and unsullied. It does not die or take rebirth. It will not
die or take rebirth. It is without Dharma and without non-Dharma. It is
without a field, and also without anything other than a field. It is
inexhaustible, not something that can be exhausted, and free from
exhaustion. It is without dust, instantaneous, and unshakable. It is beyond
syllables, sounds, tones, explanations, trainings, and mind. It is without
logic and not illogical, and it is not separate from logic. It does not
possess anything and is without possession. It is also not destitute. It is
inexhaustible, not inexhaustible, immortal, and not
immortal.

“It is not something to be pacified. It is without marks, not
something without marks, not limited, not unlimited, and not something to be
measured. It has not gone and has not come. It is nondual and not nondual.
It is not perceived, not here, and not there. It is baseless, without abode,
nonemerging, indestructible, nontransferable, and nothing to be heard. It
does not conquer enemies. It accepts nothing and rejects nothing. It is
without characteristics, free of characteristics, not a characteristic
itself, and it has abandoned characteristics. It is without action and not
without action. It is without marks, not without marks, and adorned with
marks. It is gateless, unattached, and free from attachments. It inspires
faith. It is without connections and free from connections. It causes
delight and it causes bliss. It is freed from the six sense sources and
invisible.

“It is reality—thoroughly distinguished by suchness. It is suchness,
which liberates beings by not liberating. It liberates by not liberating
sentient beings. It purifies sentient beings by way of not purifying. It
protects sentient beings by way of not protecting. It teaches the Dharma to
sentient beings by way of nonduality. Nothing is the same as it, it is incomparable, without
likeness, and peerless. It is the same as that which is not present, the same
as space, and the same as that which does not remain. It is exceedingly even,
unborn, and the same as unborn. It does not apprehend and is the same as
nonapprehension. It is not at peace, is free from peace, and its peace has waned.
It is at peace, very much at peace, and thoroughly at peace. It is gentle,
supple, utterly stainless, utterly controlled, not permanent, and not
interrupted. It has withdrawn from activities. It is irreversibly brave. It
has vanquished fear. It is beyond return. It has
severed all grasping and cut through all ties.

“It is clear, without distinctions, nondual, free from duality, and
taught to be without any duality. Its essence being unproduced, its nature
is luminosity that is utterly beyond occurring. Without any liberation, it
is liberated from activity. It is without meeting, without separating, not
long, not short, not round, not square, not spherical, and not substantial.
It is not perceived as the aggregates, elements, or sense sources. It cannot
be established as something conditioned, nor does it emerge from the
unconditioned. It is nonwaxing, nonwaning, nonaccumulating, and unborn. No
one can see it, hear it, or be conscious of it. It is neither real nor
unreal. It is unborn. It does not die or transmigrate. It does not coexist
with the world, nor does it not coexist with the world.

“That body is unwavering, unmistaken, unexcited, motionless, and
undeviating. It is without cultivation and free from cultivation. It is
nonoccurring, not destroyed, not an essence, and not without essence. It is
without mind and indescribable. It is without connection and does not
connect, nor does it not connect. It has no attachment to desires, nor is it
without attachment to desires. It is nothing and it is not nothing. It is
without characteristics and is not without characteristics. It does not
transcend suffering and has not fully transcended suffering. It is not
present, but it is not without presence, either. Śāradvatīputra, can sentient beings
who fixate on characteristics and who have fallen into dualistic perception
possibly understand the way in which the body of the Thus-Gone One
abides?”

“No, Blessed One, they cannot at all,” replied Śāradvatīputra. “That
is impossible. And why? Because, Blessed One, the
Thus-Gone One’s body is free of any and all marks.”

“Śāradvatīputra, yes, that is correct. That is how it is,” the
Blessed One agreed. “The Thus-Gone One’s body is free from any and all
marks.”

The Blessed One then proceeded to teach extensively about the
absorption of the thus-gone one’s wisdom seal. In order
to be comprehensive and thorough, he spoke these verses:

“This body is not a body, and it is completely free from a body.

Nobody has created it, nobody destroys it, and no one obtains it.

It is absolutely bereft of properties, yet it is not bereft.

Such are the terms applied to the body of the well-gone ones.

“It is without meeting, parting, abode, or substance.

It is neither grasped, nor freed, nor even, nor is it long.

It has no beginning, no impediment, nor is it present anywhere at
all.

This is how the body of the well-gone ones is explained.

“It is not grasped, is not made, has no place, and is nothing at all.

It has no form and no mind, and it is neither two nor one.

It is unreal, not unreal, and not nonoccurring.

The body of the victorious ones is like this in its true state.

“It is without a core, not weak, and not interrupted.

It is not disrupted, nonoccurring, unoriginated, and without
destruction.

It is without obtainment, purified of dust, and not destroyed.

The body of the stainless ones should be understood like this.

“It is not seen, heard, held, or touched.

It is not perceived and not analyzed; rather, it is like a
hallucination.

When beings see it, they are delighted to apprehend it.

This is how the body of the buddhas is taught to be.

“It is not an aggregate, not an element, not false, and not true.

It is not pure, utterly not pure, and not encountered by the senses.

It is without concepts, utterly nonconceptual, and like the moon in
water.

This is how we should hold the body of the well-gone ones to be.

“Since this body comes from causes and conditions, it has no intrinsic
nature.

It is unborn, unceasing, not going, and unmoving.

Under analysis, the three worlds appear like an illusion.

The body of the victorious ones must be seen nonconceptually like
this.

“It has no peace, is not at peace, is free from peace, and unconnected.

It is without desire, without reason, and like an empty hand.

Moreover, it is naturally spacious.

Seeing it thus, one honors the Buddha day and night.

“You might fill billions of realms with jewels,

All the way up to the peak of existence,

And offer it to the buddhas until the end of time.

Yet that generosity cannot compare to copying this sūtra.

“You might cultivate loving kindness with equanimity toward all
beings

For as many eons as there are grains of sand in the Ganges.

Yet that discipline cannot match the patience of someone

Who feels confidence in the supreme absorption of the wisdom seal.

“You might have forbearance toward every being for as many eons

As have passed in the infinity of cyclic existence.

Yet if you develop a single moment of trust in this seal of the
victorious ones,

The former merit, compared to this, will seem like a mustard seed next to
Mount Meru.

“You might honor as many beings as there are in the three worlds,

By carrying them over your head for many eons,

Without ever feeling tired or bothered.

Still, such diligence cannot compare to this patience.

“You might practice concentration for more eons

Than there are dust motes in a hundred buddha realms.

Still, compared to applying yourself to this sūtra for a single day,

That merit is no match for this patience.

“You might persevere in the insight that abandons the two extremes

For as many countless eons as there are particles in the world.

Still, if anyone realizes this wisdom, just as I have taught,

The former merit, compared to this, will seem like a drop of water next
to the ocean.

“When it comes to the Victorious One, do not look for forms or
features.

Do not regard the Well-Gone One as would a child.

Whoever sees me as Subhūti sees me

Trains in every kind of generosity found anywhere in the
trichiliocosm.”

After the Blessed One had spoken these verses, he continued
to address the elder Śāradvatīputra: “Śāradvatīputra,
this absorption of the thus-gone one’s wisdom seal is
the perfection of the stainless wisdom vision of all bodhisattvas in the
worlds throughout the ten directions. Śāradvatīputra, whoever wants to see
the blessed buddhas should train in this absorption with an altruistic
intention. Such bodhisattvas, practicing with altruistic intention, are able
to see the Thus-Gone One within the course of just a single day.

“Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattvas who desire to see the
blessed buddhas in all the buddha realms of the ten directions should train
day and night in this absorption. When bodhisattvas apply themselves with
altruistic intention, they come to see the blessed buddhas in all the buddha
realms of the ten directions. Śāradvatīputra, this absorption of
the thus-gone one’s wisdom seal accomplishes the
dhāraṇī Dharma method that brings about infinite gateways for bodhisattvas.
It is the basis for all dhāraṇī gateways. From it the dhāraṇī gateways
emerge. This absorption will bring about for bodhisattvas their great being’s thirty-two marks
and complete their eighty excellent signs. Whoever trains in
this absorption of the bodhisattvas will purify all karmic obscurations,
overcome all kinds of demonic activity, and will neither honor nor
experience the Thus-Gone One as a regular being. Whoever trains in this
absorption of the bodhisattvas, no matter what they say it will not be mistaken.
All their physical actions, whatever they may be, will be faultless. All their
verbal actions, whatever they may be, will be free from being
the origin of suffering. All their mental activity, whatever it may be, will be free of affliction.

“Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattvas who wish to understand the hidden
teaching of the thus-gone ones should train in this absorption. Wanting to understand Dharma teachings, they should
train in this absorption. Wanting to teach Dharma discourses, they should
train in this absorption. Wanting to understand the way of truth, they
should train in this absorption. Wanting to actualize the limit of reality,
they should train in this absorption. Wanting to understand dependent
origination, they should train in this absorption. Wanting to know the
inclinations of sentient beings, they should train in this absorption.
Wanting to apprehend the excellent display of qualities in the buddha realms
at will, they should train in this absorption. Wanting to attain excellent
luminosity, they should train in this absorption. Wanting to perfect an
excellent retinue, they should train in this absorption. Wanting to perfect
an excellent lifespan, they should train in this absorption. Wanting to
perfect an excellent arrangement, they should train in this absorption.
Wanting to perfect the excellent teaching, they should train in this
absorption. Wanting to fulfill the wishes of bodhisattva great beings and
others, they should train in this absorption. They should train in this
absorption in order to investigate, trust, write, read, remember, retain,
and meditate.

“Why is this? Because within this absorption, none of that is
difficult. Śāradvatīputra, this absorption is like a precious
wish-fulfilling jewel that provides for all wants. It is a
wish-granting tree that fulfills all beings’ wishes. Śāradvatīputra, thus
this absorption completely fulfills all the intentions of bodhisattva great
beings.”

Then the Blessed One spoke these verses:

“This sūtra of the seal of infinite wisdom

Is a mass of wisdom, a distinguished and sublime wisdom,

A wisdom light, a wisdom treasury,

A wisdom source, and an entrance to the gateway to wisdom.

“It is powerful insight, the source of insight, the site of insight,

The lamp of insight, the light of insight that dispels darkness,

The inexhaustible insight, and the way of insight.

Like the sun, it accompanies the three worlds.

“It is sameness, abides in sameness,

Cuts through all grasping, and is the way of truth,

The gateway to all absorptions, and the seal of wisdom.

It is the vision of the buddhas’ discriminating awareness.

“It is an inexhaustible treasury that takes you to the other side.

It is miraculous insight, the source of insight, and a treasure.

It is the root of the happiness of having one’s wishes fulfilled.

This absorption seal is the well-gone ones’ wealth.

“It is the luxurious kingdom enjoyed by the king.

It is the source of excellent, supreme jewels.

It clears away the dust of passion and the stain of aggression.

This sūtra teaching is the root of precious things.

“It is peaceful, at peace, and sets your mind in peace.

It makes you beautiful and purifies the belief in a self.

When you discover this dhāraṇī seal of the buddhas,

You destroy Māra with this heroic weapon.

“Its wisdom knows all beings in existence.

This insight is the source of wisdom, a wisdom fortune.

It is the light of wisdom, an infinite transcendence.

This sūtra is the source of the gateway to wisdom.

“It cuts through the two knots of discipline and training.

It purifies the sixty-two conceptual views.

It is the conqueror’s gateway; it obtains ambrosia.

It is the source of the thirty-two marks.

“It is awakening; it agrees with full awakening.

It reveals extremist positions and the cause of awakening.

This awakening rouses you from sleep.

This way of awakening is infinite and inexhaustible.

“It is the way of Dharma, which cultivates reason.

It accomplishes infinite dhāraṇīs.

It engages in the Dharma of the ten powers.

This dhāraṇī is like the ocean.

“This is the accomplishment of the perfection of generosity.

This is the perfection of discipline and patience.

It is inexhaustible diligence, concentration, and insight.

To rest in it is the completion of all the perfections.

“Do not be afraid of karma and disturbing emotions.

Do not be afraid of the demon of wrong understanding.

For those who connect with this, there are no obstacles.

Just as you wish, you will manifest awakening.

“Those who have traveled throughout the ten directions

To receive this discourse are certain vessels for awakening.

The offspring dwelling during this fortunate eon

Are all witnesses to this.

“This is the mother of the buddhas of the past.

This sūtra is the mother of those not yet come.

And all the present buddhas are born from it.

Therefore, kinsmen of the conqueror, apply yourselves to this!

“Those who live according to this sūtra

Attain the Thus-Gone One’s wealth.

They purify karma and perfect their conduct.

They become nonregressing and go beyond the swamp.”

When the Blessed One delivered this Dharma teaching, many hundreds
of billions of bodhisattvas, as numerous as the grains of sand in thirty
Ganges rivers, attained this absorption. Six trillion eight hundred billion
bodhisattvas purified the karmic obscurations accumulated over a hundred
thousand eons and their progress toward unsurpassed and perfect
awakening became irreversible. All of them attained the dhāraṇī called accomplishing
the inexhaustible moment. Six quintillion gods and humans who
had previously failed to arouse the mind set upon unsurpassed and perfect
awakening now aroused this mind and rejoiced in this absorption. Due to the
roots of virtue resulting from rejoicing in this absorption, their progress
toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening became irreversible. Then the Blessed One
prophesied that after three million eons, all of them would become thus-gone
ones, worthy ones, perfect buddhas known as Fearless One.
Some among them would, after having made aspirations
for a long time, accomplish patience. For others among them, their
aspirations would quickly bring them to various buddha realms, there to
awaken fully to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. However, all of
them would share the name Fearless One.

The Blessed One now gazed out over this entire retinue and
addressed Mañjuśrī, saying, “Mañjuśrī, for these reasons you must remain without
apprehending anything, and by delighting in the absence of conceptual thinking you
must practice nonabiding. Not dwelling on any phenomenon,
you must maintain this accomplishment of unsurpassed and perfect awakening over
many countless quadrillions of eons. You must embrace it, hold it, and teach
it elaborately to others. You must delight in the absence of conceptual
thinking. You must practice nonabiding. You must not dwell upon anything and
be free from envy.”

Then Mañjuśrī rose from his seat, draped his shawl over one
shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. Joining his palms, he bowed toward
the Blessed One and said, “Blessed One, since there are no
phenomena to be grasped, I am happy to maintain and protect this unsurpassed and perfect
awakening. Blessed One, as for awakening, it is nothing at all. It comes
from nowhere. It is found nowhere. It does not come about through anything.
It is nothing whatsoever. It does not appear. It is ungraspable,
unattainable, and inexhaustible.”

Then the three billion bodhisattvas in the retinue rose from their
seats. They joined their palms and addressed the Blessed One:
“Blessed One, as for this accomplishment of the
unsurpassed and perfect awakening of the thus-gone ones that spans countless
quadrillions of eons, we are happy to maintain it, hold it, explain it, and
teach it elaborately to others.”

All those bodhisattvas then offered their own robes for the body
of the Blessed One, and they made aspirations.

The Blessed One then
said to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Maitreya, remember your
intention to uphold the Dharma in a future life, in the future, during the
final five hundred years! This will be your task!”

At this the bodhisattva great being Maitreya rose from his seat, draped
his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. Joining his palms,
he bowed toward the Blessed One and said, “Blessed One, I remember my
intention to uphold the sacred Dharma!”

The Blessed One said to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya,
“Maitreya, among the three billion bodhisattvas, eight thousand of them
uphold the holy Dharma and will continue to do so. As for the other
bodhisattvas, they are incorrigibly attached to grasping at objective
perceptions. They will not uphold the holy Dharma. In the future, during the
final five hundred years, they will abandon my unsurpassed and perfect
awakening, which I have accomplished over countless quadrillions of eons.
They will go against it. They will not teach it. They will not uphold it.
They will not uphold it at all.

“Why is this? Maitreya, bodhisattvas arouse the mind of awakening in
seven ways. What are these seven? Bodhisattvas
arouse the mind of awakening inspired by the blessed buddhas. Bodhisattvas
arouse the mind of awakening in order to protect the holy Dharma when that holy
Dharma is disappearing. Bodhisattvas arouse the mind of awakening when they feel
great compassion on seeing the realms of beings afflicted by so many
pains. Bodhisattvas arouse the mind of awakening inspired by other bodhisattvas.
Bodhisattvas arouse the mind of awakening themselves when they have respectfully given
beautiful gifts to bodhisattvas who have aroused the mind of awakening. Bodhisattvas
arouse the mind of awakening when they see others arouse the mind of awakening.
Bodhisattvas arouse the mind of awakening on hearing perfect praises sung about
the qualities of the various ornaments of the thus-gone ones’ body, such as the excellent marks and
signs. Maitreya, these are the seven ways in which bodhisattvas arouse the mind of awakening.

“Maitreya, as I have just mentioned, there are those bodhisattvas who
arouse the mind of awakening because of the blessed buddhas, and those
bodhisattvas who arouse the mind of awakening in order to preserve the holy
Dharma at a time when it is disappearing, and those bodhisattvas who arouse the
mind of awakening due to feelings of great compassion caused by witnessing
the realms of sentient beings afflicted with all kinds of suffering.
Maitreya, those bodhisattvas who arouse the mind of awakening in these three
ways are maintaining the blessed buddhas’ awakening. Their progress toward
unsurpassed and perfect awakening quickly becomes irreversible. The four other ways of
arousing the mind of awakening are for incorrigible bodhisattvas who do not
uphold the holy Dharma.

“Maitreya, there are five qualities that bodhisattvas must have for their progress to become
irreversible. What are the
five? They have the same attitude toward all sentient beings. They do not
envy the success and prestige of others. Even if their lives are threatened,
they will speak nothing but praise of monks who uphold the sacred
Dharma. They are not attached to worldly success sought through knowledge of
the Dharma, nor to acquisitions, prestige, or compliments. They are devoted to the
profound Dharma, and without interest in any kind of mundane activity keep
the profound Dharma with them in all situations. Maitreya, if bodhisattvas
possess these five qualities, know that their progress will be irreversible.

“Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess five other qualities,
know them to be incorrigible. What are the five? They
have little charisma and do not follow any advice. They are interested in
base things and give degraded teachings to others. They are attached to
worldly success sought through knowledge of the Dharma, acquistions, and
prestige, and behave enviously in the patron’s household. They are
fraudulent and deceitful. Their verbal professions do not lead toward
emptiness. Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess these five qualities, know them
to be incorrigible.

“Maitreya, if bodhisattvas possess the following five qualities,
know them to be irreversible in their progress. What are they? They
do not perceive a self, and they do not extol a self. They do not perceive
any sentient beings. They do not use concepts to teach about the realm
of reality. They do not perceive awakening. They do not regard the
Thus-Gone One’s body as having the characteristics of form. Maitreya, if
bodhisattvas possess these five qualities, know that they will not regress
from unsurpassed and perfect awakening.”

Then the Blessed One spoke the following verses:

“Those who are envious, who covet worldly success through knowledge,

Who harm, who are fraudulent and insulting, and

Those who are all talk and whose conduct is petty

Are not able to guard the awakening of the well-gone ones.

“Yet those who delight in solitude and live in desolate wildernesses,

Paying more than lip service and persevering in what is profound,

Are like the rhinoceros, shun the pleasure of worldly success through
knowledge,

And guard against awakening’s destruction.

“Far away from crowds, they are intent on absolute peace.

Like antelopes, they are skittish and wander homelessly.

Like the wind in the sky, they are not attached to property.

Such are those who uphold the teachings of the victorious ones.

“As they have no regard for their bodies, and make no efforts to
survive,

Surely they have also renounced worldly success.

Their efforts are not for themselves in any way.

In the future, they will be vessels of awakening.

“In the future, there will appear beings,

Who proclaim, ‘We are awakened.’

Their haughty and pretentious ways will be marred by afflictions.

Such people will be unable to uphold this teaching.

“Billions of eons before

The teacher Dīpaṃkara,

I remember that the buddha called Śaśiketu appeared.

He taught this absorption to beings.

“That victorious one’s first retinue

Consisted of eighty trillion irreversible beings.

The second, seven trillion.

The third, seven trillion three hundred billion.

“That victorious one’s lifespan lasted many millions of eons,

And his light shone over sixty-three leagues.

His saṅgha was ninety-nine million strong,

And all of them were powerful worthy ones.

“At that time there was a king,

A wheel-turning sovereign named Puṇyodgata.

His realm was as vast as Jambudvīpa,

Some twenty thousand leagues.

“It was as large as the four continents.

The king had six hundred million queens

And at least one thousand sons.

The name of his palace was Pleasing Light.

“His realm contained eight hundred million towns,

Each situated within lush and beautiful parks.

With bountiful harvests, this realm was delightful and enjoyable.

It was like the Vaijayanta Palace in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.

“In a dream, the king heard

That the buddha Śaśiketu had come.

With six hundred million servants and attendants,

He sought him out.

“The king prayed, ‘After hearing the teaching of this sūtra

On the profound absorption that is the body of the Victorious One,

May I experience emptiness, precisely as intended.’

Then he offered his entire kingdom to that buddha.

“In all the cities, he commissioned

Temples to the Thus-Gone One made of
sandalwood.

He offered them with joy and delight,

And covered the ground he tread upon with gold leaf.

“For a full eighty thousand years

The king did nothing but make offerings,

Never wearying or sleeping.

Without succumbing to
desire, he did not crave his kingdom.

“All the arrays of things he offered

To the Thus-Gone One each day,

In order that this absorption would be disclosed,

Cannot be described in words.

“Still, since it remained hidden, the king began to think,

‘Since this absorption is extremely profound,

It is impossible to accomplish this absorption, the wisdom seal,

While clinging to worldly goods.’

“Thus, he went forth as a monk and renounced his kingdom.

He dressed in hemp robes and collected alms.

For a full eighty thousand years,

He did not succumb to sleep and trained in absorption.

“During that time, he retained whatever

Teachings that buddha gave.

When the Well-Gone One passed into the space of nirvāṇa,

He built six hundred forty million stūpas.

“To each, he offered five hundred parasols

Adorned and beautified with the seven precious substances.

To each, a hundred cymbals were rung,

And a hundred thousand lamps were offered.

“For seven hundred thirty billion years

He lived his life with few possessions.

Having thus abided, free from worldly distractions,

He taught this absorption to his retinue.

“He did not desire even praise,

Let alone any success gained through knowledge.

Wishing to preserve the Dharma,

He renounced all invitations to meals for the monastics.

“He then pleased thus-gone ones

Numbering seven trillion eight hundred million.

He offered such arrays to them all,

And he obtained this absorption from each of them.

“Whoever wishes to preserve this awakening

Should meditate devotedly, without desire,

And with unwavering altruistic motivation,

Just like that king trained.

“Yet there are others who strive for wealth, without concern for the
Dharma;

Such undisciplined beings may claim to train in awakening.

In the future, people with such claims will appear.

They will delight in chattering and say that everything is empty.

“Yet they will not understand things to be empty in the way of emptiness itself.

Their lives will be full of desire, harshness, and afflictions.

Encouraging emptiness to be grasped through words,

They will say, ‘I am awakened—beyond the shadow of a doubt.’

“At that time, the supreme king’s lifespan will become infinite.

His thousand children of this fortunate eon

And the many in the retinue seated in front of him

Will all take vows and go forth.

“Recollecting the myriad victorious ones

Under whom I went forth,

All the words I have taught are only what they taught,

And remaining in that, I also cultivated emptiness.

“While adhering for infinite eons to such a method,

I made offerings to all the buddhas,

Yet I did not attain awakening thereby

Until, because I had remained in it,

“As soon as I saw Dīpaṃkara

I cast away uncertainties, beheld sameness,

And the Guide then gave me the prophecy:

‘You will become the buddha named Śākyasiṃha.’ ”

At that point King Bimbisāra’s true queen, Śrībhadrā, who was the mother of Ajātaśatru, and
Suvarṇottamaprabhāsā, who was the daughter of Kṣemavatī, also a true queen of King Bimbisāra, were seated as members of
that very assembly. Queen Śrībhadrā and Suvarṇottamaprabhāsā both rose from their seats and approached the Blessed One. They draped their shawls over their left shoulders and knelt on
their right knees. Joining their palms, they bowed toward the Blessed One.
With reverence and respect, they each offered to the Blessed One’s body a
gift of priceless woven fabrics. Then, setting forth five hundred bowls of
the flowers of the seven precious substances, they
made the following promise:

“Blessed One, in the future, during the final five hundred years,
we two shall be devoted to this precious absorption. We shall ensure that
others trust it, appreciate it, remember it, study it, understand it, and
teach it extensively to others, by serving and venerating those Dharma
teachers who uphold discourses such as this, with offerings of clothing,
food, bedding, healing medicines, and other necessities. We shall work to
mature sentient beings into unsurpassed and perfect awakening. We shall not
abandon emptiness. We shall not be occupied with words but practice
sincerely. Blessed One, never mind any outer material concerns, we shall do
so without regard even for our bodies and lives.”

Following the two queens’ example, the retinue of King Bimbisāra’s
queens, which consisted of a hundred thousand girls, rose from their seats
and joined their palms. Those who had embarked on the path to unsurpassed
and perfect awakening rejoiced in this absorption and said, “Blessed One, in
the future, during the final five hundred years, we too shall gladly
embrace the sacred Dharma.” The sixty thousand female lay practitioners
of Magadha who had also embarked for unsurpassed and perfect awakening
rejoiced in this absorption. Rejoicing, they said, “In the future, during
the final five hundred years, we too shall gladly embrace the sacred
Dharma.”

Then the Blessed One smiled. As is the nature of the blessed
buddhas, when he smiled, light radiated from the Blessed One’s mouth in
hundreds of thousands of distinct, manifold colors—blue, yellow, red, white, violet, crystalline, and silver. This light beamed
from his mouth and illuminated boundless, infinite world systems. It subdued
all demonic abodes and extended even up to the world of Brahmā. Its
brilliance outshone the light of the sun and the moon and pacified the
painful feelings of all beings born in hell, the animal realm, and the world
of the Lord of Death. Returning back, it swirled around the Blessed One
hundreds of thousands of times and disappeared back into the crown of his
head.

At this point Śrībhadrā and Suvarṇottamaprabhāsā, who was the
daughter of Kṣemavatī, rose from their seats, draped their
shawls over their left shoulders, and knelt on their right knees. Joining
their palms, they bowed toward the Blessed One. They praised him with
these melodious verses and asked him about the purpose behind his smile:

“Supreme being with so many qualities, unlike anyone in the three
existences,

Your hundreds of qualities radiate like the moon in the sky.

Your smile is so beautiful and your speech so sweet!

With your ten powers, please tell us why you smiled.

“Foremost being, please survey the world with your smiling face, which is
like the moon.

Your voice is so gentle—the beautiful and clear voice of Brahmā.

It soothes the mind and pleases the body, fully satisfying our minds.

O Teacher, best of men, please reveal the cause of your lion-like
smile.

“Your speech is untroubled, unsullied, and not lacking in any way.

It is exceedingly rich, even-toned, and beautifully sweet.

Differentiating between the trillions of differing attitudes among
people,

You who possess every kind of precious quality, please explain your
smile.

“Your speech possesses the eight factors and sixty branches;

Your voice contains seven hundred languages and six hundred million
syllables.

The Buddha’s voice has one hundred eighty billion applications.

Please declare the true and boundless causes behind your smile.

“Like the supreme mountain, others do not sway you.

You discern a hundred differing attitudes and totally dismantle
ambivalence.

You pacify the suffering of existence and grant beings happiness.

Please explain in detail about your lovely smile.

“Your body is like a jeweled offering pillar, delightful like a golden mountain.

Your face has the appearance of a hundred-petaled lotus in full
bloom.

You have the overwhelming power of a lion, the roar of the lord of
beasts.

Please reveal the meaning of your laughing smile.

“In the three worlds, you are unequaled and have none of the three
stains.

Acting beautifully, you thoroughly pacify and delight the hundreds of
existences.

Your smile illuminates all within the ten directions.

Tell us swiftly and in detail about the nectar that clears away
darkness.

“The lute, clay drum, one-string, three-string, conch, and flute;

kinnaras, nightingales, and cuckoos;

Swans, cranes, large drums, and tabors—

Even if resounding together, they would not equal a fraction of the
Buddha’s speech.

“In these vast assemblies, which have come here from the ten
directions,

Are a great number of intelligent beings, as well as some with poor
intelligence.

They have come from many places, having gained results and accomplished
their training.

Please explain how these beings will eliminate the vine of craving.

“This boundless and sacred assembly comes from millions of realms.

The best of men from the ten directions sent forth these beings who
desire the Dharma.

Surely, having heard of this accomplishment, they will be delighted.

So please bring down a rain of Dharma that explains the reasons for your
smile.”

In reply, the Blessed One spoke these verses to queen
Śrībhadrā and Suvarṇottamaprabhāsā:

“I remember, innumerable eons ago, as many as the grains of sand in the
Ganges,

There was a guide of the world called Puṇyaraśmi.

That teacher’s life spanned seven hundred million years.

That Dharma king’s saṅgha of hearers was infinite.

“Then appeared a wheel-turning king, Prajñāsārathi.

His two wives, Keturājñī and Arcī, were utterly free from attachment.

Desiring the Dharma, they went forth

And kept their precepts for millions of years.

“During those days, they maintained the precepts

Of six hundred three million guides.

In the future, when the precepts of the world protectors—as many as there
are grains of sand

In thirty Ganges rivers—weaken, they will preserve them together.

“Throughout those lives, you two were together as those beings,

And eventually, you became the wives of the king Prajñāsārathi.

Through having preserved the Dharma, in the future you will cast off your
female forms

And behold the thus-gone one Amitābha in Sukhāvatī.

“Moreover, during the end times, all other followers

Will set out with the intent to safeguard awakening.

They will become the victors’ sons, adorned with the thirty signs,

Seated upon blooming lotus flowers in Sukhāvatī.

“In that realm they will devotedly pay homage to the teacher,

And in the eon without enemies called Vyūharāja,

All of them will attain the highest awakening of buddhahood.

They will remain, so that all gods and humans can practice the
Dharma.

“In that buddha realm there will be no demonic activity,

And at that time, hearers will be unheard of.

All actions will be flawless; there will be no lower realms, and no one
will enter the womb.

Infinite numbers of bodhisattvas will always congregate there.

“Those who give up their lives to guard the awakening of the victorious
ones,

Who desire no profit and have no regard for their own lives,

Will soon abide in the highest awakening of buddhahood.

Just as they desire, they will travel to the buddha realms.

“In this way, during the time of great quarrels, you must get along,

Delight in the buddhas, and, respectfully and without envy, preserve my
awakening!

In that future time of divisions,

Do not follow those who long for wealth.

“As I pursued the meaningful qualities of buddhahood for millions of
eons,

I relinquished my wives, sons, daughters, kingdoms, heads, and eyes.

Those senseless ones will destroy my Dharma with a lust for wealth.

For the sake of profit and gain, they will be hostile to one another.

“During the end times, you will guard awakening with your sincere
intention.

To that end you will act, impelled by the tears of eight hundred million
beings.

The trichiliocosm will stir, and the gods will rain down flowers.

Whoever delights in this sūtra will discover a treasure.

“All the guides in the ten directions will be delighted.

The gods will praise them in wonderful garlands of song.

In the future, whoever hears and trains in this sūtra of the wisdom
seal

Will receive the offerings of the gods and the protection of the
yakṣas.

“One may fill with gold as many buddha realms as there are grains of sand
in the Ganges,

And offer it all to the guides for as many eons as there are grains of
sand in the Ganges.

Yet this would not approach the accumulation of merit

Of those who accept this discourse of the wisdom seal, and apply it.

“Awakening should not be forced upon those who do not want it.

Instead, let them arouse the mind of awakening by hearing of the Buddha’s
splendor.

When this teaching is applied just as it is explained in the
discourse,

They will soon become protectors of the world.

“Those who want to reach the vast and sacred awakening of buddhahood

Should stay in hermitages and devotedly take the vows of individual
liberation.

Because of the three vows, they will see all beings like a mother sees
her son.

They joyfully honor them and see them as teachers.

“Those who record this absorption of the wisdom seal,

Who hold it, show it, read it, and teach it to others,

Will accrue limitless and unfathomable merit.

Such children of the victorious ones will travel to the world of
Sukhāvatī.”

The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya,
“Maitreya, in future times, they will suffer, suffer immensely. They will be
false, totally false. They will have little patience or interest, and they
will destroy their roots of virtue. Maitreya, even if I were to explain to
you how bodhisattvas will be destroyed in the future, Maitreya, you could
not comprehend it.”

The bodhisattva great being Maitreya beseeched the Blessed One,
“Please consider us all compassionately! Blessed One, please teach us!
Well-Gone One, please teach us! Blessed One, those bodhisattvas who endeavor
to learn, once they hear your teaching, will train in suchness. Once they
train in suchness, they will gain accomplishment in suchness. From then on,
their progress toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening will be irreversible. This will be
their accomplishment.”

The Blessed One responded to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya,
“Maitreya, beings who previously aroused the mind of awakening and
engendered roots of virtue in the presence of a hundred buddhas will, in
future times, allow the mind of awakening to deteriorate. They will no
longer have any interest in the extremely vast, but renounce it.

“Maitreya, even beings who have previously aroused the mind of
awakening and produced roots of virtue in the presence of a thousand buddhas
will, in future times, no longer have any interest in the extremely vast,
but renounce it, even though they aroused the mind of awakening. They will
not commit it to writing, receive it, hold it, teach
it, or trust it.

“Maitreya, beings who have previously aroused the mind of awakening
and produced roots of virtue in the presence of a hundred thousand buddhas
will, in future times, arouse the mind of awakening, feel interest in the
extremely vast, and not renounce it. However, they will not proclaim it, and
they will not understand its meaning.

“Maitreya, beings who have previously aroused the mind of awakening
and produced roots of virtue in the presence of ten million buddhas will, in
future times, arouse the mind of awakening, hear about the extremely vast,
commit it to writing, retain it, stay interested, proclaim it, and
understand its meaning. However, they will not gain acceptance of awakening,
will not attain this absorption, and will not gain eloquence.

“Maitreya, beings who have previously aroused the mind of awakening
and produced roots of virtue in the presence of a hundred million buddhas
will, in future times, arouse the mind of awakening, hear about the
extremely vast, feel interested in it, commit it to writing, retain it,
proclaim it, and gain acceptance of it. Yet, they will not attain this
absorption and will not gain eloquence.

“Maitreya, beings who have previously aroused the mind of awakening
and produced roots of virtue in the presence of three hundred million
buddhas will, in future times, arouse the mind of awakening, hear about the
extremely vast, feel interested in it, not renounce it, trust it, recite it,
commit it to writing, read it, and chant it. They will master it, retain it,
retain it thoroughly, realize its meaning, and teach it extensively to
others. They will train in it, gaining acceptance of awakening. However,
they will not attain this absorption of the thus-gone one’s wisdom
seal,
and they will not gain eloquence.

“Maitreya, beings who have previously aroused the mind of awakening
and produced roots of virtue in the presence of eight hundred million
buddhas and heard from these buddhas about this absorption that is
the wisdom seal of the thus-gone ones, and who
grasp it and understand it will, in future times, arouse the mind of
awakening, hear about the extremely vast, feel interested in it, trust it,
and not renounce it. They will recite it, trust it, chant it, commit it to
writing, read it, and master it. They will retain it, retain it thoroughly,
realize its meaning, and teach it extensively to others. They will train in
it, gaining acceptance of awakening. Furthermore, they will also attain this
absorption that is the wisdom seal of the thus-gone
ones. They will reveal the awakening of the buddhas by means
of the indivisibility and nonapprehension of all phenomena. They will not be
swept away by demonic activity. They will not be swept away by the
obscurations of phenomena. Whatever negative karma they have accumulated
over countless prior lifetimes, in future times, it will all be purified
merely by a headache. It will all be purified merely by a moment of worry.
It will all be purified merely by criticism. It will all be purified merely
by scorn. It will all be purified merely by disparagement. It will all be
purified merely by belittlement. It will all be purified merely by their
having few possessions. In just one life, everything will be purified.

“Maitreya, in future times, those bodhisattvas who are not
discouraged from the mind of awakening, who teach the resolve, and who have
resolutely set out for awakening will have thereby venerated countless
buddhas. Maitreya, the negativity accumulated by those
bodhisattvas that otherwise leads to the lower realms will, in future times,
be purified by ugliness of appearance. It will be purified by lack of
refinement. It will be purified by sickness. It will be purified by lack of
charisma. It will be purified by birth into a lowly family. It will be
purified by birth into an obscure family. It will be purified by birth into
a disrespected family. It will be purified by birth into a poor family. It
will be purified by being born into a family on the borderlands. It will be
purified by birth into a wretched family. It will be purified by birth into
a ruined family. It will be purified by birth into a family with wrong view.
It will be purified by birth into a family of slaves or barbarians. It will
be purified by encounters with unfortunate beings. It will be purified by
meetings with ignoble beings. It will be purified by their minds being
beset by many sorrows.

“Their karmic obscurations will be purified by experiences of
troubles in the kingdom, regions, provinces, towns, cities, villages,
countryside, royal palace, and their homes. Their karmic obscurations will
be purified by experiences of separation from loved ones, famine, not
encountering a teacher, and not being able to continuously listen to the
Dharma, as well as by long periods without clothing, food, bedding,
medicine, or possessions. They will also be purified by receiving only
things of poor quality, or too few things. They will also be purified by
admiration of the mediocre, and through lack of interest in those who are
excellent. Their karmic obscurations will also be purified by obstacles to
persevering in the roots of virtue, meager comprehension, straying
concentration, the inability to settle the mind, not achieving the factors
of awakening, and failing to comprehend the true meaning of the Dharma.
Their obscurations will even be purified by witnessing negative actions in
dreams.

“If karmic obscurations afflict them, they will be overcome by the
evil Māra. If the evil Māra overcomes them, they will
not understand Māra’s faults. Because they do not fully understand Māra’s
faults, those who have possessions will despise those who are without. Those
who are handsome will despise those who are not handsome. Those who are
lovely will despise those who are not lovely. Those who are delightful to
behold will despise those who are not so. The learned will despise the
ignorant. Those who are eloquent will despise those who are not so. Those
who like giving will despise the stingy. The disciplined will despise those
with no restraint. Those with a mere modicum of patience will despise those
who are malicious. The diligent will despise the lazy. Those with
concentration will despise those who are distracted. Those with insight will
despise those with erroneous insight. The skillful will despise the
unskillful. No matter what beautiful quality they obtain, they will distort
it to despise others. Maitreya, when even those who have previously created
roots of virtue in the presence of a hundred buddhas—and who now agree,
stand together, and are united—become divided in future times, then how
could it not be so for other irresolute beings with wild minds who have not
produced any such roots of virtue? Maitreya, in that way, the world will one
day become a terrifying place.

“Thus, Maitreya, a bodhisattva such as you must don great and solid
armor. You must practice selflessly with the power of patience. You must
master the wisdom that engages in the profound Dharma. You must have a view
free of any objective reference. Your mind must be firm, as
must your diligence. Your resolve and endeavor must be firm. In future
times, you must take up the sacred Dharma. You must uphold the sacred
Dharma. You must guard the sacred Dharma. You must delight in making the
sacred Dharma endure for a long time. You must engender diligence, remain
diligent, and keep others in mind.”

When Prāmodyarāja, Mañjuśrī, and the rest of the sixty incomparable
beings, as well as Maitreya, Siṃhapradyota, and all the other bodhisattva
great beings of the fortunate eon, had listened to the teaching on upholding
the sacred Dharma delivered by the Blessed One, they were delighted by the
prospect of upholding the sacred Dharma, so they promised the Blessed One,
“Blessed One, all of us agree to renounce all deceit and artifice. We
renounce all pride, conceit, and arrogance. We eliminate all likes,
dislikes, and cravings. We are
dedicated to the profound state beyond any objective reference, and we will maintain
this awakening of the buddhas—the thus-gone ones—accomplished over the
course of countless quintillions of eons. We will protect it. We will teach
it extensively to others. Paying no heed to our bodies or lives, we will
preserve this awakening of the buddhas.”

Then, in order to instruct them, the Blessed One spoke these verses
to Prāmodyarāja, Mañjuśrī, and the other sixty incomparable beings, and to
Maitreya, Siṃhapradyota, and all the other bodhisattva great beings of the
fortunate eon:

“Be without deceit, artifice, ego, or rigidity.

Remain mindful, intelligent, and without a home.

Accept the profound and rest without distraction,

And guard the wealth of the ten powers!

“Be honest, artless, without desire, and free from ego;

Delight in absence of grasping, and be totally free from clinging.

Keep to sameness like a path in the open sky.

Practicing like this, you will accomplish this absorption.

“Make your constant aspiration for awakening firm,

And meditate on the profound, as the victorious ones did.

If you disregard all loved ones and acquaintances,

That is the way you attain this precious absorption.

“By equalizing the mind that always likes or dislikes,

By perceiving supreme beings as teachers,

And by delighting in what is delightful,

You will quickly realize this absorption.

“Here are presented a billion paths to the seal of eloquence:

A treasure trove of inexhaustible light.

This is the way to enter wisdom,

As sunlight clears away darkness.

“You must uphold this sūtra,

For it is like the sun, the moon, the stars,

The earth, the snowy mountains,

The lords of the four continents, Śakra, Brahmā, and a healer.

“It purifies the mind and exhausts karma.

It is nectar and it tames the demons.

It is a magical eye that sees the minds of others.

It is a roar that causes realization in all beings.

“It makes you remember billions of eons.

It entirely exhausts all entrapments.

This seal of the buddhas is praised by the well-gone ones.

Awakening is in the hand of the one who holds it.

“One realizes emptiness

According to how one abides in this empty nature.

By abandoning the conceptual thinking

Of both thoughts and concepts, you uphold the Dharma.

“After I pass into nirvāṇa, some people will say

That this teaching should be seen as a dream.

The Dharma that is unarisen and uncreated

Is conceptualized by some according to their own understanding.

“Emptiness is unborn and not created by anyone.

It is not seen, does not come, and does not change place.

So when those who dwell on objective references say ‘We know how to train well in emptiness,’

It is a statement made by thieves of the Dharma.

“It may be said, of those for whom receiving this teaching

Causes tears to well up and all their pores to tingle,

That their progress toward awakening is irreversible,

But they will later be spoken of with multiple insults.

“For the sake of well-being, those from humble households will go forth

After their family wealth has run out,

And find every kind of happiness in this teaching,

And yet they will become hostile toward my offspring.

“Some who long for awakening will go forth in this teaching.

They will speak of awakening, yet not abide in it.

For those not secured in awakening,

It is as distant as the far shore of an ocean.

“They will say, ‘Because we rely on households with wealth and friends,

We genuinely go forth.

We are pure in terms of our conduct and hermitage,

And with respect to our preceptor and friends.’

“Whoever goes forth in my teaching

Stays in worldly life like a lotus stays in water.

Those who persevere in this sūtra in this way

Will preserve my awakening.

“Prāmodyarāja, now that I have taught you this,

Do not train like those with low intelligence!

Attain the qualities of buddhahood in earnest!

Apply yourself to it without concepts!

“Imagine that every person in billions of buddha realms

Were to sow as many seeds

As there are grains of sand in the Ganges,

And that each seed were to grow fruits.

“Imagine next that by skillful means,

All the grains were multiplied by a thousand,

Thus filling up all the infinite realms,

And that the ensuing set were counted as one.

“Imagine then that each such collection

Were multiplied by the previous number of sand grains,

And that all the ten directions

Were filled with that many victorious ones.

“Imagine further that each of those buddhas had that many heads,

And each head had that many tongues,

And each tongue called out praises of this sūtra

For as many eons as there are grains of sand in the Ganges.

“Such descriptions of this sūtra’s qualities

Would be like a mustard seed compare to Mount Meru,

Like a blade of grass compared to the sky, or like a single drop from the
ocean.

Thus, it must be approached in a way that transcends concepts.”

Then Prāmodyarāja, Mañjuśrī, and the other sixty incomparable
beings, as well as Maitreya, Siṃhapradyota, and all the other bodhisattva
great beings of the fortunate eon, asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when
we say Dharma, to what does that term refer?”

The Blessed One replied to Prāmodyarāja, Mañjuśrī, and the other
sixty incomparable beings, and to Maitreya, Siṃhapradyota, and all the other
bodhisattva great beings of the fortunate eon, “Noble sons,
Dharma refers to that which is unchanging and
nonconceptual.”

“Blessed One, to what do the terms unchanging
and nonconceptual refer?”

“Blessed One, to what does nonreferential
refer?”

“Noble sons, nonreferential refers to
inexhaustible.”

“Blessed One, to what does inexhaustible
refer?”

“Noble sons, inexhaustible refers to
unborn.”

“Blessed One, to what does unborn refer?”

“Noble sons, unborn refers to
uninterrupted.”

“Blessed One, to what does uninterrupted
refer?”

“Noble sons, uninterrupted refers to
uncollected.”

“Blessed One, to what does uncollected
refer?”

“Noble sons, uncollected refers to
ungraspable.”

“Blessed One, to what does ungraspable
refer?”

“Noble sons, ungraspable refers to
nonabiding.”

“Blessed One, to what does nonabiding
refer?”

“Noble sons, nonabiding refers to
unchanging.”

“Blessed One, to what does unchanging
refer?”

“Noble sons, unchanging refers to
uncompounded.”

“Blessed One, to what does uncompounded
refer?”

“Noble sons, uncompounded refers to
unquantifiable.”

“Blessed One, to what does unquantifiable
refer?”

“Noble sons, unquantifiable refers to
free from thought.”

“Blessed One, to what does free from thought
refer?”

“Noble sons, free from thought refers to
unknowable.”

“Blessed One, to what does unknowable
refer?”

“Noble sons, unknowable refers to
unassembled.”

“Blessed One, to what does unassembled
refer?”

“Noble sons, unassembled refers to
without separation.”

“Blessed One, to what does without separation
refer?”

“Noble sons, without separation refers to
sameness.”

“Blessed One, to what does sameness refer?”

“Noble sons, sameness refers to
without difference.”

“Blessed One, to what does without difference
refer?”

“Noble sons, without difference refers to
nonabiding.”

“Blessed One, to what does nonabiding
refer?”

“Noble sons, nonabiding refers to
immaterial.”

“Blessed One, to what does immaterial
refer?”

“Noble sons, immaterial refers to
essenceless.”

“Blessed One, to what does essenceless
refer?”

“Noble sons, essenceless refers to
groundless.”

“Blessed One, to what does groundless
refer?”

“Noble sons, groundless refers to
nirvāṇa.”

Then Prāmodyarāja, Mañjuśrī, and the other sixty incomparable
beings, as well as Maitreya, Siṃhapradyota, and all the other bodhisattva
great beings of the fortunate eon, inquired of the Blessed One, “Blessed
One, if the Dharma has such characteristics, how can it be that the Dharma
ever vanishes? What is it that we should protect?”

The Blessed One replied to Prāmodyarāja, Mañjuśrī, and the other
sixty incomparable beings, and to Maitreya, Siṃhapradyota, and all the other
bodhisattva great beings of the fortunate eon, “Noble
sons, what childish ordinary beings perceive to be the Dharma and understand
to be the Dharma are conceptual elaborations of the Dharma. Because they
conceptually impute and elaborate on the Dharma, they teach it
dualistically. Those who teach it dualistically are in conflict with the
Dharma. However, noble sons, ultimately we find nothing at all—no Dharma and
no conflict with the Dharma.”

When the Blessed One had explained the meaning to them, he spoke
these verses:

“Some say that what is created is compounded,

While others say that it is uncompounded.

However, as both apprehend phenomena, both are concepts.

Such conceptual elaborations are called impure.

“Phenomena are not created by anyone, nor does anything destroy them.

No one sees them, knows them, or is close to them.

Such untenable domains of imputed thought—

All are designated empty.

“The thought that something is empty is untenable,

Because the unarisen is imputed through such concepts.

All concepts are demonic nooses,

And immutability is called the seal of Dharma.

“When they imagine nonexistent things,

The childish are bound by those movements of thought.

All concepts are like echoes,

Yet the childish conceptualize about them dualistically.

“The wise never discover knowledge,

And from the wise no knowledge arises.

It is taught in dependence on the relative;

Yet here, no knowledge or knower is observed.

“If phenomena had essences,

Then, because they perish, their cessation would be nirvāṇa.

If phenomena did abide,

Then nirvāṇa would be completely permanent.

“Childish beings engage in abandonment and attainment.

Childish beings create nirvāṇa, though it has no characteristics.

Those who perceive a self attain the compounded,

While the wise are free from notions of existence and absence.

“Knowing and not knowing are not different.

They are mere conventions and have no core.

Those who engage with constructs and marks

Declare nirvāṇa to be a destruction of entities.

“The mind does not know the essence of mind.

Neither does the essence know the mind.

All phenomena are essentially dreams.

This is what some call the two truths.

“Birth is not real,

Nor does cessation have any reality.

None of the buddhas are subject to birth.

They become real through skillful means.

“The buddhas have not attained any wisdom,

And the Dharma that has been taught—they did not teach at all.

Nobody liberates any beings whatsoever.

In this way the buddhas are unborn buddhas.

“If they had an essence that passed beyond suffering,

The victorious ones would go there together with the hearers.

But solid phenomena do not pass beyond suffering,

And the nonconceptual will never be known.

“Those who do not see beings for what they actually are

Teach beings according to the relative world;

But those who see beings as they actually are

Rest in groundless nirvāṇa.

“Some say that the aggregates are true.

Some say that existence, cessation, and the path are true.

Although the unborn is a single truth,

Some speak of four truths.

“At the seat of awakening I did not accomplish or see

Even a single truth, so how could there be four?

Thus, many of low intelligence go forth

And destroy my teaching.

“Spiritual practitioners who want to pursue positive qualities

In order to practice this absorption

Should not associate with such wild beings;

Instead, like the rhinoceros, they should stay in solitude.

“This was intended to be practiced

By eight hundred million excellent humans.

The many gods who behold this truth

Guard it day and night.

“Whoever meditates on this absorption, so hard to see,

In that person’s dream the Buddha will appear—

Clear, limitless, and inexhaustible—

And grant them entrance into the gateway of attainment.”

Then the Blessed One said to youthful Mañjuśrī, “Mañjuśrī,
bodhisattva great beings who wish to realize the buddhas’ awakening should
strive in this absorption. Bodhisattvas who wish to
accomplish the excellent marks and signs should strive in this absorption.
Bodhisattvas who wish to attain the eighteen unique qualities of a buddha
should strive in this absorption. Bodhisattvas who wish to attain the
powers, the fearlessnesses, great love, and great compassion should strive
in this absorption. Bodhisattvas who wish to attain the buddha eye, the
self-arisen state, the excellent buddha realm, the excellent lifespan, and
the excellent array should strive in this absorption. Bodhisattvas who wish
to attain the excellent retinue, the excellent form, the excellent
bodhisattva name, as well as the excellent hearers should strive in this
absorption. Bodhisattvas who wish to attain illumination, wisdom, dhāraṇī,
the conventions of beings’ languages, reason, methods, and gateways should
strive in this absorption. Bodhisattvas who wish to attain skill in entering
the path, the perfection of light, the generation of the power of correct
understanding, and the generation of the power of conviction should strive
in this absorption. Bodhisattvas who wish to attain excellent eloquence,
unmistaken view, and the realization of sameness should strive in this
absorption.

“Why is that? Because when bodhisattvas strive in this absorption,
they attain all these advantageous qualities. And when bodhisattvas have
these advantageous qualities, they are called buddhas. They are called
guides, leaders, great leaders, teachers, omniscient ones, victorious ones,
protectors of the world, self-arisen ones, thus-gone ones, those who
practice what they preach, peerless ones, unequaled
ones, and incomparable ones. They are called those who speak supremely,
those who speak correctly, those who speak the truth, those who speak at the
right time, and those who propound the vinaya. They are called unsurpassed,
and they are called the most excellent persons. Why is this? Mañjuśrī, as I
rested in this absorption and beheld the thus-gone one Dīpaṃkara, I
immediately attained awakening.”

Mañjuśrī then asked, “If you discovered awakening upon seeing the
blessed thus-gone one Dīpaṃkara, then, Blessed One, why did you continue to
circle in saṃsāra for countless eons?”

“Mañjuśrī,” replied the Blessed One, “I was circling in saṃsāra for
countless eons in order to perform buddha activities, ripen beings, and
accomplish excellent former aspirations. However, Mañjuśrī, all the while I
sustained awakening and nirvāṇa.”

Then, in order to explain this meaning more extensively, the
Blessed One spoke these verses:

“With this, you become a leader with boundless and supreme
intelligence,

Esteemed by billions of buddhas in the ten directions.

It discloses the methods of a hundred sūtras, beyond imagination and
limit.

Applying this sūtra, you will accomplish inexhaustible dhāraṇī.

“This wisdom absorption is surely the gateway to all languages.

It brings realization, liberation, nonattachment, and an end to all
clinging.

It is beyond birth, interruption, or basis; it is nirvāṇa, free of
afflictions.

It brings power, noble marks and signs, and all the victors’
qualities.

“It purifies all melodious speech and any form of language.

It brings realization, satisfaction, purification, and freedom from clinging.

It knows very well, is beyond any doubt, and exhausts all
afflictions.

To practice this discourse is to stand before awakening.

“Apply yourself to this—one-pointedly, directly, and properly.

Do not sleep or be lazy; do not obsess over profit or happiness.

Always be disciplined and free from jealousy, and have a loving mind.

In a state of delight, full of devotion, you will attain this supreme
absorption.

“Keep an unbiased, disciplined, honest, and joyous mind.

Have no dwelling or relations; concerning profit and pleasure, be like a
lotus in a pond.

Whatever you do, be egoless and dedicated, without craving or deceit.

Then, in the future you will attain this king of supreme dhāraṇīs.

“The trichiliocosm will tremble, and the cymbals of a hundred gods will
sound.

From the sky will appear hundreds of ointments, clothing, powders, and
victory banners.

Lovely garlands, chokers, earrings, capes, conch shells, anklets,
necklaces,

Jewels, pearls, armbands, crowns, and rings will be scattered all
around.

“Hosts of gods, goddesses, nāgas, gandharvas, and garuḍas;

Several hundred garuḍa lords, asura lords, male lay practitioners, and
monks;

Along with many nuns and female lay practitioners, will all be
delighted.

Offering their own clothing and jewelry, they will arouse the mind of
awakening.

“When this Dharma is taught, many beings will embark for awakening.

It is impossible to show or calculate how many will become
nonregressing.

Those who become tamed as worthy ones will be as infinite as the grains
of sand in the Ganges.

To behold the Guide, they will joyfully assemble from hundreds of
realms.”

When the Blessed One gave this Dharma teaching, countless beings
set out for unsurpassed and perfect awakening. The progress toward unsurpassed
and perfect awakening of eight trillion bodhisattvas
became irreversible. Six hundred
million three hundred thousand bodhisattvas attained this absorption that is
the wisdom seal of the thus-gone ones. Innumerable
monks, nuns, male and female lay practitioners, and countless other beings
attained the state of a worthy one. All bodhisattvas
in all the worlds in the ten directions attained this absorption that is
the wisdom seal of the thus-gone ones.

When the Blessed One had given this teaching, the great hearers;
Prāmodyarāja, Mañjuśrī, and the other sixty incomparable beings; as well as
Maitreya, Siṃhapradyota, and all the other bodhisattva great beings of the
fortunate eon up until Avabhāsakara, as well as all the bodhisattva great
beings who had gathered from the worlds in the ten directions, the royal
queen Śrībhadrā and Suvarṇottamaprabhāsā, the entire retinue, and the whole
world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised
what the Blessed One had said.

This completes the noble Great Vehicle sūtra “The Absorption of the Thus-Gone One’s Wisdom
Seal.”

Colophon

Translated, edited, and finalized, with revisions made
according to the new terminology, by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra,
Munivarman, and Dānaśīla, along with the chief editor and translator
Bandé Yeshé Dé.

Notes

Bibliography

Yeshé Dé

ye shes sde
ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།

Pleasing Light

dga’ ba’i ’od
དགའ་བའི་འོད།