Chapter of Majestic Virtue and Freedom
Scriptural Text: At that time Bodhisattva Majestic Virtue and Freedom, in the midst of the great assembly, rose from his seat, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated three times to the right, knelt with palms joined, and said to the Buddha:
“Great Compassionate World-Honored One, You have extensively explained for us this accord with awakened nature, causing all bodhisattvas’ awakened minds to shine brightly. Receiving the Buddha’s perfect sound, they gain great benefit without depending on additional cultivation. World-Honored One, it is like a great city with four gates: those who come from different directions do not all enter by one road. Likewise, all bodhisattvas who adorn Buddha-lands and accomplish bodhi do not rely on just one expedient method. We only pray that the World-Honored One will extensively proclaim for us all expedient methods, their gradual stages, and how many categories of practitioners there are, so that the bodhisattvas in this assembly and sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age who seek the Great Vehicle may swiftly awaken and freely enter the Tathagata’s great ocean of quiescent extinction.” Having said this, he prostrated with five points touching the ground, and requested in this way three times.
Commentary: The main meaning here is: the city of Perfect Enlightenment is one without duality, but there are many expedient gates of entry. He asks the Buddha, for present bodhisattvas and future Mahayana practitioners, to teach the expedient methods and their stages so practitioners may quickly enter the city of Perfect Enlightenment.
The Surangama Sutra says: “Returning to original nature is nondual; expedient entries are many.”
“Perfect sound” means the Buddha’s speech is complete in meaning, and people of higher and lower capacities can all understand and awaken from it.
Scriptural Text: At that time the World-Honored One said to Bodhisattva Majestic Virtue and Freedom:
“Excellent, excellent! Good man, you are able, for all bodhisattvas and sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age, to ask the Tathagata such questions on expedient means. Listen carefully now, and I will explain for you.”
Then Bodhisattva Majestic Virtue and Freedom joyfully received the teaching, and together with the great assembly listened in silence.
“Good man, unsurpassed wondrous awakening pervades the ten directions. From it arise the Tathagata and all dharmas, one in essence and equal. In cultivation there are not truly two. But according to expedient adaptation, the number is immeasurable. When gathered by their distinct tendencies, there are three kinds.”
Commentary: The Buddha praises him for asking on behalf of present and future practitioners. Then He teaches: the nature of unsurpassed Perfect Enlightenment is all-pervading and equal, so ultimately there is no duality in realization. Yet in terms of method, there are innumerable approaches. Summarized, they are three.
Scriptural Text I: “Good man, if bodhisattvas awaken to pure Perfect Enlightenment and use pure awakened mind, taking stillness as practice, clarifying and settling all thoughts, awakening to the turbulence of consciousness and affliction, then still wisdom arises. The guest-dust of body and mind from then on is forever extinguished. Within, quiescent light ease appears. Because of quiescence, the minds of all Tathagatas in the ten-direction worlds manifest within, like images in a mirror. This expedient is called Shamatha.”
Commentary: Main meaning: once bodhisattvas awaken to pure Perfect Enlightenment, they use this pure mind to settle defiled, deluded consciousness. When afflictive disturbances stop, pure wisdom arises. Then they observe body and mind as guest-like and dust-like illusions, and these vanish; self and dharma clinging are gone. Because defilements are purified, mind becomes clear, and ten-direction Buddhas appear in the practitioner’s mind, like reflections in clear water.
Note: The “stopping” and “contemplation” here are not identical to Hinayana forms. Hinayana often depends on external supports. In Mahayana, stopping and contemplation are based on true mind’s own nature, hence more profound.
Scriptural Text II: “Good man, if bodhisattvas awaken to pure Perfect Enlightenment and with pure awakened mind know that awakened mind-nature and faculties-and-objects all arise through illusion, then they arouse all illusions to remove the illusory, transforming all illusions to open illusory beings. Because illusion is aroused, great compassionate ease appears inwardly. From this, all bodhisattvas begin practice and gradually advance. That illusion-contemplating awareness is not identical to illusion, yet this non-identical contemplative is also illusion. Therefore illusion-marks are forever left behind. This is the perfectly rounded wondrous practice of bodhisattvas, like sprouts growing from earth. This expedient is called Samapatti.”
Commentary: Main meaning: after awakening to pure Perfect Enlightenment, bodhisattvas contemplate that faculties, objects, and consciousness are all illusion. They use illusory wisdom to remove illusory ignorance, cultivate illusory practices, and liberate illusory beings. When illusory objects are gone, illusory wisdom also ends; subject-object, mind-scene are all exhausted, and non-illusory Perfect Enlightenment appears.
Like classroom noise ceasing and the teacher’s clapper also stopping, then stillness appears. Like dreaming of enemies and soldiers in battle: when dream enemies end, dream soldiers end, dream-mind ends, and awakening naturally appears.
Thus bodhisattvas advance from shallow to deep; each portion of illusion left behind reveals a corresponding portion of awakening, like a sprout gradually growing in soil.
This is similar to Diamond Sutra teaching:
“All conditioned dharmas
Are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows,
Like dew and like lightning;
One should contemplate them thus.”
Note: “Stopping” calms inner thoughts currently arising and about to arise; when thoughts cease, true nature appears. “Contemplation” sees present realms as illusion, countering attachment to body, objects, self, and dharmas. When self-dharma clinging ends, Perfect Enlightenment appears.
Bodhisattvas arouse great compassion because they see all beings and self as one equal true-suchness essence. They liberate beings without clinging to liberator or liberated; thus despite vast good deeds and saving countless beings, mind remains light and at ease.
Scriptural Text III: “Good man, if bodhisattvas awaken to pure Perfect Enlightenment and with pure awakened mind do not grasp illusion-transformation nor marks of stillness, clearly knowing body and mind are both obstacles, then in non-dependent awakened clarity they forever transcend both obstacle and non-obstacle realms. Receiving and using world, body, and mind while appearing in dusty domains is like sound in a vessel issuing beyond it: affliction and nirvana do not obstruct one another. Then inwardly quiescent-extinction ease appears, and wondrous awakening accords with the realm of quiescent extinction, beyond what self-and-other body-mind can reach. Sentient being and lifespan are all floating imaginings. This expedient is called Dhyana.”
Commentary: Dhyana is translated as “quiet contemplation”. “Quiet” corresponds to stopping (samadhi); “contemplation” corresponds to insight (wisdom).
Shamatha emphasizes stopping/samadhi.
Samapatti emphasizes contemplation/wisdom.
Dhyana balances both stopping and contemplation, so samadhi and wisdom become even.
Main meaning: after awakening to pure Perfect Enlightenment, bodhisattvas practice not by clinging to stopping or contemplation. They know body and mind are obstacles while Perfect Enlightenment is unobstructed. Even while using body, mind, and worldly conditions, awakened nature remains beyond obstacle and non-obstacle, beyond affliction and nirvana.
Like a bell’s sound extending beyond the bell-body.
At this stage bodhisattvas extinguish the four marks (self, person, sentient being, lifespan) and enter Perfect Enlightenment. This method is called Dhyana.
Scriptural Text: “Good man, these three Dharma gates are all approaches of intimacy and accord with Perfect Enlightenment. All Tathagatas of the ten directions became Buddhas through these. All bodhisattvas of the ten directions, in all their diverse and common methods, rely on these three practices. If one fully realizes them, one accomplishes Perfect Enlightenment. Good man, suppose someone cultivates the noble path and teaches others so that hundreds of thousands of myriads of billions attain Arhat or Pratyekabuddha fruit. This is not equal to one person who hears this unobstructed Dharma gate of Perfect Enlightenment and, in even a single instant, accords and practices.”
Commentary: These three Dharma gates, stopping, contemplation, and balanced stopping-contemplation, are expedient doors for entering Perfect Enlightenment nature. All Buddhas and bodhisattvas rely on these to attain realization.
Teaching countless Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas yields great merit, but remains within lesser-vehicle fruit. Even a moment of true accord with Perfect Enlightenment enters Buddha-realm cause, thus its benefit is greater.
Scriptural Text: At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke verses:
Majestic Virtue, you should know,
The unsurpassed great awakened mind,
In essence is nondual.
If according with expedients,
Their number is immeasurable.
The Tathagata summarizes them
Into three Dharma gates.
Shamatha is quiescent stillness,
Like a mirror reflecting all images.
Samadhi of illusion-transformation,
Is like sprouts gradually growing.
Dhyana is quiescent extinction,
Like sound within bell or drum.
These three wondrous Dharma gates
All accord with Perfect Enlightenment.
All Tathagatas of the ten directions,
And all great bodhisattvas,
By these attain the Way.
When these three are fully realized,
It is called ultimate Nirvana.