འཕགས་པ་དགངས་པ་ངས་པར་འགྲལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 42

42

but the words of Māra!’ Thinking in this way, they reject this discourse, disparage it, denigrate it, criticize it, and distort [its meaning]. In many ways, they apply themselves to discarding, undermining, and subverting this discourse, considering as enemies those who are devoted to it. From the very beginning, they are affected by the karmic obscuration [of rejecting the truth]. As a consequence of this, they also cause [others] to be obscured by this karmic obscuration. Although it is easy to determine the beginning of this karmic obscuration, it is difficult to know how many myriad eons it will last.

“Thus, Para­mārtha­samud­gata, those are the various degrees of confidence in my Dharma and my Vinaya,¹⁶¹ which are well proclaimed, well imparted, pure in their intention, and well communicated.”

Then, at that moment, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

“All phenomena are without an essence, unborn,
Unceasing, primordially in the state of peace,
And naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.
What wise person would say this without an underlying intent?

“I have spoken of essencelessness
With regard to defining characteristics, arising, and the ultimate.
No wise person who understands my underlying intent
Will travel the path leading to corruption.

“There is only one path of purification for all beings,
As there is only one purification, not two.
This is why, even if there are various lineages of beings,
I proclaimed the Single Vehicle.

“In the world of beings, innumerable are
The solitary beings who attain nirvāṇa,
While rare are those who have attained nirvāṇa
And possess the energy and compassion to not turn away from beings.