THE GREAT PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ SŪTRA
VOLUME 394
Chapter 72: PURIFYING AND ADORNING THE BUDDHA-FIELDS (2)
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who, by the power of their vows and supernatural abilities, cause the supreme and wondrous seven treasures to fill the entire trichiliocosm, and use them to make offerings to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. After making offerings, they joyfully make vast vows: “I dedicate the roots of goodness that I have planted in this way equally to all sentient beings, and together with them I dedicate them toward the object I aspire to attain, which is the purification and adornment of Buddha-fields. I will cause my Buddha-field to be adorned with the seven treasures, and all sentient beings there will freely enjoy various jewels without becoming attached to them.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who, by the power of their vows and supernatural abilities, cause immeasurable wondrous celestial and human music to be played in order to make offerings to the Three Jewels and Buddha stupas. After making offerings, they joyfully make vast vows: “I dedicate the roots of goodness that I have planted in this way equally to all sentient beings, and together with them I dedicate them toward the object I aspire to attain, which is the purification and adornment of Buddha-fields. I will cause my land to constantly have such supreme and wondrous music played; the sentient beings there, upon hearing it, will experience joy and happiness in body and mind, yet will not become attached.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who, by the power of their vows and supernatural abilities, cause supreme and wondrous fragrant flowers to fill the entire trichiliocosm of the human and celestial realms, and then use these supreme and wondrous fragrant flowers to make offerings to the Three Jewels and Buddha stupas. After making offerings, they joyfully make vast vows: “I dedicate the roots of goodness that I have planted in this way equally to all sentient beings, and together with them I dedicate them toward the object I aspire to attain, which is the purification and adornment of Buddha-fields. I will cause my land to constantly possess such kinds of supreme and wondrous fragrant flowers; the sentient beings there, after enjoying them, will rejoice in body and mind but will not become attached.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who, by the power of their vows and supernatural abilities, manifest various foods and drinks of a hundred supreme flavors to make offerings to the Buddhas, Pratyekabuddhas, Śrāvakas, and assemblies of Great Bodhisattvas. After making offerings, they joyfully make vast vows: “I dedicate the roots of goodness that I have planted in this way equally to all sentient beings, and together with them I dedicate them toward the object I aspire to attain, which is the purification and adornment of Buddha-fields. When I attain the unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause the sentient beings in my land always to enjoy such foods and drinks of a hundred flavors, bringing joy to their bodies and minds without becoming attached.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who, by the power of their vows and supernatural abilities, manifest all kinds of supreme and wondrous celestial and human fragrances for application, together with beautiful garments, in order to respectfully offer them to Buddhas, Pratyekabuddhas, Śrāvakas, and assemblies of Great Bodhisattvas, or again to make offerings to the Dharma and Buddha stupas. After making offerings, they joyfully make vast vows: “I dedicate the roots of goodness that I have planted in this way equally to all sentient beings, and together with them I dedicate them toward the object I aspire to attain, which is the purification and adornment of Buddha-fields. When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause the sentient beings in my land always to possess such garments and fragrances, enjoying them according to their wishes without becoming attached.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who, by the power of their vows and supernatural abilities, manifest all kinds of supreme and wondrous objects of form, sound, smell, taste, and touch that arise according to wishes in the celestial and human realms, in order to make offerings to Buddhas and Buddha stupas, Pratyekabuddhas, Śrāvakas, Bodhisattvas, and other sentient beings. Having made offerings, they become exceedingly joyful and make vast vows: “I dedicate the roots of goodness that I have planted in this way equally to all sentient beings, and together with them I dedicate them toward the object I aspire to attain, which is the purification and adornment of Buddha-fields. When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land, according to their minds’ desires, to obtain supreme and wondrous objects of form, sound, smell, taste, and touch; these will arrive in accordance with their thoughts, and they will joyfully enjoy them without becoming attached.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves abide in inner emptiness, and also encourage others to abide in inner emptiness; they themselves abide in outer emptiness, emptiness of both inner and outer, emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, supreme-meaning emptiness, conditioned emptiness, unconditioned emptiness, ultimate emptiness, emptiness without boundaries, dispersed emptiness, immutable emptiness, intrinsic emptiness, characteristic emptiness, common-characteristic emptiness, emptiness of all phenomena, emptiness that cannot be grasped, emptiness of naturelessness, emptiness of self-nature, and emptiness of the self-nature of emptiness; they also encourage others to abide in outer emptiness up to the emptiness of the self-nature of emptiness. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from inner emptiness up to the emptiness of the self-nature of emptiness.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate the four applications of mindfulness and encourage others to cultivate the four applications of mindfulness; they themselves cultivate the four right efforts, four bases of miraculous powers, five faculties, five powers, seven factors of enlightenment, and the eightfold noble path, and encourage others to cultivate the four right efforts up to the eightfold noble path. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the four applications of mindfulness up to the eightfold noble path.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves abide in the noble truth of suffering and encourage others to abide in the noble truth of suffering; they themselves abide in the noble truths of origin, cessation, and path, and encourage others to abide in the noble truths of origin, cessation, and path. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the noble truths of suffering, origin, cessation, and path.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate the four meditations and encourage others to cultivate the four meditations; they themselves cultivate the four immeasurables and four formless concentrations, and encourage others to cultivate the four immeasurables and four formless concentrations. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the four meditations, four immeasurables, and four formless concentrations.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate the eight liberations and encourage others to cultivate the eight liberations; they themselves cultivate the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive concentrations, and the ten totalities, and encourage others to cultivate the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive concentrations, and the ten totalities. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the eight liberations up to the ten totalities.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate the dhāraṇī teachings and encourage others to cultivate the dhāraṇī teachings; they themselves cultivate the samādhi teachings and encourage others to cultivate the samādhi teachings. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the dhāraṇī teachings and samādhi teachings.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate the liberation door of emptiness and encourage others to cultivate the liberation door of emptiness; they themselves cultivate the liberation doors of signlessness and wishlessness and encourage others to cultivate the liberation doors of signlessness and wishlessness. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the liberation door of emptiness, the liberation door of signlessness, and the liberation door of wishlessness.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate the stage of Joy, and encourage others to cultivate the stage of Joy; they themselves cultivate the stage of Freedom from Defilement, the stage of Radiance, the stage of Blazing Wisdom, the stage of Difficult to Conquer, the stage of Manifestation, the stage of Far-Going, the stage of Immovability, the stage of Excellent Wisdom, and the stage of Dharma Cloud, and encourage others to cultivate the stage of Freedom from Defilement up to the stage of Dharma Cloud. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the stage of Joy up to the stage of Dharma Cloud.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate the five kinds of eyes and encourage others to cultivate the five kinds of eyes; they themselves cultivate the six supernatural powers and encourage others to cultivate the six supernatural powers. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the five kinds of eyes and the six supernatural powers.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate the ten powers of a Buddha and encourage others to cultivate the ten powers of a Buddha; they themselves cultivate the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great joy, great equanimity, and the eighteen unique qualities of a Buddha, and encourage others to cultivate the four fearlessnesses up to the eighteen unique qualities of a Buddha. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the ten powers of a Buddha up to the eighteen unique qualities of a Buddha.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate the thirty-two marks of a great being and encourage others to cultivate the thirty-two marks of a great being; they themselves cultivate the eighty secondary excellent features and encourage others to cultivate the eighty secondary excellent features. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the thirty-two marks of a great being and the eighty secondary excellent features.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate the quality of never forgetting and encourage others to cultivate the quality of never forgetting; they themselves cultivate the nature of always relinquishing and encourage others to cultivate the nature of always relinquishing. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from the quality of never forgetting and the nature of always relinquishing.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate all-knowledge and encourage others to cultivate all-knowledge; they themselves cultivate the knowledge of the paths and the knowledge of all aspects, and encourage others to cultivate the knowledge of the paths and the knowledge of all aspects. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from all-knowledge, the knowledge of the paths, and the knowledge of all aspects.”
Furthermore, Subhūti, there are Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, make vast vows, and exert themselves with courageous diligence. They themselves cultivate all practices of Great Bodhisattvas and encourage others to cultivate all practices of Great Bodhisattvas; they themselves cultivate the unsurpassed enlightenment of the Buddhas and encourage others to cultivate the unsurpassed enlightenment of the Buddhas. Having done this, they again make the vow: “When I attain unsurpassed enlightenment, I will cause all sentient beings in my land never to be separated from all practices of Great Bodhisattvas and the unsurpassed enlightenment of the Buddhas.”
Subhūti, those Great Bodhisattvas who practice Prajñāpāramitā, through such practices and vows, are able to purify and adorn the object they aspire to attain, namely the Buddha-field.
Subhūti, those Great Bodhisattvas, according to the vows they have generated, practice the Bodhi path for such a period of time until they attain completion; throughout that same period of time they constantly diligently train. Due to this cause and condition, they themselves can accomplish all wholesome dharmas, and can also gradually cause others to accomplish all wholesome dharmas; they themselves can cultivate and attain bodies adorned with excellent marks and characteristics, and can also gradually cause others to cultivate and attain bodies adorned with excellent marks and characteristics. Because they have gathered and preserved vast merit and virtue, Subhūti, those Great Bodhisattvas, regarding the object they aspire to attain—the purification and adornment of Buddha-fields—when they realize unsurpassed enlightenment, the sentient beings they have transformed will also be born in that land and together enjoy the Dharma bliss of the Mahāyāna in the pure realm.
Subhūti, Great Bodhisattvas should cultivate the purification and adornment of Buddha-fields in this way: In that realm, one will never hear of the three evil paths; one will never hear of various kinds of wrong views; one will never hear of harmful poisons such as greed, hatred, and ignorance; one will never hear of the forms of male and female; one will never hear of Śrāvakas or Pratyekabuddhas; one will never hear of suffering, impermanence, and so forth; one will never hear of the gathering and preservation of material possessions; one will never hear of attachment to “self” and “what belongs to self”; one will never hear of afflictions such as latent tendencies, entanglements, and bonds; one will never hear of inverted grasping and attachment; one will never hear of establishing differentiated stages among the fruits. One will only hear sounds speaking of emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, unbornness, non-arising, non-ceasing, and naturelessness. This is according to the differing inclinations of sentient beings: among the inner and outer things, the forests of trees constantly have gentle breezes touching against one another, producing various wondrous sounds. Within these sounds, all dharmas are explained as having no self-nature; because they have no self-nature, they are empty; because they are empty, they are signless; because they are signless, they are wishless; because they are wishless, they are unborn; because they are unborn, they are non-ceasing. Therefore, all dharmas have always been peaceful from the beginning and are the self-nature of Nirvāṇa. Whether a Buddha appears in the world or does not appear in the world, the nature of dharmas always remains so. In that Buddha-field, sentient beings, whether day or night, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, constantly hear sounds expounding such dharmas.
Subhūti, those Great Bodhisattvas all purify and adorn Buddha-fields in the places where they dwell. When they attain unsurpassed enlightenment, all Tathāgatas, Arhats, Fully Awakened Ones throughout the ten directions will together praise the names of those Buddhas. If sentient beings hear the names of the Buddhas praised in this way, they will certainly attain non-retrogression from unsurpassed enlightenment.
Subhūti, those Great Bodhisattvas all purify and adorn Buddha-fields in the places where they dwell. When they attain unsurpassed enlightenment, they teach the true Dharma for sentient beings. Sentient beings who hear it will certainly not give rise to doubt as to whether it is Dharma or not Dharma. Why? Because those sentient beings have understood that all dharmas are suchness, the Dharma realm, the nature of dharma, the non-deceptive nature, and the unchanging nature; all are Dharma, and there is no non-Dharma.
Subhūti, those Great Bodhisattvas are all able to purify and adorn Buddha-fields in this way.
Furthermore, Subhūti, those Great Bodhisattvas have as those to be transformed sentient beings who lack wholesome roots, who have never cultivated wholesome roots in the presence of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Śrāvakas, and who are controlled and led by evil companions, thereby leaving good companions behind, not hearing the true Dharma, and constantly being bound by views of self, sentient beings, and other grasped views, falling into the extreme views of eternalism and annihilationism. Those sentient beings generate wrong views themselves and constantly teach others to generate wrong views; toward the Buddha they conceive the thought “not Buddha,” and toward what is not Buddha they conceive the thought “Buddha”; toward the Dharma they conceive the thought “not Dharma,” and toward what is not Dharma they conceive the thought “Dharma”; toward the Saṅgha they conceive the thought “not Saṅgha,” and toward what is not Saṅgha they conceive the thought “Saṅgha.” Because of these causes and conditions, they slander the true Dharma; because they slander the true Dharma, when their bodies perish and their lives end, they fall into the evil paths and are born in hell, enduring many intense sufferings. Those Great Bodhisattvas, having attained unsurpassed enlightenment in their own lands, see those sentient beings sinking in saṃsāra and enduring countless sufferings. Therefore, they use the wondrous power of supernatural abilities and skillful means of teaching to cause them to abandon wrong views and abide in right views; they leave hell and are born in the human realm. Then the Great Bodhisattvas again use various supernatural powers and skillful means of teaching to cause them to abide in the group of those with right determination. Thus, they completely do not fall into the evil paths; they further cause them to cultivate superior practices and vows, and at the end of their lives they are born in purified and adorned Buddha-fields, enjoying the Dharma bliss of the Mahāyāna in pure realms.
Subhūti, those Great Bodhisattvas are all able to bring about such purification and adornment of Buddha-fields. Because the worlds in which they abide are exceedingly pure, the sentient beings born into those worlds do not give rise to false discriminations or doubts regarding all dharmas, thinking: “This is a worldly dharma, this is a transcendent dharma; this is a contaminated dharma, this is an uncontaminated dharma; this is a conditioned dharma, this is an unconditioned dharma.” Such discriminations and doubts completely no longer arise. Due to this cause and condition, those sentient beings will certainly attain unsurpassed enlightenment.
Subhūti, in this way, the Great Bodhisattva has purified and adorned the Buddha-field.
Chapter 73: PURE LAND SKILLFUL MEANS (1)
At that time, the Venerable Subhūti addressed the Buddha, saying:
Venerable World-Honored One, does that Great Bodhisattva abide in the group of those with right determination, or does he abide in the group of those who are indeterminate?
The Buddha taught:
Good Present, that Great Bodhisattva abides entirely in the group of right determination, not in the group of the indeterminate.
The Venerable Good Present again addressed the Buddha:
World-Honored One, in which group of right determination does that Great Bodhisattva abide? Is it the Śrāvaka Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, or the Buddha Vehicle?
The Buddha taught:
Good Present, all those Great Bodhisattvas abide in the group of right determination of the Buddha Vehicle, and do not abide in the group of right determination of the two vehicles.
The Venerable Good Present again addressed the Buddha:
World-Honored One, at what time does that Great Bodhisattva dwell in the group of right determination? Is it from the time he first generates the mind? When he reaches the irreversible stage? Or in his final body?
The Buddha taught:
Good Present, those Great Bodhisattvas, whether from the time they first generate the mind, or at the irreversible stage, or in their final body, all abide in the group of right determination.
The Venerable Good Present again addressed the Buddha:
World-Honored One, when a Great Bodhisattva abides in the group of right determination, can he fall into the evil destinies?
The Buddha taught:
Good Present, a Great Bodhisattva abiding in the group of right determination will certainly not fall into the evil destinies. Good Present, what do you think? Among those at the eighth stage of the path, or Stream-enterers, Once-returners, Non-returners, Arhats, or Pratyekabuddhas, is there anyone who would fall into the evil destinies?
Good Present replied:
No, World-Honored One! No, Well-Gone One!
The Buddha taught:
Good Present, Great Bodhisattvas abiding in the group of right determination are likewise so; they certainly do not fall into the evil destinies. Why? Good Present, from the time that Great Bodhisattva first generates the mind, he practices the perfection of giving, practices pure morality, patience, diligence, meditative absorption, and the perfection of wisdom; abides in the emptiness of the internal, abides in the emptiness of the external, the emptiness of both internal and external, emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, supreme meaning emptiness, conditioned emptiness, unconditioned emptiness, ultimate emptiness, emptiness without boundaries, dispersed emptiness, unchanging emptiness, emptiness of intrinsic nature, emptiness of own characteristics, emptiness of common characteristics, emptiness in all phenomena, emptiness that cannot be grasped, emptiness of non-existence, emptiness of self-nature, emptiness of the non-existence of self-nature; practices the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of miraculous power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the eightfold noble path; abides in the noble truth of suffering, abides in the noble truth of origin, cessation, and path; practices the four meditations, the four immeasurables, and the four formless absorptions; practices the eight liberations, the eight bases of mastery, the nine successive meditative absorptions, and the ten all-encompassing spheres; practices all methods of dhāraṇī, practices all methods of samādhi; practices the liberation door of emptiness, practices the liberation doors of signlessness and wishlessness; practices the stage of Great Joy, the stage of Freedom from Defilement, the stage of Radiance, the stage of Blazing Wisdom, the stage of Difficult Victory, the stage of Manifestation, the stage of Far-Going, the stage of Immovability, the stage of Excellent Wisdom, and the stage of Dharma Cloud; practices the five kinds of eyes, practices the six supernatural powers; practices the ten powers of a Buddha, the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of unobstructed understanding, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, great equanimity, and the eighteen unshared Buddha qualities; practices the quality of not forgetting, practices the nature of always maintaining equanimity; practices omniscient wisdom, practices wisdom of the aspects of the path, and wisdom of all aspects; practices all the conduct of Great Bodhisattvas, practices the supreme perfect enlightenment of all Buddhas—all these have already subdued and cut off all evil and unwholesome phenomena.
Good Present, because of this cause and condition, for that Great Bodhisattva to fall into an evil destiny is impossible. If that Great Bodhisattva were to be born in the heaven of Long Life, that too would be impossible, meaning that in such places, the superior wholesome dharmas cannot manifest. If that Great Bodhisattva were to be born in a remote, inferior borderland or among lowly people who do not know the Buddha’s teachings, that too would be impossible, meaning that in such places one cannot practice superior wholesome dharmas; wrong views mostly arise, there is no faith in cause and effect, one constantly delights in engaging in evil actions, one does not hear the name of the Buddha, the name of the Dharma, or the name of the Sangha, and there are also no four assemblies: the assembly of bhikṣus, the assembly of bhikṣuṇīs, the assembly of upāsakas, and the assembly of upāsikās. If those Great Bodhisattvas were to be born into families following wrong views, that too would be impossible, meaning they would be born into families attached to mistaken views and knowledge, who do not believe in virtuous conduct, evil conduct, and their karmic results, who do not cultivate wholesome dharmas, and delight in doing evil.
Good Present, for a Great Bodhisattva who, with the mind that first seeks the supreme perfect enlightenment, wholeheartedly turns toward that attainment, and who accepts and upholds it with his superior aspiration, to commit the ten unwholesome courses of action would be impossible.
At that time, the Venerable Good Present addressed the Buddha:
World-Honored One, if Great Bodhisattvas have already accomplished such merits arising from roots of goodness from the time they first generate the mind, and do not again take birth in evil realms, then why is it that whenever the World-Honored One teaches the great assembly about his own former lives, whether in hundreds or thousands of lifetimes, there are also occasions when he was born in evil destinies? Where were the roots of goodness at that time?
The Buddha taught:
Good Present, it is not that the Great Bodhisattva, due to impure karma, receives a body in the evil destinies. Rather, it is solely to bring benefit and happiness to sentient beings; because of that vow, he accepts such a body.
Good Present, do Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas possess such skillful means? When, having taken the body of an animal, a hunter comes intending to cut him in two, he immediately gives rise to patience and immeasurable loving-kindness and compassion; wishing that person to gain benefit and happiness, he willingly gives up his own life without harming that person.
Good Present, from this cause and condition one should know that Great Bodhisattvas, wishing to bring benefit to sentient beings and wishing for their great loving-kindness and great compassion to quickly become complete, although they manifestly receive various animal bodies, are not stained by the faults of animal existence.
The Venerable Good Present again addressed the Buddha:
World-Honored One, in what wholesome dharma do Great Bodhisattvas abide, so that, in order to bring benefit and happiness to sentient beings, they receive such bodies?
The Buddha taught:
Good Present, what wholesome dharma do Great Bodhisattvas not perfect?
Good Present, because Great Bodhisattvas wish to attain the supreme perfect enlightenment, all wholesome dharmas must be perfected.
Good Present, from the time Great Bodhisattvas first generate the mind until they sit upon the wondrous Bodhi seat, during that interval there is no wholesome dharma that they should not perfect; they must fully accomplish all wholesome dharmas before attaining the supreme perfect enlightenment. If there remained even one wholesome dharma that had not yet been perfected and they attained the supreme perfect enlightenment, that would be impossible. Therefore, Good Present, from the time Great Bodhisattvas first generate the mind until they sit upon the wondrous Bodhi seat, throughout that period they constantly cultivate and learn all wholesome dharmas to perfection. Having perfected their cultivation and learning, they attain the wisdom of all aspects, permanently cut off all continuing habitual tendencies, and realize the supreme perfect enlightenment.
At that time, the Venerable Good Present addressed the Buddha:
World-Honored One, how can Great Bodhisattvas, having accomplished all such pure, undefiled, noble dharmas, be born in evil destinies and receive animal bodies?
The Buddha taught:
“Subhūti, what do you think? Has the Tathāgata attained all pure undefiled dharmas?”
Subhūti replied:
“World-Honored One, yes! Sugata, yes! The Tathāgata has attained all pure undefiled dharmas.”
The Buddha taught:
“Subhūti, what do you think? When the Tathāgata manifests an emanated body in the form of a sentient being of the animal realm, bringing benefit to living beings and accomplishing Buddha activities, is this so?”
Subhūti replied:
“World-Honored One, yes! Sugata, yes! When the Tathāgata manifests an emanated body in the form of a sentient being of the animal realm, he brings benefit to living beings and accomplishes various Buddha activities.”
The Buddha taught:
“Subhūti, what do you think? When the Tathāgata manifests an emanated body in the form of an animal, is he truly an animal and does he actually undergo the various sufferings?”
Subhūti replied:
“No, World-Honored One! No, Sugata! When the Tathāgata manifests an emanated body in the form of an animal, he is not truly an animal and therefore does not undergo the various sufferings.”
The Buddha taught:
“Subhūti, the great Bodhisattvas are also like this. Although they have perfected all pure undefiled dharmas, in order to bring about the accomplishment of living beings, they skillfully employ expedient means and take on bodies in the animal realm. By taking on such bodies, they bring about the accomplishment of living beings according to their capacities.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, what do you think? Can Arhats, whose defilements have been completely extinguished, transform their bodies and manifest various activities, and through those activities cause others to give rise to joy?”
The Buddha taught:
“Subhūti, it is so! Sugata, it is so! Arhats, whose defilements have been completely extinguished, can transform their bodies and manifest various activities; through those activities, they cause others to give rise to joy.
“The great Bodhisattvas are also like this. Although they have perfected all pure undefiled dharmas, in order to bring benefit and happiness to living beings, they use skillful expedient means and take on bodies within the evil destinies, bringing about the accomplishment of living beings according to their capacities. Although they take on such bodies, they do not share their sufferings, nor are they stained by the faults and defilements of those realms.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, what do you think? If a magician or his disciple transforms and creates various things such as elephants, horses, and so forth, causing those who see them to become greatly delighted, do elephants and horses truly exist for those people?”
Subhūti replied:
“World-Honored One, no! Sugata, no! For them, there are truly no elephants, horses, and so forth.”
The Buddha taught:
“Subhūti, the great Bodhisattvas are also like this. Although they have perfected all pure undefiled dharmas, in order to benefit living beings, they manifest by taking on bodies among the animal realms. Although they take on the bodies of such beings, they are not truly those beings, nor are they stained by the faults and defilements of those beings.”
At that time, the venerable Subhūti said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One, the great Bodhisattvas possess such vast skillful expedient means. Although they have perfected pure undefiled noble wisdom, for the sake of living beings they take on various kinds of bodies and manifest benefit according to the capacities of those beings.
“World-Honored One, upon what pure superior dharmas do the great Bodhisattvas abide that they are able to carry out such skillful transformations, so that although they take on bodies of animals, they are not stained by the faults and defilements of those beings?”
The Buddha taught:
“Subhūti, the great Bodhisattvas abide in Prajñāpāramitā and are able to carry out such skillful expedient means. Although they travel to innumerable worlds in the ten directions as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, manifesting various kinds of bodies to bring benefit and happiness to those living beings, they never give rise to attachment or defilement therein. Why is this? Subhūti, because those great Bodhisattvas, regarding all dharmas, completely have nothing to be attained. That is, they do not attain the subject that becomes defiled, the object that is defiled, or the causes and conditions of defilement. Why? Because the self-nature of all dharmas is emptiness.
“Subhūti, emptiness cannot defile emptiness; emptiness cannot defile other dharmas; and there is no dharma that can defile emptiness. Why? Because within emptiness, even the nature of emptiness itself cannot be apprehended, let alone any other dharma that could be apprehended.
“Subhūti, this is called the dharma of emptiness that cannot be apprehended. The great Bodhisattvas who abide in this dharma are able to realize the supreme state of enlightenment.”
At that time, the venerable Subhūti said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One, do the great Bodhisattvas abide only in Prajñāpāramitā in this way and thus become able to perform skillful expedient means, or do they also abide in other dharmas?”
The Buddha said:
“Subhūti, what other dharma is there that does not enter into Prajñāpāramitā? Why then do you suspect that they still abide in other dharmas?”
“World-Honored One, if Prajñāpāramitā itself is empty in nature, then how can Prajñāpāramitā encompass all dharmas? World-Honored One, within emptiness, one cannot say that there are dharmas that are encompassed or not encompassed.”
“Subhūti, is it not true that the self-nature of all dharmas is empty?”
“World-Honored One, it is so! Sugata, it is so!”
“Subhūti, if the self-nature of all dharmas is empty, then within emptiness, does it not encompass all dharmas?”
At that time, the Venerable Subhūti said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One, why is it that when a Great Bodhisattva practices the Perfection of Wisdom, abiding in the emptiness of the self-nature of all dharmas, he manifests and develops the Perfection of Supernatural Powers? Those Great Bodhisattvas who abide in this Perfection of Supernatural Powers are able to travel to countless worlds throughout the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, to make offerings to all Buddhas, receive and uphold the true Dharma, and cultivate wholesome roots in the presence of the Buddhas?”
The Buddha taught:
“Subhūti, if a Great Bodhisattva, while practicing the Perfection of Wisdom, observes that throughout countless worlds in the ten directions, the Buddhas and the Dharma they have taught are all empty in their self-nature, then they are only spoken of by relying upon conventional worldly designations; and these designations, which are established through conventional expression, are also empty in their self-nature.
Subhūti, if the worlds of the ten directions, the Buddhas, and the Dharma they have taught, together with the falsely established names and designations, had a self-nature that was not empty, then the emptiness that has been spoken of would not be all-pervasive. But because the emptiness that has been spoken of is not non-pervasive, all dharmas are empty in their self-nature.
Subhūti, when that Great Bodhisattva practices the Perfection of Wisdom, because he observes that all dharmas are empty, and through skillful means, he is able to manifest and develop the supreme Perfection of Supernatural Powers. Abiding in this Perfection of Supernatural Powers, he is also able to manifest and develop the pure divine eye, divine ear, supernatural ability of movement, knowledge of others’ minds, recollection of past lives, and the supreme supernatural knowledge that knows clearly the complete exhaustion of the defilements.
Subhūti, Great Bodhisattvas do not, apart from the Perfections of Supernatural Powers, become able to freely bring about the accomplishment of sentient beings, purify Buddha-fields, and realize the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment.
Subhūti, therefore, the Perfection of Supernatural Powers is precisely the path of cultivation leading to enlightenment. All Great Bodhisattvas aspire toward this path in order to attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. When they earnestly seek to attain it, they can perfect all wholesome dharmas for themselves and can also cause others to cultivate wholesome dharmas. Although they perform such deeds, they do not give rise to attachment toward wholesome dharmas. Why? Because that Great Bodhisattva knows clearly that the self-nature of wholesome dharmas is empty. It is not that within the emptiness of self-nature there is no attachment; rather, if there were attachment, there would be clinging. Because there is no attachment, there is also no clinging, for within emptiness of self-nature there is no clinging.
Subhūti, when that Great Bodhisattva practices the Perfection of Wisdom and abides in the supreme Perfection of Supernatural Powers, he manifests a divine eye that is purified beyond that of ordinary beings, and with this divine eye he observes that all dharmas are empty in their self-nature.
Subhūti, because that Great Bodhisattva sees that all dharmas are empty in their self-nature, he does not rely upon characteristics of dharmas to create actions. Although he teaches such dharmas to sentient beings, he also does not grasp the characteristics of sentient beings or the expressions used to describe them.
Subhūti, that Great Bodhisattva takes non-attainment as a skillful means, manifests and develops the Perfection of Supernatural Powers, and through that Perfection of Supernatural Powers is able to bring forth supernatural abilities according to compassionate vows and perform beneficial activities.
Subhūti, using the extremely pure divine eye surpassing ordinary beings, that Great Bodhisattva can see countless worlds throughout the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Having seen them, he manifests the supernatural ability of movement and goes to those places to perform all kinds of benefit for sentient beings. He may benefit them through the Perfection of Giving, or through Pure Conduct, Patience, Diligence, Meditation, or the Perfection of Wisdom; or through the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of miraculous powers, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the eightfold noble path; or through the four meditations, the four immeasurables, and the four formless concentrations; or through the eight liberations, the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive concentrations, and the ten universal bases; or through the teachings of the Hearers, the teachings of the Solitary Buddhas, the teachings of Bodhisattvas, or the teachings of all Buddhas.
Subhūti, if that Great Bodhisattva sees that sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions are filled with greed and stinginess, he feels immense compassion and teaches them this Dharma:
‘Sentient beings, you should practice generosity. Those who are greedy and stingy must endure the suffering of poverty. Because of poverty, they lack dignity and virtue; if they cannot even benefit themselves, how could they benefit others? Therefore, you should diligently practice generosity. Having brought happiness to yourselves, you can also bring happiness to others. Do not tear each other apart because of poverty; otherwise, you will all be unable to escape the many sufferings of the evil destinies.’
Subhūti, if that Great Bodhisattva sees sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions who destroy and violate pure precepts, he feels immense compassion and teaches them this Dharma:
‘Sentient beings, you should uphold pure precepts. Those who break precepts must suffer in the evil destinies. Those who break precepts lack dignity and virtue; if they cannot even benefit themselves, how could they benefit others? Due to the causes and conditions of breaking precepts, they may be born in hell and experience suffering, or be born among animals and experience suffering, or be born among hungry ghosts and experience suffering. If you fall into the evil destinies and undergo these sufferings, you cannot even save yourselves, much less save others. Therefore, you should maintain pure precepts. Do not indulge a mind that breaks precepts even for the briefest instant, much less for a long period. Do not abandon control of your own minds and later give rise to worry and regret.’
Subhūti, if that Great Bodhisattva sees sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions becoming angry with one another, constantly creating hostility and resentment, harming one another, he feels immense compassion and explains this Dharma:
‘Sentient beings, you should cultivate patience. Do not hold anger in your hearts, create resentment, or harm one another. Angry minds do not accord with wholesome dharmas; they only increase unwholesome dharmas and bring only loss and destruction. Because of such angry minds, when your bodies perish and your lives end, you will fall into evil paths such as hell, animals, and hungry ghosts, and experience intense suffering. Therefore, you should not hold onto anger even for the duration of a single instant, much less allow it to continue for a long time. Now you should give rise to a mind of loving-kindness and gradually cultivate conditions that accord with such a mind in order to create benefits.’
Subhūti, if that Great Bodhisattva sees sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions who are lazy and negligent, he feels immense compassion and teaches them this Dharma:
‘Sentient beings, you must diligently practice. Do not be lazy or negligent regarding wholesome dharmas. Those who are lazy cannot accomplish wholesome dharmas or important endeavors. Because of this, you will fall into hell, among animals, or among hungry ghosts, and endure countless sufferings. Therefore, you should not allow laziness to remain in your minds, even for the duration of a single instant, much less allow it to continue for a long time.’
Subhūti, if that Great Bodhisattva sees sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions who constantly lose mindfulness, are scattered, and whose minds are not tranquil, he feels immense compassion and teaches them this Dharma:
‘Sentient beings, you should cultivate meditation. Do not allow your minds to lose mindfulness and become scattered. Such minds do not accord with wholesome dharmas; they only increase unwholesome dharmas and continually bring decline and harm. Because of this, when your bodies perish and your lives end, you will fall into hell, among animals, or among hungry ghosts, and experience countless sufferings. Therefore, you should not allow minds associated with loss of mindfulness and distraction to remain, even for the duration of a single instant, much less allow them to continue for a long time.’
Subhūti, if that Great Bodhisattva sees sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions who are ignorant and follow evil views of understanding, he feels immense compassion and teaches them this Dharma:
‘Sentient beings, you should cultivate superior wisdom. Do not give rise to evil wisdom. Those who give rise to evil wisdom cannot even reach the paths of goodness, much less attain liberation. Due to the causes and conditions of following evil wisdom, you will fall into hell, among animals, or among hungry ghosts, and suffer countless painful afflictions. Therefore, you should not allow minds associated with ignorance to remain, even for the duration of a single instant, much less allow them to continue for a long time.’
Subhūti, if that Great Bodhisattva sees sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions who have much desire, he feels immense compassion and, through skillful means, teaches and guides them to cultivate contemplation of impurity. If he sees sentient beings with much anger, he feels immense compassion and, through skillful means, teaches and guides them to cultivate contemplation of loving-kindness. If he sees sentient beings with much ignorance, he feels immense compassion and, through skillful means, teaches and guides them to cultivate contemplation of dependent origination. If he sees sentient beings with much pride, he feels immense compassion and, through skillful means, teaches and guides them to cultivate contemplation of analysis of the elements. If he sees sentient beings with many discursive thoughts, he feels immense compassion and, through skillful means, teaches and guides them to cultivate mindfulness of breathing. If he sees sentient beings following wrong paths, he feels immense compassion and, through skillful means, teaches and guides them to enter the right path—the path of cultivation of Hearers, the path of cultivation of Solitary Buddhas, or the path of cultivation of Thus Come Ones. Again, through skillful means, he teaches them:
‘The objects you grasp are all empty in their self-nature. It is not that within emptiness there can be objects to grasp; rather, the absence of graspable objects is itself the characteristic of emptiness.’
Subhūti, in this way, when Great Bodhisattvas practice the Perfection of Wisdom, they must abide in the Perfection of Supernatural Powers in order to teach the true Dharma freely and bring benefit and happiness to all kinds of sentient beings.
Subhūti, if a Great Bodhisattva is separated from the Perfection of Supernatural Powers, he cannot freely teach the true Dharma or create all kinds of benefits for sentient beings.
Subhūti, just as a bird without wings cannot fly freely through the sky to distant places, Great Bodhisattvas are the same. Without the Perfection of Supernatural Powers, they cannot freely teach the true Dharma or create all kinds of benefits for sentient beings.
Therefore, Subhūti, when Great Bodhisattvas practice the Perfection of Wisdom, they should manifest and develop the Perfection of Supernatural Powers. If they manifest and develop the Perfection of Supernatural Powers, they can teach the true Dharma according to their wishes and bring benefit to all sentient beings.
Subhūti, that Great Bodhisattva, using the divine eye that is supremely pure and far surpasses ordinary beings, observes countless worlds throughout the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and observes the beings born in those places. Having seen them, he manifests the supernatural ability of movement and, in an instant, goes to those realms. Using knowledge of others’ minds, he truly understands the minds and mental factors of sentient beings and, according to their capacities, teaches essential Dharma. This includes teaching generosity, or Pure Conduct, Patience, Diligence, Meditation, and Wisdom; or the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of miraculous powers, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the eightfold noble path; or the four meditations, the four immeasurables, and the four formless concentrations; or the eight liberations, the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive concentrations, and the ten universal bases; or the Dharma doors of dhāraṇī, the Dharma doors of samādhi; or the Dharma doors of emptiness liberation, signless liberation, and wishless liberation; or the emptiness of the internal, the emptiness of the external, the emptiness of both internal and external, the emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, ultimate meaning emptiness, conditioned emptiness, unconditioned emptiness, ultimate emptiness, emptiness without boundaries, scattered emptiness, unchanging emptiness, original nature emptiness, own-characteristic emptiness, common-characteristic emptiness, emptiness of all dharmas, unattainable emptiness, emptiness of naturelessness, emptiness of self-nature, and emptiness of the self-nature of emptiness; or the Noble Truth of suffering, the Noble Truth of origin, cessation, and path; or causes and conditions, equal and uninterrupted conditions, objective conditions, and dominant conditions; or dharmas arising from conditions; or ignorance, formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, existence, birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief, and distress; or the aggregates, sense bases, and elements; or the path of cultivation of Hearers, the path of cultivation of Solitary Buddhas, the path of cultivation of Bodhisattvas, enlightenment, or Nirvāṇa—causing all sentient beings who hear these teachings to attain supreme benefit and happiness.
Subhūti, that Great Bodhisattva, using a divine ear that is extremely pure and surpasses ordinary beings, can hear all sounds of humans and non-humans. Through this divine ear, he can hear Buddhas throughout countless worlds in the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, teaching the true Dharma. Having heard it, his mind becomes clear and bright, and he is able to receive and uphold it. He then explains it truthfully to sentient beings, teaching generosity, pure precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, and Wisdom, and so forth up to teaching Nirvāṇa, causing those sentient beings who hear the Dharma to attain supreme benefit and happiness.
Subhūti, that Great Bodhisattva, using the extremely pure supernatural knowledge of others’ minds, truly knows the minds and mental factors of sentient beings. According to their capacities, he teaches them essential Dharma, including generosity, pure precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, Wisdom, and so forth up to Nirvāṇa, causing those sentient beings who hear the Dharma to attain supreme benefit and happiness.
Subhūti, that Great Bodhisattva, using the supernatural knowledge of recollection of past lives, can remember matters of his own and others’ previous lives. Through this supernatural knowledge of recollection of past lives, he truly knows the different names and distinctions of past Buddhas and their disciples. If sentient beings wish to hear about matters of previous lives and gain benefit from them, he teaches them such matters. Through this skillful means, he again teaches them the true Dharma, including generosity, pure precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, Wisdom, and so forth up to Nirvāṇa, causing those sentient beings who hear the Dharma to attain supreme benefit and happiness.
Subhūti, that Great Bodhisattva, using the supernatural ability of movement, which is extremely swift, goes to countless worlds throughout the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, approaches and makes offerings to the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, cultivates wholesome roots in the presence of the Buddhas, and then returns to his own land. He reveals to sentient beings the excellent matters of other directions. Through this skillful means, he teaches the true Dharma, including generosity, pure precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, Wisdom, and so forth up to Nirvāṇa, causing those sentient beings who hear the Dharma to attain supreme benefit and happiness.
Subhūti, that Great Bodhisattva, using the supernatural knowledge of the exhaustion of defilements according to his realization, truly knows which sentient beings have exhausted their defilements and which have not, and also truly knows the methods for eliminating defilements. For those who have not exhausted their defilements, he teaches essential Dharma, including generosity, pure precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, Wisdom, and so forth up to Nirvāṇa, causing those sentient beings who hear the Dharma to attain supreme benefit and happiness.
Subhūti, in this way, when Great Bodhisattvas practice the Perfection of Wisdom, they should manifest and develop the Perfection of Supernatural Powers. That Great Bodhisattva cultivates, according to his wishes, the acceptance of various bodies, yet is not contaminated by the faults of suffering and pleasure. Just as the manifested body of a Buddha can perform countless activities but is not stained by the faults of suffering and pleasure. Subhūti, when Great Bodhisattvas practice the Perfection of Wisdom, they should manifest the wondrous functions of the Perfections of Supernatural Powers. If they manifest the wondrous functions of the supernatural powers of the Perfection of Wisdom, they can bring about the accomplishment of sentient beings, purify Buddha-fields, and quickly realize unsurpassed perfect enlightenment.
Subhūti, if a Great Bodhisattva does not bring about the accomplishment of sentient beings and purify Buddha-fields, he will never attain the object he seeks, which is unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. Why? Subhūti, because the provisions necessary for enlightenment of Great Bodhisattvas are not yet complete, they certainly cannot attain the object they seek, which is unsurpassed perfect enlightenment.”