Commentary: Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (宣化)
Chinese translation: Tang Dynasty by the Tripitaka Master Shramana Shikshananda of Khotan
Vietnamese translation: Bhikshu Thích Minh Định
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Chapter 20 – Verses of Praise in the Yāma Heaven Palace
In the Palace of Jeweled Adornments in the Yama Heaven, ten great Bodhisattvas use verses to praise and extol the virtues of Buddha Shakyamuni. This is the twentieth chapter of this sutra. Therefore, it is called “The Twentieth Chapter: Verses of Praise in the Yama Palace.”
At that time, by the Buddha’s spiritual power, a great Bodhisattva appeared in each of the ten directions. Each was accompanied by Bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust motes in Buddha-lands. They came from worlds beyond lands as numerous as the dust motes in one hundred thousand Buddha-lands, and assembled.
Commentary: At that time, through the Buddha Shakyamuni’s great spiritual power, from every world in the ten directions, a Bodhisattva led Bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles in Buddha-lands, and together they came to the Saha World, to the Jeweled Adornment Hall in the Heaven of Yama, to hear the Buddha expound the great Dharma of the Flower Garland. They had all come from worlds ten thousand Buddha-lands beyond their own lands.
Their names are: Merit Forest Bodhisattva, Wisdom Forest Bodhisattva, Victorious Forest Bodhisattva, Fearlessness Forest Bodhisattva, Shame-and-Remorse Forest Bodhisattva, Diligence Forest Bodhisattva, Power Forest Bodhisattva, Practice Forest Bodhisattva, Awakening Forest Bodhisattva, and Wisdom Forest Bodhisattva.
Commentary: The titles of these ten great Bodhisattvas all use the character “Lâm” (“Forest”) as a distinguishing element. Because their wisdom and merit are as abundant as a forest, the character “Lâm” is used to convey their uniqueness.
The first is Bodhisattva Merit Forest. He presides over the fourth Dharma assembly and enters the samādhi of a Bodhisattva’s skillful contemplation in order to expound the Dharma method of the Ten Practices. The second is Bodhisattva Wisdom Forest; his wisdom is like a forest of trees. The third is Bodhisattva Superior Forest; his understanding and awakening are exceedingly superior. The fourth Bodhisattva is Bodhisattva Fearless Forest. He listens to the Dharma without fear and skillfully understands difficult principles. The fifth is Bodhisattva Shame-and-Remorse Forest. He constantly turns the light inward and seeks within himself. The sixth is Bodhisattva Diligence Forest. He advances with courageous diligence and is never at all lax. The seventh is Bodhisattva Power Forest. He cultivates the strength of the Six Perfections and proceeds straight to the other shore. The eighth is Bodhisattva Practice Forest. He illuminates principle to contemplate the Buddha, thereby giving rise to right practice. The ninth is Bodhisattva Enlightenment Forest. He awakens to his own mind, understands the mind and sees his nature. The tenth is Bodhisattva Wisdom Forest. He possesses the great perfect-mirror wisdom, which clearly illuminates the true aspects of all dharmas.
The lands from which these bodhisattvas came were the World of Body Wisdom, the World of Banner Wisdom, the World of Treasure Wisdom, the World of Supreme Wisdom, the World of Lamp Wisdom, the World of Diamond Wisdom, the World of Blissful Wisdom, the World of Sun Wisdom, the World of Pure Wisdom, and the World of Brahma Wisdom.
Commentary: From which worlds did those ten great Bodhisattvas come? Bodhisattva Merit Grove came from the world of Body Wisdom. Bodhisattva Wisdom Grove came from the world of Banner Wisdom. Bodhisattva Supreme Grove came from the world of Jewel Wisdom. Bodhisattva Fearless Grove came from the world of Superior Wisdom. Bodhisattva Shame and Remorse Grove came from the world of Lamp Wisdom. Bodhisattva Diligence Grove came from the world of Vajra Wisdom. Bodhisattva Power Grove came from the world of Peaceful Bliss Wisdom. Bodhisattva Practice Grove came from the world of Sun Wisdom. Bodhisattva Awakening Grove came from the world of Pure Wisdom. Bodhisattva Knowledge Grove came from the world of Brahma Wisdom.
These bodhisattvas each cultivated the pure conduct in the presence of Buddhas, namely: the Constant-Abiding Eye Buddha, the Unexcelled Eye Buddha, the Non-Abiding Eye Buddha, the Unmoving Eye Buddha, the Heavenly Eye Buddha, the Liberated Eye Buddha, the Truth-Examining Eye Buddha, the Luminous-Aspect Eye Buddha, the Supreme Eye Buddha, and the Dark-Blue Eye Buddha.
Commentary: Those ten great Bodhisattvas came from the world of wisdom. Each great Bodhisattva practiced pure conduct at a Buddha’s place of enlightenment. One was associated with a Buddha named Ever-Abiding Eye, because he accumulated practices in the body and perfected his merit and virtue. Another was associated with a Buddha named Unsurpassed Eye, because his wisdom was supreme. Another was associated with a Buddha named Unabiding Eye, because he awakened to the ultimate truth. Another was associated with a Buddha named Immoveable Eye, because he heard the profound teachings without fear. Another was associated with a Buddha named Heavenly Eye, because he upheld the truth, repelled delusion, and attained great, pure radiance. Another was associated with a Buddha named Liberation Eye, because phenomena and principle were no different, and he was free from the characteristics of body and mind. Another was associated with a Buddha named Truth-Examining Eye, because his characteristics did not move. Another was associated with a Buddha named Luminous-Characteristics Eye, because he illuminated principle and cultivated correctly. Another was associated with a Buddha named Supreme Eye, because he looked back to the source of mind and attained the unsurpassed fruit. Another was associated with a Buddha named Sound-Discerning Eye, because he discerned the Buddhas, turned back and transcended form and sound, brought the paths of mind and speech to an end, and attained the wondrously bright fruit.
When these bodhisattvas arrived where the Buddha was, they bowed at his feet. Each transformed a seat made of a treasury of maṇi jewels into a lion throne in the direction from which they had come, and sat cross-legged upon it.
Commentary: When those great Bodhisattvas arrived at the Jeweled Adornment Palace in the Yama Heaven of the Saha World, they bowed at the feet of Buddha Shakyamuni. Facing the direction from which each had come, they each manifested a Maṇi-Treasury Lion Throne and sat cross-legged upon it. They cultivated various samādhis, disciplined body and mind, and prepared to listen to the Buddha expound the wondrous Dharma.
As in this world, the Bodhisattvas assemble in the Yama Heaven. All worlds are likewise; the names of their Bodhisattvas, worlds, and Tathāgatas are all the same, without distinction.
Commentary: In the Yama Heaven palace in the Saha World, all the Bodhisattvas gather. The Yama Heaven palaces in the worlds of the ten directions are likewise. All Bodhisattvas, all worlds, all Tathāgatas, and all names are also the same, with no differences.
At that time, the World-Honored One emitted from his two feet hundreds of thousands of millions of wondrously colored rays of light, universally illuminating all worlds in the ten directions. In the palace of Yama Heaven, the Buddha and the Great Assembly all appeared without exception.
Commentary: At that time, from beneath both feet of Shakyamuni Buddha, hundreds of thousands of kotis of rays of light in beautiful colors emanated. Hence: “Five lights and ten colors, blazing and dazzling.” It could also be said: Myriad streams of radiance filled all of space and pervaded the Dharma Realm. That light shone throughout the worlds of the ten directions. In the Yama Heavens of those worlds, Shakyamuni Buddha and the great assembly appeared, manifesting scenes within them.
At that time, Bodhisattva Merit Forest, through the Buddha’s power, gazed throughout the ten directions and spoke these verses:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Merit Forest, relying on the Buddha’s great majestic spiritual power, surveyed all sentient beings throughout the ten directions and used twenty verses to explain the realm of the Buddha.
The Buddha emits great light,
Illuminating all ten directions.
All see the Honored One of Gods and Humans,
Who penetrates all things without obstruction.
Commentary: Shakyamuni Buddha often expounded the Dharma amid radiance, constantly emitting great light that shone throughout the ten directions. Hence: “The Buddha’s light shines everywhere.” But only those whose self-nature is pure can receive the blessing of the Buddha’s light and attain great wisdom. Though the Buddha’s light shines everywhere, it does not illuminate sentient beings who harbor jealousy, obstruction, selfishness, or arrogance and conceit. Only when all these dark thoughts have been swept away can one see the Venerable of Gods and Humans (the Buddha) and unite with the Buddha’s light as one, their radiance shining upon each other, communicating freely without obstruction.
The Buddha sits in the Yama Palace
Pervading the realms of the ten directions
This is exceedingly wondrous and rare
Rarely found in the world
Commentary: Without moving from his original place (the Bodhi site), the Buddha ascended to the Jeweled Adornment Palace in the Yama Heaven and sat upon the Jeweled Lotus Treasury Lion Throne, preaching the Dharma of the Ten Practices to the assembly. This was not so only in the Saha World; the Yama Heavens in the worlds of the ten directions were all likewise. The Buddha was preaching the Dharma, and the assembly was listening. That realm is most wondrous. Hence, the realm:
“One place is all places;
All places are one place.” That is also the realm in which the one and the many are unobstructed and mutually interpenetrate without obstruction. This realm is a rare and wondrous phenomenon that some ordinary people cannot see.
King of the Suyama Heaven,
Verse praising the ten Tathāgatas,
As seen in this assembly,
So it is in every place.
Commentary: The King of the Yama Heaven used verses to praise and extol the ten Buddhas. At the Dharma assembly in the Huayan Hall of Jeweled Adornments, they saw Shakyamuni Buddha emit light from the soles of both feet. All the Yama palaces in the worlds of the ten directions were likewise. The Buddha’s light shone throughout the assembly. The Buddhas were all teaching the Dharma of the Ten Practices, and the assembly was listening to the Dharma of the Ten Practices.
Those assemblies of Bodhisattvas
All bear the same name as we;
In every place throughout the ten directions,
They expound the unsurpassed Dharma.
Commentary: In the Huayan Dharma assembly in the Yama Heaven throughout the worlds of the ten directions, there are countless great Bodhisattvas who assist the Buddha in propagating the Dharma and influencing the assembly. Their names are all the same as ours (from Bodhisattva Merit Forest to Bodhisattva Wisdom Forest). All the Dharma assemblies throughout the worlds of the ten directions are expounding the profound, unsurpassed, wondrous Dharma.
From all the worlds they come
Their names are likewise no different
Each at that Buddha’s abode
They purely cultivate the holy life.
Commentary: Those great Bodhisattvas came from various worlds, and all had the same name, without any difference. Each Bodhisattva practiced pure conduct in the presence of the Buddha. Pure Brahma conduct means having no mind of greed, anger, jealousy, obstruction, delusion, conceit, arrogance, or selfishness.
Those Tathāgatas,
Their names are all alike,
Their lands are all prosperous and joyful,
Their spiritual powers are all unhindered.
Commentary: The names of all the Buddhas in the worlds of the ten directions are exactly the same. All the lands are prosperous and joyful. The supernatural powers of all the Buddhas are free and unobstructed.
In all places of the ten directions
All say the Buddha is here
Some see him in the human realm
Some see him dwelling in a heavenly palace
Commentary: All the Bodhisattvas and sentient beings in every assembly throughout the ten directions say, “The Buddha is in our assembly, expounding the wondrous Dharma.” Some see the Buddha manifesting in the human realm and preaching the Dharma to sentient beings; others see the Buddha dwelling in a heavenly palace and preaching the Dharma to the heavenly beings.
The Tathāgata abides everywhere in peace
In all the lands of every realm
We now behold the Buddha
Here in this heavenly palace.
Commentary: Shakyamuni Buddha is seated throughout the worlds of the ten directions. In all the lands of the worlds of the ten directions, Buddhas are preaching the Dharma. We (Bodhisattva Merit Forest and the other Bodhisattvas) now see the Buddha expounding the wondrous Dharma in the Hall of Jeweled Adornment.
Of old, the aspiration for Bodhi was raised
It reached throughout the realms of the ten directions
Therefore, the Buddha’s mighty power
Pervades all, beyond conception
Commentary: In the past, Shakyamuni Buddha made great Bodhi vows, every one of them for the benefit of sentient beings. Those great vows extend throughout the worlds of the ten directions. Therefore, the Buddha’s great awe-inspiring spiritual power fills the worlds of the ten directions. This is truly an inconceivable realm.
Far removed from worldly desires,
Endowed with boundless virtues,
Thus attaining the power of spiritual penetrations,
He is seen by all sentient beings.
Commentary: Why does the Buddha possess great spiritual powers and majestic virtue? Because he renounced all worldly fame and gain and did not crave the pleasures of the five desires, he came to possess boundless virtues. With virtue comes the power of wondrous spiritual abilities. All sentient beings with the requisite affinity can see the Buddha teaching the Dharma.
The five desires are expressed in two ways:
1. Wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep.
2. Form, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
These are the five sense objects. The most fundamental teaching of Buddhism is to teach people not to crave the five desires. Therefore:
“Wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep—
the five roots of hell.”
By leaving behind the five desires, one will be freed from birth and death.
Travel through the realms of the ten directions,
Like space, unobstructed;
One body, countless bodies—
Its form cannot be apprehended.
Commentary: Although the Buddha often travels through the worlds of the ten directions, his fundamental body remains unmoving, still seated beneath the Bodhi tree. (This is the realm in which the great Dharma of the Avatamsaka Sutra is expounded.) He goes to the worlds of the ten directions to teach and transform sentient beings, like space, coming and going without obstruction. A single Buddha in the Reward Body can manifest hundreds of thousands of millions of Emanation Bodies. In short, however many worlds there are, the Buddha manifests that many bodies. The sentient beings in each world all see the Buddha teaching the Dharma. Yet the marks of the Buddha’s body cannot be apprehended; one cannot point to any particular place and say, “That is Shakyamuni Buddha.” To seek the Buddha through marks is to follow a deviant path. The Diamond Sutra says:
“If one sees me through form,
or seeks me through sound,
that person follows a misguided path
and cannot see the Tathāgata.”
This is a doctrine that does not clearly explain the Dharma. For the Buddha is formless; formlessness does not mean the absence of all forms.
The Buddha’s merit is boundless
How can it be measured or known?
Neither abiding nor departing,
It pervades the Dharma Realm.
Commentary: In former times, the Buddha performed many meritorious deeds. He committed no evil acts, and therefore had no sins; He did good deeds, and therefore had boundless merit. It is impossible to fathom how much merit the Buddha had. The Chapter on Entering the Dharma Realm says: The thoughts in the minds of beings in worlds as numerous as
The dust particles of worlds can be counted;
The water in the great ocean can be drunk dry;
Empty space can be measured, and the wind can be bound;
But no one can fully describe the Buddha’s virtues.
The dust particles of worlds can be counted;
The waters of the great ocean can be drunk up;
Space can be measured, and the wind can be bound;
But the Buddha’s merits cannot be fully expressed.
Commentary: The Buddha neither comes nor goes. Therefore: “One who neither comes nor goes is called the Tathagata.” The Buddha’s Dharma Body pervades the entire Dharma Realm. The Buddha takes the Dharma Realm as his substance. The Dharma Realm is divided into the four Dharma realms of the sages and the six Dharma realms of ordinary beings. Therefore:
“The ten Dharma realms are not separate from a single thought-moment;
A single thought-moment contains all ten Dharma realms.”
Buddhas and sentient beings are all within the Ten Dharma Realms, and their minds communicate with one another. Therefore, it is said:
“Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—
These three are not different.”
Our minds can connect with the Dharma realm of Buddhas, the Dharma realm of Bodhisattvas, the Dharma realm of Hearers, and the Dharma realm of Pratyekabuddhas (the four Dharma realms of sages). They can also connect with the Dharma realm of gods, the Dharma realm of humans, the Dharma realm of asuras, the Dharma realm of animals, the Dharma realm of hungry ghosts, and the Dharma realm of hell beings (the six Dharma realms of ordinary beings). All Dharma realms are interconnected. The Buddha’s body is the Dharma realm and can enter all the Dharma realms. If we sentient beings cultivate, we too can see that everyone has Buddha-nature and that everyone can become a Buddha. But no one knows how to cultivate, so no one becomes a Buddha.
At that time, Bodhisattva Wisdom Forest, empowered by the Buddha’s might, surveyed the ten directions and spoke these verses:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Hui Lin, relying on the great majestic spiritual power of Śākyamuni Buddha, surveyed all sentient beings in the ten directions and used verses to make clear the realm of the Buddha.
World’s Great Teacher
The unsurpassed Venerable One, free from defilement
Inconceivable kalpas
Difficult to attain direct realization
Commentary: The world is divided into three kinds:
1). The world of sentient beings: That is, the world of living beings. All sentient beings cling to the self and to phenomena. This world is unequal, with differences in wisdom and foolishness, wealth and poverty, nobility and lowliness, short and long lifespans, and all kinds of other differences.
2). The world of receptacles: That is, the world of lands. All things exist in this world, such as mountains, rivers, land, houses, rooms, etc. This world is also unequal: some have beautiful houses and fertile fields, while others have leaky houses and poor land.
3). The world of those with right and true enlightenment—that is, the world of Buddhas. They truly awaken to the truth of the universe and all phenomena, and also awaken to their own pure mind; that is, they awaken to all worldly and transcendent dharmas. This world is perfectly equal, with nothing distinguished or set apart. There are two kinds of karmic results: the dependent and the proper. The dependent result is the rivers, mountains, land, houses, and rooms—the places we rely on and live in. The proper result is our body. If we created good karma in a previous life, we have a good place to live in this life; if we created bad karma in a previous life, we have an inferior place to live in this life. This is the law of cause and effect; it is not wrong by even the slightest amount.
The Buddha is the great spiritual guide who leads all people in both the worldly and supramundane realms. Having left behind all dust and defilements (impurities), the Buddha attained the pure original nature.
What is defilement? Simply put, it is ignorance and foolishness. Craving fame and craving profit are both defilements. Those who crave fame want to become famous figures in the world and have their names remembered for all time—that is, passed down from generation to generation. What kind of thing is this? It is a defiled practice. Those who crave profit want to amass great wealth and leave it to their descendants. But even if they become fabulously rich, when their eyes close and their legs stretch out, they will go empty-handed to face King Yama. They will be unable to take anything with them; only their karmic obstructions will follow them.
The Buddha saw through false fame and gain, and through what was illusory and unreal. He let go of everything and thereby attained freedom, becoming the unsurpassed, most honored one. An inconceivably long time must pass before a Buddha can be encountered; it is very difficult to meet one. Therefore: The wondrous, profound, unsurpassed Dharma
Is hard to encounter in hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas.
Now I have been able to hear, receive, and uphold it;
May I understand the Tathagata’s true meaning.
This is a Dharma teaching that is difficult to hear. It may also be said thus:
“The Buddha, wondrous, supremely venerable, unsurpassed,
Is difficult to encounter through hundreds of thousands of myriads of kalpas.
Now that I have heard and seen [the teaching], I bow in reverence.
May I always receive the Tathagata’s blessings.”
We have encountered the difficulty of being born after the Buddha (one of the eight difficulties), yet we can still hear the Buddha’s teachings today. This may be said to be thanks to the Buddha’s great light shining upon us.
The Buddha emits great light
No one in the world fails to see
For the multitudes, he expounds widely
To benefit all sentient beings.
Commentary: The Buddha emitted a great radiance, illuminating all sentient beings throughout the ten directions. All sentient beings encountered the Buddha. The Buddha extensively expounded the supreme, profound, wondrous Dharma for all sentient beings. For the benefit of all sentient beings, the Buddha preached the Dharma, enabling them to leave suffering and attain joy.
The Tathagata appears in the world
Rare and difficult to behold.
The Tathagata, lamp of the world,
Rare and difficult to encounter.
Commentary: Why did the Buddha appear in the world? Wouldn’t it be better to sit in meditation and enter samadhi in the Realm of Constant Tranquil Light? There would be no need to come into this world. Wouldn’t that be creating work where there is none? No! The Buddha is compassionate and takes pity on sentient beings, so he rides the boat of compassion back into the world to dispel the ignorance and darkness of sentient beings. The Buddha is the lamp of the world, able to illuminate and dispel all darkness. The Buddha is difficult to encounter even once in hundreds of thousands of kalpas; it is not easy to meet a Buddha. Do you want to meet a Buddha? Then you must diligently investigate Chan and sit in meditation. When you have reached the point where the furnace is clear and pure, you will attain the Five Eyes and be able to see the Dharma Bodies of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Having cultivated generosity, morality, and patience,
Diligence and meditation,
The Perfection of Wisdom
With these, illuminate the world.
Commentary: The Buddha had perfected the practice of giving. Therefore, he gave “his head, eyes, marrow, and brain (internal wealth), and his land, country, wife, and children (external wealth)” to those in need. When he gave, there was no thought of giving. Thus, “the three aspects of giving are empty”: there is no giver, no recipient, and no gift. Only with this understanding is it truly giving.
The Buddha had perfected the observance of the precepts. He not only refrained from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and drinking alcohol, but also observed the Eight Precepts and the Bodhisattva precepts. The precepts mentioned above are those received by laypeople. He also observed the ten precepts of a novice monk and the 250 precepts of a bhikkhu.
The Buddha had perfected the practice of patience. Patience means enduring even what is unbearable. When faced with unfavorable circumstances, you must endure; if someone scolds or hits you, you must endure as well. Therefore:
“Patience is a priceless treasure.
People do not handle it well.
If you can make good use of it,
Everything will turn out well.”
There are the patience toward living beings, the patience toward the Dharma, and the patience of the non-arising of dharmas. The Buddha cultivated diligence to perfection. He was diligent and never retreated. He practiced diligence courageously and was absolutely never negligent. He was diligent not only during the day and at night, but also with both body and mind. In short, he was diligent at every moment. Therefore: “Delve deeply into the Buddhist scriptures, and wisdom will be as vast as the sea.” The Buddha had perfected the practice of meditation. He was always abiding in samadhi, and whatever state arose, his mind remained unmoved. The Avatamsaka Sutra was preached by the Buddha while he was in samadhi, at seven places and in nine assemblies.
The Buddha perfected the practice of Prajñā. Prajñā means wisdom. Only by perfecting the practice of the five pāramitās mentioned above can one attain great wisdom. When wisdom manifests, one will reach the other shore.
When the practice of the Six Perfections is perfected, the great luminous wisdom will shine throughout all worlds. The Six Perfections are the practices of the Bodhisattva; they are also the Mahayana teachings: awakening oneself and awakening others, benefiting oneself and benefiting others. This is not the way of a self-centered person who “cultivates goodness for himself alone,” but the ideal of “cultivating goodness for all under heaven.” It is also the spirit of sacrificing the small self to fulfill the great self. For the happiness and peace of sentient beings, the Bodhisattva willingly and gladly endures suffering.
The Tathāgata has no equal
To seek his equal is impossible
Not understanding the true Dharma
No one is able to see him
Commentary: No one can compare with the Buddha; even if you tried to find someone who could, you would not. Why? Because the Buddha’s wisdom is unsurpassed, the Buddha’s auspicious features are majestic, the Buddha’s spiritual powers are vast and boundless, and the Buddha’s Dharma body fills all of empty space and pervades the entire Dharma realm. Is there anyone in the world as supremely honored as this? If one does not clearly understand the true nature of the Dharma—the principle of the true aspect of all dharmas—one cannot see the Buddha. Only when one fully understands the true nature of dharmas can one see the Buddha.
The Buddha’s body and spiritual powers
Inconceivable to fathom
Neither coming nor going
Expounds the Dharma to liberate sentient beings
Commentary: The Buddha’s Dharma body and spiritual powers are自在 and unobstructed, with endless transformations and an inconceivable realm. The Buddha’s Dharma body neither comes nor goes, yet he is always expounding the Dharma to teach and transform all sentient beings.
If anyone gains the chance to see and hear
The Pure Teacher of Gods and Humans
Forever escapes all evil realms
Renounces all suffering.
Commentary: If anyone is able to see and hear the Pure One, Teacher of Gods and Humans (the Buddha), they will forever escape the four evil paths and be free from the three kinds of suffering, the eight kinds of suffering, and immeasurable suffering. The four evil paths are asuras, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings. The three kinds of suffering are the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change, and the suffering of conditioning. The eight kinds of suffering are birth, aging, illness, death, separation from loved ones, meeting with those one resents, not getting what one wants, and the blazing intensity of the five aggregates. Immeasurable suffering means all forms of anguish and distress—the eighty-four thousand kinds of suffering.
Countless, immeasurable kalpas
Practicing the practices of Bodhi
Unable to understand this meaning
One cannot attain Buddhahood.
Commentary: Only after countless great kalpas spent wholeheartedly cultivating the bodhi practice can one fully understand the true meaning of the Buddhadharma. Otherwise, one can never understand its principles or attain Buddhahood.
Inconceivable kalpas
Making offerings to countless Buddhas
If one can understand this meaning
Merit surpasses theirs.
Commentary: To make offerings to immeasurable, countless Buddhas over an inconceivable number of kalpas—this is great merit. Yet if one understands the meaning taught in this Chapter on the Ten Practices, one’s merit surpasses that of making offerings to immeasurable Buddhas many times over.
Countless precious jewels from immeasurable realms,
Filled up and offered to the Buddha,
One who does not understand this meaning
Will never attain Bodhi.
Commentary: Using the treasures of immeasurable Buddha-lands to make offerings and give to the Buddha can be said to accrue immeasurable merit. Yet without clearly understanding the true meaning of this Chapter on the Ten Practices, no matter how long one gives and cultivates, one cannot attain unsurpassed, complete and perfect enlightenment.
At that time, Bodhisattva Victorious Forest, relying on the Buddha’s power, surveyed the ten directions and spoke these verses:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Victorious Forest, relying on the great majestic spiritual power of Shakyamuni Buddha, surveyed all sentient beings throughout the ten directions and used verses to explain the realm of the Buddha.
For example, in the month of early summer,
The sky is clear, without a cloud,
The blazing sun shines brightly,
There is no place in the ten directions it does not fill
Commentary: Just like in summer, the sky is clear blue, without a single cloud. The sunlight shines in all ten directions. All ten directions are filled with sunlight.
Its light is immeasurable
No one can fathom it
Those with eyes are still like this
How much more so the blind.
Commentary: The temperature of sunlight has no limits. No one can measure its temperature or know, ultimately, how many degrees it is. It can be said that no one knows. Much less the blind—how could they know? Of course, they cannot.
The Buddhas are likewise
Merit is boundless
In inconceivable kalpas
None can discern or know.
Commentary: The merit and virtue of the Buddhas of the ten directions are like the heat of the sun’s rays, without bounds. Even after inconceivable great kalpas, no one could determine exactly how much there is or know its precise quantity.
All dharmas have no place from which they come;
Nor is there an agent who makes them.
There is no source from which they arise;
They cannot be distinguished.
Commentary: All dharmas have no place from which they come, nor is there anyone who creates them. The nature of dharmas is like empty space; it does not arise from anywhere. Therefore, the nature of dharmas cannot be distinguished. The root of dharmas has no intrinsic nature at all. Therefore:
“All phenomena do not arise from themselves,
Nor do they arise from something else;
They arise neither from both nor without a cause.
Therefore, know that they are unborn.”
All dharmas do not come;
Therefore, there is no arising.
Because arising does not exist,
Cessation, too, cannot be attained.
Commentary: Since all dharmas by their very nature do not come, how could they arise? Since they cannot arise on their own, how could they cease? Dharmas are neither arising nor ceasing; therefore, arising is unattainable, and cessation is also unattainable.
All dharmas are unborn;
Nor do they ever cease.
If one can understand this,
That person sees the Tathāgata.
Commentary: Since all dharmas do not arise, they also do not cease. That is, there is neither the mark of arising nor the mark of cessation. If one clearly understands the principle that all dharmas neither arise nor cease, are neither defiled nor pure, and neither increase nor decrease, then one sees the Tathagata.
Since all dharmas are unborn,
Their own-nature has nothing to be found,
Knowing and discerning thus,
That person attains the profound meaning,
Commentary: All dharmas do not arise; how, then, could they have an intrinsic nature? If they had an intrinsic nature, they would arise. If one can discern things in this way and know the truth of all dharmas, one will attain unmoving suchness and penetrate the profound meaning.
Because the Dharma is without inherent nature,
No one can fully comprehend it.
To understand the Dharma in this way
Is ultimately to have nothing to understand.
Commentary: Since all dharmas have no inherent nature, no one can truly understand them. To understand that all dharmas are without nature is to reach the ultimate limit: nothing at all exists, and there is nothing to understand.
Those who say there is arising
Manifest all the realms;
They can know the nature of the realms,
And their minds are not deluded.
Commentary: To say that sentient beings exist, or that phenomena arise and appear in the Buddha-lands. If one clearly understands that the nature of all lands is like empty space, then one’s mind will not be deluded by illusory, unreal realms.
The nature of worlds and lands,
Observe all of it just as it truly is;
If one can understand this,
One can skillfully expound all meanings.
Commentary: Contemplate all the Buddha-lands in the world as realms of true suchness and true reality. If one clearly understands this truth and knows that all things are unborn and undying, then one can skillfully expound all the true meanings of the Buddha-Dharma.
At that time, Bodhisattva Fearless Forest, by the Buddha’s power, surveyed the ten directions and spoke these verses:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Fearless Forest, relying on the Buddha’s great majestic spiritual power, surveyed all sentient beings throughout the ten directions and used verses to elucidate the Buddha’s realm.
The Tathagata’s vast, expansive body
Ultimately abides in the Dharma Realm
Never leaving this seat
Yet pervades every place.
Commentary: The Dharma body of the Tathagata extends throughout all of space and pervades the Dharma realm; therefore, it neither comes nor goes. The Diamond Sutra says:
“Coming from nowhere,
Going nowhere,
He is called the Tathagata.”
The Tathagata’s vast body takes the Dharma-realm as its essence; the Tathagata’s wisdom body realizes the ultimate realm. Therefore, the Tathagata’s manifested body fills all places without leaving its seat. That is, without leaving the Vajra seat beneath the bodhi tree in the Saha World, or the lion throne in the Jeweled Lotus Treasury Palace of Jeweled Adornment in the Yama Heaven, it fills everywhere beneath the bodhi trees and in the Yama heavens throughout the ten directions.
If one hears this Dharma,
And reverently believes in it with joy,
One will forever leave the three evil paths
And all suffering and calamity.
Commentary: If one hears the teaching of the Huayan Sutra, with its perfect, unhindered interpenetration, layer upon layer without end, and gives rise to reverence, faith, joy, and delight, that person will surely be forever freed from the three evil paths and from all suffering, calamities, and inauspicious circumstances.
Suppose one were to travel to all worlds,
Countless beyond measure,
With focused mind, wishing to hear
The Tathagata’s sovereign power.
Commentary: If one wishes to travel through all the worlds, draw near to the Buddhas, and make offerings to them; to journey through immeasurable, boundless worlds too numerous to count, wholeheartedly intent on listening to the Buddha’s Dharma, then it is through the Tathagata’s sovereign supernatural powers that one can attain such a state.
Such are the Dharmas of all Buddhas,
They are unsurpassed enlightenment,
Suppose one wishes to hear them, even briefly;
There is no one who can attain them
Commentary: All such Buddhadharmas are methods for attaining Unsurpassed, Complete, and Perfect Enlightenment. If one wishes to listen to the Dharma only temporarily, it is impossible to hear the wondrous Dharma. One must sustain the bodhi aspiration and listen to sutras and the Dharma every day; only then can one obtain the benefits of the Buddhadharma.
If, in the past,
one had faith in the Buddha-Dharma in this way,
one would have become the Honored One of Two Perfections
and a lamp to the world.
Commentary: If, in the past, one had faith in the wondrous, profound, unsurpassed Dharma of the Avatamsaka Sutra, or had already become the Two-Footed Honored One—complete in both blessings and wisdom. The Two-Footed Honored One is the Buddha, who is a bright lamp for the world, illuminating and dispelling all the world’s darkness; then there would also be no suffering at all.
If anyone should hear
The Tathāgata’s power of mastery,
On hearing, they can give rise to faith;
They too shall become a Buddha.
Commentary: If anyone is able to hear the wondrous Dharma of the Avatamsaka Sutra, it is through the Buddhas’ freely wielded spiritual powers and blessings. It is because they planted wholesome roots in the past that they have the karmic conditions to hear the Avatamsaka Sutra today. After hearing the Dharma, they must give rise to faith; only then can they become Buddhas. Otherwise, if the Dharma passes through their ears like a breeze and leaves no trace, no seed of wholesome roots is planted in the field of the eighth consciousness. This is hearing without truly hearing, and it brings no benefit.
If there are those in the present
Who can believe this Buddha-Dharma
They too will attain perfect enlightenment
And expound the Dharma without fear.
Commentary: If, in the present, one deeply believes in the wondrous Dharma of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra and gives rise to no doubt, one too will attain Buddhahood. When expounding the Dharma for sentient beings, one is fully endowed with majestic virtue and has not the slightest fear. In short, one is neither intimidated by the might of the great assembly nor hindered by it.
For immeasurable, countless kalpas
This Dharma is exceedingly difficult to encounter
If anyone should hear it
Know that it is through the power of the original vows.
Commentary: Throughout immeasurable, countless great kalpas, one must make great bodhi vows before one can hear the Buddha’s Dharma. Today we have heard the great Dharma of the Avatamsaka—not merely because we planted good roots in the presence of one Buddha or two Buddhas. This wondrous Avatamsaka Dharma is truly difficult to encounter in hundreds of thousands of myriad kalpas. If someone hears this Dharma, it is thanks to the power of bodhi vows made in the past.
If anyone is able to receive and uphold
The Dharma of all Buddhas thus,
And, having upheld it, widely proclaim and expound it,
That person will attain Buddhahood.
Commentary: If someone regularly upholds the wondrous Dharma of the Avatamsaka Sutra, reads and recites it, explains it, and widely proclaims it to everyone, that person will become a Buddha. Now that we have heard the wondrous principles of the Avatamsaka Sutra, we must study them in order to understand them clearly. Once we understand them, we must practice in accordance with the Dharma in order to attain the stage of Wonderful Enlightenment.
How much more one who diligently strives
With a steadfast mind that does not let go
Know that such a person
Will surely attain Bodhi.
Commentary: Moreover, that person is diligent in both body and mind, practicing diligently at all six periods of the day and night. They have a steadfast mind, a sincere mind, and a mind that is always diligent, never becoming lax. With these three minds—steadfastness, sincerity, and constancy—they practice the six perfections and myriad practices, never abandoning them. You should know that such a person will surely attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. It is like the Bodhisattva Medicine King, who burned his body as an offering to the Buddha: this is true diligence. Such dedication is truly great and commands people’s admiration.
Then Bodhisattva Shame-and-Remorse Forest, relying on the Buddha’s power, surveyed the ten directions and spoke these verses:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Shame-and-Remorse Forest, relying on the great majestic spiritual power of Buddha Shakyamuni, surveyed all sentient beings throughout the ten directions and used verses to explain the realm of the Buddha.
What is shame and remorse? Shame and remorse mean knowing how to feel ashamed. It is recognizing that one’s actions have treated neither others nor oneself well—that they have benefited neither others nor oneself. One should give rise to shame and remorse, reform one’s wrongdoing, and renew oneself. If one does something wrong, one should go before the Buddha and repent. Therefore: “Sins as numerous as mountains
Are dispelled through repentance.”
If no mind of repentance arises, karmic offenses will persist forever.
I often say to you all:
“Recognize your own faults sincerely.
Do not discuss the faults of others.
The faults of others are your own faults.
Oneness of body is called great compassion.”
Anyone with a mind of great compassion absolutely does not speak of other people’s faults or gossip, nor judge their goodness or evil. Remember this! Remember this! Whether you are ordained or a layperson, do not lie or stir up disputes. Take compassion as your foundation and skillful means as your gateway. Wherever you go, find skillful ways to help others; do not seek out their troubles. Otherwise, no matter how long you practice—even into the distant future—you will still be a sentient being and will never attain success.
If someone happens to hear this
Rare, sovereign Dharma
It can give rise to a joyful heart
Quickly dispelling the net of doubt.
Commentary: Anyone who hears the marvelous and rare Dharma of this Flower Garland Sutra will surely give rise to joy. For the principles of this sutra are perfectly integrated and unhindered. Its realm is layer upon layer, boundless and endless—endless upon endless. Hearing this Dharma, one will quickly break free from the net of doubt.
Why do we have greed, anger, and delusion in our minds? Because we have not heard the Buddha’s teachings. If we want to be free of the three poisons, we should quickly let go of everything and sincerely come to learn the Buddha’s teachings. Even if we have to go without robes, food, or sleep, we must still learn the Buddha’s teachings. Why? Because clothing, food, and sleep are only temporary comforts. But learning the Buddha’s teachings can bring us lasting joy—and that is true joy.
The all-knowing, all-seeing one
Himself spoke these words:
The Tathagata knows all;
Therefore, he is hard to fathom.
Commentary: All who possess right knowledge and right view say thus to themselves:
“The Buddha is a sage of great wisdom.
There is nothing he does not know,
nothing he does not see.”
Therefore, it is inconceivable. The minds of ordinary people cannot clearly comprehend the words above.
Nothing comes from ignorance
and is born as wisdom.
The world is ever dark and bright;
therefore, nothing can arise.
Commentary: If one originally has no wisdom, one cannot generate wisdom. One must learn the Dharma-gate of Prajñā in order to give rise to wisdom. Thus: “Enter deeply into the treasury of the sutras, and wisdom will be as vast as the sea.” Since the world is always dark, it cannot give rise to wisdom.
As form and non-form
These two are not one
Wisdom and non-wisdom likewise
Their natures are each distinct
Commentary: The principle of having wisdom and not having wisdom is like gold and the color yellow. Although they are one, gold is gold, and color is color. In terms of nouns, gold and color are two, so we say these two are not one. The same principle applies to having wisdom and not having wisdom: their essences are different.
Like characteristics and the absence of characteristics
Birth and death, and Nirvana,
Distinguishing all differences
Wisdom and non-wisdom are likewise.
Commentary: Again, it is like having characteristics and having none: having form is a characteristic, and having no form is still a characteristic. But characteristics and the absence of characteristics are different: one exists, and the other does not. Birth and death and Nirvana are clearly distinct. Birth and death entail undergoing the cycle of rebirth, while Nirvana brings an end to birth and death. But in Nirvana there is no birth and death; birth and death are not Nirvana. Each has a different name. The principle of having wisdom and having no wisdom is likewise.
The world has just come into being
There is no sign of destruction
Wisdom and non-wisdom are likewise
The two characteristics are not simultaneous.
Commentary: The world is constituted by the four intermediate kalpas of formation, abiding, destruction, and emptiness. Each kalpa contains twenty minor kalpas. During the period of formation, no signs of destruction appear. The same is true of having wisdom and lacking wisdom. These two characteristics cannot exist simultaneously.
Like the Bodhisattva’s initial mind,
It does not coexist with the later mind,
Wisdom and non-wisdom are likewise,
The two minds are not simultaneous
Commentary: Just as a Bodhisattva’s initial arousal of the bodhi mind is not the same as the final vajra mind, so it is with having wisdom and lacking wisdom. These two kinds of mind cannot exist at the same time.
For example, the collections of consciousnesses
Each are not conjoined
Wisdom and non-wisdom are likewise
Ultimately not conjoined.
Commentary: The consciousnesses of the mind are the six faculties in relation to the realm of the six objects, and thus give rise to six kinds of discriminating mind, called the six consciousnesses. Eye-consciousness and ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness and tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness and mind-consciousness each have their own characteristics and functions, and cannot be combined. The presence and absence of wisdom are likewise completely irreconcilable, because they are not of the same kind and therefore cannot be reconciled with one another.
Like Agada medicine,
Able to destroy all poison,
The wise are likewise,
Able to destroy ignorance
Commentary: A-già-đà is translated as “universal antidote.” It can eliminate all poisons and diseases. It is also called the medicine of immortality, because it can dispel every poison, so one cannot die. The medicine A-già-đà can eliminate all poisons. Wisdom is the same: it can eliminate every poison. What poisons? The poisons of greed, anger, and delusion; wrong views; jealousy; afflictions; and ignorance. With the light of wisdom, all the darkness of ignorance will be dispelled.
The Tathāgata has no superior,
Nor anyone equal to him;
Among all, none can compare,
Therefore, he is difficult to encounter.
Commentary: The Buddha is the Unsurpassed, Perfectly Enlightened One; no one is higher than the Buddha, and so the Buddha is called the Unsurpassed Worthy. Nor is anyone equal to the Buddha. Nothing at all can compare with the Buddha’s auspicious features. Therefore, it is difficult to encounter the Buddha’s Dharma body throughout hundreds of thousands of myriads of kalpas.
At that time, Bodhisattva Forest of Diligence, relying on the Buddha’s power, surveyed the ten directions and spoke these verses, saying: At that time, Bodhisattva Forest of Diligence, relying on the Buddha’s majestic power, surveyed the ten directions and spoke these verses, saying: Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Forest of Vigor, relying on the great awe-inspiring spiritual power of Buddha Shakyamuni, surveyed all sentient beings throughout the ten directions and used verses to clearly explain the realm of the Buddha.
All dharmas are without distinction,
The dharmas are not different.
There is no one who can know them,
Only Buddha knows with Buddha,
For wisdom is ultimate.
Commentary: All dharmas have no distinct nature. One dharma is all dharmas; all dharmas return to one dharma. At the ultimate point, no dharma is established, and all dharmas are empty. The Buddhadharma is like empty space; no one can fathom it. Only a Buddha can clearly understand the wondrous meaning of all dharmas. All Buddhas follow the same path; all Buddhas are one in essence. Therefore:
“The Buddhas of the ten directions and the three times
all share the same Dharma body.”
Why do only Buddhas know the true meaning of the Dharma? Because the Buddha’s wisdom has reached the ultimate realm.
Just as gold and the color of gold
Have no distinction in their nature,
So too with Dharma and non-Dharma:
Their essential nature is not different.
Commentary: Dharma and non-Dharma are like gold and the color yellow; their nature is without distinction. Since essence and nature are both empty, there is no difference.
Dharma is wholesome; non-Dharma is unwholesome. The Hundred Treatises says:
“Even Dharma must be relinquished,
How much more so non-Dharma.”
The Diamond Sutra says, “Even the Dharma must be relinquished, how much more so what is not the Dharma.”
This teaches people not to cling to any dharma.
Beings are not beings
Neither is truly real
Such is the nature of all dharmas
The true meaning is that neither exists
Commentary: Sentient beings arise through the coming together of various conditions and cease when those conditions disperse; all are illusory and unreal. Therefore it says, “Sentient beings are not sentient beings; neither is real.” As mentioned earlier, the essential nature of the various dharmas cannot be expressed in words, for words do not convey the real meaning. Whatever dharma can be spoken of has no real meaning.
As in the future age,
There is no mark of the past,
All phenomena are likewise,
There is no mark of all things
Commentary: Just as the future has not yet arrived, it has neither the marks of the past nor the present. The past has passed, the future has not yet arrived, and the present never ceases; therefore, the past has no form or marks. The phenomena and principles of the three times are alike and have no marks whatsoever.
For example, the marks of arising and ceasing,
In all their varieties, none are real,
All dharmas are likewise so,
Their own-nature has no existence
Commentary: Take, for example, the marks of arising and cessation. Arising is not necessarily arising, and cessation is not necessarily cessation. Arising and cessation have no true mark. If they truly existed, they could not cease; if they could not cease, they could not arise. Whatever arises and ceases is not real. The dharmas are likewise: their own-nature is nowhere to be found, and thus they have no single substance or mark.
Nirvana cannot be grasped
When spoken of, there are two kinds
All dharmas are likewise
Distinctions have their differences.
Commentary: Nirvana is emptiness; it cannot be obtained through time. There are said to be two kinds: one is Nirvana with Residue (of the Two Vehicles), and the other is Nirvana without Residue (of Bodhisattvas). These are merely names; ultimately, they are entirely unobtainable. The same is true of all dharmas: when distinguished, they appear to have special and different characteristics.
As dependent on the things counted
And existing in the act of counting
That nature has no existence
Thus clearly understand the Dharma
Commentary: Just as one depends on things to be counted, only when there are things to count is there someone who counts. The nature of the things counted and of the one who counts has no place of existence. Clearly understanding all dharmas in this way, it is thus.
For example, the Dharma of numerical calculation
Increasing by one up to the immeasurable
The Dharma of numbers has no inherent nature
Because wisdom differs.
Commentary: For example, with the method of arithmetic, once you begin, there is one; add one more and that makes two; add one more and that makes three. Continue adding immeasurable ones, and the number is immeasurable. Therefore:
“One makes the immeasurable;
The immeasurable makes one.”
Returning to the source, it is still one. The principles of calculation and numbers have no inherent nature. But because people use their wisdom to count and distinguish, differences arise.
Just as all the worlds,
When the kalpa is consumed by fire, come to an end,
Space remains unharmed,
So too is the Buddha’s wisdom.
Commentary: All sentient and non-sentient beings in the world have a life span. The life spans of different kinds of beings may be long or short, and they are not the same. When the world (the earth) is in the stage of formation, things grow; when it is in the stage of existence, it is healthy; when it is in the stage of dissolution, it is diseased; and when it is in the stage of emptiness, it is no more. When the world reaches the kalpa of fire, one of the three great calamities, the seas will dry up of themselves, and the mountains, rivers, and great earth will be burned to ashes. Yet space has no sign of being harmed, because space contains nothing at all. The Buddha’s wisdom is likewise like space, with nothing that can harm it.
Like sentient beings throughout the ten directions
All grasp the sign of empty space
The Buddhas are likewise
The world falsely discriminates.
Commentary: Just as all sentient beings in the ten directions wish to grasp the sign of space, no matter how they try to grasp it, space remains unchanged and undiminished. The Buddhas are likewise: they cannot be exhausted by taking, nor depleted by use. Because worldly beings have deluded discrimination, they give rise to all sorts of different distinctions between dharmas and non-dharmas.
At that time, Bodhisattva Strength Forest, by the Buddha’s power, gazed throughout the ten directions and spoke these verses:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Power Forest, relying on the Buddha Shakyamuni’s great majestic spiritual power, surveyed all the causes and conditions of all sentient beings throughout the ten directions and used verses to explain the Buddha’s realm.
All realms of sentient beings
are within the three times;
all sentient beings of the three times
abide within the five aggregates.
Commentary: Sentient beings in the nine Dharma realms all exist within the three periods of time. Whether they are sentient beings of the past, present, or future, they are all bound by the five aggregates and cannot attain liberation.
Karma is the basis of all aggregates
Mind is the basis of all karma
Mental phenomena are like illusions
The world is likewise
Commentary: All aggregates take karma as their root; when karma is created, the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness arise. All karma takes mind as its root. Karma arises from the minds of sentient beings. Therefore: “All is created by mind.” Mental phenomena are not real; they are like illusions. Everything in the world is likewise illusory and has no real substance. Knowing that it is false and unreal, why cling to it?
The world is not made by itself,
Nor, again, is it made by another,
Yet it comes to be formed,
It likewise comes to destruction
Commentary: This world was not created by me, nor was it created by any one person alone. It has times of coming into being and times of falling apart. Since the world, too, has a lifespan, whatever comes into being must eventually be destroyed. The four phases of formation, abiding, decay, and emptiness: an end followed by a beginning, cycling without end.
Though the world may come into being
Though the world may be destroyed
One who has understood the world
Should not speak of these two.
Commentary: Although the world undergoes formation and destruction, one who clearly understands the phenomena of the world also knows that they are illusory and unreal. In reality, the world neither comes into being nor is destroyed, so it is not worth speaking of the characteristics of formation and destruction.
What is called the world?
What is called not-the-world?
The world and not-the-world
Are merely different names.
Commentary: What, then, is the worldly? What is the non-worldly? To call something worldly or non-worldly is merely to give it a different name. In truth, its essential nature is illusory, not real.
The dharmas of the five aggregates in the three times
are said to be called the world
Their cessation is not the world
Thus they are merely provisional names
Commentary: The dharmas of the three times and the five aggregates are expediently given a name and called “the world.” They are subject to destruction; they are not truly the world, but merely a provisional name.
How are the aggregates spoken of?
What nature do the aggregates possess?
The nature of the aggregates cannot be destroyed,
Therefore they are said to be unborn.
Commentary: How should one explain the five aggregates? What intrinsic nature could the five aggregates have? The nature of the five aggregates cannot be destroyed; since there is no cessation, how could there be arising? If there is arising, there is cessation; if there is no cessation, there is no arising. Therefore, worldly phenomena and the five aggregates are all illusory and unreal. Do not cling to them.
Examine these aggregates
Their nature is originally empty and quiescent
Because they are empty, they cannot be destroyed
This is the meaning of non-arising
Commentary: When one examines the dharmas of the five aggregates, their essential nature is originally empty and quiescent, without form or appearance. Because they are empty, they cannot be destroyed. Since they cannot be destroyed, how could they arise? This is the principle of non-arising and non-ceasing.
Sentient beings are thus,
All Buddhas are likewise,
The Buddha and the Dharma of all Buddhas,
Their own-nature has nothing to it
Commentary: Sentient beings are inherently thus: all are empty. Therefore, the essential nature of all Buddhas is also empty. Hence:
“If anyone wishes to know the realm of the Buddhas,
Let them purify their mind like empty space.”
The Buddha and all Buddha-dharmas are like empty space; their own-nature is nowhere to be found.
Able to know these dharmas,
As they truly are, without distortion,
The one who sees and knows all,
Always seen before them.
Commentary: If one clearly understands that sentient beings, the world, the five aggregates, and all phenomena are illusory and unreal, then what is there left to cling to? If one clings, one is merely clinging to empty space. So what is there in empty space to cling to? If one understands this principle, one will not be subject to any delusions. Those who see and know in this way will have the Buddhas constantly appear before them.
This teaches people not to cling to appearances. Therefore:
“Clinging to appearances, one is foolish at every turn;
Even the unconditioned falls into emptiness again.”
What is there to cling to in appearances? Any kind of clinging is mistaken; but to say that nothing exists at all is to fall into the delusion of emptiness. To fall into neither emptiness nor existence is the Middle Way. Therefore:
“True emptiness does not hinder wondrous existence;
wondrous existence does not hinder true emptiness.”
Because true emptiness is not empty, there is wondrous existence. Wondrous existence is not existence; this is true emptiness.
At that time, Bodhisattva Merit Forest, empowered by the Buddha, surveyed all ten directions and spoke in verse, saying:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Hạnh Lâm, relying on the Buddha Shakyamuni’s great majestic spiritual power, surveyed all the causes and conditions of all sentient beings in the ten directions and used verses to explain the Buddha’s realm clearly.
Just as the realms of the ten directions
All kinds of earth
Have no inherent nature
And pervade everywhere.
Commentary: The Dharma of the Buddha is like the lands of the great earth in all the worlds of the ten directions. Its fundamental substance is nowhere to be found, yet there is no place without earth. All worlds have earth.
The Buddha’s body is likewise so
Pervading all the worlds
With all manner of forms and appearances
Without a master, with no place of coming;
Commentary: The Buddha’s Dharma body is like the earth, extending everywhere. In the worlds of the ten directions, the Buddha’s body pervades all. The Buddha manifests forms and appearances, with the thirty-two marks and eighty characteristics. It has no master, and neither comes nor goes. Like space, it neither abides nor has any place to come from.
Only because of the various karmas
Are they called sentient beings;
Nor apart from sentient beings
Can karma be found.
Commentary: Sentient beings come into being as a result of karmic retribution. Karma is not just one kind; there are all sorts of karma. Because there are all sorts of karma, beings experience all sorts of retributions. They must undergo these retributions, and so they become sentient beings. Karma exists within sentient beings; it is not separate from them, nor is there karma existing independently outside them. The fruition of karma is the five aggregates. It is not that the five aggregates create karma; rather, the creation of karma gives rise to the five aggregates.
The nature of karma is originally empty and still,
The basis on which sentient beings rely,
It universally creates all forms and appearances,
It, too, has no place from which it comes
Commentary: The nature of karma is inherently empty and still. Therefore:
“Understand that karmic hindrances are originally empty;
Fail to understand, and you must repay old karmic debts.”
If one fully realizes awakening, karmic obstructions are inherently empty. With a single deluded thought, one is obscured by karmic obstructions and can no longer be empty and still. Therefore, one must undergo karmic retribution and repay the debts of sins from past lives. Sentient beings rely on the nature of karma, and thus all forms come to exist. Sentient beings neither come nor go, because the nature of karma is inherently empty; therefore, there is nowhere to come from.
All such forms and appearances
Karmic power is inconceivable
Having understood their fundamental root
Within them, nothing is seen
Commentary: All manner of forms and appearances like these are created by the force of karma, which is also inconceivable. If one clearly understands the fundamental principle of karma—that it is empty and quiescent—then there is nothing to be found or seen within karma.
The Buddha’s body is likewise so,
Inconceivable and unattainable,
In countless forms and appearances,
It appears throughout the lands of the ten directions
Commentary: The Dharma body of the Buddha is likewise inconceivable and beyond discussion. The Buddha manifests all manner of forms and marks throughout the Buddha lands in the ten directions. Yet the Buddha’s true nature does not move and never leaves the vajra seat at the Bodhi Way-Place beneath the bodhi tree.
The body is not the Buddha;
The Buddha is not the body.
Only take the Dharma as the body;
Penetrate all dharmas.
Commentary: Although the Buddha manifests all kinds of forms, he does not cling to forms and appearances. The Buddha’s form body is not the true Buddha. The true Buddha neither comes nor goes, pervading all of space and the Dharma realm, nowhere and yet everywhere. To mistake the reward body for the Buddha is wrong. One must not cling to the physical body—yet cannot let it go? The Buddha takes the Dharma body as his body, and the Dharma body is everywhere. All phenomena belong to the Buddha’s Dharma body. If one understands all things, then one has also seen the Buddha’s body.
If one can behold the Buddha’s body
Pure, like the nature of Dharma
That person, in the Buddha-Dharma
Has no doubts whatsoever.
Commentary: If someone were to see the true body of the Buddha, they would see that it is pure, like the nature of Dharma. Therefore:
“The characteristics of all dharmas are quiescent;
they cannot be explained in words.”
The nature of all dharmas is quiescent and unmoving. If a person clearly understands this principle, they will not cling to anything. They will not give rise to doubt about any of the Buddha’s teachings. Why? Because dharma is not a fixed dharma, and therefore it cannot be clung to. If one does not cling to anything, what is there to doubt? What is there not to understand? If one clings to nothing, one will understand everything.
If one sees all phenomena
As having Nirvana as their original nature,
That is seeing the Tathagata,
Who ultimately abides nowhere.
Commentary: If one sees the essence of dharmas, one sees their quiescent nature. The inherent nature of all dharmas is unborn and undying, neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing. If one clearly understands this principle, one sees the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. Seeing that the Dharmakaya abides nowhere, one ultimately has nothing to cling to.
If one cultivates right mindfulness
Clearly understands and sees right awakening
Without marks, without discrimination
This is called a Dharma Prince.
Commentary: If one cultivates mindfulness without attachment, one will understand the true nature of all phenomena and attain the state of Perfect, Complete Enlightenment. That state is without characteristics and without discrimination. One is called a Dharma Prince (a son of the Dharma King), meaning one will inherit the position of the Dharma King (the Buddha). The Buddha is the Dharma King, and a Bodhisattva is the Dharma King’s child. To become a Buddha, one must first become a Bodhisattva, arouse the mind of bodhi, and follow the Bodhisattva path.
At that time, Bodhisattva Juelin, through the Buddha’s awesome power, surveyed the ten directions and spoke these verses:
Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Juelin, relying on the great awe-inspiring spiritual power of the Buddha Śākyamuni, surveyed all sentient beings throughout the ten directions and used verses to explain the realm of the Buddha.
Like a skilled painter
Arranging the various colors
Deludedly grasping different forms
The great elements do not differ.
Commentary: The human mind is like a painter. When it wants to paint, what does it first wish to paint on paper in its mind? How should it combine the colors green, yellow, red, white, and black? “Displaying the colors”—this is the nature that arises in dependence on things. Relying on white paper and all the colors, one paints; this is the nature that arises in dependence on things through painting. “Falsely taking different appearances”—this is the nature of imagined designation. How does one paint? What does one paint? In fact, whatever one paints is false and unreal. “The great elements are undifferentiated”—this is the nature of perfected reality; fundamentally, there is nothing to distinguish.
Does that painter want to paint landscapes? Or figures? Or plants? Or beasts? Birds and fish? The forms are different. Yet the blank sheet of paper has nothing to distinguish one from another; it is by using different colors and taking different forms that the paintings turn out differently.
Those great elements are like true suchness. The forms of sentient beings, though utterly deluded and inverted, do not depart from the eternally abiding true mind. Nor do they depart from the nature of the Tathāgata-garbha. Here there is true emptiness and wondrous existence.
Sentient beings are characterized by inversion: they do what they should not do and fail to do what they should; they take what they should not take and fail to take what they should; they say what they should not say and fail to say what they should.
It is like a hailstorm: every hailstone is transparent, and foolish people think they are pearls. Seeing how bright and beautiful they are, they gather up many of them and put them in a chest. Before long, the hailstones melt into water. This is the mistake of taking what should not be taken. Later, when that foolish person comes across a real pearl, he thinks, “This is a stone; it will melt into water, so I can’t take it.” This is the principle of failing to take what should be taken.
Sentient beings are inverted in just this way: they cannot distinguish right from wrong, or black from white. They give rise to feelings, create karma, undergo retribution, and continue to transmigrate without end.
Within the great elements, there is no form
Within form, there are no great elements
Nor is it apart from the great elements
that form can be apprehended.
Commentary: There is no color in paper. Whether many colors are used or few, once it is painted, colors will appear. This is the principle of relying on the true to give rise to the false. In the self-nature of true suchness, originally there is nothing at all; it is blank white. Yet, relying on the true, the false arises. Originally, there is no falsehood within the true. Therefore: “The true does not give rise to the false,” which is why it is said: “There are no great elements within form.” This falsehood cannot give rise to the true. The more you paint, the less the colors resemble the original, covering over the paper’s original whiteness. It is like ignorance arising from true suchness. Ignorance gives rise to afflictions, and then greed, anger, and delusion all appear.
However, it is said, “Within the great elements there is no form, and within form there are no great elements.” Yet this form is not separate from these great elements. Likewise, apart from the true, there is no delusion. If it were separate from the great elements, separate from the self-nature of suchness, then all afflictions and ignorance would be gone. This is a kind of deluded thought manifested by our true mind. Yet the true mind cannot manifest within deluded thought. Deluded thought, too, is not separate from the true mind. This is like the principle that afflictions are bodhi and birth and death are nirvana. This principle clarifies suchness; hence it is said, “Nor is color obtained apart from the great elements.” Afflictions and deluded thoughts do not exist apart from the self-nature of suchness. Deluded thought arises in dependence on the true. Yet delusion does not reveal the true, for once delusion is present, the true does not appear either.
Within the mind, there is no colored painting,
Within colored painting, there is no mind,
Yet it is not apart from the mind,
A colored painting can be attained
Commentary: There are originally no paintings in the mind; they are clearly unattainable. Yet no paintings can be found in the mind, and neither can the mind be found in the paintings. The mind that paints is still inseparable from the painting: apart from the mind, a painting cannot be made; apart from the painting, there is likewise no mind that paints. Therefore, one cannot separate the paintings from the mind and have them exist on their own outside it. To paint is to use the mind to paint; yet although the mind is used to paint, there is no mind within the painting.
That mind continually abides nowhere
Immeasurable and inconceivable
Manifests all forms
Each does not know the others
Commentary: The mind paints, yet never abides anywhere. Its paintings are immeasurable and boundless, and one cannot ultimately conceive how many there are. All colors appear within the great elements; each painting neither knows nor recognizes the others.
Just as a skilled painter
Cannot know his own mind
Yet paints by means of the mind
The nature of all dharmas is thus.
Commentary: It is like a skilled painter: when he paints, he knows only how to paint. What, ultimately, does he paint? He does not know clearly either; he merely paints in response to conditions. Because the mind conceives of painting, it paints. The nature of all phenomena is likewise like the mind’s painting.
The mind is like a master painter,
Able to paint all the worlds.
The five aggregates all arise from the mind;
There is no dharma it does not create.
Commentary: The human mind, like a painter, is apt to paint all the realms of the world: the mountains, rivers, and great earth, and the myriad things and phenomena. It can paint them all. The five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness—also arise from the mind, just as though painted. First, form arises; then all kinds of dharmas arise. Therefore, it is said that there is no dharma that does not arise. Thus:
“When the mind arises, all kinds of dharmas arise;
When the mind ceases, all kinds of dharmas cease.”
This mind of arising and ceasing is not the true mind. The true mind neither arises nor ceases. This is the deluded mind: from it, confusion arises, karma is created, and retribution is experienced. Originally, there are no afflictions at all. Because of a single deluded thought, we use delusion to pursue delusion, chasing after one another, and thus drift ever farther from the truth. If we turn back, abandon delusion and return to awakening, and return to the source, we will come home to our original homeland.
As the mind, so is the Buddha
As the Buddha, so are sentient beings
One should know that Buddha and mind
Their essential nature is all inexhaustible
Commentary: Therefore:
“The Buddha expounds all dharmas
to liberate all minds.
If there were no minds to liberate,
what use would all dharmas be?”
This verse speaks of the minds of sentient beings as layered upon layered and limitless, and so the Buddha expounded the Dharma as layered upon layered and limitless. Just as with the mind and the Buddha, so too with the mind and sentient beings. You should know that the Buddha and your own mind of arising and ceasing are both, in their essential nature, boundless and endless.
If one knows the workings of the mind,
which creates all worlds everywhere,
that person then sees the Buddha
and understands the Buddha’s true nature.
Commentary: If someone knows that mind and thought are thus, they create all the realms of the world. If, within conventional truth, they find ultimate truth, and within delusion, they find the true, then, returning to the source, they will see the Buddha and clearly understand the Buddha’s true nature.
The mind does not abide in the body
The body likewise does not abide in the mind
And yet can perform the Buddha’s work
A freedom never before known
Commentary: “The eternally abiding true mind,
Its nature pure, its essence luminous.”
It is also suchness, that is, the nature of the Tathāgatagarbha. This mind is neither within the body, nor outside it, nor in between; hence it is said, “The mind does not abide in the body.” The body has form, while the mind has no form and is everywhere. This is also the principle expressed in the verse:
“Within the great elements there is no form;
Within form there are no great elements.”
Color cannot be obtained apart from the great elements. It can also be said:
“Within the mind there is no painted color;
within painted color there is no mind.”
People do not depart from the mind, yet they can obtain painted colors. One may also say:
“Ice does not abide in water;
water does not abide in ice.”
Ice is not water, and water is not ice. Yet water turns into ice, and ice turns into water. Therefore, it is said:
“Within the true mind is delusion;
Delusion does not manifest the true.”
Within the true mind is the deluded mind, but the true mind does not manifest within the deluded mind. Therefore, it is said, “The body does not abide in the mind.” Yet body and mind rely on and sustain one another, and can carry out all kinds of Buddha-work. This is the Dharma realm in which principle and phenomena are unobstructed, perfectly interfused and all-pervasive—a realm of freedom never before seen.
If a person wishes to know clearly
all the Buddhas of the three times,
they should contemplate the nature of the Dharma realm;
all are created by mind alone.
Commentary: If someone wishes to fully understand all the Buddhas of the three times and ten directions, they should contemplate the nature of the Dharma realm. The Dharma realm is true suchness, to be contemplated as it truly is; one contemplates only mind-consciousness. All realms of experience are created by the mind.
Now, to tell the story: In the first year of the Tang Dynasty’s Tiaoyuan era, corresponding to 684 CE, there was a monk named Wang Minggan, a native of Luoyang. Although he had left home to practice the Way, he observed no precepts and did no good deeds. One day, he died of illness, and two impermanence demons led him to the gate of hell. There he met a monk (the Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha), who taught him this verse:
“If anyone wishes to know clearly
All the Buddhas of the three ages,
They should contemplate things thus:
The mind creates all the Tathāgatas.”
They had him chant, and thus he escaped the torments of hell. Therefore, he devoted himself to chanting. When he arrived at King Yama’s palace, King Yama saw light radiating from the top of his head and asked him: “What acts of merit did you perform during your lifetime?” — He replied, “I only recite the four-line verse.” – King Yama asked again, “What four lines? Recite them for me to hear.” When he recited that verse, all those who were suffering and heard it wherever they were were liberated. Seeing that he had earned this merit, King Yama allowed him to return to the world of the living and proclaim the verse. Yang Minggan died and came back to life three days later. Remembering the verse clearly, he asked Dharma Master Sengding at Kongguan Monastery which sutra it came from. They found it in the Avatamsaka Sutra. Think about it: merely reciting one verse from the Avatamsaka Sutra brought such great merit. If one recites all the verses in the sutra, the merit would naturally be inconceivable! At that time, Bodhisattva Wisdom Forest, by the Buddha’s mighty power, surveyed the ten directions and spoke these verses, saying: At that time, Bodhisattva Trí Lâm, relying on the Buddha’s majestic power, surveyed the ten directions and spoke in verse, saying: Commentary: At that time, the great Bodhisattva Wisdom Grove, relying on the Buddha’s great majestic spiritual power, observed throughout the causes and conditions of all sentient beings in the ten directions, and used verses to explain the Buddha’s realm.
That which is apprehended cannot be apprehended,
That which is seen cannot be seen,
That which is heard cannot be heard,
The One Mind is inconceivable.
Commentary: Living beings, because they have attachments—to grasping, seeing, hearing, and thinking, these four kinds of attachment—cannot obtain the benefits of the Dharma. If what is grasped cannot be grasped, what is seen cannot be seen, what is heard cannot be heard, and what is thought cannot be thought, then what is there still to be attached to? These four lines of verse teach you not to cling to phenomena or to principle. Phenomena and principle are unobstructed; all states are illusory and unreal, so do not cling to them. Hence it says, “One mind is inconceivable.”
The finite and the infinite
Neither can be grasped.
If someone wishes to grasp them,
In the end, nothing is attained.
Commentary: Whether with quantity or without quantity, both of these dharmas arise and cease; therefore it is said, “Neither can be grasped.” If someone clings to the limited and the unlimited as a principle, then in the end neither the limited nor the unlimited exists. No single dharma is established, and the myriad dharmas do not arise. If one understands the principle of the true nature of all dharmas, then nothing can be grasped.
To say what should not be said
Is to deceive oneself.
One’s own affairs remain unaccomplished,
And others are not made joyful.
Commentary: To speak when one should not is to lie. To lie when one should not is to deceive oneself. Not speaking when one should speak is also lying, and also deceiving oneself.
If one’s own great matter is not yet clear, one cannot attain accomplishment. Since one has not realized the fruits of practice and lacks virtue, one cannot cause sentient beings to feel joy. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas possess great majestic virtue, and therefore cause sentient beings to feel great joy when they see them.
Those of us who cultivate the Way must always speak truthfully. If we see something, say that we saw it; if we hear something, say that we heard it. We must not lie. If we do not speak truthfully, then even if we lecture on the sutras and expound the Dharma, no one will come to listen. And even if people do come to listen, they will not feel joyful.
Therefore:
“My own life and death are mine to take care of.
If I eat, I’m the one who gets full.” ‘I must do my own work myself. I cannot neglect my own task—birth and death—and leave it undone while going off to “abandon the root and seek the branches.” If you cast aside the roots and go in search of the branches, it is of no use.
The way of cultivation is to diligently cultivate precepts, concentration, and wisdom, and eradicate greed, anger, and delusion. You must eliminate selfishness, jealousy, and arrogance. In the monastery, do not harbor these deviant and improper thoughts. Yield to others whatever is beneficial; keep for yourself whatever is not beneficial. This is the practice of the Bodhisattva path.
If one wishes to praise the Tathagata
whose wondrous form is boundless
through countless eons
none can fully extol and describe it.
Commentary: Some people wish to praise the Buddha, to praise His thirty-two marks of excellence and the eighty wondrous characteristics of His body. But the Buddha’s mind is unmoved. When He is praised, He remains thus, unmoved; when He is slandered, He likewise remains thus, unmoved. Why? Because the Buddha is unattached. Thus, “The eight winds cannot move Him.” Even if one spent countless kalpas praising the Buddha, one could never fully describe the realm of His majestic, auspicious marks.
Just as the wish-fulfilling jewel
Can manifest all forms,
Though formless, it manifests form;
The Buddhas are likewise.
Commentary: Our mind is like a wish-fulfilling jewel: it can fulfill our wishes and manifest all realms. All realms are not separate from our own mind. In the mind, there are originally no realms to manifest; yet, from the absence of realms, realms appear. This is a wonder beyond words. All Buddhas of the ten directions and three times are likewise.
Again, like pure empty space
Not form, impossible to see
Though manifesting all forms
No one can see empty space.
Commentary: Our true mind is like pure empty space, with no visible forms whatsoever. Yet empty space has no color, while within true emptiness there is wondrous existence, which manifests all forms. All mountains, rivers, the great earth, houses, and rooms appear within space. No one can see what the original aspect of space is like. Space has no appearance and no inherent nature. The nature of the Tathāgatagarbha (true mind) is likewise.
The Buddhas are likewise thus
Universally manifesting immeasurable forms
Beyond the scope of the mind’s activity
None can behold them
Commentary: The Buddhas of the ten directions are likewise without characteristics yet manifest characteristics, without form yet manifest form. Just as space has no color yet manifests colors, this is the principle of true emptiness and wondrous existence. The Buddha can manifest as a Buddha in the worlds of the ten directions, and each Buddha is fully endowed with auspicious marks that adorn the body. This realm is beyond the capacity of sentient beings’ minds to comprehend. Sentient beings cannot see the Buddha’s Dharma body.
Though one hears the Tathagata’s voice,
Sound is not the Tathagata;
Nor is it apart from sound;
Through it, one can know Perfect, Complete Enlightenment.
Commentary: All sentient beings, though they all hear the sound of the Buddha teaching the Dharma, that sound is not the Buddha. Yet the sound of the Dharma teaching is not separate from the Buddha. One cannot abide in the sound and take it to be the Buddha, nor can one separate the Buddha from the sound of the Buddha teaching the Dharma. Clearly understanding this principle, one knows unsurpassed, complete, and perfect enlightenment.
Bodhi neither comes nor goes,
It is free from all distinctions.
How, within this,
Can one claim to be able to see it?
Commentary: The mind of bodhi neither comes nor goes. It is free from all discriminating consciousness. How, then, can one say that one attains bodhi within bodhi, or sees the Buddha? Whoever thinks in this way will never attain bodhi.
The Buddhas have no Dharma;
where could the Buddha have anything to teach?
Only in accordance with their own minds,
they speak of such a Dharma.
Commentary: All dharmas have always abided in the aspect of quiescent extinction. The Dharma is inherently neither spoken nor transmitted; one should contemplate it in this way. Yet because sentient beings cling to the existence of characteristics, the Buddha came to teach the Dharma even though there is no Dharma that can be spoken.
The Buddhas, of course, have no Dharma that can be spoken. So why do they have to teach the Dharma? They teach in accordance with the minds and intentions of sentient beings and their own. Therefore: “Assess people’s capacities and teach accordingly”; teach each person according to their needs, prescribing medicine for the illness. Only then can one speak the Dharma that cannot be spoken.
END OF CHAPTER 20