THE GREAT PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ SŪTRA
VOLUME 379
Chapter 67: THE MEANING OF THE PURE ONE DHARMA (2)
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the feelings arising from eye-contact as their condition; regarding the feelings arising from ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact as their condition, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the feelings arising from eye-contact as their condition, up to the self-nature of the feelings arising from mind-contact as their condition, cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the earth element; regarding the water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness elements, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the earth element up to the self-nature of the consciousness element cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding causal conditions; regarding equal uninterrupted conditions, objective conditions, and dominant conditions, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of causal conditions up to the self-nature of dominant conditions cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding ignorance; regarding formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, existence, birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief, and distress, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of ignorance up to the self-nature of aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief, and distress cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the Perfection of Giving; regarding Pure Discipline, Patience, Diligence, Meditative Absorption, and the Perfection of Prajñā, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the Perfection of Giving up to the self-nature of the Perfection of Prajñā cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding internal emptiness; regarding external emptiness, internal-and-external emptiness, emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, ultimate-meaning emptiness, conditioned emptiness, unconditioned emptiness, ultimate emptiness, emptiness without boundaries, scattered emptiness, emptiness of non-transformation, original-nature emptiness, emptiness of own characteristics, emptiness of common characteristics, emptiness of all phenomena, emptiness that cannot be grasped, emptiness of no nature, emptiness of self-nature, and emptiness of the self-nature of no nature, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of internal emptiness up to the self-nature of emptiness of the self-nature of no nature cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the four foundations of mindfulness; regarding the four right efforts, four bases of miraculous power, five faculties, five powers, seven factors of enlightenment, and eightfold noble path, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the four foundations of mindfulness up to the self-nature of the eightfold noble path cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the liberation-door of emptiness; regarding the liberation-doors of signlessness and wishlessness, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the liberation-door of emptiness up to the self-nature of the liberation-door of wishlessness cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the noble truth of suffering; regarding the noble truths of origination, cessation, and the path, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the noble truth of suffering up to the self-nature of the noble truth of the path cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the four meditative absorptions; regarding the four immeasurables and the four formless concentrations, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the four meditative absorptions up to the self-nature of the four formless concentrations cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the eight liberations; regarding the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive concentrations, and the ten total spheres, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the eight liberations up to the self-nature of the ten total spheres cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding all samādhi dharma-doors of emptiness; regarding all dhāraṇī dharma-doors, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of all samādhi dharma-doors and the self-nature of all dhāraṇī dharma-doors cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the stage of Supreme Joy; regarding the stage of Freedom from Defilement, the stage of Radiant Light, the stage of Flaming Wisdom, the stage of Extremely Difficult to Overcome, the stage of Manifestation, the stage of Far Progression, the stage of Immovability, the stage of Excellent Wisdom, and the stage of Dharma Cloud, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the stage of Supreme Joy up to the self-nature of the stage of Dharma Cloud cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the five kinds of eyes; regarding the six supernatural powers, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the five kinds of eyes and the self-nature of the six supernatural powers cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the ten powers of the Buddha; regarding the four fearlessnesses, four unobstructed knowledges, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great joy, great equanimity, and the eighteen unique Buddha qualities, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the Buddha’s ten powers up to the self-nature of the eighteen unique Buddha qualities cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the quality of not forgetting; regarding the nature of constant equanimity, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the quality of not forgetting and the self-nature of the nature of constant equanimity cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding all-knowing wisdom; regarding path-aspect wisdom and all-characteristic wisdom, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of all-knowing wisdom up to the self-nature of all-characteristic wisdom cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding the fruit of Stream Entry; regarding the fruits of Once Returner, Non-Returner, Arhat, and the state of the Solitary Realizer, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of the fruit of Stream Entry up to the self-nature of the state of the Solitary Realizer cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva does not practice, does not attain, does not speak, and does not indicate anything regarding all practices of Great Bodhisattvas; regarding the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment of all Buddhas, they likewise do not practice, do not attain, do not speak, and do not indicate. Why? Because the self-nature of all practices of Great Bodhisattvas and the self-nature of the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment of all Buddhas cannot be practiced, attained, spoken of, or indicated.
The Great Bodhisattva takes such non-practice, non-attainment, non-speaking, and non-indication as non-attainment itself; that very non-attainment is called freedom from arising.
Good Sir Subhūti, this is called the arising and freedom from arising of the Great Bodhisattva. Having entered the correct nature of freedom from arising, the Great Bodhisattvas fully accomplish all meditative absorptions, liberations, concentrations, and attainments. Such a Great Bodhisattva does not even arise through the marvelous power of concentration, much less through the karmic power of afflictions such as greed!
If such a Great Bodhisattva, while abiding therein, were to create actions and, guided by karma, be born into the four meditative absorptions and circulate within the realms of existence, this would be impossible. Although such a Great Bodhisattva abides in aggregates of formations like illusions and performs true benefits for sentient beings, they do not attain the illusion or sentient beings. When such a Great Bodhisattva, regarding these matters of non-attainment, brings about complete accomplishment for sentient beings, adorns and purifies Buddha lands, they quickly attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, turn the wondrous Dharma wheel, and transform countless beings.
Good Sir Subhūti, thus does the Great Bodhisattva practice the Perfection of Prajñā and quickly fully accomplish the non-conceptual Perfection of Meditative Absorption. Because this Perfection of Meditative Absorption is quickly perfected, they quickly attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, turn the wondrous Dharma wheel, and liberate countless sentient beings. Such a Dharma wheel is called non-attainment, and is also called Emptiness, Signlessness, and Wishlessness; it is capable of bringing the highest benefit to sentient beings.
Furthermore, Good Sir Subhūti, when the Great Bodhisattva practices the profound Perfection of Prajñā, abiding in the five aggregates of grasping as being like dreams, echoes, reflections, images, mirages, magical illusions, cities of illusion, and transformations, they fully accomplish the Perfection of Prajñā. After such a Great Bodhisattva truly understands that all phenomena are like dreams, echoes, reflections, images, mirages, magical illusions, cities of illusion, and transformations, they can fully accomplish the non-conceptual Perfection of Prajñā.
At that time, the Venerable Subhūti said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One, how does a Great Bodhisattva truly understand that all phenomena are like dreams, echoes, reflections, images, mirages, magical illusions, cities of illusion, and transformations?”
The Buddha said:
“Good Sir Subhūti, when the Great Bodhisattva practices the Perfection of Prajñā, they do not see dreams, do not see a person who sees dreams, do not hear echoes, do not see a person who hears echoes, do not see reflections, do not see a person who sees reflections, do not see images, do not see a person who sees images, do not see mirages, do not see a person who sees mirages, do not see magical illusions, do not see a person who sees magical illusions, do not see cities of illusion, do not see a person who sees cities of illusion, do not see transformations, do not see a person who sees transformations.
Why? Because dreams and those who see dreams, echoes and those who hear echoes, reflections and those who see reflections, images and those who see images, mirages and those who see mirages, magical illusions and those who see magical illusions, cities of illusion and those who see cities of illusion, transformations and those who see transformations are all inverted graspings of foolish ordinary beings. Arhats, Solitary Realizers, Bodhisattvas, and Thus Come Ones, Worthy Ones, Perfectly Enlightened Ones do not see dreams and do not see those who see dreams; they do not hear echoes and do not see those who hear echoes; they do not see reflections and do not see those who see reflections; they do not see images and do not see those who see images; they do not see mirages and do not see those who see mirages; they do not see magical illusions and do not see those who see magical illusions; they do not see cities of illusion and do not see those who see cities of illusion; they do not see transformations and do not see those who see transformations.
Why? Because all phenomena take emptiness as their self-nature; they are not accomplished, not real, without characteristics, unconditioned, not possessing true existence, and are Nirvāṇa…
If all phenomena take emptiness as their self-nature, are not accomplished, not real, without characteristics, unconditioned, not possessing true existence, and are Nirvāṇa…, then why would the Great Bodhisattva, while practicing the Perfection of Prajñā, give rise toward all phenomena to perceptions of having nature, perceptions of accomplishment, perceptions of reality, perceptions of existence, perceptions of truly possessing existence, and perceptions of not being peaceful extinction? If such perceptions arise, that is something that does not exist at all. Why? Because if all phenomena had even a little self-nature, had accomplishment, reality, characteristics, creation, true nature, and were not peaceful extinction yet could be grasped, then the object practiced by the profound Perfection of Prajñā would not be the Perfection of Prajñā.
Thus, when the Great Bodhisattva practices the profound Perfection of Prajñā, they do not cling to form, do not cling to feeling, perception, formations, consciousness; do not cling to the eye-base, do not cling to ear, nose, tongue, body, mind bases; do not cling to form-base, do not cling to sound, smell, taste, touch, dharma bases; do not cling to the eye element, do not cling to ear, nose, tongue, body, mind elements; do not cling to the form element, do not cling to sound, smell, taste, touch, dharma elements; do not cling to the eye-consciousness element, do not cling to ear, nose, tongue, body, mind consciousness elements; do not cling to eye-contact, do not cling to ear, nose, tongue, body, mind contact; do not cling to feelings arising from eye-contact as condition, do not cling to feelings arising from ear, nose, tongue, body, mind contact as condition; do not cling to the earth element, do not cling to water, fire, wind, space, consciousness elements; do not cling to causal conditions, do not cling to equal uninterrupted conditions, objective conditions, dominant conditions; do not cling to phenomena arising through conditions; do not cling to ignorance, do not cling to formations, consciousness, name-and-form, six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, existence, birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief, and distress; do not cling to the Desire Realm, do not cling to the Form Realm, Formless Realm; do not cling to the four meditative absorptions, do not cling to the four immeasurables and four formless concentrations; do not cling to the four foundations of mindfulness, do not cling to the four right efforts, four bases of miraculous power, five faculties, five powers, seven factors of enlightenment, eightfold noble path; do not cling to the liberation-door of emptiness, do not cling to the liberation-doors of signlessness and wishlessness; do not cling to the noble truth of suffering, do not cling to the noble truths of origination, cessation, and path; do not cling to the Perfection of Giving, do not cling to Pure Discipline, Patience, Diligence, Meditative Absorption, and the Perfection of Prajñā; do not cling to internal emptiness, do not cling to external emptiness, internal-and-external emptiness, emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, ultimate-meaning emptiness, conditioned emptiness, unconditioned emptiness, ultimate emptiness, emptiness without boundaries, scattered emptiness, emptiness of non-transformation, original-nature emptiness, emptiness of own characteristics, emptiness of common characteristics, emptiness of all phenomena, emptiness that cannot be grasped, emptiness of no nature, emptiness of self-nature, emptiness of the self-nature of no nature; do not cling to suchness, do not cling to the Dharma Realm, Dharma Nature, the nature of non-falsity, the nature of non-change, the nature of equality, the nature of freedom from arising, fixed Dharma, abiding Dharma, ultimate reality, the realm of space, the inconceivable realm; do not cling to the eight liberations, do not cling to the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive concentrations, the ten total spheres; do not cling to samādhi dharma-doors, do not cling to dhāraṇī dharma-doors; do not cling to the stage of Supreme Joy, do not cling to the stage of Freedom from Defilement, the stage of Radiant Light, the stage of Flaming Wisdom, the stage of Extremely Difficult to Overcome, the stage of Manifestation, the stage of Far Progression, the stage of Immovability, the stage of Excellent Wisdom, the stage of Dharma Cloud; do not cling to the five kinds of eyes, do not cling to the six supernatural powers; do not cling to the ten powers of the Buddha, do not cling to the four fearlessnesses, four unobstructed knowledges, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great joy, great equanimity, and the eighteen unique Buddha qualities; do not cling to the quality of not forgetting, do not cling to the nature of constant equanimity; do not cling to all-knowing wisdom, do not cling to path-aspect wisdom and all-characteristic wisdom; do not cling to the fruit of Stream Entry, do not cling to the fruits of Once Returner, Non-Returner, Arhat, and the state of the Solitary Realizer; do not cling to all practices of Great Bodhisattvas; do not cling to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment of all Buddhas.
Such a Great Bodhisattva, while practicing the Perfection of Prajñā, never clings and therefore can cultivate and perfect the First Ground without ever giving rise to attachment there. Why? Because if such a Great Bodhisattva does not attain the First Ground, how could attachment toward it arise? Because they do not become attached, they can cultivate and perfect the Second Ground through the Tenth Ground, yet they likewise do not give rise to attachment toward them. Why? Because if such a Great Bodhisattva does not attain the Second Ground through the Tenth Ground, how could attachment toward them arise?
Such a Great Bodhisattva, although practicing the Perfection of Prajñā, does not attain the Perfection of Prajñā; because they do not attain the Perfection of Prajñā, they likewise do not attain all phenomena. Although they contemplate that the Perfection of Prajñā encompasses and preserves all phenomena, regarding those phenomena they completely have no attainment. Why? Because such phenomena and this Perfection of Prajñā are non-dual and not different. Why? Because the nature of all phenomena cannot be differentiated; it is expressed as suchness, the Dharma Realm, Dharma Nature, the nature of non-falsity, the nature of non-change, the nature of equality, the nature of freedom from arising, fixed Dharma, abiding Dharma, ultimate reality, the realm of space, and the inconceivable realm, because the subtle meaning of Dharma is purely one and without distinction.
At that time, the Venerable Subhūti addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One, if the nature of all dharmas is purely one and without distinction, then how can it be said that there are wholesome things, unwholesome things, things with outflows, things without outflows, worldly things, supramundane things, conditioned things, unconditioned things, and countless Dharma methods such as these?”
The Buddha said:
“Subhūti, what do you think? Within the true nature of all dharmas, is there any dharma that can be said to be wholesome, unwholesome, with outflows, without outflows, worldly, supramundane, conditioned, unconditioned, and so forth, up to the fruits of Stream-entry, Once-returning, Non-returning, Arhatship, the state of Pratyekabuddha, the practices of Great Bodhisattvas, and the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment of all Buddhas?”
Subhūti replied:
“No, World-Honored One! No, Well-Gone One!”
The Buddha said:
“Subhūti, because of this cause and condition, you should know that all dharmas are purely one and without distinction, without characteristics, without arising, without ceasing, without obstruction, without being proclaimed, and without being pointed out. Subhūti, you should know that when I formerly practiced the Bodhisattva path, regarding the own-nature of all dharmas, I completely had nothing attainable, whether it was form, or feeling, perception, formations, consciousness; whether it was the eye faculty, or the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind faculties; whether it was the form realm, or the sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma realms; whether it was the eye element, or the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind elements; whether it was the form element, or the sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma elements; whether it was the eye consciousness element, or the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind consciousness elements; whether it was eye-contact, or ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact; whether it was feelings arising dependent upon eye-contact as condition, or feelings arising dependent upon ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact as condition; whether it was the earth element, or the water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness elements; whether it was causes and conditions, or the equal and uninterrupted condition, object condition, and dominant condition; whether it was phenomena arisen through conditions; whether it was 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; whether it was the Desire Realm, or the Form Realm and Formless Realm; whether it was wholesome, unwholesome, with outflows, without outflows, worldly, supramundane, conditioned, unconditioned, and so forth, up to the fruit of Stream-entry, the fruit of Once-returning, Non-returning, Arhatship, the state of Pratyekabuddha, the practices of Great Bodhisattvas, and the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment of all Buddhas—regarding the own-nature of all such dharmas, there was nothing attainable.
“Subhūti, in this way, Great Bodhisattvas practicing the Perfection of Wisdom, from the moment they first arouse the mind of enlightenment until they sit upon the wondrous Bodhi seat and are about to attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, should always skillfully understand the own-nature of all dharmas. If they always skillfully understand the own-nature of all dharmas, then they are able to skillfully purify the path of cultivation toward Great Bodhi, fulfill all the practices of Great Bodhisattvas, bring about the complete accomplishment of sentient beings, adorn and purify Buddha-fields, abide in that Dharma, and quickly attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, turn the wondrous Dharma wheel, and use the teachings of the three vehicles together with skillful means to discipline sentient beings, causing them to quickly attain liberation from the three realms.
“Subhūti, in this way, Great Bodhisattvas, taking non-attainment as a skillful means, should learn the Perfection of Wisdom; they are able to quickly perfect all Buddha-dharmas.”
**Chapter 68: THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL MERITS (1)**
At that time, the Venerable Subhūti addressed the Buddha:
“World-Honored One, how can dharmas such as dreams, echoes, reflections, shadows, mirages, magical illusions, phantom cities, and transformations, which are completely unreal and all take emptiness as their own nature, whose own characteristics are all empty, nevertheless be established as wholesome, unwholesome, with outflows, without outflows, worldly, supramundane, conditioned, unconditioned, and so forth, up to the fruit of Stream-entry, the one who realizes the fruit of Stream-entry, the fruit of Once-returning, the one who realizes the fruit of Once-returning, the fruit of Non-returning, the one who realizes the fruit of Non-returning, the fruit of Arhatship, the one who realizes the fruit of Arhatship, the state of Pratyekabuddha, the one who realizes the state of Pratyekabuddha, the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment of all Buddhas, and the one who realizes the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment of all Buddhas?”
The Buddha said:
“Subhūti, ignorant ordinary beings in the world who do not understand see dreams, see people who see dreams, hear echoes, see people who hear echoes, see reflections, see people who see reflections, see shadows, see people who see shadows, see mirages, see people who see mirages, see magical illusions, see people who see magical illusions, see phantom cities, see people who see phantom cities, see transformations, and see people who see transformations. Those ignorant ordinary beings who do not understand, after seeing dreams and seeing those who see dreams, after hearing echoes and seeing those who hear echoes, after seeing reflections and seeing those who see reflections, after seeing shadows and seeing those who see shadows, after seeing mirages and seeing those who see mirages, after seeing magical illusions and seeing those who see magical illusions, after seeing phantom cities and seeing those who see phantom cities, after seeing transformations and seeing those who see transformations, all cling with inverted views and create wholesome actions and unwholesome actions through body, speech, and mind; they create meritorious actions, non-meritorious actions, and immovable actions through body, speech, and mind. Because of these actions, they continue to pass through the paths of birth and death, endlessly wandering in samsara.”
The Great Bodhisattvas who practice the profound Prajñāpāramitā, contemplate the two aspects of emptiness—the emptiness that is ultimate and the emptiness that is without boundaries—and abide in those two aspects of emptiness. For the sake of those sentient beings, they expound the true Dharma, saying thus:
“You should know that form is empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. The eye base is empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind bases are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. The form sphere is empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma spheres are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. The eye element is empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind elements are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. The form element is empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma elements are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. The eye consciousness element is empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind consciousness elements are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. Eye-contact is empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. The feelings arising conditioned by eye-contact are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; the feelings arising conditioned by ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. The earth element is empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; the water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness elements are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. Causes and conditions are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; sequential uninterrupted conditions, object conditions, and dominant conditions are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. The phenomena arising from these conditions are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. Ignorance is empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, existence, birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, suffering, lamentation, and distress are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. Conditioned phenomena with outflows are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; phenomena without outflows are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self. Conditioned phenomena are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self; unconditioned phenomena are empty, without self and without anything belonging to self.”
Again they say:
“You should know that form is like a dream, completely without inherent nature; feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. Form is like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
The eye base is like a dream, completely without inherent nature; the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind bases are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. The eye base is like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind bases are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
The form sphere is like a dream, completely without inherent nature; sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma spheres are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. The form sphere is like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma spheres are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
The eye element is like a dream, completely without inherent nature; the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind elements are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. The eye element is like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind elements are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
The form element is like a dream, completely without inherent nature; sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma elements are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. The form element is like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma elements are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
The eye consciousness element is like a dream, completely without inherent nature; the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind consciousness elements are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. The eye consciousness element is like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind consciousness elements are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
Eye-contact is like a dream, completely without inherent nature; ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. Eye-contact is like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
The feelings arising conditioned by eye-contact are like a dream, completely without inherent nature; the feelings arising conditioned by ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. The feelings arising conditioned by eye-contact are like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; the feelings arising conditioned by ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
The earth element is like a dream, completely without inherent nature; the water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness elements are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. The earth element is like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; the water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness elements are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
Causes and conditions are like a dream, completely without inherent nature; sequential uninterrupted conditions, object conditions, and dominant conditions are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. Causes and conditions are like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; sequential uninterrupted conditions, object conditions, and dominant conditions are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
Phenomena arising from conditions are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. Phenomena arising from conditions are like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
Ignorance is like a dream, completely without inherent nature; formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, existence, birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, suffering, lamentation, and distress are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. Ignorance is like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; formations up to aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, suffering, lamentation, and distress are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
Phenomena with outflows are like a dream, completely without inherent nature; phenomena without outflows are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. Phenomena with outflows are like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; phenomena without outflows are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.
Conditioned phenomena are like a dream, completely without inherent nature; unconditioned phenomena are like a dream, completely without inherent nature. Conditioned phenomena are like an echo, like an image, like a reflection of light, like a mirage, like a magical illusion, like an illusory city, like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature; unconditioned phenomena are like an echo and so forth up to like a magical transformation, completely without inherent nature.”
Again they say:
“You should know that within this, there is no form, nor is there feeling, perception, formations, or consciousness. There are no eye bases, nor are there ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind bases. There are no form spheres, nor are there sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharma spheres. There are no eye elements, nor are there ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind elements. There are no form elements, nor are there sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharma elements. There are no eye consciousness elements, nor are there ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind consciousness elements. There is no eye-contact, nor is there ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind contact. There are no feelings arising conditioned by eye-contact, nor are there feelings arising conditioned by ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind contact. There are no earth elements, nor are there water, fire, wind, space, or consciousness elements. There are no causes and conditions, nor are there sequential uninterrupted conditions, object conditions, or dominant conditions. There are no phenomena arising from conditions. There is no ignorance, nor are there formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, existence, birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, suffering, lamentation, or distress. There are no phenomena with outflows, nor are there phenomena without outflows. There are no conditioned phenomena, nor are there unconditioned phenomena.
There is no dream, nor is there one who sees a dream. There is no echo, nor is there one who hears an echo. There is no image, nor is there one who sees an image. There is no reflection of light, nor is there one who sees a reflection of light. There is no mirage, nor is there one who sees a mirage. There is no magical illusion, nor is there one who sees a magical illusion. There is no illusory city, nor is there one who sees an illusory city. There is no magical transformation, nor is there one who sees a magical transformation.”
Again they say:
“You should know that all those phenomena are not truly existent; emptiness itself is their inherent nature. Because of your karmic forces of false discrimination and delusion, within that which has no form you perceive form; within that which has no feeling, perception, formations, or consciousness, you perceive feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness; within that which has no eye base, you perceive an eye base; within that which has no ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind bases, you perceive ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind bases; within that which has no form sphere, you perceive a form sphere; within that which has no sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharma spheres, you perceive sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma spheres; within that which has no eye element, you perceive an eye element; within that which has no ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind elements, you perceive ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind elements; within that which has no form element, you perceive a form element; within that which has no sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharma elements, you perceive sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma elements; within that which has no eye consciousness element, you perceive an eye consciousness element; within that which has no ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind consciousness elements, you perceive ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind consciousness elements; within that which has no eye-contact, you perceive eye-contact; within that which has no ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind contact, you perceive ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contact; within that which has no feelings arising conditioned by eye-contact, you perceive feelings arising conditioned by eye-contact; within that which has no feelings arising conditioned by ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind contact, you perceive feelings arising conditioned by ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind contact; within that which has no earth element, you perceive the earth element; within that which has no water, fire, wind, space, or consciousness elements, you perceive water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness elements; within that which has no causes and conditions, you perceive causes and conditions; within that which has no sequential uninterrupted conditions, object conditions, or dominant conditions, you perceive sequential uninterrupted conditions, object conditions, and dominant conditions; within that which has no phenomena arising from conditions, you perceive phenomena arising from conditions; within that which has no ignorance, you perceive ignorance; within that which has no formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, existence, birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, suffering, lamentation, and distress, you perceive formations up to aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, suffering, lamentation, and distress; within that which has no phenomena with outflows, you perceive phenomena with outflows; within that which has no phenomena without outflows, you perceive phenomena without outflows; within that which has no conditioned phenomena, you perceive conditioned phenomena; within that which has no unconditioned phenomena, you perceive unconditioned phenomena.”
Again they say:
“You should know that the nature of all phenomena, such as aggregates, elements, and sense bases, is produced through the combination of conditions. Because of the gathering and preservation of karmic forces and their results, distorted appearances arise. How could you not know that you develop the notion of reality toward phenomena that are false and unreal?”
At that time, the Great Bodhisattvas practicing the Prajñāpāramitā, using skillful means, if there are sentient beings who are greedy and stingy, employ skillful means to rescue them, causing them to abandon greed and stinginess. After those sentient beings have abandoned greed and stinginess, they teach them to cultivate the Perfection of Giving. Because of practicing giving, those sentient beings obtain great wealth, prosperity, and sovereignty.
Then, using skillful means, they rescue them and teach them to cultivate the Perfection of Pure Discipline. Because of pure discipline, those sentient beings are born into fortunate realms and attain honor and sovereignty.
Then, using skillful means, they rescue them and teach them to cultivate the Perfection of Patience. Because of cultivating patience, those sentient beings can quickly attain the patience with regard to the unborn nature of phenomena.
Then, using skillful means, they rescue them and teach them to cultivate the Perfection of Diligence. Because of diligence, those sentient beings, until attaining the highest Enlightenment, never regress from wholesome phenomena.
Then, using skillful means, they rescue them and teach them to cultivate the Perfection of Meditative Concentration. Because of meditative concentration, those sentient beings are born in the pure desire-free world (the Form Realm). They abide freely in the First Dhyāna; from the First Dhyāna, through skillful means, they are led to abide in the Second Dhyāna; from the Second Dhyāna, they are led to abide in the Third Dhyāna; from the Third Dhyāna, they are led to abide in the Fourth Dhyāna; from the Fourth Dhyāna, they are led to abide in the meditation of Infinite Space; from the meditation of Infinite Space, they are led to abide in the meditation of Infinite Consciousness; from the meditation of Infinite Consciousness, they are led to abide in the meditation of Nothingness; from the meditation of Nothingness, they are led to abide in the meditation of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception.
Again, from there, using skillful means, they cause them to abide in the three vehicles, or cause them to abide in 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 cause them to abide in the liberation doors of Emptiness, Signlessness, and Wishlessness; or cause them to abide in the eight liberations, the eight spheres of mastery, the nine successive concentrations, and the ten universal bases; or cause them to abide in dhāraṇī methods and samādhi methods; or cause them to abide in the noble truths of suffering, origin, cessation, and path; or cause them to abide in Giving, Pure Discipline, Patience, Diligence, Meditative Concentration, and Prajñāpāramitā; or cause them to abide in inner emptiness, outer emptiness, emptiness of both inner and outer, emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, ultimate truth emptiness, conditioned emptiness, unconditioned emptiness, ultimate emptiness, boundless emptiness, dispersed emptiness, unchanging emptiness, original nature emptiness, own-characteristic emptiness, common-characteristic emptiness, emptiness of all phenomena, emptiness of what cannot be grasped, emptiness of nonexistence, emptiness of inherent nature, emptiness of the emptiness of inherent nature; or cause them to abide in suchness, the Dharma realm, Dharma nature, the non-delusive nature, the unchanging nature, the equal nature, the nature free from arising, the nature of definitive Dharma, the abiding nature of Dharma, ultimate reality, the realm of space, and the inconceivable realm; or cause them to abide in the stages of Joy, Freedom from Defilement, Radiance, Blazing Wisdom, Difficult to Conquer, Manifestation, Far-Going, Immovability, Excellent Wisdom, and Dharma Cloud; or cause them to abide in the five types of eyes and the six supernatural powers; or cause them to abide in the ten powers of the Buddha, the four fearlessnesses, the four unobstructed knowledges, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great joy, great equanimity, and the eighteen unique qualities of the Buddha; or cause them to abide in the quality of never forgetting and the nature of constant equanimity; or cause them to abide in all-knowing wisdom, path-aspect wisdom, and all-aspect wisdom.
That Great Bodhisattva, practicing Prajñāpāramitā with skillful means, if sentient beings are attached to conditioned giving and its results, uses methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to conditioned pure discipline and its results, uses methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to conditioned patience and its results, uses methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to conditioned diligence and its results, uses methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to conditioned meditative concentration and its results, uses methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to conditioned Prajñāpāramitā and its results, uses methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder.
If sentient beings are attached to the conditioned four foundations of mindfulness, four right efforts, four bases of miraculous powers, five faculties, five powers, seven factors of enlightenment, and eightfold noble path, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to the conditioned liberation doors of Emptiness, Signlessness, and Wishlessness, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to the conditioned eight liberations, eight spheres of mastery, nine successive concentrations, and ten universal bases, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to conditioned dhāraṇī methods and samādhi methods, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to the four noble truths as conditioned objects without equal contemplation, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to the conditioned four dhyānas, four immeasurables, and four formless concentrations, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to the conditioned ten Bodhisattva stages, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to the conditioned five types of eyes and six supernatural powers, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to the conditioned ten powers of the Buddha, four fearlessnesses, four unobstructed knowledges, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great joy, great equanimity, and eighteen unique qualities of the Buddha, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to the conditioned quality of never forgetting and constant equanimity, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder. If sentient beings are attached to conditioned all-knowing wisdom, path-aspect wisdom, and all-aspect wisdom, they use methods of comfort and rescue to cause them to abide in the realm of Nirvāṇa without remainder.
That Great Bodhisattva, practicing Prajñāpāramitā with skillful means, accomplishes the true undefiled Dharma, without form, without appearance, without opposition, and abides within it. If sentient beings are worthy of attaining the Stream-enterer fruit, they use skillful means to help them abide in the Stream-enterer fruit. If sentient beings are worthy of attaining the Once-returner fruit, they use skillful means to help them abide in the Once-returner fruit. If sentient beings are worthy of attaining the Non-returner fruit, they use skillful means to help them abide in the Non-returner fruit. If sentient beings are worthy of attaining the Arhat fruit, they use skillful means to help them abide in the Arhat fruit. If sentient beings are worthy of attaining the Pratyekabuddha fruit, they use skillful means to help them abide in the Pratyekabuddha fruit. If sentient beings are worthy of attaining the highest Enlightenment, they use skillful means to teach them the paths of cultivation of Great Bodhi, revealing, advising, guiding, praising, encouraging, and rejoicing them, causing them to abide in the highest Enlightenment.
Venerable Subhūti, in this way, the Great Bodhisattvas who practice the profound Prajñāpāramitā, contemplate the two aspects of emptiness—the ultimate emptiness and boundless emptiness—and abide in those two aspects of emptiness. Although they know that all phenomena are like dreams, like echoes, like images, like reflections of light, like mirages, like magical illusions, like illusory cities, and like magical transformations, completely nonexistent, all having emptiness as their inherent nature and all their own characteristics empty, they are still able to designate them as wholesome, unwholesome, with outflows, without outflows, worldly, supramundane, conditioned, unconditioned, the Stream-enterer fruit, the one who attains the Stream-enterer fruit, the Once-returner fruit, the one who attains the Once-returner fruit, the Non-returner fruit, the one who attains the Non-returner fruit, the Arhat fruit, the one who attains the Arhat fruit, the Pratyekabuddha fruit, the one who attains the Pratyekabuddha fruit, the supreme Enlightenment of the Buddhas, and the one who attains the supreme Enlightenment of the Buddhas, without confusion among them.
At that time, Venerable Subhūti said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One, the Great Bodhisattvas are exceedingly rare. They practice the profound Prajñāpāramitā, contemplate the two aspects of emptiness—the ultimate and the boundless—and abide in those two aspects of emptiness. Although they know that phenomena are like dreams, like echoes, like images, like reflections of light, like mirages, like magical illusions, like illusory cities, and like magical transformations, completely nonexistent, all having emptiness as their inherent nature and all their own characteristics empty, they can still designate them as wholesome, unwholesome, with outflows, without outflows, worldly, supramundane, conditioned, unconditioned, and so forth, without confusion.”
The Buddha said:
“Subhūti, it is so, it is so, just as you have said! The Great Bodhisattvas are truly rare. They practice the profound Prajñāpāramitā; although they know that all phenomena are the nature of emptiness—ultimate and boundless—they can establish wholesome and unwholesome phenomena and so forth, without the slightest confusion.
Subhūti, if you were to know that when the Great Bodhisattvas practice the profound Prajñāpāramitā, they attain a most rare Dharma that the Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas do not possess and cannot measure. All of you Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas, even regarding the eloquence of the Great Bodhisattvas, cannot respond; how much less could other sentient beings answer them?”