菩薩從兜術天降神母胎說廣普經 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

1.1

Translated by the Śramaṇa Zhu Fonian of Liangzhou under the Yao Qin

At one time, the Buddha was between the Twin Trees north of the city of Śākyavardhana in Kapilavastu, about to relinquish his bodily lifespan and enter nirvāṇa. At midnight on the eighth day of the second month, he personally folded three layers each of the saṃghāṭī, uttarāsaṅga, and antarvāsaka, spread them inside a golden coffin, and lay down on them with his body, his feet resting one upon the other. With his hands, he entrusted the bowl and monk's staff to Ānanda. The eight great kings each brought five hundred bolts of white fine cloth and sandalwood wood shavings, placing them all inside the golden coffin, wrapping the golden coffin with five hundred bolts of fine cloth, and moreover using five hundred carts laden with fragrant ghee and oil to pour over the white fine cloth. At that time, Mahābrahmā stood on the right side leading the hosts of Brahmā, Śakra Devānām Indra stood on the left side leading the gods of Trāyastriṃśa, and Maitreya Bodhisattva Mahāsattva together with the bodhisattvas of the ten directions possessing supernormal powers stood directly in front. At that time, the Bhagavat wished to enter the vajrasamādhi and shatter his body into śarīras: "Excellent! The inconceivable Dharma! Turning this true Dharma in the Sahā World." When the Bhagavat had made this thought, the worlds of the ten directions shook in six ways.

1.5

At that time, the Bhagavat stretched his golden-colored arm out from the golden coffin and asked Ānanda: "Has the bhikṣu Kāśyapa arrived now or not?" [Ānanda] replied: "He has not yet arrived." The Bhagavat asked again: "Has the bhikṣu Gavāmpati arrived yet or not?" [Ānanda] replied: "He attained parinirvāṇa in that heaven; his three robes and bowl have arrived." The Buddha told the fourfold assembly: "I now take parinirvāṇa forever." He then gathered the fine cloth again, entered into the golden coffin, and remained silent without speaking. In this manner, he reached his hand out again and again for a brief moment. The Buddha asked Ānanda and the fourfold assembly (monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen), the eight great kings, gods, nāgas, ghosts, spirits, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, gandharvas, humans, and non-humans: "What do you think, Ānanda? Have you fully grasped all the vaipulya Mahāyāna sūtras of great practice that I have expounded from first to last, or not?"

1.6

[Ānanda] replied: "Only the Buddha knows!" In this manner, [the Buddha asked] three times.

1.7

The Buddha told Ānanda: "Do you also know that I expounded the Dharma to my mother Māyā in the palace of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven?"

1.8

[Ānanda] replied: "I do not know."

1.9

"What do you think, Ānanda? Do you also know that I expounded the Dharma to the nāgas in the dragon palace, causing countless hundreds of thousands of dragon sons and others to attain the Way, and leaving behind a whole-body relic of one hundred and thirty zhang?"

1.10

[Ānanda] replied: "I do not know."

1.11

"What do you think, Ānanda? Do you also know that while dwelling in my mother's womb for ten months, I expounded to the bodhisattvas the rarely encountered Dharma of non-retrogression and inconceivable practices?"

1.12

[Ānanda] replied: "I do not know."

1.13

The Buddha told Ānanda: "Listen attentively, listen attentively! Reflect upon it well! I shall now distinguish for you one by one the rarely encountered practices of the bodhisattva mahāsattvas."

1.14

Ānanda said to the Buddha: "I joyfully wish to hear [them]."

1.15

The Buddha told Ānanda: "One hundred million, eleven thousand and sixty-two Ganges sands of lands away to the southeast of here, there is a world named Sile (Joyful Contemplation). The Buddha is named Fragrant Flame Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha, Vidyācaraṇasaṃpanna, Sugata, Lokavid, Anuttara, Puruṣadamyasārathi, Śāstā Devamanuṣyāṇām, Buddha, Bhagavat. Having manifested parinirvāṇa there, he came to the palace of Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. Passing through countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas, he was thirty-six times Mahābrahmā, thirty-six times in the body of Śakra, and thirty-six times a wheel-turning king, and the sentient beings he delivered never fell into the two vehicles or the evil destinies. Why is this? They were all inspired by the supernormal wisdom of the Buddhas. What do you think, Ānanda? Does the Tathāgata, the Bhagavat, have a garbhadhātu, or does he not have a garbhadhātu?"

1.16

Ānanda said to the Buddha: "The body of the Tathāgata has no garbhadhātu!"

1.17

The Buddha told Ānanda: "If the Tathāgata has no garbhadhātu, how could the Tathāgata dwell in the womb for ten months, transforming and expounding the Dharma?"

1.18

Ānanda said to the Buddha: "Having a garbhadhātu is also empty and quiescent; not having a garbhadhātu is likewise empty and quiescent."

1.19

Thereupon, by means of his supernormal powers, the Bhagavat manifested sitting, reclining, and walking within the body of his mother Māyā. He spread a great, high seat, eighty yojanas in length and breadth, with gold and silver stairs and railings, celestial silks and celestial canopies suspended in empty space, and the singing of music beyond reckoning. Furthermore, by his supernormal powers, eighteen thousand lands away from this Sahā World to the east, bodhisattva mahāsattvas all came gathering like clouds; so it was likewise in the south, west, north, and the four intermediate directions. There were also bodhisattvas possessing supernormal powers from sixty-two billion lands below who also came to the great gathering; bodhisattvas of the empty realms from seventy-two billion lands above also came gathering like clouds, entering the womb chamber.

1.20

At that time, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva rose from his seat and said to the Bhagavat: "These bodhisattva mahāsattvas have gathered like clouds, wishing to hear the Bhagavat's inconceivable Dharma: the doorways to samādhi, the doorways to dhāraṇī, the Single-Characteristic Samādhi, the Samādhi of Hearing Emptiness, the Samādhi of the Nature of the Way, the Real-Truth Samādhi, the Space-King Samādhi, the Samādhi of Passing Habitual Tendencies, the Samādhi of the Nature of Reception, the Samādhi of Traces of Practice, the Samādhi of Subduing Demons, and the Samādhi of Dispelling Impurities—hundreds of thousands of nayutas of such samādhis. Now, having entered which samādhi does the Tathāgata dwell in the womb chamber to expound the inconceivable Dharma to these mahāsattvas?"

1.21

The Buddha told Mañjuśrī: "Observe now: from the first stage, the second stage, up to the tenth stage, and the state of being bound to one more birth, the bodhisattvas of the various directions each occupy their proper ranks without being intermingled. Why is this? I now wish to expound the inconceivable Dharma to these mahāsattvas. Now this great assembly is pure and unmixed, and parasitical branches and leaves also have no defilement or evil."

1.22

At that time, the Bhagavat, with a pure voice, uttered this verse:

1.23

"In the past over countless kalpas, I accomplished countless Buddha-bodies;
now I enter the womb chamber once more, wishing to deliver all sentient beings.
Purified in bodily action, without evil conduct; bodily speech without falsehood;
mental action ever compassionate: pure is the bodhisattva path.
Feeling pity for that class of sentient beings, who ever dwell in the four swift rivers,
reckoning permanence or annihilation, I dedicate [merit] toward the path of bodhi.
Having obtained this body through diligent toil, do not give rise to notions of foulness;
reckon the body to be like a grave-mound, waited upon by jackals.
The foolish are deeply attached to it, indulging in love and unable to relinquish it;
this body has no loyalty, day and night seeking to suck and nibble.
The nine afflictions serve as its bolts and latches, like a painted vase filled with dung;
pressed by the thirst of desire, why give birth to bitter distress?
Like the sea swallowing myriad streams, the foolish take it to be a treasure.
The body is not counted among diamonds; do not perform myriad evil acts!
Having received a body, one must surely perish; why not swiftly practice the path?
If a person lived for a hundred million kalpas, he too ought to abandon desires;
how much more so when life does not fill a hundred [years]—why not know contentment?
The foolish always boast of themselves: 'Through past merits I gained this body;
I should freely indulge myself in pleasure; before delight is ended I shall perish.'
These desires have no firmness; they cannot be guarded by wisdom.
When a person wishes to abandon desire, [they practice] the ten wisdoms of non-conceptual contemplation;
desire is not a real phenomenon: its arising and ceasing are like water bubbles,
created by an illusionist, displaying various apparitions;
the foolish call them real, but seeking reality they find nothing.
The nature of emptiness is intrinsically empty, without arising or ceasing from beginning to end;
discriminating the samādhi of non-conception is able to exhaust the outflows of sentient beings.
Mañjuśrī, you should know now! In the outflow-free assembly of the ten directions,
I enter the vaiḍūrya samādhi and extensively expound the vaipulya teachings.
The Buddhas of the ten directions, [numerous as] the sands of the Ganges, preach as I do without difference,
pitying this multitude of sentient beings, who perpetually abide in the blazing house of fire,
abandoning a womb only to take another womb, departing there only to come here.
The bodhisattvas of the ten directions have accumulated practices for Ganges-kalpas;
though abiding in the Sahā World, [they endure] the kalpa of the five sufferings and five afflictions.
Just as in my ten directions' realms, when compared to this land,
revolving in the five destinies, the suffering of retributions is here most severe.
Understanding emptiness has no fixed mark, nor does it have an ultimate beginning;
thoroughly realizing the meaning of the single mark, its nature is originally empty and tranquil,
with constant notions of neither arising nor ceasing, whether with remainder or without remainder.
Of old, I made great vows to take birth universally in the wombs of the five destinies;
among apparitional, moisture-born, egg-born, and womb-born, I also preached the rare Dharma.
For those attached to the five aggregates, I preached that nothing exists;
the twelve interconnected dharmas: ignorant action is the root of birth and death.
Falling into the four inverted views, for their sake I preached the four realities;
the truth of suffering is without [inherent] truth, and the same holds for the exhaustion [of suffering] through accumulation and the path!
Desire, self, precepts, views, and grasping, as well as the four types of craving;
discriminating the real nature, emptiness and tranquility are essential.
Though having crossed to the shore beyond birth and death, I do not abide in nirvāṇa;
now abiding in the mother's womb, I preach the Dharma to awaken the multitude of beings.
Within the lands of the Sahā World, countless as the sands of the Ganges,
those who preach the Dharma while abiding in the womb deliver asaṃkhyeyas [of beings].
Empty space has no boundary; the Buddha-lands are also like this;
the conscious spirits received by sentient beings are not identical in their true nature.
Transformed through luminous wisdom, I deliver them according to their kind;
some are delivered by seeing the body, some attain liberation upon hearing the voice.
Some again contemplate suffering, the root of the truth of accumulation and the path of cessation;
they contemplate the four smṛtyupasthānas, the samyakprahāṇas, and the four ṛddhipādas,
the five indriyas and the five balas, taking the seven bodhyaṅgas as flowers,
and the noble eightfold path to adorn their bodies as necklaces;
they discriminate that other and self are empty, with wisdom of non-conception and tranquil extinction;
wishing for nothing to seek, they ever abide in the wisdom of emptiness and non-being.
Initially entering the samādhi with thought, [they practice] thirty foulness contemplations;
knowing thought in direct and reverse order, entering samādhi they realize the absence of contemplation.
Nine times they enter the first dhyāna, discriminating the absence of coarse and subtle thought;
further delighting in the path of extinction, the first dhyāna does not practice these dharmas;
joy and pleasure in the mind having ceased, they peacefully enter the four dharmas.
Great beings of penetrating wisdom do not take this as their practice;
for the sake of afflictions, they adapt to the sentient beings before them;
undergoing dhyāna-meditation for kalpas, their bodies withered like dried wood;
perfumed by the fragrance of the third dhyāna, the five branches do not wither.
The Buddha's wisdom is immeasurable: it is not found in existence, nor is it non-existent;
in unsurpassed, most right awakening, birth and death are absent, and it too is absent.
Ever since I attained Buddhahood, I have roamed and contemplated in the third dhyāna;
were I to enter the fourth dhyāna, [sentient beings] would be delivered without any preaching.
I contemplate the realm of empty space: sentient beings have no reliance;
only the divine power and wisdom of the Buddhas can exhaust the fundamental origin.
Disciples who have severed outflows cannot yet fully discern it;
the limbs of the path are extremely profound and subtle, beyond the reach of the two vehicles.
I contemplate with the divine eye, the wisdom eye, and the Buddha eye;
the forms received by the four consciousnesses are also transformed within it.
Nor are there earth, water, or fire, or physical forms and colors that can be seen;
only through the Buddha's great divine power are they all caused to reach the other shore.
The Buddha-lands of the ten directions are as asaṃkhyeyas of Ganges sands;
also based on the fundamental wisdom of the path, they roam and abide in the realm of empty space.
Were one to use the fleshy eye to view the sentient beings of the space-realm,
with every yawn and inhalation or exhalation of breath, countless sentient beings would enter.
At that time, these beings each attained the traces of the path;
one should know that the Buddha's dharmakāya is truly inconceivable.
The Buddha is the general of the three realms, pitying and delivering all;
causing those in the existence of desire, form, and formlessness to receive the realization of path-wisdom.
There, there are also no lust, anger, or ignorance among the retinue;
seeing the form they immediately enter the path—how could they need the stages of learning and no-learning?
In the immeasurable Buddha-lands, the attainment of the path is each different:
some attain it from conception, some attain it from non-conception;
they do not cultivate again this tathatā of the four noble truths.
The pure contemplation of the bodhisattva enters the unimpeded path of dhyāna;
arhats and pratyekabuddhas each enter samādhi differently.
In birth after birth, birth is not seen—how could there be a root of birth?
Deluded and attached people say that birth is the self;
calling 'I' and 'mine' a self, they do not see that there is no 'I' or 'mine'.
The bodhisattva's practice of the four dhyānas is unknown even to pratyekabuddhas;
when a bodhisattva enters the first dhyāna, there are thirty practices without outflows,
one hundred and seven samādhi absorptions, complete with inhalation and exhalation.
In the second dhyāna there are seventy-two, personally contemplating the notion of non-self;
though undergoing the suffering of accumulated kalpas, they do not depart from the practice of dhyāna;
severing all outflows at the fourth abode, they only then attain this second dhyāna.
At the sixth abode there is still hesitation, entering samādhi like waves on water;
in eighty-four thousand practices, they still cannot master themselves.
I originally fell back for twelve kalpas at the sixth abode,
always generating notions of permanence and notions of pleasure, revolving in the abyss of birth and death;
the Great Sage Dīpaṅkara Buddha prophesied that my mind would be firm,
resolving not to fall back, and only then did I attain the third dhyāna.
Severing seventy thousand defilements, they are perpetually extinguished without root;
with the fearless lion's stride, expounding the great Dharma scriptures,
extensively roaming the Buddha-lands, always paying homage and reverently serving.
The past asaṃkhyeya Buddhas, Bhagavats and the like,
each in their own realm made vows to carry out the Buddha-work;
though their minds did not fall back, they were always fearful of falling into inferiority.
A hundred million demon hordes could not move a single hair;
surpassing the practices of the eight abodes, they advanced into bodhi.
Those lovable things that are longed for are perpetually removed without conceptual thought;
except for teachers, the honored, and parents, toward the rest there is no lingering regard.
Only then completing the practice of a dhyāna, it is named the perfection of giving;
practicing contemplation without peer, the root of penetrating wisdom of the nine grounds,
no longer entering cessation, by merely shifting seat one becomes a Buddha.
For the sake of sentient beings, going beneath the Buddha-tree;
extending broadly to asaṃkhyeyas, all assemble at the bodhimanda.
In the boundless realms of the ten directions, the Buddhas, Bhagavats, and the like,
each extend their right hands: 'Excellent, O Great Lion!
With the ten powers and fearlessness, firmly enter the fourth dhyāna;
with compassion pity the multitude of beings, and pray swiftly awaken from dhyāna,
causing those not yet crossed over to cross over, and those not yet liberated to be liberated.'
The four consciousnesses dwell in deep darkness, thirsting and longing for the taste of dhyāna-joy;
not comprehending the teachings of the Buddhas, they rashly praise themselves;
again pondering within themselves: 'What use is the burden of this body?
I shall directly attain nirvāṇa; what use is delivering sentient beings?'
The Buddhas each appeared before me: 'Excellent, Śākyamuni!
Establish the resolve of your great vows; do not give rise to a regressive mind!
Turn the unsurpassed wheel of the Dharma, strike the great drum of the Dharma;
those who hear will swiftly attain liberation, without undergoing the tribulations of kalpas.'
Swift wisdom, unimpeded wisdom, oratorical wisdom, penetrating wisdom,
path wisdom, luminous wisdom, severing wisdom, unborn wisdom,
unarisen exhausted extinction wisdom, dissolving wisdom, nine-successive-stages wisdom,
fearless lion wisdom, thunder-roaring sound wisdom,
upright-sitting unmoving wisdom, great compassionate unimpeded wisdom,
body-marks-adorned wisdom, suffering-eradicating pitying-protecting wisdom,
bond-untying unbinding wisdom, prophecy-receiving realization-attaining wisdom,
demon-subduing army-crushing wisdom, accomplishing non-egotism wisdom,
mind-valiant vigor wisdom, giving without expecting reward wisdom,
practicing forbearance under insult wisdom, diamond-ten-powers wisdom,
abiding-for-kalpas unmoving wisdom, gathering-assemblies harmonious wisdom,
supreme-guide wisdom, shame-and-conscience-Dharma-robes wisdom,
bodhisattva-vow wisdom, ṛddhi-transformation wisdom,
realm-unimpeded wisdom, mind-severing defilement-extinguishing wisdom,
pure-illuminating wisdom, self-cognizing past-lives wisdom,
deeply-perceiving others'-minds wisdom, truly-pure-parents wisdom,
body-manifesting-in-lands wisdom, dwelling-in-womb-without-defilement wisdom,
consciousness-stabilized-unperturbed wisdom, single-mindedly-believing-and-accepting wisdom,
entering-samādhi-contemplating wisdom, discriminating-body-marks wisdom,
thirty-foulness wisdom, disaster-extinguishing trouble-removing wisdom,
bodhisattva-successive-stages wisdom, surpassing-and-transforming wisdom,
twelve-causes-extinguishing wisdom, pratyekabuddha-timely-awakening wisdom,
hearing-sound-receiving-transformation wisdom, escaping-twelve-sense-fields wisdom,
contemplation-wisdom-unimpeded wisdom, receiving-the-path deeply-perceiving wisdom,
one-night-as-a-kalpa wisdom, taking-a-kalpa-as-a-day wisdom,
recollecting-the-Buddha-and-the-Buddha-appearing wisdom, land-purifying wisdom,
absence-of-the-two-vehicles wisdom, solitary-striding-fearless wisdom,
pleasing-the-minds-of-the-multitude wisdom, that-which-was-to-be-done-is-done wisdom,
not-creating-before-or-after wisdom, extinguished-thus-without-newness wisdom,
entering-samādhi-removing-notions wisdom, contemplating-inner-and-outer-body wisdom,
Tathāgata-receiving-wisdom wisdom, noble-silent wisdom."

1.24

At that time, when the Bhagavat spoke these verses, hundreds of thousands of koṭis of immeasurable sentient beings all set forth and became established on the ground of complete faith. Furthermore, there were twelve nayutas of bodhisattvas who, being on the ground of contemplative practice, did not abide in the three abodes; accomplishing realms in the right division, seventy-seven thousand koṭis of sentient beings attained avaivartika.

1.25

The Buddha further said to Mañjuśrī: "Now on these seats there is not a single person with defilement or impurity who is subject to regression. Why is this? They are all of sharp faculties, do not abide in birth-and-death, are without bonds, without attachment, without cessation, and without arising. Having purified their cultivation of the path, they have attained and accomplished realization. They aspire and delight to hear the inconceivable true Dharma of the Buddhas, subjugating all māras and removing pride. Although outwardly teaching and transforming asaṃkhyeyas of sentient beings across the Buddha lands, inwardly their minds sport in immeasurable hundreds of thousands of samādhis. Those samādhis are: the lion-like brisk sprint samādhi; the surpassing practice and ascending levels samādhi; the vast advance and leaping stride samādhi; the youth-like delight in the Dharma samādhi; the arising and ceasing of the four paths samādhi; the practice equal to non-conceptualization samādhi; the proceeding to the non-retrogressing bodhimaṇḍa samādhi; the contemplating the minds of beings samādhi; the mindfulness of the ekajātipratibaddha samādhi; the formless-image samādhi; the welling forth from the earth samādhi; the unbinding from battle samādhi; the crown-receiving of the supreme samādhi; the delight-in-seeing-sentient-beings samādhi; the entering the inconceivable samādhi; the Buddha realm inconceivable samādhi; the Dharma realm defilement-removal inconceivable samādhi; the noble saṃgha inconceivable samādhi; the arising and ceasing of sentient beings inconceivable samādhi; the naga-strength rainfall inconceivable samādhi; the king among the assembly's superiors inconceivable samādhi; the valiantly subjugating foes inconceivable samādhi; the immeasurable lifespan inconceivable samādhi; the being able to endure suffering in the five destinies inconceivable samādhi; the Buddhas present inconceivable samādhi; and the fourfold requisites offering inconceivable samādhi. With one hundred and one thousand such samādhis they adorn their bodies. Furthermore, there is the inconceivable samādhi named 'Swiftness', wherein in a single day one leaves home, practices the path, goes to the foot of the tree, attains Buddhahood, teaches and transforms sentient beings, and purifies the Buddha lands. Furthermore, there is the inconceivable samādhi of 'Remaining to Await Conditions', by condition of which the Tathāgata remains for a lifespan of immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, delivering sentient beings who have the conditions into the realm of parinirvāṇa without remainder, yet not grasping nirvāṇa, further creating causes and conditions to practice the bodhisattva path. Furthermore, there is the Buddha-power inconceivable samādhi, wherein going from one Buddha land to another Buddha land, in the time it takes a person to clasp hands and snap their fingers, one confers vyākaraṇa upon immeasurable and boundless sentient beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and likewise causes them to attain Buddhahood in a single day. Such is the supernatural power of a bodhisattva abiding in the womb."

1.26

Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra, Chapter Two: Walking and Wandering

1.27

At that time, Maitreya Bodhisattva immediately rose from his seat, adjusted his robes, bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee upon the ground, and addressed the Bhagavat, saying: "Excellent, excellent! The Tathāgata speaks the inconceivable Dharma. In this assembly now there are those who have tread the path and those who have not yet tread the path, those who abide on the stage of faith and those who do not yet abide on the stage of faith. There are also bodhisattvas from the Ābhāsvara Heaven, the *Ābha Heaven, the *Parittābha Heaven, the *Apramāṇābha Heaven, the *Śubhakhinna Heaven, the *Śubha Heaven, the *Parittaśubha Heaven, the *Apramāṇaśubha Heaven, and the *Śubhakṛtsna Heaven, up to the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, the Nirmāṇarati Heaven, and the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven; and there are bodhisattvas of the sphere of boundless space, the sphere of boundless consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, up to the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. How is it that one enters the womb among them to teach and transform?"

1.28

The Bhagavat told him: "Do not ask this question. Why is this? The Tathāgata ultimately does not speak of such things. I now ask you, and you must answer me. How is it, Maitreya: is space endowed with physical form, or is it without physical form?"

1.29

He replied: "It has none."

1.30

The Bhagavat said: "How is it, Maitreya: if space has no physical form, how is it that sentient beings have birth, aging, illness, and death?"

1.31

Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying: "In the ultimate truth, there is no birth, aging, illness, or death; therefore, space has no physical form."

1.32

The Buddha told Maitreya: "If there is no physical form, who among these sentient beings is there to confer prophecy, and who is there to receive prophecy? How does the bodhisattva proceed to the foot of the tree, sometimes walking back and forth, sometimes entering samādhi? How does the bodhisattva contemplate his own bodily marks and contemplate the bodily marks of others? How does the bodhisattva manifest taking seven steps, declaring of himself that he has attained Buddhahood and subjugated all māras? How does the bodhisattva adorn and cultivate the bodhimaṇḍa, inviting all the sentient beings of the ten directions?"

1.33

Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying: "This too is empty, tranquil, without form and without physical substance. The Tathāgata's bodily marks are also mere conventional designations, up to the single ultimate meaning—all are empty and nonexistent."

1.34

The Buddha again told Maitreya: "How does a bodhisattva who practices emptiness wander to the lands of the ten directions to teach and transform sentient beings?"

1.35

Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying: "A bodhisattva who practices emptiness sees no lands, nor is there any Buddha. The Buddha himself is without a Buddha; how could there be a Buddha? The realms of earth, water, fire, wind, and consciousness, self, person, and lifespan, are all empty and tranquil. For this reason, there is no garbhadhātu."

1.36

The Buddha told Maitreya: "When you were in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, speaking the Dharma of practicing emptiness with the devas, was there treading of the path among those on their seats, or was there no treading of the path?"

1.37

Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying: "Those devas harbor notions of permanence, notions of pleasure, notions of purity, and grasp at self as self. Therefore, there is neither treading of the path nor non-treading of the path."

1.38

The Buddha again told Maitreya: "Do those devas have the skandha of form-samskāras or no skandha of form-samskāras? Do they have the skandha of karmic retribution or no skandha of karmic retribution? Do they have the skandha of destroying existence or no skandha of destroying existence? Do they have the skandha of sensory intake or no skandha of sensory intake? Do they have the skandha of sound and echo or no skandha of sound and echo? Do they have the intermediate skandha or no intermediate skandha? Do they have the this-and-that skandha or no this-and-that skandha? Do they have the ultimate skandha or no ultimate skandha? Do they have the silent skandha or no silent skandha? What do you say, Maitreya? When you were in the heavenly palace speaking the true Dharma with the devas, did you say that these designations of the skandhas exist?"

1.39

Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying: "No!"

1.40

The Bhagavat said: "What do you say, Maitreya? The Buddhas of the ten directions have conferred prophecy upon you that you will attain the unexcelled, correct, and true path. Is there a correct and true path, or is there no correct and true path?"

1.41

Maitreya replied: "There is none!"

1.42

The Bhagavat said: "That there is a path is also a conventional designation. That there is 'Maitreya' is also a conventional designation. Suchness, intrinsic nature, and the original limit are also conventional designations. The Tathāgata's rūpakāya is itself an empty characteristic, the characteristics are themselves empty, beginning and end are beginning-and-end empty, this and that are this-and-that empty. How do you yourself know the prophecy called 'Maitreya'?"

1.43

"To speak of nature, nature is itself empty; to speak of existence, existence is itself empty; to speak of nonexistence, nonexistence is itself empty. Nonexistence is itself eternally abiding, and nothing can cause it not to abide. To speak of abiding, abiding is itself empty. To speak of self-characteristics, self-characteristics are themselves empty. To speak of skandhas, the skandhas are themselves empty. To speak of the womb, the womb is itself empty; up to the bodhimaṇḍa, to speak of saṃskāra, the saṃskāra-skandha is empty. For this reason, Bhagavat, there is neither treading of the path nor non-treading of the path!"

1.44

The Buddha again told Maitreya: "Is there one who treads the path or one who does not tread the path? Is there fruition and realization or no fruition and realization? Is it of conditioned nature or of non-conditioned nature? Is it an unconditioned nature within the conditioned? Is it an unconditioned nature within the unconditioned? Is it an outflow-free nature within outflows? Is it an outflow-free nature within the outflow-free? Is it an exhaustible nature within the desire realm? Is it an inexhaustible nature within the desire realm? Is it an exhaustible nature within the form and formless realms? Is it an inexhaustible nature within the form and formless realms? Is it a nature of space that ceases consciousness? Is it a nature of space that does not cease consciousness? Up to the emptiness of the conditioned, the emptiness of the unconditioned, the emptiness of intrinsic nature, the emptiness of existence through conditioned existence, the emptiness of nonexistence through unconditioned nonexistence, great emptiness, the emptiness of grasping, the emptiness of the single characteristic and non-characteristic, the emptiness of nirvāṇa with remainder, and the emptiness of nirvāṇa without remainder—is it a treading nature, or is it a non-treading nature?"

1.45

Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying: "The dharma of treading is non-dharma, and non-dharma is also non-treading."

1.46

"How is it, Maitreya? Conditioned dharmas are not unconditioned, and unconditioned dharmas are not conditioned. How is it that you say: 'The dharma of treading is non-treading, and the dharma of non-treading is also non-treading'?"

1.47

Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying: "In the dharmas with characteristics and without characteristics of the supreme ultimate truth, does one seek the conditioned not being unconditioned, or seek the unconditioned not being conditioned?"

1.48

The Buddha told Maitreya: "I now ask you: in an exposition of true roots, not an exposition without roots, from where do the conditioned and the unconditioned arise? What names and designations do they have?"

1.49

Maitreya addressed the Bhagavat, saying: "The nature of space and tranquil cessation, literal meanings, names, and designations are all not real. This is an exposition without roots, not an exposition with roots."

1.50

The Buddha told Maitreya: "How does the meaning of 'root' produce an exposition without roots?"

1.51

Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying: "In conventional meaning, the root is the nature of dharmas; rootlessness is realization. Still, unmoving, yet also not unmoving; of a single characteristic, which is markless; up to conditioned and unconditioned dharmas, dharmas with outflows and without outflows, dharmas with resistance and without resistance, physical dharmas and non-physical dharmas, visible dharmas and invisible dharmas, neither abiding nor not abiding—this is the meaning of rootlessness."

1.52

The Buddha said: "Excellent, excellent, Maitreya! Bodhisattvas who practice emptiness thoroughly understand rootlessness: neither arising nor not arising, without counterpart in the future, not abiding in the present, already ceased in the past, without attachment, without severance, not abiding, and also not non-abiding."

1.53

At that time, there was a bodhisattva in the assembly named Discriminating Body-Contemplation, who addressed the Buddha, saying: "Now hearing the Tathāgata explain the meaning of rootlessness, explain the presence of bodily marks and the absence of bodily marks, explain the emptiness of intrinsic nature and the non-emptiness of intrinsic nature—does he who speaks the meaning of rootlessness come from within suchness, or does he not come from within suchness? Does the meaning of rootlessness have arising and ceasing, or is it without arising and ceasing? Is it a dharma with resistance or a dharma without resistance? Is it a physical dharma or a non-physical dharma? Is it a conditioned dharma or an unconditioned dharma? Is it a dharma with outflows or a dharma without outflows? Is it a dharma with characteristics or a dharma without characteristics? Is there body-contemplation or is there no body-contemplation?"

1.54

The Buddha told the bodhisattva Discriminating Body-Contemplation: "What is the body? What is contemplation? Who performs this contemplation for the body?"

1.55

The bodhisattva Discriminating Body-Contemplation addressed the Buddha, saying: "Earth, water, fire, and wind are called the body-skandha; consciousness and discrimination are called contemplation."

1.56

The Buddha told him: "To speak of earth, earth is itself empty; to speak of water, water is itself empty; to speak of fire, fire is itself empty; to speak of wind, wind is itself empty; to speak of consciousness, consciousness is itself empty; to speak of space, space is itself empty. What is the body? What is contemplation?"

1.57

The bodhisattva Body-Contemplation addressed the Buddha, saying: "As the Buddha has spoken, empty space and the Dharma realm are all empty and tranquil. Without a Buddha, one speaks of 'Buddha'; without the Dharma, one speaks of 'Dharma'; without the Saṃgha, one speaks of 'Saṃgha'; without this world or future worlds, without sin and without merit—would this not be identical with the great teachers [of non-Buddhists]?"

1.58

The Buddha told the bodhisattva Discriminating Body-Contemplation: "When you enter the concentration of cessation, do you at all see the eye contemplating form, up to the mind contemplating dharmas?"

1.59

The bodhisattva Body-Contemplation addressed the Buddha, saying: "No, Bhagavat! Why is this? In the concentration of cessation there is neither arising nor ceasing."

1.60

The Buddha told the bodhisattva Body-Contemplation: "So it is, so it is! It is as you have said. When the eye contemplates form, form is not my form, and I am not that form; consciousness is not my consciousness, and I am not that consciousness. Up to sound, odor, taste, touch, and dharmas, it is likewise: dharmas are not my dharmas, and I am not those dharmas. In the meaning of rootlessness, there is neither increase nor decrease. When the roots are pure, the path is also pure; mark-emptiness is pure, up to ultimate emptiness being likewise pure. Being single in purity and without duality, the five skandhas being pure, practice is pure, and the path is also pure. What is with resistance is pure, what is without resistance is pure, form is pure, and the path is also pure. When the bodhisattva's contemplation is pure, the six dusts are pure, and the path is also pure. When retinue is pure, nature is pure, and the path is also pure. When the stages are pure, abiding is pure, and the path is also pure. This is the meaning of rootlessness for bodhisattva-mahāsattvas."

1.61

The Buddha further said to Bodhisattva Kāya-vipaśyanā: "The purity of suffering, the purity of neither-suffering-nor-pleasure, and the Path is also pure. The purity of the gates, the purity of the lineages, and the purity of birth, and the Path is also pure. This is the meaning of non-basis for bodhisattva-mahāsattvas."

1.62

The Buddha further said to Bodhisattva Kāya-vipaśyanā: "The purity of the bodhimaṇḍa, the purity of the lands, and the purity of sentient beings, and the Path is also pure; this is the meaning of non-basis for bodhisattva-mahāsattvas. The purity of the faculties, the purity of the powers, the purity of the factors of awakening, and the purity of the requisites of the Path, and the Path is also pure. How is it, Bodhisattva Kāya-vipaśyanā? I now ask you, and you should reply to me: when the Tathāgata adorns the bodhimaṇḍa and sits beneath the king of trees, how does he distinguish the categories of sentient beings? Does he use determined dharmas or undetermined dharmas? Determined dharmas are defilements of affliction; undetermined dharmas are likewise defilements of affliction. By what undetermined [dharma] does he bestow prophecy upon sentient beings?"

1.63

Bodhisattva Kāya-vipaśyanā addressed the Buddha, saying: "Determined dharmas are not the defilement of affliction, nor are undetermined dharmas affliction. Why is this? The defilement of affliction is a base dharma, whereas determined and undetermined dharmas are supreme, exalted dharmas; one should not counter affliction with undetermined [dharmas]. Why is this? Afflictive dharmas are the seed of the Tathāgata."

1.64

The Buddha said to Bodhisattva Kāya-vipaśyanā: "Cease, cease! Do not say such things. You stated that afflictions are the dharmas of birth-and-death; now do you say again that they are the seed of the Tathāgata?"

1.65

Bodhisattva Kāya-vipaśyanā addressed the Buddha, saying: "As for the body of the Tathāgata, is it an apparition, not a sentient being? If it were an apparition, there would be no realm of sentient beings with affliction. If the Tathāgata's body arises from sentient beings, are not the defilements of affliction the seed of the Tathāgata?"

1.66

The Buddha said to Bodhisattva Kāya-vipaśyanā: "So it is, so it is! As you have said. Afflictions exist through conventional designations and names; in the ultimate truth there are no afflictions."

1.67

The Buddha further said to Bodhisattva Kāya-vipaśyanā: "The Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksaṃbuddha, Vidyācaraṇasaṃpanna, Sugata, Lokavid, Anuttara, Puruṣadamyasārathi, Śāstādevamanuṣyāṇām, Buddha, Bhagavat, constantly uses the divine eye to observe the thoughts arising in the mental consciousness of incalculable sentient beings throughout the worlds of the ten directions—those with much desire, those without much desire; those with much anger, those without much anger; those with much ignorance, those without much ignorance; those with minds of liberation, those without minds of liberation; those with excessive pride, those without excessive pride; those who are easily brought to culmination, and those who are difficult to bring to culmination—the bodhisattva knows them all, observes them all, and goes to deliver them. How does the bodhisattva observe with the divine eye to know those with little desire and those with much desire? Thereupon, the bodhisattva manifests in that assembly in the form of a courtesan, speaking to them of sensual lust, its pleasure hard to forget and insatiable to behold. He causes their lustful intentions to generate double delight, and later gradually explains to them that the body is foul, impermanent, non-self, suffering, empty, and not the self, and that desire is a fiery pit that burns and boils the mental consciousness, causing them to loathe it and become free from sensual lust. Sentient beings such as these immediately receive the supreme prophecy within the womb. Bodhisattva Kāya-vipaśyanā, you should know this! Sentient beings such as these, devoid of anger and ignorance, sever desire and attain the Path.

1.68

"Or there are bodhisattvas who act together with them in that assembly as good friends, speaking to them of the pleasure of killing being hard to forget: 'How delightful is killing, diminishing your lifespan and increasing my lifespan!' Later, they gradually explain to them that the retribution for killing is extremely heavy, and expound the one hundred and eight grave offenses of killing as suffering and affliction, guiding them to enter and abide in the restraint of the Path, free from desire and ignorance, immediately accomplishing the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.69

"Or there are bodhisattvas who act as friends in that assembly, speaking of the ten unwholesome courses of action, also teaching unwholesomeness through body, speech, and mind, taking the real to be false, calling the impermanent permanent, calling the empty substantial, calling the selfless possessed of a self, calling suffering pleasure, and calling what is without a world possessed of a world. Later, they gradually explain to them vast and profound wisdom and immeasurable eloquence, kindling the Dharma, blazing the Dharma, erecting the Dharma banner, and gradually guiding them into the grove of wisdom: 'You should know, good people! If anyone harbors doubt regarding me, they should burn away their doubtful mind with the fire of wisdom.' If a person practices generosity, holding wealth in hand, and there is one who receives it, understanding that the three factors are empty and non-existent, they immediately accomplish the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.70

"Seeing someone upholding the precepts, fully accomplishing the categories of precepts without violating the slightest hair, understanding that they are vacuous, still, and non-existent, they immediately accomplish the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.71

"Or there are sentient beings in whom an intolerant mind does not arise: if someone comes to kill, harm, or sever them, their mind harbors no thoughts of anger, and they begrudge nothing of their head, eyes, marrow, or brain; they immediately accomplish the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.72

"If there are sentient beings whose minds are like vajra, indestructible, even if someone should approach with gentle words to entice them: 'The kalpas are difficult to measure; drifting through birth-and-death is difficult to escape. Why not just deliver yourself here, rather than vainly toiling in hardship for those sentient beings?' the bodhisattva's mind advances, never regressing or falling into birth-and-death, immediately accomplishing the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.73

"If a person practices dhyāna and their mental consciousness does not waver, even though the evil Māra Pāpīyān roars like thunder and flashes lightning in the empty sky, he cannot move a single hair of theirs, much less cause them to regress from the path of dhyāna; they immediately accomplish the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.74

"If there are sentient beings who distinguish all practices—that this may be practiced, and this may not be practiced—if a person is greedy for and delights in the body, [the bodhisattva] immediately expounds to them the dharma of the four smṛtyupasthānas, distinguishing one by one the essential treasuries of all dharmas, fluently expounding the immeasurable dharmadhātu; they immediately accomplish the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.75

"Or there are bodhisattvas who enter the samādhi of benevolence, pervading the east throughout infinite, immeasurable, asankhyeya realms, equal to the sands of the Ganges, toward the categories of sentient beings, feeling benevolent pity and affectionate care, wishing to bring about their liberation. Just as taking one grain of sand from the sands of the Ganges, passing lands equal to the sands of the Ganges, and depositing one grain, in this way exhausting the sands of the Ganges, their benevolent mind is not exhausted; the bodhisattva's vow is firm and unshakeable. Even if someone comes and takes the bodhisattva's body, slicing it piece by piece, immediately filling the trichiliocosm, the blood transforms into milk like a mother caring for her child: this is the bodhisattva practicing the samādhi of benevolence, immediately accomplishing the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.76

"Or at times a bodhisattva enters the samādhi of compassion, pervading the south throughout infinite, immeasurable, asankhyeya realms, equal to the sands of the Ganges, toward the categories of sentient beings, mindfully compassionate, wishing to bring about their liberation. Taking one grain of sand from the sands of the Ganges, passing lands equal to the sands of the Ganges, and depositing one grain, in this way exhausting the sands of the Ganges, their compassionate mind is not exhausted, bearing suffering on behalf of those sentient beings. These are all the firm vows of the bodhisattva; sentient beings who behold them with a pure mind leave behind all evils, their false thoughts already severed, immediately accomplishing the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.77

"Or at times a bodhisattva enters the samādhi of sympathetic joy, pervading the west throughout infinite, immeasurable, asankhyeya realms, equal to the sands of the Ganges, toward the categories of sentient beings, mindfully rejoicing over sentient beings, wishing to bring about their liberation. Taking one grain of sand from the sands of the Ganges, passing sands of the Ganges and then depositing one grain, in this way exhausting the sands of the Ganges, their mind of sympathetic joy is not exhausted; if those sentient beings enter joy to amuse themselves, this is all due to the bodhisattva's firm resolve, immediately accomplishing the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.78

"Or there are bodhisattvas who enter the samādhi of equanimity, pervading the north throughout infinite, immeasurable, asankhyeya realms, equal to the sands of the Ganges, toward the categories of sentient beings, fearing that those sentient beings may have defective practices, nurturing and protecting them so they do not sink; taking one grain of sand from the sands of the Ganges, passing lands equal to the sands of the Ganges, and depositing one grain, in this way exhausting the sands of the Ganges, their mind of equanimity is not exhausted. These are all the firm vows of the bodhisattva, immediately accomplishing the unsurpassed Path within the womb.

1.79

"At that time, the bodhisattva illuminates the true Dharma and cultivates great benevolence and great compassion, which are not the practice of arhats or pratyekabuddhas, pervading the four directions, wishing to cause sentient beings, upon hearing the voice once, to arrive instantly following the sound. These are all the firm vows of the bodhisattva, immediately accomplishing the unsurpassed Path within the womb."

1.80

Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra, Chapter 3: The Noble Truths

1.81

The Buddha said to the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, upāsikās, devas, nāgas, yakṣas and spirits, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, piśācas, kumbhāṇḍas, pūtanas, manuṣyas, amanuṣyas, and others: "I now expound for you the noble truths of bodhisattva-mahāsattvas. Listen attentively, listen attentively, and reflect well on them! Why is this? For countless asankhyeya kalpas I have cultivated the fruit of the Path, perishing here and being born there, wandering through the five destinies, never abandoning the noble truths of a bodhisattva. How does a bodhisattva cultivate the noble truths? At times, from the initial resolve of intention up to the bodhimaṇḍa, a bodhisattva practices unobstructed dharmas, does not seize upon dhyāna realization, and extinguishes all evil thoughts. Or there is a bodhisattva who enters the stage of the first dhyāna, sees pure practice, feels ashamed and loathes [defilement], abandons it and advances, desiring to ascend to the sixth abode, diligently progressing in his deeds.

1.82

"Entering the stage of the second dhyāna, his mind is suddenly awakened like the moon cleared of clouds; examining his own mind, he makes a vow: 'Is it firm, or is it not firm?' With his own mind he further examines the minds of sentient beings, fully knowing whether they are easy to deliver or difficult to deliver. At that time, the bodhisattva's mind rejoices exceedingly: 'I shall surely become a buddha without any doubt. I will purify the lands, remove the defilements of sentient beings, subdue Māra, and turn the unsurpassed, noble wheel of the Dharma. How delightful is this karmic reward; what I have aspired to will surely be accomplished.' At that time, the bodhisattva enters undisturbed samādhi, uplifting mind with mind and uplifting body with body, immediately attaining the accomplishment of the noble path of supernatural powers, traveling from one buddha-realm to another buddha-realm, venerating and making offerings to the Buddhas, the Bhagavats, listening to and receiving the profound Dharma without difficulty or fear, advancing into the third dhyāna, observing that all forms are completely empty and non-existent.

1.83

"Abiding in the third dhyāna, he observes the categories of sentient beings and is able to distinguish them all: perishing there and being born here, perishing here and being born there; he knows his own past lives, and also knows the places whence they have come—the kṣatriya clan, the brāhmaṇa clan, the householder clan, the elder clan; these are practitioners who should act, these are practitioners who should not act; these should receive the fruit, these should not receive the fruit; inhalation and exhalation, non-inhalation and non-exhalation; these four smṛtyupasthānas, four samyakprahāṇas, indriyas, balas, ṛddhipādas, bodhyaṅgas, and the eightfold path; this person will receive prophecy to become a buddha in such-and-such a country, in such-and-such a place, among such-and-such sentient beings—he knows all of this completely. This is called the bodhisattva obtaining a pure mind in the stage of the third dhyāna.

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菩薩從兜術天降神母胎說廣普經 — Classical Chinese