འཕགས་པ་དགངས་པ་ངས་པར་འགྲལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 19

19

as an ālambana, the nimitta of the noble eightfold path as an ālambana, the antidote to the discordant factors of the noble eightfold path as an ālambana, the cultivation of the noble eightfold path as an ālambana, the arising of the unarisen noble eightfold path as an ālambana, and the abiding, non-forgetting, recurrence, increase, and expansion of the arisen noble eightfold path as an ālambana — such I have seen. Having seen them, this thought occurred to me: 'These venerable ones declare their knowledge by displaying an understanding of diverse dharmas, and because they do not understand the ultimate truth that is everywhere of one taste in lakṣaṇa, these venerable ones are entirely persons of haughty pride, seized by haughty pride, who declare their knowledge.' Bhagavān, as for the reason why the Bhagavān said: 'The ultimate is subtle, profound, difficult to realize, extremely difficult to realize, having a lakṣaṇa of one taste everywhere' — how well the Bhagavān has spoken it! It is wondrous! Bhagavān, when even those beings who have entered this very teaching of the Bhagavān and have become bhikṣus find it so difficult to realize the ultimate having a lakṣaṇa of one taste everywhere, what need is there to speak of the tīrthikas outside of it?" The Bhagavān said: "Subhūti, it is so. It is just so. Having completely and perfectly awakened to the ultimate that is everywhere of one taste in lakṣaṇa — subtle, extremely subtle, profound, extremely profound, difficult to realize, extremely difficult to realize — I have explained, made clear, analyzed, designated, and thoroughly taught it. Why is that? Subhūti, it is because that which is the completely pure ālambana regarding the aggregates, I have thoroughly taught to be the ultimate; Subhūti, that which is the completely pure ālambana regarding the āyatanas, dependent origination, sustenance, the truths, the dhātus, the foundations of mindfulness, the correct abandonments, the bases of miraculous power, the faculties, the powers, the limbs of bodhi, and, Subhūti, the noble eightfold path, I have thoroughly taught to be the ultimate. Moreover, that completely pure ālambana regarding the aggregates is everywhere of one taste; it is not differentiated in lakṣaṇa. Just as with the aggregates, so that completely pure ālambana from the āyatanas up to the noble eightfold path is also everywhere of one taste; it is not differentiated in lakṣaṇa. Subhūti, by this reasoning you should understand that whatever has a lakṣaṇa that is everywhere of one taste is the ultimate. Furthermore, Subhūti, when a bhikṣu practitioner of yoga has thoroughly realized the tathatā, the ultimate, the selflessness of dharmas of one aggregate, he does not search separately for the tathatā, the ultimate, selflessness in the other aggregates, the dhātus, the āyatanas, dependent origination, sustenance, the truths, the foundations of mindfulness, the correct abandonments, the bases of miraculous power, the faculties, the powers, the limbs of bodhi, and the noble eightfold path; rather, by relying on that very non-dual jñāna which accords with tathatā, he purely apprehends and thoroughly realizes the ultimate having a lakṣaṇa of one taste everywhere. Subhūti, by this reasoning too you should understand that whatever has a lakṣaṇa that is everywhere of one taste is the ultimate. Furthermore, Subhūti, just as the aggregates, the āyatanas, dependent origination, sustenance, the truths, the dhātus, the foundations of mindfulness, the correct abandonments, the bases of miraculous power, the faculties, the powers, and these limbs of bodhi are mutually differentiated in their lakṣaṇa, and just as the noble eightfold path is mutually differentiated in its lakṣaṇa, if the tathatā, the ultimate, the selflessness of dharmas of those dharmas were also differentiated in lakṣaṇa, then the tathatā, the ultimate, the selflessness of dharmas would also have causes and arise from causes. If it arose from causes, it would be conditioned. If it were conditioned, it would not be the ultimate. If it were not the ultimate, another ultimate would have to be sought. Subhūti, because the ultimate, the selflessness of dharmas does not arise from causes, is unconditioned, is not not-the-ultimate, and another ultimate need not be sought for that ultimate; and whether Tathāgatas arise or do not arise, because that dhātu of the dharmatā of dharmas continuously abides forever and ever so that dharmas remain, Subhūti, by this reasoning too you should understand that whatever has a lakṣaṇa that is everywhere of one taste is the ultimate. Subhūti, it is, for example, like this: space is animitta with respect to the various, manifold, differentiated lakṣaṇa of matter,