འཕགས་པ་དགངས་པ་ངས་པར་འགྲལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.7

intro.7

Each chapter starts with a question on a topic requiring further elucidation: In the first chapter, the bodhisattva Vidhi­vatpari­pṛcchaka questions the bodhisattva Gam­bhīrārtha­saṃdhi­nirmo­cana on the inexpressible (anabhilāpya) and nondual (advaya) ultimate. In the second chapter, the bodhisattva Dharmodgata questions the Buddha on the ultimate beyond speculation (sarva­tarka­samati­krānta). In the third chapter, the bodhisattva Su­viśuddha­mati questions the Buddha on the ultimate that is beyond being distinct or indistinct (bhe­dābhe­dasa­mati­krānta) from conditioned phenomena. In the fourth chapter, Subhūti questions the Buddha on the ultimate that is of a single nature (ekarasa) within all phenomena. In the fifth chapter, the bodhisattva Viśālamati questions the Buddha on the secrets of mind (citta), thought (manas), and cognition (vijñāna). In the sixth chapter, the bodhisattva Guṇākara questions the Buddha on the three defining characteristics (lakṣaṇa) of phenomena. In the seventh chapter, the bodhisattva Para­mārtha­samud­gata questions the Buddha on the three kinds of essencelessness (niḥsva­bhāvatā) as well as on the Buddha’s three turnings of the Dharma wheel. In the eighth chapter, the bodhisattva Maitreya questions the Buddha on the practice of mental stillness (śamatha) and insight (vipaśyanā). In the ninth chapter, the bodhisattva Avaloki­teśvara questions the Buddha on the stages of the bodhisattva path and the Single Vehicle (ekayāna). In the tenth chapter, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī questions the Buddha on the bodies (kāya) and activity of the tathāgatas.