Kinh Đại Thừa "Biển Pháp"

Summary

At Mount Potalaka, on an island in the ocean, the bodhisattva Lord of the
World asks the Buddha what it means to successfully take full ordination as a
monk. The Buddha answers that it is only by transcending various forms of
dualism that one truly takes full ordination. When the bodhisattva Maitreya asks
for clarification of what the Buddha has said, the Lord of the World offers a
discourse on the ultimate truth. This discourse wins the Buddha’s approval, and
the Buddha in turn further elaborates on the ultimate nature of phenomena.

Acknowledgements

Translated, edited, and finalized by the Subhashita Translation Group.
The translation was produced by Lowell Cook who also wrote the introduction.
Benjamin Ewing checked the translation against the Tibetan and edited the text.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. George FitzHerbert and John Canti
edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the
text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.

Introduction

The Ocean of Dharma is one of the few
sūtras to take place on Mount Potalaka, the abode of Avalokiteśvara who is
featured in this sūtra under his epithet of Lord of the World. This mythical
mountain is said to be found on an island to the south of the Indian
subcontinent. It is also identified by some as being in the Pothigai Hills
in Tamil Nadu.See Buswell 2014, p. 652. Nevertheless, it appears that this sūtra takes its title from
this island’s location in the ocean. Mount Potalaka is the setting for the
Avalokiteśvara chapter in The Stem Array
(Gaṇḍavyūha, ch. 45 of the Buddhāvataṃsaka, Toh 44),

. It is also the setting
of The Sūtra on the Samādhi in which the Buddhas of
the Present All Stand Before One (Pratyutpannabuddhasaṃmukhāvasthitasamādhisūtra, Toh
133). In both
these texts, the Tibetan for Mount Potalaka is ri gru ’dzin rather than the
transliterated form used in the present text. As far as we are aware
these are the only sūtras set in this location, although it also figures
in tantras and dhāraṇī texts related to Avalokiteśvara.

It is here, the sūtra tells us, that the Buddha grants the Lord of
the World the opportunity to query any teaching he likes, at which the
latter inquires as to the true meaning of ordination as a monk. The Buddha’s
answer emphasizes that true ordination is not an external transformation,
like shaving one’s head and donning saffron robes, but rather an internal
transformation. Specifically, what is required is not just severing
attachment to the life of a householder, but also acceptance of the teachings on emptiness. These are particularly associated
with the Perfection of Wisdom teachings regarding the transcendence of all
dualistic perception or apprehending of objects. It is only when a
monk has fully given rise to such nonattachment, extending even to the
objects of perception, that he becomes a worthy recipient of offerings.

The Buddha’s teaching is further elaborated when the bodhisattva
Maitreya inquires as to the Buddha’s intent. This prompts the Lord of the
World to give a further discourse that acts as a commentary on the Buddha’s
statements. He describes the profound nonduality of the ultimate truth which
is beyond reifying perception. The Buddha then gives his approval to the
Lord of the World’s teaching, but he specifies that these profound teachings are not suitable for anyone who has
broken their vows or is full of pride. Indeed, while seventeen thousand
monks gain immense benefits through these teachings, there are also five
hundred monks, described as “those prone to apprehending”, who stand up and
depart the scene.

Stating the benefits associated with a given discourse usually
signals its conclusion. Here, however, the sūtra continues with a further
section in which the Buddha elaborates on the appropriate audience for the
sūtra’s teachings before demonstrating to Maitreya the dream-like nature of
reality. The sūtra concludes with many bodhisattvas describing the benefits
that reciting the sūtra brings both to a physical location and to an
individual.

The Ocean of Dharma is thus among just
a few Mahāyāna discourses in the Kangyur whose theme is how being an
authentic monk is not a question of keeping outward rules but of realizing
the teachings on emptiness. Other sūtras that share this central
concern are The Buddha’s Collected Teachings
Repudiating Those Who Violate the Discipline (Toh 220)

Some uncertainty surrounds the history of this sūtra’s translation
into Tibetan. The colophon found in most Kangyurs states that it was
“translated from Chinese” and that it was “established according to the new
terminology.” This suggests that an early translation was revised in the
early ninth century CE to conform with the standardization of translation
terminology introduced by the decree of the Tibetan emperor at that
time. On the other hand,
the colophon in some Kangyurs states the opposite: that it was not
established according to the new terminology (see

). On the royal decree in the early
ninth century to standardize the terminology used in translations of
Buddhist texts, according to which many older translations from Chinese,
in particular, were re-edited, see R. A. Stein (trans. McKeown)
2010. However, no translators are named and no corresponding
Chinese (or Sanskrit) texts have been identified. Silk 2019, p. 239. There is,
however, a different sūtra in the Chinese canon bearing the identical title
The Ocean of Dharma (Taishō 34, Fai hai jing
法海經)
法海經 (Taishō
34, CBETA). with which this one is not to be confused.

A text with the title Noble Ocean of
Dharma is listed in the Denkarma catalog of translated texts
compiled in the early ninth century. Denkarma, folio 299.b: ’phags pa chos kyi rgya
mtsho. It is worth observing that, unlike this listing,
the title of the present sūtra has no ’phags pa prefix and does not include the
connective kyi. It is
also worth observing that the Denkarma listing is not found in the
section of the catalog for texts translated from Chinese. This
may refer to the present text, as suggested by Herrmann-Pfandt. Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p.
114. However, it is also possible that this entry refers to the
dhāraṇī text of the same name and same length that is listed in the other
extant imperial-era catalog, the Phangthangma, namely The Noble Dhāraṇī Ocean of Dharma, Phangthangma 2003, p. 25: ’phags pa chos kyi rgya mtsho’i
gzungs. This clearly refers to The
Noble Dhāraṇī “Ocean of Dharma” (’phags pa chos kyi rgya mtsho zhes bya ba’i gzungs, Āryadharmasāgaranāmadhāraṇī, Toh
654), a text with
no overlap with the current sūtra. The colophon to Toh 654 states that
it was translated by Surendrabodhi, Prajñāvarman, and Bandé Yeshé Dé,
clearly indicating an imperial-era translation. a text which is
found in the Tantra section of the Kangyur (Toh 654). If the two listings do
indeed refer to the same text, then our present text would not be found in
the imperial catalogs at all. However, when Butön listed a text called
The Ocean of Dharma in his History, it is clear that he was referring to the
present text (Toh 255). Butön,
chos ’byung (fol. 152.a): chos kyi rgya mtsho. It is
clear that Butön was referring to this text here as it is listed
alongside the texts that precede and follow it (Toh 254 and Toh 256) in
Tshalpa-line Kangyurs and its colophon states it is “translated from
Chinese.”

The language of the sūtra is in places unusual, and though most
versions of the colophon indicate that it may have been revised to conform
with the ninth-century royal language decrees, there remain indications that
it had been translated in a rather literal style from Chinese. In the title,
for instance, one would expect a connective particle kyi between chos and rgya mtsho, yet this is omitted,
perhaps in order to parallel the assumed Chinese title of *fai hai
法海. Similarly, individuals’ titles are given
after their names as per Chinese syntax, rather than preceding them as they
would according to Tibetan syntax. Thus, in literal translation, the text
reads “Maitreya bodhisattva” instead of “bodhisattva Maitreya.” The text is
also unusual for a sūtra in not starting with a translator's homage.

Two features of the sūtra might suggest a relationship with the
texts of the Buddhāvataṃsaka family—its
setting on Mount Potalaka, and the recurring vocative used by Lord of the
World in addressing Maitreya, rendered in this translation as “O heir of the
victorious ones” (kye rgyal ba’i
sras). Neither feature, however, is unique to that genre, and
furthermore the focus on what qualifies monks to receive offerings would
seem far from the Buddhāvataṃsaka’s
principal themes.

The sūtra does not appear to have been quoted widely in the Tibetan
tradition, nor has it been studied or translated into any Western language.
With no Sanskrit or Chinese parallel available, the present translation is
based on the edition preserved in the Degé Kangyur with reference to variant
readings preserved in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), the Stok Palace Kangyur, and the Shelkar
manuscript.

The Translation

The Mahāyāna Sūtra

The Ocean of Dharma

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at Mount
Potalaka, on an island in the ocean, surrounded and attended to by a large
gathering of heirs of the victorious ones, who had attained irreversibility.

The Blessed One addressed the bodhisattva great being Lord of the
World, “Wise one, you may ask about any Dharma teaching you like.”

Many Kangyurs appear
to have a missing passage here, as the Buddha’s invitation to Lord of
the World to question him runs without a break (S and Z), with the word
ces inserted but
no punctuation (C), or with punctuation (J, K, N), straight into the
second phrase of his answer starting ’dod pa la rtog cing… (“you will understand
desire”), thus omitting Lord of the World’s question entirely. Only D,
H, and U include the question and the beginning of the
answer.Lord of the World, who was liberated through unobscured love,
then asked the Blessed One, “Honorable one, how do youthful ones attain
victory over Māra?”

“The moment you engender the mind of awakening, you will examine
desire and will not rely on it. You will be free and without pride. You will
possess insight, be skilled in means, and be inspired by emptiness. You will
relinquish existence and nonexistence, and for countless lives, considering
it to be unreal, will remain in saṃsāra.” Translation tentative. D: yang dag pa ma yin pa la brtags
pas [var. pa] grangs med
par yang ’khor bar ’gyur. Another interpretation would
take pa (from S and Z)
instead of pas and
read this as brtags pa yid la
’khor or sems la
’khor, “think,” and hence translate “countless thoughts
examining the unreal will occur.”

“How does one go forth into the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya and
take full ordination correctly?”

“To go forth is to transcend the phenomena of different kinds of
beings; Tib. ’gro ba tha dad pa’i chos
rnams. This unusual turn of phrase, which is unique to
this text in the entire Kangyur, appears to refer to the experiences of
saṃsāra in general. to transcend the thoughts, mind, and mental
consciousnesses that depend on and engage in the bases of suffering; and to
hear the teachings on nonduality. A being of any different kind who goes
forth in this way has truly gone forth. When someone has gone forth, yet has
let their discipline, conduct, livelihood, view, and motivation deteriorate,
it is pointless for them to shave their heads and beards. They are bound by
disturbances and hence are led by such disturbances to the lower realms.

“I have granted permission for donations from the faithful to be
used by those who are coherent and liberated: Tib. rigs pas grol ba ste. Although on the face of
it this could be read as “liberated by reasoning,” in this context it is
likely a reference to the pair of qualities often found as the defining
criteria of proper members of the saṅgha, expressed most commonly in
later literature as “knowledge and freedom” (rig pa dang grol ba). Here, in place of
rig pa, we find
rigs pa, as is also
the case in some chapters of another sūtra on similar themes, The Buddha’s Collected Teachings Repudiating Those Who
Violate the Discipline (Toh 220); in both texts the sense of
rigs pa seems to be more
broadly “connectedness” or “coherence” rather than “reasoning” or
“logic.” On the alternative pairs of terms rigs pa dang grol ba, rigs pa dang grol ba, and ldan pa dang grol ba, see
The Buddha’s Collected Teachings Repudiating
Those Who Violate the Discipline (Toh 220),

. that is, monks who while
not discarding their perseverance do not discard form, sensation,
perception, formation, or consciousness, but examine the five aggregates
individually and together and view them as by nature impermanent, as
suffering, as empty, and as without self. Yet even these views they always
cultivate without apprehending them, and taking the elements and the sense
sources strictly as nonexistent manifestations. Translation tentative. D and S: khams dang / skye mched kyi lha rnams
ma yin pa spro ba dam par byed pas. C, J, K, Y, and N:
skye mched
rnams. What they repudiate as being insubstantial,
infected, painful, faulty, antagonizing, and of a deceptive nature, they do
that too without any apprehending in their approach, and in that way with
their bodies give up craving the body, loving the body, believing there is a
self in the body, and clinging to the body. Monks like this have gone forth
into the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya, and have faithfully taken full
ordination correctly and completely. Such monks are worthy recipients of
donations from the whole world along with its gods.”

The bodhisattva Maitreya then asked the bodhisattva Lord of the
World, “What did the Blessed One mean when he taught, ‘Those who have
transcended the phenomena of the different kinds of beings and have attained
the phenomena beyond the world have gone forth into the well-taught Dharma
and Vinaya and have correctly taken full ordination’?”

“There are other people who may have gone forth and taken full
ordination, yet are still confused. Just as a bat Following S, pha wang (bat) instead of D, pha bong (boulder).
is neither a rat nor a bird, these people are neither householders nor
renunciants.
Understand the position of these foolish people to be so. But, wise one, the
phenomena of different kinds of beings are like illusions and, as such,
cannot be transcended. The phenomena of different kinds of beings are
imperfect and, as such, are difficult to transcend. The realms of
beings Tib. sems can kyi khams. The
translation of this section remains tentative. In the underlying
Sanskrit, there appears to have been play between the parallel Sanskrit
terms sattvadhātu and
dharmadhātu, which
is lost in the Tibetan translations of those terms as sems can gyi khams and
chos dbyings,
respectively. do not exist outside, do not exist inside, and are
not to be apprehended in either. Thus, what is an entity of the realms of
beings is an entity of the phenomena of different kinds of beings. That is
difficult to transcend, and it is in this respect, O heir of the victorious
ones, that the Blessed One has taught that someone who has transcended the
phenomena of different kinds of beings and attained the phenomena beyond the
world has gone forth in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya, has correctly
taken full ordination, and is a worthy recipient of offerings who may use
what is donated by the faithful.

“O heir of the victorious ones, if there is no solid basis, what
could there be to attain? If the phenomena beyond the world could be
attained, they could be observed. The true nature of the thus-gone, worthy,
perfect buddhas cannot be observed, and it is from this perspective that the
Blessed One taught that someone who has transcended the phenomena of the
different realms of beings and attained the phenomena beyond the world is a
genuine monk and a worthy recipient of offerings who may use what is donated
by the faithful.”

The bodhisattva Maitreya asked the bodhisattva Lord of the World,
“What did the Blessed One mean when he taught that a monk who while not
discarding his perseverance does not discard form, does not discard
sensation, perception, formation, or consciousness, is a monk who has gone
forth; he is a monk who has fully gone forth into the well-taught Dharma and
Vinaya and, as such, is a worthy recipient of offerings who may use what is
donated by the faithful?”

The bodhisattva Lord of the World answered, “O heir of the
victorious ones, what the Blessed One meant was the true nature. As the
realm of phenomena does not exist outside, does not exist inside, and is not to
be apprehended in either, to identify it as being without sickness, identify
it as unborn, and identify it as not arising are not designations to be
made. For the sameness of the realm of phenomena accords with the realm of
beings being the same, and the sameness of the realm of beings accords with
the realm of phenomena being the same. The sameness of the realm of beings
and the sameness of the realm of phenomena are thus not two things and
cannot be separated. Since they are not two things and cannot be separated,
there is nothing to be discarded and nothing not to be discarded. Since
there is nothing to be discarded and nothing not to be discarded, it is not
possible to transcend or attain anything.

“That is what the Blessed One meant by a monk who is not to be
designated not engaging in identifying things. The monk without any labels
transcends labels. For him, even using a formulation to point things out is
not right. He does not come, does not go, does not stay, does not sit, and
even while sleeping is without concepts.

“Being at peace and bringing to peace are the criteria for monks who
have no apprehending. The ways they behave are criteria, too. The behavior
of monks who have all sorts of mistaken concepts is not a criterion. Translation tentative. D and
other Kangyurs read: zhi ba dang
nye bar zhi ba rnams mi dmigs pa’i dge slong la brtags pa ste/ spyod
pa rnams kyang brtags pa’o/ log pa la rnam pa mang du rtog pa’i dge
slong spyod pa ni ma brtags pa’o. S and Z read: zhi ba dang nye bar zhi ba’i rnams mi
dmigs pa’i dge slong la brtags pa ste/ spyod pa’i rnams kyang brtags
pa’o/ log pa la rnam pa mang du rtog pa’i dge slong spyod pa ni ma
brtags pa’o. That is what the Blessed One meant by
the former kind of monk being a worthy recipient of offerings who may use
what is donated by the faithful.”

The Blessed One then gave the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara his
approval: “Wise one, you have taught in accordance with my meaning.
Excellent, excellent indeed! To go forth into the well-taught Dharma and
Vinaya is the seal of the true and unsurpassed Dharma. Do not teach this in
the presence of those who have let their discipline deteriorate, who are
untamed, and who are full of pride. However, if there are such people who
aim to rid themselves of their arrogance, they may use their insight to see
this seal of Dharma just as it is and realize the body that is not
apprehended. If they do so they will quickly attain the mental body. With
this mental body, they will ripen countless beings to awakening.”

As this Dharma discourse was being delivered, the minds of seven thousand
monks were liberated from the defilements into the birthless state. Ten
thousand bodhisattvas attained acceptance that phenomena are unborn. However, five
hundred monks who were prone to apprehending did not practice or apply this
Dharma discourse. Lacking faith in it, they rose from their seats and
departed.

The Blessed One said, “Since what I have intended and said in these
teachings is the antidote for all worldly beings’ Reading ’jigs rten pa thams cad, as attested
elsewhere in the sūtra, instead of ’jig rten thams cad. lack of trust,
this Dharma discourse is not in accordance with those who apprehend things.
It is not in contradiction with those who rely on the nonexistence of
things. Know that this Dharma discourse of mine may be taught by those under
the guidance of a spiritual guide, those who find inspiration in profound
teachings, those who are dissatisfied with saṃsāra, those who are content
with austerity, those who delight in isolated places, and those who have
accrued roots of virtue with buddhas of the past.

“O heir of the victorious ones, consider the following analogy.
Although a person may mistakenly dream in their sleep that they are speaking
in front of a crowd of people and teaching the Dharma, they are not actually
heard by anyone in the world. O heir of the victorious ones, what do you
think, would the existence of those crowds not contradict that person’s
teaching the buddhadharma?”

Maitreya answered, “Dreams are not real; they are simply
delusion. Reading
zhig from K and Y
instead of zhing.
So how could he ever have taught the Dharma to crowds of
people?” Reading ’gro ba instead of ngan ’gro, based on
context.

“O heir of the victorious ones, all phenomena are similar to dreams
in the very same way, for they are not real. While they arise, they arise
without existing. Although relatively they exist as mere delusion,
ultimately they do not exist. Even when the meditation that through noble
insight makes this manifest in the mind just as it is, the meditator does
not apprehend it. For him it exists only in the manner that phenomena
do—they are imputed and the activity of dependent power, not something that
exists.

“It is in this way that this teaching is not in accordance with
worldly people. Phenomena are taken as the ultimate truth by those who
apprehend them, but the noble ones do not apprehend them. Translation tentative. Tib. chos ’di dag la dmigs pa rnams kyis
ni don dam par ’dzin gyi ’phags pa’i rnams ni mi dmigs
so. Childish beings cling to phenomena out of ignorance
and thereby end up experiencing the afflictions of suffering in the hell
realms and as hungry ghosts.

“How this Dharma discourse is, that is apprehended. How it is
apprehended, so are all phenomena. Because the sameness of all phenomena
throughout the three times is not apprehended, what is apprehended is
understood. What is understood is attained. What is attained is awakening.
What is awakening is suchness. What is suchness is the limit of reality. What is the limit of reality is emptiness. What is emptiness
is signlessness. What is signlessness is wishlessness. What is wishlessness
is the ultimate. What is the ultimate is the realm of phenomena. What is the
realm of phenomena is the extent of nonduality. What is the extent of
nonduality is the achievement of the middle way. What is the achievement of
the middle way is the completely perfect Buddha’s dharma body, which is
permanent, perpetual, and unchanging—that is to say, it is neither permanent
nor impermanent, neither imputed nor not imputed, and not the one who
imputes. What is not imputed is neither worldly nor transcendent. What is
neither worldly nor transcendent is ineffable. What is ineffable does not
exist even in the slightest. What does not exist even in the slightest is
the field of merit for beings. What is the field of merit for beings is the
Teacher. What is the Teacher is the unconceived. What is the unconceived is
the absence of apprehending. What is the absence of apprehending is
unchanging presence. What is unchanging presence is the precious,
wish-fulfilling jewel, which fulfills all the wishes of beings to be tamed in
accordance with their inclinations.”

Then the many bodhisattvas present spoke in unison: “Any place in
which this Dharma discourse is recited will be like vajra. Since the
buddhas and bodhisattvas will be present there, understand that any being
there will swiftly gain the higher perceptions and sharp faculties. Whoever
explains, memorizes, reads aloud, masters, chants, or properly contemplates
this Dharma discourse will not fall prey to Māra.”

When the Blessed One had elucidated his intent, bodhisattvas such as
Lord of the World, Maitreya, and others, as well as hearers, and the entire
world with its gods and humans, asuras, and gandharvas all rejoiced in what
the Blessed One had taught.

This completes The Mahāyāna Sūtra “The
Ocean of Dharma.”

Colophon

Translated from Chinese and established according to the new
terminology. S and Z,
along with other peripheral Kangyurs of the Themphangma line, read the
opposite: “not established according to the new terminology” (skad gsar chad kyis gtan la ma phab
pa’o). C, N, J, and K do not have this colophon at
all.

Notes

Abbreviations

C
Choné

D
Degé

J
Lithang

K
Kangxi

N
Narthang

Z
Shey

Bibliography

Tibetan Translations

Other Sources

The ultimate absence of any wish, desire, or
aspiration, even those directed towards buddhahood. One of the
three gateways to liberation; the other two are emptiness and
signlessness.

An epithet for bodhisattvas.

heirs of the victorious ones

Insight, also often rendered as wisdom,
refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all
phenomena. It is the sixth of the six perfections. It is often
paired with skillful means. Together, they are considered the
two indispensable aspects of the bodhisattva path.

The ceremony of full or higher ordination by
which a male or female novice is confirmed as a fully ordained
member of the order of monks or nuns (see Buswell and Lopez
2014, s.v. “upasaṃpadā”).

A term that includes all the many factors,
whether associated with body, speech, or mind, that underlie
present or future suffering, including karma and the
afflictions, the various kinds of obscuration, and the
aggregates themselves.

In different sūtras, the term rnyog pa refers to
different sets of problems that beset those on the path. A
possible referent here is the set of four (“four kinds of
stain”) found in Cultivating Trust in the
Great Vehicle (Toh 144,

The constituents of experience. One way of
describing experience and the world is in terms of eighteen
elements: eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear
consciousness; nose, odor, and nose consciousness; tongue,
taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body
consciousness; and mind, mental objects, and mind
consciousness.

A person considered worthy of
veneration with material offerings. In the context of Tibetan
Buddhist history, this is the term often translated as “priest”
when paired with the term “patron” (Tib. sbyin bdag/ yon bdag, Skt.
dānapati)
in the compound phrase “priest-patron relationship.”

worthy recipient

Refers to the entirety of phenomena as
synonymous with emptiness or the ultimate nature of all things.

An attainment of effortless insight into
emptiness and the lack of birth of phenomena. This attainment
only occurs on the bodhisattva levels, variously said to occur
on the first and eighth bodhisattva levels.

In its earliest use it meant that though the
corporeal body of the Buddha had perished, his “body of the
Dharma” continued. It also referred to the Buddha’s realization
of reality, to his qualities as a whole, or to his teachings as
embodying him. It later came to be synonymous with enlightenment
or buddhahood, a “body” that can only be “seen” by a
buddha.

When not a general reference to extraordinary
knowledge and power, this often refers to a set of six specific
abilities: divine sight, divine hearing, knowing how to manifest
miracles, remembering previous lives, knowing the minds of
others, and knowing that all defects have been eliminated.
Sometimes listed as five, without the sixth.

In this text, an epithet for
Avalokiteśvara.

The laity who make offerings to the ordained saṅgha.

Mount Potalaka is the abode of
Avalokiteśvara, believed to be an island off the coast of India.
The locus classicus
for Mount Potalaka is the final chapter of the Buddhāvataṃsaka,
the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra. It has
also been identified as Pothigai Malai or Potityil, in the
Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. In Tibet and China, Potalaka
was believed to be an island. In Tibet it is usually referred to
by the shortened form Potala.

An epithet for bodhisattvas.

The collection of discourses on the Perfection of Wisdom.