འཕགས་པ་ཡང་དག་པར་སྤྱད་པའ་ཚལ་ནམ་མཁའ་མདག་གས་འདལ་བའ་བཟད་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 7
The Acceptance That Tames Beings with the Sky-Colored Method of Perfect Conduct 7
- Language
- English
7.2
The Blessed One then uttered these verses for cultivating this acceptance:
“Those who engage in traditional or untraditional practices
With the mindset that formations are permanent
Stray from the authorized practices and observances
And therefore experience extreme suffering.
“The insubstantial aggregates
Are empty phenomena devoid of an agent.
Those who understand the selflessness of phenomena
See that they are like grains of sand.
“When yoga practitioners who practice observances
See such conceit about formations,
They generate compassion and then
Tame tens of millions of beings.
“They teach to beings the Dharma
That teaches that the aggregates
Are bodiless, baseless, and without self,
Like an illusion, a mirage, or a dream.
“They teach acceptance to beings of the fact that
All phenomena are a likeness that lacks a self,
And since they are empty, they neither arise nor cease.
When that is understood, it eliminates all concepts and doubts.
“This acceptance is unmistaken suchness.
It severs all the bonds created by
Beings who take pride in practices and observances.
Just as all manner of bonds become visible
“When a lamp appears in the dark
And eliminates that darkness entirely,
This acceptance eliminates the twenty views,
So that even those who set out in complete darkness
“No longer give rise to craving.
Those who courageously cultivate this acceptance
Bring an end to all forms of craving.
Even people who have been circling
“In saṃsāra for a long time
Are liberated from craving.
Those among them who have passed into nirvāṇa
Are uncountable.
“A well-trained swordsman
Fears no enemy at all.
Those who have thoroughly cultivated this acceptance
Overcome all of the afflictions.
“Noble son, what is grasping related to the view of a self? Even though the self lacks intrinsic nature, nevertheless, out of delusion, the proponents of a self produce a self among the five sense pleasures. From understanding the eye in terms of a self, engaging pleasant or unpleasant states of the eye consciousness, and developing a strong attachment toward what arises, up to understanding the mind in terms of a self, engaging pleasant or unpleasant states of the mental consciousness,
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and developing strong attachment toward what arises—one should consider all of this as false and delusional. Why? The truth of the six sense fields comes from their respective objects. Noble son, the eye and what conforms to it are not a self. Since there is no self and no ownership, what is conformable to the eye would be self-produced and would not change, if a self or an owner were to exist, so the eye is the self and the owner.¹⁰³ That is how one should understand everything from the production of consciousness with respect to the eye that is the self, up to bodily contact.
“However, forms are not produced by the eyes, the ear is not produced by sound either,¹⁰⁴ and this is the case all the way up to tactile objects not being produced by the body. The body is not produced by touch, forms are not produced by the eyes, and forms, feelings, perceptions, and formations are not produced by the eyes. The eye consciousness is not produced by the eyes, and the eyes are not produced by the eye consciousness. The eyes do not perceive the objects of the ear, the ears do not perceive the object of the eyes, and this is the case up to the fact that the mind does not perceive the objects of mental phenomena and mental phenomena do not perceive the objects of mind. Since the essential nature of all of the six sense fields is that they are apprehended as the causes and conditions of the five sense pleasures and the five aggregates, the internal and external aggregates and the sense fields are all empty of a cause that can be conceived as being mutual. The five sense pleasures and the five aggregates are apprehended as the mutual causes and conditions of one another, but since they have the nature of conceptualization, they are mutually empty. The internal aggregates and sense fields do not have one and the same object either. Since they are neither internally nor externally existent, the internal and external aggregates and sense fields are not objects. In that way, all those inner and outer things are not objects for one another. Although they are apprehended in terms of being each other’s causes and conditions and are not conceptual objects, they reveal the mode of existence¹⁰⁵ and the mode of illusion. The mode of illusion is
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anything that is not suchness. Whatever is not suchness is nonexistent, whatever is nonexistent is unborn, and whatever is unborn does not cease.
“Noble son, all phenomena lack birth and cessation. Nevertheless, there are foolish ordinary beings who practice austerities, and when they generate what lacks a self and then apprehend it as the cause and condition of nonvirtue they give rise to forms, stray away from liberation, and experience undesirable results in the lower realms for a long time. As an analogy, noble son, wood is not fire, wood does not possess fire, and wood is not mixed with fire. Nevertheless, when a person who wants fire rubs a piece of wood against another piece of wood with their two hands a fire will start and the wood will be consumed by fire. Similarly, noble son, all those external and internal things are empty of each other, and they are not each other’s objects. They are a likeness and lack a self. But even though they are empty, foolish ordinary beings who practice austerities become attached to these empty phenomena that lack a self, and when they congregate they produce the causes and conditions for improper conduct. Those causes and conditions lead them to experience undesirable results in the three lower realms and to circle in saṃsāra for a long time. However, those who understand that all external and internal phenomena have the nature of lacking a self and being empty perfect this acceptance through perfect conduct and they will quickly awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.”
Then the Blessed One spoke the following verses to summarize this point:
“Beings who are controlled by a sense of ‘me’ and ‘mine’
Are attached to the five sense pleasures.
They understand the eye as a self,
And the ear, the nose, and the mind in the same way:
“In terms of happiness and suffering.
Since they develop conceit toward all formations,
They will be reborn in the lower realms,
And they will therefore undergo great hardships.
“Those phenomena are inactive,
Without elaborations, and wordless,
But since beings pass through the terrible fire
And take rebirth in the lower realms,
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“I will now proclaim what is virtuous
To all of you who have assembled in this place.
Meditate on the true nature of all phenomena,
And realize this acceptance!
“Since formations have no cause
And lack the intrinsic nature of a self,
Do not perceive the causes and conditions of actions
As being connected to each other!
“All external and internal
Phenomena lack a self.
Childish beings do not understand
The profound and peaceful nature of phenomena.
“Cultivate acceptance of the fact that
Phenomena, being like space,
Are entirely devoid of designations
And lack characteristics and marks!
“Regarding the internal and external,
There is no conceit for what is in space.
One who has cultivated acceptance of emptiness
Should view formations just like that!
“Those who behold all the buddhas
Have no delusions at all with respect to phenomena;
Cultivate acceptance in the same way as
Those who recollect their virtuous qualities.
“One cannot grasp and one cannot see
Even the slightest gift of Dharma at all.
The acceptance of that and its cultivation
Should be known as dwelling in the core.
“Existence that is conditioned by grasping is understood as follows. The four types of grasping are momentary. The second moment that follows the arising and cessation of grasping gives rise to becoming. There are three types of existence: existence related to the desire realm, existence related to the form realm, and existence related to the formless realm. Existence related to the desire realm completely deceives beings. The eight great hell realms, the animal realms, the realms of the pretas, the four great continents, and the six abodes of the gods who live in the desire realm are referred to as the existence of the desire realm of the four-continent world. Existence related to the form realm consists of the sixteen abodes of the gods living in the form realm. This is referred to as the existence related to the form realm. Existence related to the formless realm consists of the four abodes of the gods living in the formless realm. This is referred to as the existence related to the formless realm.
“Noble son, when one apprehends it in terms of causes and conditions, one finds that existence in the three lower realms occurs based on utterly improper mental engagement and conceit with respect to the defiled five sense pleasures.
7.6
The states of existence of the eleven other abodes of the form realm are existences that are caused by defilements and virtue. The cause of the states of existence of the five other abodes of the form realm are the objects of apprehending acceptance and the cause of apprehending virtue, which becomes the cause of rebirth on the first to the seventh bodhisattva levels.¹⁰⁶ The perfection of acceptance by cultivating emptiness as the single cause of virtue leads to the eighth, ninth, and tenth bodhisattva levels that are states of existence for which it is the single cause of virtue. The states of existence of afflicted buddha realms that are inundated with the five impurities and those states of existence that are related to the singular cause of virtue, such as the perfectly pure buddha realms, arise in the same way that the material objects of the form realms manifest based on virtuous and nonvirtuous causes.
“Becoming free of everything classified as material and immaterial is the cultivation of acceptance. Why? Because both material and immaterial things have the nature of being devoid of concepts, thoughts, and activity, and what is apprehended in terms of causes and conditions is unadulterated, without origination, and without cessation. The bodhisattvas’ cultivation of the acceptance that the activity of all material things, and all formations that are distinct from them, across all three times have the nature of space is referred to as all material and immaterial things. Seeing all the different buddha realms as like reflections of the moon in water or a flash of lightning from out of nowhere, they gain mastery over knowledge of the future related to all the roots of virtue of the three times.
“Noble son, the bodhisattva Puṇḍarīka will be born in this afflicted buddha realm. Adorned by great compassion and steadfast in diligence, he will not apprehend all the aggregates that are the basis of grasping. He will turn away from all forms, he will not dwell on the origination and destruction of all phenomena, and he will not act.
7.7
No thoughts or marks related to any formation will arise in him. He will manifest the ultimate reality that is the realm of phenomena, which is without duality and devoid of the afflictions and of the apprehension of everything across the three times. He will not conceptualize anything in terms of increase or decrease. He will not engage in a separation from limitless apprehension of the duality of mind and thought, and he will understand that the realm of phenomena across all three times is a likeness. Noble son, he will not dwell upon or apprehend the qualities related to having the form of a bodhisattva, and he will understand all phenomena as lacking a self and being devoid of persons. The cries and melodious tunes that arise in the three realms and across the three times, and which are devoid of an owner, will not remain and they will not arise. He will know that everything is insubstantial and groundless, since it exists as a likeness, and that everything is devoid of causes and conditions, always free from all manner of formations, and also without concepts, without thoughts, not arising, and not ceasing, and he will not reify anything. That bodhisattva will not conceive of or think about the vehicles of the hearers or the solitary buddhas, and he will not apprehend the cycle of existence and death of beings. He will neither apprehend nor discard great compassion or the mind of awakening that is devoid of permanence and annihilation, and he will cultivate acceptance by comprehending as empty all conduct that arises without a cause. He will then cast off the thick darkness of wandering through every type of existence. He will have a vision like the reflection of the moon in water of the other locations of all of the buddha realms. It will be like a flash of lightning from out of nowhere, and he will master knowledge of the future related to all roots of virtue of the three times.
“As an analogy, noble son, the banks of the flowing waters that surround Lake Anavatapta are filled with large, supremely sweet-smelling flowers called the eyes of perfect recovery.
7.8
When the few gods, nāgas, and yakṣas who suffer from severe physical disorders go to Anavatapta and inhale the medicinal fragrance of those great flowers called the eyes of perfect recovery, all the diseases associated with severe eye disorders and all the diseases associated with severe bodily disorders are completely cured. They are not weakened or strengthened by the medicinal fragrance of those great flowers, and they do not take joy in them since they have no concepts, no thoughts, no joy, and no anger. Likewise, since they possess good qualities that cure the illness of beings, noble son, bodhisattvas with great compassion will seek out opportunities to practice the acceptance of emptiness that is wisdom devoid of the hindrances. They will remain in the essence of phenomena of all types of existence and develop a strong desire to engage in wandering from death to rebirth. They will be allured by birth. When they are allured by birth, they will be allured by all phenomena. When they are allured by all phenomena, they will be allured by the attainment of powers related to engaging in the path of the practices of the three vehicles. Why? In regard to their power to proceed in a succession, the aggregates lack such power and they do not unfold in a succession.¹⁰⁷ They do not abide in their own spheres; they do not remain in a succession of places. They are momentary and also inactive. They do not abide in a stream of moments.
“Forms across the three times are without form, without size, and devoid of numerous qualities. When one grasps at one thing after another there is manifestation, engagement, clinging, concealment, deterioration, and illumination. As an analogy, noble son, wind does not arise in space, and it lacks everything from manifestation up to thought. Space also does not arise in wind, and so on, up to lacking thought.
7.9
Noble son, everything from not arising in the least up to the lack of thought is also like that with respect to all phenomena. Since all phenomena lack movement and lack behavior, distinction, appearance, arising, cessation, annihilation, permanence, concepts, and thoughts, none of them can be understood in terms of arising, nor can they be understood in terms of origination, subsequent arising, or ownership. The aggregates should be understood to arise and disintegrate in the same way that wind neither arises nor ceases in space. They should be understood as entirely devoid of arising, words, and objects. They are not observed to follow all phenomena, encounter them, pass beyond them, or move in succession with them. They are completely without attachment, imputation, and abandoning. Phenomena are not perceived as distinct. They are not perceived in terms of the arising of gateways that dwell in all the phenomena of the three times.
“When bodhisattvas are free from birth and views in that way, and possess the Dharma of the treasury of wisdom that all phenomena do not depend on something else, that things do not manifest dualistically, they overcome the four māras, and they no longer perceive the entire collection of phenomena. Since they are free from all phenomena, they have completely transcended the arising of all three realms and there is no arising, no cessation,¹⁰⁸ no death, and no origination. They perceive all realms as like quickly moving clouds and they visit them in order to ripen all beings. Noble son, that is the way that bodhisattvas should cultivate the acceptance of proper conduct in order to completely transcend birth.
“Noble son, it is delusion to think that old age and death are conditioned by birth. Momentary birth feeds¹⁰⁹ old age.¹¹⁰ Deluded people are deceived by these external and internal formations.
7.10
Moreover, since everything from feelings to consciousness is nondual,¹¹¹ people are everything from being free from old age and death up to being free from conflict, and are devoid of concepts, devoid of thought, and without deception. In the same way, the life breath¹¹² and consciousness are like space, and thus have the same quality of being without conceptual thought. Not being deceived about that fact leads to being free from the two falsehoods of ignoble beings. Just as the realm of all phenomena is by nature devoid of affliction and unadulterated by old age and death, the eye consciousness is also unadulterated by everything from old age and death, deception, and desire, up to distress. Everything from the ear consciousness to the mental consciousness is also unadulterated by everything from old age and death, deception, and desire up to distress. Furthermore, the eye consciousness is also unadulterated by everything from old age and death, deception, and desire, up to distress. Feelings, perceptions, formations, and consciousnesses are also unadulterated, so they are devoid of everything from old age and death and deception, up to distress. Furthermore, the eye, from its aging up to its distress, lacks any connection. When observed as it really is, everything related to the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body, and the mind, from old age and death up to distress, lacks any connection. When observed as it really is, everything related to forms, from old age and death up to distress, lacks any connection. When observed as it really is, everything related to consciousness, from old age and death up to distress, is no different from the point¹¹³ of being free from attachment that is the state of annihilation. Everything related to the life breath and consciousness, from old age and death up to distress, is annihilated to the point of being free from attachment.
“Noble son, bodhisattvas should meditate on the aggregate of feeling in the same way as the aggregates related to feeling. Cultivating this acceptance of the fact that the feelings associated with the three times do not exist in the three realms and arise and disintegrate, and are impermanent, suffering, and empty, should be regarded as the bodhisattva’s acceptance that ripens and looks after all beings.
7.11
“Furthermore, noble son, bodhisattvas should cultivate this acceptance in order to properly analyze the aggregate of perception. What is the aggregate of perception? The six groups of perceptions consist of perceptions generated through eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, body contact, and mind contact. Eye contact is contact that includes the following three things: the eye, consciousness, and generation of the perception of forms. All perceptions originate through the condition of contact that includes those three. It is said that the correct application of the emptiness of formations across the three times to visible forms is that they are not created, are devoid of aspects, and are like a mass of foam. One should not understand the eye consciousness in terms of conceit about it coming and going somewhere. One should understand that the three realms are without location and groundless and that they are everything from being empty of the eye consciousness up to being empty of the mental consciousness. When perceptions of the six sense fields arise, there is feeling. When there is feeling, there are concepts. When there are concepts, there is conceit. When there is conceit, there is grasping. When grasping arises, everything up to distress fully arises. Therefore, bodhisattvas should cultivate acceptance in order to properly analyze perception.
“Bodhisattvas fully understand perception based on their complete understanding of contact that is related to the cultivation of acceptance. They completely understand cultivating that acceptance of the six groups of perception by cultivating the acceptance of everything up to mental perception, and that understanding has no concepts, no thoughts, and no approaching, grasping, manifestation, or attachment to things as real. They are not attached at all to the correct understanding that arises after cultivating the acceptance of the fact that all perceptions lack intrinsic nature and are completely annihilated. They understand that all perceptions related to the three realms and the three times are included in the realm of phenomena, which is groundless, baseless, without confusion, without disintegration,
7.12
without adoption, without rejection, and without dualistic activity, and their understanding is completely indestructible. When one does not even apprehend the mind that does not grasp at any perceptions, this is referred to as cultivating acceptance related to the method of pure conduct. Cultivating acceptance of the fact that all perceptions are impermanent, suffering, and empty should be regarded as the bodhisattvas’ acceptance that ripens and looks after all beings.
“Noble son, bodhisattvas should also cultivate acceptance that completely understands formations. What are formations? There are three types of formations: bodily formations, verbal formations, and mental formations. Bodily formations are the movements of inhalation and exhalation. Verbal formations are concepts and discrimination. Mental formations are perceptions and volition.
“Noble son, bodhisattvas should properly analyze the physical formations that are the movements of inhalation and exhalation. The entire body contains 92,000 or more than ninety-nine quintillion pores. Additionally, the entire body has openings the size of the most subtle particles numbering between 99,000 and 110,000. Since satiating a single pore of a flawless person is just like the movement of the breath through the 99,000 openings of all the pores of the entire body, it should be known as the entire movement of inhalation and exhalation called the breath moving through every pore. Bodhisattvas should cultivate acceptance in order to analyze the arising and destruction of the five aggregates related to the inhalation and exhalation through every opening.
“What are verbal formations? Concepts and discriminations arise and cease in a single moment, and for any moment on any given day 6,500,000 people will momentarily arise.¹¹⁴ Concepts, discriminations, and all of the five aggregates that arise for a moment, arise and cease for each of them.
7.13
Three types of feelings arise for each of the aggregates. Twelve limbs of origination arise for each feeling. Ninety-eight latent tendencies arise for each of those limbs of origination. Since all three realms arise for each of those latent tendencies, bodhisattvas should view conduct as the origin of the afflictions. These are the verbal formations.
“What are perceptions? Perceptions are the concepts, afflictions, and the afflictions caused by the marks associated with all the wrong views that are related to the movement of inhalation and exhalation.
“What is volition? Volitions, feelings, the aggregates, discriminations, the six sense faculties, and augmentations that surpass the one hundred powers of the afflictions that form the ground of attachment manifest in the time it takes to snap the fingers. More than one hundred that are the basis of anger manifest, more than one hundred that are the basis of delusion manifest, and more than one hundred afflictions related to particular types of behavior manifest. These, noble son, are physical, verbal, and mental volitions. Formations, examination, discrimination, and the movement of inhalation and exhalation are perceived by conceptual thought, and they are the foundation for the passing of thoughts and volitions with respect to perceptions. Thus, the nature of a bodhisattva’s existence and the three times is the body, speech, and mind.¹¹⁵
“Formations are insubstantial and inexhaustible, and the realm of phenomena is devoid of afflictions, so what need is there to arrive at the thorough understanding that the realm of phenomena is utterly pure? The fact that the characteristics of phenomena are completely pure means that one does not find characteristics, does not apprehend them, and they do not arise in the realm of phenomena. They do not accumulate in ultimate reality. The end of formations is the same in that one does not find or apprehend an end of formations and they do not cease. This is the ultimate reality of conceit toward the realm of phenomena.¹¹⁶ It is the end of all phenomena,
7.14
and what is the end for all phenomena is the end of the elimination of the three types of formation and the three times. This end is the end of the infinite and endless, the end of what does not follow afterward, and the end of impermanence. Such an end is the end of the equality of the three times; it is the end of the nonduality of the three times, of going to the end, and of the body, speech, and mind.¹¹⁷ The end of all three times is the end of the nonduality in ultimate reality of the three formations. It is the end of nothing whatsoever. It is the end of the nonduality of the complete understanding of contact. It is the end of being free from disintegration. In the same way, it is the end of the understanding of the movement of inhalation and exhalation. It is likewise the end of the twenty views, the end of concepts and discrimination, which are like a tala tree with the top cut off.¹¹⁸ It is the end of volitions that end in a moment and volitions in regard to nonattachment to perceptions. Understanding in this way is an understanding about the end of continuity in regard to the three formations, and it is in regard to this that there is arising with respect to objects and the nonexistence of objects.¹¹⁹ Furthermore, what is called transcending objects refers to the fact that all formations lack consciousness, and the fact that in regard to all formations duality and nonduality are free from engagement, accumulation, and increase in the realm of phenomena that is ultimate reality. In this respect, perfect understanding is the end of all formations’ lack of foundation, and it is free from reverence for the three times. This is the complete understanding of ultimate reality known as completely understanding all phenomena. This eliminates the three types of formations that make one circle in saṃsāra.
“Noble son, a bodhisattva who apprehends the sign that the three formations related to the three times are not eliminated grasps the cultivation of acceptance. Noble son, a bodhisattva who has abandoned the apprehension that the sign of the three types of formations is not eliminated cultivates the acceptance of nonduality. Therefore, noble son,
7.15
a bodhisattva should cultivate this acceptance that grasps the three times and the threefold formations as the acceptance by means of the method of perfect conduct for each being. Noble son, one should cultivate acceptance of the fact that formations are impermanent, suffering, empty, and lack a self. This should be regarded as the bodhisattvas’ cultivation of the acceptance that ripens and looks after beings.
“Noble son, what is the aggregate of the arising of consciousness? This refers to the consciousnesses of contact, such as those of the eye and the body, as they pertain to the six consciousnesses.¹²⁰ Furthermore, those six consciousnesses, such as that of the body, give rise to their respective conceptions and conceptualizations of what is established through contact in the three times, the consciousness that is due to arising in the three times, and what is established through consciousness related to the three times.¹²¹ When one apprehends and thinks about craving related to objects it leads to arguments over the doctrine of acceptance. Conceptualizing craving for the objects related to the eyes and forms leads to arguing over and completely abandoning acceptance. The torment that follows contact and feelings leads to destroying and completely abandoning acceptance in regard to the craving for objects. Fixating on the mental faculty leads to confusion and completely abandoning the acceptance in regard to the craving for the realm of perceptions. There is discord and one completely abandons the acceptance in regard to the craving for objects, which brings an end to the three times and the three types of formations. One holds fast to the marks of the three types of formations, completely abandons the acceptance related to craving for objects, and gets into arguments. Apprehending formations that have completely arisen, and completely abandoning the acceptance related to craving for objects, is the complete abandonment of any form of acceptance of the fact that there are no afflictions whatsoever in the realm of phenomena. Noble son, bodhisattvas cultivate the acceptance of the realm of phenomena devoid of afflictions and do not focus on the objects of the six collections of consciousness. This is the nature of cultivating acceptance, and it leads one to think about all objects as the coming together in the sphere of thought of entities that are like illusions.¹²²
7.16
“In this way, those who cultivate acceptance through individual methods of perfect conduct should exert themselves in the previous actions of the bodhisattvas. When bodhisattvas have carried out a detailed analysis and the root of supreme virtue has completely arisen, they move throughout space and do not focus their attention on, or become conceited about, the three times or all manner of formations. In this way, their cultivation of acceptance of discipline will expand. One may practice the mental consciousness correctly on any path in which the three times and all of the formations have fully arisen. Suchness is insubstantial. Bodhisattvas understand that they should not engage with the three times and formations or cultivate any and all such phenomena. They know that they are free from cultivation and are without tone, without language, and wordless. They know that they do not arise, do not cease, and have no characteristics. They know that they are not the different vehicles, they are not apprehended, they are without marks, and they are not completely isolated. They know that they are inexpressible, without avarice, utterly peaceful, free from momentary apprehension, utterly extinguished, groundless, utterly tranquil, utterly devoid of object, utterly without beneficence, and completely rootless. They know that they are not the sense faculties, they are utterly impure, and they are completely separate, utterly without antidote, devoid of marks and insubstantial, not at all stolen, utterly diffuse, and utterly insubstantial with respect to all phenomena. On this understanding, there is no agent, no subject who feels, no hearing, and there is no apprehender. Individual appearances are like a mirage, like the moon’s reflection in water, and like a reflected image; they have the nature of space and are utterly nonexistent.
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All phenomena lack a self. This is the basis of their defining characteristic, the characteristic they have in common, their single characteristic, and bodhisattvas regard all things as grounded in the absence of a defining characteristic. They regard all phenomena, including all the formations and everything that is experienced in the three times, as grounded in suchness. Moreover, since the nourishment given by the bodhisattvas spreads to all beings, this should be regarded as the acceptance that tames beings with light that travels throughout space.
“Noble son, bodhisattvas clear away afflictions in that way in order to cultivate the acceptance related to forms whenever they gently breathe in and out,¹²³ and their thoughts and wishes for all beings reach full bloom. All those acceptances completely transcend the qualities of the hearers and solitary buddhas. All those acceptances perfect the qualities of bodhisattva conduct. All those acceptances gather all the qualities of the teachings of the buddhas. All those acceptances are understood along with the teachings for which other traditions argue. All those acceptances are mindsets that destroy the dense darkness of ignorance. They induce delight in the teachings of the buddhas, they eliminate all obscurations and hindrances, they illuminate all the buddha realms, they instill faith in all the buddhas, they are the perfection of all the perfections, they revel in all the supernormal faculties, and they make one achieve the acceptance of absorptions and dhāraṇīs. This is the acceptance that tames beings with light that travels throughout space by means of various methods of perfect conduct.”
As the acceptance that tames beings with light that travels throughout space using each method of perfect conduct was being proclaimed and explained before the sage Seer, that bodhisattva’s repeated instruction led each and every being equal to the number of pores of all the beings in the ten directions, who are as numerous as all the grains of sand in 6,800,000 Ganges Rivers, to achieve the acceptances of taming beings with light that travels throughout space using each method of perfect conduct.
7.18
Thirty-one myriads¹²⁴ of bodhisattvas each attained the lord of meteors absorption;¹²⁵ 92,000,000 bodhisattvas each achieved the proceeding as a hero absorption. In short, as many bodhisattvas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges each achieved the gateway to the Dharma of acceptance of all manner of various and distinct dhāraṇīs and absorptions.
The Blessed One then uttered the words of this mantra:
pramadate¹²⁶ vijṛmbha utpatate utpatata utmatate jaḥ samvijṛmbha svāhā |
Ninety-eight sextillion gods each achieved the acceptance taming beings with light that travels through space using the perfect method of conduct for each one, and gods as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges each attained irreversible awakening.
The Blessed One then uttered the words of this mantra:
tadyathā | samudravate maruvate napini napini gauraveṣa deniṣadeni ivijasoha jabhiibheda saṅskarābhra svāhā |
As those words were being uttered, 77,000,000 nāgas each achieved this acceptance, and nāgas as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges attained irreversible awakening.
The Blessed One then uttered the words of this mantra:
tadyathā | janami bhāva subhāva subhāva subhāvo bhavavo bravovavakha gavākha gava vibhajayabhyo svāhā |
As those words were being uttered, 22,000,000,000 yakṣas entered the level of nonregression. One hundred thousand yakṣas reached the level of immeasurable nonregression, myriads of asuras entered the level of immeasurable nonregression, and a hundred billion garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas also entered the level of immeasurable nonregression.
7.19
After the Blessed One had uttered those words, the boundless great earths of the ten directions shook in six ways, and countless myriads of divine beings rained showers of divine flowers from the sky. All the assemblies of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans who had arrived in this buddha realm from countless myriads of buddha realms in the ten directions applauded in unison, and exclaimed, “Excellent, excellent! Blessed One, this explanation of acceptance of the fact that all bodies disintegrate and all sense objects disintegrate, and this exceptional exposition of the acceptance of the fact that the qualities of the four māras do not depend on anything else, is a great wonder that has never been heard of before! It leads to the conduct of the bodhisattva great beings and the accumulation of surpassingly excellent deeds at the places they are to be done. It reveals the acceptance that makes one obtain the entire precious treasure of the thirty-seven factors of awakening. It makes one realize all forms of omniscient wisdom. Explaining this cultivation of the acceptance of all aspects causes beings to attain great compassion—the inexpressible goal of the bodhisattva great beings. It reveals the acceptance related to diligence and power by which one accumulates skillful means and great wisdom that ripens all beings.”
Chapter 7
At that moment, the thus-gone one, the worthy, perfect, and completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, interrupted his absorption of the twenty meteors,
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adopted the form of a thus-gone one, and taught the Dharma to the beings. All the assemblies of gods, gandharvas, and humans also recovered their previous physical appearances. The Blessed One then entered the absorption known as the circle of saṃsāra, and as soon as he entered the circle of saṃsāra absorption, multicolored light rays radiated from the coil of hair between his eyebrows. The light rays illuminated the followers of the vehicle of the solitary buddhas in the buddha realms of the ten directions, numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges and inundated with the five impurities. As the bodies of those beings were touched by those light rays, they abandoned the fundamental ground of attachment, anger, and delusion, and their bodies became filled with bliss. Because of that light illuminating the four directions, they experienced the same levels of bliss and the same feelings as monks who have entered the second level of concentration. Through the power of the Buddha, they saw that the Thus-Gone One Śākyamuni and his assembly were not far away from them—approximately half a league away. They had intense faith, and solely through the power of the Buddha, they came before the Blessed One. The buddha fields of the ten directions that are inundated with the five impurities emptied, and eighty-four thousand myriads¹²⁷ of beings following the vehicle of the solitary buddhas arrived before Śākyamuni, prostrated at the Blessed One’s feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. The Blessed One then summoned the bodhisattvas who were hard to tame:
“Noble sons, foolish beings attached to objects
Constantly engage in activities of pleasure,
Are completely without understanding,
And do not know the path leading to happiness.
“They are covered by dense darkness,
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They do not cast off saṃsāra,
And they cling to the realm of lesser formations
And the five sense pleasures.
“Their life is one of intense craving,
And they drink from its poisoned waters.
They experience the reeling of suffering
Yet they have an intense craving for saṃsāra.
“They feed on flesh and blood
And remain within that wheel,
Circling again and again,
Without understanding its inexhaustible quality.¹²⁸
“Here, wealth is neither gained nor exhausted,
And treasures have no limit.
Abandoning nonvirtuous friends
Completely pacifies the suffering associated with marks.¹²⁹
“Those who are skilled in cultivating acceptance
Completely pacify all the afflictions,
Tame millions of living beings,
And obtain the four treasures.
“They establish suffering beings in happiness,
And they are like reflections of the moon in water.
Foremost among beings, they pass into nirvāṇa.”
The bodhisattva Skilled in Fragrances then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, will each of those noble sons and daughters obtain an abundance of fearlessness, and will each of them obtain the merit of fearlessness, inexhaustible insight, and inexhaustible eloquence?”
The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva Skilled in Fragrances, “Noble sons and daughters who understand not to pursue or cling to any formations regard all formations as without an owner, without causes and conditions, unestablished, and devoid of an agent.¹³⁰ They do not cling to the thoughts, concepts, or marks of all those formations, which are insubstantial, or to the excellent minor marks.¹³¹ They do not cling to the world in any way whatsoever. They do not cling to forms, sounds, smells, tastes, or tactile objects, and they do not grasp at the five sense pleasures. They will not be reborn in any state of existence. All those who are free from attachment will not be reborn. They are insubstantial and lack mental engagement.
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Those who are insubstantial and lack mental engagement are devoid of attachment. Those who are devoid of attachment are free from words. Those who are free from words are non-returners. Their minds are free from the countless formations associated with the three times and the three realms. Those who have attained the state in which phenomena do not arise and do not return understand the way in which phenomena are likenesses. They do not go, they do not come, and they are not attained. They do not cause any attachment whatsoever. They are not bound, they are not liberated, they do not remain, and they do not abide. They understand each and every phenomenon as the gateway to nonabiding, and they understand each and every phenomenon as the gateway to abiding. They know that freedom from death and rebirth depends on the realization of the Dharma. Since they do not depend on any phenomena, they are free from all the various types of phenomena. Since they are free from all the various types of phenomena, they are free from life forces, souls, persons, human beings, and individuals. Since they are free from life forces, souls, persons, human beings, and individuals, they never stray from voidness and emptiness. They regard all formations as limitless emptiness.
“Those noble sons meditate upon the mind because it is limitless emptiness, and each of them achieves the four inexhaustible armors. They become resources that one grasps as equal due to their inexhaustible nature.¹³² Since they ripen beings, their merit will be inexhaustible. They will teach the Dharma with inexhaustible eloquence. They will master wisdom through inexhaustible means. They reveal ultimate reality by accumulating the gateways to liberating beings in order to ripen beings. They understand that all phenomena lack a self, and they never give up ripening beings with the armor of great compassion. In every buddha realm they carry out the goal of ripening beings who are like the reflection of the moon in water. Since all phenomena lack a self,
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those skilled ones ripen beings by accomplishing the taming of beings while in a state of absorption. They will ford the river that permanently eliminates views regarding the life force, transmigration, souls, and persons. Since formations such as the physical, verbal, and mental formations of the three times are nonexistent, they will cross over the ocean of beings’ existence. This is known as demonstrating the unobstructed wisdom of the bodhisattvas.”
As this teaching was being delivered, 6,800,000,000,000 bodhisattvas attained further acceptance of phenomena, and 84,000,000,000,000 followers of the vehicle of the solitary buddhas gave rise to the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening, the mind set on the stage of nonregression, and each abided in that stage of nonregression.
The Blessed One then addressed the bodhisattva Regarded as a Friend, saying, “Noble son, whether or not the thus-gone ones appear in this world, the abiding nature of reality, the realm of phenomena, and phenomena themselves remain as follows: From what arises with ignorance as the condition up to the formations is nothing but a great mass of suffering. Furthermore, with the ceasing of ignorance up to the ceasing of formations, this great mass of suffering also ceases. In this way, by following the thus-gone ones, beings have realized this and attained awakening by means of the Dharma, and they will no longer propagate or proclaim other types of Dharma. When the thus-gone ones appear in the world, those worthy, perfect buddhas propagate and proclaim and teach the Dharma to beings. Those beings for whom there is no other truth then cross over the river of saṃsāra, and they each remain on the path that leads to peace, happiness, and nirvāṇa.”
As this proclamation was being delivered, myriads¹³³ of beings attained the immaculate absorption of the solitary buddhas and reached the vehicle of the solitary buddhas.