般若波羅蜜多心經幽贊 1.96

1.96

As has been briefly explained regarding their characteristics in the brief practice, following this stage, across the ten grounds, one cultivates the ten supreme practices, severs the ten heavy obscurations, and realizes the ten tathatās. As for the ten supreme practices: they refer to the previously mentioned six pāramitās of giving and the rest, with the addition of the pāramitās of skillful means, vow, power, and gnosis; all marvelous practices are subsumed within these ten. Skillful means are of twelve kinds. Compassionate care, fully knowing all saṃskāras, delighting in the Buddha's marvelous wisdom, rejoicing in remaining in saṃsāra, being untainted by cyclic existence, and blazing vigor—these six are internal. Causing an immeasurable result to be induced by a small virtue, causing great roots of virtue to be gathered by small effort, removing the anger and annoyance of those who hate the noble teachings, causing those abiding in neutrality to enter, causing those who have entered to mature, and causing those who have matured to attain liberation—these six are external. These twelve are summarized in two: first, dedication; second, deliverance. Vows are of five kinds, which are summarized into two: first, seeking bodhi; second, practicing benefit and joy. Powers are of ten kinds, which are summarized into two: first, reflection; second, cultivation. The gnosis that realizes the clean gnosis established in all phenomena also has two: first, receiving and enjoying the joy of the Dharma; second, maturing sentient beings. Regarding the previously explained practices of giving and the rest, what is cultivated on the ten grounds surpasses and excels the previous stages. That is, if someone asks for one's whole body or limbs and so forth, with an untainted mind one complies with their desire. But if what is sought is for a transgressive purpose, one would rather give away hundreds of thousands of lives than ever comply with them; if the intention of giving is pure, it visibly benefits sentient beings. If demons and so forth, stirred by malice, madness, or mental disturbance, beg for body and limbs, one should not give them. If one feels pity for sentient beings that sustain their lives on vomit and the like, one should repeatedly vomit food and so forth to practice giving. One should not give away anyone to whom one is indebted, relatives who have not been reasoned with (or even if reasoned with, the seekers are cruel, harmful, and so forth), or wives and children who would be treated as slaves; contrary to the above, one should practice generous renunciation. Rather than let another fulfill a heinous karma, one would rather incur a natural transgression and fall into hell oneself; carefully giving rise to deliberation, with a mind that is not unwholesome, giving rise to profound remorse and compassion, one kills them; one uses skillful means to depose tyrannical officials; one seizes and returns stolen wealth to the robbed; toward one who has no attachment or bond, seeking celibacy, one grants permission through skillful means to plant roots of virtue; monastic bodhisattvas should never do such things. To rescue others from distress, one utters false speech; to cause them to leave evil companions, one utters divisive speech; to prevent the transgression of rectitude, one utters harsh speech; to attract and guide those suited to it, one engages in idle chatter; through this, immeasurable merit arises. Or one manifests supernormal powers, displaying the evil destinies to terrify them into seeing and forever abandoning what is unwholesome. If they lack faith and the like, one does not answer their questions; displaying signs and manifesting supernormal powers, one causes them to be terrified and have faith; practicing painful yet beneficial actions, one causes them to attain benefit. If afflicted by suffering, one is able to have no contrary thoughts and realize the patience of examining the truth; vigorous and tireless, one is able to abide in the samāpattis belonging to the gotra of the ten powers, which are supreme and very difficult to fathom, and without abandoning them at the end of life, one is reborn into the desire realm; one is able to give rise to the ultimate, equal, and pervasive awakening of the impending, the present, and the already awakened, through which one is able to know that all phenomena are without self; with skillful means of taming and unobstructed scope, among the articles of attraction, one may conceal one's own merit and authority, being their companion in work without revealing it; or one manifests terrors, taking birth among dogs and so forth, not being their companion in work yet visibly manifesting; where the roots of virtue performed are still wavering, to make them abide firmly, one actually manifests as a companion in work. If one acts with negligence, neither of the two applies. In offering: because one has attained equality with the buddhas and so forth, possessing precious jewels, or through supernormal powers transforming into immeasurable precious paraphernalia, up to prostrating, scattering flowers, and praising the true practice of offering to the Triple Gem of the ten directions. In cultivating the immeasurables, one attains equality with sentient beings; because one realizes the conventional and the ultimate, one cultivates through direct realization; this is the immeasurable compassion, also called great compassion, which takes subtle suffering as its object, is cultivated for a long time, arises fiercely, and is extremely pure; when cultivating this mind, one cultivates the compassionate mind of all bodhisattvas; because the compassionate intention is pure, one gains toward all sentient beings an extremely close, loving, indebted, tireless mind capable of taking suffering upon oneself. The profound, distant revulsion of the śrāvaka who has already attained the culmination of bodhi is not equal to the bodhisattva's mind that is preceded by compassion. Perfumed and cultivated by this, there is not the slightest internal or external thing that cannot be relinquished, up to marvelous wisdom that cannot be entered; the bodhisattva's bodhi is established through compassion, and therefore in cyclic existence they endure all sufferings. Furthermore, on each of the ten grounds there is a distinct cultivation, from giving on the first up to the activities of supernormal powers on the tenth; these, as appropriate, are all subsumed under the ten practices. As for why only ten pāramitās are spoken of without increase or decrease, the verse says: