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

42

saying: 'This is not the word of the Buddha; this was spoken by Māra!' Understanding it thus, they disparage those sūtras, reject them, speak ill of them, revile them, and even adulterate them. In many ways, they engage in rejecting, wasting, and destroying those sūtras, and they also regard individuals who are devoted to them as enemies. They are obscured by karmic obscurations from the very beginning, and on that basis they are further obscured by such karmic obscurations; while the beginning of that karmic obscuration is easy to designate, it is difficult to designate [the time] by saying, 'It will arise within this many hundreds of thousands of tens of millions of billions of eons.' Paramārthasamudgata, in that way, within my well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya, which are exceedingly noble and teach an exceedingly pure intention—within that well-expounded Dharma—such gradations of devotion among sentient beings also appear."
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke these verses:
"'Phenomena lack intrinsic nature; phenomena are unborn; / Phenomena are unceasing; phenomena are peaceful from the beginning; / And all phenomena are naturally in nirvāṇa'— / Without an intended meaning, what wise person would say this?
I have explained that there is intrinsic naturelessness of characteristics, / Intrinsic naturelessness of arising, and intrinsic naturelessness of the ultimate. / Any wise person who knows the intended meaning in this / Does not proceed on the path to utter degradation.
This alone is the single path of purification for all; / The purification too is one, and there is no second whatsoever. / Therefore, although this single vehicle is designated, / It is not that there are no diverse lineages of sentient beings.
In this realm of sentient beings, countless are the sentient beings / Who attain nirvāṇa solely for themselves. / But those steadfast and compassionate ones who, although attained to nirvāṇa, / Do not abandon sentient beings, are