འཕགས་པ་དན་དམ་པའ་ཆས་ཀྱས་རྣམ་པར་རྒྱལ་བ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 10

10

Having realized this, sentient beings will frequently pass completely beyond sorrow into the sphere of liberation, beyond the sorrow of the psycho-physical aggregates. Great Seer, this is why the world will be consumed by apocalyptic fire.”

The great seer Ulka contemplated this and said eloquently, “Alas! How can I be called Great Seer? The magnificence of this son of the Śākya clan is extremely vast. I have tested him enough, for he is manifestly omniscient. I too will call him by his proper title!” Then the great seer Ulka said to the Bhagavān, “You have earned the title Omniscient because you have become the source of all good qualities, and your exalted knowledge is infinite. Please tell me in what realm sentient beings will congregate.”

The Bhagavān said, “Great Seer, sentient beings will congregate nowhere. They will congregate in the state of equality. Great Seer, sentient beings will congregate in the state produced by the one vehicle. Sentient beings will congregate in the essence of enlightenment. Great Seer, sentient beings will congregate in the sphere of liberation from the sorrow of the psycho-physical aggregates. Great Seer, for instance, various rivers, streams, and tributaries flow toward one vast ocean and thus become indistinguishable. Great Seer, likewise, all the realms of sentient beings will be expunged of impurities, and their inhabitants will thereby congregate in the state of liberation.

“Great Seer, I would say that since sentient beings have congregated in saṃsāra, they have yet to really congregate. Great Seer, for instance, butterflies from all over, buffeted by the wind, cluster around a puddle.¹⁶ When there is no wind, they separate from one another. Like this, Great Seer, those sentient beings who are mutually connected through karma to go to hell will congregate there.