大方廣佛華嚴經

13. CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ASCENDING TO THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT SUMERU

(Chinese Text: Beginning of Scroll 16)

At that time, through the spiritual power of the Tathagata, in every Jambudvipa throughout all worlds in the ten directions, the Buddha was seen seated beneath the bodhi tree, with bodhisattvas, empowered by the Buddha’s awesome spiritual might, expounding the Dharma. All believed themselves to be constantly in the Buddha’s presence.

Without leaving the foot of the bodhi tree, the Buddha ascended to the summit of Mount Sumeru and proceeded toward the palace of Shakra.

At that time, the Celestial Emperor, standing before the Palace of Wondrous Excellence, saw the Buddha approaching and immediately used his spiritual power to adorn the palace. He arranged the Lion Throne of the Treasury of Universal Radiance, fashioned entirely from wondrous jewels: ten thousand lofty, magnificently adorned tiers; ten thousand golden nets spread overhead; ten thousand kinds of curtains and ten thousand kinds of canopies arranged all around; ten thousand colored silken ribbons tied and hanging down; ten thousand interwoven strands of precious pearls; ten thousand garments spread upon the throne; ten thousand heavenly princes and ten thousand Brahma Kings standing in attendance before and behind; and ten thousand brilliant rays of light.

The Celestial Emperor joined his palms, bowed respectfully, and welcomed the Buddha, saying: “Excellent, World-Honored One! Excellent, Sugata! Excellent, Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One! May the Buddha compassionately enter this palace!”

The Buddha accepted the invitation and entered the Palace of Wondrous Excellence. The same occurred throughout all worlds in the ten directions.

Through the spiritual power of the Buddha, all the music in the celestial palaces fell silent.

The Celestial Emperor then recollected the roots of goodness cultivated by the Buddhas in the past and spoke these verses:

Kashyapa Tathagata, replete with great compassion,

Was supreme among all auspicious ones.

That Buddha once came to this palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Krakucchanda, whose vision was unobstructed,

Was supreme among all auspicious ones.

That Buddha once came to this palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Kanakamuni Buddha was like a mountain of gold,

Supreme among all auspicious ones.

That Buddha once came to this palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Vishvabhu Buddha purified the three delusions,

And was supreme among all auspicious ones.

That Buddha once came to this palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Shikhin Tathagata was free from discrimination,

And was supreme among all auspicious ones.

That Buddha once came to this palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Vipashyin Buddha was like the full moon,

Supreme among all auspicious ones.

That Buddha once came to this palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Pushya Buddha realized the ultimate truth,

And was supreme among all auspicious ones.

That Buddha once came to this palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Tishya Tathagata possessed unobstructed eloquence,

And was supreme among all auspicious ones.

That Buddha once came to this palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Padma Buddha was pure and stainless,

And was supreme among all auspicious ones.

That Buddha once came to this palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Dipankara Tathagata possessed great radiance,

And was supreme among all auspicious ones.

That Buddha once came to this palace;

Therefore, this place is most auspicious.

Just as the Celestial King of the Trayastrimsha Heaven in this world, through the spiritual power of the Tathagata, spoke verses praising the virtues of the ten Buddhas of the past, so too did all the Celestial Emperors throughout the worlds in the ten directions praise the virtues of the Buddhas.

When the World-Honored One sat cross-legged in the Palace of Wondrous Excellence, the palace suddenly became as spacious as the dwelling places of all the devas. The same occurred throughout the worlds in the ten directions.

14. CHAPTER FOURTEEN: VERSES OF PRAISE ON THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT SUMERU

(Chinese Text: First Part of Scroll 16)

At that time, through the spiritual power of the Buddha, from lands beyond worlds as numerous as the dust motes in one hundred Buddha-lands, a great bodhisattva came from each of the ten directions, each accompanied by bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes in a Buddha-land, and they all assembled together. The ten great bodhisattvas were: Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva, All-Wisdom Bodhisattva, Supreme Wisdom Bodhisattva, Virtuous Wisdom Bodhisattva, Diligent Wisdom Bodhisattva, Good Wisdom Bodhisattva, Knowledge Wisdom Bodhisattva, True Wisdom Bodhisattva, Unsurpassed Wisdom Bodhisattva, and Steadfast Wisdom Bodhisattva.

Their lands, respectively, were: Indra Flower World, Padma Flower World, Precious Flower World, Utpala Flower World, Vajra Flower World, Wondrous Fragrant Flower World, Delightful Flower World, Alo Flower World, Narada Flower World, and Space Flower World. The Buddhas dwelling there, respectively, were: Distinctive Moon Buddha, Inexhaustible Moon Buddha, Immovable Moon Buddha, Wind Moon Buddha, Water Moon Buddha, Liberation Moon Buddha, Unsurpassed Moon Buddha, Constellation Moon Buddha, Pure Moon Buddha, and Clearly Understanding Moon Buddha.

These bodhisattvas arrived, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and then, according to the direction from which they had come, each manifested a Lion Throne of the Vairochana Treasury and sat cross-legged upon it.

Just as these bodhisattvas assembled on the summit of Mount Sumeru in this world, so too did this occur throughout the worlds in the ten directions; even their names, lands, and Buddhas were the same.

At that time, from the toes of both feet, the World-Honored One emitted hundreds of thousands of kotis of beautifully colored rays of light, illuminating everywhere within the palaces of Shakra throughout the worlds in the ten directions. The Buddhas and the great assemblies all became clearly manifest.

Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva, empowered by the Buddha’s awesome spiritual might, contemplated throughout the ten directions and then spoke these verses:

The Buddha emits pure radiance,

Revealing all the Buddhas everywhere

Upon the summit of regal Mount Sumeru,

Within the Palace of Wondrous Excellence.

All the celestial Shakras

Invite the Buddhas into their palaces;

Each speaks ten wondrous verses

In praise of the Tathagatas.

Within those great assemblies,

All the multitudes of bodhisattvas

Come from throughout the ten directions,

Manifest thrones, and take their seats.

The bodhisattvas in those assemblies

Bear the same names as we do,

And the lands from which they come

Likewise bear the very same names;

The Tathagatas of their native lands

Likewise all bear the same honored names,

And before their native Buddhas, the bodhisattvas

Purely cultivate the unsurpassed practices.

The great assembly should contemplate

The Tathagata’s power of sovereign mastery:

In every Jambudvipa,

All say that the Buddha is present there.

The diligent assembly now sees the Buddha

Dwelling upon the summit of Mount Sumeru;

It is likewise so throughout the ten directions—

Such is the Tathagata’s power of sovereign mastery.

Within each and every world,

They resolve to seek the path to Buddhahood;

Relying upon such vows,

They cultivate the practices of bodhi.

The Buddha, in many bodily forms,

Journeys throughout all worlds;

The Dharma realm is without obstruction,

And no one can fathom it.

The light of wisdom constantly shines everywhere,

Dispelling all the darkness of the world;

Nothing whatsoever can compare with it—

How could anyone fathom or comprehend it?

All-Wisdom Bodhisattva, empowered by the Buddha’s awesome spiritual might, contemplated throughout the ten directions and then spoke these verses:

Even if, for hundreds of thousands of kalpas,

One constantly beholds the Tathagata,

If one does not rely upon ultimate truth

When contemplating the Savior of the World,

That person clings to appearances

And further enlarges the net of delusion;

Bound and confined within the prison of birth and death,

Blind, that person does not see the Buddha.

Contemplate all dharmas:

They are all without intrinsic nature.

Their appearances, arising and ceasing,

Are merely provisional names and designations.

All dharmas are unborn;

All dharmas are unceasing.

If one can understand in this way,

The Buddhas are always present before one.

The nature of dharmas is originally empty and quiescent,

Without grasping and also without seeing.

The nature of emptiness itself is the Buddha,

Beyond all thought and conception.

If one knows that all dharmas

Are, in their essential nature, entirely thus,

Then this person will not be

Defiled or attached by afflictions.

Ordinary beings perceive all dharmas

And merely follow their provisional appearances;

They do not understand that dharmas are without marks,

And therefore they do not see the Buddha.

The Buddha transcends the three periods of time,

Yet is fully endowed with all characteristics;

Dwelling where there is no dwelling,

He pervades everywhere without moving.

I contemplate all dharmas

And understand them all with perfect clarity;

Now I behold the Tathagata

Resolutely, without doubt.

Dharma Wisdom previously proclaimed

The true nature of the Tathagata;

From this I clearly understood

That bodhi is inconceivable.

Bodhisattva Supreme Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated throughout the ten directions and spoke these verses:

The Tathagata’s great wisdom

Is rare and beyond compare;

None in all the worlds

Can reach it through thought.

Ordinary beings falsely observe,

Clinging to marks contrary to truth;

The Buddha is free from every mark—

He cannot be known by them.

The ignorant and deluded

Falsely cling to the marks of the five skandhas;

Not knowing their true nature,

Such people do not see the Buddha.

Clearly knowing that all dharmas

Are entirely without self-nature,

Understanding the Dharma-nature in this way,

One then sees Vairocana.

Because the preceding five skandhas

Are followed continuously by later skandhas,

By clearly knowing this nature,

One sees the inconceivable Buddha.

Just as a jewel in darkness

Cannot be seen without a lamp,

Without someone to teach the Buddha Dharma,

Even the wise cannot understand it.

Just as eyes afflicted by cataracts

Cannot see beautiful colors,

So too, an impure mind

Cannot see the Buddha’s teachings.

Again, just as the radiant sun

Cannot be seen by the blind,

A mind devoid of wisdom

Can never see the Buddhas.

If the disease of blindness is wholly cured

And thoughts that conceive form are abandoned,

Then, by not seeing anything in dharmas,

One is able to see the Tathagata.

All-Wisdom has proclaimed

The Dharma of the Buddhas’ bodhi;

Hearing the words he spoke,

I was able to see Vairocana.

Bodhisattva Merit Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated throughout the ten directions and spoke these verses:

All dharmas are not real,

Yet they are falsely grasped as real;

Therefore ordinary beings

Revolve within the prison of birth and death.

Regarding words that expound the Dharma,

Those of little wisdom falsely discriminate;

Thus they produce obstructions

And fail to understand their own minds.

If they do not understand their own minds,

How could they know the Right Path?

Through inverted wisdom,

They cause every evil to increase.

Not seeing that all dharmas are empty,

They constantly undergo the sufferings of birth and death;

Such people have not yet attained

The pure Dharma-eye.

In the past I underwent suffering

Because I did not see the Buddha;

Therefore one must purify the Dharma-eye

And behold what ought to be seen.

If one is able to see the Buddha,

The mind does not cling;

Such a person then sees

The Dharma known by the Buddha.

If one sees the Buddha’s true Dharma,

One is called a being of great wisdom;

Such a person possesses the pure eye

And can contemplate the world.

Not seeing is itself true seeing,

By which one can see all dharmas;

If one entertains any seeing regarding dharmas,

That is precisely not seeing.

The nature of all dharmas

Neither arises nor ceases;

Wondrous indeed is the Guiding Teacher,

Self-awakened and able to awaken others.

Supreme Wisdom has proclaimed

The Dharma realized by the Tathagata;

Hearing what he has said,

We know the Buddha’s true nature.

Bodhisattva Diligent Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated throughout the ten directions and spoke these verses:

If one abides in discrimination,

One destroys the pure eye,

Increasing delusion and wrong views,

And can never see the Buddha.

If one comprehends erroneous dharmas

As they truly are, without inversion,

Knowing that delusion is originally true,

Then seeing the Buddha is purity.

Where there is seeing, there is defilement;

This is not yet true seeing.

Only by abandoning all attachments to views

Does one see the Buddha.

The verbal conventions of the world

Are falsely discriminated by sentient beings;

Knowing that all such things are unborn

Is truly seeing the world.

If one sees a “world that is seen,”

That “seeing” is itself a worldly mark;

Seeing reality as identical and without difference—

Such a person is called one of true vision.

If one sees identity without difference

And makes no discriminations regarding things,

Such seeing is free from afflictions,

Uncontaminated and sovereign.

All the discriminated dharmas

Revealed and taught by the Buddhas

Can never be apprehended,

For the Dharma-nature is pure.

The Dharma-nature is originally pure,

Without marks, like empty space;

Nothing whatsoever can express it—

The wise contemplate in this way.

Free from conceptions of dharmas,

Taking no delight in any dharma,

With nothing here to cultivate,

One sees the Great Muni.

As Merit Wisdom has said,

This is called seeing the Buddha;

All practices whatsoever

Are in their essential nature quiescent and extinct.

At that time, Bodhisattva Good Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated throughout the ten directions and spoke these verses:

Rare is the Great Hero,

Together with the immeasurable Tathagatas;

Their minds liberated and free from defilement,

They cross over themselves and can ferry others across.

I see the Lamp of the World

In accordance with reality, without inversion,

Just as one endowed with wisdom has seen

Throughout immeasurable kalpas.

All the activities of ordinary beings

Swiftly return to complete cessation;

Their nature is like empty space,

And therefore is said to be inexhaustible.

The wise speak of the inexhaustible,

Yet here too there is nothing spoken.

Because the self-nature is inexhaustible,

There can be an inconceivable end.

Within what is called inexhaustible,

No sentient being can be found;

Knowing the nature of beings in this way,

One then sees the One of Great Renown.

Not seeing is called seeing;

The unborn is called a sentient being.

Whether seeing or sentient being,

One clearly knows they have no essential nature.

The seeing faculty, the object seen,

And the seer are all dispelled;

Without impairing the true Dharma,

Such a person clearly understands the Buddha.

If one clearly understands the Buddha

And the Dharma spoken by the Buddha,

One can illuminate the world

Like the Buddha Vairocana.

Perfect Awakening skillfully reveals

The single path of the pure Dharma;

The great being of diligent wisdom

Expounds immeasurable teachings.

Thoughts of either existence

Or nonexistence are all eliminated;

Seeing the Buddha in this way,

One abides in the limit of reality.

At that time, Bodhisattva Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated throughout the ten directions and spoke these verses:

When I heard the supreme Dharma,

The light of wisdom immediately arose,

Illuminating realms throughout the ten directions,

And I saw all the Buddhas everywhere.

Here there is not the slightest thing,

Only provisional names;

If one clings to a self and a person,

One enters a perilous path.

Clinging ordinary beings

Grasp the body as truly existent;

The Buddha is not an object of grasping,

So they can never see him.

Such people have no wisdom-eye

And cannot see the Buddha;

Throughout immeasurable kalpas,

They wander in the ocean of birth and death.

Where there is contention, it is called birth and death;

Where there is no contention, it is nirvana.

Birth and death and nirvana—

Neither can be expressed.

If, following provisional names,

One grasps these two dharmas,

Such a person does not accord with reality

And does not know the Buddha’s wondrous path.

If one gives rise to this thought:

“This is the Buddha; this is supreme,”

That is inverted and not real,

And one does not see Perfect Awakening.

Knowing this true essence,

Whose mark of suchness is quiescent and extinct,

One then sees the Perfectly Awakened One,

Beyond the path of words and speech.

Words that speak of dharmas

Cannot reveal their true mark;

Only through equality can it be seen—

As with dharmas, so too with the Buddha.

The Buddhas of the past,

The future, and the present

Have forever severed the root of discrimination;

Therefore they are called Buddhas.

Bodhisattva True Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated throughout the ten directions and spoke these verses:

I would rather suffer the pains of hell

And be able to hear the Buddha’s glorious name

Than delight in immeasurable pleasures

Without hearing the Buddha’s name.

The reason that in former times

I suffered for countless kalpas,

Wandering within birth and death,

Was that I had not heard the Buddha’s name.

Directly realizing in accordance with reality

The Dharma that is free from inversion,

And being free from all marks of conjunction—

This is called Unsurpassed Awakening.

The present is not a conjunction;

The past and future are likewise.

All dharmas are without marks—

This is the Buddha’s true essence.

If one can contemplate in this way

The extremely profound meaning of all dharmas,

One then sees the mark of true reality,

The Dharma-body of the Buddhas.

In the real, one sees the real;

In the unreal, one sees the unreal.

Understanding this completely,

One is therefore called a Buddha.

The Buddha Dharma cannot be awakened to;

Clearly understanding this is called “awakening to the Dharma.”

The Buddhas cultivate in this way,

Without apprehending even a single dharma.

Knowing that the many arise from the one,

And knowing that the one arises from the many,

All dharmas have no support

And arise only through conjunction.

There is neither an agent nor an act performed;

They arise only from karma and conception.

How can one know this to be so?

Because nothing exists apart from this.

All dharmas have no abiding;

No fixed locus can be apprehended.

The Buddhas abide herein,

Ultimately unmoving.

Bodhisattva Unsurpassed Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, contemplated throughout the ten directions and spoke these verses:

The unsurpassed one of the Great Vehicle

Having abandoned the conception of sentient beings,

None can surpass him;

Therefore, he is called the Unsurpassed One.

That which all Buddhas have attained

Is uncreated and free from discrimination.

Coarse spiritual powers have no inherent existence;

The subtle are likewise.

Within the realm in which the Buddhas course,

There are no enumerations;

This is the true Dharma of the Buddha.

The Tathagata’s light shines universally,

Dispelling every darkness.

This light does not illuminate,

Nor does it fail to illuminate.

He has no attachment to any dharma,

Neither thought nor defilement,

Neither abiding nor location,

And does not impair the Dharma-nature.

Herein there is no duality,

Yet neither is there unity.

Those of great wisdom see correctly

And skillfully abide in ultimate truth.

Within emptiness there is no duality;

Nonduality is likewise so.

All within the three realms is empty:

Such is the vision of the Buddhas.

Ordinary beings do not understand;

The Buddha causes them to abide in the true Dharma.

All dharmas have nowhere to abide;

Awakening to this, one sees one’s own body.

Though it is not a body, it is called a body;

Though it does not arise, it manifests arising.

Neither body nor seeing exists:

This is the unsurpassed body of the Buddha.

As the bodhisattva True Wisdom has said,

Such is the wondrous Dharma-nature of all Buddhas.

Whoever hears this Dharma

Will attain the pure eye.

At that time, the bodhisattva Steadfast Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, surveyed the ten directions and spoke these verses:

Magnificent! His great radiance—

The unsurpassed and valiant One—

For the benefit of all beings,

Appears within the world.

With a mind of great compassion,

The Buddha universally observes sentient beings

And sees that throughout the three realms

They revolve in samsara and undergo many sufferings.

Apart from the Perfectly Awakened One,

The Guiding Teacher who possesses the power,

Among all devas and humans

None can provide deliverance and protection.

If the Buddhas and bodhisattvas

Did not appear within the world,

Then not a single sentient being

Could ever attain peace and happiness.

The Tathagatas, the Perfectly Awakened Ones,

Together with the hosts of sages and noble ones,

Appear within the world

And bring happiness to sentient beings.

Whoever beholds the Tathagata

Obtains immense benefit;

Whoever hears the Buddha’s name and gives rise to faith

Is a stupa within the world.

We have beheld the Tathagata

And thereby obtained immense benefit;

Having heard such wondrous Dharma,

We shall all attain Buddhahood.

The bodhisattvas of the past,

Through the spiritual power of the Buddha,

Attained the pure eye of wisdom

And clearly understood the realms of all Buddhas.

Now that we behold Vairocana,

Our pure minds increase still further.

The Buddha’s wisdom is boundless;

It can never be fully expounded.

Even if the bodhisattva Supreme Wisdom and the others,

Together with me, Steadfast Wisdom,

Were to speak throughout countless kotis of kalpas,

We still could not exhaust it.

15. CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE TEN ABODES

(Latter Part of Chinese Canon, Scroll 16)

At that time, the bodhisattva Dharma Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awe-inspiring might, entered the Bodhisattva Samadhi of Immeasurable Skillful Means. Through the power of this samadhi, in each of the ten directions, beyond worlds as numerous as the dust motes in a thousand Buddha-lands, Buddhas as numerous as the dust motes in a thousand Buddha-lands, all identically named Dharma Wisdom, appeared together and said to the bodhisattva Dharma Wisdom:

“Excellent, excellent, good man! You are able to enter this Bodhisattva Samadhi of Immeasurable Skillful Means.

“Good man! In each of the ten directions, Buddhas as numerous as the dust motes in a thousand Buddha-lands all employ their spiritual powers together to empower and protect you.

“Furthermore, through the power of the vows and spiritual powers of this Tathagata Vairocana, together with the power of the roots of goodness you have cultivated, you have entered this samadhi so that you may expound the Dharma: to increase the wisdom of the Buddhas; to penetrate deeply into the Dharma-realm; to understand well the realm of sentient beings; to enter without obstruction; to practice without hindrance; to attain incomparable skillful means; to enter the nature of omniscience; to awaken to all dharmas; to know all faculties; and to be able to receive, retain, and expound all dharmas. This is precisely to reveal the Ten Abodes of the bodhisattva.

“Good man! You should avail yourself of the Buddha’s spiritual power and expound the Dharma of the Ten Abodes!”

At that time, all the Buddhas immediately bestowed upon the bodhisattva Dharma Wisdom unobstructed wisdom, unattached wisdom, uninterrupted wisdom, wisdom free from delusion, wisdom free from deviation, unerring wisdom, immeasurable wisdom, unsurpassed wisdom, wisdom free from indolence, and wisdom that cannot be taken away. Why was this? Because such is the intrinsic nature of the power of this samadhi.

All the Buddhas extended their right hands and stroked the crown of the bodhisattva Dharma Wisdom’s head.

The bodhisattva Dharma Wisdom then emerged from samadhi and addressed the bodhisattvas:

“Children of the Buddhas! The abodes of bodhisattvas are vast, equal in extent to the realm of empty space.

“Children of the Buddhas! Bodhisattvas abide in the household of the Buddhas of the three times.

“I shall now explain these abodes of bodhisattvas.

“Children of the Buddhas! The bodhisattvas’ abodes comprise ten stages, which the Buddhas of the three times have expounded, will expound, and are presently expounding.

“These are the Ten Abodes:

“The Abode of the Initial Resolve, the Abode of Preparing the Ground, the Abode of Cultivation, the Abode of Noble Birth, the Abode of Perfecting Skillful Means, the Abode of the Right Mind, the Abode of Nonretrogression, the Abode of the True Youth, the Abode of the Dharma Prince, and the Abode of Consecration.

“Children of the Buddhas! What is the bodhisattva’s Abode of the Initial Resolve?

“This bodhisattva may behold the Buddha’s dignified and beautiful form endowed with great awe-inspiring power; may witness his spiritual powers; may hear a prediction of awakening; may hear teachings and instructions; may see sentient beings undergoing many kinds of intense suffering; or may hear of the vast Buddhadharma of the Tathagata. Thereupon, the bodhisattva gives rise to the resolve for bodhi and seeks omniscience.

“This bodhisattva gives rise to the resolve by contemplating ten difficult-to-attain dharmas. These are the ten difficult-to-attain dharmas:

“The wisdom that clearly knows what is possible and what is impossible; the wisdom that clearly knows the karmic results of good and evil actions; the wisdom that clearly knows the superior and inferior faculties and dispositions of beings; the wisdom that clearly knows the distinctions among the many kinds of understanding; the wisdom that clearly knows the distinctions among various realms; the wisdom that clearly knows all paths leading to every destination; the wisdom that clearly knows the dhyanas, liberations, and samadhis; the unobstructed wisdom that knows past lives; the unobstructed wisdom of the divine eye; and the wisdom that knows the exhaustion of the outflows throughout the three times.

“Children of the Buddhas! This bodhisattva should be encouraged to study ten dharmas. These are the ten:

“Diligently making offerings to the Buddhas; delighting in remaining within samsara; undertaking to guide the world so that beings may eliminate evil karma; always instructing beings with the supreme and wondrous Dharma; praising the unsurpassed Dharma; studying the virtues of the Buddhas; being born in the presence of the Buddhas and always receiving their care; skillfully expounding the samadhi of quiescence; praising emancipation from the cycle of birth and death; and serving as a refuge for suffering sentient beings.

“Why should he be encouraged to study these ten dharmas? So that, within the Buddhadharma, this bodhisattva’s mind may grow ever more vast, and so that whenever he hears a teaching he may understand it by himself without being instructed by others.

“Children of the Buddhas! What is the bodhisattva’s Abode of Preparing the Ground?

“This bodhisattva gives rise to ten kinds of mind toward sentient beings:

“A mind that benefits them, a mind of great compassion, a mind that brings peace and happiness, a mind that establishes them securely, a mind of sympathy, a mind that embraces and accepts them, a mind that guards and protects them, a mind that regards them as oneself, a mind that serves as their teacher, and a mind that serves as their guiding master.

“Children of the Buddhas! This bodhisattva should be encouraged to study ten dharmas:

“Reciting and studying extensively; dwelling at leisure in tranquil solitude; drawing near to spiritual friends; speaking harmonious and pleasing words; always knowing the proper time to speak; maintaining a fearless mind; thoroughly understanding all meanings; practicing in accordance with the Dharma; abandoning ignorance and delusion; and abiding steadfastly without wavering.

“By studying these ten dharmas, this bodhisattva’s great compassion toward sentient beings increases, and whenever he hears a teaching he understands it by himself without being instructed by others.

“Children of the Buddhas! What is the bodhisattva’s Abode of Unhindered Practice?

“This bodhisattva employs ten contemplations to observe all dharmas:

“He contemplates that all dharmas are impermanent; that all dharmas are suffering; that all dharmas are empty; that all dharmas are without self; that all dharmas are uncreated; that all dharmas are without flavor; that all dharmas are not as their names suggest; that all dharmas have no location; that all dharmas are free from discrimination; and that all dharmas have no solid reality.

“Children of the Buddhas! This bodhisattva should be encouraged to study ten dharmas:

“Contemplating the realm of sentient beings, the Dharma-realm, and the world-realm; contemplating the earth dhatu, water dhatu, fire dhatu, and wind dhatu; and contemplating the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm. This is so that the bodhisattva may attain lucid wisdom and, whenever he hears a teaching, understand it by himself without being instructed by others.

“Children of the Buddhas! What is the bodhisattva’s Abode of Noble Birth?

“This bodhisattva is born from the noble teachings and perfects ten dharmas:

Never retreating from the path to Buddhahood, they give rise to deep and pure faith, skillfully contemplate the Dharma, and clearly understand sentient beings, lands, worlds, karmic practices, their fruits and retributions, birth and death, and nirvana.

Children of the Buddha! This bodhisattva should be encouraged to study ten dharmas:

Clearly understanding all Buddha-Dharmas of the past, future, and present; cultivating all Buddha-Dharmas of the past, future, and present; perfecting all Buddha-Dharmas of the past, future, and present; and clearly knowing the equality of all Buddhas. This is so that this bodhisattva may advance, attain an impartial mind with regard to the three periods of time, and, upon hearing the Dharma, immediately understand it without being taught by another.

Children of the Buddha! What is the Bodhisattva’s Dwelling in the Perfection of Skillful Means?

This bodhisattva fully possesses ten dharmas:

All roots of goodness that they cultivate are dedicated to rescuing and protecting all sentient beings, benefiting all sentient beings, bringing peace and happiness to all sentient beings, compassionately caring for all sentient beings, liberating all sentient beings, enabling all sentient beings to leave calamities and difficulties behind, enabling all sentient beings to escape the suffering of birth and death, causing all sentient beings to give rise to pure faith, causing all sentient beings to become disciplined, and enabling all sentient beings to realize nirvana.

Children of the Buddha! This bodhisattva should be encouraged to study ten dharmas:

Knowing that sentient beings are boundless, immeasurable, and countless; knowing that sentient beings are inconceivable, possess immeasurable forms, and cannot be measured; and knowing that sentient beings are empty, without activity, without possession, and without inherent nature.

This is so that this bodhisattva’s mind may become ever more excellent, remain free from attachment, and, upon hearing the Dharma, immediately understand it without being taught by another.

Children of the Buddha! What is the Bodhisattva’s Dwelling in the Right Mind?

Upon hearing ten dharmas, this bodhisattva’s mind remains settled and unmoved:

Whether hearing the Buddha praised or disparaged, their mind remains settled and unmoved with regard to the Buddha-Dharma. Whether hearing the Dharma praised or disparaged, their mind remains settled and unmoved with regard to the Buddha-Dharma. Whether hearing bodhisattvas praised or disparaged, their mind remains settled and unmoved with regard to the Buddha-Dharma.

Whether hearing the practices of a bodhisattva praised or disparaged, their mind remains settled and unmoved with regard to the Buddha-Dharma. Whether hearing that sentient beings are finite or infinite, their mind remains settled and unmoved with regard to the Buddha-Dharma. Whether hearing that sentient beings are defiled or undefiled, their mind remains settled and unmoved with regard to the Buddha-Dharma.

Whether hearing that sentient beings are easy or difficult to liberate, their mind remains settled and unmoved with regard to the Buddha-Dharma. Whether hearing that the Dharma-realm is finite or infinite, their mind remains settled and unmoved with regard to the Buddha-Dharma. Whether hearing that the Dharma-realm undergoes formation or destruction, their mind remains settled and unmoved with regard to the Buddha-Dharma.

Whether hearing that the Buddha-Dharma exists or does not exist, their mind remains settled and unmoved with regard to the Buddha-Dharma.

Children of the Buddha! This bodhisattva should be encouraged to study ten dharmas:

All dharmas are without characteristics; all dharmas are without substance; all dharmas lack independent mastery; all dharmas possess nothing; all dharmas are not truly real; all dharmas are empty; all dharmas are without inherent nature; all dharmas are like illusions; all dharmas are like dreams; and all dharmas are without discrimination.

This is so that this bodhisattva’s mind may advance ever further and attain the irreversible Dharma-eye of non-arising, and, upon hearing the Dharma, immediately understand it without being taught by another.

Children of the Buddha! What is the Bodhisattva’s Dwelling in Non-Retrogression?

Upon hearing ten dharmas, this bodhisattva remains steadfast and never retreats:

Whether hearing that Buddhas exist or do not exist; that the Dharma exists or does not exist; that bodhisattvas exist or do not exist; that bodhisattva practices exist or do not exist; that bodhisattvas who cultivate the path attain emancipation or do not attain emancipation; that Buddhas existed or did not exist in the past; that Buddhas will exist or will not exist in the future; that Buddhas exist or do not exist in the present; that the Buddha’s wisdom is exhaustible or inexhaustible; or that the three periods of time have a single characteristic or do not have a single characteristic—their minds never retreat from the Buddha-Dharma.

Children of the Buddha! This bodhisattva should be encouraged to study ten vast dharmas:

To say that one is precisely many and that many are precisely one; that the words accord with the meaning and the meaning accords with the words; that nonexistence is precisely existence and existence is precisely nonexistence; that the absence of characteristics is precisely characteristics and characteristics are precisely the absence of characteristics; that the absence of inherent nature is precisely inherent nature and inherent nature is precisely the absence of inherent nature.

This is so that this bodhisattva may advance, skillfully attain emancipation from all dharmas, and, upon hearing the Dharma, immediately understand it without being taught by another.

Children of the Buddha! What is the Bodhisattva’s Dwelling as a Pure Youth?

This bodhisattva abides in ten courses of action:

Bodily conduct without fault, verbal conduct without fault, mental conduct without fault, taking birth according to intention, knowing the various desires of sentient beings, knowing the various understandings of sentient beings, knowing the various states of sentient beings, knowing the various karmas of sentient beings, knowing the formation and destruction of worlds, and possessing unhindered mastery of spiritual powers.

Children of the Buddha! This bodhisattva should be encouraged to study ten dharmas:

Knowing all Buddha-lands, moving all Buddha-lands, sustaining all Buddha-lands, contemplating all Buddha-lands, reaching all Buddha-lands, traveling through countless worlds, receiving countless Buddha-Dharmas, freely manifesting transformation bodies, uttering vast voices that pervade everywhere, and, in a single instant, attending upon and making offerings to countless Buddhas.

This is so that this bodhisattva may advance, attain skillfulness in all dharmas, and, upon hearing the Dharma, immediately understand it without being taught by another.

Children of the Buddha! What is the Bodhisattva’s Dwelling as a Prince of the Dharma King?

This bodhisattva skillfully knows ten dharmas:

Skillfully knowing the births taken by sentient beings, skillfully knowing the arising of afflictions, skillfully knowing the continuity of habitual tendencies, skillfully knowing the application of skillful means, skillfully knowing immeasurable dharmas, skillfully knowing the various modes of dignified conduct, skillfully knowing the distinctions among worlds, skillfully knowing the affairs of preceding and succeeding worlds, and skillfully knowing how to expound the ultimate truth.

Children of the Buddha! This bodhisattva should be encouraged to study ten dharmas:

Skillfulness concerning the station of the Dharma King, the regulations and measures of the station of the Dharma King, the palace of the station of the Dharma King, the revenues of the station of the Dharma King, the contemplations of the station of the Dharma King, the consecration of the station of the Dharma King, the sustaining power of the Dharma King, the fearlessness of the Dharma King, the illuminating discernment of the Dharma King, and the praises of the Dharma King.

This is so that this bodhisattva may advance with an unobstructed mind and, upon hearing the Dharma, immediately understand it without being taught by another.

Children of the Buddha! What is the Bodhisattva’s Dwelling in Consecration?

This bodhisattva attains ten kinds of wisdom:

Shaking countless worlds, illuminating countless worlds, sustaining countless worlds, traveling to countless worlds, adorning and purifying countless worlds, instructing and revealing the Dharma to countless sentient beings, contemplating countless sentient beings, knowing the faculties and dispositions of countless sentient beings, enabling countless sentient beings to enter the Dharma, and enabling countless sentient beings to become disciplined.

The body and bodily karma of this bodhisattva, their manifestations of spiritual powers and transformations, their knowledge of the past, knowledge of the future, knowledge of the present, accomplishment of Buddha-lands, states of mind, and states of wisdom—all these are unknowable; even a bodhisattva dwelling as a Prince of the Dharma King cannot know them.

This bodhisattva should be encouraged to study ten kinds of the Tathagata’s wisdom:

Wisdom of the three periods of time, wisdom of the Buddha-Dharma, unobstructed wisdom of the Dharma-realm, wisdom of the boundless realm of the Buddhas, wisdom that fills all worlds, wisdom that universally illuminates all worlds, wisdom that sustains all worlds, wisdom that knows all sentient beings, wisdom that knows all dharmas, and wisdom that knows the boundless Buddhas.

This is so that this bodhisattva may increase the wisdom of all modes and, upon hearing the Dharma, immediately understand it without being taught by another.

At that time, through the spiritual power of the Buddhas of the ten directions, in each direction worlds as numerous as the dust motes in ten thousand Buddha-lands quaked in six ways. Celestial flowers, flower garlands, celestial powdered incense, celestial blended incense, celestial jeweled garments, celestial jeweled clouds, and celestial ornaments rained down. Celestial music sounded spontaneously in harmony. Celestial lights shone forth, accompanied by wondrous sounds.

Just as in this world the Dharma of the Ten Abodes was taught in the palace of Shakra, Lord of the Devas, and spiritual transformations were manifested, so too was it in all the worlds of the ten directions.

Moreover, through the spiritual power of the Buddha, from each of the ten directions came bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes in ten thousand Buddha-lands. Arriving there, they all said: “Excellent! Excellent, Buddha’s son! You have skillfully taught this Dharma.

“We are all named Dharma Wisdom; our lands are all called Dharma Cloud; and the Tathagatas in those lands are all named Wondrous Dharma. In the Dharma assemblies of our World-Honored Ones, we also expound the Ten Abodes. The wording, meaning, principles, assembled congregations, and retinues are all exactly the same as here, with neither increase nor decrease.

“We have come to this Dharma assembly through the spiritual power of the Buddha in order to bear witness.”

Then Bodhisattva Dharma Wisdom, empowered by the Buddha’s awesome might, contemplated the ten directions throughout the Dharma Realm and spoke these verses:

Beholding the wondrous body of the Supremely Wise One,

Whose marks and excellences are majestic and complete—

One so venerable is exceedingly difficult to encounter;

Therefore the courageous bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Beholding great spiritual powers unequaled by any,

And hearing predictions and words of instruction,

Seeing the immeasurable suffering of all beings—

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Hearing of the Tathagatas, the Universally Supreme Ones,

Who have perfected every merit and virtue,

And who, like empty space, make no distinctions—

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

The causes and effects of the three periods of time are called possibilities;

That which contradicts their inherent nature is called impossibility.

Wishing to understand fully their true meaning,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

All conditioned practices and paths of conduct

Each have their respective destinations.

Wishing to understand clearly their essential nature,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

All beings throughout all worlds

Revolve according to karma without a moment’s rest.

Wishing to attain the heavenly eye and see them all clearly,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

All that existed throughout the past,

With such an essence and such characteristics—

Wishing to know fully those former lives,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

All the afflictions of every living being,

Their continuance, present arising, and habitual tendencies—

Wishing to know them all exhaustively and completely,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

The conventions established among all beings,

Their modes of discourse and paths of language—

Wishing to know all such conventional truths,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

All dharmas transcend spoken words;

Their nature is empty and quiescent, originally uncreated.

Wishing to penetrate fully this true meaning,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Wishing to cause the lands of the ten directions all to quake,

And to overturn all the great oceans,

Perfecting the great spiritual powers of the Buddhas,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Wishing to emit light from a single pore,

Illuminating boundless lands throughout the ten directions,

And within each ray of light awakening all beings,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Wishing to place inconceivably many boundless lands

Within the palm of one hand without disturbing them,

And to understand that all are like magical illusions,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Wishing to touch the ocean’s waters with a single hair

And thereby drain all the great oceans dry,

Yet discern and know the number of their drops,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Throughout boundless kalpas of past and future,

All worlds undergo formation and destruction.

Wishing to comprehend them to their furthest bounds,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

All Tathagatas of the three periods of time,

All pratyekabuddhas and shravakas—

Wishing to know all of their dharmas completely,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Boundless and measureless are all the worlds;

Wishing to weigh them all upon a single hair,

And clearly know their forms and characteristics as they are,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Measureless and countless are the encircling mountain ranges;

Wishing to cause them all to enter a single pore,

And clearly know the size of each one,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Wishing, with one wondrous and quiescent voice,

To respond universally throughout the ten directions, teaching each kind accordingly,

And thereby cause all to attain luminous purity and understanding,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

All the languages of every living being

Can be expressed completely in a single utterance.

Wishing to understand clearly their inherent nature,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Speaking in all the sounds and languages of the world,

Causing all to understand and realize quiescence—

Wishing to attain such a wondrous faculty of speech,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Wishing to cause all worlds throughout the ten directions,

With their characteristics of formation and destruction, to be seen,

And to know that they all arise from discrimination,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

All worlds throughout the ten directions

Are filled with immeasurable Tathagatas.

Wishing to understand clearly the Dharma of those Buddhas,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Bodies of transformation in immeasurable varieties,

As numerous as the dust motes in all worlds—

Wishing to understand fully that they arise from the mind,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Throughout the past, future, and present,

Immeasurable and countless are the Tathagatas.

Wishing to know them all clearly in a single thought,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Wishing to expound a single sentence of Dharma fully

For asamkhyeya kalpas without ever exhausting it,

While ensuring that its words and meanings are never repeated,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

All beings throughout the ten directions

Flow through birth and death according to their characteristics.

Wishing to comprehend them all in a single thought,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

Wishing through deeds of body, speech, and mind

To reach everywhere throughout the ten directions without obstruction,

And to know that the three periods of time are all empty and quiescent,

Therefore the bodhisattva first brings forth the aspiration.

After bodhisattvas have brought forth the aspiration in this way,

They should be caused to journey to the lands of the ten directions,

Reverently making offerings to all Tathagatas;

Thereby they are enabled to attain non-retrogression.

Courageous bodhisattvas seek the Buddha’s Way

And never grow weary of birth and death.

Praise them so that they may accord with goodness;

In this way, cause them never to regress.

Throughout the measureless lands of the worlds in the ten directions,

They dwell among beings as honored leaders.

Teach this to all bodhisattvas;

Thereby cause them never to regress.

The most excellent, the highest, the foremost,

The most profound, wondrous, and pure Dharma—

Encourage bodhisattvas to proclaim it to others;

Instruct them thus, causing them to leave afflictions behind.

Unequaled by anything in all worlds,

They abide where none can shake or subdue them.

Always praise those bodhisattvas;

Instruct them thus, causing them never to regress.

The Buddha is the Great Lord of Power in the world,

Perfect in all merits and virtues.

Cause all bodhisattvas to abide therein;

By this instruction, make them supreme beings.

They are able to journey to and draw near

Immeasurable and boundless Buddhas,

And are always gathered in and sustained by those Buddhas;

Instruct them thus, causing them never to regress.

All the quiescent samadhis that exist

Should be expounded in full, with none omitted.

Teach this to those bodhisattvas;

Thereby cause them never to regress.

Destroy the cycle of birth and death throughout all realms

And turn the wondrous, pure Dharma wheel,

With no attachment anywhere in all worlds—

Teach this to all bodhisattvas.

All beings who fall into the evil destinies

Are oppressed by measureless and grievous suffering.

Become their refuge, rescue, and protection—

Teach this to all bodhisattvas.

This is the “Bodhisattva’s Abode of Bringing Forth the Aspiration,”

In which one single-mindedly resolves to seek the unsurpassed Way.

The Dharma of instruction that I have taught

Is likewise taught by all Buddhas.

Second is the “Bodhisattva’s Abode of Preparing the Ground.”

One should bring forth thoughts such as these:

May all beings throughout the ten directions

Accord with the Buddha’s teachings;

Thoughts of great compassion, benefit, and happiness;

Thoughts of establishing, pitying, and embracing them;

Thoughts of protecting beings as oneself;

Thoughts of being their teacher and their guide.

Having abided in such excellent and wondrous thoughts,

One should next recite, study, and seek broad learning;

Always delight in quiescence and right contemplation,

And draw near to all good and wise spiritual friends.

Speak harmonious and pleasing words, free from harshness;

Speak always at the proper time and without fear;

Comprehend meanings and principles, and act in accordance with the Dharma;

Remain far removed from delusion, with a mind unmoved:

This is the bodhi practice for beginners.

One who can perform this practice is a true child of the Buddha.

I shall now speak of what such a one should do;

Thus should a child of the Buddha diligently train.

Third: “The Bodhisattva’s Abode of Cultivation”

Always relying upon the Buddha’s teaching, one diligently contemplates

That all dharmas are impermanent, suffering, and empty,

And are also without self or person, without action or agent.

None of all dharmas is worthy of attachment;

They accord with neither names nor locations,

Have no basis for discrimination and no true reality.

One who contemplates in this way is called a bodhisattva.

Next, one should cause them to contemplate the realm of sentient beings,

And also to contemplate the Dharma realm;

The distinctions among worlds are contemplated without exception—

They should be encouraged to contemplate them all.

The worlds of the ten directions and empty space,

All earth, water, fire, and wind,

The desire realm, form realm, and formless realm—

They should be urged to contemplate them exhaustively.

They contemplate how those realms are all distinct,

And how their essential nature is ultimately realized.

Those taught to cultivate diligently in this way

Are then called true children of the Buddha.

Fourth: “The Bodhisattva’s Noble-Birth Abode”

Born from the teachings of the sages,

They fully understand that all realms have no abiding existence,

Transcend those dharmas, and are born into the Dharma realm.

Their faith in the Buddha is firm and indestructible;

Contemplating the quiescence of dharmas, their minds abide in peace.

They clearly know each and every sentient being

To be false in essential nature, without true reality.

The world, lands, karma and its results,

Samsara and nirvana are all likewise.

Children of the Buddha who contemplate dharmas in this way

Are born from the Buddha’s body and are called children of the Buddha.

All the Buddha-Dharmas within

The past, future, and present

They clearly know in their accumulation and perfection,

Training in this way until reaching consummation.

All Tathagatas of the three times

May be contemplated as equally such;

Their various distinctions cannot be apprehended.

One who contemplates thus comprehends the three times.

What I have extolled and praised

Are the virtues of the fourth abode.

Those who can diligently practice according to the Dharma

Quickly attain the Buddha’s unsurpassed bodhi.

Next comes the Bodhisattva’s fifth abode,

Called the “Abode Perfect in Skillful Means.”

They deeply enter immeasurable skillful means

And bring meritorious deeds to ultimate fulfillment.

All merit cultivated by bodhisattvas

Is entirely for rescuing and protecting sentient beings.

With focused minds, they bring benefit and peace,

Single-mindedly moved by compassion, they enable beings to attain liberation.

For the sake of all worlds, they eliminate every calamity,

Lead beings beyond samsara, and cause them to rejoice.

They tame each one without leaving any behind,

Enabling them all to perfect virtue and advance toward nirvana.

All sentient beings are boundlessly numerous,

Immeasurable, countless, and inconceivable,

Even beyond all possible reckoning;

They hear and receive the Tathagata’s Dharma in this way.

This is the fifth abode of a child of the Buddha,

Accomplishing the skillful means for liberating sentient beings.

The Greatly Wise One, whose virtues are perfect,

Reveals and teaches this Dharma.

Sixth: “The Abode of the Perfect Right Mind”

Regarding the intrinsic nature of dharmas, they are never deluded;

With right mindfulness, they contemplate and abandon discrimination,

And cannot be shaken by any deva or human.

Whether they hear the Buddha and the Buddha-Dharma praised or reviled,

Or hear of bodhisattvas and bodhisattva practices,

Of sentient beings as finite or infinite,

Defiled or undefiled, difficult or easy to liberate,

Of the Dharma realm as great or small, arising or perishing,

Existent or nonexistent—their minds remain unmoved.

The past, future, and present

They mindfully contemplate with constant certainty.

All dharmas are without characteristics,

Without substance or nature, empty and unreal,

Like illusions and dreams, beyond discrimination;

They always delight in hearing such meanings.

Seventh: “The Non-Retrogressing Bodhisattva”

Regarding the Buddha, the Buddha-Dharma, and bodhisattva practices,

Whether they exist or do not exist, emerge or do not emerge,

Even upon hearing such teachings, they do not retrogress.

As to whether all Buddhas of the past,

Future, and present exist or do not exist;

Whether the Buddha’s wisdom is finite or infinite;

Whether the three times have one characteristic or various characteristics;

Whether one is many and many are one;

Whether the words accord with the meaning and the meaning accords with the words—

As all these mutually give rise to one another,

Those at the stage of non-retrogression should explain them to sentient beings.

Whether dharmas possess characteristics or lack characteristics,

Whether dharmas possess a nature or lack a nature,

And how their various distinctions are mutually related—

Having heard this, such a person comprehends it completely.

Eighth: “The Bodhisattva’s Abode of the True Youth”

Their bodily, verbal, and mental conduct is fully perfected,

Entirely pure and free from faults;

They freely take birth according to their wishes.

They know the inclinations in the minds of sentient beings,

The distinctions among their various understandings,

And all the dharmas that exist among them,

As well as the characteristics of the formation and destruction of lands throughout the ten directions.

They swiftly attain wondrous spiritual powers,

And travel at will to every place in accordance with their thoughts.

In the presence of the Buddhas, they hear the wondrous Dharma,

Praise it, and practice without weariness.

They clearly know all Buddha-lands,

Their quaking, empowerment, and contemplation;

They pass beyond immeasurable numbers of Buddha-lands

And journey through boundlessly many worlds.

They inquire into countless wondrous teachings,

Freely assume bodies wherever they wish,

Perfect every skillful mode of speech,

And reverently serve countless Buddhas.

Ninth: “The Bodhisattva’s Abode of the Dharma Prince”

They can perceive the different births taken by sentient beings

And fully know the manifestation and habitual tendencies of their afflictions;

They skillfully understand all means employed.

They know the distinctions among dharmas and among modes of conduct,

The differences among worlds and between earlier and later times;

Conventional truth and ultimate truth

They skillfully and completely understand without exception.

They know the skillful establishments of the Dharma King,

The wondrous Dharma present in each place,

The Dharma King’s palaces and what is gathered within them,

And what is contemplated and perceived therein.

They know the Dharma King’s Dharma of anointing,

His spiritual power, empowerment, and fearlessness,

His repose within the palace halls, and his praises;

With these, the Dharma Prince is instructed.

All such matters are explained in their entirety,

Yet the prince’s mind is caused to remain unattached.

Clearly understanding this, he cultivates right mindfulness,

And all Buddhas appear before him.

Tenth: “The Anointed True Child of the Buddha”

They perfect the foremost and unsurpassed Dharma.

Throughout countless worlds in the ten directions,

They can cause quaking and illuminate all with light.

They sustain them and travel to them all without exception;

Their pure adornments are fully perfected.

They reveal the teaching to limitless numbers of sentient beings

And, contemplating their faculties and natures, know them all.

The minds they inspire and tame are likewise boundless;

They cause them all to advance toward great bodhi.

They contemplate the entire Dharma realm

And cause all lands of the ten directions to be reached.

There, their bodies and bodily actions,

And the transformations manifested through their spiritual powers, are difficult to fathom.

Even the Dharma Princes cannot understand

The realms of the Buddha-lands of the three times.

Wisdom of the unobstructed and boundless Dharma realm,

Wisdom that fills all worlds,

Wisdom that brilliantly illuminates and sustains worlds,

Wisdom that clearly knows sentient beings and all dharmas,

And boundless wisdom that knows perfect enlightenment—

The Tathagata explains them all in full.

All such bodhisattvas of the Ten Abodes

Are transformation-born from the Tathagata’s Dharma.

Whatever meritorious practices they possess

Cannot be fathomed by any deva or human.

In the past, future, and present,

Those who resolve to seek Buddhahood are boundlessly numerous,

Filling all lands throughout the ten directions;

They shall all attain omniscience.

All lands are without bounds,

And worlds, sentient beings, and dharmas are likewise.

Delusions, karma, and inclinations all differ;

Accordingly, they give rise to the bodhi-mind.

The very first thought that seeks the Buddha Way

Cannot be known, even through the utmost reflection,

By worldly beings or those of the Two Vehicles—

How much less can they know all the other virtues!

If all the worlds of the ten directions

Could be weighed using a single hair,

Only then could one know how this child of the Buddha

Practices and advances toward the Buddha’s great wisdom.

If all the great oceans throughout the ten directions

Could be dipped dry with the tip of a hair,

Only then could one know the virtues cultivated

By this child of the Buddha within a single thought.

If all worlds were ground into dust

And one could distinguish and clearly know the number of particles,

Only such a person could perceive

The path of cultivation of this bodhisattva.

All Buddhas of the ten directions throughout the three times,

Together with all pratyekabuddhas and shravakas,

Could employ all their wondrous eloquence

To reveal the initial arising of the bodhi-mind.

Yet the merit of generating this mind is immeasurable,

Filling all realms of sentient beings;

Even if all the wise explained it together, they could never exhaust it—

How much less all the other wondrous practices!