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The Teaching of the Armor Array

Translation of འཕགས་པ་ག་ཆའ་བཀད་པ་བསྟན་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད (འཕགས་པ་གོ་ཆའི་བཀོད་པ་བསྟན་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ)

Language
English
Translator
Timothy Hinkle
Extent
197 passages, 40,536 words
Text
complete digital text
Source
84000 · Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the patronage and supervision of 84000:… · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha). Shown whole and unaltered, with its notes, on a…

Contents

Text

84000's introduction

intro.1

The Teaching of the Armor Array describes a dialog between the Buddha Śākyamuni and the bodhisattva Anantamati. The sūtra is primarily concerned with the great armor, a quality related to the perfection of insight. As such, it is no conventional sort of armor. Rather, donning it involves giving up all grasping at phenomena, and engaging diligently on the path, with insight into the nature of phenomena. The Buddha and Anantamati also discuss the nature of the Great Vehicle and the great path, all the while emphasizing their emptiness and lack of marks.

intro.2

《被甲莊嚴經》是釋迦牟尼佛應無量意菩薩所問而宣說的經典。經文中的「被甲」意指精進之波羅蜜，而並非世俗的勤勞之意。披上它，代表斷除了對諸法的執念，也代表持有諸法實相之見地後在菩提道上勇猛精進地修行。佛陀與無量意菩薩在討論過程中也提及大乘的本質 ── 空性與諸法無相。

intro.3

The Teaching of the Armor Array takes place in Veṇuvana, the famous “Bamboo Grove” monastery on the outskirts of the ancient city of Rājagṛha, where the Buddha Śākyamuni and his community of monks took up residence during several rainy season retreats. This grove was offered to the Buddha by Bimbisāra, the king of Magadha, and it is a location where the Buddha is said to have taught numerous discourses. As is customary in sūtra literature, the Buddha delivers his Dharma teaching at the request of someone who poses a particular question. In this sūtra, the questioner is a bodhisattva named Anantamati, who asks the Buddha numerous questions about the Great Vehicle path, most notably about a type of metaphorical armor called the great armor. In his reply, the Buddha explains that donning the great armor has two dimensions: (1) a constant diligence in bodhisattva conduct in service to beings over countless eons, and (2) the relinquishment of any forms of objective fixation upon or apprehension of phenomena. As such, the great armor has both relative and ultimate aspects, a fact that various Tibetan commentators have also highlighted. Still, the great armor is primarily described as signless, formless, nonconceptual, and indescribable. It is precisely by virtue of not apprehending phenomena, the Buddha explains, that the great armor is able to shield its bearer. Given that it lies outside the limitations of conditioned existence, it offers protection from all conditioned forms of harm. Nevertheless, to describe its protective power, the Buddha draws significantly on various military analogies.

intro.4

Apart from the great armor, the sūtra also discusses the Great Vehicle and what it terms the great path. The Buddha emphasizes that the Great Vehicle can accommodate all beings easily due to its absolute nature, which accords with the realm of phenomena. As for the great path, it is likewise due to the absence of any apprehension of phenomena that it can be traversed. Thus, as with the great armor, the ultimate nature of the Great Vehicle and the great path is emphasized. It is precisely because of their relationship to the ultimate truth, namely that they rely and depend on nothing, that they can accommodate and transport all beings on the relative plane. To illustrate the value of the great armor, the Great Vehicle, and the great path, the Buddha recalls a past eon in which a universal monarch named Sarvārthasiddha renounced his kingdom to receive and accomplish these teachings. The sūtra concludes with the Buddha describing in detail how bodhisattvas should be free from conceptual activity to carry out unlimited conduct. He explains that only by observing nothing and relying on nothing will bodhisattvas be in accord with the realm of phenomena, and thus don the great armor.

intro.5

The Teaching of the Armor Array is the seventh sūtra among the forty-nine titles included in the Heap of Jewels (Skt. Ratnakūṭa) collection in the Degé Kangyur. Only a few of the texts contained in the Heap of Jewels are extant in Sanskrit, and this scripture is not one of them. The Tibetan translation, which we have rendered into English here, was completed in the early translation period and is listed in the early ninth-century Denkarma (Tib. ldan dkar ma) catalog.¹ However, unlike most of the sūtras translated at the time, this text was translated from Chinese rather than Sanskrit. While the Degé edition of the Kangyur does not specify a translator, the Narthang edition states that it was translated from the Chinese by Gö Chödrup (ca. 755–849), who was a prolific Sino-Tibetan translator active in the Dunhuang region during the ninth century. Besides rendering The Armor Array into Tibetan, he also translated many other sūtras and dhāraṇīs from Chinese. The Chinese canon contains only one translation of The Armor Array (Bei jia zhuangyan hui, 被甲莊嚴會, Taishō 310 [7]), constituting the seventh text in the full Chinese translation of the Heap of Jewels, which was produced during the early eighth century ce by Bodhiruci (d. 727), a renowned translator from South India (who is not to be confused with another famous Indian translator of the same name who was active in China two centuries earlier). This Bodhiruci is responsible for translating much of the Heap of Jewels collection, among other texts, into Chinese.²

intro.6

In Tibet, The Armor Array has been cited by several Tibetan masters in their presentations of the six perfections. For example, Longchen Rabjam (1308–64) refers to The Armor Array as scriptural evidence that liberation comes swiftly when skillful means is merged with insight into the nature of phenomena.³ Pawo Tsuklak Trengwa (1504–66) cites the sūtra in his renowned commentary on the Bodhi­caryāvatāra as part of his explanation of armor-like discipline.⁴ The text was also cited by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal (1511–87) as an Indic source of Mahāmudrā teachings.⁵ Although the sūtra has been cited by Tibetan scholars of many traditions, to our knowledge the text has not previously received any attention in modern scholarship.

intro.7

This English translation has been produced based on the Degé block print with reference to the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma). Subsequently, the translation and the Tibetan sources were compared with the Chinese translation and the English translation was edited in light of this comparison.⁶

1.1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in Veṇuvana, at the Kalandakanivāpa, near Rājagṛha, together with his great community of monks and bodhisattva great beings, all of whom had gathered from myriad buddha fields. This immeasurably large assembly had gathered around the Blessed One and was respectfully serving and honoring him. Among those included in the assembly at that time was a bodhisattva great being named Anantamati. He rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. With his palms together, he bowed toward the Blessed One and said, “Blessed One, I have a few doubts. If I were to ask the Thus-Gone One some questions, would he be so kind as to teach me?”

The bodhisattva great being Anantamati then spoke the following verses:

“O Great Heroic Being,
You are unequalled in the universe!
For the sake of beings,
I would like to ask a few questions.

“Without rising from your lion seat,
Your body pervades the ten directions.
No teachers of divergent doctrines
Are able to move you.

“The treasure of your knowledge has no limits.
Your strengths as well are immeasurable.
Each of the Blessed One’s strengths
Liberates the entire world.

“You abide well in omniscience,
And in the ten powers.
O great and fearless Lion,
You are the incomparable head of the victors.

1.2

“Because the Thus-Gone One
Masters eighteen unique qualities,
You illuminate the universe
And defeat non-Buddhists.

“Because you comprehend all phenomena,
You are therefore unexcelled.
Of you, the unimpaired guide,
I would like to pose some questions.

“Your immaculate knowledge is endless.
Your knowledge is like an unmoving ocean.
Your knowledge is unimpeded by objects.
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“O Blessed One, given your excellent practice,
You have no doubt about the path.
You are the great guide who abides in bliss.
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“You have crossed over the turbulent currents,
Severed all fetters,
And removed the poisonous arrows.
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“You have cracked the eggshell of ignorance, and
Quelled the heat of the afflictions;
And you abide in the cool state.
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“The unsurpassed wisdom of fearlessness,
The unimpeded and boundless wisdom,
And the knowledge of the ocean of Dharma—
All this the Thus-Gone One has realized.

“O Buddha, with your immeasurable qualities
You have perfected your direct knowledge,
Eliminated all defilements,
And defeated afflictions and views.

“O Blessed One, you have accumulated
Many immeasurable qualities,
And you are the boundless Dharma Lord.
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“O Blessed One, with your supreme knowledge,
You illuminate the entire universe.
As you reveal the light of Dharma,
The ocean of your qualities knows no bounds.

“You illuminate the entire universe
With the light of the Guide’s teachings.
Thus, the universe is illuminated by
The light of the Dharma of the Buddha.

“O Knower of the entire ocean of Dharma,
Your eloquence is unsurpassed,
Your diligence is boundless,
And you are pure, having abandoned views.

“Because your buddha eyes are boundless,
There is no end to their objects of knowledge.
You are the incomparable lord of the universe.
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“O Dharma King, Great Sage,
You dispel the doubts of beings.
If I inquire of you, our Guide,
Please answer according to my intentions.

1.3

“As I investigate everywhere,
In the heavens above and among humanity,
There are none who can equal the Thus-Gone One’s
All-pervading brilliance.

“You are a great being, fully adorned
And stable in all good qualities.
You are boundless—the King of Dharma,
The most brilliant among the sages.

“Just as Mount Kailash
Is a place arrayed with all kinds of jewels,
So the Blessed One, sitting upon the Dharma seat,
Is likewise arrayed.

“With the finest voice⁷ and extraordinary diligence,
You teach in pleasing tones.
When beings hear your teaching,
Their roots of virtue are purified.

“O Blessed One, most superior among humanity,⁸
You shine the light of Dharma,
And so the minds of all beings
Are awakened according to their wishes.

“O Guide, you know the time and assembly,
And you also understand people.
Thus, as you reveal the light of Dharma,
You are wise in your understanding of time.

“Brahmā Voice with extraordinary diligence,
Please grace us with your pure speech.
Fill us with the moisture of Dharma,
Like a great rain falling upon the earth.

“O Blessed One abiding amidst this assembly,
Once the rain of Dharma falls,
It will satisfy all beings
Who put their hopes in this Dharma.

“As you dwell in supreme happiness,
You are like a king dwelling on Mount Meru.
You make gifts to all beings,
And you delight many of them.

“O Great Hero, Chief of Humans,
Because your domain is boundless,
No being whatsoever
Can understand it.

“O unfathomable Great Being,
This harmoniously gathered assembly
Relies upon the Great Sage
To pursue the domain of buddhahood.

“In order to proceed to the domain of buddhahood,
I have come to this gathering.
O Guide, with your unimpeded knowledge,
How can we become awakened quickly?

“Following that intention,
Gazing on your face, I wish to ask—
O Blessed One, please be compassionate,
And settle all my doubts.

“When one hears the unsurpassed Dharma,
It absolutely delights the mind,

1.4

Filling the body with bliss,
And rending all the nets of various doubts.

“O Dharma King, unsurpassed leader,
Omniscient One who has no fear,
Knower and seer of all,
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“Buddha, with regard to all phenomena,
You do not possess the slightest bit of doubt.
You are a great and diligent guide.
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“You are an unsurpassed destroyer of doubts,
Who has no doubt regarding the Dharma.
You are a boundless ocean of qualities.⁹
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“You radiate a boundless light,
And you have boundless qualities
And boundless pure knowledge.
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“You have boundless diligence and knowledge,
Knowledge that is boundless in scope,
And knowledge that brings boundless benefits.
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“O Blessed One, your knowledge knows no bounds,
It is beyond both limits and limitlessness.
It can dispel all doubts.
Of you I wish to ask some questions.

“O boundless Lord of Dharma,
Please listen compassionately to my request.
If I ask with your consent,
Great Sage, please answer.

“Omniscient One, chieftain of the Śākyas,
Renowned Being, I make this request to you.
Please give your compassionate consent
And cut through the web of doubt.”

The Blessed One then addressed the bodhisattva great being Anantamati, saying, “Anantamati, since you have now asked me so fervently, how many questions do you intend to ask the Thus-Gone One? If you have any questions, I will answer them.”

The Blessed One then spoke the following verses:

“Anantamati, what sort of questions
Would you like to ask me?
You should ask them all,
And I will explain well.

“Once you have clearly described
Each of the questions you ask,
I will swiftly answer them,
According to your hopes and wishes.

“I will explain to you
Everything, without any doubt.
Just as you wish,

1.5

I will appropriately answer your requests.

“Today you are asking timely questions,
For my answers accord with time and purpose.
Because you have asked at the right time,
I will certainly answer.

“So, ask your questions
As you have intended,
And I will answer
All of them appropriately.

“Today, ask your timely questions,
And I will give you timely answers.
Since they cut through the web of doubt,
You will become free from doubt.

“Because I have become the Lord of Dharma,
I have realized the ultimate meaning.
I have reached the end of doubt
Regarding all phenomena.

“As I have fully awakened to all phenomena,
This is difficult to conceptualize.
I now teach based on the issues
That accord with beings’ wishes.

“For me, there are no impediments
With regard to any phenomenon.
Thus, when there is a timely question,
I am one to swiftly answer it.

“Because I answer in a timely fashion,
And because I have no doubts,
In accordance with someone’s wishes,
I can eliminate their doubts.

“I always know the different times,
The intentions of those gathered in the assembly,
And the diverse intentions
Of all beings.

“I also continuously investigate
All beings,
What they desire and do not desire—
These I all see clearly.

“Whenever the wise
Are going to accomplish something positive,
I give them the authentic Dharma,
Which is timely and creates understanding.

“The foolish, however,
Deluded and disturbed by their ignorance,
Lack the illumination of insight,
And so do not respect the authentic teaching.

“Whenever one lacks respect,
One will not pursue the authentic teaching.
And even if one hears this teaching,
It will not produce any great insight.

“If those who are skilled in the Dharma
Are inspired by it, and pursue it,
And come to hear this teaching,
They will achieve the wisdom of the highest illumination.

“Those who are interested in the Great Vehicle,
Seek out the most honored of humans,
And listen to this Dharma
Will obtain great, luminous wisdom.

“Those who proceed toward
The unsurpassed wisdom of buddhahood
And inconceivable wisdom

1.6

Will perfect them through hearing.

Those who delight in unobstructed wisdom,
And who seek out the Supremely Exalted One,
Will obtain great benefit
When they hear this Dharma.¹⁰

“When those who trust in boundless wisdom,
Who seek the inconceivable,
Hear this teaching,
They will achieve unsurpassed wisdom.

“Those beings
Who seek the Buddha’s site of awakening,
And who desire to turn the unsurpassed wheel,
Will be delighted to hear this teaching.

“When those who delight in diligence
And who venerate and esteem the Dharma
Hear this Dharma teaching free from contamination,
They will become elated and joyful.

“If there are beings
Who delight in excellent practice,
Then by means of the illumination of Dharma,
I will teach them the unsurpassed Dharma.

“When those who shoulder a heavy burden
And unrestrictedly spur themselves to practice
Hear this Dharma teaching,
They will be filled with happiness.

“When those who are inspired
Contemplate virtuous qualities,
I will teach them elaborately,
Absorbed in thoughts of love for them.

“Because of my love for all of you,
I will certainly
Destroy your doubts,
In accordance with your request.

“As I myself cultivated skillful means
Over thousands of years
And dispelled my doubts,
I fully know your wishes.

“If you have any doubts,
Ask whatever you wish.
By answering you,
I will cut through your doubts.

“If you have any doubts,
Ask whatever you wish.
I will answer you fully,
According to your inclination.

“If you have any doubts,
Ask whatever you wish.
For I have attained stillness,
Through stability in the Dharma.”

The bodhisattva great being Anantamati then said to the Blessed One, “I would like to ask the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha about a few doubts I have concerning the Bodhisattva Vehicle. How is it that virtuous beings, having distanced themselves from fear, with single-pointed, correct mindfulness, don the great armor for the sake of all sentient beings

1.7

, adorn themselves with the great armor, generate great love and act respectfully, and carefully mount the Great Vehicle, taking the level and straight road of great purity—free from bumps, tiles, stones, thorns, the miscellaneous rubbish of the various evils, and the thickets of the various views, free from poisonous thorns and the pitfalls of the afflictions, free from bondage, attachment, fear, and hardship—proceeding straight ahead with no deviations on the level road of suchness, the unobstructed road, cutting down the thickets of the various views, tearing all snares, driving away darkness and obscurity, dispelling attachment, and abandoning involvement, and thus proceeding toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening? These are the points that I would like to ask the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha. What kind of great beings must don what sort of armor, so that, by donning this armor, they mount the Great Vehicle and set out upon this great path? Blessed One, you should explain the bodhisattva great beings’ array of armor, how they abide stably on the path, abide stably in the principle of phenomena, and are skilled in the principle of phenomena; and how, due to abiding in this skill, they are capable of skillfully illuminating the principle of various phenomena. Having illuminated phenomena, without abandoning the armor, they mount the Great Vehicle, and with the power of irreversible diligence, mindfulness free from forgetfulness, and the power of continuous insight, they swiftly accomplish skilled insight into the principle of the realm of phenomena, go to the site of awakening,

1.8

turn the wheel of Dharma, and preach Dharma to various sentient beings, so that all sentient beings are liberated from birth and death according to their wishes and inclinations.

“Blessed One, it is for the sake of benefitting beings and bringing them happiness through the Great Vehicle that I am asking the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect Buddha about this. Blessed One, given that the Thus-Gone One knows and sees all, please reveal to us the teaching through which bodhisattva great beings accomplish the absorption of the oceanic seal of all phenomena and, by the power of attaining that absorption, remain irreversible until they fully awaken to buddhahood. Blessed One, the knowledge and vision of the Thus-Gone One possess amazing and marvelous qualities of a perfect nature. They are medicinal insight for the knowledge of all beings. Therefore, it is for that reason that I am making this request.”

The bodhisattva great being Anantamati then spoke the following verses:

“For the sake of the bodhisattvas,
I ask the Chief of Humans,
The all-knowing and all-seeing one,
The profound meaning of the buddha qualities.

“In which absorption
Do practitioners of the Great Vehicle endeavor?
It is to heal all beings
That I am asking these questions.

“In what way do sublime beings
Don the boundless armor?
And having donned that armor,
How do they endeavor?

“How do they arouse interest?
How do they come to relish it?
How do they become greatly diligent?
How do they become conscientious?

“How do bodhisattvas

1.9

Mount the Great Vehicle?
Once they have realized this, what do they do?
Please explain these points.

“How do they mount the Great Vehicle
And proceed upon the bodhisattva path?
O Guide of the World, out of your compassion,
Please swiftly answer me!

“How, on the path of evenness,
Do they proceed toward impartiality?
Within the thicket of the various views,
How do they persevere in cutting them down without becoming weary?

“How do they act to pass beyond
All sense objects?
How do they rend the web of desire
Through the means of impartiality?

“How do they dispel all darkness
And attain the illumination of great knowledge?
How do bodhisattvas
Proceed toward this?

“How do they abandon many fetters
Through discrimination?
How do bodhisattvas
Abide well, free from bonds?

“How do bodhisattvas
Escape from the great fears?
And becoming learned in the meaning of the Dharma,
How do they proceed toward the unsurpassed?

“What type of boundless armor
Do bodhisattvas wear,
Such that, by donning such armor,
They mount this Great Vehicle?

“How do bodhisattvas
Proceed upon the path of evenness?
Please, Blessed One,
Answer these questions I have asked today!

“How do bodhisattvas
Obtain the armor array
And adorn the unsurpassed vehicle?
O Blessed One, please explain!

“Abiding on this path,
And the adornments of the path,
As well as skill in all phenomena—
O Blessed One, please explain these!

“How can one realize
The principle of the realm of phenomena
And the illumination of skill in phenomena—
O Blessed One, please explain this!

“How do bodhisattvas
Obtain this illumination of Dharma

1.10

And exhaust all phenomena?
O Blessed One, please explain this!

“How do bodhisattvas,
Having obtained the illumination of Dharma,
Proceed accordingly,
Without abandoning the great armor?

“How do bodhisattvas
Mount the Great Vehicle
And proceed accordingly,
Without regressing in their diligence?

“How do bodhisattvas
Gain stability in their intent,
And through the power of insight,
Become highly trained?

“How do they gain attainment
Through skill in the principle of the realm of phenomena?
O inconceivable King of Dharma,
Blessed One, please explain!

“How do they, with great haste,
Progress to the site of awakening
And turn the great wheel of Brahmā,
Which none in the world are capable of turning?

“How is it that, without wavering,
They give teachings on all phenomena,
For the sake of all beings,
In accordance with their past aspirations?

“And with these teachings on all phenomena,
How do they liberate beings from birth and death,
And cause all beings
To ultimately obtain happiness?

“For the sake of benefiting beings,
I beseech the Guide of the World,
May the all-knowing and all-seeing one
Compassionately explain these things to me.

“Through what sort of Dharma
Do you bring bodhisattvas to the accomplishment
Of the absorption that seals
The great ocean of all phenomena?

“Whoever is interested the seeking the buddha qualities,
And yearns for great awakening,
When they hear this Dharma teaching,
Their entire body will be filled with happiness.”

The Blessed One responded to the bodhisattva great being Anantamati, “Excellent, excellent! Anantamati, you have venerated and served an immeasurable number of buddhas in the past. Because you have produced roots of virtue and accumulated countless qualities, you now yearn for this profound Dharma.

1.11

Now, with the great resolve and desire to bring all beings to accomplishment, you have aroused great compassion and asked these questions of the Thus-Gone One. Listen well and bear what I say in mind. I will now genuinely explain to you how bodhisattva great beings accomplish their qualities and how they proceed toward unsurpassed, perfect, and complete awakening.”

“Blessed One, I shall listen in that manner.”

The Blessed One then addressed the bodhisattva great being Anantamati, “Anantamati, bodhisattva great beings who don the great armor for the sake of unsurpassed and perfect awakening must don the great armor to gather beings. They must don the great armor to establish beings in pure generosity. They must don the great armor to establish beings in pure discipline. They must don the great armor to establish beings in pure patience. They must don the great armor to establish beings in pure diligence. They must don the great armor to establish beings in pure concentration. They must don the great armor to establish beings in pure insight. They must don the great armor for beings to achieve happiness. They must don the great armor to develop the mind that engages in benefitting sentient beings. They must don the great armor to remedy the sicknesses of attachment, aggression, and ignorance in beings. They must don the great armor to skillfully accomplish great qualities. They must don the great armor to perfect unsurpassed wisdom. They must don the great armor to protect beings from the dangers of saṃsāra.

1.12

They must don the great armor out of the desire to manifest the perfection of unequalled wisdom. They must don the great armor to oppose all māras and their retinues, messengers, and henchmen, as well as all those who have adopted the non-Buddhist teachings and are lost in the thicket of views and on terrifying paths, as well as all lokāyatas and others who agree with the non-Buddhist traditions throughout the great trichiliocosm.

“When bodhisattva great beings have donned the great armor in this fashion, then, by not abandoning the armor, they develop great diligence and are capable of entering into all the realms of sentient beings. Abiding stably in patience, they abandon fear; and without fear, anxiety, wavering, or disturbance, they again don the boundless armor. This armor is an armor that protects all beings, an armor that cuts through the thicket of all views, an armor that defeats the forces of Māra, an armor that embraces insight, an armor that is a boundless bridge, an armor that liberates from heavy burdens, an armor that develops pure faith, an armor that observes discipline, an armor that purifies the storehouse of action, an armor that is a powerful treasury that purifies everything, an armor that is a treasury of skillful means, an armor that eliminates all clinging, and an armor of irreversible, irreproachable insight. Bodhisattva great beings who have donned such great armor, and who do not abandon it until the end of saṃsāra has been reached, will never waver from the stability of their strong diligence as they proceed toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening.”

The Blessed One then spoke the following verses:

“Bodhisattvas must don the armor
In order to gather beings.
The armor they don is limitless,
Because beings are limitless.

1.13

“In order to purify generosity,
They delight everyone.
In order to benefit beings,
They must don the armor.

“In order to purify discipline,
They must don the armor, which benefits the world.¹¹
In order to benefit beings,
They must don the armor.

“In order to purify patience,
They are heroic and abide in virtue.¹²
In order to benefit beings,
They don the armor.

“In order to purify diligence,
They accomplish irreversibility.
In order to benefit beings,
They don the armor.

“In order to purify concentration,
The scope of their activities must also be pure.
In order to benefit beings,
They don the armor.

“In order to purify insight,
It is unsurpassed and undefiled.
In order to benefit beings,
They must don this armor.

“To all sentient beings,
They must give pleasing things;
Because they understand this point well,
They don this armor.

“Because it is necessary for bodhisattvas
To supply beings with beneficial things,
They enter all worlds
With the four pure means of gathering.

“In order for them to utilize the antidotes
For the diseases of attachment, aggression, and ignorance,
They give beings medicine
That heals their sicknesses.

“Therefore, bodhisattvas
Will don well the armor.
Through the accumulation of merit,
They achieve boundless skill.

“Because the miserable suffering of saṃsāra
Makes beings unhappy,
Bodhisattvas must don the boundless armor,
Thinking, ‘I will protect them.’

“Thinking, ‘I will liberate them
From the immeasurable suffering of saṃsāra,’
They will completely cut free
All those trapped by the webs of attachment and views.¹³

“Those who are capable of rending
This entire web of affliction
Wear the armor of heroes,
With the strength of stable diligence.

“They must establish all beings
On the path of happiness,
And in the pursuit of nirvāṇa,

1.14

As well as in unsurpassed happiness.

“Those who wear this armor
With the strength of great diligence
Will be able to oppose all māras
Without becoming exhausted.

“As for those materialists, and so forth,
Who are dwelling in views,
And who have become immersed in that thicket—
For them they must don the armor and be of help.

“Moreover, they must don the armor
In order to benefit anyone
In their immeasurable assembly
Who has strayed from the path.

“Having donned such great armor,
Without ever abandoning it,
If they arouse the strength of great diligence,
Then by donning the armor they attain supreme stability.¹⁴

“Entering into the realms of beings,
And abiding there with patience,
They accomplish stable patience.
Donning the armor, they are unsurpassed.

“Totally abandoning fears,
And also eliminating anxieties,
Those who don the boundless armor
Must practice with the highest diligence.

“Since those who possess this armor
Will always gain authentic understanding,
And never waver from quiescence,
They cannot be perturbed or reversed.

“Having donned such armor,
Those who are intelligent must further don
The armor that protects beings,
And the armor that destroys the māras.

“They must don the complete armor
That is a boundless bridge.
Those who are heroic and possesses superior wisdom
Who wear that armor will find happiness.

“Having donned the unsurpassed armor
In order to discard the heavy burden,
They must turn toward all beings
And liberate them from the burden of suffering.

“Those who increase pure faith,
Restrain the six sense faculties,
And possess discipline
Are unsurpassed in donning this armor.

“Accomplishing heroic wisdom,
Bodhisattvas are capable of abiding
In the deportment that accords with discipline,
Unmoving in donning this armor.

“Within the assemblies of the Victors of the past,
They engaged in the pure practice of various activities.
Thus donning the armor,
They are constantly fearless.

“Due to their fondness for beings
And because they benefit the world,

1.15

They have realized skillful means,
And thus they abide well in donning this armor.

“Bodhisattvas realize
The knowledge of skillful means.
Therefore, they don the armor
And cut all bonds.

“They discard all clinging,
And with correct faith, they never turn their backs.
These intelligent, armored ones
Will proceed to unsurpassed awakening.

“Bodhisattvas are able to ascertain
What is beneficial to themselves and beneficial to others.
Well-endowed with diligent effort,
They are stable and irreversible.

“Anantamati, moreover, the armor of these bodhisattva great beings—who for immeasurable eons shoulder the great burden and don the great armor—is invisible to māras, their assemblies, and messengers, and to those wicked beings who live in the thickets and harsh deserts of wrong views. Why is this? This is because it is formless and indescribable; because it has no counterpart and no marks; and because—its marks having been discarded—it is free from marks, names, and words.

“Anantamati, if arrows the size of Mount Meru were shot at it, none would be able to strike it. Even if all the beings in the worlds of the great trichiliocosm were to become māra kings with legions of māra forces at their command, and they all simultaneously shot pointed arrows the size of Mount Meru at it, they could never break through the armor donned by the bodhisattva great beings. They would not be able to harm even a single hair on the bodies of its wearers. If they lack the power to cause even a change of mind in bodhisattva great beings, need we say anything about their ability to harm them in actuality? Any bodhisattva great being who one-pointedly tames them will scatter and eliminate many māras.

2.2

Because they are capable of abiding unwaveringly in such armor, all beings are unable to harm them. Why is this? Because this armor has no marks, it is not an object that can be perceived with the vision of sentient beings, and therefore all beings are incapable of seeing or comprehending it. Because bodhisattva great beings have understood all phenomena, they can truly see and comprehend the donning of the great armor. In order to protect all beings, they do not cling to any phenomenon. In order to benefit beings, they do not apprehend any phenomenon. Therefore, no beings can see or comprehend this armor.

“Because there are no formal characteristics, nor anything describable, nor any identifying words that can be used to describe the armor that they wear, it is not associated with form. Nor is it associated with feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness. It is associated with neither the inner nor the outer. Furthermore, it is associated neither with both inner and outer, nor with neither inner nor outer. It is not associated with the elements. It is not associated with the sense fields. It is not associated with the earth element, or with the elements of water, fire, wind, space, or consciousness. It is not associated with the desire realm. It is also not associated with the form or formless realms. It is not associated with conditioned phenomena. It is not associated with unconditioned phenomena. It is not associated with either conditioned or unconditioned phenomena.

2.3

It is not associated with phenomena that are not conditioned or unconditioned. It is not associated with the level of hearers. It is not associated with the level of solitary buddhas. It is not associated with the level of buddhas. It is not associated with verbal expressions. It is not associated with the causes of form. It is not associated with the characteristics of form. It is also not associated with the causes of feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness. It is also not associated with the characteristics of feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness. It is also not associated with characteristics or noncharacteristics. It is not associated with all phenomena, nor is it dissociated from them. It has no bondage. It has no liberation. It cannot be known through enumeration or analogy, because all phenomena are beyond enumeration.

“Such an armor does not apprehend the view of all phenomena. It does not apprehend the view of form. It does not apprehend the view of feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness. It does not apprehend the view of even the smallest phenomenon. It is not associated with form, nor is it dissociated from it. It is not associated with feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness, nor is it dissociated from them. It has entirely abandoned any association with or dissociation from any phenomenon.

“Likewise, such an armor is not created, because it has no creator.

2.4

It is also without marks, because marks are nonexistent. It has no marks of dwelling in a place, no marks of being conditioned, no conceptualization, no movement, no contact with objects, and no nature that can be observed. Moreover, no one who dons the armor can be apprehended. Why is this? When bodhisattva great beings truly don this armor, they do not see that there is someone who dons armor, that armor is donned in some place, or that armor is donned from somewhere. They do not see that there is a self capable of donning armor, nor do they see an armor that is donned by a self. They also do not see that armor is donned in this place, or that armor is donned in that place. They also do not see any sentient beings for whose sake such armor is donned, because they do not course in or see¹⁵ any phenomenon. When the bodhisattva great beings don such armor, they don the armor that has been donned by the thus-gone ones, so they do not apprehend a body, they do not apprehend speech, and they do not apprehend a mind. Therefore, since they do not apprehend, they have abandoned all concepts. If any bodhisattva great being were to dwell on even the smallest phenomenon or apprehend even the smallest phenomenon, they could not be said to have donned the armor, to don the armor, or to be donning the armor. However, once they transcend those mind states, it can be said that they have donned the great and inconceivable armor.

“Bodhisattva great beings do not don the great armor merely for a few beings. They do not don the great armor merely for the beings of one eon. They do not don the great armor merely for the beings of hundreds of thousands of eons, millions of eons, or billions of eons.

2.5

They don the great armor for the beings of immeasurable, countless eons. Therefore, it is said that they don an immeasurably great armor.

“When bodhisattva great beings truly don the armor, they are donning armor that does not abide in any perception of beings. They are donning armor that does not create any perception of beings, that abandons any perception of beings, that eliminates any perception of self, that understands beings’ nature, that understands the nature of self, and that transcends perception and feeling. It is an armor that knows all phenomena to be marked as uncreated, an armor of the mark of emptiness, an armor of the mark of marklessness, and an armor of the mark of wishlessness. It is an armor that understands all phenomena to be marked as unborn, and an armor of the mark of noncessation. It is an armor that understands all phenomena to be marked as possessing different natures, and an armor of the mark of the absence of different natures. It is an armor that understands all phenomena to be marked as entities, and an armor of the mark of the absence of entities.

“Anantamati, if armor is donned while dwelling on entities, this cannot ultimately be said to be donning the great armor. In this fashion, bodhisattva great beings pursue great wisdom without dwelling upon entities. Therefore, it is called donning the great armor.”

The Blessed One then expressed this in verse:

“After donning the great, boundless armor
For countless thousands of eons,
They will liberate all beings,
Without exception, from suffering.

“One who wears such great armor
Will be invisible to
Māras, their forces,
And their henchmen.

“To other beings
Who are lost in the thicket of views,
This inconceivable armor
Is also invisible.

“Formless, colorless,

2.6

Indescribable, and without any counterpart—
This armor is inconceivable.
Therefore, it cannot be seen with the eyes.

“Without names or marks,
All marks have been abandoned.
This armor has no bounds;
Therefore, there are no one who can perceive it through marks.

“Even if a razor-sharp arrow
The size of Mount Meru were shot at it,
The arrow itself would shatter upon contact
With this inconceivable armor they wear.

“Even if all māras in the universe
Were to hurl arrows the size of Mount Meru
At this great armor they wear,
And they landed all at once,

“This great armor would not be damaged—
Nor would even a single bodily hair.
This inconceivable armor they wear
Cannot be destroyed by anything.

“Thus, the bodhisattvas
Are unchanging both physically and mentally.
Who could shake or move
Those who don this inconceivable armor?

“With merely a single thought,
They defeat many māras.
Thus, these inconceivable bodhisattvas
Can turn back hordes of māras.

“This sort of great armor
Will never be shaken.
Thus, there are no beings whatsoever
Who are able to perceive it.

“There are no beings at all
Who can fathom the characteristics of this armor.
Thus, there are no beings whatsoever
Who can perceive it with their eyes.

“Bodhisattvas provide support,
They are able to know all phenomena,
And they are like indestructible vajras—
Thus, they don the armor well.

“They do not have contact with any phenomenon,
They protect beings,
And they accord with the Dharma teachings of the buddhas—
Thus do they don the armor well.

“In this armor there is nothing that can be grasped.
According with all phenomena,
This armor is inconceivable—
Thus do they don the armor well.

“In this armor there is nothing that can be described;
It purifies all phenomena.
As all phenomena are beyond words and speech,
There are none who can describe it.

“It is associated neither with form
Nor with feeling.
It is not associated or combined with
Perception, formation, or consciousness.

2.7

“It is not associated with the inner;
It is not associated with the outer.
It is not associated or combined with
Either inner or outer.

“It is not associated with the elements,
Nor with the sense sources.
It also is not combined with
The elements or the sense sources.

“It is not associated with the earth element,
Nor with the water element.
It is not associated or combined with
The elements of fire, wind, space, or consciousness.

“It is not associated with the desire realm,
Nor with the form realm.
It is not associated or combined with
The formless realm either.

“It apprehends nothing,
And is not associated or combined with
Conditioned phenomena
Or unconditioned phenomena.

“This inconceivable armor they don
Has no abiding and no combining, and
No bondage and no liberation;
And there is nothing with which it is not associated.

“Because the scope of this armor is boundless,
It is not associated or combined with
The level of the hearers
Or the level of the solitary buddhas.

“It entirely does not associate with
And entirely does not combine with
Even the level of buddhahood,
Or any other phenomenon.

“No type of verbal expression
Could capture it whatsoever.
This boundless armor
Has no essence and is difficult to conceive of.

“It is not associated with nor dissociated from
Any phenomenon at all.¹⁶
This inconceivable armor
Transcends all enumeration.

“Because this armor is unsurpassed,
It has no bondage or liberation.
It has none of the marks of form, feeling, perception,
Formation, or consciousness.

“It is not associated or combined with
Any of those marks.
It is neither associated with nor dissociated from
The marks of any phenomenon.
It also is not associated or combined with
The absence of marks.

“Because this armor is unsurpassed,
It has no bondage and no liberation.

2.8

Among all phenomena,
It does not fall into any enumerations of phenomena.

“This armor cannot be apprehended
Among any phenomena.
Thus, it is said to be unsurpassed
And inconceivable.

“This armor has no form,
Nor any feeling or perception;
It has no formation and no consciousness—
It is not included among the aggregates.

“Any heroic beings
Who don such armor
Will apprehend nothing in either body or mind,
And will behold not even the slightest phenomenon.

“Because they have gone beyond critical analysis,
They abide stably with pure minds,
And they are constantly undaunted,
They are called inconceivable.

“They are totally stable in this armor,
And their minds are unshakable.
Because they do not count the number of eons,¹⁷
They are called inconceivable.

“Because this armor is without measure
And does not appropriate phenomena or nonphenomena,
There is no measure to its duration;
Thus, it is called immeasurable.

“It neither arouses the perception of beings,
Nor does it entertain the perception of a self.
Because it understands this perception,
No perception will arise.

“It also understands all phenomena,
And the complete lack of marks of phenomena.
Thus, anyone who wears this armor
Is called inconceivable.

“Moreover, Anantamati, because it is invincible, this limitless great armor is also called the arrayed adornments of the exalted Dharma. It is also called the supreme. Because it cannot be divided into even the smallest phenomenon, it is called the indivisibility of all phenomena. Any bodhisattva great being who wears this great armor will take hold of the strength of great insight and will mount the Great Vehicle, the supreme vehicle, the unequalled vehicle, the great and all-encompassing vehicle, the boundlessly encompassing vehicle. All sentient beings could mount this vehicle

2.9

, and there would be none who would not fit in this vehicle, even as this vehicle neither expands nor shrinks. It can lead sentient beings to abide happily, and it can lead sentient beings happily to liberation. Any beings who mount this vehicle that leads to happiness shall be at rest in body and mind, and shall not become afflicted. Anantamati, this vehicle outshines all other vehicles to liberation, including those of the worldly gods, humans, and asuras, as well the vehicles of the hearers and solitary buddhas and other vehicles. For this vehicle, there is no coming, no going, no abiding, no seeing, and no knowing. It cannot be apprehended in the past, it cannot be apprehended in the future, and it cannot be apprehended in the present. It is equal throughout the three times, just like space. It is uncontaminated by the dust of the afflictions. It has no dependencies,¹⁸ no obstructions, and no clinging. Therefore, with this vehicle one can obtain liberation. This vehicle is measureless, because it is immeasurable. It is also naturally devoid of obstructing marks, because it does not abide in marks. It is supreme. Whoever mounts this vehicle will be undaunted as they proceed toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening.

“Anantamati, this vehicle is like a lamp, and like the orbs of the sun and moon, which produce great illumination for all beings. Likewise, the light of this Great Vehicle illuminates the worlds of this great trichiliocosm and cannot be outshone or obstructed by anything. With its boundless ocean of great qualities, it can proceed toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Anantamati, this vehicle eliminates darkness and dispels all the diseases of the world. It transcends all worldly phenomena and attracts great beings. Therefore, it cannot be mounted by lesser beings, but only those who don the great armor. As I have previously said, ‘It can be mounted only by those who have protected many beings for countless eons,

2.10

venerated and served many buddhas, and produced roots of virtue, and who have pure accumulations. If hearers, solitary buddhas, and other lesser beings—who are bound to the world and associated with the world—are manifestly proud, put their trust in non-Buddhists, and do not desire to hear even the name of this vehicle, need we mention that they will not be able to mount it?’ However, if beings who sport in the inconceivable domain mount this vehicle, they will proceed toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening, according to their incredibly noble aspiration.

“Anantamati, this vehicle is limitless, for a limit to its beginning, interim, and end cannot be realized. This vehicle’s limits are eliminated, for its limits cannot be apprehended. A boundless limit is this vehicle’s limit. An immeasurable limit is this vehicle’s limit. Anantamati, this vehicle has no outer limit and no inner limit. It has not even the slightest limit that can be eliminated. When I say that its limits are eliminated, it is the absence of even the slightest limit that is described as limits are eliminated. When limits are not conceptualized, this is what is described as limits are eliminated. Thus, I make the designation that this vehicle’s limits are eliminated. The absence of a limit is said to be its inner limit. The absence of a limit is said to be its outer limit. The absence of a limit is described as a limit. Within that limit, no inner limit can be apprehended. Because they cannot be apprehended, the outer limit and the inner limit—which are without limits and without elimination—enter the gateway of limits. Because it enters the gateway of limits, this vehicle goes beyond; but in that going beyond, there is also nothing that can be apprehended.

“Anantamati, what are the limits?

2.11

They are the limits of nihilism and eternalism. Because they engage with language, limits are actually not limits. Those limits of nihilism and eternalism are themselves without limits, because the mark of those limits is boundlessness. What I am calling a limit here involves no concepts. Because conceptualization is eliminated, limits are transcended, and nihilism and eternalism are abandoned.

“Anantamati, those who maintain the belief in a truly existing self take the gateway of limits as a support, while those who do not maintain the belief in a truly existing self do not cling to the gateway of limits. Because they do not cling to it, they transcend the limits of nihilism and eternalism. Anantamati, the limits of nihilism and eternalism have no true existence—they are merely deceptive terms. These two limits are conceptualized within the context of the three realms of existence; but if one does not accept these two limits, and does not accord with these two limits, then they can be transcended. Because they have eliminated the view of a truly existing self, they will have no clinging to the gateway of the two limits. Anantamati, bodhisattva great beings who have not yet discarded the belief in a truly existing self cannot be said to have donned the great armor and mounted the Great Vehicle, for they cling to this limit-gateway. Thus, even if they desire to abandon such limits, by arousing the notion of abandoning limits they are still conceptualizing the former and latter limits. It is therefore only bodhisattva great beings who have discarded the belief in a truly existing self who can be said to have donned the great armor and mounted the Great Vehicle, for they have no clinging to these limits. As such, they transcend these two limits, and so they proceed toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening within a highly comfortable vehicle.

“Anantamati, those bodhisattva great beings who, with the power of their great intelligence, are capable of not abandoning and not refuting all those phenomena that abide in limits.

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