འཕགས་པ་དགངས་པ་ངས་པར་འགྲལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 49

49

innumerable merit. It is not easy to provide an analogy for it, but nonetheless I will explain it to you in brief.

Paramārthasamudgata, it is just as, for example, the dust of the earth resting upon the tip of a fingernail, when compared to the dust resting upon the great earth, does not approach a hundredth part, nor does it approach a thousandth part, a hundred-thousandth part, a calculation, a fraction, a count, an analogy, or even a cause. The water in a cow’s footprint, when compared to the water of the four great oceans, does not approach a hundredth part up to does not even approach a cause.

Paramārthasamudgata, in the same way, whatever merit I have spoken of from developing conviction in the sūtras of interpretable meaning up to applying oneself through meditation does not approach a hundredth part up to does not even approach a cause, when compared to the merit established from developing conviction in the teaching of the definitive meaning up to that established from applying oneself through meditation.”

When he had spoken thus, the bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata said this to the Bhagavān: “Bhagavān, what is the name of this teaching in this dharmaparyāya unravelling the intent? How should it be retained?”

The Bhagavān replied to him: “Paramārthasamudgata, this is an exposition of the definitive meaning of the ultimate. You should retain it as ‘The Exposition of the Definitive Meaning of the Ultimate.’”

When this exposition of the definitive meaning of the ultimate was delivered, six hundred thousand sentient beings generated the mind set upon unsurpassable, complete, and perfect enlightenment; three hundred thousand śrāvakas obtained the dustless, stainless, purified dharma-eye regarding phenomena; one hundred and fifty thousand śrāvakas liberated their minds from the outflows without grasping; and seventy-five thousand bodhisattvas attained the forbearance of unproduced phenomena.