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Note also the intriguing addition to the colophon as found in the Stok Palace Kangyur, where an additional sentence is added: “It was revised as well as possible in consultation with several volumes” (glegs bam du ma la gtugs te ci nus kyis zhus dag bgyis). This may perhaps refer to the existence of earlier Tibetan draft translations, but it is unclear to us precisely what this statement entails.
ltar mtshan read as rgyal mtshan ltar following the Choné edition of the Kangyur (Pedurma, p. 715, n. 3).
The Tib. translations uniquely read “freedom from” (Tib. bral ba). This is not attested in the Chinese translations or the extant Skt. witness.
This translation follows the reading “peace” (zhi ba) attested in the majority of Tib. versions. The Degé reads “field” (zhing).
Tentative translation. Tibetan: bgyi dang bgyid dang bgyi ba’i rang bzhin dang / gzung dang ’dzin pa nam yang ma mchis la/ sems can rnams kyang rtag par ma mchis zhing / de la chos spyod ji ltar ma mchis ’gyur. The Sanskrit reads kriya akriyā akaraṇā ca bhave graha agrāha eta ubhau na bhave / satva pi tatra na kadāci bhave dharme hi āraṃbaṇa naiva bhave. Jens Braarvig (2010) offers the following translation: “Activity and nonactivity are noncauses. As for grasping nor nongrasping, neither of them exist. Living beings never exist there, because there is no physical basis to be found among the dharmas.”
Following the Sanskrit: yatra na śaikṣa na bhave arhaṃ pratyekabuddha na bhaveya kvaci. The Tibetan reads, “Where there are no students or worthy ones, there could not be any solitary buddhas” (de la slob dang dgra bcom ma mchis te / rang rgyal ji ltar ma chis pa ma lags shing).
’grel read as ’grol following Kangxi and Choné editions of the Kangyur (Pedurma, p. 724, n. 1).
Though the Tibetan translation is consistent in reading thob (“attain”) across all the versions consulted, the extant Sanskrit holds a potential clue to this enigmatic line. The Sanskrit verb is derived from √dṛś, “to see,” which is typically translated into Tibetan with mthong, a form scribes often confuse with thob. The Sanskrit could reasonably be translated as “see awakening as similar to attachment,” which makes sense contextually. It is also worth noting that the extant Sanskrit does not include an equivalent for “I.”
thos pa read as thob pa following the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa editions (Pedurma, p. 744, n. 1).
The term translated here as “visible form” is rūpa (Tib. gzugs), which is the same term translated above as “form.” In the previous context, the term rūpa referred to one of the five aggregates, whereas here rūpa refers to the object of the eye faculty. This distinction merited the use of a slightly different translation in the two contexts.
ri’i sgra’i tshig read as de’i sgra’i tshig following the Choné edition (Pedurma, p. 748, n. 10).
There is a play on the verb √budh and its past participle buddha that is lost in translation here. The extant Skt. reads abudhyamānā sarvadharmāḥ abuddhā ananubuddhā asaṃbuddha … (Tib. chos thams cad ni ’tshang rgya bar byed pa med pa ste / sangs rgyas pa med / rjes su sangs rgyas pa med / rdzogs par sangs rgyas pa med).
bsod nams read as bsod snyoms following the Narthang and Lhasa editions (Pedurma, p. 775, n. 3).
’grel read as ’grol following the Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, Urga, and Lhasa editions of the Kangyur (Pedurma p. 778, n. 5).
This translation follows the reading mi zad pa as attested in the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, Urga, and Lhasa editions of the Kangyur (Pedurma p. 782, n. 4). The Degé reads mi bzad pa.
An attainment characteristic of the effortless and spontaneous wakefulness of the eighth ground of bodhisattvas.
Lit. “Not Disturbed” or “Immovable One.” The buddha in the eastern realm of Abhirati. A well-known buddha in Mahāyāna, regarded in the higher tantras as the head of one of the five buddha families, the vajra family in the east.
A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).
Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.
A bodhisattva present in the Buddha’s assembly.
An optional set of practices that monastics can adopt in order to cultivate greater detachment. The list of practices varies in different sources. When twelve practices are listed, they consist of (1) wearing rags (pāṃśukūlika, phyag dar khrod pa), (2) (in the form of only) three religious robes (traicīvarika, chos gos gsum), (3) (coarse in texture as) garments of felt (nāma[n]tika, ’phyings pa pa), (4) eating by alms (paiṇḍapātika, bsod snyoms pa), (5) having a single mat to sit on (aikāsanika, stan gcig pa), (6) not eating after noon (khalu paścād bhaktika, zas phyis mi len pa), (7) living alone in the forest (āraṇyaka, dgon pa pa), (8) living at the base of a tree (vṛkṣamūlika, shing drungs pa), (9) living in the open (ābhyavakāśika, bla gab med pa), (10) frequenting cemeteries (śmāśānika, dur khrod pa), (11) sleeping sitting up (naiṣadika, cog bu pa), and (12) accepting whatever seating position is offered (yāthāsaṃstarika, gzhi ji bzhin pa); this last of the twelve is sometimes interpreted as not omitting any house on the alms round, i.e., regardless of any reception expected. Mahāvyutpatti, no. 1127–39.
A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A bodhisattva who has attained the highest level next to the Buddha.
A bodhisattva present in the Buddha’s assembly.
A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
A bodhisattva present in the Buddha’s assembly.
A bodhisattva and monastic teacher of a past eon; the Buddha Śākyamuni in a former life.
The lowest hell; the eighth of the eight hot hells.
A bodhisattva present in the Buddha’s assembly.
A cousin of the Buddha Śākyamuni who broke with him and established his own community. He is portrayed as engendering evil schemes against the Buddha and even succeeding in wounding him. He is usually identified with wicked beings in accounts of previous lifetimes.
Literally “retention,” or “that which retains, contains, or encapsulates,” this term refers to mnemonic formulas, or codes possessed by advanced bodhisattvas that contain a quintessence of their attainments, as well as the Dharma teachings that express them and guide beings toward their realization. The term can also refer to a statement or incantation meant to protect or bring about a particular result.
A bodhisattva present in the Buddha’s assembly.
A buddha who preceded Śākyamuni and prophesied his awakening.
Right view, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and absorption.
Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independent of the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. When all levels of conceptualization dissolve and when all forms of dichotomizing tendencies are quelled through deliberate meditative deconstruction of conceptual elaborations, the ultimate nature of reality will finally become manifest. It is the first of the three gateways to liberation.
A buddha of a past eon.
A buddha of the present, formerly the bodhisattva Joyful King.
Faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and knowledge.
There are five supernatural faculties resulting from meditative concentration and that can be attained by both Buddhist and non-Buddhist practitioners: divine sight, divine hearing, knowing others’ minds, recollecting past lives, and the ability to perform miracles.
Mindfulness of the body, feelings, the mind, and phenomena.
The four progressive levels of concentration of the form realm that culminate in pure one-pointedness of mind, and are a requirement for cultivation of the five or six superknowledges, and so on. These are part of the nine gradual attainments.
The first teaching of the Buddha covering suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to the cessation of suffering.
These are typically listed as follows: (1) the equipoise of the sense field of infinite space, (2) the equipoise of the sense field of infinite consciousness, (3) the equipoise of the sense field of nothing at all, and (4) the equipoise of neither perception nor nonperception.
A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”
The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.
According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.
In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.
A bodhisattva present in the Buddha’s assembly.
The world of the past buddha King Rhythm of a Lion’s Roar.
The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”
The lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven on the summit of Mount Sumeru. As one of the eight guardians of the directions, Indra guards the eastern quarter. In Buddhist sūtras, he is a disciple of the Buddha and protector of the Dharma and its practitioners. He is often referred to by the epithets Śatakratu, Śakra, and Kauśika.
More literally rendered as “Indra’s stake,” the term indrakīla is used in Indic architectural treatises to refer to any pin, nail, or bolt used to firmly bind other architectural features together. The term can also be used to refer generically to a mountain, likely due to its similar firm and unwavering nature.
A bodhisattva and monastic teacher of a past eon; the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī in a former life.
A bodhisattva and monastic teacher of a past eon.
A bird said to have a song sweeter than any other. Sometimes said to refer to the avadavat, sometimes to the Indian Cuckoo, but used as a simile it is a reference that is partly mythical; the kalaviṅka is said to sing sublimely even before being hatched.
A bodhisattva present in the Buddha’s assembly.
The world of the past buddha Mervabhyudgatarāja.
This term denotes the deep-seated predispositions inherited from past actions and experiences, some of which function in association with mind, while others do not. Karmic predispositions are critical to the Buddhist understanding of the causal dynamics of karma and conditioning. It is the collection of such countless predispositions by afflicted mental states that constitutes the obscuration of misconceptions concerning the known range of phenomena, the total eradication of which occurs only when full awakening or buddhahood is achieved.
A buddha of a past eon.
A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name—which means “is that human?”—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.
Ultimate reality.
Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.
The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”
For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).
Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.
Also known as Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta.
“Mañjuśrī who takes the form of a youth,” an epithet by which the bodhisattva is often referred.
Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.
Also known as Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta.
“Mañjuśrī who takes the form of a youth,” an epithet by which the bodhisattva is often referred.
Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:
(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputramāra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.
chos thams cad ’byung ba med par bstan pa (Sarvadharmāpravṛttinirdeśa). Toh 180, Degé Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo sde, ma), folios 267.a–296.b.
chos thams cad ’byung ba med par bstan pa. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 60, 714–94.
Mahāvyutpatti (bye brag tu rtogs par byed pa chen po). Toh 4346, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (sna tshogs, co), folios 1.b–131.a.
Braarvig, Jens (2000). “Sarvadharmāpravṛttinirdeśa.” In Buddhist Manuscripts: Volume I, edited by Jens Braarvig, 81–166. Oslo: Hermes Publishing, 2000.
Braarvig, Jens (2010). “Sarvadharmāpravṛttinirdeśa.” Bibliotheca Polyglotta, University of Oslo. Input 2010.
While the Buddha is residing on Vulture Peak Mountain, the bodhisattva Siṃhavikrāntagāmin asks him a series of questions about emptiness and the nondual view in which the dichotomy between subject and object has been left behind. The Buddha responds with a discourse in verse identifying the nature of phenomena as the single principle of emptiness. Later, he teaches the bodhisattva about the dangers of judging the behavior of other bodhisattvas, and the dangers of making any imputations about phenomena at all—explaining that both stem from ill-founded preconceptions that are transcended with spiritual awakening. In an ensuing discussion with Mañjuśrī, the Buddha further connects many standard Buddhist concepts and categories to the nondual view that all phenomena are unborn and without intrinsic nature. Lastly, a god is instructed in the knowledge that overcomes the duality of various opposites, and Mañjuśrī concludes the sūtra by revealing the circumstances of his time as a beginning bodhisattva.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Timothy Hinkle. Andreas Doctor checked the translation against the Tibetan and edited the text. Tulku Tenzin Rigsang kindly assisted in resolving several difficult passages. Ryan Damron and Wiesiek Mical also assisted by translating passages from the Sanskrit. In producing this translation, the translators also benefited from the resources and partial translation published by Jens Braarvig (2000 and 2010).
Teaching How All Phenomena Are without Origin presents the Buddha Śākyamuni’s elucidation of the nature of phenomena and the way to conduct oneself. His discourse is oriented around a series of paradoxes between conduct and wisdom, and specifically highlights the interplay of monastic discipline and the activities that best serve beings. To illustrate these paradoxes the Buddha draws on scenes from his own past lives and those of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, scenes that are also meant to illustrate the negative karmic consequences of criticizing the conduct of bodhisattvas.
The sūtra is set on Vulture Peak Mountain, where the Buddha is asked a series of questions about emptiness and the nondual view by the bodhisattva Siṃhavikrāntagāmin. The Buddha responds with a discourse in verse identifying the single principle of emptiness as the nature of phenomena, but he cautions that immature bodhisattvas will not properly understand that teaching. Later, he tells the story of the two bodhisattvas Cāritramati and Viśuddhacāritra to illustrate the dangers of judging the behavior of bodhisattvas because of misunderstanding the nature of their skillful means. He then explains, with great psychological insight, how such value judgements are generally based on ill-founded and preconceived notions that need to be abandoned by those who seek awakening. Next follows a discussion with Mañjuśrī in which the Buddha explains that many standard Buddhist concepts and categories used to describe the path to awakening are mere imputations, and that their true import will be realized once all phenomena are known to be unborn and without intrinsic nature. In their ensuing dialogue, various standard Buddhist expressions are relativized in terms of this ultimate, nonobjectifying view. This discussion demonstrates that the Buddhist path is only fully realized once the habitual tendency to accept, reject, or otherwise objectify phenomena, including phenomena of the path itself, has been left behind.
In the last part of the sūtra, the Buddha, followed by Mañjuśrī, instructs a god named Playful Clairvoyant Lotus in the knowledge that penetrates sound and language and enables one to see through the duality of various opposites. Mañjuśrī is then induced to tell his story as a neophyte bodhisattva, to further illustrate the problem of negatively judging the conduct of other spiritual practitioners and underestimating the potential of a student. The sūtra refers repeatedly to the theme of the single principle, the realization of emptiness. When this is known, all proscribed activity—indulgence in sense pleasures and disturbing emotions—need no longer be avoided. However, since no one except the Buddha can be the final judge of another being’s conduct or realization, bodhisattvas are strongly encouraged to avoid judging one another and to teach according to the student’s capacity.
Fragments of a Sanskrit version of this sūtra have survived, as have two translations into Chinese by Kumārajīva (fourth century, Zhu fa wu xing jing 諸法無行經, Taishō 650) and Jñānagupta (fifth century, Fu shuo zhu fa ben wu jing 佛說諸法本無經, Taishō 651). The extant Sanskrit sections of the sūtra have been translated into English by Jens Braarvig, who also published a Sanskrit edition that includes parallel passages of the Tibetan and Chinese translations. In his introduction to the text, Braarvig tentatively dates the sole surviving Sanskrit manuscript to the fifth century
The primary Tibetan text used for the present translation was the Degé (sde dge) edition, but the other editions considered in the Comparative Kangyur (dpe bsdur ma) were also consulted. In passages where the Sanskrit was available, it was consulted for our translation. However, as the Sanskrit and Tibetan manuscripts are often radically different, we have primarily based our translation on the Tibetan, except in those cases where the Sanskrit sheds light on, or clarifies, the Tibetan.
[B1] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha together with a great monastic assembly of five hundred monks. Also gathered there were twelve thousand bodhisattvas, including the bodhisattva great being Vyūhapratimaṇḍita, the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin, the bodhisattva great being Anāvaraṇaraśminirdhautaprabhātejorāśi, the bodhisattva great being Giriśikharamerusvararāja, the bodhisattva great being Priyaprahasitavimalaprabha, the bodhisattva great being Sūryacandrābhibhūtārci, the bodhisattva great being Paramavimalapaṭṭadhārin, the bodhisattva great being Niścaritatejaspadmapraphullitagātra, the bodhisattva great being Brahmasvaranirghoṣasvara, the bodhisattva great being Siṃharājagativikrīḍitamati, the bodhisattva great being Kanakārciśuddhavimalatejas, the bodhisattva great being Mṛdutaruṇasparśagātra, the bodhisattva great being Body That Expands Like a Golden Ornamented Victory Banner, the bodhisattva great being Daśaraśmimārabalapramardin, the bodhisattva great being Śāntīndriyeryāpathapraśāntagāmin, the bodhisattva great being Dharaṇīndharābhyudgatarāja, the bodhisattva great being Singer of Divine Melodies, the bodhisattva great being Sarvadharmeśvaravaśavikrāntagāmin, the bodhisattva great being Śrītejovimalagātra, and the bodhisattva great being Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta. Ninety-two thousand other bodhisattvas were also present.
While beholding this bodhisattva assembly, the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin stood up, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. With his palms together he bowed toward the Blessed One and said in verse:
The Blessed One expressed his approval to the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin, saying, “Noble son, excellent, excellent! It is astonishing that you ask such questions that all worldly beings find difficult to grasp. Noble son, this is certainly acceptable, but why do you ask? This is not a subject fit for beginning bodhisattvas who possess the views of emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, nonarising, the intangible, no attributes, buddhas, and awakening. Noble son, do not speak of this Dharma teaching in front of beginning bodhisattvas.
“Why? Because this teaching will entirely interrupt their roots of virtue. It might cause them to regress from the awakening of the buddhas and fall into eternalism or nihilism. It is possible they will not understand what realization the thus-gone ones base their teachings on.”
The bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin replied, “Blessed One, please explain this. In the future there will be bodhisattvas who have the views of emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, nonarising, no attributes, buddhas, and awakening. They will conceptualize everything as emptiness and signlessness, be fond of speech, be attached to expressions, believe syllables to be pure, be inclined to conversation, and cling fondly to elegant expressions and names.
“If these bodhisattvas hear the Thus-Gone One teaching the Dharma beyond letters or words, they will abandon these views and teach the Dharma according to whatever interests beings have. Then, trained in skillful means, they will speak of having few desires but will not realize purity through it.
“They will speak of endeavoring in rituals but will not realize purity through it. They will speak of vows but will not realize purity because of them. They will criticize social obligations and become interested in complete disengagement from all phenomena. They will praise the delights of solitude where there are no social obligations but will not realize purity because of it. They will praise the mind of awakening and know the nature of the mind to be awakened.
“They will praise the extensive sūtra teachings and know all phenomena extensively. They will express the words of the bodhisattvas and will not regard hearers, solitary buddhas, and buddhas as different.
“They will praise generosity and realize the equality of generosity. They will praise discipline and realize natural discipline. They will praise patience and see the fact that all phenomena are exhausted, purified, and unborn. They will praise diligence and realize that no phenomenon requires seeking or effort. They will show how millions of gateways of concentration and equilibrium are accomplished, and will know all phenomena to be naturally settled in equipoise. They will offer a thousand kinds of praise to knowledge, and thereby realize the nature of knowledge and deficient knowledge.
“They will reveal the faults of attachment and not see anything to be attached to. They will reveal the faults of aversion and not see anything to be averse to. They will reveal the faults of stupidity and be inspired to separate all phenomena from the obscuration of stupidity.
“They will teach beings the danger of passing into hell, the animal realm, and of realm of the lord of death, but they will not apprehend hell beings, the animal realm, or the realm of the lord of death. They will teach the Dharma that aligns with beings’ interests. There are those who are interested in the single principle of emptiness, and likewise there are those who are interested in the single principle of signlessness, wishlessness, nonarising, intangibility, and no attributes. Therefore, Blessed One, hearers, solitary buddhas, and bodhisattva great beings who have just entered this vehicle do not have a vocabulary for such skillful means. To remedy this, please provide a vocabulary for skillful means to those who are interested in the profound and in the single principle.”
Then the Blessed One said to the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin, “Noble son, listen well and bear what I say in mind. I will explain this topic to you.”
“Yes, Blessed One, I will.”
The bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin then listened as instructed as the Blessed One spoke the following verses:
Then the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, you have benefited all the beings who heard this teaching in verse.”
“Noble son, do you see this assembly?”
“Blessed One, I do. Blessed One, there are innumerable beings gathered here for this Dharma teaching. Blessed One, the sky above is filled with gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. Blessed One, many beings from other worlds also heard this teaching.”
Then the Blessed One said this to the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin: “Noble son, as I was giving this Dharma teaching, ninety-eight thousand gods developed the acceptance that phenomena are unborn, ninety-two thousand yakṣas aroused the intention to attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening, and thirty-six thousand nāgas aroused the intention to awaken. Five hundred arrogant monks who falsely presumed their own attainment came to trust that all phenomena are of a single principle when they heard this teaching, which is devoid of arrogance. Free from the causes that perpetuate cyclic existence, their minds were liberated from the defilements. Among this assembly of bodhisattvas, sixty-two thousand gained an unobscured understanding of all phenomena and then gained the acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Why was that?
“Noble son, this Dharma teaching is superb. Noble son, previously I myself fully assimilated the single principle of all phenomena in the presence of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Dīpaṅkara. Subsequently, I gained the acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Noble son, hearing this Dharma teaching is equivalent to mastering all the six perfections. Noble son, I have stated that in realizing this principle, one completes all six perfections of the bodhisattva great beings. Why is this?
“Noble son, even if bodhisattvas were to give generously, guard their discipline, practice patience, cultivate diligence, rest evenly in concentration, and authentically generate insight for as many eons as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, all their roots of virtue would eventually be exhausted if this Dharma principle was not understood. Noble son, consider what happened to the roots of virtue possessed by Devadatta. Noble son, Devadatta had thirty of the marks of a great person. He had such roots of virtue, but did not understand this Dharma principle, and so his roots of virtue expired and he was born in the great hell of Ceaseless Torment. Noble son, understand that the roots of virtue of those who have not fully assimilated this Dharma principle will expire, just as happened in his case.
“Noble son, in the past, many countless, limitless, vast, and immeasurable eons ago, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Mervabhyudgatarāja came to the world. He was a blessed buddha who was learned and virtuous, a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed being, a charioteer who guides beings, and a teacher of gods and humans. The lifespan of this thus-gone one was ninety-nine trillion years. His world was called Kanakārcis, as that buddha realm was made entirely of gold. All its beings were in the process of attaining nirvāṇa through the three vehicles of the hearers, solitary buddhas, and bodhisattvas.
“All eighty trillion monks who were in the first assembly of that thus-gone one’s hearers were worthy ones. They had exhausted the defilements, put down their burdens, attained benefit for themselves, and eliminated what bound them to existence. Their minds had been completely liberated by authentic teachings. The second assembly consisted of seventy trillion monks, the third of sixty trillion monks, and the fourth of fifty trillion, all of whom were worthy ones, had exhausted the defilements, had put down their burdens, had attained benefit for themselves, and had eliminated what bound them to existence. Their minds had been completely liberated by authentic teachings. There were twice as many nuns in the assembly, as well as twice as many laymen and laywomen. There were also twice as many bodhisattvas in the assembly, all of whom were irreversible beings, had gained acceptance that phenomena are unborn, were skilled in accomplishing the ways of absorption, and had attained the dhāraṇī of the boundless gateways. Given that this entire assembly was comprised of those who could turn the wheel of Dharma of irreversibility, what need is there to mention the assembly of those who had newly entered the Bodhisattva Vehicle? Also in that assembly were a limitless number of followers of the vehicle of the solitary buddhas.
“Such was the limitless assembly, noble son, that had gathered around that blessed one. In the Kanakārcis world, all the plants and trees were made of jewels. From these trees issued the sounds of emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, nonarising, nonceasing, intangibility, and no attributes. The presence of these sounds liberated the minds of the beings living in that world. After that thus-gone one had passed completely beyond suffering, his sublime Dharma remained for a thousand years, after which those sounds stopped reverberating from the trees.
“Noble son, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Mervabhyudgatarāja appointed a monk and Dharma teacher named Viśuddhacāritra as the holder of his sublime Dharma and then passed completely beyond suffering.
“At that time there was also a monk named Cāritramati. He had a great degree of pure discipline, had attained the five mundane superknowledges, and was well trained in the Vinaya. This monk engaged in intense austerities, was inclined toward frugality, and worked within the community. He built a monastery where he lived, and where everyone in the community was oriented to pure discipline and committed to the qualities of purification. This monk cultivated diligence and always maintained the mind of awakening. He inspired other bodhisattvas to live this way of life and to adopt views with a reference point. He caused them to accept that all karmic predispositions are impermanent, that all karmic predispositions are painful, and that all karmic predispositions lack a self. This monk was skilled in absorption and possessed roots of virtue, yet he was not learned in the conduct of bodhisattvas.
“The monk and Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra was skilled in discerning those of superior and inferior faculties, and everyone in his community was intent on their commitment to the ascetic practices, had patience beyond reference point, and was skilled in means. Noble son, the Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra traveled with his community to the monastery where Cāritramati lived and took up residence there. From that monastery they went on regular alms rounds to villages, motivated by compassion for beings, and then returned to the monastery. In this way, he caused hundreds of thousands of families to develop faith in them. Everyone in the community behaved skillfully. They would also travel to the villages and teach beings the Dharma, and even established many hundreds of thousands of animals in unsurpassed and perfect awakening. The monk Cāritramati’s community, however, was focused on concentration and did not travel to the villages.
“Cāritramati lost his faith in these other bodhisattvas, and so struck the wooden beam to call the monastic saṅgha to assembly. ‘Who among us is properly maintaining their spiritual commitments? No one should travel to the villages. Your behavior is careless. You end up speaking too much, so what is accomplished by going to the villages? The Blessed One has instructed us to stay in monasteries, and indeed he has commended it. Therefore, you should not go to town but instead enjoy the bliss of concentration,’ he ordered. But they did not heed his advice and continued visiting the villages.
“Noble son, when those monks were returning from the villages, the monk Cāritramati once again struck the wooden beam and called the monastic saṅgha to assembly. He gave them an ultimatum: ‘If you are going to keep visiting the villages, you may not stay in this monastery.’
“Noble son, to protect the mind of Cāritramati, the monk and Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra then summoned his community and commanded them, ‘Nobody shall go to the villages!’ However, those monks were displeased that they were thenceforth unable to encounter any of the beings whom they were to ripen, and their roots of virtue waned.
“Noble son, after three months had passed, the monk and Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra moved from that monastery to another temple. He also traveled to towns, villages, provinces, realms, and royal courts, teaching the Dharma to beings.
“Noble son, the monk Cāritramati then saw how the Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra traveled repeatedly to the villages. He observed how those in Viśuddhacāritra’s community persisted in their mundane conduct, and lost faith in them. He told many people, ‘This monk has lax and perverse discipline. How could he gain awakening? Awakening for this monk is far off indeed. This monk is far too indulgent.’
“Noble son, sometime later, the time of the monk Cāritramati’s death arrived. After he died, the ripening of this action caused him to plummet to the great hell of Ceaseless Torment, and he experienced the suffering of the great hells for nine hundred ninety billion eons. For another sixty lifetimes he encountered unpleasant speech, and for thirty-two thousand lifetimes he had no access to the renunciant’s life. The residual traces of that karmic obscuration allowed him to become a renunciant during the time of the teachings of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Expanding Stainless Light. As a renunciant he did not attain even a semblance of patience, even though he practiced for sixty trillion years as if his head were on fire, and for many hundreds of thousands of lives his faculties remained dull.
“Noble son, if you believe that at that time, on that occasion, the monk and Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra was someone other than the Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya, you are mistaken. For at that time, on that occasion, the Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya was indeed the monk and Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra. Noble son, if you believe that at that time, on that occasion, the monk and Dharma teacher Cāritramati was someone other than me, then you are mistaken. For at that time, on that occasion, I was indeed the monk and Dharma teacher Cāritramati, and it was I who, because of his subtle methods, had distrustful thoughts about him. And because of the karmic obscurations I accumulated, I fell into the realm of hell beings.
“Noble son, there are karmic obscurations that are as subtle as that; and therefore, noble son, whoever does not wish for such karmic obscurations should not become angry about the conduct of others. All such types of conduct are worthy of trust. One should think, ‘I do not know another person’s mind. The behavior of beings is difficult to fathom.’
While the Buddha is residing on Vulture Peak Mountain, the bodhisattva Siṃhavikrāntagāmin asks him a series of questions about emptiness and the nondual view in which the dichotomy between subject and object has been left behind. The Buddha responds with a discourse in verse identifying the nature of phenomena as the single principle of emptiness. Later, he teaches the bodhisattva about the dangers of judging the behavior of other bodhisattvas, and the dangers of making any imputations about phenomena at all—explaining that both stem from ill-founded preconceptions that are transcended with spiritual awakening. In an ensuing discussion with Mañjuśrī, the Buddha further connects many standard Buddhist concepts and categories to the nondual view that all phenomena are unborn and without intrinsic nature. Lastly, a god is instructed in the knowledge that overcomes the duality of various opposites, and Mañjuśrī concludes the sūtra by revealing the circumstances of his time as a beginning bodhisattva.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Timothy Hinkle. Andreas Doctor checked the translation against the Tibetan and edited the text. Tulku Tenzin Rigsang kindly assisted in resolving several difficult passages. Ryan Damron and Wiesiek Mical also assisted by translating passages from the Sanskrit. In producing this translation, the translators also benefited from the resources and partial translation published by Jens Braarvig (2000 and 2010).
Teaching How All Phenomena Are without Origin presents the Buddha Śākyamuni’s elucidation of the nature of phenomena and the way to conduct oneself. His discourse is oriented around a series of paradoxes between conduct and wisdom, and specifically highlights the interplay of monastic discipline and the activities that best serve beings. To illustrate these paradoxes the Buddha draws on scenes from his own past lives and those of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, scenes that are also meant to illustrate the negative karmic consequences of criticizing the conduct of bodhisattvas.
The sūtra is set on Vulture Peak Mountain, where the Buddha is asked a series of questions about emptiness and the nondual view by the bodhisattva Siṃhavikrāntagāmin. The Buddha responds with a discourse in verse identifying the single principle of emptiness as the nature of phenomena, but he cautions that immature bodhisattvas will not properly understand that teaching. Later, he tells the story of the two bodhisattvas Cāritramati and Viśuddhacāritra to illustrate the dangers of judging the behavior of bodhisattvas because of misunderstanding the nature of their skillful means. He then explains, with great psychological insight, how such value judgements are generally based on ill-founded and preconceived notions that need to be abandoned by those who seek awakening. Next follows a discussion with Mañjuśrī in which the Buddha explains that many standard Buddhist concepts and categories used to describe the path to awakening are mere imputations, and that their true import will be realized once all phenomena are known to be unborn and without intrinsic nature. In their ensuing dialogue, various standard Buddhist expressions are relativized in terms of this ultimate, nonobjectifying view. This discussion demonstrates that the Buddhist path is only fully realized once the habitual tendency to accept, reject, or otherwise objectify phenomena, including phenomena of the path itself, has been left behind.
In the last part of the sūtra, the Buddha, followed by Mañjuśrī, instructs a god named Playful Clairvoyant Lotus in the knowledge that penetrates sound and language and enables one to see through the duality of various opposites. Mañjuśrī is then induced to tell his story as a neophyte bodhisattva, to further illustrate the problem of negatively judging the conduct of other spiritual practitioners and underestimating the potential of a student. The sūtra refers repeatedly to the theme of the single principle, the realization of emptiness. When this is known, all proscribed activity—indulgence in sense pleasures and disturbing emotions—need no longer be avoided. However, since no one except the Buddha can be the final judge of another being’s conduct or realization, bodhisattvas are strongly encouraged to avoid judging one another and to teach according to the student’s capacity.
Fragments of a Sanskrit version of this sūtra have survived, as have two translations into Chinese by Kumārajīva (fourth century, Zhu fa wu xing jing 諸法無行經, Taishō 650) and Jñānagupta (fifth century, Fu shuo zhu fa ben wu jing 佛說諸法本無經, Taishō 651). The extant Sanskrit sections of the sūtra have been translated into English by Jens Braarvig, who also published a Sanskrit edition that includes parallel passages of the Tibetan and Chinese translations. In his introduction to the text, Braarvig tentatively dates the sole surviving Sanskrit manuscript to the fifth century
The primary Tibetan text used for the present translation was the Degé (sde dge) edition, but the other editions considered in the Comparative Kangyur (dpe bsdur ma) were also consulted. In passages where the Sanskrit was available, it was consulted for our translation. However, as the Sanskrit and Tibetan manuscripts are often radically different, we have primarily based our translation on the Tibetan, except in those cases where the Sanskrit sheds light on, or clarifies, the Tibetan.
[B1] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha together with a great monastic assembly of five hundred monks. Also gathered there were twelve thousand bodhisattvas, including the bodhisattva great being Vyūhapratimaṇḍita, the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin, the bodhisattva great being Anāvaraṇaraśminirdhautaprabhātejorāśi, the bodhisattva great being Giriśikharamerusvararāja, the bodhisattva great being Priyaprahasitavimalaprabha, the bodhisattva great being Sūryacandrābhibhūtārci, the bodhisattva great being Paramavimalapaṭṭadhārin, the bodhisattva great being Niścaritatejaspadmapraphullitagātra, the bodhisattva great being Brahmasvaranirghoṣasvara, the bodhisattva great being Siṃharājagativikrīḍitamati, the bodhisattva great being Kanakārciśuddhavimalatejas, the bodhisattva great being Mṛdutaruṇasparśagātra, the bodhisattva great being Body That Expands Like a Golden Ornamented Victory Banner, the bodhisattva great being Daśaraśmimārabalapramardin, the bodhisattva great being Śāntīndriyeryāpathapraśāntagāmin, the bodhisattva great being Dharaṇīndharābhyudgatarāja, the bodhisattva great being Singer of Divine Melodies, the bodhisattva great being Sarvadharmeśvaravaśavikrāntagāmin, the bodhisattva great being Śrītejovimalagātra, and the bodhisattva great being Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta. Ninety-two thousand other bodhisattvas were also present.
While beholding this bodhisattva assembly, the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin stood up, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. With his palms together he bowed toward the Blessed One and said in verse:
The Blessed One expressed his approval to the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin, saying, “Noble son, excellent, excellent! It is astonishing that you ask such questions that all worldly beings find difficult to grasp. Noble son, this is certainly acceptable, but why do you ask? This is not a subject fit for beginning bodhisattvas who possess the views of emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, nonarising, the intangible, no attributes, buddhas, and awakening. Noble son, do not speak of this Dharma teaching in front of beginning bodhisattvas.
“Why? Because this teaching will entirely interrupt their roots of virtue. It might cause them to regress from the awakening of the buddhas and fall into eternalism or nihilism. It is possible they will not understand what realization the thus-gone ones base their teachings on.”
The bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin replied, “Blessed One, please explain this. In the future there will be bodhisattvas who have the views of emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, nonarising, no attributes, buddhas, and awakening. They will conceptualize everything as emptiness and signlessness, be fond of speech, be attached to expressions, believe syllables to be pure, be inclined to conversation, and cling fondly to elegant expressions and names.
“If these bodhisattvas hear the Thus-Gone One teaching the Dharma beyond letters or words, they will abandon these views and teach the Dharma according to whatever interests beings have. Then, trained in skillful means, they will speak of having few desires but will not realize purity through it.
“They will speak of endeavoring in rituals but will not realize purity through it. They will speak of vows but will not realize purity because of them. They will criticize social obligations and become interested in complete disengagement from all phenomena. They will praise the delights of solitude where there are no social obligations but will not realize purity because of it. They will praise the mind of awakening and know the nature of the mind to be awakened.
“They will praise the extensive sūtra teachings and know all phenomena extensively. They will express the words of the bodhisattvas and will not regard hearers, solitary buddhas, and buddhas as different.
“They will praise generosity and realize the equality of generosity. They will praise discipline and realize natural discipline. They will praise patience and see the fact that all phenomena are exhausted, purified, and unborn. They will praise diligence and realize that no phenomenon requires seeking or effort. They will show how millions of gateways of concentration and equilibrium are accomplished, and will know all phenomena to be naturally settled in equipoise. They will offer a thousand kinds of praise to knowledge, and thereby realize the nature of knowledge and deficient knowledge.
“They will reveal the faults of attachment and not see anything to be attached to. They will reveal the faults of aversion and not see anything to be averse to. They will reveal the faults of stupidity and be inspired to separate all phenomena from the obscuration of stupidity.
“They will teach beings the danger of passing into hell, the animal realm, and of realm of the lord of death, but they will not apprehend hell beings, the animal realm, or the realm of the lord of death. They will teach the Dharma that aligns with beings’ interests. There are those who are interested in the single principle of emptiness, and likewise there are those who are interested in the single principle of signlessness, wishlessness, nonarising, intangibility, and no attributes. Therefore, Blessed One, hearers, solitary buddhas, and bodhisattva great beings who have just entered this vehicle do not have a vocabulary for such skillful means. To remedy this, please provide a vocabulary for skillful means to those who are interested in the profound and in the single principle.”
Then the Blessed One said to the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin, “Noble son, listen well and bear what I say in mind. I will explain this topic to you.”
“Yes, Blessed One, I will.”
The bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin then listened as instructed as the Blessed One spoke the following verses:
Then the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, you have benefited all the beings who heard this teaching in verse.”
“Noble son, do you see this assembly?”
“Blessed One, I do. Blessed One, there are innumerable beings gathered here for this Dharma teaching. Blessed One, the sky above is filled with gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. Blessed One, many beings from other worlds also heard this teaching.”
Then the Blessed One said this to the bodhisattva great being Siṃhavikrāntagāmin: “Noble son, as I was giving this Dharma teaching, ninety-eight thousand gods developed the acceptance that phenomena are unborn, ninety-two thousand yakṣas aroused the intention to attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening, and thirty-six thousand nāgas aroused the intention to awaken. Five hundred arrogant monks who falsely presumed their own attainment came to trust that all phenomena are of a single principle when they heard this teaching, which is devoid of arrogance. Free from the causes that perpetuate cyclic existence, their minds were liberated from the defilements. Among this assembly of bodhisattvas, sixty-two thousand gained an unobscured understanding of all phenomena and then gained the acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Why was that?
“Noble son, this Dharma teaching is superb. Noble son, previously I myself fully assimilated the single principle of all phenomena in the presence of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Dīpaṅkara. Subsequently, I gained the acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Noble son, hearing this Dharma teaching is equivalent to mastering all the six perfections. Noble son, I have stated that in realizing this principle, one completes all six perfections of the bodhisattva great beings. Why is this?
“Noble son, even if bodhisattvas were to give generously, guard their discipline, practice patience, cultivate diligence, rest evenly in concentration, and authentically generate insight for as many eons as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, all their roots of virtue would eventually be exhausted if this Dharma principle was not understood. Noble son, consider what happened to the roots of virtue possessed by Devadatta. Noble son, Devadatta had thirty of the marks of a great person. He had such roots of virtue, but did not understand this Dharma principle, and so his roots of virtue expired and he was born in the great hell of Ceaseless Torment. Noble son, understand that the roots of virtue of those who have not fully assimilated this Dharma principle will expire, just as happened in his case.
“Noble son, in the past, many countless, limitless, vast, and immeasurable eons ago, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Mervabhyudgatarāja came to the world. He was a blessed buddha who was learned and virtuous, a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed being, a charioteer who guides beings, and a teacher of gods and humans. The lifespan of this thus-gone one was ninety-nine trillion years. His world was called Kanakārcis, as that buddha realm was made entirely of gold. All its beings were in the process of attaining nirvāṇa through the three vehicles of the hearers, solitary buddhas, and bodhisattvas.
“All eighty trillion monks who were in the first assembly of that thus-gone one’s hearers were worthy ones. They had exhausted the defilements, put down their burdens, attained benefit for themselves, and eliminated what bound them to existence. Their minds had been completely liberated by authentic teachings. The second assembly consisted of seventy trillion monks, the third of sixty trillion monks, and the fourth of fifty trillion, all of whom were worthy ones, had exhausted the defilements, had put down their burdens, had attained benefit for themselves, and had eliminated what bound them to existence. Their minds had been completely liberated by authentic teachings. There were twice as many nuns in the assembly, as well as twice as many laymen and laywomen. There were also twice as many bodhisattvas in the assembly, all of whom were irreversible beings, had gained acceptance that phenomena are unborn, were skilled in accomplishing the ways of absorption, and had attained the dhāraṇī of the boundless gateways. Given that this entire assembly was comprised of those who could turn the wheel of Dharma of irreversibility, what need is there to mention the assembly of those who had newly entered the Bodhisattva Vehicle? Also in that assembly were a limitless number of followers of the vehicle of the solitary buddhas.
“Such was the limitless assembly, noble son, that had gathered around that blessed one. In the Kanakārcis world, all the plants and trees were made of jewels. From these trees issued the sounds of emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, nonarising, nonceasing, intangibility, and no attributes. The presence of these sounds liberated the minds of the beings living in that world. After that thus-gone one had passed completely beyond suffering, his sublime Dharma remained for a thousand years, after which those sounds stopped reverberating from the trees.
“Noble son, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Mervabhyudgatarāja appointed a monk and Dharma teacher named Viśuddhacāritra as the holder of his sublime Dharma and then passed completely beyond suffering.
“At that time there was also a monk named Cāritramati. He had a great degree of pure discipline, had attained the five mundane superknowledges, and was well trained in the Vinaya. This monk engaged in intense austerities, was inclined toward frugality, and worked within the community. He built a monastery where he lived, and where everyone in the community was oriented to pure discipline and committed to the qualities of purification. This monk cultivated diligence and always maintained the mind of awakening. He inspired other bodhisattvas to live this way of life and to adopt views with a reference point. He caused them to accept that all karmic predispositions are impermanent, that all karmic predispositions are painful, and that all karmic predispositions lack a self. This monk was skilled in absorption and possessed roots of virtue, yet he was not learned in the conduct of bodhisattvas.
“The monk and Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra was skilled in discerning those of superior and inferior faculties, and everyone in his community was intent on their commitment to the ascetic practices, had patience beyond reference point, and was skilled in means. Noble son, the Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra traveled with his community to the monastery where Cāritramati lived and took up residence there. From that monastery they went on regular alms rounds to villages, motivated by compassion for beings, and then returned to the monastery. In this way, he caused hundreds of thousands of families to develop faith in them. Everyone in the community behaved skillfully. They would also travel to the villages and teach beings the Dharma, and even established many hundreds of thousands of animals in unsurpassed and perfect awakening. The monk Cāritramati’s community, however, was focused on concentration and did not travel to the villages.
“Cāritramati lost his faith in these other bodhisattvas, and so struck the wooden beam to call the monastic saṅgha to assembly. ‘Who among us is properly maintaining their spiritual commitments? No one should travel to the villages. Your behavior is careless. You end up speaking too much, so what is accomplished by going to the villages? The Blessed One has instructed us to stay in monasteries, and indeed he has commended it. Therefore, you should not go to town but instead enjoy the bliss of concentration,’ he ordered. But they did not heed his advice and continued visiting the villages.
“Noble son, when those monks were returning from the villages, the monk Cāritramati once again struck the wooden beam and called the monastic saṅgha to assembly. He gave them an ultimatum: ‘If you are going to keep visiting the villages, you may not stay in this monastery.’
“Noble son, to protect the mind of Cāritramati, the monk and Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra then summoned his community and commanded them, ‘Nobody shall go to the villages!’ However, those monks were displeased that they were thenceforth unable to encounter any of the beings whom they were to ripen, and their roots of virtue waned.
“Noble son, after three months had passed, the monk and Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra moved from that monastery to another temple. He also traveled to towns, villages, provinces, realms, and royal courts, teaching the Dharma to beings.
“Noble son, the monk Cāritramati then saw how the Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra traveled repeatedly to the villages. He observed how those in Viśuddhacāritra’s community persisted in their mundane conduct, and lost faith in them. He told many people, ‘This monk has lax and perverse discipline. How could he gain awakening? Awakening for this monk is far off indeed. This monk is far too indulgent.’
“Noble son, sometime later, the time of the monk Cāritramati’s death arrived. After he died, the ripening of this action caused him to plummet to the great hell of Ceaseless Torment, and he experienced the suffering of the great hells for nine hundred ninety billion eons. For another sixty lifetimes he encountered unpleasant speech, and for thirty-two thousand lifetimes he had no access to the renunciant’s life. The residual traces of that karmic obscuration allowed him to become a renunciant during the time of the teachings of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Expanding Stainless Light. As a renunciant he did not attain even a semblance of patience, even though he practiced for sixty trillion years as if his head were on fire, and for many hundreds of thousands of lives his faculties remained dull.
“Noble son, if you believe that at that time, on that occasion, the monk and Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra was someone other than the Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya, you are mistaken. For at that time, on that occasion, the Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya was indeed the monk and Dharma teacher Viśuddhacāritra. Noble son, if you believe that at that time, on that occasion, the monk and Dharma teacher Cāritramati was someone other than me, then you are mistaken. For at that time, on that occasion, I was indeed the monk and Dharma teacher Cāritramati, and it was I who, because of his subtle methods, had distrustful thoughts about him. And because of the karmic obscurations I accumulated, I fell into the realm of hell beings.
“Noble son, there are karmic obscurations that are as subtle as that; and therefore, noble son, whoever does not wish for such karmic obscurations should not become angry about the conduct of others. All such types of conduct are worthy of trust. One should think, ‘I do not know another person’s mind. The behavior of beings is difficult to fathom.’