梵網經菩薩戒略疏

Part One

EXPLANATION OF THE TITLE

A. EXPLANATION OF THE SUTRA TITLE

“Spoken by the Buddha” means that it was personally uttered from the golden mouth of Vairocana Buddha and subsequently transmitted and proclaimed by Shakyamuni Buddha.

“Brahma’s Net” refers to the jeweled net in the palace of Great Brahma. While Shakyamuni Buddha was dwelling in the palace of Maheshvara, the Great Brahma Heavenly King, he saw Indra’s net spread out there and used it as an analogy in his teaching. This net is fashioned from innumerable hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of mani jewels.

The light of each jewel is distinct, yet the jewels illuminate and reflect one another. Thus, a single jewel contains the colors of innumerable other jewels, their hues shining forth layer upon layer without end and without mutual obstruction. On this basis, the Buddha taught that innumerable worlds are like the meshes of a net: each world is distinct, and so too are the Dharma gates taught by the Buddha.

This analogy is used to reveal that the worlds established throughout the ten directions are each different; that the Buddhas of the ten directions establish different Dharma gates; and that the bodhisattvas of the ten directions, relying upon those teachings in their cultivation and realization, likewise manifest innumerable distinctions. Therefore, the analogy of Brahma’s Net is taken as the title of the Sutra.

The complete version of this Sutra consists of twelve fascicles, like a single mesh of that net, while the Chapter on the Mind-Ground is like one jewel within it.

“Sutra” is the Sanskrit word Sutra, translated into Chinese as “the Scripture That Accords.” “Accords” means that above it accords with the essential principles of the Buddhas, while below it accords with the capacities of sentient beings. A sutra bears the meanings of threading together and embracing: it threads together the principles that should be understood and embraces the sentient beings who are to be liberated.

Sengzhao’s Commentary on the Vimalakirti Sutra states: “Sutra means constant. Although ancient and present times differ, the path of awakening does not change. False teachings cannot destroy it, nor can the sages alter it; therefore, it is called constant.”

Examining the Sutras and Vinaya texts, some take persons and dharmas as their titles, while others take dharmas and analogies as their titles. This Sutra takes only an analogy as its title; but if the chapter title is considered together with it, then person, dharma, and analogy are all included. In this, “Brahma’s Net” is the analogy, “bodhisattva” is the person, and “mind-ground” is the Dharma.

“Sutra” is the teaching that elucidates; “Brahma’s Net” is what is elucidated by the teaching; and the Buddha is the person who elucidates. Regarding the doctrinal principle and ultimate aim, essence and function, classification of the teaching, and provisional and true teachings: the original precepts of the mind-ground are the doctrinal principle; attainment of the fruit of Vairocana Buddhahood is the ultimate aim; the true aspect of the mind-ground is the essence; ending evil and cultivating goodness are the function; and the Mahayana Vinaya is the classification of the teaching.

Furthermore, it belongs to the Vinaya Pitaka among the Tripitaka; to the Bodhisattva Pitaka within the Mahayana and Hinayana Pitakas; and to the true teaching within the provisional and true teachings. The Yingluo Sutra states: “All the precepts of ordinary beings take mind as their essence. Because mind is inexhaustible, the precepts are likewise inexhaustible.” Therefore, this Sutra takes the true aspect of the mind-ground as its essence.

“Doctrinal principle” means what is honored, namely that which the Sutra esteems. “Ultimate aim” means the final destination toward which that doctrinal principle leads.

Indra is translated into Chinese as “Heavenly Sovereign” and is also called “the heavenly red-pearl.” Therefore, it is collectively called the red-pearl net-banner of the Great Brahma Heavenly King.

The Lower Section of the Chapter on the Mind-Ground:

– “Bodhisattva” is the abbreviated form of Bodhisattva. Bodhi is translated into Chinese as “the Way,” while sattva is translated as “sentient being”; it thus means using the Buddha Way to transform and liberate sentient beings. Bodhi is also translated as “awakening,” and sattva as “sentient being,” meaning one who enables sentient beings to attain awakening.

Above, bodhisattvas seek the Buddha Way; below, they transform and liberate sentient beings. Because they establish the great matter—the opening, revealing, awakening to, and entering the Buddha’s knowledge and vision—they are called mahasattvas. They are also called “beings who open the way,” because they are able to instruct and transform all sentient beings.

Practitioners from the moment of their initial aspiration through the stage of Equal Awakening are all called bodhisattvas.

– “Mind-ground” is the source of all ordinary beings and sages. Because ordinary beings are deluded about this mind, they revolve through the three realms and the six destinies. Because sages awaken to this mind, they return to the true source and sever the current of birth and death.

Because bodhisattvas wish to return to the true source, they rely upon these proper precepts of the mind-ground as the supreme cause through which to realize the ultimate fruit of Vairocana.

“Ground” is a name established by analogy. It means that bodhisattvas cultivate the six paramitas and myriad practices, teach and support all sentient beings, and do not give rise to attachment or aversion. Through this, the supreme cause and wondrous fruit increase and flourish. It is like the great earth, which bears and supports all things without disdaining either the defiled or the pure, thereby enabling all things to grow. The impartial mind of a bodhisattva is likewise so.

– “Chapter” is pratibaddha in Sanskrit and means a collection or group. That is, meanings and dharmas of the same category are gathered together into one group. Most of the other chapters of this Sutra also discuss worldly matters in general, but this chapter focuses solely upon the teachings for cultivation and explains the mind-ground. The entire chapter is divided into an upper and a lower section. The upper section explains how bodhisattvas use the power of samadhi and wisdom to cultivate and realize the stages of the Three Worthies and Ten Sages. This lower section principally teaches mahasattvas to rely upon the original precepts of the mind-ground as the proper cause of samadhi and wisdom. Therefore, bodhisattvas from the Three Worthies and Ten Sages through Equal Awakening must all recite and uphold it.

B. EXPLANATION OF THE TRANSLATOR’S NAME

“Yao” is the family name, and “Qin” is the name of the state—specifically, the ruler of Later Qin, whose family name was Yao and personal name was Xing. “Tripitaka Dharma Master” means one skilled in translating the texts of the three collections: Sutra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma. Kumarajiva is translated into Chinese as “Youthful Longevity,” meaning that although the Dharma Master was still young, his wisdom and eloquence surpassed those of the venerable elders. His father was a native of India and was renowned throughout the world for his penetrating intelligence. Upon hearing of his fame, the ruler of Kucha gave him his daughter in marriage.

While Kumarajiva was still in his mother’s womb, her wisdom naturally began to increase day by day. He entered monastic life at the age of seven and recited a thousand verses each day. By the age of nine, he was already debating the meaning and principles of the scriptures with non-Buddhist teachers.

His eloquence shattered the sharp points of their false views. The kings of India all revered him as their teacher. When Fu Jian heard of his extraordinary virtue, he dispatched General Lü Guang with seventy thousand troops to conquer Kucha and invite Kumarajiva to China.

Kumarajiva had traveled only halfway when he learned that Fu Jian had died and that Yao Xing had succeeded to the throne of Qin. In the third year of the Hongshi era, Yao Xing issued an edict inviting him into the realm and welcoming him to Chang’an. The Qin ruler Yao Xing revered him wholeheartedly and provided him with a private residence in the Ximing Pavilion within Xiaoyao Garden.

The king issued an edict requesting him to translate Sutras and treatises, totaling more than fifty works. This Brahma’s Net Sutra was the last work he translated. At that time, eight hundred shramanas, including Tonghui and others, requested instruction, while Yao Xing and three hundred shramanas, including Ruizhi and others, aroused the great resolve and received the bodhisattva precepts.

This was the first occasion upon which Chinese Buddhism had the conditions to confer the bodhisattva precepts, and both devas and humans rejoiced. Vinaya Master Daoxuan said: “Master Kumarajiva had attained the stage of the Three Worthies, and since the time of the seven Buddhas he has always been a translator of the scriptures” (“translator” means one who translates from Sanskrit into Chinese).

Part Two

EXPLANATION OF THE SUTRA TEXT

Upon examination, the sutras all have three sections: the Specific Preface, the Main Exposition, and the Transmission. This Mind-Ground Chapter was extracted from the Brahma Net Sutra. The complete, extensive Brahma Net Sutra consists of sixty-two chapters, and this Mind-Ground Chapter is its tenth chapter.

Therefore, it does not contain the general preface of the entire sutra, nor does it begin with “Thus have I heard,” as other sutras do; it has only its own specific preface. As in the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, and so forth, each chapter begins with the two words “At that time.” So it is with this sutra as well. Its Main Exposition and Transmission elucidate the principle and phenomena, nature and characteristics, of this single chapter; they are not the Main Exposition and Transmission of the entire sutra.

The Commentary and Subcommentary on the Avatamsaka states: “When the sages established the teachings, they always followed an orderly sequence. Wishing to expound subtle and wondrous words, they first introduced them clearly, thereby enabling the principle to be reached. Because the meaning and principle became clear, those whose capacities were suited to the teaching could receive the Dharma.” Therefore, the Main Exposition was entrusted to them, not only to exhort them within that Dharma assembly but also to ensure its continued transmission into the future, so that the lamp of the true Dharma might ever shine without end; hence this was designated the Transmission section.

It is not merely this sutra that accords with the present assembly and its individual chapters; this framework encompasses them all. In the present explanation, only the major divisions are set forth, without separately subdividing every section, lest beginners find the study difficult and become even more confused. Every last subtle point is a profound and wondrous principle.

The stages of the bodhisattva path fully convey the meaning of the commentary and disclose its hidden significance. One should personally examine and verify it.

(Explanation: A sutra is divided into three sections: the Preface, the Main Exposition, and the Transmission. This convention began with Dharma Master Dao'an during the Jin dynasty. Later, bodhisattvas who composed commentaries and those who translated scriptures from the Western Regions—that is, India—also divided them into three sections. Thus it is known that this established convention has remained unchanged from ancient times to the present.)

A. THE SPECIFIC PREFACE

I. THREE BUDDHAS TRANSMIT THE TEACHING

1. The General Entrustment

The three Buddhas are:

– Buddha Locana.

– The Buddhas upon the thousand flowers.

– The thousand hundred million Sakyamuni Buddhas.

Buddha Sakyamuni received the transmission from the thousand Buddhas; the thousand Buddhas received it from Buddha Locana; and Buddha Locana received it from the Buddhas of the past. Nevertheless, all Buddhas possess the three bodies. These are Vairocana, universally wondrous, who takes the true Dharma as his body:

– Locana, whose practices are perfected, takes the resultant reward as his body.

– Sakyamuni, the manifested transformation, takes responsive manifestation according to the capacities of beings as his body.

– The Dharma body is without characteristics and shines throughout all ten directions.

– Locana possesses the myriad virtues, and his body is adorned with 84,000 excellent marks.

– Sakyamuni's golden body is one zhang and six chi tall, complete with the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor characteristics. In Sanskrit, his name is Vairocana, translated into Chinese as “Pervading All Places,” because his radiance pervades everywhere:

– The radiance of his body illuminates all of empty space and the Dharma realm.

– The radiance of his wisdom illuminates the layer upon layer of Dharma realms; therefore, he is also called the Great Sun. The sun in the world shines only upon one side and cannot illuminate everywhere. It may shine only by day and not by night; it illuminates one world but cannot illuminate other worlds. Therefore, it is not called the Great Sun. But the form body and Dharma body of Vairocana illuminate the Dharma realm and the worlds of the ten directions, pervading and illuminating them all.

The Sutra on the Contemplation of the Mind-Ground contains this verse:

The essence of the Dharma body pervades all beings;

Its myriad virtues are naturally ever-abiding in nature.

Neither born nor extinguished, neither coming nor going,

Neither identical nor different, neither annihilated nor eternal.

It pervades the Dharma realm like empty space;

All Tathagatas cultivate and realize it together.

All conditioned and unconditioned virtues

Depend upon the ever-pure Dharma body.

The original nature of the Dharma body is like empty space,

Far removed from the six sense objects and free from defilement.

The Dharma body is formless and apart from all characteristics;

The perceiving aspect and perceived aspect are both empty.

Such is the wondrous Dharma body of all Buddhas,

Utterly quiescent, beyond the marks of conceptual proliferation and words.

Far removed from every discrimination,

Where the mind's activity ceases, its essence is thusness.

Wishing to cultivate and realize the Tathagata body,

Bodhisattvas skillfully cultivate all the myriad practices.

(Because the reward body and transformation body depend upon it, the Treatise on Mind states: “The first body and the second body are bodies of dependence.”)

At that time, Buddha Locana, for the sake of this great assembly, briefly disclosed Dharma gateways of the mind-ground as numerous as the sands of hundreds of thousands of Ganges Rivers, revealing them only to the extent of the tip of a hair.

Explanation:

“At that time” means the time when Buddha Locana taught the Dharma. His name is translated into Chinese as “Radiance Universally Illuminating.”

– Inwardly, he uses the radiance of wisdom to illuminate universally the true Dharma realm. This refers to the body of self-enjoyment.

– Outwardly, he uses bodily radiance to illuminate universally in response to beings of great capacity. This refers to the body of enjoyment for others; “beings of great capacity” means Mahayana bodhisattvas.

“Pure and Perfect” means that all evil thoughts have been completely ended, and thus it is called “Pure”; all evil karmic retributions have been completely ended and every virtue is fully present, and thus it is called “Perfect.” This is the practice of wholesome karmic fruition. The name is based primarily upon the body of self-enjoyment. “Radiance Universally Illuminating,” on the other hand, is a name based primarily upon the body of enjoyment for others.

According to the Sutra on the Contemplation of the Mind-Ground, the Dharma body is also called the body of intrinsic nature. It has neither beginning nor end, is apart from all characteristics, has ended every conceptual proliferation, is perfectly complete and universally pervasive, quiescent and ever-abiding. This is called the Dharma body.

The enjoyment body is of two kinds:

1. Self-enjoyment.

2. Enjoyment for others.

To attain the body of self-enjoyment, one must pass through three asamkhyeya kalpas cultivating the myriad practices, bringing peace, happiness, and benefit to sentient beings. When the mind of the Ten Grounds is perfected, one transcends the three realms, abides in the Pure and Wondrous Land, and sits upon a jeweled lotus throne, surrounded by an oceanic assembly of immeasurable bodhisattvas who reverently make offerings, honor, praise, and extol one. This is called the benefit of subsequent recompense.

At that time, the bodhisattva enters the vajra samadhi, completely eliminates all subtle afflictive obstructions and cognitive obstructions, and realizes unsurpassed bodhi. That wondrous fruition is called present benefit. This is the true reward body, which has a beginning but no end.

Its lifespan, measured in kalpas, is limitless. Throughout all future time, its faculties and excellent marks pervade the Dharma realm. It is complete with the four wisdoms, enjoys the bliss of the Dharma, possesses 84,000 gateways of wisdom, and is endowed with every virtue.

It is called the Tathagata's body of self-enjoyment. The Tathagata's body of enjoyment for others possesses 84,000 excellent marks, dwells in the True Pure Land, and teaches the One Vehicle, enabling bodhisattvas to enjoy the subtle and wondrous Dharma bliss of the Mahayana. To teach and transform the bodhisattvas of the Ten Grounds, all Tathagatas manifest ten kinds of bodies of enjoyment for others:

– A Buddha body seated upon a hundred-petaled lotus teaches the bodhisattvas of the First Ground one hundred gateways to the illumination of the Dharma. Having awakened, these bodhisattvas exercise great supernormal powers and transformations, filling the worlds of one hundred Buddhas and bringing peace, happiness, and benefit to innumerable sentient beings.

– A Buddha body seated upon a thousand-petaled lotus teaches the bodhisattvas of the Second Ground one thousand gateways to the illumination of the Dharma. Having awakened, these bodhisattvas exercise great supernormal powers and transformations throughout the worlds of one thousand Buddhas, bringing peace, happiness, and benefit to immeasurable and innumerable sentient beings.

– A Buddha body seated upon a ten-thousand-petaled lotus teaches the bodhisattvas of the Third Ground ten thousand gateways to the illumination of the Dharma. Having awakened, these bodhisattvas exercise great supernormal powers and transformations, filling the lands of ten thousand Buddhas and bringing peace, happiness, and benefit to immeasurable sentient beings.

Thus the Tathagata gradually advances and grows, up to the bodhisattvas of the Ten Bhūmis. His other-enjoyment body sits upon ineffable, subtle, wondrous jeweled lotus blossoms and expounds ineffable Dharma gates of illumination for the bodhisattvas of the Ten Bhūmis. Having awakened to them, the bodhisattvas manifest great supernatural transformations, pervading ineffably many wondrous Buddha lands and bringing benefit, peace, and happiness to immeasurable, boundless, incalculable kinds of sentient beings. Each of these ten bodies sits upon a seven-jeweled seat beneath the King of Trees and realizes unsurpassed bodhi. This is called the Buddha’s response body.

Within each lotus petal is a three-thousand-great-thousand world, containing ten billion Mount Sumerus and four great continents. In every Jambudvīpa there is a vajra seat beneath the King of Bodhi Trees. Each transformation Buddha abides beneath such a tree and, after utterly vanquishing the armies of Māra, simultaneously realizes unsurpassed bodhi. Each of these transformation Buddhas is fully endowed with the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor characteristics and, according to what is appropriate, expounds the wondrous Dharma of the Three Vehicles for bodhisattvas, followers of the Two Vehicles, and ordinary beings. These transformation Buddhas are all called the Buddha’s transformation bodies, abiding continuously without interruption. A verse says:

To teach and transform bodhisattvas upon the Bhūmis,

One Buddha manifests ten kinds of bodies.

Responding to capacities, their manifestations are never all the same;

They gradually multiply until they reach infinity.

Thus these ten Buddhas attain perfect awakening,

Each seated upon a seven-jeweled bodhi seat.

When the former Buddha enters extinction, the next Buddha attains awakening;

Different transformation Buddhas appear throughout the entire kalpa.

The response body is the other-enjoyment body, while the transformation bodies are the hundreds of thousands of koṭis of transformation bodies. This means that they increase until reaching infinity; how could they be limited merely to hundreds of thousands of koṭis? Therefore, the main text states: “Hundreds of thousands of myriads, up to the ineffable.” Both great and minor transformation Buddhas sit beneath bodhi trees. This is precisely what the circulation section of this sutra means when it says: “Worlds as numerous as motes of dust are Buddhas.” As for the “great assembly,” it refers to the Buddhas upon the thousand lotus blossoms and the thousand billion Śākyamunis.

Examining the preceding chapter, at that time Buddha Śākyamuni led the great assembly of this world back to the Lotus Treasury Platform, where they encountered Buddha Vairocana. The Buddha extensively disclosed and clearly revealed the Dharma gates cultivated by those of the Three Worthy Stages and Ten Noble Stages, enabling them to return to the source, the fruit of Buddhahood. Thus one should understand that there are not merely one thousand Buddhas and one thousand billion Buddhas.

“For the great assembly” means for people as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. This river is located in central India, is forty miles wide, and its sand is as fine as rice flour. The sand of a single river is already immeasurably abundant; how much more so the sands of hundreds of thousands of rivers—how could they ever be exhausted? Therefore it is said to be ineffable upon ineffable. It is also said: “The ninth among the ten great numbers is used as an analogy for Dharma gates that are infinitely vast and inexhaustible.” Here, among the infinite and inexhaustible Dharma gates, only the Dharma gate of the Mind Ground is discussed; hence it is compared to no more than the tip of a hair. The same applies to the sands of one river or of hundreds of thousands of rivers.

Although Dharma gates are numerous, none lies outside the mind ground. To speak of the Mind Ground is precisely to encompass all the myriad dharmas. This likewise uses the few to subsume the many. The Nirvana Sutra records: “While in the forest, the Buddha held a few leaves in his hand and told the bhikṣus: All the dharmas that I have realized and known are as numerous as the leaves throughout the great earth, while the Dharma I expound for sentient beings is only like the leaves in my hand.” The analogy concerning Dharma gates is likewise such as this.

This is what all past Buddhas have taught, what all future Buddhas will teach, and what present Buddhas are now teaching. It is what the bodhisattvas of the three times have studied, are studying, and will study.

Explanation:

“Buddha” in full Sanskrit is Buddhā, translated into Chinese as “Awakened One.” Awakening has three meanings:

1. Self-awakening: Like one who awakens from a long dream—the great dream. In this, the Buddha surpasses ordinary beings.

2. Awakening others: In this, the Buddha surpasses those of the Two Vehicles, for those of the Two Vehicles are more concerned with themselves, lack the resolve to benefit others, and seek only their own benefit; therefore they hasten to escape birth and death within the three realms. The Buddha-Tathagata, however, realizes the wisdom of equality and attains the emptiness of Dharma-nature. He brings objectless loving-kindness into the realms of Māra, universally liberating sentient beings and enabling them to dwell in peace and happiness. Therefore this is called awakening others.

3. Perfection of awakened conduct: In this, the Buddha differs from bodhisattvas. Although bodhisattvas arouse loving-kindness and universally liberate sentient beings, their awakened conduct is not yet perfect. Only in a Buddha are both mind and its objects transcended, fundamental wisdom fully revealed, the afflictions of the five abiding grounds utterly extinguished, and the two kinds of birth and death ended. The three aspects of awakening are complete and the myriad virtues fulfilled. He is endowed with the ten epithets; here, although only the single epithet “Tathagata” is used, all ten epithets are thereby equally displayed.

The Buddhas of the three times have taught this Dharma; the three times are the past, present, and future. Although Vairocana Buddha said that it is but the tip of a hair, in truth the Buddhas of the three times all expound it and the bodhisattvas of the three times all study it. Why is this so? Because the mind is the source of the myriad dharmas. When the mind is presented, the myriad dharmas are all complete; therefore all Buddhas teach it together and all great beings study it together.

For hundreds of thousands of kalpas, I cultivated this Dharma gate of the Mind Ground, and I came to be called Vairocana. You Buddhas must transmit what I have taught, so as to open and reveal the mind ground to all sentient beings.

Explanation:

“I” means precisely the true self that has attained the Tathagata’s eight masteries. It is not the deluded self by which ordinary beings cling to the body and mind of the five skandhas as a self. “Kalpa” in full Sanskrit is kalpa-kṣetra, translated into Chinese as “a division of time.” It means an exceedingly long and distant duration that cannot be calculated in years and months.

The Jeweled Necklace Sutra records: “Suppose there were a rock one mile, two miles, and so on up to ten miles in length, with the same dimensions in width. Using a celestial robe weighing three zhu, and reckoning days and months according to the human world, one wiped the dust from the rock once every three years. The time required for this rock to be completely worn away is called one minor kalpa.

The wearing away of rocks measuring from one mile or two miles up to forty miles is also called one minor kalpa. Furthermore, suppose there were a rock eight hundred miles long and equally wide. Using a robe from the Brahmā Heaven weighing three zhu, and taking the hundred kinds of radiant pearls and jewels of the Brahmā Heaven as the measure of days and months, one wiped the rock once every three years.

The time required for this rock to be completely worn away is called one intermediate kalpa. Furthermore, suppose there were a rock eight hundred miles long and equally wide. Using a robe from the Pure Abodes weighing three zhu, and taking the thousand kinds of luminous jeweled mirrors as the measure of days and months, one wiped the rock once every three years.

The time required for this rock to be completely worn away is called one great asaṃkhyeya kalpa. If a rock of one mile, two miles, and so on up to ten miles is worn away, this is called a one-mile kalpa, a two-mile kalpa, and so forth. If a fifty-mile rock is worn away, it is called a fifty-mile kalpa.

If a hundred-mile rock is worn away, it is called a hundred-mile kalpa. If a thousand-mile rock is worn away, it is called a thousand-mile kalpa; if a ten-thousand-mile rock is worn away, it is called a ten-thousand-mile kalpa.” All worthies and sages enter within this reckoning, cultivate all Dharma gates, and after a longer or shorter period attain the fruit of Buddhahood. It may take as long as one hundred kalpas to realize the stage of Equal Awakening.

If all sentient beings enter within this reckoning, they will attain Buddhahood before long. If they are not included within this reckoning, they cannot be called bodhisattvas.

Now, regarding the statement that cultivation was undertaken for a hundred kalpas, the preceding chapter says, “For a hundred asaṃkhyeya kalpas.” Here, the scripture may have been abridged. Examining other sutras, they all state: “The Tathagata cultivated for three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, or even longer.” Moreover, during a hundred intermediate kalpas, he cultivated the causes of the major and minor marks; hence the expression “a hundred kalpas.” The Great Master Zhizhe of Tiantai, citing the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, the Abhidharmakośa Treatise, the Vibhāṣā Treatise, and others, said: “From the ancient Buddha Śākyamuni to Buddha Śikhin, the Tathagata encountered 75,000 Buddhas;

this is called the first asaṃkhyeya kalpa. (This Buddha Śikhin is not the Buddha Śikhin among the Seven Buddhas.) From Buddha Śikhin to Buddha Dīpaṃkara, he encountered 76,000 Buddhas; this is called the second asaṃkhyeya kalpa, during which he received the prediction that his distinctive name would be Śākyamuni.

From Buddha Dīpaṃkara to Buddha Vipaśyin, he encountered 77,000 Buddhas; this is called the completion of the third asaṃkhyeya kalpa.” From the first kalpa until this point, he completed the cultivation of the Six Perfections. He then remained in cultivation for another hundred kalpas, cultivating the causes of the thirty-two excellent marks and eighty fine characteristics. Thus, the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish records: “The Buddha said: For three asaṃkhyeya kalpas, I diligently and vigorously cultivated austere practices, and for a hundred kalpas, I cultivated merit.”

– During the first asaṃkhyeya kalpa, he made offerings to 84,000 Buddhas.

– During the second asaṃkhyeya kalpa, he made offerings to 99,000 Buddhas.

– During the final asaṃkhyeya kalpa, he made offerings to 100,000 Buddha-World-Honored Ones, renounced household life to cultivate, observed the precepts strictly, perfected the pāramitā of morality, rode the vehicle of the Six Perfections, donned the armor of patience, sat upon the vajra seat beneath the Bodhi tree, subdued Māra, and realized the Buddha Way.

Examining the Sutra of the Jeweled Necklace: “When the Buddha first resolved to cultivate, he aspired to attain the fruition of a pratyekabuddha. In a secluded and tranquil place, he passed through 4.4 billion kalpas during which there were neither the Buddha-Dharma nor a holy assembly. During the final seventy kalpas of that period, he encountered Buddha Great Penetrating Wisdom, who expounded the Mahayana Dharma.

Only then did he begin to develop a little faith and understanding and to establish merit. After another nineteen kalpas, he became the king of a great nation, made offerings to the pure assembly, and provided for the poor and destitute. He relinquished the royal throne, renounced household life to cultivate, and sat peacefully in quiet contemplation.

His mind gradually grew weary, and he continued to wander through birth and death, undergoing innumerable forms of retribution, because he had not formed the Great Vow but sought only to escape his own suffering and affliction. After another sixty kalpas, he encountered Buddha Jeweled Splendor, who taught the one, nondual vehicle without mentioning the lesser particulars. At that very moment, he aroused the aspiration and formed a vast, unobstructed vow.

From then until now, throughout seven hundred million asaṃkhyeya kalpas, he constantly accorded with the true Dharma and has only now attained self-awakening. One should know that before those seven kalpas, although he diligently endured hardships in cultivating the Way, he lacked a firm vow and therefore could never attain Perfect, Complete Enlightenment.”

According to this account, even a hundred asaṃkhyeya kalpas would still be too few; this teaching was also given merely in accordance with the capacities of beings. The skillful methods of provisional and true teachings and of the Great and Lesser Vehicles are not the same. Here, Vairocana Buddha expounds the Dharma that he himself cultivated and realized, causing others to give rise to faith and to rely upon this Dharma-gate of the Mind Ground to attain the fruit of cultivation and realization.

“All you Buddhas, transmit the words I have spoken” means that the Dharma previously taught was universally intended for the great assembly. Now, however, the seal of the mind was being entrusted to those capable of bearing it, something others could not do. Therefore, it was specially entrusted to the thousand Śākyamuni Buddhas so that they might transmit the words of Vairocana Buddha and reveal them again to sentient beings, enabling the teaching to be received from above and passed on below, and the existing Dharma of the precepts to be reverently upheld.

“To open the path of the Mind Ground for sentient beings” means that the minds of all sentient beings are originally open and empty. Yet, since beginningless kalpas, they have been obscured by deluded emotions, afflictions, and karma. Therefore, Vairocana entrusted Śākyamuni with transmitting the Dharma-gate that opens the Mind Ground, enabling all sentient beings suddenly to open and penetrate their own inherently existing mind. Here it is presented only briefly; it will be explained more clearly below.

2. The Specific Entrustment

At that time, Vairocana Buddha was seated upon the lion throne, radiant with celestial light, in the Lotus Treasury World. The Buddha emitted a ray of light, and from within that light a voice addressed the Buddhas upon the thousand lotus blossoms: “Receive and uphold my Dharma-gate of the Mind Ground, and go forth to transmit it to the thousand hundred-million Śākyamunis and ultimately to all sentient beings. In proper sequence, expound this chapter on the Dharma-gate of the Mind Ground. You should receive, uphold, read, recite, and faithfully practice it.”

Explanation:

The Lotus Treasury World is precisely the Flower Garland Ocean Treasury World. “Treasury” means that which contains, because the Dharma realms of the ten directions all abide within it. The remainder is a passage of repeated verse and will be explained later.

“The lion throne radiant with celestial light” means that the throne emits lofty, bright, manifest, and resplendent light, like celestial radiance illuminating everywhere. When the Tathagata fearlessly teaches the Dharma, Māras and followers of non-Buddhist paths all submit, just as when a lion roars, all birds and beasts flee upon hearing its voice. Therefore, the seat upon which a Buddha sits is called the Lion Throne. It is also called the Throne of the Emptiness of Dharmas and likewise signifies fearlessness, for the Tathagata has realized the emptiness of dharmas and is therefore without fear.

The preceding chapter states: “Vairocana, within the Vajra Radiant Palace, sat upon hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of lotus blossoms, and the radiance of this throne shone brilliantly.” This is what is meant. “From within the ray of light, a voice addressed the Buddhas upon the lotus blossoms” means that the Tathagata’s Mind Ground is originally beyond names, words, forms, and characteristics. Now, wishing to reveal this true Dharma of the Mind Ground, he in turn used the light of the mind to perform the Buddha’s work.

Therefore, he did not speak with words but conveyed the instruction through radiant light. Here, Vairocana Buddha emitted light to instruct the thousand Buddhas. The thousand Buddhas then transmitted it to the thousand transformation Buddhas, Śākyamuni; and the Śākyamunis in turn expounded it for sentient beings.

“To expound in proper sequence the chapter on the Dharma-gate of the Mind Ground” means that, as the preceding chapter described the stages of the bodhisattva’s cultivation and realization, including Dharma-gates such as the Ten Initiations and the Dharma-gate of the Mind Ground, this instruction encompasses the entire subsequent chapter on the precepts of the Mind Ground. They receive and uphold it in the mind and read and recite it with the mouth. Because mind and speech advance in cultivation without duality, it is said: “Faithfully practice it with one mind.”

3. Making Offerings to the Original Honored One

At that time, the Buddhas upon the thousand lotus blossoms and the thousand hundred-million Śākyamunis rose from the radiant lion throne in the Lotus Treasury World, and all withdrew. Their entire bodies emitted inconceivable rays of light, and within those rays they manifested immeasurable Buddhas. At the same time, they presented immeasurable blue, yellow, red, and white flowers as offerings to Vairocana Buddha, and then received and upheld the chapter on the Dharma-gate of the Mind Ground as previously taught.

Explanation:

Vairocana entrusted the Dharma to the Buddhas seated upon the thousand lotus blossoms, and the Buddhas upon the thousand lotus blossoms in turn entrusted it to the thousand hundred-million Śākyamunis. All received it and reverently complied, and therefore took their leave and withdrew.

“Their entire bodies emitted inconceivable rays of light” means that the radiance of the Buddhas consists of constant light and emitted light. Constant light is the perfect luminosity of original awakening, and this light illuminates the Dharma realm everywhere. Emitted light is the activation of spiritual powers, manifesting in more than one form, yet flowing forth without departing from the original source—the essence of the Mind-Ground precepts. Since this is the fundamental source and essence of the precepts, it is beyond words and thought; therefore, it is said to be “inconceivable.”

Within those rays of light, they manifested immeasurable Buddhas, yet those immeasurable Buddhas likewise did not depart from the Mind Ground. In this way, Vairocana’s Mind Ground manifested the thousand Buddhas; the thousand Buddhas manifested the thousand hundred-million Buddhas; and the thousand hundred-million Buddhas manifested immeasurable Buddhas. They further manifested immeasurable wondrous flowers and returned to make offerings to the Buddha of the original Mind Ground.

This also symbolizes that bodhisattvas, relying upon the essence of the Mind-Ground precepts, cultivate merit and wisdom together in order to perfect the myriad virtues that adorn their own minds.

II. THE TWO BUDDHAS EXPOUND THE DHARMA

1. The Buddhas upon the Thousand Lotus Blossoms Expound the Dharma

Previously, the text spoke of the Buddha seated upon a thousand-petaled lotus dais, manifesting bodies in ten places to expound the Dharma. It then spoke of the thousand hundred-koṭis of Śākyamuni Buddhas likewise manifesting bodies in ten places to expound the Dharma. Those ten places are:

1. The Vajra Seat and the Hall of Wondrous Light

2. The palace of the god Śakra

3. The Yāma Heaven

4. The Tuṣita Heaven

5. The Nirmāṇarati Heaven

6. The Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven

7. The First Dhyāna Heaven

8. The Second Dhyāna Heaven

9. The Third Dhyāna Heaven

10. The Fourth Dhyāna Heaven.

(This belongs to the Form Realm and is the Fourth Dhyāna, situated above the Akaniṣṭha Heaven at the summit of the Form Realm; beyond it there is no further heaven.)

Explanation:

Question: Above the Akaniṣṭha Heaven of the Form Realm there are no further heavens. Where, then, are the Four Heavens of Emptiness belonging to the Formless Realm situated?

Answer: Beings in those Four Heavens of Emptiness take the four skandhas as their bodies—feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness—and no longer possess material form. The person is like a shattered jewel, and the realm is like empty space; therefore, it has no fixed location. Wherever a person cultivates and realizes the four formless concentrations is called a Heaven of Emptiness. Because those concentrations transcend the Fourth Dhyāna, the Four Heavens of Emptiness are placed above the Fourth Dhyāna.

Each Buddha departed from this Lotus Treasury Dais World and disappeared. Having disappeared, each entered the samādhi of the flower-like radiance of the nature of empty space, returned to the world of the original source, came to Jambudvīpa, and sat beneath the bodhi tree.

Explanation:

The essential nature is without characteristics; therefore, it is called empty space. It is precisely the mind-ground of the original source. The mind-ground inherently possesses the functioning of wisdom; thus, although the essence of mind is empty, it is fully endowed with virtue-natures as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and with the wondrous functioning of wisdom-light. It is therefore called the Flower-Like Radiance of the Essential Nature. The Tathagata's samādhi does not enter from outside. Hence it is said: “The Nāga is always in concentration; there is no time when he is not in concentration.”

It is also said: “Without emerging from the concentration of cessation, he manifests all forms of dignified conduct, revealing the reflected images of the ten Dharma realms to guide sentient beings.” Here, entrance and emergence are spoken of because, when essence and function unite as one, this is called “entrance”; when essence and function are wholly revealed, this is called “emergence.” This means that the hundreds of thousands of gateways of concentration all return to the one quiescent cessation, and the boundless ocean of wisdom likewise never departs from the original source. Master Guifeng said: “When the discriminating mind has been completely brought to an end and wisdom accords with principle, this is called entrance.”

Samādhi is translated into Chinese as Right Concentration and is also called Right Reception. There are very many kinds of samādhi, and therefore their stages of cultivation and realization are not the same. All dhyāna concentrations, for example, are also called concentrations and are also called samādhis. The Flower-Like Radiance of the Essential Nature spoken of here far surpasses all the samādhis mentioned above.

Jambudvīpa is translated into Chinese as the Continent of Excellent Gold. This means that in the northern part of this southern continent of Jambudvīpa there is a great tree named Jambu. Beneath the tree is a river whose sands are red gold, and thus the name was derived from it. The tree was named after the river, and the continent was named after the tree. Therefore, in the newer translation it is called Jambudvīpa.

Bodhi is translated into Chinese as the Way. The ultimate Way is called bodhi; it is the Way of Great Awakening. The tree was originally called the pippala tree.

Because the Buddha sat beneath this tree and attained the Way of perfect awakening, it came to be called the bodhi tree. This tree is several hundred feet tall; its bark is yellowish white, and its leaves are emerald green. It does not wither in either winter or summer, and its fresh, bright color never changes.

Ordinarily, on the fifteenth day of the second lunar month, the day on which the Tathagata entered nirvana, all its leaves wither and fall, yet in an instant it becomes green and luxuriant once more. The Avataṃsaka Sutra records: “The bodhi tree stood lofty and exceptionally magnificent. Vajra formed its trunk, lapis lazuli formed its boughs, and diverse wondrous jewels intermingled to form its branches.

Its interlocking leaves hung down like sheltering clouds. Jeweled flowers of many colors spread throughout its branching limbs, and maṇi jewels formed its fruits.” This is the other-enjoyment body of Vairocana. It is the realm of tenth-bhūmi bodhisattvas and cannot be seen by ordinary beings or followers of the Two Vehicles.

It also symbolizes the Buddha's samādhi of the spiritual powers of Wisdom-Light, whose reflected manifestations adorn the mind-ground; it is likewise identical with the Flower-Like Radiance of the Essential Nature. Because Śākyamuni cultivated this Dharma of the Way, the text says that he returned to the world of the original source beneath the bodhi tree.

After emerging from the samādhi of the Flower-Like Radiance of the Nature of Empty Space, he first sat upon the Vajra Seat of the Celestial Light King and in the Hall of Wondrous Light, where he expounded the Ten Oceans of Worlds. He then rose from his seat and went to the palace of the god Śakra, where he expounded the Dharma of the Ten Abodes; he went to the Yāma Heaven and expounded the Dharma of the Ten Practices; he went to the Tuṣita Heaven and expounded the Dharma of the Ten Dedications; he went to the Nirmāṇarati Heaven and expounded the Dharma of the Ten Dhyāna Concentrations; he went to the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven and expounded the Dharma of the Ten Bhūmis; he went to the First Dhyāna Heaven and expounded the Dharma of the Ten Vajras;

he went to the Second Dhyāna Heaven and expounded the Dharma of the Ten Patiences; he went to the Third Dhyāna Heaven and expounded the Dharma of the Ten Vows; finally, in the royal palace of the Maheśvara Heaven within the Fourth Dhyāna Heaven, he expounded the Chapter on the Dharma Gateway of the Mind-Ground that Buddha Vairocana had previously expounded in my Lotus Treasury Dais World of the Original Source.

Explanation:

Previously, the text first clarified the thousand Śākyamuni Buddhas and afterward spoke of the hundreds of thousands of koṭis of Śākyamuni Buddhas. All of them first received the treasury of bodhisattva precepts before Buddha Vairocana, then entered concentration and returned to the world of the original source. The text now clarifies their emergence from concentration and manifestation of bodies in ten places to expound the Dharma.

The Seat of the Celestial Light King is beneath the bodhi tree, two hundred li west of the city of Rājagṛha, in the kingdom of Magadha in central India. Long ago, when this world was first formed, the Seat of the Celestial Light King arose together with the great earth. Considering the trichiliocosm, at the farthest depth of the earth lies the golden wheel, joined above to the surface of the earth.

The seat is made of vajra and measures more than eight hundred paces in circumference. During the Bhadrakalpa, all one thousand Buddhas who appear in the world sit upon this seat, enter vajra concentration, and attain unsurpassed perfect awakening. It is therefore called the Vajra Seat of the Celestial Light King.

This is the place where the Tathagata cultivated, realized, and attained the Way, and it is also called the bodhimaṇḍa.

The Avataṃsaka Sutra records: “That ground was firm and solid, made of vajra. Supreme and wondrous jeweled flowers and jeweled wheels, together with luminous maṇi jewels, served as its adornments. Boundless forms and characteristics appeared there.

Through the Buddha's spiritual power, this bodhimaṇḍa was adorned and manifested. The palaces, towers, and dwelling place of the Tathagata were magnificent, vast, and pervasive throughout the ten directions. Maṇi jewels formed from multicolored lights and diverse jeweled flowers served as ornaments.

Halls, towers, terraces, steps, and windows—all these objects adorned its essential nature. That lion throne was exceedingly lofty, spacious, and magnificent. Maṇi jewels formed its dais, lotus flowers formed its netting, and supremely wondrous, pure jewels formed its wheels.

If one were not a bodhisattva of great capacity, how could one behold it? Ordinary beings and followers of the Two Vehicles see only the bodhi tree, the bodhi seat measuring more than one hundred paces in circumference, and the Buddha's golden body sixteen feet tall.”

The Hall of Wondrous Light is so called because it is adorned with many jewels and is therefore “wondrous”; because the precious ornaments shine brilliantly and illuminate one another, it is called “light.” It is also called the Hall of Universal Light or the Palace of Universal Radiance. It stands not far west of the bodhi tree. When the Tathagata had newly attained perfect awakening, the Brahmā King built this hall from the seven precious substances.

The god Śakra constructed a throne from the seven precious substances, which emitted extraordinary light that illuminated the area beneath the bodhi tree. The Buddha sat upon this throne for seven days, radiating light. Today, all those precious substances have turned to stone.

The Avataṃsaka Sutra records: “In the Palace of Universal Radiance, he sat upon the lion throne of the Lotus Treasury Dais.” Such is the meaning.

The Ten Oceans of Worlds: Examine the Avataṃsaka Sutra in detail. In summary, they comprise:

1. The ocean of worlds

2. The ocean of sentient beings

3. The ocean of the establishment of the Dharma realm

4. The ocean of Buddhas

5. The ocean of the Buddhas' pāramitās

6. The ocean of the Buddhas' liberations

7. The ocean of the Buddhas' transformations

8. The ocean of the Buddha’s discourses

9. The ocean of the Buddha’s names

10. The ocean of the Buddha’s lifespan.

An ocean signifies depth and vastness; that is, these ten encompass all the teachings spoken by the Tathagata.

The Yingluo Sutra states: “When the Buddha first attained the Way beneath the Bodhi tree, he taught the Dharma-gate of the Ocean of the Ten Worlds. At that time, 80,000 Stainless Bodhisattvas manifested bodies and became Buddhas. It also says that ninety koṭis of people entered the Gate of Illumination of the Six Entrances. He then went to the Universal Radiance Dharma Hall and taught concerning the ten Buddha lands, where hundreds of myriads of koṭis of people entered the Gate of Illumination of the Six Entrances. Thereafter, in the Maṇi Hall—the sixth heaven—he taught the Dharma of the Ten Grounds, and people numbering hundreds of myriads of Ganges sands entered the Gate of Illumination of the Six Entrances.”

The palace of Śakra: Śakra in full Sanskrit is Śakra Devānām Indra, translated into Chinese as “Capable Lord of the Gods,” meaning that he constantly serves as the heavenly lord of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. This heavenly lord’s palace is called the Hall of Supreme Excellence. It stands upon the summit of Mount Sumeru and is precisely the second heaven, the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, among the heavens of the desire realm.

The Avataṃsaka Sutra states: “At that time, through the awe-inspiring spiritual power of the Tathagata, in all worlds throughout the ten directions, within every set of four continents, all beings in Jambudvīpa saw the Tathagata seated beneath the Bodhi tree. With each Buddha were Bodhisattvas who, relying upon the spiritual power of the Buddhas, expounded the Dharma. They all believed that they themselves were constantly in the Buddha’s presence.”

At that time, without departing from beneath the Bodhi tree, the Blessed One ascended the summit of Mount Sumeru and proceeded toward the palace of Śakra, lord of the gods. The Buddhas in all other worlds likewise did the same.

The Sutra Commentary states: “The Tathagata ascended to Śakra’s heaven without leaving the place of enlightenment. This is the sovereign freedom of essence and function, responding to the perceptions and aspirations of sentient beings.” It is like a tranquil river: although there is only one moon, it is seen by three boats. One boat remains still, while the other two travel south and north.

Those aboard the southbound boat see the moon follow them southward for a thousand miles; those aboard the northbound boat see the moon follow them northward for a thousand miles; and those aboard the stationary boat see the moon remain unmoving. Yet the moon does not depart from the middle of the river to travel south or north. The Tathagata’s responsive manifestations are likewise.

Thus, one should understand that the function of the Dharma-body is to manifest responsive bodies everywhere. Whether they appear to go or remain depends upon conditions; the Buddha himself neither moves nor remains still. Therefore, the Sutra states: “The Buddha’s body pervades the Dharma realm and universally appears before all sentient beings.

Responding everywhere according to conditions and perceptions, he nevertheless constantly remains upon the seat of enlightenment.” Thus, without departing from ultimate reality, the Tathagata universally benefits all beings.

The Ten Abodes are the stages through which Bodhisattvas advance in cultivation from the shallow to the profound, taking Wondrous Enlightenment as the final fruition. Because they begin with the Ten Faiths, it is said that the fruition of Wondrous Enlightenment is entered through faith, and that, having entered, one abides therein.

From here onward are the forty stages: the Abodes, Practices, Dedications, and Grounds. Other sutras mention them only briefly.

In the Upper Chapter, this sutra states that, after developing firm faith and patient acceptance, one advances to the Ten Minds of Initiative. These ten minds are:

1. The mind of relinquishment

2. The mind of precepts

3. The mind of patient acceptance

4. The mind of diligence

5. The mind of concentration

6. The mind of wisdom

7. The mind of vows

8. The mind of protection

9. The mind of joy

10. The mind of the summit.

The Sutra of the Garland of the Primary Activities states:

1. The abode of the mind that arouses aspiration

2. The abode of the mind that governs the ground

3. The abode of the mind of cultivation

4. The abode of the mind of noble birth

5. The abode of the mind endowed with skillful means

6. The abode of the right mind

7. The abode of the non-retrogressing mind

8. The abode of the mind of the true child

9. The abode of the Dharma prince’s mind

10. The abode of the mind of consecration.

Yāma Heaven, called Yāma or Yema in Sanskrit and translated into Chinese as “Division of Time,” is the third of the six heavens of the desire realm. The palace of this heaven is called the Precious Hall.

The Ten Practices arise when cultivation of the preceding Ten Abodes has been perfected. Although cultivation has not yet been fully accomplished, both benefits—benefiting oneself and benefiting others—are attained. Thus, one universally benefits sentient beings, accords with their aspirations, causes them to rejoice, and practices the Dharma of firm patient acceptance. These are called the Ten Minds of Nurturing Growth.

The ten minds that are nurtured and developed are:

1. The mind of loving-kindness

2. The mind of compassion

3. The mind of joy

4. The mind of equanimity

5. The mind of giving

6. The mind of goodness

7. The mind of benefiting

8. The mind of equality

9. The mind of concentration

10. The mind of wisdom

The Yingluo Sutra states:

1. The practice of the joyful mind

2. The practice of the beneficial mind

3. The practice of the mind free from anger and hatred

4. The practice of the inexhaustible mind

5. The practice of the mind free from delusion and confusion

6. The practice of the mind of skillful manifestation

7. The practice of the unattached mind

8. The practice of the reverent mind

9. The practice of the mind of wholesome Dharma

10. The practice of the true mind.

Tuṣita Heaven is the fourth of the six heavens of the desire realm and is translated into Chinese as “Joyful Contentment.” The palace of this heaven is called the Hall of Dharma Radiance.

The Ten Dedications mean that, after practitioners have advanced in cultivation and perfected the Ten Practices, they arouse great compassion to liberate all sentient beings and redirect the wholesome Dharma of the Ten Practices toward three objects:

1. Toward true suchness and ultimate reality, which are to be realized.

2. Toward unsurpassed bodhi, which is to be sought.

3. Toward all sentient beings, who are to be liberated.

Furthermore, with the mind that makes dedication and the wholesome practices that are dedicated, they direct them toward the myriad kinds of beings. When the myriad practices have been perfected, they enter the Dharma realm together. This is precisely the “steadfast cultivation of patient acceptance” in the Upper Chapter—the firm cultivation and observance within the mind of patient acceptance.

The Ten Vajra Minds comprise:

1. The mind of faith

2. The mind of mindfulness

3. The mind of dedication

4. The mind of penetration

5. The straightforward mind

6. The non-retrogressing mind

7. The Mahayana mind

8. The mind free from conception

9. The mind of wisdom

10. The indestructible mind.

The Yingluo Sutra states:

1. The mind of dedication that liberates all sentient beings while transcending the characteristics of sentient beings

2. The indestructible mind of dedication

3. The mind of dedication equal to all Buddhas

4. The mind of dedication that reaches all places

5. The mind of dedication toward the inexhaustible treasury of merit

6. The mind of dedication that accords with equal roots of goodness

7. The mind of dedication that accords with contemplating all sentient beings equally

8. The mind of dedication toward the characteristic of true suchness

9. The mind of dedication toward liberation, free from bondage

10. The mind of dedication that enters the immeasurable Dharma realm.

The Heaven of Delight in Transformation is the fifth of the six heavens of the desire realm.

The Ten Meditative Concentrations, also called the Ten Great Samādhis, can be skillfully entered only by great Bodhisattvas. By entering these samādhis, they attain the inexhaustible power of the Dharma realm, attain the immeasurably sovereign station of a Dharma king, are born into the family of the Tathagata, and manifest various vast spiritual powers. These Ten Great Samādhis are:

1. The Samādhi of Universal Radiance

2. The Samādhi of Wondrous Radiance

3. The Samādhi of Successively and Universally Reaching All Buddha Lands

4. The Samādhi of Accomplishing the Mental Practice of Diligence

5. The Samādhi of Knowing the Adorned Treasury of the Past

6. The Samādhi of the Treasury of Wisdom’s Radiance

7. The Samādhi of Clearly Knowing the Adornments of All Buddha Worlds

8. The Samādhi of the Diverse Bodies of Sentient Beings

9. The Samādhi of Sovereignty in the Dharma Realm

10. The Samādhi of the Unobstructed Wheel.

(See the Chapter on the Ten Concentrations in the Avataṃsaka Sutra.)

The Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Transformations is the sixth of the six heavens of the desire realm. The palace of this heaven is called the Maṇi Treasury of Jewels.

The Ten Grounds means that Bodhisattvas who practice and realize these stages of the Ten Grounds are like the earth, upon which all Buddha-Dharmas rely in order to arise.

The Yingluo Sutra states: “A ground is called ‘support’ because it sustains all the myriad asaṃkhyeyas of merit.” A ground is also called “birth” because it gives rise to all causes and fruits. These are the Ten Grounds within Firm Noble Patient Acceptance in the Upper Chapter, comprising:

1. The Ground of the Equality of Essential Nature

2. The Ground of the Wholesome Wisdom of Essential Nature

3. The Ground of the Radiance of Essential Nature

4. The Ground of the Blazing Flame of Essential Nature

5. The Ground of the Wisdom-Illumination of Essential Nature

6. The Ground of the Flower Radiance of Essential Nature

7. The Ground of the Fulfillment of Essential Nature

8. The Ground of the Buddha’s Roar of Essential Nature

9. The Avataṃsaka Ground of Essential Nature

10. The Ground of Entering the Buddha Realm in Essential Nature.

The Yingluo Sutra states:

1. The Ground of Joy

2. The Ground Free from Defilement

3. The Luminous Ground, also called the Ground of Dharma Light

4. The Ground of Blazing Wisdom, also called the Blazing Ground

5. The Difficult-to-Conquer Ground

6. The Ground of Manifest Presence

7. The Far-Going Ground

8. The Immovable Ground

9. The Ground of Wondrous Wisdom, also called the Ground of Excellent Wisdom

10. The Ground of the Dharma Cloud.

The first dhyana is the heaven of the first dhyana in the Form Realm.

The Ten Vajra Minds: Examining the upper and lower chapters of this sutra, these are precisely the Ten Dedications of Merit. However, the Ten Dedications of Merit were already discussed in the fourth heaven. Although the names here are the same, their meanings differ. We shall now rely on the Avatamsaka Sutra to set forth the Ten Vajra Minds. This sutra and the Avatamsaka Sutra were taught during the same period, but those who later compiled the teachings divided them into two collections. This means that a bodhisattva's mind of aspiration is firm and steadfast, incapable of being shaken by anything, as indestructible as vajra.

1. The mind that clearly comprehends all dharmas

2. The mind that teaches and liberates sentient beings

3. The mind that adorns worlds

4. The mind that dedicates roots of goodness

5. The mind that serves the Great Teacher

6. The mind that personally realizes all dharmas

7. The mind that practices vast patience

8. The mind that practices continually

9. The mind that perfects one's own practice

10. The mind that enables others to fulfill their aspirations.

The second dhyana is the heaven of the second dhyana in the Form Realm.

The Ten Patiences: When practitioners attain the power of these patiences, they reach the bodhisattva's unobstructed ground of patience and realize all Buddha-Dharmas, unobstructed and inexhaustible. This is precisely the final mind of a bodhisattva at the stage of Equal Enlightenment, who has realized all dharmas and completely eliminated subtle ignorance. In the Avatamsaka Sutra, there are many kinds of patience:

1. Patience with sounds

2. Conforming patience

3. Patience regarding the non-arising of dharmas

4. Patience regarding phenomena as illusions

5. Patience regarding phenomena as mirages

6. Patience regarding phenomena as dreams

7. Patience regarding phenomena as echoes

8. Patience regarding phenomena as images

9. Patience regarding phenomena as transformations

10. Patience regarding phenomena as space.

The third dhyana is the heaven of the third dhyana in the Form Realm.

The Ten Vows: The Avatamsaka Sutra sets forth two sets.

The first Ten Vows:

1. The vow to bring sentient beings to fulfillment without weariness

2. The vow to perform all wholesome deeds fully in order to purify all worlds

3. The vow to serve the Tathagatas and always give rise to a mind of reverence

4. The vow to uphold and protect the true Dharma without sparing body or life

5. The vow to contemplate all Buddha lands with wisdom

6. The vow to be of one essential nature with all bodhisattvas

7. The vow to enter the gateway of the Tathagatas and comprehend all dharmas

8. The vow that all who see the Buddha and give rise to faith and reverence may receive benefit

9. The vow to abide in the world through spiritual power until the kalpas of the future

10. The vow to perfect Samantabhadra's practices and vows, completely remove all defilements, and realize the gateway to the wisdom of all modes.

The second Ten Vows:

1. The vow to pay homage to all Buddhas

2. The vow to praise and extol the Tathagatas

3. The vow to cultivate Dharma gateways extensively as offerings

4. The vow to repent of all karmic obstructions

5. The vow to rejoice in all merit and virtue

6. The vow to request the Buddhas to turn the Dharma wheel

7. The vow to request the Buddhas to remain in the world

8. The vow always to follow the Buddhas and learn from them

9. The vow always to accord with sentient beings

10. The vow universally to dedicate all merit.

The fourth dhyana is the heaven of the fourth dhyana in the Form Realm.

Maheshvara is translated into Chinese as Great Sovereign. He possesses the eight kinds of sovereignty, is liberated from the mind's craving for pleasure, and radiates light surpassing all others. Dwelling at the summit of the Form Realm, he is the celestial lord who governs the great trichiliocosm. This bodhisattva of the Ten Abodes is named Awe-Inspiring Spiritual Sovereign. Previously, in the heaven of the fourth dhyana, the Buddha taught the Dharma gateways of the abodes, practices, dedications, and so forth. Now, in his final body, he likewise dwells in the fourth dhyana and teaches the Dharma gateway of the Mind Ground.

Furthermore, no dharma surpasses the mind. The unconditioned and signless Dharma, which is the fundamental source, cannot be fathomed by ordinary beings or bodhisattvas who have newly brought forth the aspiration; only a Buddha together with another Buddha can know it.

2. The Thousand Hundred Koṭis of Shakyamunis Teach the Dharma

Furthermore, the two hundred koṭis of Shakyamunis likewise expound it in the same way, neither two nor different, as explained very clearly in the Chapter on the Auspicious Kalpa.

Explanation:

The Dharma gateway of Vairocana's Mind Ground is now likewise recounted by the thousand hundred koṭis of Buddhas; hence it is said: “Neither different nor two.”

The Chapter on the Auspicious Kalpa was extracted from the Great Original Text, as stated earlier in the sutra. This passage concludes the upper chapter. The ancient commentary placed this section at the beginning of the lower chapter to elucidate the Original and Manifest aspects of Shakyamuni Buddha, enabling people to understand them as clearly as if viewing an object in the palm of the hand. We therefore follow the old translation.