大方廣佛華嚴經

The Buddha’s children, having heard of the vast practices,
The supreme, profound, subtle, and delightful Dharma,
Were all exceedingly joyful and delighted,
And scattered fragrant flowers everywhere as offerings to the Buddha.
When the bodhisattva expounded this wondrous Dharma,
The great earth and the oceans all trembled;
All the heavenly maidens rejoiced,
And together raised wondrous voices in praise.
The Sovereign God-King was greatly delighted,
And scattered mani jewels as offerings to the Buddha,
Praising him, saying: “The Buddha has appeared in the world for our sake
And expounded the foremost practices of the Dharma.
The meanings of the Grounds, as they have been explained,
Are exceedingly difficult to encounter in hundreds of thousands of kalpas.
Now, unexpectedly, I have been able to hear
The wondrous Dharma of the bodhisattvas’ supreme practices.
May you again expound the stage of penetrating wisdom,
The definite practices of the subsequent Ground,
For the benefit of all devas and humans;
Everyone in this assembly eagerly awaits it.”
The courageous and great-hearted Liberation Moon
Requested the great bodhisattva Vajragarbha:
“What are the characteristics of the practices
By which one passes from the Third Ground into the Fourth? Please proclaim them.”
The bodhisattva Vajragarbha said to the bodhisattva Liberation Moon: “O Buddha’s child! When a great bodhisattva has thoroughly purified the Third Ground, the Ground of Radiance, and wishes to enter the Fourth Ground, the Ground of Blazing Wisdom, he must cultivate ten gateways to the illumination of Dharma.
These are the ten:
Contemplating the realm of sentient beings; contemplating the dharmadhatu; contemplating the realm of worlds; contemplating the realm of space; contemplating the realm of consciousness; contemplating the desire realm; contemplating the form realm; contemplating the formless realm; contemplating the realm of broad-minded faith and understanding; and contemplating the realm of great-minded faith and understanding. Through these ten gateways to the illumination of Dharma, the bodhisattva enters the Fourth Ground, the Ground of Blazing Wisdom.
O Buddha’s children! When the bodhisattva abides on this Ground of Blazing Wisdom, through ten dharmas matured by wisdom, he attains the inner Dharma of the Fourth Ground and is born into the family of the Tathagata.
These are the ten dharmas matured by wisdom:
Because his profound resolve never retreats; because he gives rise within the Three Jewels to pure faith that is ultimate and indestructible; because he contemplates the arising and ceasing of conditioned dharmas; because he contemplates the intrinsically non-arising nature of all dharmas; because he contemplates the formation and destruction of worlds; because he contemplates how birth occurs through karma; because he contemplates samsara and nirvana; because he contemplates the karma of sentient beings and their lands; because he contemplates former and later times; and because he contemplates the exhaustion of nonexistence.
O Buddha’s children! A bodhisattva abiding on the Fourth Ground contemplates the body internally. Following the body, he contemplates mindfully, diligently, and courageously, removing worldly craving and distress. He contemplates the body externally. Following the body, he contemplates mindfully, diligently, and courageously, removing worldly craving and distress. He contemplates the body both internally and externally. Following the body, he contemplates mindfully, diligently, and courageously, removing worldly craving and distress.
In the same way, he contemplates feelings internally, externally, and both internally and externally, contemplating in accordance with feelings. He contemplates mind internally, externally, and both internally and externally, contemplating in accordance with mind. He contemplates dharmas internally, externally, and both internally and externally, contemplating dharmas mindfully, diligently, and courageously, removing worldly craving and distress.
With regard to unwholesome dharmas that have not yet arisen, this bodhisattva arouses aspiration for right exertion, desiring to strive diligently so that they will not arise. With regard to unwholesome dharmas that have already arisen, he arouses aspiration for right exertion, desiring to strive diligently to abandon them. With regard to wholesome dharmas that have not yet arisen, he arouses aspiration for right practice, desiring to strive diligently so that they will arise. With regard to wholesome dharmas that have already arisen, he arouses aspiration for right practice, desiring to strive diligently so that they will endure without being lost and will become ever more extensive.
This bodhisattva cultivates concentration founded upon zeal; abandoning formations, he perfects the basis of spiritual power, relying upon dispassion, relying upon detachment, relying upon cessation, and dedicating it toward relinquishment. He cultivates concentration founded upon vigor, concentration founded upon mind, and concentration founded upon contemplation; abandoning formations, he perfects the bases of spiritual power, relying upon dispassion, relying upon detachment, relying upon cessation, and dedicating them toward relinquishment.
This bodhisattva cultivates the faculty of faith, the faculty of vigor, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, and the faculty of wisdom, relying upon dispassion, relying upon detachment, relying upon cessation, and dedicating them toward relinquishment.
This bodhisattva cultivates the power of faith, the power of vigor, the power of mindfulness, the power of concentration, and the power of wisdom, relying upon dispassion, relying upon detachment, relying upon cessation, and dedicating them toward relinquishment.
This bodhisattva cultivates the awakening factor of mindfulness, the awakening factor of investigation of dharmas, the awakening factor of vigor, the awakening factor of joy, the awakening factor of tranquility, the awakening factor of concentration, and the awakening factor of equanimity, relying upon dispassion, relying upon detachment, relying upon cessation, and dedicating them toward relinquishment.
This bodhisattva cultivates right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration, relying upon dispassion, relying upon detachment, relying upon cessation, and dedicating them toward relinquishment.
The bodhisattva cultivates such virtues because he does not abandon sentient beings; because he is sustained by his original vows; because great compassion comes first; because great loving-kindness is perfected; because he is mindful of omniscience in all its modes; because he perfects the adornment of Buddha-lands; because he fully perfects the Tathagata’s powers, fearlessnesses, immovability, marks and excellent characteristics, and voice; because he seeks the supremely excellent path; because he accords with the profound liberation of the Buddhadharma that he has heard; and because he reflects upon great wisdom and skillful means.
O Buddha’s children! A bodhisattva abiding on the Ground of Blazing Wisdom contemplates and applies antidotes to all attachments involving the view of a self in the body, self, person, sentient being, living being, skandhas, ayatanas, and dhatus; thus he becomes utterly separated from all such attachments.
If this bodhisattva sees any action censured by the Tathagata or defiled by afflictions, he completely abandons it. If he sees any action praised by the Tathagata and conforming to the bodhisattva path, he cultivates it.
O Buddha’s children! As this bodhisattva develops wisdom and skillful means, he cultivates both the path and the aids to the path. Consequently, his mind becomes enriched, gentle, disciplined, beneficial and peaceful, unmixed, intent on seeking the most excellent and supreme Dharma, intent on seeking supreme wisdom, intent on rescuing all worlds, respectful toward venerable ones and never contrary to their instructions, and skilled in cultivating the Dharma he has heard.
This bodhisattva recognizes kindness and repays kindness. He is most harmonious and gentle, dwelling happily with others; upright and mild, free from confusion and pride, he readily receives instruction and delights the one who speaks.
Having perfected patience in this way, discipline in this way, quiescence in this way, and patient, disciplined, gentle quiescence in this way, when this bodhisattva directs his attention toward cultivating the practices of the subsequent Ground, he immediately attains unceasing vigor, undefiled vigor, irreversible vigor, vast vigor, boundless vigor, blazing vigor, unequaled vigor, indestructible vigor, vigor that matures all sentient beings, and vigor skilled in distinguishing the path from what is not the path.
The moral mind of this bodhisattva is pure, and his profound resolve is never lost. His understanding is lucid, his roots of goodness increase, he departs from worldly defilements, severs doubt and delusion, is endowed with clear discernment, and is filled with joy and happiness. Because the Buddha himself is mindful of and protects him, his immeasurable aspirations are all fulfilled.
O Buddha’s children! Through the power of his vows, a bodhisattva on this Fourth Ground, the Ground of Blazing Wisdom, sees many Buddhas, even hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of Buddhas. He reveres, serves, and makes offerings to them all, and also makes offerings to every Sangha. He dedicates all these roots of goodness to unsurpassed perfect awakening. In the presence of the Buddhas, he respectfully listens to the Dharma; having heard it, he retains and completely practices it. He then leaves home and cultivates within the Dharma of those Buddhas. He further cultivates profound faith and understanding, and throughout immeasurable hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of kalpas, his roots of goodness become ever brighter and purer.
O Buddha’s children! It is like a goldsmith refining pure gold and fashioning it into ornaments that no other golden object can equal.
So it is with the great bodhisattva abiding on the Fourth Ground: none of the roots of goodness belonging to the lower stages can equal his roots of goodness.
It is like a pure mani jewel that emits light: no other jewel can equal it, and wind and rain cannot damage it.
So it is with the great bodhisattva abiding on the Fourth Ground: none of the roots of goodness belonging to the lower stages can equal his roots of goodness.
It is like a pure mani jewel that emits light: no other jewel can equal it, and wind and rain cannot damage it.
So it is with the great bodhisattva abiding on the Fourth Ground: bodhisattvas of the lower stages cannot equal him, and neither Maras nor afflictions can destroy him.
Among the four means of attraction, this bodhisattva chiefly practices cooperation; among the ten paramitas, he chiefly practices vigor. He cultivates the other Dharma gateways according to his capacity and strength.
O Buddha’s children! This is a brief explanation of the bodhisattva’s Fourth Ground, the Ground of Blazing Wisdom.
A bodhisattva abiding on this Ground most often becomes a king of the Yama Heaven. Through skillful means, he is able to remove the view of a self in the body and the various afflictions of sentient beings, causing them to abide in right view.
In all his practices of giving, kind speech, beneficial conduct, and cooperation, he never departs from mindfulness of the Buddha, mindfulness of the Dharma, and mindfulness of the Sangha, and ultimately never departs from mindfulness of omniscience in all its modes.
This bodhisattva further thinks: “Among all sentient beings, I shall be foremost, victorious, supremely victorious, excellent, wondrously excellent, supreme, and unsurpassed, until I become one upon whom those seeking omniscience in all its modes may rely.”
If this bodhisattva diligently exerts himself, within a single thought he enters a hundred million samadhis, sees a hundred million Buddhas, knows the spiritual powers of a hundred million Buddhas, can cause a hundred million worlds to tremble, and can even manifest a hundred million Buddha-bodies, each body displaying a hundred million bodhisattvas as its retinue. Through the superior power of his vows, however, he can freely manifest more than these numbers—so many that even in hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of kalpas they could not be counted or known.
The bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:
The bodhisattva, having purified the Third Ground,
Next contemplates beings, worlds, and the dharmadhatu,
The realm of space, the realm of consciousness, and the three realms;
His mind comprehends them clearly, and he enters directly.
Newly ascending the Blazing Ground, his powers increase;
Born into the Tathagata’s family, he never retreats.
In Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha his faith is deep and firm;
He contemplates dharmas as unsurpassed and unborn.
He contemplates the formation and destruction of worlds and birth through karma,
Samsara, nirvana, and their realms;
He contemplates the limits of past and future and also exhaustion;
Cultivating in this way, he is born into the Buddha’s family.
Having attained this Dharma, he gives rise to loving-kindness
And ever more diligently cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness:
Body, feelings, mind, and dharmas, contemplated within and without;
All worldly craving is completely removed.
The bodhisattva diligently cultivates the four right efforts,
Eliminating evil dharmas and increasing wholesome dharmas.
He thoroughly cultivates the bases of spiritual power, faculties, and powers,
And likewise strives in the factors of awakening and the right path.
To liberate beings, he cultivates the aids to the path;
Loving-kindness and compassion come first, sustained by original vows.
He seeks omniscience and Buddha-lands,
And also recollects the Tathagata’s ten powers,
The four fearlessnesses, the eighteen distinctive qualities,
The splendid marks and characteristics, and the profound, beautiful voice.
He also seeks the wondrous path to liberation
And cultivates the practices of great skillful means.
Beginning with the view of a self in the body, there are sixty-two views,
And immeasurable kinds of grasping at self and what belongs to self;
Attachments to skandhas, ayatanas, and dhatus—
On the Fourth Ground, he abandons them all.
Actions and afflictions censured by the Tathagata,
Which are causes of suffering, he wholly removes.
The wise cultivate pure actions,
And to liberate sentient beings, they cultivate them all.
The bodhisattva diligently cultivates without indolence
And immediately perfects all ten kinds of mind.
He seeks only the Buddha path, never weary or tired,
Aspiring to receive consecration and liberate all beings.
He reveres the venerable and obeys their instructions,
Recognizes kindness, is easy to teach, and harbors no anger;
Abandoning pride and flattery, his heart is gentle,
And his diligence increases without retreat.
The bodhisattva abiding on the Ground of Blazing Wisdom—
His mind remains pure and is never lost;
His understanding is decisive, and his roots of goodness increase;
The nets of doubt and defilement are wholly severed.
The Fourth Ground is supreme among humans;
He makes offerings to immeasurable nayutas of Buddhas,
Hears the true Dharma, and also leaves home;
He cannot be destroyed, just like genuine gold.
The bodhisattva of the Fourth Ground, replete with virtue,
Cultivates the path through wisdom and skillful means.
No Mara can cause his mind to retreat;
He is like an indestructible mani jewel.
On the Fourth Ground, he often becomes a king of the Yama Heaven,
Sovereign in the Dharma and honored by the assembly.
He universally liberates beings and removes wrong views,
Solely seeking Buddha-wisdom and cultivating wholesome deeds.
As the bodhisattva further increases the power of vigor,
He realizes samadhis numbering a hundred million.
If he acts freely through the power of vows,
He surpasses hundreds of millions beyond all reckoning.
Thus the bodhisattva on the Ground of Blazing Wisdom
Has practiced these wondrous and pure practices.
Their virtue, meaning, and wisdom accord with one another;
For the Buddha’s children, I have spoken of them.
When the assembly heard of the Practices of Blazing Wisdom,
They awakened to the wondrous Dharma and rejoiced.
Scattering flowers through the sky, they praised him, saying:
“Excellent, Great Being Vajragarbha!”
The Sovereign God-King and the heavenly assembly,
Hearing the Dharma, rejoiced as they remained in the sky.
They spread everywhere wondrous clouds of brilliant light,
Joyfully making offerings to the Tathagata.
The heavenly maidens together played celestial music
And also praised the Buddha in song.
Through the bodhisattva’s awesome spiritual power,
These words issued from the sound of their instruments and songs:
The Buddha’s ancient vows have now at last been fulfilled;
The Buddha path, long pursued, has now at last been attained.
Shakyamuni has come to the celestial palace;
The Teacher of Devas and Humans is now at last beheld.
The great ocean, after long ages, has now begun to stir;
The Buddha’s light, after long ages, now shines forth.
Sentient beings, after long ages, now find peace and joy;
The voice of great loving-kindness and compassion is at last heard.
The practices of the paramitas have all been perfected;
The darkness of arrogance has been wholly dispelled.
Utterly pure, like empty space,
He is like a lotus unstained by worldly dharmas.
The Great Muni has appeared in the world,
Like Mount Sumeru towering above the sea.
Making offerings to the Buddha can end all suffering;
Those who make offerings will surely attain the Tathagata’s wisdom.
Nothing equals this field worthy of offerings;
Therefore, we joyfully make offerings to the Buddha.
All those immeasurable heavenly maidens
Raised wondrous voices and sang the Buddha’s praises.
All were reverent and greatly delighted;
Gazing upon the Tathagata, they stood silently.
At that time, the bodhisattva Liberation Moon
Again requested the Great Being Vajragarbha:
“May the great bodhisattva proclaim
The characteristics of the practices of the Fifth Ground.”
The bodhisattva Vajragarbha said to the bodhisattva Liberation Moon: “O Buddha’s child! When a great bodhisattva has thoroughly perfected the practices of the Fourth Ground, the Ground of Blazing Wisdom, and wishes to enter the Fifth Ground, the Ground Difficult to Conquer, he must employ ten kinds of pure, impartial mind.
These are the ten minds:
A pure, impartial mind toward the Buddhadharma of the past; a pure, impartial mind toward the Buddhadharma of the future; a pure, impartial mind toward the Buddhadharma of the present; a pure, impartial mind toward morality; a pure, impartial mind toward mind; a pure, impartial mind that eliminates views, doubts, and regrets; a pure, impartial mind regarding knowledge of the path and what is not the path; a pure, impartial mind in the cultivation of knowledge and vision; a pure, impartial mind in the highest contemplation of all dharmas belonging to awakening; and a pure, impartial mind in teaching and transforming all sentient beings.
Through these ten pure, impartial minds, the great bodhisattva enters the Fifth Ground, the Ground Difficult to Conquer.
O Buddha’s children! Having come to abide on the Fifth Ground, the great bodhisattva attains a mind of non-retrogression because he skillfully cultivates the dharmas belonging to awakening; because he skillfully purifies his profound resolve; because he seeks the increasingly supreme path; because he accords with suchness; because he is sustained by the power of vows; because, through loving sympathy, he does not abandon any sentient being; because he accumulates merit and wisdom as aids to the path; because he diligently cultivates without rest; because he gives rise to skillful means; because he contemplates and clearly illuminates the higher Grounds; because he receives the Tathagata’s mindful protection; and because he is sustained by the powers of mindfulness and wisdom.
O Buddha’s children! This great bodhisattva knows in accordance with reality: this is the noble truth of suffering; this is truly the noble truth of the origin of suffering; this is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering; and this is the noble truth of the path leading to cessation.
This bodhisattva skillfully knows conventional truth; skillfully knows the truth of characteristics; skillfully knows the truth of distinctions; skillfully knows the truth of establishment; skillfully knows the truth of phenomena; skillfully knows the truth of birth; skillfully knows the truth of exhaustion and non-arising; skillfully knows the truth of wisdom entering the path; skillfully knows the truth of the successive perfection of all bodhisattva Grounds; and, ultimately, skillfully knows the truth of the perfection of the Tathagata’s wisdom.
This bodhisattva knows conventional truth in order to accord with the inclinations of sentient beings and cause them to rejoice. Because he penetrates all characteristics, he knows ultimate truth. Because he comprehends the individual and common characteristics of all dharmas, he knows the truth of characteristics.

Because he understands the distinctions among the stages of all dharmas, he knows the truth of distinctions. Because he skillfully distinguishes the skandhas, ayatanas, and dhatus, he knows the truth of establishment. Because he understands the continuity of the various kinds of birth, he knows the truth of birth.

Because all feverish afflictions are ultimately extinguished, he knows the truth of the wisdom of exhaustion and non-arising. Because he gives rise to nonduality, he knows the truth of wisdom entering the path. Because he rightly awakens to all modes of practice, he knows the truth of the successive perfection of all bodhisattva Grounds and, ultimately, the truth of the perfection of the Tathagata’s wisdom.
He knows these through the power of the wisdom of faith and understanding, not through the power of ultimate wisdom.
O Buddha’s children! When this great bodhisattva attains wisdom regarding the truths, he knows in accordance with reality that all conditioned dharmas are false, deceptive, and delude the foolish. Therefore, toward all sentient beings he causes the radiance of great compassion and great loving-kindness to increase still further.
O Buddha’s children! Having attained such powers of wisdom, this great bodhisattva does not abandon a single sentient being. He constantly seeks Buddha-wisdom and contemplates in accordance with reality all conditioned activities in their former and later limits. He clearly knows that they arise from ignorance, craving, and existence in the former limit, and that through these, beings revolve in samsara. They cannot escape the houses of the five skandhas and continually increase their suffering. There is no self, no living being, no nurturer, and no one who perpetually assumes a body in a later existence; they are apart from self and what belongs to self.
As it is in the former limit, so it is in the later limit. All is without intrinsic existence and is falsely grasped. When such grasping is exhausted, liberation is attained. Whether things exist or do not exist, he knows them all in accordance with reality.
O Buddha’s children! This great bodhisattva further thinks: “These ordinary beings, foolish and without wisdom, are truly pitiable. Countless bodies of theirs have perished, are now perishing, and will perish.

Though they perish in this way, they are unable to develop disenchantment toward the body. Instead, they further increase the machinery of suffering and follow the current of samsara, unable to turn back. In the houses of the five skandhas they do not seek escape.

They neither recognize nor fear the four great poisonous snakes. They cannot extract the arrows of arrogance and attachment to views; they cannot extinguish the flames of greed, hatred, and delusion; they cannot tear apart the veil of ignorance; and they cannot dry up the great ocean of craving. They do not know to seek the great noble guide endowed with the ten powers of wisdom, but enter the dense forest of Mara’s intentions.

In the ocean of samsara, they are swept away and submerged by the waves of conceptual thought.”
O Buddha’s children! This great bodhisattva further thinks: “These sentient beings endure such suffering. They are destitute and distressed, with nowhere to rely, no one to rescue them, no land, no home, no eyes, and no guide. Blinded by ignorance, they are enveloped in darkness.
“For their sake, I shall now cultivate the Dharma aids to the path of merit and wisdom. Alone, I arouse this resolve without seeking companions. Through this merit, I shall cause sentient beings to attain ultimate purity and finally realize the Tathagata’s ten unobstructed powers of wisdom.”
O Buddha’s children! With wisdom, this great bodhisattva contemplates the roots of goodness he has cultivated in this way. They are all for rescuing and protecting all sentient beings, benefiting all sentient beings, having compassion for all sentient beings, bringing all sentient beings to maturity, having compassion for all sentient beings, bringing all sentient beings to maturity, liberating all sentient beings, embracing all sentient beings, causing all sentient beings to leave suffering and affliction, causing all sentient beings to attain purity, causing all sentient beings to be disciplined, and causing all sentient beings to realize and enter nirvana.
O Buddha’s children! A great bodhisattva abiding on the Fifth Ground, the Ground Difficult to Conquer, is called “mindful” because he does not forget the true Dharma; he is called “wise” because he can skillfully speak with decisive clarity; he is called “possessed of knowledge” because he knows the purport and successive connections of the scriptures; he is called “conscientious and remorseful” because he protects himself and others; he is called “resolute” because he does not abandon moral conduct; he is called “discerning” because he can contemplate what is possible and what is impossible; he is called “following knowledge” because he does not follow others;

he is called “following wisdom” because he skillfully knows the distinctions among expressions that accord or do not accord with their meaning; he is called “possessed of spiritual powers” because he skillfully cultivates dhyana and samadhi; he is called “skilled in means” because he can conduct himself in accordance with the world; he is called “insatiable” because he skillfully accumulates merit; he is called “unceasing” because he constantly seeks wisdom; he is called “untiring” because he accumulates great loving-kindness and compassion; he is called “diligently cultivating for others” because he wishes all sentient beings to realize and enter nirvana; he is called “seeking diligently without indolence” because he seeks the Tathagata’s powers, fearlessnesses, and distinctive qualities;

he is called “capable of accomplishing whatever he resolves upon” because he perfects the adornment of Buddha-lands; he is called “diligently cultivating wholesome practices” because he can perfect the marks and excellent characteristics; he is called “constantly and diligently cultivating” because he seeks to adorn the Tathagata’s body, speech, and mind; he is called “greatly revering and honoring the Dharma” because he practices according to the instructions of all great bodhisattvas; he is called “possessing an unobstructed mind” because, through great skillful means, he constantly travels throughout the world; and he is called “day and night free from other thoughts” because he delights in teaching and transforming sentient beings.
O Buddha’s children! As the great bodhisattva diligently cultivates in this way, he teaches and transforms sentient beings through giving; he teaches and transforms sentient beings through kind speech, beneficial conduct, and cooperation. He manifests physical forms to teach and transform sentient beings.

He expounds the various dharmas to teach and transform sentient beings. He reveals the bodhisattva practices to teach and transform sentient beings. He demonstrates the faults and sufferings of samsara to teach and transform sentient beings.

He praises the benefits of the Tathagata’s wisdom to teach and transform sentient beings. He manifests great spiritual powers to teach and transform sentient beings. He manifests great spiritual powers to teach and transform sentient beings.

He employs various gateways of skillful means to teach and transform sentient beings. He employs various gateways of skillful means to teach and transform sentient beings.
O Buddha’s children! This great bodhisattva can diligently employ skillful means in this way to teach and transform sentient beings. His resolve continues unbroken until he reaches Buddha-wisdom. The roots of goodness he cultivates never retreat. He constantly and diligently studies and cultivates the practices of the supreme Dharma.
O Buddha’s children! For the benefit of sentient beings, this great bodhisattva also studies every worldly art and craft. He masters writing systems, mathematics, diagrams, printing, and treatises concerning earth, water, fire, and wind.

He is also skilled in medicines that cure illnesses such as insanity, emaciation, demonic possession, and poisoning by spells. He is skilled in literary composition, chanting and recitation, song and dance, music, amusement, and discourse. He thoroughly knows the methods of constructing cities, villages, houses, gardens, springs, ponds, trees, flowers, fruits, and medicinal herbs.

He knows the locations of mines of gold and silver and deposits of pearls and gems. He is skilled in observing and understanding the sun, moon, stars, birdsong, earthquakes, auspicious and inauspicious dreams, and bodily marks indicating nobility or lowliness. He knows the disciplines of observing precepts, entering dhyana and samadhi, immeasurable spiritual powers, the four formless attainments, and all other worldly matters.

If they do not harm sentient beings but bring them benefit, he reveals them to beings and gradually leads them into the unsurpassed Buddhadharma.
O Buddha’s children! Through the power of his vows, a great bodhisattva abiding on this Ground Difficult to Conquer sees many Buddhas, even hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of Buddhas—indeed, hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of Buddhas. He reveres and makes offerings to them all, and also makes offerings to every Sangha. He dedicates these roots of goodness to unsurpassed bodhi. In the presence of the Buddhas, he respectfully listens to the Dharma; after hearing it, he retains and practices it according to his ability. He then leaves home, again hears the Buddhadharma, and attains dharanis. Throughout a hundred kalpas and even immeasurable hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of kalpas, his roots of goodness become ever brighter and purer.
O Buddha’s children! It is like genuine gold polished with a precious seashell gem, becoming ever brighter and purer.
So it is with this bodhisattva: through contemplation with wisdom and skillful means, his roots of goodness become ever brighter and purer.
O Buddha’s children! A bodhisattva abiding on the Ground Difficult to Conquer perfects virtues through wisdom and skillful means; none of the roots of goodness belonging to the lower stages can equal his.
O Buddha’s children! It is like the radiant palaces of the sun and moon, which, sustained by the power of wind, cannot be obstructed or destroyed, nor can the power of any other wind shake them.
So it is with the roots of goodness of this bodhisattva. Because wisdom and skillful means continually guide his contemplation, they cannot be obstructed or destroyed; nor can the roots of goodness of any pratyekabuddha, shravaka, or worldly being shake them.
Among the ten paramitas, this bodhisattva chiefly practices the dhyana paramita; he cultivates the other gateways according to his capacity and strength.
O Buddha’s children! This is a brief explanation of the bodhisattva’s Fifth Ground, the Ground Difficult to Conquer.
A bodhisattva on this Ground most often becomes a king of the Tushita Heaven. He attains mastery in relation to sentient beings, overcomes all the wrong views of non-Buddhist paths, and can cause sentient beings to abide in true reality.
In all his practices of giving, kind speech, beneficial conduct, and cooperation, he never departs from mindfulness of the Buddha, mindfulness of the Dharma, and mindfulness of the Sangha, and ultimately never departs from mindfulness of the complete attainment of omniscience in all its modes.
This bodhisattva further thinks: “Among sentient beings, I shall be foremost, victorious, supremely victorious, excellent, wondrously excellent, and unsurpassed, until I become one upon whom those seeking omniscience in all its modes may rely.”
If this bodhisattva arouses diligent vigor, within a single thought he attains a hundred billion samadhis, sees a hundred billion Buddhas, knows the spiritual powers of a hundred billion Buddhas, can cause a hundred billion worlds to tremble, and can even manifest a hundred billion Buddha-bodies, each body displaying a hundred billion bodhisattvas as its retinue.
If, through the supreme power of his vows, he manifests freely, he surpasses the foregoing numbers, so that even throughout hundreds of thousands of kotis of nayutas of kalpas they could not be counted.
The bodhisattva Vajragarbha, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke these verses:
The bodhisattva, having purified the Fourth Ground,
Contemplates the equality of the Buddhas of the three times,
Morality, mind, removal of doubt, the path and what is not the path;
Contemplating in this way, he enters the Fifth Ground.
The foundations of mindfulness are his bow, the faculties his arrows;
The right efforts are his horses, the spiritual powers his chariot.
Armored in the five powers, he defeats hostile foes;
Courageous and irreversible, he enters the Fifth Ground.
Conscience and remorse are his garments, the awakening factors his flowers;
Pure morality is his garment, the awakening factors his flowers;
Pure morality is his fragrance, and dhyana his fragrant ointment;
Wisdom and skillful means are his wondrous adornments,
As he enters the forest of total retention and the garden of samadhi.
Spiritual fulfillment is his feet, right mindfulness his neck,
Loving-kindness and compassion his eyes, wisdom his teeth;
The selfless lion roars resoundingly.
Defeating the thieves of affliction, he enters the Fifth Ground.
The bodhisattva abiding on this Fifth Ground
Further cultivates the supreme and pure path.
Resolved to seek the Buddhadharma, he never retreats,
And, mindful of loving-kindness and compassion, never grows weary.
He accumulates the supreme virtues of merit and wisdom,
Diligently contemplates the higher Grounds through skillful means.
Protected by the Buddha’s power, replete with mindfulness and wisdom,
He clearly knows the Four Truths in accordance with reality.
He skillfully knows conventional truth and ultimate truth,
The truth of characteristics, the truth of distinctions, and the truth of establishment,
The truth of phenomena, birth, exhaustion, and the path,
Up to the unobstructed truth of the Tathagata.
Though such contemplation of the truths is wondrous,
He has not yet attained supreme, unobstructed liberation.
Yet through it he can produce supreme virtues,
And therefore surpasses worldly wisdom.
Having contemplated the truths, he knows conditioned things
To be false in nature, deceptive, and unstable.
He receives a share of the Buddhas’ light of loving-kindness,
And for the benefit of beings, he seeks Buddha-wisdom.
He contemplates conditioned dharmas in former and later times:
The darkness of ignorance and the bonds of craving
Cause beings to revolve within the fruits of suffering;
There is no self, no person, and no living being.
Craving and grasping are causes for later suffering;
Though one seeks their boundaries, they cannot be found.
Deluded beings drift and sink, never returning;
These pitiable ones I must liberate.
The skandhas are houses, the realms are snakes, attachments are arrows;
The fires of mind blaze fiercely, and delusion’s darkness is heavy.
Swept away by the river of craving, they have no leisure to look;
They drift on the sea of suffering with no one to guide them.
Knowing this clearly, he diligently exerts himself;
Everything he does is for liberating sentient beings.
He is called one possessed of mindfulness and wisdom,
And even one possessed of discernment, understanding, and skillful means.
He cultivates merit and wisdom without satisfaction,
Reveres extensive learning without weariness,
And adorns lands and the marks and characteristics;
All this is entirely for sentient beings.
Wishing to teach and transform the worlds,
He skillfully knows writing, mathematics, and methods of printing,
And also thoroughly understands the various medicines,
By which illnesses are treated and wholly cured.
He is skilled in literature, song, and dance;
He makes houses, gardens, and ponds secure.
He can reveal mines of gold, silver, and gems,
Bringing benefit to immeasurable sentient beings.
The sun, moon, stars, and earthquakes,
And even bodily marks, he also observes.
The four dhyanas, the formless attainments, and spiritual powers—
For the benefit of the world, he reveals them all.
The wise one abiding on the Ground Difficult to Conquer
Makes offerings to immeasurable Buddhas and hears the Dharma.
Like genuine gold polished with a wondrous jewel,
His roots of goodness become ever brighter and purer.
Like the constellations abiding in empty space,
Sustained by the power of wind, unmoved and unharmed;
And like the lotus unstained by water,
So is the bodhisattva who liberates the world.
On this Ground he often becomes a king of the Tushita Heaven,
Able to subdue non-Buddhist paths and their wrong views.
He vows to attain the ten powers and liberate all sentient beings,
And cultivates with great vigor.
He immediately makes offerings to a hundred billion Buddhas,
Attains samadhis and moves a hundred billion worlds;
If through the power of vows, he surpasses even this.
The bodhisattva’s Fifth Ground, Difficult to Conquer,
Is the supreme true path among humans.
Through all gateways and the power of skillful means,
I have expounded it for the Buddha’s children.