法苑珠林 52.48

52.48

As the Jingang sanmei buhuai bumie jing states: The Buddha told the Bodhisattva Maitreya: "I now preach for you the dharmas of the grounds of merit practiced by bodhisattvas. A bodhisattva of the first ground is like the new moon: its light has not yet become manifest, yet the aspects of its brightness are fully complete. A bodhisattva of the second ground is like the moon on the fifth day. A bodhisattva of the third ground is like the moon on the eighth day. A bodhisattva of the fourth ground is like the moon on the ninth day. A bodhisattva of the fifth ground is like the moon on the tenth day. A bodhisattva of the sixth ground is like the moon on the eleventh day. A bodhisattva of the seventh ground is like the moon on the twelfth day. A bodhisattva of the eighth ground is like the moon on the thirteenth day. A bodhisattva of the ninth ground is like the moon on the fourteenth day. A bodhisattva of the tenth ground is like the moon on the fifteenth day: perfectly round, lovely to behold, its bright aspects fully complete. Their mind is tranquil, abiding firmly and unshakeably, neither submerging nor retrogressing, abiding in the śūraṅgama-samādhi." Furthermore, the commentary on the Mahāyānasaṃgraha by Asvabhāva states: "It means that when penetrating the dharmadhātu at the first ground, one is capable of completely penetrating all grounds; if one correctly penetrates at the first ground, one is swiftly able to penetrate all subsequent grounds, because it is of this kind." As a verse says: