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That yang dag par sdud pa reflects the translation choice of the original translation team, rather than later editors or compilers of the Tibetan canon, is suggested by the use of this title in the imperial-period translation catalogs.
The use of yang dag par brjod pa to translate dharmasaṅgīti is confirmed by extant Sanskrit citations from the sūtra in Indic sources such as Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya.
Though attributed to Nāgārjuna, there is some doubt if he is the true author of this work, or if this is a pseudonym used by an otherwise unidentified author.
A number of these citations appear to be taken not from the sūtra itself, but from Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya.
Sanskrit citations of the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra are found in Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamucaya, Kamalaśīla’s Bhāvanākrama, and Prajñākaramati’s Bodhicaryāvatārapañjikā. Prajñākaramati appears to cite the Śikṣāsamuccaya rather than the Dharmasaṅgīti itself, so while there is some minor variation in the cited passages his work contains no unique citations. Most of the citations from the Bhāvanākrama are also shared with the Śikṣāsamuccaya, though it contains a few unique citations as well. All citations from the Śikṣāsamucaya and the unique citations from Bhāvanākrama have been noted below. A citation purported to be from the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra is found in Haribhadra’s Abhisamayālaṅkārālokā and Abhāyakaragupta’s Amnāyamañjarī and Abhayapaddhati, but an equivalent passage could not be identified in Tibetan translation of the sūtra.
A Sanskrit witness of the Śikṣāsamuccaya is available in a fourteenth- to fifteenth-century palm leaf manuscript written in a Bengali script. It is presently held by the Cambridge University Library (MS Add. 1478;). The manuscript was edited and published by Cecil Bendall in 1902. A transcript of this manuscript prepared by Jens Braarvig was the main source consulted for this translation, but the manuscript was checked regularly to confirm or correct uncertain readings.
Tib. khyad par lung ston pa. This is understood as a translation of the Skt. term akṣūṇavyākaraṇa.
Tib. chos dang don. This translation understands the phrase to refer to phenomena and what designates them conceptually. The phrase could be interpreted in a number of ways.
Tentative for dbang gcig pa. S uniquely reads dpang gcig pa, “sole witness,” which is also a viable interpretation.
The following passage describes the ten strengths of a thus-gone one, though in a slightly different order than other texts.
This is not typically counted as one of the ten strengths, and appears to replace “knowledge of death and birth” found in the more common set of ten.
This translation follows F, K, Y, N, and S in reading sangs rgyas rnam pa du yod pa. Degé reads sangs rgyas rnams du yod pa, “how many buddhas there are.” In the corresponding section below, this question is phrased more simply as “understand the Buddha” (sangs rgyas khong du chud pa).
This translation follows F, K, Y, and S in reading dpe rnams kyis. D reads de rnams kyis, “by them.”
This translation follows F, H, K, Y, N, and S in reading sangs rgyas kyi mthu dang sangs rgyas kyi byin gyis brlabs kyis. D omits sangs rgyas kyi mthu dang.
This translation follows H, K, Y, and N in reading blo gros rgya chen po, to align with the use of the phrase above. D omits rgya, and thus would read “great intelligence.”
This translation follows F, H, K, Y, N, and S in reading rtsol ba’i rnam par rtog pa. D reads rtsom pa’i rnam par rtog pa, “concepts of commencement.”
It is possible, but not certain, that Kamalaśīla cites an abridged version of this line in the Bhāvanakramā. See Tucci 1958, p. 199.
F, H, K, and S, among others, make it clear that the break between points 4 and 5 are as translated here. In D the line break (shad) is omitted.
This is a slightly alternate list of the twelve traditional branches of Buddhist scripture. In most lists, the twelfth genre is “instruction” (upadeśa), but this text has “expositions” (viniścaya). The traditional list in Sanskrit consists of sūtra, geya, vyākaraṇa, gāthā, udāna, nidāna, itivṛttaka, avadāna, jātaka, vaipulya, adbhūtadharma, and upadeśa.
Tib. phur ma, which is here understood as a translation of the Skt. puṭa or puṭika. This is then inferred to refer to the container filled with the mixed colors, rather than the individual colors that were poured into it.
Tib. khri lam, which is here understood to refer to a road along which palanquins, chariots, and other conveyances of the nobility can pass.
As noted above, the topic of this passage is described differently here than it is in the passage listing Mativikrama’s questions. There, this question concerns “the different aspects of a buddha” (sangs rgyas rnam du yod pa).
The “essential buddha, “enjoyment buddha,” and “emanation buddha” appear to refer to the three bodies of a buddha, the dharmakāya, sambhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya.
Tib. chos tsam du zad pa, which is here understood as a translation of the Skt. dharmamātra.
This translation follows C, H, F, J, K, Y, N, and S in reading yul med pa. D has yul med pas.
The preceding passage in which the eight worldly concerns are enumerated, is cited by Śāntideva in the Śikṣāsamuccaya. See Bendall 1902, p. 264, and Goodman 2016, p. 251. The terminology and syntax of the English translation are informed by the Sanskrit.
This translation follows the D reading de bzhin gshegs pa’i sku rtag pa mi zad pa. C, F, J, K, and Y omit rtag pa. S adds chos, giving the reading de bzhin gshegs pa’i sku rtag pa chos mi zad pa.
These are the four correct discernments (catuḥpratisaṃvid; so sor yang dag par rig pa bzhi).
“Propriety” (apatrāpya; khrel yod pa) differs from “conscientiousness” (hrī; ngo tsha shes pa) insofar as the former involves concern with what others will think, and the latter indicates a personal, internal conviction about moral behavior.
This is the set of four māras (caturmāra; bdud bzhi) that are obstacles to those on the Buddhist path.
This is connected to the previous point insofar as followers of the Great Vehicle hold that śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas only give up the obscuration of the afflictive emotions, not the cognitive obscurations.
There are, inexplicably, eleven points in this section of the “ten approaches.” All versions of the Tibetan translation consulted include these eleven points.
That is to say those who neglect to address the activities of Māra, not those who neglect to engage in them.
Tib. phung po gsum pa’i yongs su sngo ba. The precise referent of “the three sections” is unclear. The term often refers to a set of confessional practices associated with the bodhisattva path, and it can refer to the acts of confession, rejoicing, and requesting teachings.
The section that follows presents a version of the “seven jewels” (saptaratna; rin chen bdun) of a universal monarch.
From the context it appears that the term garuḍa (nam mkha’ lding) refers to Viṣṇu’s mount rather than garuḍas in general. This interpretation is based on the preceding reference to Indra’s mount Airāvaṇa.
This tentative translation follows F and S in reading mi rin po che. D has mig rin po che, “precious eye.”
This translation follows C, F, J, K, and Y in reading dge ba zag pa med pa’i tshogs. D reads dge ba zad pa med pa’i tshogs, “the collection of inexhaustible virtue.”
There are traditionally a set of ten objects of meditative immersion (Skt. kṛtsna; Pali kasiṇa; Tib. zad pa), but only nine are given here. Additionally, this list is somewhat at variance with other presentations by listing the elements based on their properties. Thus we have “solidity” instead of “earth,” “wetness” instead of “water,” “heat” instead of “fire,” and “movement” instead of “air.” The full set of ten objects of meditative immersion, using their more standard terminology, appears in this text at F.29.b. See 1.147.
The following passages restate the structure used above for desirous minds and minds free of desire, applying it only to the last binary in the list, “minds that are liberated and minds that are not liberated.” This same formula is meant to be applied to the intervening binaries as well.
This translation follows F, H, N, and S in reading sems thams cad shes kyang. D reads sems can thams cad shes kyang, “Even though they know all beings…”
This translation follows C, F, H, J, K, Y, N, and S in reading brtan pa. D reads bstan pa, “teach/show.”
Tib. rdzu ’phrul bya shes pa, which is understood here as a translation of the Skt. ṛddhividhijñāna.
Linum usitatissimum. Tib. zer ma’i me tog; Skt. umakapuṣpa. The identification of this flower and other plants in this translation is informed by Singh and Chunekar 1999 and the Pandanus Database of Indic Plants.
Pentapetes phoenicea. Tib. ban du dzi ba ka’i me tog; Skt. bandhujivakapuṣpa. This flower is more typically named bandhuka in Skt.
Unidentified. This translation is based on the attested Skt. uśanastāraka (Tib. skar ma pa ba sangs). This is possibly the white flower of the pipal tree.
As used in this text, the term “jewel-in-hand” (lag na rin po che) appears to convey a meaning similar to “sky treasury” (nam mkha’i mdzod), referring to a bodhisattva’s ability to manifest any desired object at will.
That is, the first of the four truths of the noble ones. Each of the characteristics that follow are similarly identified with one of the four truths.
S uniquely reads “the truth of the characteristic of classification” (rnam par dbye ba’i mthsan nyid kyi bden pa).
This translation of the description of the first dhyāna follows the Tibetan syntax, but is informed by numerous similar, but not identical, Sanskrit citations, such as this from the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā: viviktaṃ kāmair viviktaṃ pāpakair akuśalair dharmaiḥ savitarkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ prītisukhaṃ prathamaṃ dhyānam upasaṃpadya viharati (Kimura 1992, vol. 5, p. 93).
All versions of the Tibetan translation consulted read kun tu longs spyod pa, though this term seems out of place in this context.
This translation of the description of the second dhyāna follows the Tibetan syntax, but is informed by numerous similar, but not identical, Sanskrit citations, such as this from the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā: vitarkavicārāṇāṃ vyupaśamād adhyātmaṃ saṃprasādāc cetasa ekotībhāvād avitarkam avicāraṃ samādhijaṃ prītisukhaṃ dvitīyaṃ dhyānam upasaṃpadya viharati (Kimura 1992, vol. 5, p. 93).
This translation of the description of the third dhyāna follows the Tibetan syntax, but is informed by numerous similar, but not identical, Sanskrit citations, such as this from the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā: prīteś ca virāgād upekṣako viharati, smṛtimān saṃprajānaṃ sukhaṃ ca kāye na pratisaṃvedayati yat tad āryā ācakṣate, upekṣakaḥ smṛtimān sukhavihārī tṛtīyaṃ dhyānam upasaṃpadya viharati (Kimura 1992, vol. 5, p. 93).
The precise point where the content of the bodhisattva’s thought begins is not clear from the Tibetan syntax.
This translation of the description of the fourth dhyāna follows the Tibetan syntax, but is informed by numerous similar, but not identical, Sanskrit citations, such as this from the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā: sa sukhasya ca prahāṇāt duḥkhasya ca prahāṇāt pūrvam eva saumanasyadaurmanasyayor astaṃgamād aduṣkhāsukham upekṣāsmṛtipariśuddhañ caturthaṃ dhyānam upasaṃpadya viharati (Kimura 1992, vol. 5, p. 93–94).
This translation follows C, F, K, Y, and S in reading mngon par smon. D reads mngon par sman.
This translation follows D and other versions in reading sems can thams cad kyir, but it is noteworthy that C, H, J, K, and N read sems can thams cad kyis, while F has sems can thams cad kyi.
Conjectural for mang ba, the sense of which is unclear. Of the sources consulted, only F omits mang ba.
Cf. Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā: sa sarvaśo rūpasaṃjñānāṃ samatikramāt pratighasaṃjñānām astaṃgamān nānātvasaṃjñānām amanasikārād anantam ākāśam ity ākāśānantyāyatanam upasaṃpadya viharat[i] (Kimura 1992, vol. 5, p. 100).
This translation follows C, F, J, K, and Y in omitting don de’i, which is attested in D. S similarly reads de’i don.
Cf. Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā: sa sarvaśa ākiṃcanyāyatanasamatikramād naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatanam upasaṃpadya viharati (Kimura 1992, vol. 5, p. 101).
Tib. mu stegs can. This term refers to any non-Buddhist tradition that holds views in opposition to those held by Buddhists.
Tib. dmigs pa can, Skt. aupalambhika. This term refers to traditions that invest perception and objects of perception with reality. Such a view could be held by Buddhists and non-Buddhists.
This translation follows C, F, H, J, K, Y, N and S in reading thos par byed. D reads thogs par byed, “create obstacles.”
Śāntideva cites this statement listing the three types of patience in the Śikṣāsamuccaya, though in his sequence the second and third types of patience are reversed. See Bendall 1902, p. 179, and Goodman 2016, p. 179. The terminology and syntax of the English translation of this passage are informed by the Sanskrit.
Tib. sbyor ba’i gnas. Yoga (sbyor ba) is understood here in its more generic sense of “mastery” of any activity, secular or spiritual, to which one dedicates oneself.
The preceding portion of Nirārambha’s discussion with Mativikrama on suchness is cited by Śāntideva in the Śikṣāsamuccaya. See Bendall 1902, p. 263–64, and Goodman 2016, p. 250. The terminology and syntax of the English translation of this passage are informed by the Sanskrit.
The Buddha’s teachings regarding subjects such as wisdom, psychology, metaphysics, and cosmology.
The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.
Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.
Indra’s elephant.
The nectar of immortality possessed by the gods (deva). It is frequently used as a metaphor for the teachings that brings liberation.
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 nāga king.
Lit. “Unobstructed.” One of the ten great śrāvaka disciples, famed for his meditative prowess and superknowledges. He was the Buddha's cousin—a son of Amṛtodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana—and is often mentioned along with his two brothers Bhadrika and Mahānāma. Some sources also include Ānanda among his brothers.
In many formulations, there are four modes of mindfulness: mindfulness of the body, sensations, mind, and phenomena. In this text there are six additional modes of the application of mindfulness: the mindfulness of recollecting the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, discipline, giving, and divinties.
Eighth of the ten perfections, the formulation of one’s intentions and commitments regarding the path to awakening.
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).
An optional set of thirteen practices that monastics can adopt in order to cultivate greater detachment. They consist of 1) wearing patched robes made from discarded cloth rather than from cloth donated by laypeople; 2) wearing only three robes; 3) going for alms; 4) not omitting any house while on the alms round, rather than begging only at those houses known to provide good food; 5) eating only what can be eaten in one sitting; 6) eating only food received in the alms bowl, rather than more elaborate meals presented to the Saṅgha; 7) refusing more food after indicating one has eaten enough; 8) dwelling in the forest; 9) dwelling at the root of a tree; 10) dwelling in the open air, using only a tent made from one’s robes as shelter; 11) dwelling in a charnel ground; 12) satisfaction with whatever dwelling one has; and 13) sleeping in a sitting position without ever lying down.
A bodhisattva and interlocuter in The Dharma Council.
One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.
A king of horses.
Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.
There are typically four bases of miraculous power: determination, discernment, diligence, and meditative concentration.
See “true state of things.”
The real nature, true quality, or condition of things. Throughout Buddhist discourse this term is used in two distinct ways. In one, it designates the relative nature that is either the essential characteristic of a specific phenomenon, such as the heat of fire and the moisture of water, or the defining feature of a specific term or category. The other very important and widespread way it is used is to designate the ultimate nature of all phenomena, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms and is often synonymous with emptiness or the absence of intrinsic existence.
These basic precepts are five in number for the laity: (1) not killing, (2) not stealing, (3) chastity, (4) not lying, and (5) avoiding intoxicants. For monks, there are three or five more; avoidance of such things as perfumes, makeup, ointments, garlands, high beds, and afternoon meals. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
Fourth of the four formless dhyānas.
A range of mountains in Jambudvīpa.
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”).
The ten levels or stages traversed by a bodhisattva that culminate in buddhahood: (1) Joyful (pramuditā; rab tu dga’ ba), (2) Stainless (vimalā; dri ma med pa), (3) Luminous (prabhākarī; ’od byed pa), (4) Radiant (arciṣmatī; ’od ’phro can), (5) Invincible (sudurjayā; shin tu sbyang dka’ ba), (6) Facing Directly (abhimukhī; mngon du gyur), (7) Far-Reaching (dūraṅgamā; ring du song ba), (8) Immovable (acalā; mi g.yo ba), Auspicious Intellect (sādhumatī; legs pa’i blo gros), and (10) Cloud of Dharma (dharmameghā; chos kyi sprin).
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).
The first of the seventeen heavens of the form realm; also the name of the gods living there. In the form realm, which is structured according to the four concentrations and pure abodes, or Śuddhāvāsa, it is listed as the first of the three heavens that correspond to the first of the four concentrations.
The four qualities that are said to result in rebirth in the heaven of Brahmā: limitless love, compassion, rejoicing, and equanimity. The term can also refer to the resultant states. This formulation was already prevalent in India before Śākyamuni’s teaching on them.
A member of the highest of the four castes in Indian society, which is closely associated with religious vocations.
There are seven branches of awakening: mindfulness, discrimination, diligence, joy, pliancy, absorption, and equanimity.
The tenth bodhisattva bhūmi.
This patience is an acceptance of the true nature of things. It is a patience that is in accord with the nature of phenomena.
The capacity of realized beings to speak in a confident and inspiring manner.
Consciousness is generally classified into the five sensory consciousnesses and mental consciousness. Fifth of the five aggregates and third of the twelve links of dependent origination.
Literally, “to flow” or “to ooze.” Mental defilements or contaminations that “flow out” toward the objects of cyclic existence, binding us to them. Vasubandhu offers two alternative explanations of this term: “They cause beings to remain (āsayanti) within saṃsāra” and “They flow from the Summit of Existence down to the Avīci hell, out of the six wounds that are the sense fields” (Abhidharmakośabhāṣya 5.40; Pradhan 1967, p. 308). The Summit of Existence (bhavāgra, srid pa’i rtse mo) is the highest point within saṃsāra, while the hell called Avīci (mnar med) is the lowest; the six sense fields (āyatana, skye mched) here refer to the five sense faculties plus the mind, i.e., the six internal sense fields.
Lit. “to shape/form/create,” the term refers to volitional activity that creates karmic patterns and results.
See “contrive.”
Lit. “to shape/form/create,” the term refers to volitional activity that creates karmic patterns and results.
See “contrive.”
The abandonment of nonvirtuous mental states and resultant actions of body, speech, and mind, and the cultivation of virtuous mental states and resultant actions of body, speech, and mind. This set is often interpreted as “right exertions,” reflecting the Skt. term samyakpradhāṇa, rather than samyakprahāṇa, which is the basis for the Tibetan term yang dag par spong ba.
Correct and accurate discernment, typically in regard to four sets of factors: phenomena, meaning, language, and confident eloquence.
A term meaning defilement, impurity, and pollution, broadly referring to cognitive and emotional factors that disturb and obscure the mind. As the self-perpetuating process of affliction in the minds of beings, it is a synonym for saṃsāra. It is often paired with its opposite, vyavadāna, meaning “purification.”
The relative nature of phenomena, which arise in dependence on causes and conditions. Together with the four truths of the noble ones, this was one of the first teachings given by the Buddha.
A term that is essentially synonymous with deva, “god.” See the entry for “god.”
In the most general sense the devas—the term is cognate with the English divine—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.
The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.
Sometimes translated “truth body,” “reality body,” or “body of qualities,” the term dharmakāya stands in distinction to the rūpakāya, or “form body” of a buddha. In its earliest uses the term refers to the Buddha’s qualities as a collective whole, or to his teachings as the embodiment of him. It now primarily indicates the eternal, imperceivable realization of a buddha and is synonymous with the true nature of reality.
Specific states of meditative stability related to the form and formless realms. Remaining in these meditative states can cause one to be reborn into these realms, and the states themselves also seem to have a spatial correlation to the form and formless realms. In this way there are eight progressive dhyānas: the first four correspond to the form realm and the latter correspond to the formless realms.
The fifth of the six or ten perfections, the term refers to the ability of the mind to remain undistracted in a state free of afflicted mental states. See also the entry for “dhyāna.”
The fourth of the six or ten perfections, this refers to a state of mind characterized by joyful persistence when engaging in virtuous activity.
Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. Second of the six or ten perfections.
The ability to see all forms whether they are near or far, subtle or gross; also the ability to see the births and deaths of sentient beings. This ability is also included among the higher cognitions.
A bodhisattva and interlocuter in The Dharma Council.
“Eight domains of mastery over the senses” is a classic formula describing the process of stabilizing the mind through meditation. They are divided by form (attractive, unattractive, limited, and unlimited) and color (blue, yellow, red, and white).
A series of progressively more subtle states of meditative realization or attainment. There are several presentations of these found in the canonical literature. One of the most common is as follows: (1) One observes form while the mind dwells at the level of the form realm. (2) One observes forms externally while discerning formlessness internally. (3) One dwells in the direct experience of the body’s pleasant aspect. (4) One dwells in the realization of the sphere of infinite space by transcending all conceptions of matter, resistance, and diversity. (5) Transcending the sphere of infinite space, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of infinite consciousness. (6) Transcending the sphere of infinite consciousness, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of nothingness. (7) Transcending the sphere of nothingness, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception. (8) Transcending the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception, one dwells in the realization of the cessation of conception and feeling.
Hoping for happiness, fame, praise, and gain, and fearing suffering, insignificance, blame, and loss.
These are typically enumerated as (1) inner emptiness, (2) outer emptiness, (3) inner and outer emptiness, (4) the emptiness of emptiness, (5) great emptiness, (6) the emptiness of ultimate reality, (7) the emptiness of the compounded, (8) the emptiness of the uncompounded, (9) the emptiness of what transcends limits, (10) the emptiness of no beginning and no end, (11) the emptiness of nonrepudiation, (12) the emptiness of a basic nature, (13) the emptiness of all dharmas, (14) the emptiness of its own mark, (15) the emptiness of not apprehending, (16) the emptiness of a nonexistent thing, (17) the emptiness of an intrinsic nature, and (18) the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.
’phags pa chos yang dag par sdud pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo, Āryadharmasaṃgīti nāmamahāyānasūtra. Toh 238, Degé Kangyur vol. 65 (mdo sde zha), folios 1.b–99.b.
’phags pa chos yang dag par sdud pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo, Āryadharmasaṃgīti nāmamahāyānasūtra. 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. 65, pp. 19–247.
’phags pa chos yang dag par sdud pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo, Āryadharmasaṃgītināmamahāyānasūtra. Phukdrag Kangyur vol. 69 (mdo de, ma) folios 1.b–131.b.
’phags pa chos yang dag par sdud pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo, Āryadharmasaṃgītināmamahāyānasūtra. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 64 (mdo de, pa) folios 193.a–336.a.
Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā. GRETIL edition input by Klaus Wylie based on the edition by Takayasu Kimura: Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā I-VIII. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 1986–2009. Accessed on January 3, 2023.
Śāntideva. Sikṣāsamuccaya. Palm leaf MS in Bengali script, 14th–15th century. Cambridge University Library MS Add. 1478.
Śāntideva. Sikṣāsamuccaya. Bendall, Cecil, ed. Çikshāsamuccaya, a compendium of Buddhistic teaching compiled by Çāntideva, chiefly from earlier Mahāyāna-sūtras. St. Petersburg: Académie impériale des sciences, 1902.
Śāntideva. Sikṣāsamuccaya. GRETIL edition input by Jens Braarvig on July 31, 2020. Accessed on January 3, 2023.
Bodhi, Bhikku, trans. The Suttanipāta: An Ancient Collection of the Buddha’s Discourses together with Its Commentaries. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2017.
Bodhi, Bhikku, trans. The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2000.
Goodman, Charles. The Training Anthology of Śāntideva: A Translation of the Śikṣā-samuccaya. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: Ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Kawagoe, Eishin, ed. dKar chag ’Phang thang ma. Tōhoku Indo Chibetto Kenkyū Sōsho 3. Sendai: Tohoku Society for Indo-Tibetan Studies, 2005.
Meulenbeld, G. Jan. A History of Indian Medical Literature. 5 vols. Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 1999–2002.
Ringpapontsang, Tenzin C. “Conquering the Conqueror: Reassessing the Relationship between Qubilai Khan and ’Phags pa Lama.” PhD diss., The Australian National University, 2016.
Singh, Thakur B., and K. C. Chunekar. Glossary of Vegetable Drugs in Bṛhattrayī. Varanasi: Chaukhamba Amarabharati Prakashan, 1999.
Walshe, Maurice, trans. The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995.
C Choné Kangyur
D Degé Kangyur
F Phukdrak Kangyur
H Lhasa Kangyur
J Lithang Kangyur
K Peking Kangxi Kangyur
N Narthang Kangyur
S Stok Palace Kangyur
Y Peking Yongle Kangyur
The Dharma Council is a Great Vehicle sūtra in which the path of a bodhisattva is taught initially by the Buddha, but principally by a host of bodhisattvas and śrāvakas. Among them, the bodhisattva Nirārambha takes center stage, delivering long discourses and engaging in dialogues and debates on the key points of Great Vehicle Buddhism. Following Nirārambha’s example, a number of the Buddha’s disciples express their own understanding of the path, and they win praise and confirmation from the Buddha for their eloquent expositions of the Dharma. As a Great Vehicle sūtra, The Dharma Council is grounded in the themes of emptiness, nonconceptuality, and skillful compassionate conduct; from these doctrinal touchstones spring a profound and wide-ranging presentation of the Dharma.
This text was translated by Lozang Jamspal and David R. Kittay of the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York. David R. Kittay wishes to express his gratitude to Dr. Jamspal for his wisdom and kindness, and his example of a life lived according to the Dharma.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. It was revised, annotated, and introduced by Ryan Damron. Ralph H. Craig III reviewed the translation and contributed many helpful suggestions and corrections. Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text and Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Lily Xu.
The Dharma Council is a Great Vehicle sūtra in which the view, practices, and modes of conduct of a bodhisattva are taught, debated, and confirmed communally by the Buddhist saṅgha. Though the Buddha does teach in this sūtra, his primary role is to confirm and authorize the statements of his disciples as genuine expressions of the Dharma. The majority of the teachings are instead delivered by a host of bodhisattvas and śrāvakas present in his assembly. Among them, the bodhisattva Nirārambha takes center stage, delivering long discourses and engaging in dialogues and debates on the key points of Great Vehicle Buddhism. Following Nirārambha’s example, numerous bodhisattvas and śrāvakas express their own understanding of the path, and they win praise and confirmation from the Buddha for their eloquent expositions of the Dharma. As a Great Vehicle sūtra, The Dharma Council is grounded in the themes of emptiness, nonconceptuality, and skillful compassionate conduct; from these doctrinal touchstones spring a wide-ranging articulation of the Dharma that is the fruit of the saṅgha’s collective engagement with the teachings of the Buddha.
The Sanskrit title of this sūtra by which it is most widely known is the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra. This is the Sanskrit title given by the Tibetan translators, and it is the title by which the sūtra is cited in numerous Indian commentarial sources. The term dharmasaṅgīti has nuanced shades of meaning that find expression in both the setting and content of the sūtra. In perhaps its most basic sense, the term saṅgīti describes a chorus or ensemble musical performance. In a specifically religious setting, it can refer to the communal recitation and rehearsal of doctrine, of dharma. In the Buddhist tradition, dharmasaṅgīti can thus refer to a gathering of the Buddhist saṅgha to collectively recite sections of the Tripiṭika, the “Three Baskets” of the Buddhist canon: Sūtra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma. Such a gathering would have been led by one or more groups of Dharma reciters (dharmabhāṇaka; chos smra ba) who were responsible for memorizing and faithfully transmitting specific sections of the canon.
More broadly, the term dharmasaṅgīti refers not only to a communal oral rehearsal of the Dharma, but also to a gathering or “council” in which the Dharma is collectively confirmed, refined, and codified. It is just such a gathering that is depicted here in The Dharma Council. The sūtra describes an event in which the saṅgha has gathered to listen to the teachings of the Buddha, to discuss and debate the Dharma among themselves, and then to present their understanding to the Buddha as a way of refining that understanding and ultimately receiving confirmation that it is genuine and correct. The notion of a “Dharma council” would eventually take on a new shade of meaning after the passing of the Buddha, when the responsibility to maintain the integrity of the Dharma, sustain its faithful transmission, root out unwanted accretions, and resolve disputes fell to the saṅgha. This latter kind of Dharma council is not precisely what is described in this sūtra, but it does further underscore the role of saṅgītis in constituting and preserving the Dharma as it has been transmitted since the earliest days of the Buddhist community.
While the term dharmasaṅgīti generally refers to a communal event, it is also frequently used to identify a specific “Dharma discourse” given by the Buddha or one of his disciples. Thus, the sūtra may have been titled the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra as a reflection of its narrative setting, but also because the sūtra is composed of numerous individual discourses delivered by a range of figures that includes the Buddha, bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and even a god (devaputra). In this series of discrete discourses, a given member of the saṅgha presents or discusses their understanding of the Dharma and then asks the Buddha if their discourse is in accord with his. The Buddha consistently agrees that it is, thereby establishing that individual discourse as part of the collective Dharma. Thus, The Dharma Council (Dharmasaṅgīti) describes an event in which multiple Dharma discourses (dharmasaṅgīti) are articulated and authorized as the true Dharma.
This dual valence of dharmasaṅgīti is apparent in the way the Sanskrit term was handled by the Tibetan translators. The title of the sūtra, which is consistent across all versions of the Tibetan canon consulted, is chos yang dag par sdud pa'i mdo. The root verb sdud pa means to “gather” or “collect,” thus bringing to the fore the communal, collective sense of the term. In the body of the translation, however, the Tibetan translators exclusively used chos yang dag par brjod pa. The root verb used here, bjod pa, means to “speak,” “express,” or, as translated below, “discourse” on the Dharma.
There is yet another valence of the term dharmasaṅgīti operative in this text, one that can be inferred through the Tibetan title chos yang dag par sdud pa. The Tibetan term yang dag par sdud pa specifically conveys the sense of a Dharma “collection” or “compendium.” This is also the sense given by the Chinese title 法集經 (fa ji jing), where 集 (ji) means to “compile,” “collect,” or “assemble.” The Dharma Council is precisely that: a comprehensive and detailed presentation of Great Vehicle Buddhism that incorporates many of its most prominent doctrines, categories, guidelines, and terminologies. The dual valence of the Tibetan term to mean both “a Dharma gathering” and “a compendium of the Dharma” may have been appealing to its translators, and might have been particularly apt for the Tibetan community who first received and then transmitted the sūtra in a textual format.
Despite being well known in India, China, and Tibet as the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra, this is not the title given in the sūtra’s colophon as preserved in the Tibetan translation. There, the text is identified as the “Nirārambha Chapter” (rtsom pa med kyi le’u) of a sūtra titled chos thams cad yang dag par sdud pa stong phrag brgya pa, Discourse on All Dharmas, a Sūtra in One Hundred Thousand Lines. This sūtra is counted as the twelfth chapter of that text, and it is named after its primary figure, Nirārambha. Thus, the text that is now known as the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra was considered by its compilers to be just one chapter of a much longer text, which, given the title, may have included the Dharma discourses of additional śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, and perhaps other classes of beings. We may never be able to determine the constitution of such a text or what its other chapters may have been—there are no other extant texts that are identified with this title or as chapters thereof, and all available evidence suggests that this sūtra was known by the title Dharmasaṅgītisūtra in India. It is nonetheless noteworthy that a sūtra that already contained a wealth of Dharma discourses delivered by a variety of Buddhist figures was itself at one time considered part of a much longer collection of discourses on the Dharma.
The Dharma Council presents an account of a gathering of the Buddhist saṅgha in which the Dharma is collectively taught, discussed, debated, and ultimately confirmed. The Buddha Śākyamuni is at the center of this gathering, gives the first brief teaching, and acts as the final arbiter of the Dharma discourses given, but he is not the primary teacher in the sūtra nor its most prominent figure. That distinction goes to the bodhisattva Nirārambha, whose long discourse on the Dharma and his dialogues with other members of the saṅgha comprise the bulk of the sūtra. Nirārambha is at times in dialogue with the Buddha and other bodhisattvas and śrāvakas—primarily the bodhisattva Mativikrama and the great śrāvakas Śāriputra and Subhūti—but the majority of the sūtra consists of his long monologues on a wide range of Great Vehicle topics and themes. Following Nirārambha’s discourses, a host of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas rise from their seats to present their understanding of the Great Vehicle through a series of individual discourses. The Buddha confirms each discourse to be in perfect accord with his realization and teachings, thereby authorizing their statements as the genuine Dharma to be upheld and propagated. Thus, while The Dharma Council is a sūtra about the Dharma, it also provides insight into the Buddhist community’s perspective on the collective constitution of the Dharma through teaching, discussion, and debate.
The sūtra takes place in a palace of inestimable size and grandeur miraculously emanated by the Buddha, but beyond this detail we are not given a precise location for the proceedings. Śākyamuni is joined in this palace by a large assembly composed of śrāvakas (most of whom are arhats), bodhisattvas, and a contingent of gods and supernatural beings. The Buddha is the first to speak, delivering a relatively short discourse he names Entering the Gate of the Progressive Approach to All Dharmas (chos thams cad kyi go rims kyi tshul gyi sgo la ’jug pa) that consists primarily of short, aphoristic phrases that touch on many of the core concepts and categories of Great Vehicle Buddhism. It is a teaching that is exhaustive in content while being pithy in expression.
After the Buddha completes his teaching, the scene shifts to another location in the palace, away from the Buddha, where the bodhisattvas Nirārambha and Mativikrama have met to take up a Dharma discourse they call Vast Intelligence (blo gros yangs pa). It is this discourse that occupies most of the sūtra’s length—fifty-three of the text’s ninety-nine folios—and consists of a series of monologues by Nirārambha prompted by the questions of Mativikrama. The Vast Intelligence discourse can be roughly divided into two long sections. In the first, Nirārambha responds to Mativikrama’s questions on the view and comportment of a bodhisattva by describing the various “approaches” (tshul la ’jug pa) bodhisattvas should adopt. To each of Mativikrama’s questions Nirārambha responds with numerous sets of ten such approaches. Each set of ten is unpacked at length, thereby providing a fine-grained examination of the full range of Great Vehicle topics.
In the second section of Vast Intelligence, Mativikrama engages Nirārambha in a further dialogue on specific points of the Dharma. Here, Mativikrama asks about the six perfections, the nature of awakening, the four truths of the noble ones, and the ten applications of mindfulness, among other topics. Nirārambha’s discourse on the ten applications of mindfulness is particularly detailed and extensive and takes up most of this section of his teaching. Throughout his discourse, no matter the specific topic, Nirārambha returns again and again to the themes of emptiness, love and compassion, and nonconceptuality, thus underscoring the nondualistic and altruistic orientation at the heart of bodhisattva practice. When the two bodhisattvas conclude their dialogue, they approach the Buddha to seek confirmation of their understanding of the Dharma. Śākyamuni readily approves, declaring their discourse to be in accord with the discourse of all buddhas and to have furthered the Buddha’s work.
With the conclusion of the Vast Intelligence discourse, Mativikrama cedes the stage, but Nirārambha’s central role continues. For the remainder of the sūtra Nirārambha stays near the Buddha, fielding questions from members of the assembly and posing questions of his own to Śākyamuni. The first to speak is the Buddha’s great śrāvaka disciple Śāriputra, who rises from the assembly to ask Nirārambha about the meaning of his name, which can be interpreted to mean “disengaged,” and presses him further on some of the points he made in his earlier discourse. Nirārambha’s responses to Śāriputra’s many questions again focus on emptiness, nonduality, and nonconceptuality as the determining principles behind not only his own, but all bodhisattvas’ activities. Their conversation involves much back-and-forth, and some chiding from Nirārambha concerning Śāriputra’s narrow and mistaken views, but in the end Śāriputra accepts Nirārambha’s position as superior to his own and rejoices in Nirārambha’s confident command of the Dharma.
Following this exchange, Nirārambha adopts the role of interlocutor and turns to the Buddha to ask questions of his own. Briefly then, and for the first moment since the opening folios of the text, the Buddha is the primary voice of the Dharma. Following this relatively short teaching, the remainder of the sūtra presents a communal articulation of the Dharma. Several bodhisattvas and śrāvakas, as well as one god, stand up in turn to present their own understanding of the Dharma to the Buddha, and in each case he confirms their understanding as a genuine Dharma discourse. Mativikrama is the first to speak, followed by Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra, Kātyāyana, Kāśyapa, Subhūti, Aniruddha, Rāhula, Upāli, Ānanda, Maitreya, Priyadarśana, Sunetra, Sujāta, Sārthavāha, Prabhāketu, Vimukticandra, Sāgaramati, Avalokiteśvara, Dṛḍhamati, Excellent Discipline, Gaganagañja, and Mañjuśrī.
At the completion of this collective expression of the Dharma, Nirārambha offers the Buddha a precious pearl necklace, which, through the Buddha’s miraculous power, becomes an ornate palace that floats in the air above his head and follows him wherever he goes. The Buddha smiles at this, and so initiates a short vignette on the Buddha’s smile that is common to many sūtras: rays of multicolored light shine forth from his mouth, illuminate infinite world systems and bring relief to the beings suffering there, and then return to dissolve into the crown of the Buddha’s head. As in other sūtras, this miraculous display prompts Ānanda to ask why the Buddha is smiling so. It is because the Buddha, pleased by Nirārambha’s offering and his elucidation of the Dharma, is about to give him the prophecy of his awakening to complete buddhahood. Subhūti then turns to Nirārambha to offer words of congratulations, but Nirārambha detects in his statements the traces of the narrow conceptual view of a śrāvaka and critiques him. Following Nirārambha’s incisive interrogation, Subhūti concedes that the conventions of śrāvakas are the same as those of worldly beings, which in Nirārambha’s view are only appropriate to protect worldly beings, who are scared of the ultimate, and not for noble ones, who take joy in ultimate truth. Nirārambha then summarizes the truth of emptiness, dependent arising, and nonarising and explains that the prophecy of buddhahood is for those for whom success does not exist, who feel no joy in hearing the prophecy, and who do not leave ordinary people behind.
The final discourse of the text belongs to the Buddha and involves a conversation not with a bodhisattva or śrāvaka, but with a god named Excellent Mind (bzang sems). Excellent Mind asks the Buddha about the scope of a bodhisattva’s awakening, and what guidelines keep the bodhisattvas firmly on their path. The Buddha’s instruction consists of a long series of pithy statements that, much like his introductory discourse, cover the entire range of Great Vehicle doctrines, practices, and modes of conduct. At the completion of the Buddha’s teaching, Excellent Mind presents his own understanding as the bodhisattvas and śrāvakas before him had, and the Buddha confirms his understanding as a clear and effective articulation of the Dharma.
The Dharma Council concludes with a challenge from the Buddha: who present in the assembly has the courage to uphold and propagate this approach to the Dharma? A number of the bodhisattvas who previously spoke again rise to make a final statement of their commitment, and in each case the words of their promises are directly related to their name or a well-known quality. Thus, Nirārambha (“Disengaged”) says that he will do so while free of engagement; Avalokiteśvara (“The Lord Who Watches Over,” associated with compassion) will do so through great compassion; Maitreya (“Loving”) will do so through love; Priyadarśana (“Pleasing to Behold”) will do by satisfying those beings who behold him; Sārthavāha (“Caravan Leader” or “Captain”) will guide beings while putting their welfare above his own; and Mañjuśrī (associated with wisdom) will do so through correct orientation to the path. The Buddha once again approves of these statements and confirms their efficacy. The sūtra then comes to a close as everyone in the assembly and throughout the world system rejoices and sings the Buddha’s praises.
Though it is difficult to determine precisely when and in what circles The Dharma Council first circulated, the sūtra appears to have gained some degree of renown in India by the eighth century
Despite the richness of The Dharma Council’s legacy in the writings of subsequent Indian masters, no complete version of the sūtra is extant in Sanskrit. Some passages from the text are recoverable in Sanskrit witnesses of the texts listed above, but a complete version of the text is only available in Chinese and Tibetan translation. The Dharma Council was translated into Chinese by Bodhiruci (菩提流支) in 515
The English translation presented here is based on the Degé version of the Tibetan translation. The Stok Palace and Phukdrak versions were also consulted, as were the variant readings reported in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur. Though no complete version of the sūtra is extant in Sanskrit, a number of passages attested in the sources listed above, particularly those in the Śikṣāsamuccaya, informed the translation of the relevant sections of the text. Passages where Sanskrit sources were consulted have been noted.
[B1] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in an incomparable mansion that was so vast as to be indistinct from the center of the expanse of phenomena that extends throughout the domain of space. It was a miraculous emanation of his own accumulation of merit and wisdom, and it was unlike any contrived phenomena in the three worlds. Completely beyond comparison, it was born from the Thus-Gone One’s inconceivable karmic ripening. He resided there together with a great assembly of 1,250 monks, most of whom were arhats who had attained correct discernment, and all of whom were liberated from the two factors. Also present were exceedingly pure bodhisattva great beings who were constantly in samādhi, who maintained the scope and referents of omniscient wisdom, who reached the culmination of the sublime expanse of phenomena that is without center or edge, who had perfected all of the aims and intentions of a bodhisattva, who had mastered the realization of all the bodhisattva powers, who had attained the ten culminations, who were adorned with infinite ornaments of good qualities, and who had mastered the realization of the samādhi, dhāraṇī, patience, and correct discernments of a bodhisattva. There were also hundreds of thousands of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, śakras, brahmās, and many hundreds of thousands of resplendent world guardians, along with many hundreds of thousands of attendants.
On that occasion, the Blessed One was teaching the great approach to the Dharma called Entering the Gate of the Progressive Approach to All Dharmas:
“By seeing the noble ones, one will attain faith. By attaining faith, one will aspire to virtuous qualities. By aspiring to virtuous qualities, one will attain stream entry. By attaining stream entry, one will fulfill one’s purpose. By fulfilling one’s purpose, one will attain mastery. By attaining mastery, one will become generous. Through being generous, one will attain great prosperity. Through discipline, one will attain the higher realms. Through patience, one will become attractive in all ways. Through diligence, one will swiftly gain the higher cognitions. Through meditative stability, one’s mind will become pliable. Through insight, one will rise above all worlds. Through skillful means, one will adapt to any situation. Through aspiration, one will face no difficulties. Through strength, one will be invulnerable. Through wisdom, one will teach in all the worlds. Through renunciation, one will attain nobility. By going forth, one will quell all harmful thoughts. By living on alms, one will become irreproachable. By living in solitude, one will become fearless. And through inward composure, one will achieve meditative stability, the higher cognitions, and the brahmā states.
“By examining the Dharma just as it was heard and by teaching it accurately, one will attain correct discernment. Through expertise in mindfulness, one will attain dhāraṇī. Through expertise in confident eloquence, one will attain the wisdom of accurate prophesy. Through skillful intelligence, one will attain the wisdom that discerns between phenomena and their meaning. Through expertise in dedication, one will attain fearlessness. Through expertise in the aggregates, one will develop discerning insight. Through expertise in the elements, one will access the knowledge of subtle dependent arising. Through expertise in the sense bases, one will relinquish confusion regarding the internal and external. Through expertise in truth, one will not deceive any beings. Through expertise in attention, one will please all the buddhas. Through expertise in meditative calm, the mind will be pacified. And, through expertise in meditative insight, the mind will be tamed.
“Without pride, one will perfect the wisdom of omniscience. Without arrogance, one will be trustworthy. By not deceiving any beings, one will have a singular power. Being firm in one’s commitments delights gods and humans. By acting just as one speaks, one will perfect the qualities of a sublime being. Through introspection, one will easily comprehend things. By improving the mind, one will attain the Dharma kingdom. Protecting the body while disregarding it, one will attain the body of a buddha. By speaking gently and pleasantly with altruistic intent, one will attain a voice that resounds in the melodious tones of Brahmā.
“Through undivided faith in the Three Jewels, one will attain the strength of knowing what is appropriate and inappropriate. By always engaging in well-performed deeds, one will attain the strength of knowing the ripening of karma. By connecting beings with the path of wisdom and not despising outsiders for their ignorance, one will attain the strength of knowing the supreme and ordinary sense faculties. By comprehending subtle dependent arising, one will attain the strength of knowing beings’ varying dispositions. By causing all beings to engage with and take an interest in the Three Jewels, one will attain the strength of knowing beings’ varying interests. By always being imperturbable in conduct and by teaching the Dharma in a way that accords with every being, one will attain the strength of knowing the destinations of all paths. By connecting beings with the path of meditative concentration, one will attain the strength of knowing the purification of the defilements affecting meditative concentration, samādhi, and meditative attainment, and of knowing how to overcome them. By showing the path to those beings who have lost their way, one will attain the strength of knowing the divine eye. By imparting mindfulness to all beings, one will attain the strength of knowledge of recollecting previous lives. By teaching the path of purification to all beings, one will attain the strength of knowing the exhaustion of contaminants.
“By connecting beings with extensive learning, one will attain fearlessness. By connecting beings with the Great Vehicle, one will attain the unique qualities of a buddha. By cultivating emptiness, one will eliminate the chain of habitual patterns. By cultivating signlessness, one will attain unobscured wisdom regarding all phenomena. And by cultivating wishlessness, one will attain the wisdom that discerns all phenomena.”
This is what the Blessed One taught as the great Dharma discourse called Entering the Gate of the Progressive Approach to All Dharmas.
Present in that assembly inside the mansion were two bodhisattvas with their many servants. One was named Nirārambha and the other Mativikrama. They met and shared this thought: “There is a Dharma discourse of bodhisattvas called Vast Intelligence.” They then said aloud, “We should discuss it.”
The bodhisattva great being Mativikrama then inquired of the bodhisattva great being Nirārambha, “Child of good family, how should bodhisattva great beings understand the arising of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas? How should bodhisattva great beings understand the essence of the thus-gone ones? How should they understand the different conditions through which thus-gone ones arise? Child of good family, how should bodhisattvas understand the state of the thus-gone ones? Child of good family, how should bodhisattvas understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas? How should they understand the approach? How should they understand examples and comparisons?
“Child of good family, how should bodhisattvas understand the different aspects of a buddha? How should bodhisattvas understand what the thus-gone, blessed, completely perfect buddhas teach conventionally? Child of good family, how should bodhisattvas understand emptiness? How should they understand opposition to emptiness? How should bodhisattvas understand those who follow the teachings on emptiness? How should bodhisattvas understand those who follow the Dharma? How should they understand the examples through which they promote the Dharma? How should they understand the ways bodhisattvas should not associate with others? How should they understand the great emanation of bodhisattvas? How should they understand the ripening power of the virtues? Child of good family, how should bodhisattvas understand the power of attaining the ripening of the undefiled virtues?”
When the bodhisattva great being Mativikrama finished speaking, the bodhisattva great being Nirārambha said to him, “Child of good family, you have asked about this exceedingly excellent Dharma discourse of bodhisattva great beings. This Dharma discourse called Vast Intelligence is an exceedingly excellent account. Child of good family, listen as I explain, through the blessing of the Buddha, this Dharma discourse called Vast Intelligence.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the arising of thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The approach that disrupts all concepts of striving; (2) the approach of transforming the mind, thought, and the mind consciousness; (3) the approach in which birth and dissolution counter birth and dissolution; (4) the approach that completely ripens what has been suppressed by the harmful effects of previous karmic formations; (5) the complete gathering of requisites for purifying the expanse of phenomena that is free of attachment; (6) the complete revelation of teachings by means of countless millions of aspirations; (7) the blessings of the Buddha who has been blessed by all the thus-gone ones; (8) all the ways ripened roots of virtue provide an impetus; (9) the exceedingly vast flow of great love and compassion; and (10) arising in different forms depending on the influence of time, place, and the intentions, virtuous yearnings, and dispositions of beings. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the arising of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the essence of all the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The essence of suchness, because they are naturally stainless; (2) the essence of the expanse of phenomena, because they are indivisible; (3) the essence of the limit of reality, because they are omnipresent; (4) the essence of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, because they are devoid of essence; (5) the essence that is like an illusion, a mirage, the moon’s reflection in water, a magical creation, an echo, a city of gandharvas, and the circling of a firebrand, because they are instantiated through the power of external conditions; (6) the essence of birthlessness and nonarising, because they are immaterial; (7) the essence of the nature of all things, because they are naturally luminous; (8) never having arisen in the past, because they are an unbroken continuity; (9) not transferring into the future, because they are not physical; and (10) not existing in the present, because they are absent in the past and future. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should thus understand the essence of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the different conditions through which the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas arise through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The seed of vigilance, because it yields the fruit of the Dharma; (2) developing insight and skillful means, because they are irreproachable; (3) the legs of the perfection of ethical discipline, because it leads to good outcomes; (4) the faculty of the lifeforce, the mind of awakening, because it is the elixir of immortality; (5) the hands of meditative calm and meditative insight, because they do good work; (6) the eye that penetrates the ripening of karma, because it is the magnificent mirror-like wisdom; (7) the navel of accomplishing all the perfections, because they are well oriented; (8) the spine of the means of attracting disciples, because perseverance is at their core; (9) the head, the highest limb, meditating on emptiness, because it is nonconceptual; and (10) enthusiasm without being disheartened or frightened, because it does not permit the rejection of any activity on behalf of any being. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should thus understand the different conditions through which the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas arise through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the state of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They are free from all ill will and hatred because they lack egotism and grasping; (2) they continually provide sustenance for every being because they are like medicine; (3) they defend the truth because their prior commitments have not weakened; (4) they watch over beings because they have purified great compassion; (5) they think only of benefiting beings because that is all they strive for; (6) they are not concerned with their own happiness because they are hurt by the suffering of others; (7) they are free from concepts about nirvāṇa because saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are of the same taste; (8) they are characteristically indefatigable because they dispense with their activities effortlessly; (9) they are free of all striving because they do not have a body of flesh; and (10) they are characteristically free of obstacles because they constantly demonstrate passing into nirvāṇa. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should know the state of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) Succeeding in abandoning all emotional and cognitive obscurations; (2) understanding the selflessness of persons and phenomena; (3) discovering the transformation of birth and phenomena; (4) attaining the wisdom of uninterrupted and effortless awakened activity done on behalf of all beings; (5) attaining the undifferentiated dharmakāya of all the thus-gone ones; (6) not thinking that saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are two different things; (7) purifying the root of all phenomena; (8) becoming familiar with the fact that all phenomena neither arise nor cease; (9) attaining the wisdom that knows that suchness, the expanse of phenomena, and the limit of reality are the same; and (10) attaining the wisdom that recognizes the equality of the nature of all phenomena and the nature of nirvāṇa. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, blessed, completely perfect buddhas through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The root of all afflictive emotions is aspiration because the afflictive emotions arise from aspiration. The Thus-Gone One lacks aspiration. Because he is free of aspiration, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (2) Because of his lack of aspiration, the Thus-Gone One does not grasp at any phenomena. Because he does not grasp, he does not accept or reject them. Because he is free of grasping, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (3) The dharmakāya disrupts acceptance and rejection; it neither arises nor ceases. Because he is free of arising and ceasing, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (4) That which is unarisen and unceasing is utterly ineffable. Because of being ineffable, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (5) There is neither a self nor beings; phenomena simply transform through arising and ceasing. Therefore, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (6) All the afflictive emotions and secondary afflictive emotions are adventitious. Because the expanse of phenomena neither comes nor goes, it is neither adventitious nor persistent. Because the expanse of phenomena is unvarying, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (7) Suchness is true, while phenomena distinct from suchness are false. Such is the essence of truth. Being the essence of suchness, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (8) The limit of reality is unelaborate; other phenomena are essentially elaborate. Because the limit of reality is unvarying, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (9) Nonarising is truth; other phenomena, like arising and so forth, are not true, mistaken, and deceptive. The Thus-Gone One is neither false nor deceptive. Being the essence of truth, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (10) That which is contrived is unreal, and that which is real is uncontrived. The dharmakāya of the Thus-Gone One is real. Final nirvāṇa is said to be uncontrived. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) Giving and the result of giving are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding giving and the result of giving, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (2) Discipline and the result of discipline are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding discipline and the result of discipline, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (3) Patience and the result of patience are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding patience and the result of patience, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (4) Diligence and the result of diligence are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding diligence and the result of diligence, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (5) Meditative stability and the result of meditative stability are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding meditative stability and the result of meditative stability, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (6) Insight and the result of insight are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding insight and the result of insight, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (7) All phenomena, including all things sentient and insentient, are devoid of a self. Being free of erroneous perceptions regarding beings and phenomena, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (8) Affection toward the self is a kind of striving, and persistence in that striving is affliction. Being free of affection toward the self and being free of that striving is the opposite, nonaffliction. Lacking affliction, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (9) That which is compounded is measurable; that which is uncompounded is immeasurable. As an immeasurable phenomenon that is free of compounded and uncompounded phenomena and that has attained the intrinsic quality of being uncompounded, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (10) The Thus-Gone One does not see any phenomenon that is beyond emptiness, nor does he see any beings. Emptiness is a phenomenon (dharma); as the dharmakāya, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the approach of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) Remaining in the state of phenomena because phenomena are utterly pure; (2) remaining in a state of great courage by following through on what one has promised; (3) regarding the purpose of self and other to be of one taste because of the equivalence of their purpose; (4) being nonconceptual like a crystal insofar as the expanse of nonconceptuality is utterly pure; (5) attaining happiness because it dispels harm; (6) attaining fearlessness because it defeats the enemy of the afflictive emotions; (7) attaining fearlessness because of not being in doubt about any phenomena; (8) defeating opponents due to maintaining impartiality toward all beings; (9) being skilled in emitting many hundreds of thousands of emanations because of their utterly pure power; and (10) being skilled at clearly displaying all forms because of being utterly pure like the sky. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the approach of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should know the approach of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The Thus-Gone One does not think, ‘Saṃsāra has many faults, while those beset with faults do not recognize that nirvāṇa has good qualities.’ Rather, finding saṃsāra and nirvāṇa to be the same, the Thus-Gone One neither cycles in saṃsāra nor passes into nirvāṇa, and is not averse to benefiting beings. (2) The Thus-Gone One does not at all think, ‘The minds of these beings are afflicted by error, the afflictive emotions, and the secondary afflictive emotions. I should liberate them.’ Rather, the Thus-Gone One effortlessly and nonconceptually acts in alignment with the sense bases, faculties, and inclinations of beings who are impelled by their previous conceptual imputations. (3) The Thus-Gone One does not at all think, ‘I teach the sūtras, verse narrations, prophecies, verses, meaningful statements, framing episodes, narratives, legends, accounts of former lives, extensive discourses, accounts of miracles, and expositions.’ Rather, he effortlessly and nonconceptually teaches those beings the Dharma of the thus-gone ones. (4) The Thus-Gone One does not at all think, ‘I am entering this village, city, town, or market for alms.’ Nor does he think, ‘I am approaching a kṣatriya, brahmin, vaiśya, or śūdra; a king, prince, or royal minister; or some other person for alms.’ Rather, the Thus-Gone One engages with them through his activities of body, speech, and mind informed by his wisdom. (5) The Thus-Gone One does not have hunger or thirst, he does not defecate or urinate, nor does he have a weak body. He goes for alms but does not ask for or request food. In all situations he effortlessly and nonconceptually acts to ripen beings without giving up. (6) The Thus-Gone One does not think, ‘This being is inferior, this one is average, and this one is superior. I’ll speak in an inferior way to this one, in an average way to this one, and in a superior way to this one.’ Rather, he imparts the teachings of the thus-gone ones nonconceptually, without addition or omission, in accord with the recipient. (7) The Thus-Gone One does not think, ‘This being does not honor me, does not worship me, but disgraces me. I should not speak with that one at all. That one honors me, worships me, venerates me, and sings my praise. I should speak with that one.’ Rather, the Thus-Gone One is impartial, even toward rivals. (8) The Thus-Gone One is not arrogant, careless, attached, angry, covetous, possessive, clinging, servile, or subject to the secondary afflictive emotions. Rather, he speaks in praise of isolation from activity, isolation from desire, and of those who delight in isolation. (9) Because the Thus-Gone One has mirror-like wisdom, he has no lack of knowledge about, ignorance of, or misunderstanding of any kind concerning objects of knowledge. Seeing what is to be done and not done, he engages with beings as appropriate. (10) The Thus-Gone One is not pleased with beings with extensive wealth, nor displeased with beings who are poor. Rather, he extends great uninhibited love to those who have embarked on the correct path, and great uninhibited compassion to those who have embarked on a mistaken path. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the approach of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the examples and comparisons of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) Take the example of the sun. It rises equally for and shines equally on all inferior, average, and superior beings, and on all of those with and without faith. Similarly, the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha also equally rises for and shines the light of wisdom on inferior, average, and superior beings, and on those with and without faith. (2) Take the example of space. Its essential quality is that it does not obstruct any being in any way. Otherwise, it would always appear to have fleeting obscurations like smoke, clouds, dust, and fog. Similarly, the Thus-Gone One, like space, is essentially unobscured for all beings. Otherwise, because of being obscured by grasping at ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ which are comparable to fleeting smoke, clouds, dust, and fog, the Thus-Gone one would not be visible or accessible to beings. (3) Take the example of fire. Although fire can be found in all wood, without all the right conditions and effort it will not ignite, thus not fulfilling its own potential. Similarly, the Thus-Gone One is present in all objects of knowledge, but without all the right conditions, like faith and so forth, and without effort, he will not appear and will not perform awakened activities. (4) Take the example of pouring different colors into a single vessel, and then soaking different strips of cloth in those many colors. The colors will take based on the potency of the container, but the colors have no conscious influence. Similarly, beings see the Thus-Gone One and take on his good qualities based on the immersion of the threads of their belief in the many diverse collections of the roots of virtue accumulated by the Thus-Gone One. (5) Take the example of a river filled with water. It flows downward when praised, and still flows downward when spoken to with enmity and curses. Similarly, whether one is praising or speaking badly of the Thus-Gone One, he proceeds with wisdom, not with pride. (6) Take the example of sugarcane. It is cut into many pieces but does not lose its sweet taste. Similarly, it does not matter if the Thus-Gone One is worshiped or not, when one attends to him the sweet taste of liberation is not lost. (7) Take the example of the earth. It persists without thinking or changing. Those who want profit from it plow it, cultivate it, and sow seeds so that their harvest will be abundant. Those who do not plow it, cultivate it, or sow seeds will not have an abundant harvest. Similarly, the Thus-Gone One, like the earth, persists without thinking or changing. Those who wish for good qualities and arouse faith, sincerity, and respect toward the Thus-Gone One will have an abundant harvest of good qualities. Those who do not arouse faith, sincerity, and respect toward the Thus-Gone One will not have an abundant harvest of good qualities. (8) Take, for example, the fact that some people disparage sandalwood and camphor and say that it is bad, while still smearing their bodies with them. Sandalwood and camphor make them fragrant and not smell bad. Similarly, people say nasty things about the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha, but after disparaging him, they serve and rely on him. The Thus-Gone One instills in those who revere him the fragrance of awakened qualities. (9) Take, for example, how a bridge, causeway, or royal road does not obstruct inferior, average, or superior people, but rather permits easy travel equally. Similarly, the Thus-Gone One shows no bias for inferior, average, or superior beings, is not obscured, and engages them equally by moving with ease among them. (10) Take, for example, the king of medicines called beautiful to behold, found on the snowy king of mountains. As soon as it is seen, all the illnesses that beset all beings will disappear. Similarly, as soon as the Thus-Gone One is seen, all of the illnesses that beset all beings will be cured. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the examples and comparisons of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the buddha through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The buddha as a supporting cause, (2) the buddha as a resultant buddha, (3) the buddha of samādhi, (4) the buddha of aspirations, (5) the buddha of the mind, (6) the essential buddha, (7) the enjoyment buddha, (8) the emanation buddha, (9) the conceptually designated buddha, (10) and the buddha in one’s presence.
“What is the buddha as a supporting cause? This refers to the buddha as the supporting cause of the perfections and that which causes the accomplishment of the quality of perfection. That which is accomplished through those two is the accomplished buddha, thus it is called ‘the buddha as a supporting cause.’
“What is the resultant buddha? It is the result of the perfections, which are the supporting cause. It is the arising of the resultant body of the buddha from that result. It is the product of the blessings of beings and the blessings of the Dharma. This is what is meant by ‘the resultant buddha.’
“What is the buddha of samādhi? This refers to the samādhi settled into—to the samādhi that, once settled into, produces one hundred thousand buddhas naturally and effortlessly. Because this buddha arises from samādhi through the blessings of that samādhi, this is called the buddha of samādhi. This is what is meant by ‘the buddha of samādhi.’
“What is the buddha of aspirations? After a bodhisattva makes the aspiration, ‘May beings be tamed through whatever forms, colors, and actions will tame them,’ the beings who can be tamed by a buddha are tamed by the physical form of a buddha. Because of arising from that aspiration, it is called the buddha of aspiration. This is what is meant by ‘the buddha of aspiration.’
“What is the buddha of mind? It is the power over the mind that, once attained by a bodhisattva, allows them to bring into being whatever they imagine. When they see beings who have been tamed by a buddha, they form the resolve, ‘May I take the form of a buddha.’ Because this arises from the mind, it is the buddha of mind. Those who were tamed also purify their own minds and come to see and know the buddha. This is what is meant by ‘the buddha of mind.’
“What is the essential buddha? The essential buddha is the inconceivable transformation of negative states appearing as a buddha body with a variety of stainless forms as an expression of different aspects of the expanse of phenomena. It has various forms, appearances, and shapes, and is endowed with the thirty-two marks of a great person. This is what is meant by ‘the essential buddha.’
“What is the enjoyment buddha? This refers to being equivalent to bodhisattvas in terms of enjoyments and behavior, as well as being equivalent in features, diet, speech, rites, and conduct. This is what is meant by ‘the enjoyment buddha.’
“What is the emanation buddha? Buddhas and bodhisattvas who have attained the samādhi of displaying all forms settle into that samādhi, attain power, and, impelled by great compassion, emanate the form of a buddha and tame beings. This is what is meant by ‘the emanation buddha.’
“What is the conceptually designated buddha? Some regard a teacher or preceptor to be like a buddha and serve them as if they were a buddha. By seeing teachers and preceptors as buddhas and serving them as if they were buddhas, they accept and perfect the qualities of a buddha. This accomplishment is called ‘the conceptually designated buddha.’
“What is the buddha in one’s presence? Some people fashion images of a buddha or have others fashion one for them. They venerate it through all the practices of worship and service, treat it with respect, paint it, invest it with the qualities of the buddhas, and thereby make it perfect. This achievement is called ‘the buddha in one’s presence.’
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the Buddha through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand ten types of conventional teachings given by the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas. What are the ten? (1) The teaching on the aggregates, (2) the teaching on the elements, (3) the teaching on the sense bases, (4) the teaching on beings, (5) the teaching on action, (6) the teaching on birth, (7) the teaching on old age, (8) the teaching on death, (9) the teaching on transmigration upon death, and (10) the teaching on the peace of nirvāṇa.
“How is the teaching on the aggregates a conventional teaching? The aggregate of form does not ultimately exist. If the aggregate of form were to exist ultimately, existence would cease upon its abandonment. Something that is freed through being abandoned would then either exist as something that remained or exist as something that changed. This is not the case, therefore the teaching on the aggregate of form is a conventional teaching. In the same way, teachings on the aggregates of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are conventional teachings. The aggregate of consciousness does not ultimately exist. If the aggregate of consciousness were to exist ultimately, existence would cease upon its abandonment. Something that is freed through being abandoned would then either exist as something that remained or exist as something that changed. This is not the case, therefore the teaching on the aggregate of consciousness is a conventional teaching.
“The teaching on the elements and the teaching on the sense bases are conventional teachings in the same way.
“How is the teaching on beings a conventional teaching? Beings do not ultimately exist. Beings do not exist because they are nothing more than conventional phenomena. If beings were to exist, then when their aggregates ceased, beings would be devoid of aggregates, like space. But like the aggregates, beings are compounded phenomena, so this is not the case. Therefore the teaching on beings is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on action a conventional teaching? The performance of actions is neither existent nor nonexistent. If the performance of actions were to exist, the performance of actions would not be created, like space. But, if it were compounded like the aggregates, it would not be created, just like space. That which is uncreated could not be created, entailing that no actions could ever be performed. If actions do not exist, how could actions ever come about? For these reasons, the teaching on actions is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on birth a conventional teaching? Birth does not ultimately exist. If birth were to exist ultimately, it would be perpetual, and birth would not entail birth. That which is born through birth, and also that which is tormented by birth, would not exist. Therefore, the teaching on birth is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on old age a conventional teaching? Old age does not ultimately exist. If old age were to exist ultimately, no one would become old. Those who are aged could not have been young, old, or very old. There would be no aging for a child, and thus a child would never age. If there were no old age, how would one become old? In such circumstances one who is not old would never age. If an old person aged, then why would a young person not age? Therefore, the teaching on aging is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on death a conventional teaching? Death does not ultimately exist. If death were to exist ultimately, it would be something acquired. It would then be logical that if a single living being acquired it, then all other living beings would not die; however, there is no one who does not die. Since it is taught that death does not come from anywhere or go anywhere, the teaching on death is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on transmigration upon death a conventional teaching? Transmigration upon death does not ultimately exist. If transmigration upon death were to exist ultimately, the very same being who died would be the being who is born, entailing that the one who died would have two bodies upon birth: the body that transmigrated and the body in which they transmigrate. If transmigration were to exist, the five aggregates would also exist. Why? Because the consciousness that was freed from the aggregates would not have a point of access. It is consciousness that approaches and enters form, and consciousness that approaches sensation, approaches perception, and approaches formations. It is consciousness that depends on them, observes them, and enters them. An unsupported consciousness would not enter for even a moment. Because transmigration upon death occurs in the same way as any persisting phenomenon arises—like a seed and a sprout—it is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on the peace of nirvāṇa a conventional teaching? Nirvāṇa does not ultimately exist. The pacification of saṃsāra is called nirvāṇa. Saṃsāra is not itself nirvāṇa, nor is nirvāṇa distinct from saṃsāra. Saṃsāra, like a dream or an illusion, neither exists nor does not exist, nor does it arise because of being both existent and nonexistent. Just as saṃsāra does not exist or not exist and does not arise through being both existent and nonexistent, it does not cease because of not existing, not not existing, or being both existent and nonexistent. Alternatively, the cessation of perception and sensation is called nirvāṇa. Perception is just like a mirage; sensation is like a water bubble. Just as a mirages and water bubbles arise and cease, so it is with saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. Therefore, the teaching on the peace of nirvāṇa is a conventional teaching.
“Bodhisattvas should understand these ten as the conventional teachings of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand emptiness through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The absence of self, (2) the absence of beings, (3) the absence of life, (4) the absence of a person, (5) the absence of a governing power, (6) the absence of birth, (7) the absence of cessation, (8) the absence of conditioning, (9) the absence of doing, and (10) the absence of ownership.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of self? Emptiness is neither something substantial nor insubstantial. If emptiness were substantial, it would be compounded and impermanent. If emptiness were insubstantial, the empty would not be empty. Therefore, emptiness is neither something substantial nor insubstantial. Thus, emptiness should be understood through the absence of self.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of beings? Beings are neither empty nor not empty. If beings were empty, then even killing would not be an evil act. Yet if they were not empty, they would be permanent. This is why the Blessed One said, ‘Beings are neither permanent nor impermanent, neither compounded nor uncompounded.’ This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of beings.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of life? Emptiness neither lives nor dies. For example, the eye is empty of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. That which is empty of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ neither lives nor dies. The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are similarly empty of ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ and that which is empty of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ neither lives nor dies. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of life.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of a person? Emptiness is not considered a person. Emptiness is not considered a phenomenon. The aggregates, elements, and sense bases are empty. They are conceptually fixated on, and then conceptually designated as ‘a person.’ It should not be claimed that anything designated through conceptual fixation exists or does not exist. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of a person.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of a governing power? Because there is nothing that is beyond emptiness, there is nothing to be a governing power of emptiness. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of a governing power.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of birth? Emptiness is not born. If emptiness were born it would not be emptiness. The empty would therefore not be empty. If something that has been born were not empty, and emptiness does not birth itself, then the unborn would not be nonempty. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of birth.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of cessation? Whatever is born ceases, and emptiness is not born. How could something that is not born cease? This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of cessation.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of conditioning? Emptiness is not acted on, nor does it act. The aggregates, elements, and sense bases are empty. When they are fixated on, they are conceptually designated as emptiness. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of conditioning.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of doing? Emptiness cannot be effected by saying, ‘You should do it this way.’ This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of doing.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of ownership? Emptiness is not an object and does not have an object; it is devoid of mind, thought, and the mind consciousness. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of ownership.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand emptiness through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the factors that oppose emptiness through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? The opposing factors of (1) ignorance, (2) craving, (3) karma, (4) consciousness, (5) grasping, (6) view, (7) doubt, (8) a sense of superiority, (9) pride, and (10) agitation. These are the ten factors that oppose emptiness.
“There are two categories and four types of ignorance. What are the two categories? The obscuration of the afflictive emotions and cognitive obscurations. What are the four types? Ignorance that arises out of attachment to the desire realm, ignorance that arises out of attachment to the form realm, ignorance that arises out of attachment to the formless realm, and ignorance that arises out of attachment to the insubstantial.
“Craving has two bases and four types. What are the two bases? A basis in existence and a basis in enjoyment. What are the four aspects? Craving for the desire realm, craving for the form realm, craving for formless realms, and craving for the insubstantial.
“Karma has one manifestation, three types, and three results. What is the one manifestation? It is mental karma. What are the three types? Karma that arises from body, from speech, and from mind. What then are the three results? Nonvirtuous results from nonvirtuous deeds, virtuous results from virtuous deeds, and a mixture of nonvirtuous and virtuous results from a mixture of nonvirtuous and virtuous deeds.
“Consciousness has six aspects: the consciousnesses of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. These six aspects are consciousness; they conceptually fixate on the mistaken, conceptually fixate on the unmistaken, and are without conceptual fixation. Conceptual fixation on the mistaken refers to foolish ordinary people; it refers to the mistaken, distracted minds that arise from the desire, form, and formless realms as their cause. Conceptual fixation on the unmistaken is the cause of the nirvāṇa of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. Liberation from both of these two is the bodhisattvas’ lack of conceptual fixation. It is the cause of the Dharma of the Buddha.
“Grasping, the cause of existence, is of four types: the grasping of desire, the grasping of view, the grasping of discipline and ascetic practice, and the grasping that promotes a self.
“There are two types of view: having mistaken knowledge and being involved in conceptual fixation. Having mistaken knowledge refers to a mistaken view. Being involved in conceptual fixation includes everything up to apprehending and delighting in nirvāṇa. Involvement in conceptual fixation is condemned by the buddhas.
“There are two types of doubt: doubt that impedes the vehicle and doubt that impedes certainty. Doubt that impedes the vehicle are doubts that consume one about how quickly one will become fully awakened. Thinking, ‘What is the point in staying for so long? In the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha vehicles suffering is quickly transcended’ one abandons the Great Vehicle. This is the kind of doubt that impedes the vehicle. What doubt impedes certainty? Doubt due to which one does not gain certainty. Not understanding the state of certainty is the kind of doubt that impedes certainty. These are the two types of doubt.
“A sense of superiority refers to aspiring for the results of commendable acts of generosity and so forth. One makes mistaken aspirations like, ‘Through these acts of generosity, discipline, and so forth may I become this or that god,’ and so on. This is what is meant by a sense of superiority.
“Pride refers to pride born of arrogance. One thinks, ‘This is bad,’ ‘I am noble,’ ‘I am equal to them,’ and so forth. This type of arrogance is called pride.
“There are two kinds of agitation: agitation that produces the afflictive emotions, and agitation that produces intense arrogance. Agitation that produces the afflictive emotions refers to determining form to be pure, but then behaving incongruently in body, speech, and mind. Such behavior is condemned by the noble ones. The agitation that produces intense arrogance is to be intensely arrogant about the path of emancipation itself, to be hasty, and to be self-conceited. This is called agitation.
“Bodhisattvas should understand the factors that oppose emptiness through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. [B2]
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the teachings on emptiness through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) Not being swayed and not moving; (2) being neither attached nor free from attachment; (3) neither accepting nor rejecting; (4) neither fighting nor arguing; (5) neither diminishing nor increasing; (6) tolerating the natural cessation of all formations; (7) not being afraid when hearing, ‘Nothing is ever produced by ordinary people nor is brought to an end by the buddhas’; (8) not being consumed with doubt when hearing, ‘The nature of saṃsāra and the nature of nirvāṇa are the same’; and (9) acting upon hearing, ‘The body of the Thus-Gone One is permanent and (10) its qualities are inexhaustible.’
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not being swayed? Followers of the teachings on emptiness are not swayed by worldly phenomena because they are without basis. They are neither excited by gain nor depressed when not getting what they want. They are neither elated by fame nor disheartened by infamy. They do not cower when censured, nor delight in praise. They are neither enamored with pleasure nor dispirited by suffering. Those who are not diverted by worldly phenomena have understood emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not being swayed.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not moving? Followers of the teachings on emptiness do not move from somewhere or to somewhere. That which moves from somewhere to somewhere is seen to be and known as emptiness. That which does not go, which does not move, is also understood as emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not moving.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of being neither attached nor free from attachment? Followers of the teachings on emptiness are not attached to anything and are not devoid of attachment. That to which one either is attached or is free from attachment is known and seen to be emptiness. The one who is either attached or free from attachment to some phenomena is also seen as emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of neither being attached nor being free from attachment.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not accepting or rejecting? Followers of the teachings on emptiness do not accept anything and do not reject anything. That which is accepted and rejected is known and seen as emptiness, but one does not reject the requisites for awakening. Whatever is thus accepted is known as emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not accepting or rejecting.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not fighting and arguing? Whoever fights and argues does not know emptiness. Those with whom they fight and argue are known and seen as emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not fighting and arguing.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of neither decreasing nor increasing? Followers of the teachings on emptiness are not seen to decrease or increase any phenomenon. They do not observe any empty phenomenon either decreasing or expanding. Those who observe a phenomenon decreasing or expanding do not know emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of neither decreasing nor increasing.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of tolerating the natural cessation of all formations? Followers of the teachings on emptiness do not recognize phenomena as real or unreal. That which is neither real nor unreal has fundamentally ceased. That which has fundamentally ceased has naturally ceased. Followers of the teachings on emptiness are correct in not recognizing phenomena as being born or having ceased. That is how one should understand those who follow the teachings on emptiness in terms of tolerating the natural cessation of all formations.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not being afraid when hearing, ‘Nothing is ever produced by ordinary people nor is brought to an end by the buddhas’? Followers of the teachings on emptiness do not think, ‘These are ordinary people and those are buddhas,’ but they do know the uniformity of ordinary peoples’ qualities in terms of the uniformity of the buddhas’ qualities. Those who regard the ways of ordinary beings as inferior and the qualities of the buddhas to be vast do not know emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not being afraid when hearing, ‘Nothing is ever produced by ordinary people nor is brought to an end by the buddhas.’
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not being consumed with doubt when hearing, ‘The nature of saṃsāra and the nature of nirvāṇa are the same’? Those who see a difference between the nature of saṃsāra and the nature of nirvāṇa do not know emptiness. Why? The suchness of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa share the same characteristic of being uncompounded. Those who recognize this equivalence in the suchness of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, that there is no difference between them, have no doubts. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not being consumed with doubt when hearing, ‘The nature of saṃsāra and the nature of nirvāṇa are the same.’
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of their engagement upon hearing ‘the body of the Thus-Gone One is permanent and its qualities are inexhaustible’? Those who do not engage upon hearing ‘the body of the Thus-Gone One is permanent and inexhaustible’ do not know emptiness. Why? The Thus-Gone One’s body is suchness and emptiness. It is not a body with adventitious afflictive emotions and secondary afflictive emotions. Those who know this know emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of their engagement upon hearing ‘the body of the Thus-Gone One is permanent and its qualities are inexhaustible.’
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the teachings on emptiness through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They do not consider themselves to be superior or inferior even though they have learned a lot, retained what they learned, have an ocean of learning, and have amassed learning; (2) they are proficient in meaning, phenomena, language, and confident eloquence, but never tire in their pursuit of learning; (3) they know about time, distance, medicine, phenomena, and meaning, but do not neglect service to their elders; (4) they have textual and practical knowledge and know the Vinaya, but do not give up the practice of posing questions to others; (5) they are easily contented, easily satisfied, and splendidly elegant in their formal behavior and their conduct, but never forsake respectful service to their master; (6) they are disciplined, peaceful, pure, and fearless, but do not stop cultivating propriety and conscientiousness; (7) they are learned in the meaning that is profound and difficult to fathom, but still pursue worldly engagements both complex and simple; (8) they take pleasure in being naturally honest, gentle, and companionable in order to maintain harmony with beings, but do not remain among beings who are hostile, hateful, and have poor discipline; (9) they delight in generosity, and being tame, constant, gentle, ritually observant, and stable, but their mind is never fixed, and they never form concepts about their experiences; and (10) they have removed their latent impressions, entanglements, knots, and thorns, but do not give up striving to eliminate the afflictive emotions of other beings. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They are free of all desire, but do not slacken in their effort to acquire the requisites of a bodhisattva; (2) they know that phenomena never transmigrate, but do not slacken in their effort to give up all possessions; (3) they directly realize the inexhaustible Dharma, but do not let their patience or gentleness diminish; (4) they are constantly immersed in samādhi, but do not slacken in their encouragement of all beings’ virtuous activity; (5) they are immersed in peace and tranquility, but do not slacken in their effort to ripen beings who are distracted and make misjudgments; (6) they have attained dhāraṇī and correct discernment, but do not slacken in their effort to learn; (7) they are a treasury of Dharma, but do not slacken in their effort to traverse hundreds of thousands of yojanas for the sake of a single eloquent expression; (8) they do not depend on the kindness of others for anything, but do not slacken in their effort to seek out a teacher and mentor; (9) they have no doubt that phenomena are not born and do not cease, but they do not slacken in their effort to uphold the sublime Dharma; and (10) they do not conceptually fixate on beings or those conceptually designated as beings, but they do not slacken in their effort to understand the awakening of a buddha. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They hold to their words through generosity, speaking kindly, acting benevolently, and being aligned in word and deed; (2) their words are gentle because they are produced with great love; (3) their words are appropriate because they align with solitude, a lack of attachment, and liberation; (4) their words are in alignment because they are in alignment with meditative calm, meditative insight, and the path; (5) their words are illuminating because they reveal secrets; (6) their words are not lacking in meaning or style because they are not unpleasant and their meaning is complete; (7) their words are neither deceptive nor deceitful because they destroy confusion and the darkness of delusion; (8) their words are free of doubts because they result from the direct perception of all phenomena; (9) their words are free of latent impressions because they result from the abandonment of the afflictive emotions and secondary afflictive emotions; and (10) their words are untroubled because they are unblemished and without instigation. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The Dharma they teach is based on their mastery of the sublime Dharma, not on gain and respect; (2) the Dharma they teach is based on all the buddhas, not their own whim; (3) the Dharma they teach is rooted in great love and great compassion, not in the afflictive emotions and secondary afflictive emotions; (4) the Dharma they teach disrupts the continuity of ordinary people, not the way of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha; (5) the Dharma they teach is moistened by the water of great compassion, and not by the water of their own happiness; (6) the Dharma they teach is profound because of the realization of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; (7) the Dharma they teach is aligned with virtuous people because it is aligned with the turning of the wheel of Dharma; (8) the Dharma they teach defeats all māras because it disrupts the māras of the aggregates, the lord of death, the afflictive emotions, and the divine māra; (9) the Dharma they teach reaches the seat of awakening because it is worthy of being worshiped by the whole world; and (10) the Dharma they teach accords with omniscient wisdom because it leads to the attainment of strength, fearlessness, and the unique qualities of a buddha. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They delight in the requisites of the spiritual life, not in worldly things; (2) they delight in the way of noble people, not in the way of ignoble people; (3) they delight in the ripening of ignoble people, not in proscribed and negative actions; (4) they delight in the food of the Dharma, not in physical food; (5) they delight in solitude and the wilderness, not in the activities of a village, city, or market town; (6) they delight in the awakening of a buddha, not in the awakening of a śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha; (7) they delight in the abandonment of cognitive obscurations, not in the abandonment of the obscuration of the afflictive emotions alone; (8) they delight in achieving a physical body with the major and minor auspicious marks, not in merely realizing the dharmakāya; (9) they delight in accomplishing strength, fearlessness, and the unique qualities of a buddha, not in the realization of the truths of the noble ones alone; (10) they delight in the accomplishment of the roots of virtue of other beings, not in the accomplishment of their own roots of virtue; and (11) they delight in the abandonment of the nexus of habitual patterns, not in the abandonment of the obscuration of the afflictive emotions alone. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through ten analogies for entering the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) As an analogy, the great earth sustains all beings without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma also sustain all beings like the earth, without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. (2) As a further analogy, water brings comfort to beings through its own qualities without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma also bring comfort to all beings through their own qualities without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. (3) As a further analogy, the element of fire sustains all beings through its own qualities. It sustains all beings by ripening every harvest without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma sustain all beings through the qualities of their insight. They sustain all beings by ripening the harvest of the roots of virtue without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. (4) As a further analogy, the element of air fosters grass, shrubs, clusters of medicinal herbs, and the mindstreams of beings even though it is nonconceptual and unchanging. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma foster the birth bodies of all beings and the dharmakāya without seeking the slightest recompense. (5) As a further analogy, the element of space is infinite, boundless, and naturally unobscured. It sustains all beings even though it is nonconceptual, unchanging, and not attached to anything. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma have infinite and boundless good qualities and a nature that is entirely unobscured. They sustain all beings even though they are nonconceptual, unchanging, and not attached to anything. (6) As a further analogy, the moon always shines gently on all beings everywhere, protecting the world even though it is unsullied by worldly phenomena. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma shine gently on all beings everywhere, protecting the world even though they are unsullied by worldly phenomena. (7) As a further analogy, when the sun rises all deep darkness vanishes, and by its shining light beings can go about their respective activities. The sun form s no concepts at all and does not seek the slightest recompense from anyone. In the same way, when bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma appear, the deep darkness of all beings’ ignorance vanishes, and by their shining light beings cultivate their respective roots of virtue. Followers of the Dharma form no concepts at all and do not seek the slightest recompense from anyone. (8) As a further analogy, a sturdy, stable, well-joined boat is able to save beings from a mighty river without being destroyed, and it does so without seeking even the slightest recompense from anyone. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma are well endowed with stable insight and sturdy, perfect, great compassion. They are able to save beings from the mighty river of saṃsāra without being destroyed, and they do so without seeking even a small ferry toll. (9) As a further analogy, a bridge or causeway is located at a raging and terrifying river to put beings equally at ease, be they inferior, average, or superior. It does not hold any concepts of ‘I’ or ‘mine.’ In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma serve as a great bridge or causeway that puts beings equally at ease—be they inferior, average, or superior—when facing saṃsāra that is difficult to cross, and the descent into the unbearable and cruel lower realms. While doing so they do not hold any concepts of ‘I’ or ‘mine.’ (10) As a further analogy, a lamp illuminates darkness equally for beings who are inferior, average, and superior. It does not hold any concepts of ‘I’ or ‘mine.’ In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma deploy the lamp of insight within the house of saṃsāra, which is dark with ignorance, shining it equally for inferior, average, and superior beings. They do not hold any concepts of ‘I’ or ‘mine.’ Bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten examples of entering the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the ways that bodhisattvas should not associate with others through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They should not associate with inferior beings who think of and aspire for lesser things. (2) They should not associate with beings who do not put out effort, are not industrious, are lazy, and are not diligent. (3) They should not associate with beings who are proud, feel pride in their superiority, are excessively proud, have egotistical pride and the pride of feeling inferior, are haughty, have misplaced pride, or who are bloated with pride. (4) They should not associate with beings who are innately stingy, have poor discipline, think maliciously, or are lazy, distracted, and have distorted intelligence. (5) They should not associate with those who seek sensual gratification, think maliciously, or have thoughts of violence. (6) They should not associate with anyone who has thoughts, concepts, and discursive thoughts. (7) They should not associate with anyone who has obscurations, obstructions, or entanglements. (8) They should not associate with anyone whose mind is oriented toward śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. (9) They should not associate with anyone whose mind focuses on taking delight in gain, respect, and adulation. And (10) they should not associate with those who grasp at ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ The ways bodhisattvas should not associate with others should be understood through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should not associate with anyone who has one of the ten types of negligence. What are these ten? (1) They should not associate with those who neglect upholding the sublime Dharma. (2) They should not associate with those who neglect listening to the sublime Dharma. (3) They should not associate with those who neglect ripening beings. (4) They should not associate with those who neglect the gift of the sublime Dharma. (5) They should not associate with those who neglect to venerate all masters. (6) They should not associate with those who neglect the activities of Māra. (7) They should not associate with those who neglect rival non-Buddhists. (8) They should not associate with those who neglect the disintegration of the sublime Dharma. (9) They should not associate with those who neglect the perfections. And (10) they should not associate with those who neglect the three sections of dedication. Bodhisattvas should not associate with anyone who has one of these ten types of negligence.
“Bodhisattvas should understand ten types of great emanation of bodhisattvas. What are these ten types? (1) Their emanation as a universal monarch, (2) their emanation as Śakra, (3) their emanation as Brahmā, (4) their emanation as śrāvakas, (5) their emanation as pratyekabuddhas, (6) their emanation as bodhisattvas, (7) their emanation as buddhas, (8) their emanation as buddhafields, (9) their emanation as the seat of awakening, and (10) their emanation as the great retinue. These ten should be understood as the great emanations of bodhisattvas. All of these great emanations of bodhisattvas should be recognized to be determined by the intention of others.
“During times when universal monarchs are considered paramount in the world, when upholding discipline and conduct are considered paramount, bodhisattvas emanate the regalia of a universal monarch and work to benefit beings. The regalia includes the precious wheel, which has a thousand spokes and surpasses everything in the worlds of gods and humans. It is made of gold from the Jambu River but was not hammered by a craftsperson. It arises through the miraculous power of one’s own aspirations and merit. Alluring in form, it moves through the sky. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious elephant has perfect proportions and six white tusks. It has an alluring form and moves through the sky. It has a perfect, quick pace, and moves like Airāvaṇa and Garuḍa. It arises through the power of well-performed deeds. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious horse is completely blue and clever, the equal of Bālāhaka, the king of horses. It is swift like the wind, is made to run by thought alone like a wish-fulfilling gem, and it moves through the sky. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious jewel has eight facets and is not made by an artisan. Abundant with light, it outshines fire and the sun. It moves as desired, and fully bestows an abundance of desires. It fulfills all wishes. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious lady is neither too light nor too dark, too tall nor too short, and neither too slight nor too stout. Her rites for training are complete, and she is knowledgeable in the major treatises, crafts, literature, and various sports. Her eloquent speech, gentle and profound, is remarkable. She is just like a wish-fulfilling jewel, is perfect in her smile and comportment, delights in Dharma conduct, and is unrivaled in appearance. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious householders are those like Vajrapāṇi. They are well proportioned like Vaiśravaṇa and Nārāyaṇa, and always speak gently, pleasantly, softly, and with gratifying words. Their physical eyes are clear, they have abundant love and compassion, and they fulfill desires like a wish-fulfilling jewel. They are accomplished because their roots of virtue are equal to those of precious people. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious minister is like the matron of a vaunted family line. He serves as the epitome of the roots of virtue, rises early, is virtuous in thought, and understands things by watching and shifting his gaze. His actions are good, extensive, complete, and blameless. He can move through the sky, pursue desires, and is wealthy. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“Once these and the other precious regalia of a universal monarch have been emanated, bodhisattvas will have power over the mind and possess a pure motivation focused on the happiness and benefit of all beings. These precious people engage in profound and irreproachable deeds. They are tender, have the exalted intent to be of benefit, and are inclined toward the great Dharma. They are great universal monarchs who serve the path of the ten virtuous actions. They ripen all beings through their thirty-two major marks of a great person. They are called great bodhisattvas emanated as universal monarchs.
“During times when Śakra is considered paramount in the world, bodhisattvas emanate in the form of Śakra, reside in his palace in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, and ripen the gods through teachings on vigilance.
The Dharma Council is a Great Vehicle sūtra in which the path of a bodhisattva is taught initially by the Buddha, but principally by a host of bodhisattvas and śrāvakas. Among them, the bodhisattva Nirārambha takes center stage, delivering long discourses and engaging in dialogues and debates on the key points of Great Vehicle Buddhism. Following Nirārambha’s example, a number of the Buddha’s disciples express their own understanding of the path, and they win praise and confirmation from the Buddha for their eloquent expositions of the Dharma. As a Great Vehicle sūtra, The Dharma Council is grounded in the themes of emptiness, nonconceptuality, and skillful compassionate conduct; from these doctrinal touchstones spring a profound and wide-ranging presentation of the Dharma.
This text was translated by Lozang Jamspal and David R. Kittay of the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York. David R. Kittay wishes to express his gratitude to Dr. Jamspal for his wisdom and kindness, and his example of a life lived according to the Dharma.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. It was revised, annotated, and introduced by Ryan Damron. Ralph H. Craig III reviewed the translation and contributed many helpful suggestions and corrections. Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text and Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Lily Xu.
The Dharma Council is a Great Vehicle sūtra in which the view, practices, and modes of conduct of a bodhisattva are taught, debated, and confirmed communally by the Buddhist saṅgha. Though the Buddha does teach in this sūtra, his primary role is to confirm and authorize the statements of his disciples as genuine expressions of the Dharma. The majority of the teachings are instead delivered by a host of bodhisattvas and śrāvakas present in his assembly. Among them, the bodhisattva Nirārambha takes center stage, delivering long discourses and engaging in dialogues and debates on the key points of Great Vehicle Buddhism. Following Nirārambha’s example, numerous bodhisattvas and śrāvakas express their own understanding of the path, and they win praise and confirmation from the Buddha for their eloquent expositions of the Dharma. As a Great Vehicle sūtra, The Dharma Council is grounded in the themes of emptiness, nonconceptuality, and skillful compassionate conduct; from these doctrinal touchstones spring a wide-ranging articulation of the Dharma that is the fruit of the saṅgha’s collective engagement with the teachings of the Buddha.
The Sanskrit title of this sūtra by which it is most widely known is the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra. This is the Sanskrit title given by the Tibetan translators, and it is the title by which the sūtra is cited in numerous Indian commentarial sources. The term dharmasaṅgīti has nuanced shades of meaning that find expression in both the setting and content of the sūtra. In perhaps its most basic sense, the term saṅgīti describes a chorus or ensemble musical performance. In a specifically religious setting, it can refer to the communal recitation and rehearsal of doctrine, of dharma. In the Buddhist tradition, dharmasaṅgīti can thus refer to a gathering of the Buddhist saṅgha to collectively recite sections of the Tripiṭika, the “Three Baskets” of the Buddhist canon: Sūtra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma. Such a gathering would have been led by one or more groups of Dharma reciters (dharmabhāṇaka; chos smra ba) who were responsible for memorizing and faithfully transmitting specific sections of the canon.
More broadly, the term dharmasaṅgīti refers not only to a communal oral rehearsal of the Dharma, but also to a gathering or “council” in which the Dharma is collectively confirmed, refined, and codified. It is just such a gathering that is depicted here in The Dharma Council. The sūtra describes an event in which the saṅgha has gathered to listen to the teachings of the Buddha, to discuss and debate the Dharma among themselves, and then to present their understanding to the Buddha as a way of refining that understanding and ultimately receiving confirmation that it is genuine and correct. The notion of a “Dharma council” would eventually take on a new shade of meaning after the passing of the Buddha, when the responsibility to maintain the integrity of the Dharma, sustain its faithful transmission, root out unwanted accretions, and resolve disputes fell to the saṅgha. This latter kind of Dharma council is not precisely what is described in this sūtra, but it does further underscore the role of saṅgītis in constituting and preserving the Dharma as it has been transmitted since the earliest days of the Buddhist community.
While the term dharmasaṅgīti generally refers to a communal event, it is also frequently used to identify a specific “Dharma discourse” given by the Buddha or one of his disciples. Thus, the sūtra may have been titled the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra as a reflection of its narrative setting, but also because the sūtra is composed of numerous individual discourses delivered by a range of figures that includes the Buddha, bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and even a god (devaputra). In this series of discrete discourses, a given member of the saṅgha presents or discusses their understanding of the Dharma and then asks the Buddha if their discourse is in accord with his. The Buddha consistently agrees that it is, thereby establishing that individual discourse as part of the collective Dharma. Thus, The Dharma Council (Dharmasaṅgīti) describes an event in which multiple Dharma discourses (dharmasaṅgīti) are articulated and authorized as the true Dharma.
This dual valence of dharmasaṅgīti is apparent in the way the Sanskrit term was handled by the Tibetan translators. The title of the sūtra, which is consistent across all versions of the Tibetan canon consulted, is chos yang dag par sdud pa'i mdo. The root verb sdud pa means to “gather” or “collect,” thus bringing to the fore the communal, collective sense of the term. In the body of the translation, however, the Tibetan translators exclusively used chos yang dag par brjod pa. The root verb used here, bjod pa, means to “speak,” “express,” or, as translated below, “discourse” on the Dharma.
There is yet another valence of the term dharmasaṅgīti operative in this text, one that can be inferred through the Tibetan title chos yang dag par sdud pa. The Tibetan term yang dag par sdud pa specifically conveys the sense of a Dharma “collection” or “compendium.” This is also the sense given by the Chinese title 法集經 (fa ji jing), where 集 (ji) means to “compile,” “collect,” or “assemble.” The Dharma Council is precisely that: a comprehensive and detailed presentation of Great Vehicle Buddhism that incorporates many of its most prominent doctrines, categories, guidelines, and terminologies. The dual valence of the Tibetan term to mean both “a Dharma gathering” and “a compendium of the Dharma” may have been appealing to its translators, and might have been particularly apt for the Tibetan community who first received and then transmitted the sūtra in a textual format.
Despite being well known in India, China, and Tibet as the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra, this is not the title given in the sūtra’s colophon as preserved in the Tibetan translation. There, the text is identified as the “Nirārambha Chapter” (rtsom pa med kyi le’u) of a sūtra titled chos thams cad yang dag par sdud pa stong phrag brgya pa, Discourse on All Dharmas, a Sūtra in One Hundred Thousand Lines. This sūtra is counted as the twelfth chapter of that text, and it is named after its primary figure, Nirārambha. Thus, the text that is now known as the Dharmasaṅgītisūtra was considered by its compilers to be just one chapter of a much longer text, which, given the title, may have included the Dharma discourses of additional śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, and perhaps other classes of beings. We may never be able to determine the constitution of such a text or what its other chapters may have been—there are no other extant texts that are identified with this title or as chapters thereof, and all available evidence suggests that this sūtra was known by the title Dharmasaṅgītisūtra in India. It is nonetheless noteworthy that a sūtra that already contained a wealth of Dharma discourses delivered by a variety of Buddhist figures was itself at one time considered part of a much longer collection of discourses on the Dharma.
The Dharma Council presents an account of a gathering of the Buddhist saṅgha in which the Dharma is collectively taught, discussed, debated, and ultimately confirmed. The Buddha Śākyamuni is at the center of this gathering, gives the first brief teaching, and acts as the final arbiter of the Dharma discourses given, but he is not the primary teacher in the sūtra nor its most prominent figure. That distinction goes to the bodhisattva Nirārambha, whose long discourse on the Dharma and his dialogues with other members of the saṅgha comprise the bulk of the sūtra. Nirārambha is at times in dialogue with the Buddha and other bodhisattvas and śrāvakas—primarily the bodhisattva Mativikrama and the great śrāvakas Śāriputra and Subhūti—but the majority of the sūtra consists of his long monologues on a wide range of Great Vehicle topics and themes. Following Nirārambha’s discourses, a host of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas rise from their seats to present their understanding of the Great Vehicle through a series of individual discourses. The Buddha confirms each discourse to be in perfect accord with his realization and teachings, thereby authorizing their statements as the genuine Dharma to be upheld and propagated. Thus, while The Dharma Council is a sūtra about the Dharma, it also provides insight into the Buddhist community’s perspective on the collective constitution of the Dharma through teaching, discussion, and debate.
The sūtra takes place in a palace of inestimable size and grandeur miraculously emanated by the Buddha, but beyond this detail we are not given a precise location for the proceedings. Śākyamuni is joined in this palace by a large assembly composed of śrāvakas (most of whom are arhats), bodhisattvas, and a contingent of gods and supernatural beings. The Buddha is the first to speak, delivering a relatively short discourse he names Entering the Gate of the Progressive Approach to All Dharmas (chos thams cad kyi go rims kyi tshul gyi sgo la ’jug pa) that consists primarily of short, aphoristic phrases that touch on many of the core concepts and categories of Great Vehicle Buddhism. It is a teaching that is exhaustive in content while being pithy in expression.
After the Buddha completes his teaching, the scene shifts to another location in the palace, away from the Buddha, where the bodhisattvas Nirārambha and Mativikrama have met to take up a Dharma discourse they call Vast Intelligence (blo gros yangs pa). It is this discourse that occupies most of the sūtra’s length—fifty-three of the text’s ninety-nine folios—and consists of a series of monologues by Nirārambha prompted by the questions of Mativikrama. The Vast Intelligence discourse can be roughly divided into two long sections. In the first, Nirārambha responds to Mativikrama’s questions on the view and comportment of a bodhisattva by describing the various “approaches” (tshul la ’jug pa) bodhisattvas should adopt. To each of Mativikrama’s questions Nirārambha responds with numerous sets of ten such approaches. Each set of ten is unpacked at length, thereby providing a fine-grained examination of the full range of Great Vehicle topics.
In the second section of Vast Intelligence, Mativikrama engages Nirārambha in a further dialogue on specific points of the Dharma. Here, Mativikrama asks about the six perfections, the nature of awakening, the four truths of the noble ones, and the ten applications of mindfulness, among other topics. Nirārambha’s discourse on the ten applications of mindfulness is particularly detailed and extensive and takes up most of this section of his teaching. Throughout his discourse, no matter the specific topic, Nirārambha returns again and again to the themes of emptiness, love and compassion, and nonconceptuality, thus underscoring the nondualistic and altruistic orientation at the heart of bodhisattva practice. When the two bodhisattvas conclude their dialogue, they approach the Buddha to seek confirmation of their understanding of the Dharma. Śākyamuni readily approves, declaring their discourse to be in accord with the discourse of all buddhas and to have furthered the Buddha’s work.
With the conclusion of the Vast Intelligence discourse, Mativikrama cedes the stage, but Nirārambha’s central role continues. For the remainder of the sūtra Nirārambha stays near the Buddha, fielding questions from members of the assembly and posing questions of his own to Śākyamuni. The first to speak is the Buddha’s great śrāvaka disciple Śāriputra, who rises from the assembly to ask Nirārambha about the meaning of his name, which can be interpreted to mean “disengaged,” and presses him further on some of the points he made in his earlier discourse. Nirārambha’s responses to Śāriputra’s many questions again focus on emptiness, nonduality, and nonconceptuality as the determining principles behind not only his own, but all bodhisattvas’ activities. Their conversation involves much back-and-forth, and some chiding from Nirārambha concerning Śāriputra’s narrow and mistaken views, but in the end Śāriputra accepts Nirārambha’s position as superior to his own and rejoices in Nirārambha’s confident command of the Dharma.
Following this exchange, Nirārambha adopts the role of interlocutor and turns to the Buddha to ask questions of his own. Briefly then, and for the first moment since the opening folios of the text, the Buddha is the primary voice of the Dharma. Following this relatively short teaching, the remainder of the sūtra presents a communal articulation of the Dharma. Several bodhisattvas and śrāvakas, as well as one god, stand up in turn to present their own understanding of the Dharma to the Buddha, and in each case he confirms their understanding as a genuine Dharma discourse. Mativikrama is the first to speak, followed by Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra, Kātyāyana, Kāśyapa, Subhūti, Aniruddha, Rāhula, Upāli, Ānanda, Maitreya, Priyadarśana, Sunetra, Sujāta, Sārthavāha, Prabhāketu, Vimukticandra, Sāgaramati, Avalokiteśvara, Dṛḍhamati, Excellent Discipline, Gaganagañja, and Mañjuśrī.
At the completion of this collective expression of the Dharma, Nirārambha offers the Buddha a precious pearl necklace, which, through the Buddha’s miraculous power, becomes an ornate palace that floats in the air above his head and follows him wherever he goes. The Buddha smiles at this, and so initiates a short vignette on the Buddha’s smile that is common to many sūtras: rays of multicolored light shine forth from his mouth, illuminate infinite world systems and bring relief to the beings suffering there, and then return to dissolve into the crown of the Buddha’s head. As in other sūtras, this miraculous display prompts Ānanda to ask why the Buddha is smiling so. It is because the Buddha, pleased by Nirārambha’s offering and his elucidation of the Dharma, is about to give him the prophecy of his awakening to complete buddhahood. Subhūti then turns to Nirārambha to offer words of congratulations, but Nirārambha detects in his statements the traces of the narrow conceptual view of a śrāvaka and critiques him. Following Nirārambha’s incisive interrogation, Subhūti concedes that the conventions of śrāvakas are the same as those of worldly beings, which in Nirārambha’s view are only appropriate to protect worldly beings, who are scared of the ultimate, and not for noble ones, who take joy in ultimate truth. Nirārambha then summarizes the truth of emptiness, dependent arising, and nonarising and explains that the prophecy of buddhahood is for those for whom success does not exist, who feel no joy in hearing the prophecy, and who do not leave ordinary people behind.
The final discourse of the text belongs to the Buddha and involves a conversation not with a bodhisattva or śrāvaka, but with a god named Excellent Mind (bzang sems). Excellent Mind asks the Buddha about the scope of a bodhisattva’s awakening, and what guidelines keep the bodhisattvas firmly on their path. The Buddha’s instruction consists of a long series of pithy statements that, much like his introductory discourse, cover the entire range of Great Vehicle doctrines, practices, and modes of conduct. At the completion of the Buddha’s teaching, Excellent Mind presents his own understanding as the bodhisattvas and śrāvakas before him had, and the Buddha confirms his understanding as a clear and effective articulation of the Dharma.
The Dharma Council concludes with a challenge from the Buddha: who present in the assembly has the courage to uphold and propagate this approach to the Dharma? A number of the bodhisattvas who previously spoke again rise to make a final statement of their commitment, and in each case the words of their promises are directly related to their name or a well-known quality. Thus, Nirārambha (“Disengaged”) says that he will do so while free of engagement; Avalokiteśvara (“The Lord Who Watches Over,” associated with compassion) will do so through great compassion; Maitreya (“Loving”) will do so through love; Priyadarśana (“Pleasing to Behold”) will do by satisfying those beings who behold him; Sārthavāha (“Caravan Leader” or “Captain”) will guide beings while putting their welfare above his own; and Mañjuśrī (associated with wisdom) will do so through correct orientation to the path. The Buddha once again approves of these statements and confirms their efficacy. The sūtra then comes to a close as everyone in the assembly and throughout the world system rejoices and sings the Buddha’s praises.
Though it is difficult to determine precisely when and in what circles The Dharma Council first circulated, the sūtra appears to have gained some degree of renown in India by the eighth century
Despite the richness of The Dharma Council’s legacy in the writings of subsequent Indian masters, no complete version of the sūtra is extant in Sanskrit. Some passages from the text are recoverable in Sanskrit witnesses of the texts listed above, but a complete version of the text is only available in Chinese and Tibetan translation. The Dharma Council was translated into Chinese by Bodhiruci (菩提流支) in 515
The English translation presented here is based on the Degé version of the Tibetan translation. The Stok Palace and Phukdrak versions were also consulted, as were the variant readings reported in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur. Though no complete version of the sūtra is extant in Sanskrit, a number of passages attested in the sources listed above, particularly those in the Śikṣāsamuccaya, informed the translation of the relevant sections of the text. Passages where Sanskrit sources were consulted have been noted.
[B1] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in an incomparable mansion that was so vast as to be indistinct from the center of the expanse of phenomena that extends throughout the domain of space. It was a miraculous emanation of his own accumulation of merit and wisdom, and it was unlike any contrived phenomena in the three worlds. Completely beyond comparison, it was born from the Thus-Gone One’s inconceivable karmic ripening. He resided there together with a great assembly of 1,250 monks, most of whom were arhats who had attained correct discernment, and all of whom were liberated from the two factors. Also present were exceedingly pure bodhisattva great beings who were constantly in samādhi, who maintained the scope and referents of omniscient wisdom, who reached the culmination of the sublime expanse of phenomena that is without center or edge, who had perfected all of the aims and intentions of a bodhisattva, who had mastered the realization of all the bodhisattva powers, who had attained the ten culminations, who were adorned with infinite ornaments of good qualities, and who had mastered the realization of the samādhi, dhāraṇī, patience, and correct discernments of a bodhisattva. There were also hundreds of thousands of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, śakras, brahmās, and many hundreds of thousands of resplendent world guardians, along with many hundreds of thousands of attendants.
On that occasion, the Blessed One was teaching the great approach to the Dharma called Entering the Gate of the Progressive Approach to All Dharmas:
“By seeing the noble ones, one will attain faith. By attaining faith, one will aspire to virtuous qualities. By aspiring to virtuous qualities, one will attain stream entry. By attaining stream entry, one will fulfill one’s purpose. By fulfilling one’s purpose, one will attain mastery. By attaining mastery, one will become generous. Through being generous, one will attain great prosperity. Through discipline, one will attain the higher realms. Through patience, one will become attractive in all ways. Through diligence, one will swiftly gain the higher cognitions. Through meditative stability, one’s mind will become pliable. Through insight, one will rise above all worlds. Through skillful means, one will adapt to any situation. Through aspiration, one will face no difficulties. Through strength, one will be invulnerable. Through wisdom, one will teach in all the worlds. Through renunciation, one will attain nobility. By going forth, one will quell all harmful thoughts. By living on alms, one will become irreproachable. By living in solitude, one will become fearless. And through inward composure, one will achieve meditative stability, the higher cognitions, and the brahmā states.
“By examining the Dharma just as it was heard and by teaching it accurately, one will attain correct discernment. Through expertise in mindfulness, one will attain dhāraṇī. Through expertise in confident eloquence, one will attain the wisdom of accurate prophesy. Through skillful intelligence, one will attain the wisdom that discerns between phenomena and their meaning. Through expertise in dedication, one will attain fearlessness. Through expertise in the aggregates, one will develop discerning insight. Through expertise in the elements, one will access the knowledge of subtle dependent arising. Through expertise in the sense bases, one will relinquish confusion regarding the internal and external. Through expertise in truth, one will not deceive any beings. Through expertise in attention, one will please all the buddhas. Through expertise in meditative calm, the mind will be pacified. And, through expertise in meditative insight, the mind will be tamed.
“Without pride, one will perfect the wisdom of omniscience. Without arrogance, one will be trustworthy. By not deceiving any beings, one will have a singular power. Being firm in one’s commitments delights gods and humans. By acting just as one speaks, one will perfect the qualities of a sublime being. Through introspection, one will easily comprehend things. By improving the mind, one will attain the Dharma kingdom. Protecting the body while disregarding it, one will attain the body of a buddha. By speaking gently and pleasantly with altruistic intent, one will attain a voice that resounds in the melodious tones of Brahmā.
“Through undivided faith in the Three Jewels, one will attain the strength of knowing what is appropriate and inappropriate. By always engaging in well-performed deeds, one will attain the strength of knowing the ripening of karma. By connecting beings with the path of wisdom and not despising outsiders for their ignorance, one will attain the strength of knowing the supreme and ordinary sense faculties. By comprehending subtle dependent arising, one will attain the strength of knowing beings’ varying dispositions. By causing all beings to engage with and take an interest in the Three Jewels, one will attain the strength of knowing beings’ varying interests. By always being imperturbable in conduct and by teaching the Dharma in a way that accords with every being, one will attain the strength of knowing the destinations of all paths. By connecting beings with the path of meditative concentration, one will attain the strength of knowing the purification of the defilements affecting meditative concentration, samādhi, and meditative attainment, and of knowing how to overcome them. By showing the path to those beings who have lost their way, one will attain the strength of knowing the divine eye. By imparting mindfulness to all beings, one will attain the strength of knowledge of recollecting previous lives. By teaching the path of purification to all beings, one will attain the strength of knowing the exhaustion of contaminants.
“By connecting beings with extensive learning, one will attain fearlessness. By connecting beings with the Great Vehicle, one will attain the unique qualities of a buddha. By cultivating emptiness, one will eliminate the chain of habitual patterns. By cultivating signlessness, one will attain unobscured wisdom regarding all phenomena. And by cultivating wishlessness, one will attain the wisdom that discerns all phenomena.”
This is what the Blessed One taught as the great Dharma discourse called Entering the Gate of the Progressive Approach to All Dharmas.
Present in that assembly inside the mansion were two bodhisattvas with their many servants. One was named Nirārambha and the other Mativikrama. They met and shared this thought: “There is a Dharma discourse of bodhisattvas called Vast Intelligence.” They then said aloud, “We should discuss it.”
The bodhisattva great being Mativikrama then inquired of the bodhisattva great being Nirārambha, “Child of good family, how should bodhisattva great beings understand the arising of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas? How should bodhisattva great beings understand the essence of the thus-gone ones? How should they understand the different conditions through which thus-gone ones arise? Child of good family, how should bodhisattvas understand the state of the thus-gone ones? Child of good family, how should bodhisattvas understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas? How should they understand the approach? How should they understand examples and comparisons?
“Child of good family, how should bodhisattvas understand the different aspects of a buddha? How should bodhisattvas understand what the thus-gone, blessed, completely perfect buddhas teach conventionally? Child of good family, how should bodhisattvas understand emptiness? How should they understand opposition to emptiness? How should bodhisattvas understand those who follow the teachings on emptiness? How should bodhisattvas understand those who follow the Dharma? How should they understand the examples through which they promote the Dharma? How should they understand the ways bodhisattvas should not associate with others? How should they understand the great emanation of bodhisattvas? How should they understand the ripening power of the virtues? Child of good family, how should bodhisattvas understand the power of attaining the ripening of the undefiled virtues?”
When the bodhisattva great being Mativikrama finished speaking, the bodhisattva great being Nirārambha said to him, “Child of good family, you have asked about this exceedingly excellent Dharma discourse of bodhisattva great beings. This Dharma discourse called Vast Intelligence is an exceedingly excellent account. Child of good family, listen as I explain, through the blessing of the Buddha, this Dharma discourse called Vast Intelligence.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the arising of thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The approach that disrupts all concepts of striving; (2) the approach of transforming the mind, thought, and the mind consciousness; (3) the approach in which birth and dissolution counter birth and dissolution; (4) the approach that completely ripens what has been suppressed by the harmful effects of previous karmic formations; (5) the complete gathering of requisites for purifying the expanse of phenomena that is free of attachment; (6) the complete revelation of teachings by means of countless millions of aspirations; (7) the blessings of the Buddha who has been blessed by all the thus-gone ones; (8) all the ways ripened roots of virtue provide an impetus; (9) the exceedingly vast flow of great love and compassion; and (10) arising in different forms depending on the influence of time, place, and the intentions, virtuous yearnings, and dispositions of beings. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the arising of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the essence of all the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The essence of suchness, because they are naturally stainless; (2) the essence of the expanse of phenomena, because they are indivisible; (3) the essence of the limit of reality, because they are omnipresent; (4) the essence of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, because they are devoid of essence; (5) the essence that is like an illusion, a mirage, the moon’s reflection in water, a magical creation, an echo, a city of gandharvas, and the circling of a firebrand, because they are instantiated through the power of external conditions; (6) the essence of birthlessness and nonarising, because they are immaterial; (7) the essence of the nature of all things, because they are naturally luminous; (8) never having arisen in the past, because they are an unbroken continuity; (9) not transferring into the future, because they are not physical; and (10) not existing in the present, because they are absent in the past and future. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should thus understand the essence of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the different conditions through which the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas arise through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The seed of vigilance, because it yields the fruit of the Dharma; (2) developing insight and skillful means, because they are irreproachable; (3) the legs of the perfection of ethical discipline, because it leads to good outcomes; (4) the faculty of the lifeforce, the mind of awakening, because it is the elixir of immortality; (5) the hands of meditative calm and meditative insight, because they do good work; (6) the eye that penetrates the ripening of karma, because it is the magnificent mirror-like wisdom; (7) the navel of accomplishing all the perfections, because they are well oriented; (8) the spine of the means of attracting disciples, because perseverance is at their core; (9) the head, the highest limb, meditating on emptiness, because it is nonconceptual; and (10) enthusiasm without being disheartened or frightened, because it does not permit the rejection of any activity on behalf of any being. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should thus understand the different conditions through which the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas arise through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the state of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They are free from all ill will and hatred because they lack egotism and grasping; (2) they continually provide sustenance for every being because they are like medicine; (3) they defend the truth because their prior commitments have not weakened; (4) they watch over beings because they have purified great compassion; (5) they think only of benefiting beings because that is all they strive for; (6) they are not concerned with their own happiness because they are hurt by the suffering of others; (7) they are free from concepts about nirvāṇa because saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are of the same taste; (8) they are characteristically indefatigable because they dispense with their activities effortlessly; (9) they are free of all striving because they do not have a body of flesh; and (10) they are characteristically free of obstacles because they constantly demonstrate passing into nirvāṇa. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should know the state of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) Succeeding in abandoning all emotional and cognitive obscurations; (2) understanding the selflessness of persons and phenomena; (3) discovering the transformation of birth and phenomena; (4) attaining the wisdom of uninterrupted and effortless awakened activity done on behalf of all beings; (5) attaining the undifferentiated dharmakāya of all the thus-gone ones; (6) not thinking that saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are two different things; (7) purifying the root of all phenomena; (8) becoming familiar with the fact that all phenomena neither arise nor cease; (9) attaining the wisdom that knows that suchness, the expanse of phenomena, and the limit of reality are the same; and (10) attaining the wisdom that recognizes the equality of the nature of all phenomena and the nature of nirvāṇa. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, blessed, completely perfect buddhas through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The root of all afflictive emotions is aspiration because the afflictive emotions arise from aspiration. The Thus-Gone One lacks aspiration. Because he is free of aspiration, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (2) Because of his lack of aspiration, the Thus-Gone One does not grasp at any phenomena. Because he does not grasp, he does not accept or reject them. Because he is free of grasping, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (3) The dharmakāya disrupts acceptance and rejection; it neither arises nor ceases. Because he is free of arising and ceasing, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (4) That which is unarisen and unceasing is utterly ineffable. Because of being ineffable, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (5) There is neither a self nor beings; phenomena simply transform through arising and ceasing. Therefore, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (6) All the afflictive emotions and secondary afflictive emotions are adventitious. Because the expanse of phenomena neither comes nor goes, it is neither adventitious nor persistent. Because the expanse of phenomena is unvarying, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (7) Suchness is true, while phenomena distinct from suchness are false. Such is the essence of truth. Being the essence of suchness, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (8) The limit of reality is unelaborate; other phenomena are essentially elaborate. Because the limit of reality is unvarying, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (9) Nonarising is truth; other phenomena, like arising and so forth, are not true, mistaken, and deceptive. The Thus-Gone One is neither false nor deceptive. Being the essence of truth, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (10) That which is contrived is unreal, and that which is real is uncontrived. The dharmakāya of the Thus-Gone One is real. Final nirvāṇa is said to be uncontrived. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the great final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) Giving and the result of giving are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding giving and the result of giving, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (2) Discipline and the result of discipline are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding discipline and the result of discipline, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (3) Patience and the result of patience are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding patience and the result of patience, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (4) Diligence and the result of diligence are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding diligence and the result of diligence, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (5) Meditative stability and the result of meditative stability are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding meditative stability and the result of meditative stability, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (6) Insight and the result of insight are devoid of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ Being unmistaken about the transformation of concepts through understanding insight and the result of insight, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (7) All phenomena, including all things sentient and insentient, are devoid of a self. Being free of erroneous perceptions regarding beings and phenomena, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (8) Affection toward the self is a kind of striving, and persistence in that striving is affliction. Being free of affection toward the self and being free of that striving is the opposite, nonaffliction. Lacking affliction, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (9) That which is compounded is measurable; that which is uncompounded is immeasurable. As an immeasurable phenomenon that is free of compounded and uncompounded phenomena and that has attained the intrinsic quality of being uncompounded, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. (10) The Thus-Gone One does not see any phenomenon that is beyond emptiness, nor does he see any beings. Emptiness is a phenomenon (dharma); as the dharmakāya, it is said that the Thus-Gone One has passed into final nirvāṇa. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the final nirvāṇa of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the approach of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) Remaining in the state of phenomena because phenomena are utterly pure; (2) remaining in a state of great courage by following through on what one has promised; (3) regarding the purpose of self and other to be of one taste because of the equivalence of their purpose; (4) being nonconceptual like a crystal insofar as the expanse of nonconceptuality is utterly pure; (5) attaining happiness because it dispels harm; (6) attaining fearlessness because it defeats the enemy of the afflictive emotions; (7) attaining fearlessness because of not being in doubt about any phenomena; (8) defeating opponents due to maintaining impartiality toward all beings; (9) being skilled in emitting many hundreds of thousands of emanations because of their utterly pure power; and (10) being skilled at clearly displaying all forms because of being utterly pure like the sky. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the approach of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should know the approach of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The Thus-Gone One does not think, ‘Saṃsāra has many faults, while those beset with faults do not recognize that nirvāṇa has good qualities.’ Rather, finding saṃsāra and nirvāṇa to be the same, the Thus-Gone One neither cycles in saṃsāra nor passes into nirvāṇa, and is not averse to benefiting beings. (2) The Thus-Gone One does not at all think, ‘The minds of these beings are afflicted by error, the afflictive emotions, and the secondary afflictive emotions. I should liberate them.’ Rather, the Thus-Gone One effortlessly and nonconceptually acts in alignment with the sense bases, faculties, and inclinations of beings who are impelled by their previous conceptual imputations. (3) The Thus-Gone One does not at all think, ‘I teach the sūtras, verse narrations, prophecies, verses, meaningful statements, framing episodes, narratives, legends, accounts of former lives, extensive discourses, accounts of miracles, and expositions.’ Rather, he effortlessly and nonconceptually teaches those beings the Dharma of the thus-gone ones. (4) The Thus-Gone One does not at all think, ‘I am entering this village, city, town, or market for alms.’ Nor does he think, ‘I am approaching a kṣatriya, brahmin, vaiśya, or śūdra; a king, prince, or royal minister; or some other person for alms.’ Rather, the Thus-Gone One engages with them through his activities of body, speech, and mind informed by his wisdom. (5) The Thus-Gone One does not have hunger or thirst, he does not defecate or urinate, nor does he have a weak body. He goes for alms but does not ask for or request food. In all situations he effortlessly and nonconceptually acts to ripen beings without giving up. (6) The Thus-Gone One does not think, ‘This being is inferior, this one is average, and this one is superior. I’ll speak in an inferior way to this one, in an average way to this one, and in a superior way to this one.’ Rather, he imparts the teachings of the thus-gone ones nonconceptually, without addition or omission, in accord with the recipient. (7) The Thus-Gone One does not think, ‘This being does not honor me, does not worship me, but disgraces me. I should not speak with that one at all. That one honors me, worships me, venerates me, and sings my praise. I should speak with that one.’ Rather, the Thus-Gone One is impartial, even toward rivals. (8) The Thus-Gone One is not arrogant, careless, attached, angry, covetous, possessive, clinging, servile, or subject to the secondary afflictive emotions. Rather, he speaks in praise of isolation from activity, isolation from desire, and of those who delight in isolation. (9) Because the Thus-Gone One has mirror-like wisdom, he has no lack of knowledge about, ignorance of, or misunderstanding of any kind concerning objects of knowledge. Seeing what is to be done and not done, he engages with beings as appropriate. (10) The Thus-Gone One is not pleased with beings with extensive wealth, nor displeased with beings who are poor. Rather, he extends great uninhibited love to those who have embarked on the correct path, and great uninhibited compassion to those who have embarked on a mistaken path. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the approach of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the examples and comparisons of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) Take the example of the sun. It rises equally for and shines equally on all inferior, average, and superior beings, and on all of those with and without faith. Similarly, the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha also equally rises for and shines the light of wisdom on inferior, average, and superior beings, and on those with and without faith. (2) Take the example of space. Its essential quality is that it does not obstruct any being in any way. Otherwise, it would always appear to have fleeting obscurations like smoke, clouds, dust, and fog. Similarly, the Thus-Gone One, like space, is essentially unobscured for all beings. Otherwise, because of being obscured by grasping at ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ which are comparable to fleeting smoke, clouds, dust, and fog, the Thus-Gone one would not be visible or accessible to beings. (3) Take the example of fire. Although fire can be found in all wood, without all the right conditions and effort it will not ignite, thus not fulfilling its own potential. Similarly, the Thus-Gone One is present in all objects of knowledge, but without all the right conditions, like faith and so forth, and without effort, he will not appear and will not perform awakened activities. (4) Take the example of pouring different colors into a single vessel, and then soaking different strips of cloth in those many colors. The colors will take based on the potency of the container, but the colors have no conscious influence. Similarly, beings see the Thus-Gone One and take on his good qualities based on the immersion of the threads of their belief in the many diverse collections of the roots of virtue accumulated by the Thus-Gone One. (5) Take the example of a river filled with water. It flows downward when praised, and still flows downward when spoken to with enmity and curses. Similarly, whether one is praising or speaking badly of the Thus-Gone One, he proceeds with wisdom, not with pride. (6) Take the example of sugarcane. It is cut into many pieces but does not lose its sweet taste. Similarly, it does not matter if the Thus-Gone One is worshiped or not, when one attends to him the sweet taste of liberation is not lost. (7) Take the example of the earth. It persists without thinking or changing. Those who want profit from it plow it, cultivate it, and sow seeds so that their harvest will be abundant. Those who do not plow it, cultivate it, or sow seeds will not have an abundant harvest. Similarly, the Thus-Gone One, like the earth, persists without thinking or changing. Those who wish for good qualities and arouse faith, sincerity, and respect toward the Thus-Gone One will have an abundant harvest of good qualities. Those who do not arouse faith, sincerity, and respect toward the Thus-Gone One will not have an abundant harvest of good qualities. (8) Take, for example, the fact that some people disparage sandalwood and camphor and say that it is bad, while still smearing their bodies with them. Sandalwood and camphor make them fragrant and not smell bad. Similarly, people say nasty things about the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha, but after disparaging him, they serve and rely on him. The Thus-Gone One instills in those who revere him the fragrance of awakened qualities. (9) Take, for example, how a bridge, causeway, or royal road does not obstruct inferior, average, or superior people, but rather permits easy travel equally. Similarly, the Thus-Gone One shows no bias for inferior, average, or superior beings, is not obscured, and engages them equally by moving with ease among them. (10) Take, for example, the king of medicines called beautiful to behold, found on the snowy king of mountains. As soon as it is seen, all the illnesses that beset all beings will disappear. Similarly, as soon as the Thus-Gone One is seen, all of the illnesses that beset all beings will be cured. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the examples and comparisons of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the buddha through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The buddha as a supporting cause, (2) the buddha as a resultant buddha, (3) the buddha of samādhi, (4) the buddha of aspirations, (5) the buddha of the mind, (6) the essential buddha, (7) the enjoyment buddha, (8) the emanation buddha, (9) the conceptually designated buddha, (10) and the buddha in one’s presence.
“What is the buddha as a supporting cause? This refers to the buddha as the supporting cause of the perfections and that which causes the accomplishment of the quality of perfection. That which is accomplished through those two is the accomplished buddha, thus it is called ‘the buddha as a supporting cause.’
“What is the resultant buddha? It is the result of the perfections, which are the supporting cause. It is the arising of the resultant body of the buddha from that result. It is the product of the blessings of beings and the blessings of the Dharma. This is what is meant by ‘the resultant buddha.’
“What is the buddha of samādhi? This refers to the samādhi settled into—to the samādhi that, once settled into, produces one hundred thousand buddhas naturally and effortlessly. Because this buddha arises from samādhi through the blessings of that samādhi, this is called the buddha of samādhi. This is what is meant by ‘the buddha of samādhi.’
“What is the buddha of aspirations? After a bodhisattva makes the aspiration, ‘May beings be tamed through whatever forms, colors, and actions will tame them,’ the beings who can be tamed by a buddha are tamed by the physical form of a buddha. Because of arising from that aspiration, it is called the buddha of aspiration. This is what is meant by ‘the buddha of aspiration.’
“What is the buddha of mind? It is the power over the mind that, once attained by a bodhisattva, allows them to bring into being whatever they imagine. When they see beings who have been tamed by a buddha, they form the resolve, ‘May I take the form of a buddha.’ Because this arises from the mind, it is the buddha of mind. Those who were tamed also purify their own minds and come to see and know the buddha. This is what is meant by ‘the buddha of mind.’
“What is the essential buddha? The essential buddha is the inconceivable transformation of negative states appearing as a buddha body with a variety of stainless forms as an expression of different aspects of the expanse of phenomena. It has various forms, appearances, and shapes, and is endowed with the thirty-two marks of a great person. This is what is meant by ‘the essential buddha.’
“What is the enjoyment buddha? This refers to being equivalent to bodhisattvas in terms of enjoyments and behavior, as well as being equivalent in features, diet, speech, rites, and conduct. This is what is meant by ‘the enjoyment buddha.’
“What is the emanation buddha? Buddhas and bodhisattvas who have attained the samādhi of displaying all forms settle into that samādhi, attain power, and, impelled by great compassion, emanate the form of a buddha and tame beings. This is what is meant by ‘the emanation buddha.’
“What is the conceptually designated buddha? Some regard a teacher or preceptor to be like a buddha and serve them as if they were a buddha. By seeing teachers and preceptors as buddhas and serving them as if they were buddhas, they accept and perfect the qualities of a buddha. This accomplishment is called ‘the conceptually designated buddha.’
“What is the buddha in one’s presence? Some people fashion images of a buddha or have others fashion one for them. They venerate it through all the practices of worship and service, treat it with respect, paint it, invest it with the qualities of the buddhas, and thereby make it perfect. This achievement is called ‘the buddha in one’s presence.’
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the Buddha through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand ten types of conventional teachings given by the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas. What are the ten? (1) The teaching on the aggregates, (2) the teaching on the elements, (3) the teaching on the sense bases, (4) the teaching on beings, (5) the teaching on action, (6) the teaching on birth, (7) the teaching on old age, (8) the teaching on death, (9) the teaching on transmigration upon death, and (10) the teaching on the peace of nirvāṇa.
“How is the teaching on the aggregates a conventional teaching? The aggregate of form does not ultimately exist. If the aggregate of form were to exist ultimately, existence would cease upon its abandonment. Something that is freed through being abandoned would then either exist as something that remained or exist as something that changed. This is not the case, therefore the teaching on the aggregate of form is a conventional teaching. In the same way, teachings on the aggregates of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are conventional teachings. The aggregate of consciousness does not ultimately exist. If the aggregate of consciousness were to exist ultimately, existence would cease upon its abandonment. Something that is freed through being abandoned would then either exist as something that remained or exist as something that changed. This is not the case, therefore the teaching on the aggregate of consciousness is a conventional teaching.
“The teaching on the elements and the teaching on the sense bases are conventional teachings in the same way.
“How is the teaching on beings a conventional teaching? Beings do not ultimately exist. Beings do not exist because they are nothing more than conventional phenomena. If beings were to exist, then when their aggregates ceased, beings would be devoid of aggregates, like space. But like the aggregates, beings are compounded phenomena, so this is not the case. Therefore the teaching on beings is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on action a conventional teaching? The performance of actions is neither existent nor nonexistent. If the performance of actions were to exist, the performance of actions would not be created, like space. But, if it were compounded like the aggregates, it would not be created, just like space. That which is uncreated could not be created, entailing that no actions could ever be performed. If actions do not exist, how could actions ever come about? For these reasons, the teaching on actions is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on birth a conventional teaching? Birth does not ultimately exist. If birth were to exist ultimately, it would be perpetual, and birth would not entail birth. That which is born through birth, and also that which is tormented by birth, would not exist. Therefore, the teaching on birth is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on old age a conventional teaching? Old age does not ultimately exist. If old age were to exist ultimately, no one would become old. Those who are aged could not have been young, old, or very old. There would be no aging for a child, and thus a child would never age. If there were no old age, how would one become old? In such circumstances one who is not old would never age. If an old person aged, then why would a young person not age? Therefore, the teaching on aging is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on death a conventional teaching? Death does not ultimately exist. If death were to exist ultimately, it would be something acquired. It would then be logical that if a single living being acquired it, then all other living beings would not die; however, there is no one who does not die. Since it is taught that death does not come from anywhere or go anywhere, the teaching on death is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on transmigration upon death a conventional teaching? Transmigration upon death does not ultimately exist. If transmigration upon death were to exist ultimately, the very same being who died would be the being who is born, entailing that the one who died would have two bodies upon birth: the body that transmigrated and the body in which they transmigrate. If transmigration were to exist, the five aggregates would also exist. Why? Because the consciousness that was freed from the aggregates would not have a point of access. It is consciousness that approaches and enters form, and consciousness that approaches sensation, approaches perception, and approaches formations. It is consciousness that depends on them, observes them, and enters them. An unsupported consciousness would not enter for even a moment. Because transmigration upon death occurs in the same way as any persisting phenomenon arises—like a seed and a sprout—it is a conventional teaching.
“How is the teaching on the peace of nirvāṇa a conventional teaching? Nirvāṇa does not ultimately exist. The pacification of saṃsāra is called nirvāṇa. Saṃsāra is not itself nirvāṇa, nor is nirvāṇa distinct from saṃsāra. Saṃsāra, like a dream or an illusion, neither exists nor does not exist, nor does it arise because of being both existent and nonexistent. Just as saṃsāra does not exist or not exist and does not arise through being both existent and nonexistent, it does not cease because of not existing, not not existing, or being both existent and nonexistent. Alternatively, the cessation of perception and sensation is called nirvāṇa. Perception is just like a mirage; sensation is like a water bubble. Just as a mirages and water bubbles arise and cease, so it is with saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. Therefore, the teaching on the peace of nirvāṇa is a conventional teaching.
“Bodhisattvas should understand these ten as the conventional teachings of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect buddhas.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand emptiness through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The absence of self, (2) the absence of beings, (3) the absence of life, (4) the absence of a person, (5) the absence of a governing power, (6) the absence of birth, (7) the absence of cessation, (8) the absence of conditioning, (9) the absence of doing, and (10) the absence of ownership.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of self? Emptiness is neither something substantial nor insubstantial. If emptiness were substantial, it would be compounded and impermanent. If emptiness were insubstantial, the empty would not be empty. Therefore, emptiness is neither something substantial nor insubstantial. Thus, emptiness should be understood through the absence of self.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of beings? Beings are neither empty nor not empty. If beings were empty, then even killing would not be an evil act. Yet if they were not empty, they would be permanent. This is why the Blessed One said, ‘Beings are neither permanent nor impermanent, neither compounded nor uncompounded.’ This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of beings.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of life? Emptiness neither lives nor dies. For example, the eye is empty of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. That which is empty of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ neither lives nor dies. The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are similarly empty of ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ and that which is empty of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ neither lives nor dies. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of life.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of a person? Emptiness is not considered a person. Emptiness is not considered a phenomenon. The aggregates, elements, and sense bases are empty. They are conceptually fixated on, and then conceptually designated as ‘a person.’ It should not be claimed that anything designated through conceptual fixation exists or does not exist. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of a person.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of a governing power? Because there is nothing that is beyond emptiness, there is nothing to be a governing power of emptiness. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of a governing power.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of birth? Emptiness is not born. If emptiness were born it would not be emptiness. The empty would therefore not be empty. If something that has been born were not empty, and emptiness does not birth itself, then the unborn would not be nonempty. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of birth.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of cessation? Whatever is born ceases, and emptiness is not born. How could something that is not born cease? This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of cessation.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of conditioning? Emptiness is not acted on, nor does it act. The aggregates, elements, and sense bases are empty. When they are fixated on, they are conceptually designated as emptiness. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of conditioning.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of doing? Emptiness cannot be effected by saying, ‘You should do it this way.’ This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of doing.
“How should emptiness be understood through the absence of ownership? Emptiness is not an object and does not have an object; it is devoid of mind, thought, and the mind consciousness. This is how emptiness should be understood through the absence of ownership.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand emptiness through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the factors that oppose emptiness through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? The opposing factors of (1) ignorance, (2) craving, (3) karma, (4) consciousness, (5) grasping, (6) view, (7) doubt, (8) a sense of superiority, (9) pride, and (10) agitation. These are the ten factors that oppose emptiness.
“There are two categories and four types of ignorance. What are the two categories? The obscuration of the afflictive emotions and cognitive obscurations. What are the four types? Ignorance that arises out of attachment to the desire realm, ignorance that arises out of attachment to the form realm, ignorance that arises out of attachment to the formless realm, and ignorance that arises out of attachment to the insubstantial.
“Craving has two bases and four types. What are the two bases? A basis in existence and a basis in enjoyment. What are the four aspects? Craving for the desire realm, craving for the form realm, craving for formless realms, and craving for the insubstantial.
“Karma has one manifestation, three types, and three results. What is the one manifestation? It is mental karma. What are the three types? Karma that arises from body, from speech, and from mind. What then are the three results? Nonvirtuous results from nonvirtuous deeds, virtuous results from virtuous deeds, and a mixture of nonvirtuous and virtuous results from a mixture of nonvirtuous and virtuous deeds.
“Consciousness has six aspects: the consciousnesses of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. These six aspects are consciousness; they conceptually fixate on the mistaken, conceptually fixate on the unmistaken, and are without conceptual fixation. Conceptual fixation on the mistaken refers to foolish ordinary people; it refers to the mistaken, distracted minds that arise from the desire, form, and formless realms as their cause. Conceptual fixation on the unmistaken is the cause of the nirvāṇa of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. Liberation from both of these two is the bodhisattvas’ lack of conceptual fixation. It is the cause of the Dharma of the Buddha.
“Grasping, the cause of existence, is of four types: the grasping of desire, the grasping of view, the grasping of discipline and ascetic practice, and the grasping that promotes a self.
“There are two types of view: having mistaken knowledge and being involved in conceptual fixation. Having mistaken knowledge refers to a mistaken view. Being involved in conceptual fixation includes everything up to apprehending and delighting in nirvāṇa. Involvement in conceptual fixation is condemned by the buddhas.
“There are two types of doubt: doubt that impedes the vehicle and doubt that impedes certainty. Doubt that impedes the vehicle are doubts that consume one about how quickly one will become fully awakened. Thinking, ‘What is the point in staying for so long? In the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha vehicles suffering is quickly transcended’ one abandons the Great Vehicle. This is the kind of doubt that impedes the vehicle. What doubt impedes certainty? Doubt due to which one does not gain certainty. Not understanding the state of certainty is the kind of doubt that impedes certainty. These are the two types of doubt.
“A sense of superiority refers to aspiring for the results of commendable acts of generosity and so forth. One makes mistaken aspirations like, ‘Through these acts of generosity, discipline, and so forth may I become this or that god,’ and so on. This is what is meant by a sense of superiority.
“Pride refers to pride born of arrogance. One thinks, ‘This is bad,’ ‘I am noble,’ ‘I am equal to them,’ and so forth. This type of arrogance is called pride.
“There are two kinds of agitation: agitation that produces the afflictive emotions, and agitation that produces intense arrogance. Agitation that produces the afflictive emotions refers to determining form to be pure, but then behaving incongruently in body, speech, and mind. Such behavior is condemned by the noble ones. The agitation that produces intense arrogance is to be intensely arrogant about the path of emancipation itself, to be hasty, and to be self-conceited. This is called agitation.
“Bodhisattvas should understand the factors that oppose emptiness through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. [B2]
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the teachings on emptiness through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) Not being swayed and not moving; (2) being neither attached nor free from attachment; (3) neither accepting nor rejecting; (4) neither fighting nor arguing; (5) neither diminishing nor increasing; (6) tolerating the natural cessation of all formations; (7) not being afraid when hearing, ‘Nothing is ever produced by ordinary people nor is brought to an end by the buddhas’; (8) not being consumed with doubt when hearing, ‘The nature of saṃsāra and the nature of nirvāṇa are the same’; and (9) acting upon hearing, ‘The body of the Thus-Gone One is permanent and (10) its qualities are inexhaustible.’
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not being swayed? Followers of the teachings on emptiness are not swayed by worldly phenomena because they are without basis. They are neither excited by gain nor depressed when not getting what they want. They are neither elated by fame nor disheartened by infamy. They do not cower when censured, nor delight in praise. They are neither enamored with pleasure nor dispirited by suffering. Those who are not diverted by worldly phenomena have understood emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not being swayed.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not moving? Followers of the teachings on emptiness do not move from somewhere or to somewhere. That which moves from somewhere to somewhere is seen to be and known as emptiness. That which does not go, which does not move, is also understood as emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not moving.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of being neither attached nor free from attachment? Followers of the teachings on emptiness are not attached to anything and are not devoid of attachment. That to which one either is attached or is free from attachment is known and seen to be emptiness. The one who is either attached or free from attachment to some phenomena is also seen as emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of neither being attached nor being free from attachment.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not accepting or rejecting? Followers of the teachings on emptiness do not accept anything and do not reject anything. That which is accepted and rejected is known and seen as emptiness, but one does not reject the requisites for awakening. Whatever is thus accepted is known as emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not accepting or rejecting.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not fighting and arguing? Whoever fights and argues does not know emptiness. Those with whom they fight and argue are known and seen as emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not fighting and arguing.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of neither decreasing nor increasing? Followers of the teachings on emptiness are not seen to decrease or increase any phenomenon. They do not observe any empty phenomenon either decreasing or expanding. Those who observe a phenomenon decreasing or expanding do not know emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of neither decreasing nor increasing.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of tolerating the natural cessation of all formations? Followers of the teachings on emptiness do not recognize phenomena as real or unreal. That which is neither real nor unreal has fundamentally ceased. That which has fundamentally ceased has naturally ceased. Followers of the teachings on emptiness are correct in not recognizing phenomena as being born or having ceased. That is how one should understand those who follow the teachings on emptiness in terms of tolerating the natural cessation of all formations.
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not being afraid when hearing, ‘Nothing is ever produced by ordinary people nor is brought to an end by the buddhas’? Followers of the teachings on emptiness do not think, ‘These are ordinary people and those are buddhas,’ but they do know the uniformity of ordinary peoples’ qualities in terms of the uniformity of the buddhas’ qualities. Those who regard the ways of ordinary beings as inferior and the qualities of the buddhas to be vast do not know emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not being afraid when hearing, ‘Nothing is ever produced by ordinary people nor is brought to an end by the buddhas.’
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of not being consumed with doubt when hearing, ‘The nature of saṃsāra and the nature of nirvāṇa are the same’? Those who see a difference between the nature of saṃsāra and the nature of nirvāṇa do not know emptiness. Why? The suchness of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa share the same characteristic of being uncompounded. Those who recognize this equivalence in the suchness of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, that there is no difference between them, have no doubts. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of not being consumed with doubt when hearing, ‘The nature of saṃsāra and the nature of nirvāṇa are the same.’
“How should those who follow the teachings on emptiness be understood in terms of their engagement upon hearing ‘the body of the Thus-Gone One is permanent and its qualities are inexhaustible’? Those who do not engage upon hearing ‘the body of the Thus-Gone One is permanent and inexhaustible’ do not know emptiness. Why? The Thus-Gone One’s body is suchness and emptiness. It is not a body with adventitious afflictive emotions and secondary afflictive emotions. Those who know this know emptiness. This is how those who follow the teachings on emptiness should be understood in terms of their engagement upon hearing ‘the body of the Thus-Gone One is permanent and its qualities are inexhaustible.’
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the teachings on emptiness through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They do not consider themselves to be superior or inferior even though they have learned a lot, retained what they learned, have an ocean of learning, and have amassed learning; (2) they are proficient in meaning, phenomena, language, and confident eloquence, but never tire in their pursuit of learning; (3) they know about time, distance, medicine, phenomena, and meaning, but do not neglect service to their elders; (4) they have textual and practical knowledge and know the Vinaya, but do not give up the practice of posing questions to others; (5) they are easily contented, easily satisfied, and splendidly elegant in their formal behavior and their conduct, but never forsake respectful service to their master; (6) they are disciplined, peaceful, pure, and fearless, but do not stop cultivating propriety and conscientiousness; (7) they are learned in the meaning that is profound and difficult to fathom, but still pursue worldly engagements both complex and simple; (8) they take pleasure in being naturally honest, gentle, and companionable in order to maintain harmony with beings, but do not remain among beings who are hostile, hateful, and have poor discipline; (9) they delight in generosity, and being tame, constant, gentle, ritually observant, and stable, but their mind is never fixed, and they never form concepts about their experiences; and (10) they have removed their latent impressions, entanglements, knots, and thorns, but do not give up striving to eliminate the afflictive emotions of other beings. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They are free of all desire, but do not slacken in their effort to acquire the requisites of a bodhisattva; (2) they know that phenomena never transmigrate, but do not slacken in their effort to give up all possessions; (3) they directly realize the inexhaustible Dharma, but do not let their patience or gentleness diminish; (4) they are constantly immersed in samādhi, but do not slacken in their encouragement of all beings’ virtuous activity; (5) they are immersed in peace and tranquility, but do not slacken in their effort to ripen beings who are distracted and make misjudgments; (6) they have attained dhāraṇī and correct discernment, but do not slacken in their effort to learn; (7) they are a treasury of Dharma, but do not slacken in their effort to traverse hundreds of thousands of yojanas for the sake of a single eloquent expression; (8) they do not depend on the kindness of others for anything, but do not slacken in their effort to seek out a teacher and mentor; (9) they have no doubt that phenomena are not born and do not cease, but they do not slacken in their effort to uphold the sublime Dharma; and (10) they do not conceptually fixate on beings or those conceptually designated as beings, but they do not slacken in their effort to understand the awakening of a buddha. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They hold to their words through generosity, speaking kindly, acting benevolently, and being aligned in word and deed; (2) their words are gentle because they are produced with great love; (3) their words are appropriate because they align with solitude, a lack of attachment, and liberation; (4) their words are in alignment because they are in alignment with meditative calm, meditative insight, and the path; (5) their words are illuminating because they reveal secrets; (6) their words are not lacking in meaning or style because they are not unpleasant and their meaning is complete; (7) their words are neither deceptive nor deceitful because they destroy confusion and the darkness of delusion; (8) their words are free of doubts because they result from the direct perception of all phenomena; (9) their words are free of latent impressions because they result from the abandonment of the afflictive emotions and secondary afflictive emotions; and (10) their words are untroubled because they are unblemished and without instigation. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) The Dharma they teach is based on their mastery of the sublime Dharma, not on gain and respect; (2) the Dharma they teach is based on all the buddhas, not their own whim; (3) the Dharma they teach is rooted in great love and great compassion, not in the afflictive emotions and secondary afflictive emotions; (4) the Dharma they teach disrupts the continuity of ordinary people, not the way of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha; (5) the Dharma they teach is moistened by the water of great compassion, and not by the water of their own happiness; (6) the Dharma they teach is profound because of the realization of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; (7) the Dharma they teach is aligned with virtuous people because it is aligned with the turning of the wheel of Dharma; (8) the Dharma they teach defeats all māras because it disrupts the māras of the aggregates, the lord of death, the afflictive emotions, and the divine māra; (9) the Dharma they teach reaches the seat of awakening because it is worthy of being worshiped by the whole world; and (10) the Dharma they teach accords with omniscient wisdom because it leads to the attainment of strength, fearlessness, and the unique qualities of a buddha. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through an additional ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They delight in the requisites of the spiritual life, not in worldly things; (2) they delight in the way of noble people, not in the way of ignoble people; (3) they delight in the ripening of ignoble people, not in proscribed and negative actions; (4) they delight in the food of the Dharma, not in physical food; (5) they delight in solitude and the wilderness, not in the activities of a village, city, or market town; (6) they delight in the awakening of a buddha, not in the awakening of a śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha; (7) they delight in the abandonment of cognitive obscurations, not in the abandonment of the obscuration of the afflictive emotions alone; (8) they delight in achieving a physical body with the major and minor auspicious marks, not in merely realizing the dharmakāya; (9) they delight in accomplishing strength, fearlessness, and the unique qualities of a buddha, not in the realization of the truths of the noble ones alone; (10) they delight in the accomplishment of the roots of virtue of other beings, not in the accomplishment of their own roots of virtue; and (11) they delight in the abandonment of the nexus of habitual patterns, not in the abandonment of the obscuration of the afflictive emotions alone. Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through ten analogies for entering the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) As an analogy, the great earth sustains all beings without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma also sustain all beings like the earth, without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. (2) As a further analogy, water brings comfort to beings through its own qualities without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma also bring comfort to all beings through their own qualities without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. (3) As a further analogy, the element of fire sustains all beings through its own qualities. It sustains all beings by ripening every harvest without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma sustain all beings through the qualities of their insight. They sustain all beings by ripening the harvest of the roots of virtue without seeking the slightest recompense from anyone. (4) As a further analogy, the element of air fosters grass, shrubs, clusters of medicinal herbs, and the mindstreams of beings even though it is nonconceptual and unchanging. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma foster the birth bodies of all beings and the dharmakāya without seeking the slightest recompense. (5) As a further analogy, the element of space is infinite, boundless, and naturally unobscured. It sustains all beings even though it is nonconceptual, unchanging, and not attached to anything. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma have infinite and boundless good qualities and a nature that is entirely unobscured. They sustain all beings even though they are nonconceptual, unchanging, and not attached to anything. (6) As a further analogy, the moon always shines gently on all beings everywhere, protecting the world even though it is unsullied by worldly phenomena. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma shine gently on all beings everywhere, protecting the world even though they are unsullied by worldly phenomena. (7) As a further analogy, when the sun rises all deep darkness vanishes, and by its shining light beings can go about their respective activities. The sun form s no concepts at all and does not seek the slightest recompense from anyone. In the same way, when bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma appear, the deep darkness of all beings’ ignorance vanishes, and by their shining light beings cultivate their respective roots of virtue. Followers of the Dharma form no concepts at all and do not seek the slightest recompense from anyone. (8) As a further analogy, a sturdy, stable, well-joined boat is able to save beings from a mighty river without being destroyed, and it does so without seeking even the slightest recompense from anyone. In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma are well endowed with stable insight and sturdy, perfect, great compassion. They are able to save beings from the mighty river of saṃsāra without being destroyed, and they do so without seeking even a small ferry toll. (9) As a further analogy, a bridge or causeway is located at a raging and terrifying river to put beings equally at ease, be they inferior, average, or superior. It does not hold any concepts of ‘I’ or ‘mine.’ In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma serve as a great bridge or causeway that puts beings equally at ease—be they inferior, average, or superior—when facing saṃsāra that is difficult to cross, and the descent into the unbearable and cruel lower realms. While doing so they do not hold any concepts of ‘I’ or ‘mine.’ (10) As a further analogy, a lamp illuminates darkness equally for beings who are inferior, average, and superior. It does not hold any concepts of ‘I’ or ‘mine.’ In the same way, bodhisattvas who propound the Dharma deploy the lamp of insight within the house of saṃsāra, which is dark with ignorance, shining it equally for inferior, average, and superior beings. They do not hold any concepts of ‘I’ or ‘mine.’ Bodhisattvas should understand those who follow the Dharma through these ten examples of entering the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should understand the ways that bodhisattvas should not associate with others through ten approaches to the way of the Dharma. What are these ten? (1) They should not associate with inferior beings who think of and aspire for lesser things. (2) They should not associate with beings who do not put out effort, are not industrious, are lazy, and are not diligent. (3) They should not associate with beings who are proud, feel pride in their superiority, are excessively proud, have egotistical pride and the pride of feeling inferior, are haughty, have misplaced pride, or who are bloated with pride. (4) They should not associate with beings who are innately stingy, have poor discipline, think maliciously, or are lazy, distracted, and have distorted intelligence. (5) They should not associate with those who seek sensual gratification, think maliciously, or have thoughts of violence. (6) They should not associate with anyone who has thoughts, concepts, and discursive thoughts. (7) They should not associate with anyone who has obscurations, obstructions, or entanglements. (8) They should not associate with anyone whose mind is oriented toward śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. (9) They should not associate with anyone whose mind focuses on taking delight in gain, respect, and adulation. And (10) they should not associate with those who grasp at ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ The ways bodhisattvas should not associate with others should be understood through these ten approaches to the way of the Dharma.
“Child of good family, bodhisattvas should not associate with anyone who has one of the ten types of negligence. What are these ten? (1) They should not associate with those who neglect upholding the sublime Dharma. (2) They should not associate with those who neglect listening to the sublime Dharma. (3) They should not associate with those who neglect ripening beings. (4) They should not associate with those who neglect the gift of the sublime Dharma. (5) They should not associate with those who neglect to venerate all masters. (6) They should not associate with those who neglect the activities of Māra. (7) They should not associate with those who neglect rival non-Buddhists. (8) They should not associate with those who neglect the disintegration of the sublime Dharma. (9) They should not associate with those who neglect the perfections. And (10) they should not associate with those who neglect the three sections of dedication. Bodhisattvas should not associate with anyone who has one of these ten types of negligence.
“Bodhisattvas should understand ten types of great emanation of bodhisattvas. What are these ten types? (1) Their emanation as a universal monarch, (2) their emanation as Śakra, (3) their emanation as Brahmā, (4) their emanation as śrāvakas, (5) their emanation as pratyekabuddhas, (6) their emanation as bodhisattvas, (7) their emanation as buddhas, (8) their emanation as buddhafields, (9) their emanation as the seat of awakening, and (10) their emanation as the great retinue. These ten should be understood as the great emanations of bodhisattvas. All of these great emanations of bodhisattvas should be recognized to be determined by the intention of others.
“During times when universal monarchs are considered paramount in the world, when upholding discipline and conduct are considered paramount, bodhisattvas emanate the regalia of a universal monarch and work to benefit beings. The regalia includes the precious wheel, which has a thousand spokes and surpasses everything in the worlds of gods and humans. It is made of gold from the Jambu River but was not hammered by a craftsperson. It arises through the miraculous power of one’s own aspirations and merit. Alluring in form, it moves through the sky. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious elephant has perfect proportions and six white tusks. It has an alluring form and moves through the sky. It has a perfect, quick pace, and moves like Airāvaṇa and Garuḍa. It arises through the power of well-performed deeds. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious horse is completely blue and clever, the equal of Bālāhaka, the king of horses. It is swift like the wind, is made to run by thought alone like a wish-fulfilling gem, and it moves through the sky. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious jewel has eight facets and is not made by an artisan. Abundant with light, it outshines fire and the sun. It moves as desired, and fully bestows an abundance of desires. It fulfills all wishes. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious lady is neither too light nor too dark, too tall nor too short, and neither too slight nor too stout. Her rites for training are complete, and she is knowledgeable in the major treatises, crafts, literature, and various sports. Her eloquent speech, gentle and profound, is remarkable. She is just like a wish-fulfilling jewel, is perfect in her smile and comportment, delights in Dharma conduct, and is unrivaled in appearance. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious householders are those like Vajrapāṇi. They are well proportioned like Vaiśravaṇa and Nārāyaṇa, and always speak gently, pleasantly, softly, and with gratifying words. Their physical eyes are clear, they have abundant love and compassion, and they fulfill desires like a wish-fulfilling jewel. They are accomplished because their roots of virtue are equal to those of precious people. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“The precious minister is like the matron of a vaunted family line. He serves as the epitome of the roots of virtue, rises early, is virtuous in thought, and understands things by watching and shifting his gaze. His actions are good, extensive, complete, and blameless. He can move through the sky, pursue desires, and is wealthy. This is unlike those of other, ordinary universal monarchs.
“Once these and the other precious regalia of a universal monarch have been emanated, bodhisattvas will have power over the mind and possess a pure motivation focused on the happiness and benefit of all beings. These precious people engage in profound and irreproachable deeds. They are tender, have the exalted intent to be of benefit, and are inclined toward the great Dharma. They are great universal monarchs who serve the path of the ten virtuous actions. They ripen all beings through their thirty-two major marks of a great person. They are called great bodhisattvas emanated as universal monarchs.
“During times when Śakra is considered paramount in the world, bodhisattvas emanate in the form of Śakra, reside in his palace in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, and ripen the gods through teachings on vigilance.