菩薩從兜術天降神母胎說廣普經 5.50

5.50

The Buddha said: "A bodhisattva mahāsattva constantly practices skillful means—neither this, nor that, nor between the two. In accord with the recipient to be transformed, he expounds meanings, explains phrases, and contemplates the doctrinal purport. He adorns the Buddha lands, brings the six perfections to the limit, and reaches the cessation of perception and sensation, guiding through expedient means without hindrance. He is neither haughty nor proud; his demeanor is dignified, his Dharma robes are neat and orderly; he accepts the offerings of faith from others, never renouncing unless it is to deliver [them]. His light and signs are solemn and dignified; his speech is pure. For the sake of a single sentient being, he remains for a lifespan of a hundred million kalpas, leaving behind his physical form while teaching in other realms; such emanations are difficult to conceive. Those who are visited and transformed are unaware of it. In the realm of ghosts and spirits, he manifests great supernormal power and also causes those ghosts to deliver and transform sentient beings, teaching one another in succession without losing the teachings of the Path. Furthermore, by skillful transformation he assumes the image of a Buddha, radiant with light and bodily marks. Those who see it and hear the Dharma spoken—pure in beginning, middle, and end, peaceful and joyous, with meditation, bodhi, clear wisdom, and liberation, sūtras, gāthās, vyākaraṇas, avadānas, nidānas, itivṛttakas, jātakas, vaipulyas, adbhutadharmas, upadeśas, with analogies and causes and conditions—he preaches profound Dharma to them according to their inclination, explaining emptiness and non-self. Because the thoughts of sentient beings are each different, he is able to cause all to enter the gate of liberation. For instance, just as the sources, marshes, ponds, and the swift currents of the five rivers each have their own names, yet when all return to the ocean they lose their original names; or just as Mount Sumeru stands erect and immovable, and when multicolored birds come to rely on and dwell upon it, they all become of one color and lose their original colors; even so it is when a bodhisattva mahāsattva transforms sentient beings and purifies Buddha lands. The thoughts of sentient beings' minds and consciousnesses differ with manifold conceptions; he is able to cause all to reach the gate of liberation, bringing conceptualization and intentional thought to cessation, so that they have no original thoughts and are equal in a single liberation. This is called the immeasurable skillful adaptation and transformation of a bodhisattva mahāsattva."