• The Collection
  • The Kangyur
  • Discourses
  • Perfection of Wisdom

This rendering does not include the entire published text

The full text is available to download as pdf at:
https://read.84000.co/data/toh10_84000-the-perfection-of-wisdom-in-eighteen-thousand-lines.pdf

ཤེར་ཕྱིན་ཁྲི་བརྒྱད་སྟོང་པ།

The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
Chapter 21: Subhūti

Aṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā
འཕགས་པ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་ཁྲི་བརྒྱད་སྟོང་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa khri brgyad stong pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines”
Āryāṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra
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Toh 10

Degé Kangyur, vol. 29 (shes phyin, ka), folios 1.a–300.a; vol. 30 (shes phyin, kha), folios 1.a–304.a; vol. 31 (shes phyin, ga), folios 1.a–206.a

Translated by Gareth Sparham
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2022
Current version v 1.0.13 (2022)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.17.7

84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· The Translator’s Acknowledgments
· Acknowledgment of Sponsors
i. Introduction
+ 5 sections- 5 sections
· About the Perfection of Wisdom Manuscripts
· The Title: Eighteen Thousand
· The Structure of the Eighteen Thousand
+ 5 sections- 5 sections
· I. Introduction
· II. Brief Exegesis
· III. Intermediate Exegesis
· IV. Detailed Exegesis
· V. Summaries
· What Does the Eighteen Thousand Say?
· SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTERS
+ 62 sections- 62 sections
· Chapter 1
· Chapter 2
· Chapters 3–5
· Chapter 6
· Chapter 7
· Chapter 8
· Chapter 9
· Chapter 10
· Chapters 11–13
· Chapter 14
· Chapters 15–16
· Chapter 17
· Chapter 18
· Chapter 19
· Chapter 20
· Chapter 21
· Chapters 22–24
· Chapter 25
· Chapters 26–30
· Chapters 31–32
· Chapter 33
· Chapter 34
· Chapter 35
· Chapter 36
· Chapter 37
· Chapters 38–39
· Chapters 40–41
· Chapter 42
· Chapter 43
· Chapter 44
· Chapter 45
· Chapter 46
· Chapter 47
· Chapter 48
· Chapters 49–50
· Chapter 51
· Chapter 52
· Chapter 53
· Chapter 54
· Chapter 55
· Chapter 56
· Chapter 57
· Chapter 58
· Chapter 59
· Chapter 60
· Chapters 61–62
· Chapter 63
· Chapters 64–72
· Chapter 73
· Chapter 74
· Chapter 75
· Chapter 76
· Chapter 77
· Chapter 78
· Chapter 79
· Chapter 80
· Chapter 81
· Chapter 82
· Chapter 83
· Chapter 84
· Chapters 85–86
· Chapter 87
tr. The Translation
+ 87 chapters- 87 chapters
1. Chapter 1: Introduction
2. Chapter 2: Production of the Thought
3. Chapter 3: Designation
4. Chapter 4: Equal to the Unequaled
5. Chapter 5: Tongue
6. Chapter 6: Subhūti
7. Chapter 7: Entry into Flawlessness
8. Chapter 8: The Religious Mendicant Śreṇika
9. Chapter 9: Causal Signs
10. Chapter 10: Illusion-Like
11. Chapter 11: Embarrassment
12. Chapter 12: Elimination of Views
13. Chapter 13: The Six Perfections
14. Chapter 14: Neither Bound nor Freed
15. Chapter 15: Meditative Stabilization
16. Chapter 16: Dhāraṇī Gateway
17. Chapter 17: Level Purification
18. Chapter 18: The Exposition of Going Forth in the Great Vehicle
19. Chapter 19: Surpassing
20. Chapter 20: Not Two
21. Chapter 21: Subhūti
22. Chapter 22: Śatakratu
23. Chapter 23: Hard to Understand
24. Chapter 24: Unlimited
25. Chapter 25: Second Śatakratu
26. Chapter 26: Getting Hold
27. Chapter 27: Reliquary
28. Chapter 28: Declaration of the Good Qualities of the Thought of Awakening
29. Chapter 29: Different Tīrthika Religious Mendicants
30. Chapter 30: The Benefits of Taking Up and Adoration
31. Chapter 31: Physical Remains
32. Chapter 32: The Superiority of Merit
33. Chapter 33: Dedication
34. Chapter 34: Perfect Praise of the Quality of Accomplishment
35. Chapter 35: Hells
36. Chapter 36: Teaching the Purity of All Dharmas
37. Chapter 37: Nobody
38. Chapter 38: Cannot Be Apprehended
39. Chapter 39: The Northern Region
40. Chapter 40: The Work of Māra
41. Chapter 41: Not Complete Because of Māra
42. Chapter 42: Revealing the World
43. Chapter 43: Inconceivable
44. Chapter 44: Made Up
45. Chapter 45: A Boat
46. Chapter 46: Teaching the Intrinsic Nature of All Dharmas
47. Chapter 47: Taming Greed
48. Chapter 48: A Presentation of the Bodhisattvas’ Training
49. Chapter 49: Irreversibility
50. Chapter 50: Teaching the Signs of Irreversibility
51. Chapter 51: Skillful Means
52. Chapter 52: Completion of Means
53. Chapter 53: The Prophecy about Gaṅgadevī
54. Chapter 54: Teaching the Cultivation of Skillful Means
55. Chapter 55: Teaching the Stopping of Thought Construction
56. Chapter 56: Equal Training
57. Chapter 57: Practice
58. Chapter 58: Exposition of the Absence of Thought Construction
59. Chapter 59: Nonattachment
60. Chapter 60: Entrusting
61. Chapter 61: Inexhaustible
62. Chapter 62: Leaping Above Absorption
63. Chapter 63: Many Inquiries About the Two Dharmas
64. Chapter 64: Perfectly Displayed
65. Chapter 65: Worshiping, Serving, and Attending on Spiritual Friends as Skillful Means
66. Chapter 66: A Demonstration of Skillful Means
67. Chapter 67: Morality
68. Chapter 68: Growing and Flourishing
69. Chapter 69: An Explanation of Meditation on the Path
70. Chapter 70: An Explanation of Serial Action, Training, and Practice
71. Chapter 71: The True Nature of Dharmas That Cannot Be Apprehended
72. Chapter 72: Teaching the Absence of Marks
73. Chapter 73: Exposition of the Major Marks and Minor Signs and the Completion of Letters
74. Chapter 74: Exposition of the Sameness of Dharmas
75. Chapter 75: Exposition of Noncomplication
76. Chapter 76: The Armor for Bringing Beings to Maturity
77. Chapter 77: Teaching the Purification of a Buddhafield
78. Chapter 78: Teaching the Skillful Means for the Purification of a Buddhafield
79. Chapter 79: Teaching the Nonexistence of an Intrinsic Nature
80. Chapter 80: Teaching That There is No Defilement or Purification
81. Chapter 81: Yogic Practice of the Ultimate
82. Chapter 82: The Unchanging True Nature of Dharmas
83. Chapter 83: Categorization of a Bodhisattva’s Training
84. Chapter 84: Collection
85. Chapter 85: Sadāprarudita
86. Chapter 86: Dharmodgata
87. Chapter 87: Entrusting
c. Colophon
ab. Abbreviations
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· Primary Sources
· Secondary References
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Sūtras
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Indic Commentaries
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Indigenous Tibetan Works
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Secondary Literature
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines is one version of the Long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras that developed in South and South-Central Asia in tandem with the Eight Thousand version, probably during the first five hundred years of the Common Era. It contains many of the passages in the oldest extant Long Perfection of Wisdom text (the Gilgit manuscript in Sanskrit), and is similar in structure to the other versions of the Long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras (the One Hundred Thousand and Twenty-Five Thousand) in Tibetan in the Kangyur. While setting forth the sacred fundamental doctrines of Buddhist practice with veneration, it simultaneously exhorts the reader to reject them as an object of attachment, its recurring message being that all dharmas without exception lack any intrinsic nature.

s.­2

The sūtra can be divided loosely into three parts: an introductory section that sets the scene, a long central section, and three concluding chapters that consist of two important summaries of the long central section. The first of these (chapter 84) is in verse and also circulates as a separate work called The Verse Summary of the Jewel Qualities (Toh 13). The second summary is in the form of the story of Sadāprarudita and his guru Dharmodgata (chapters 85 and 86), after which the text concludes with the Buddha entrusting the work to his close companion Ānanda.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

This sūtra was translated by Gareth Sparham under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

The Translator’s Acknowledgments

ac.­2

This is a good occasion to remember and thank my friend Nicholas Ribush, who first gave me a copy of Edward Conze’s translation of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines in 1973. I also thank the Tibetan teachers and students at the Riklam Lobdra in Dharamshala, India, where I began to study the Perfection of Wisdom, for their kindness and patience; Jeffrey Hopkins and Elizabeth Napper, who steered me in the direction of the Perfection of Wisdom and have been very kind to me over the years; and Ashok Aklujkar and others at the University of British Columbia in Canada, who taught me Sanskrit and Indian culture while I was writing my dissertation on Haribhadra’s Perfection of Wisdom commentary. I thank the hermits in the hills above Riklam Lobdra and the many Tibetan scholars and practitioners who encouraged me while I continued working on the Perfection of Wisdom after I graduated from the University of British Columbia. I thank all those who continued to support me as a monk and scholar after the violent death of my friend and mentor toward the end of the millennium. I thank those at the University of Michigan and then at the University of California (Berkeley), particularly Donald Lopez and Jacob Dalton, who enabled me to complete the set of four volumes of translations from Sanskrit of the Perfection of Wisdom commentaries by Haribhadra and Āryavimuktisena and four volumes of the fourteenth-century Tibetan commentary on the Perfection of Wisdom by Tsongkhapa. I thank Gene Smith, who introduced me to 84000. I thank everyone at 84000: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and the sponsors; the scholars, translators, editors, and technicians; and all the other indispensable people whose work has made this translation of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines and its accompanying commentary possible.

Around me everything I see would be part of a perfect road if I had better driving skills.
Where I was born, where everything is made of concrete, it too is a perfect place.
Everyone I have been with, everyone who is near me now, and even those I have forgotten‍—there is no one who has not helped me.
So, I bow to everyone and to the world and ask for patience, and, as a boon, a smile.

Acknowledgment of Sponsors

ac.­3

We gratefully acknowledge the generous sponsorship of Matthew Yizhen Kong, Steven Ye Kong and family; An Zhang, Hannah Zhang, Lucas Zhang, Aiden Zhang, Jinglan Chi, Jingcan Chi, Jinghui Chi and family, Hong Zhang and family; Mao Guirong, Zhang Yikun, Chi Linlin; and Joseph Tse, Patricia Tse and family. Their support has helped make the work on this translation possible.


i.

Introduction

i.­1

In the introduction to his translation of The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines,1 Gyurme Dorje has given a clear account of the Tibetan tradition’s explanation (1) of the origin of the Perfection of Wisdom in the words of the Buddha on Gṛdhrakūṭa Hill in Rājagṛha some 2,500 years ago, (2) of the way the Perfection of Wisdom became extant in our world through the efforts of Nāgārjuna, and (3) of the Perfection of Wisdom’s place in the vast corpus of the Buddha’s words as “the middle turning of the wheel of the Dharma.” He has also given a brief account of the conclusions arrived at by the Western research tradition, which suggest that the Perfection of Wisdom may have originated in the south of the Indian subcontinent, perhaps the Andhra region, but more likely first began circulating in the far northwest of the Indian subcontinent. A prophecy in the text translated into English here provides some support for this conclusion. In chapter 39 the Buddha says to Śāriputra, “with the passing away of the Tathāgata this perfection of wisdom will circulate in the southern region,” and “from the country Vartani [the east] this deep perfection of wisdom will circulate into the northern region.” A comparison of early fragments of a Perfection of Wisdom in the Gāndhārī language, written in Kharoṣṭhī script and dated ca. 75 ᴄᴇ, with an early translation of a Perfection of Wisdom text into Chinese by Lokakṣema in the middle of the second century ᴄᴇ has led the Western research tradition to the tentative conclusion that the Perfection of Wisdom first circulated in written form in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent some 2,000 years ago.

About the Perfection of Wisdom Manuscripts

The Title: Eighteen Thousand

The Structure of the Eighteen Thousand

I. Introduction

II. Brief Exegesis

III. Intermediate Exegesis

IV. Detailed Exegesis

V. Summaries

What Does the Eighteen Thousand Say?

SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTERS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapters 3–5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapters 11–13

Chapter 14

Chapters 15–16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapters 22–24

Chapter 25

Chapters 26–30

Chapters 31–32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapters 38–39

Chapters 40–41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapters 49–50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapters 61–62

Chapter 63

Chapters 64–72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Chapter 84

Chapters 85–86

Chapter 87


The Translation
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra
The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines

1.

Chapter 1: Introduction

[V29] [F.1.b] [B1]


1.­1

We prostrate to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Lord dwelt at Rājagṛha on Gṛdhrakūṭa Hill together with a great community of monks, numbering14 five thousand monks, all worthy ones with the exception of one single person‍—that is, venerable Ānanda‍—with outflows dried up, without afflictions, fully controlled, with their minds well freed and their wisdom well freed, thoroughbreds, great bull elephants, with their work done, their task accomplished, with their burden laid down, with their own goal accomplished, with the fetters that bound them to existence broken, with their hearts well freed by perfect understanding, in perfect15 control of their whole mind; [F.2.a] with nuns numbering five hundred‍—Yaśodharā, Mahāprajāpatī, and so on‍—and with a great many laymen and laywomen, all of them with a vision of the Dharma; and with an unbounded, infinite number of bodhisattva great beings, all of whom had acquired the dhāraṇīs, were dwellers in emptiness, their range the signless, and who had not fashioned any wishes, had acquired forbearance for the sameness of all dharmas, had acquired the dhāraṇī of nonattachment, with imperishable clairvoyant knowledges, and with speech worth listening to; who were not hypocrites, not fawners, without thoughts of reputation and gain; who were Dharma teachers without thought of compensation, with perfect forbearance for the deep dharmas, who had obtained the fearlessnesses, and who had transcended all the works of Māra, who had cut the continuum of karmic obscuration, were skillful in expounding the analysis of investigations into phenomena, with the prayer that is a vow made during an asaṃkhyeya of eons really fully carried out, with smiling countenances, forward in addressing others, without a frown on their faces, skillful in communicating with others in chanted verse, without feelings of depression, without losing the confidence giving a readiness to speak, and endowed with fearlessness when surpassing endless assemblies; who were skilled in going forth during an ananta of one hundred million eons, understanding phenomena to be like an illusion, a mirage, a reflection of the moon in water, a dream, an echo, an apparition, a reflection in the mirror, and a magical creation; who were skillful in comprehending the thoughts, conduct, and beliefs of all beings and subtle knowledge, [F.2.b] with unobstructed thoughts, and endowed with extreme patience; who were skilled in causing entry into reality just as it is, having appropriated all the endless arrays of the buddhafields through prayer and setting out, with the meditative stabilization recollecting buddhas in an infinite number of world systems constantly and always activated; who were skillful in soliciting innumerable buddhas; who were skillful in eliminating the various views, propensities, obsessions, and defilements; and who were skillful in accomplishing a hundred thousand feats through meditative concentration. That is, he was together with the bodhisattva great beings Bhadrapāla, Ratnākara, Ratnagarbha,16 Ratnadatta, Susārthavaha, Varuṇadeva, Guhyagupta, Indradatta, Uttaramatin, Viśeṣamatin, Vardhamāna­matin, Anantamati, Amoghadarśin, Anāvaraṇamatin, Susaṃprasthita, Su­vikrānta­vikrāmin, Anantavīrya, Nityodyukta, Nityaprayukta, Anikṣiptadhura, Sūryagarbha, Anupamamatin, and Avalokiteśvara, Mahā­sthāma­prāpta, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, Māra­bala­pramardin, Vajramatin, Ratna­mudrā­hasta, Nityotkṣipta­hasta, Mahā­karuṇā­cinta, Mahāvyūha, Vyūharāja, and Merukūṭa, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, and many hundreds of thousands of one hundred million billion other bodhisattvas as well.

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2.

Chapter 2: Production of the Thought

2.­1

When the Lord understood that the world with its celestial beings, Māras and Brahmās, śramaṇas and brahmins, gods and humans, as well as bodhisattvas, most of them in youthful form, had assembled, he said to venerable Śāriputra, “Here, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings who want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms should make an effort at the perfection of wisdom.”

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2.­2

The Lord having spoken thus, venerable Śāriputra inquired of him, “How then, Lord, [F.11.b] should bodhisattva great beings who want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms make an effort at the perfection of wisdom?”

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3.

Chapter 3: Designation

3.­1

Then [F.23.a] venerable Śāriputra inquired of the Lord, “Lord, how then should bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of wisdom?”

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3.­2

Venerable Śāriputra having thus inquired, the Lord said to him, “Śāriputra, here bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom do not, even while they are bodhisattvas, see a bodhisattva. They do not see even the word bodhisattva. They do not see awakening either, and they do not see the perfection of wisdom. They do not see that ‘they practice,’ and they do not see that ‘they do not practice.’ They also do not see that ‘while practicing they practice and while not practicing do not practice,’ and they also do not see that ‘they do not practice, and do not not practice as well.’44 They do not see form. Similarly, they do not see feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness either. And why? Because, Śāriputra, the name bodhisattva is empty of the intrinsic nature of a name. The name bodhisattva is not empty because of emptiness. A bodhisattva is also empty of the intrinsic nature of a bodhisattva, but a bodhisattva is not empty because of emptiness. Awakening, too, is empty of the intrinsic nature of awakening, but awakening is not empty because of emptiness. The perfection of wisdom, too, is empty of the intrinsic nature of the perfection of wisdom, but the perfection of wisdom is not empty because of emptiness. Form, too, is empty of the intrinsic nature of form, but form is not empty because of emptiness. [F.23.b] And feeling . . . perception . . . volitional factors . . . and consciousness is45 also empty of the intrinsic nature of consciousness, but consciousness is not empty because of emptiness. And why? Because the emptiness of the name bodhisattva is not the name bodhisattva, and there is no name bodhisattva apart from emptiness, because the name bodhisattva itself is emptiness and emptiness is the name bodhisattva as well. The emptiness of the bodhisattva is not the bodhisattva and there is no bodhisattva apart from emptiness, because the bodhisattva is emptiness and emptiness is the bodhisattva as well. The emptiness of the perfection of wisdom is not the perfection of wisdom and there is no perfection of wisdom apart from emptiness, because the perfection of wisdom itself is emptiness and emptiness is the perfection of wisdom as well. The emptiness of form is not form and there is no form apart from emptiness, because form itself is emptiness and emptiness is form as well. And the emptiness of feeling . . . perception . . . volitional factors . . . and consciousness is not consciousness, and there is no consciousness apart from emptiness because consciousness itself is emptiness and emptiness is consciousness as well. And why? Because this‍—namely, bodhisattva‍—is just a name; because these‍—namely, the name bodhisattva, awakening, [F.24.a] the perfection of wisdom, form, feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness‍—are just names; and because this‍—namely, emptiness‍—is just a name. Why? Because where there is no intrinsic nature there is no production, stopping,46 decrease, increase, defilement, or purification. And why? Because form is like an illusion, feeling is like an illusion, perception is like an illusion, volitional factors are like an illusion, and consciousness is like an illusion. And an illusion is just a name that does not reside somewhere, does not reside in a particular place, so the sight of an illusion is mistaken and does not exist and is devoid of an intrinsic nature. Bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom like that do not see production, do not see stopping, do not see standing, do not see decrease, do not see increase, do not see defilement, and do not see purification in any dharma at all. They do not see ‘awakening,’ and they do not see a ‘bodhisattva’ anywhere. And why? Because names are made up. In the case of each of these different dharmas they are imagined,47 unreal, names plucked out of thin air working subsequently as conventional labels, and just as they are subsequently conventionally labeled, so too are they settled down on as real. Bodhisattva [F.24.b] great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom do not see any of those names as inherently existing, and because they do not see them, they do not settle down on them as real.

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4.

Chapter 4: Equal to the Unequaled

4.­1

Then venerable Śāriputra, venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana, venerable Subhūti, venerable Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇī­putra, and venerable Mahākāśyapa, as well as other monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen celebrated for the state of their clairvoyance, and very many bodhisattva great beings said to the Lord, “This, Lord‍—that is, the perfection of wisdom‍—is the great perfection of bodhisattva great beings. This perfection of wisdom, Lord, is the vast perfection of bodhisattva great beings. This perfection of wisdom, Lord, is the highest perfection of bodhisattva great beings. It is the special perfection, it is the best perfection, it is the superb perfection, it is the sublime [F.54.b] perfection, it is the unsurpassed perfection, it is the unrivaled perfection, it is the unequaled perfection, it is the perfection equal to the unequaled, it is the calm and gentle perfection, it is the matchless perfection, it is the perfection for which no example does justice, it is the space-like perfection, it is the perfection of the emptiness of particular defining marks, it is the perfection endowed with all good qualities. This, Lord‍—that is, the perfection of wisdom‍—is the uncrushable perfection of bodhisattva great beings.


5.

Chapter 5: Tongue

5.­1

Then at that time the Lord extended his tongue and with it covered the great billionfold world system. Then from his tongue light beams of many colors, various colors, issued forth. Having issued forth, a great illumination spread through as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the east. Similarly, a great illumination spread through as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the south, west, and north, in the intermediate directions to the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, below and above.


6.

Chapter 6: Subhūti

6.­1

The Lord then said to venerable Subhūti, “Subhūti, starting with the perfection of wisdom, be confident in your readiness to give a Dharma discourse to the bodhisattva great beings about how bodhisattva great beings go forth in the perfection of wisdom.”

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6.­2

Then it occurred to those bodhisattva great beings, those great śrāvakas, and those gods to think, “Will venerable Subhūti instruct the bodhisattva great beings in the perfection of wisdom on account of armor in which reposes the power of his own intellect and confident readiness, or will he instruct them through the power of the Buddha?”

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7.

Chapter 7: Entry into Flawlessness

7.­1

Venerable Subhūti then said to the Lord, “Lord, bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend131 form should train in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness should train in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend eyes should train in the perfection of wisdom. Similarly, bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend ears, nose, tongue, body, and thinking mind should train in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend a form should train in the perfection of wisdom. Similarly, bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend a sound, a smell, a taste, a feeling, and a dharma should train in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend eye consciousness should train in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend up to thinking-mind consciousness should train in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend eye contact up to who want to comprehend thinking-mind contact should train in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend the feeling that arises from the condition of eye contact, up to [F.69.b] who want to comprehend the feeling that arises from the condition of thinking-mind contact should train in the perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend ignorance should train in the perfection of wisdom. Similarly, bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend volitional factors, consciousness, name and form, the six sense fields, contact, feeling, craving, appropriation, existence, birth, and old age and death should train in the perfection of wisdom.

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8.

Chapter 8: The Religious Mendicant Śreṇika

8.­1

Then venerable Subhūti said to the Lord, “Lord, given that I do not find, do not apprehend, and do not see a bodhisattva or the perfection of wisdom, to which bodhisattva will I give advice and instruction in what perfection of wisdom? Lord, given that I do not find, do not apprehend, and do not see any real basis, this really is something I might be uneasy about‍—Lord, while not finding, not apprehending, and not seeing any real basis, which dharma will advise and instruct which dharma? Because, Lord, given that I do not find, do not apprehend, and do not see all dharmas, this really is something I might be uneasy about, how I might make just the name bodhisattva and just the name perfection of wisdom wax and wane.

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9.

Chapter 9: Causal Signs

9.­1

Then venerable Subhūti said to the Lord, “Lord, if bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom without skillful means [F.87.b] practice form166 they practice a causal sign; they do not practice the perfection of wisdom. If they practice feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness they practice a causal sign; they do not practice the perfection of wisdom. If they practice ‘form is permanent’ or ‘impermanent’ they practice a causal sign; they do not practice the perfection of wisdom. If they practice ‘feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness is permanent’ or ‘impermanent’ they practice a causal sign; they do not practice the perfection of wisdom. If they practice ‘form is happiness’ or ‘suffering’ they practice a causal sign. If they practice ‘feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness is ‘happiness’ or ‘suffering’ they practice a causal sign. If they practice ‘form is self’ or ‘no self’ they practice a causal sign. If they practice ‘feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness is self’ or ‘no self’ they practice a causal sign. If they practice ‘form is calm’ or ‘not calm’ they practice a causal sign. If they practice ‘feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness is calm’ or ‘not calm’ they practice a causal sign. If they practice ‘form is isolated’ or ‘not isolated’ they practice a causal sign. If they practice ‘feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness is isolated’ or ‘not isolated’ they practice a causal sign; they do not practice the perfection of wisdom.

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10.

Chapter 10: Illusion-Like

10.­1

Then venerable Subhūti said to the Lord, “Lord, suppose someone were to ask, ‘Does this illusory being, having trained in the perfection of wisdom, go forth to the knowledge of all aspects or reach the knowledge of all aspects?’ What, Lord, should be said to that questioner? And similarly, suppose someone were to ask, ‘Does this illusory being, having trained in the perfection of concentration, perfection of perseverance, perfection of patience, perfection of morality, and perfection of giving go forth to the knowledge of all aspects or reach the knowledge of all aspects?’ What, Lord, should be said to that questioner? And as to ‘Do they, having trained in, up to the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, [F.97.a] up to the knowledge of all aspects, go forth to the knowledge of all aspects or reach the knowledge of all aspects?’‍—what, Lord, should be said to that questioner?”

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11.

Chapter 11: Embarrassment

11.­1

Then venerable Subhūti said to the Lord, “Lord, you say ‘bodhisattva’ again and again. What is its basis in reality?”201

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The Lord [F.110.b] replied to venerable Subhūti, “Subhūti, the basis in reality for bodhisattva is an absence of a basis in reality. And why? Subhūti, it is because bodhi and sattva are not produced. Awakening and a being do not have an arising or an existence. They cannot be apprehended. Subhūti, awakening has no basis in reality and a being has no basis in reality, therefore a bodhisattva’s basis in reality is an absence of a basis in reality.

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12.

Chapter 12: Elimination of Views

12.­1

Then venerable Śāriputra said to the Lord, “Lord, I too am confident in my readiness to speak the sense in which bodhisattvas are said to be ‘great beings.’ ”

12.­2

“Śāriputra,” replied the Lord, “be confident in your readiness to explain the sense in which bodhisattvas are said to be great beings.”

12.­3

Śāriputra then explained, “Lord, they reveal the Dharma to beings to eliminate the view of a self and, similarly, the view of a being, a living being, a person, one who lives, an individual, one born of Manu, a child of Manu, one who does, one who makes someone else do, a motivator, one who motivates, one who feels, one who makes someone else feel, one who knows, and one who sees. And by way of not apprehending anything they reveal the Dharma to beings to eliminate the view of annihilation, the view of permanence, the view of existence, and the view [F.119.b] of nonexistence; the view of aggregates, the view of constituents, the view of sense fields, the view of isolation, and the view of dependent origination; and the view of the perfections, the view of the dharmas on the side of awakening, the view of the powers and fearlessnesses, the view of the distinct attributes of a buddha, the view of bringing beings to maturity, the view of the purification of a buddhafield, the view of awakening, the view of the Buddha, the view of the Dharma, the view of the Saṅgha, the view of turning the wheel of the Dharma, and the view of complete nirvāṇa. It is in this sense bodhisattvas are said to be great beings.”

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13.

Chapter 13: The Six Perfections

13.­1

Then venerable Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇī­putra said to the Lord, “Lord, I too am confident in my readiness to speak the sense in which bodhisattvas are said to be great beings.”

“Pūrṇa, be confident in your readiness to speak,” replied the Lord.

13.­2

Pūrṇa then said, “Lord, those beings are armed with great armor, [F.122.a] those beings have set out in a Great Vehicle, and those beings have mounted on a Great Vehicle. It is in this sense, Lord, that bodhisattvas are said to be great beings.”

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14.

Chapter 14: Neither Bound nor Freed

14.­1

Then venerable Subhūti inquired of the Lord, “Lord, you say ‘armed with great armor’ again and again. Lord, to what extent are bodhisattva great beings armed with great armor?”

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The Lord said, “Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings, having become armed with great armor‍—that is, armed with perfection of giving armor, and armed with perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom armor; armed with applications of mindfulness armor, and armed with right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and path armor; armed with inner emptiness armor, up to armed with emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature armor; and armed with powers armor, armed with fearlessnesses armor, armed with detailed and thorough knowledges armor, and armed with distinct attributes of a buddha armor‍—and having become armed with the armor of the knowledge of all aspects and the body of a buddha, they pervade world systems in the great billionfold world system with light and shake the earth. Having blown out all the fires in the hell dwellings, extinguished the sufferings of the beings in the hells, and caused them to know their suffering is extinguished, those bodhisattvas [F.132.b] say, ‘I bow to you, tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete Buddha!’ proclaiming the name out loud, and then those beings in the hells, having heard the sound buddha, find pleasure and mental happiness. They emerge from those hells just because of that pleasure and mental happiness, and wherever lord buddhas are standing and can be seen and can be pleased they take birth in those world systems, reborn as gods and humans.


15.

Chapter 15: Meditative Stabilization

15.­1

Then venerable Subhūti inquired of the Lord, “Lord, what is the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings? Lord, to just what extent should bodhisattva great beings be known to have set out in the Great Vehicle?248 Where249 will the Great Vehicle have set out? Where will the Great Vehicle stand?250 Who will go forth in the Great Vehicle?”

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Subhūti having said asked this, the Lord said to him, “Subhūti, in regard to what you have asked‍—‘Lord, what is the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings?‍—Subhūti, the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings is this: the six perfections. And what are the six? They are the perfection of giving, perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, [F.142.b] perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom.


16.

Chapter 16: Dhāraṇī Gateway

16.­1

“Furthermore, Subhūti, the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings is this: the four applications of mindfulness. What are the four? They are the application of mindfulness to the body, the application of mindfulness to feeling, the application of mindfulness to mind, and the application of mindfulness to dharmas.

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16.­2

“What is the application of mindfulness to the body? Here enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell while viewing in a body the inner body by way of not apprehending anything, and without indulging in speculations to do with the body. They dwell while viewing in a body the outer body, and they dwell while viewing in a body [F.155.b] the inner and outer body by way of not apprehending anything, and without indulging in speculations to do with the body.

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17.

Chapter 17: Level Purification

17.­1

“Subhūti, in regard to what you have asked‍—‘How have bodhisattva great beings come to set out in the Great Vehicle?’‍—Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections change place, going from level to level. And how do bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections change place, going from level to level? Like this: by all dharmas not changing place. And why? Because no dharma comes, or goes, or changes place, or is close to changing places. But even though they do not falsely project the level of those dharmas,302 do not direct their thoughts toward them, they still do the purification303 for a level, and they do not view those levels.

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18.

Chapter 18: The Exposition of Going Forth in the Great Vehicle

18.­1

“Subhūti, in regard to what you have asked‍—‘From where321 will the Great Vehicle go forth?’‍—it will go forth from the three realms and will stand wherever there is knowledge of all aspects, and it will stand, furthermore, by way of nonduality. And why? Because, Subhūti, these two dharmas‍—the Great Vehicle and the knowledge of all aspects‍—are not conjoined and not disjoined, are formless, cannot be pointed out, do not obstruct, and have only one mark‍—that is, no mark. And why? Because, Subhūti, a dharma without a mark is not going forth, nor will it go forth, nor has it gone forth. [F.180.b] Subhūti, someone who would assert that dharmas without marks go forth322 might as well assert of suchness that it goes forth. Similarly, Subhūti, someone who would assert that dharmas without marks go forth might as well assert of the very limit of reality, the inconceivable element, the abandonment element, the detachment element, and the cessation element that they go forth. And why? Because, Subhūti, the intrinsic nature of suchness does not go forth from the three realms. And why? Because suchness is empty of the intrinsic nature of suchness.”

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19.

Chapter 19: Surpassing

19.­1

Then venerable Subhūti said to the Lord, “Lord, you say this‍—‘Great Vehicle’‍—again and again. It surpasses the world with its gods, humans, and asuras and goes forth. Is that why it is called a Great Vehicle?329

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19.­2

“Lord, that vehicle is equal to space. To illustrate, Lord, just as space has room for infinite, countless beings beyond measure, the Great Vehicle also, Lord, has room330 for infinite, countless beings beyond measure. Such, Lord, is the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings. Lord, you cannot apprehend the Great Vehicle coming, going, or remaining, you cannot apprehend a prior limit, cannot apprehend a later limit, and cannot apprehend a middle either.

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20.

Chapter 20: Not Two

20.­1

Then venerable Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇī­putra said to the Lord, “Lord, tasked343 with the perfection of wisdom by the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete Buddha, this elder Subhūti thinks he has to give instruction in the Great Vehicle.”

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20.­2

Venerable Subhūti then said to the Lord, “Let it not be the case, Lord, that I am giving instruction in the Great Vehicle, having violated the perfection of wisdom.”

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20.­3

“No, you have not,” replied the Lord. “You are giving instruction in the Great Vehicle in harmony with the perfection of wisdom. And why? Because, Subhūti, śrāvaka dharmas, pratyekabuddha dharmas, bodhisattva dharmas, or buddha dharmas‍—or any wholesome dharmas, whatever they are‍—they all come together and stream into the perfection of wisdom.”

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21.

Chapter 21: Subhūti

21.­1

Then venerable Śāriputra inquired of venerable Subhūti, “Venerable Subhūti, how do bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom investigate these dharmas? And, Venerable Subhūti, what is a bodhisattva? What is the perfection of wisdom? What is it to investigate?”

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21.­2

“Venerable Śāriputra,” replied Subhūti, “in regard to what you asked‍—‘What is a bodhisattva?’‍—they are called bodhisattvas because awakening is itself their state of being.357 And with that awakening they know the aspects of dharmas but they do not settle down on those dharmas.

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21.­3

“Of which dharmas do they know the aspects? They know the aspects of form but they do not settle down on them, and they know the aspects of feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness but they do not settle down on them. Similarly, they know the aspects of the constituents, sense fields, dependent originations, and thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening but they do not settle down on them. They know the powers, fearlessnesses, detailed and thorough knowledges, and eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha but they do not settle down on them.”

21.­4

“Venerable Subhūti, what are the aspects of all dharmas?” asked Śāriputra.

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“Venerable Śāriputra,” replied Subhūti, “whatever the attributes, tokens, and signs on account of which dharmas are formulated358‍—that is to say, the attributes, tokens, and signs on account of which they are formulated as compounded and uncompounded dharmas, or as forms, sounds, smells, tastes, [F.228.a] feelings, or dharmas, or as inner and outer dharmas‍—those are called the aspects of dharmas.

21.­5

“Venerable Śāriputra, in regard to what you asked‍—‘What is the perfection of wisdom?’‍—Venerable Śāriputra, that which is called perfection of wisdom has gone far off, hence it is called wisdom gone to the other side.359

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“From what has it gone far off? Venerable Śāriputra, it has gone far off from the aggregates, constituents, sense fields, and dependent origination; it has gone far off from all defilement and all that is riddled with views; and it has gone far off from the six forms of life‍—therefore it is said it has gone far off. It has gone far off from the perfection of giving, perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, and perfection of concentration‍—therefore it is said it has gone far off. It has gone far off from inner emptiness, up to emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature‍—therefore it is said it has gone far off. It has gone far off from the applications of mindfulness, right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and eightfold noble path‍—therefore it is said it has gone far off. It has gone far off from the powers, fearlessnesses, detailed and thorough knowledges, and the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha‍—therefore it is said it has gone far off, up to it has gone far off from the knowledge of all aspects, therefore it is said it has gone far off. Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, it is said that this perfection of wisdom [F.228.b] has gone far off.

21.­7

“Venerable Śāriputra, in regard to what you asked‍—‘What is it to investigate?’‍—Venerable Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom do not investigate ‘form is permanent’ or ‘impermanent,’ do not investigate ‘form is happiness’ or ‘suffering,’ do not investigate ‘form is self’ or ‘no self,’ do not investigate ‘form is calm’ or ‘not calm,’ do not investigate ‘form is empty’ or ‘not empty,’ do not investigate ‘form has a sign’ or ‘is signless,’ do not investigate ‘form is wished for’ or ‘is wishless,’ and do not investigate ‘form is isolated’ or ‘not isolated.’ Similarly, they do not investigate ‘feeling . . . ,’ ‘perception . . . ,’ ‘volitional factors . . . ,’ or ‘consciousness is permanent’ or ‘impermanent,’ they do not investigate ‘consciousness is happiness’ or ‘suffering,’ do not investigate ‘consciousness is self’ or ‘no self,’ do not investigate ‘consciousness is calm’ or ‘not calm,’ do not investigate ‘consciousness is empty’ or ‘not empty,’ do not investigate ‘consciousness has a sign,’ or ‘is signless,’ do not investigate ‘consciousness is wished for’ or ‘is wishless,’ and do not investigate ‘consciousness is isolated’ or ‘not isolated.’

21.­8

“Similarly, they do not investigate ‘the perfection of giving . . . ,’ ‘the perfection of morality . . . ,’ ‘the perfection of patience . . . ,’ ‘the perfection of perseverance . . . ,’ ‘the perfection of concentration . . . ,’ and ‘the perfection of wisdom is permanent’ [F.229.a] or ‘impermanent.’ Similarly, connect this with they do not investigate ‘the perfection of wisdom is happiness’ or ‘suffering,’ ‘is self’ or ‘no self,’ ‘is calm’ or ‘not calm,’ ‘is empty’ or ‘not empty,’ ‘has a sign’ or ‘is signless,’ ‘is wished for’ or ‘is wishless,’ or ‘is isolated’ or ‘not isolated.’

21.­9

“Similarly, they do not investigate ‘inner emptiness is permanent’ or ‘impermanent.’ Similarly, connect this with each, up to they do not investigate ‘emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature is permanent’ or ‘impermanent,’ up to they do not investigate ‘emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature is empty’ or ‘not empty,’ up to they do not investigate ‘it is isolated’ or ‘not isolated.’

21.­10

“Similarly, they do not investigate ‘the applications of mindfulness are permanent’ or ‘impermanent.’ Connect this in the same way with each, up to they do not investigate ‘the right efforts . . . ,’ ‘the legs of miraculous power . . . ,’ ‘the faculties . . . ,’ ‘the powers . . . ,’ ‘the limbs of awakening . . . ,’ ‘the eightfold noble path . . . ,’ ‘the ten powers . . . ,’ ‘the four fearlessnesses . . . ,’ ‘the four detailed and thorough knowledges . . . ,’ ‘the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha . . . ,’ ‘all the meditative stabilizations . . . ,’ ‘all the dhāraṇī gateways . . . ,’ or ‘the knowledge of all aspects is permanent’ or ‘impermanent,’ ‘is happiness’ or ‘suffering,’ ‘is self’ or ‘no self,’ ‘is calm’ or ‘not calm,’ ‘is empty’ or ‘not empty,’ ‘has a sign’ or ‘is signless,’ ‘is wished for’ or ‘is wishless,’ or ‘is isolated’ or ‘not isolated.’ [F.229.b]

21.­11

“Venerable Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom investigate those dharmas like that.”

21.­12

Śāriputra then asked, “Venerable Subhūti, why do you say, ‘Lord, it is because the nonproduction of form is not form; the nonproduction of feeling . . . perception . . . volitional factors . . . and consciousness is not consciousness; and similarly, the nonproduction of the constituents . . . the sense fields . . . the dependent originations . . . the perfections . . . all the emptinesses . . . the dharmas on the side of awakening . . . the powers . . . the fearlessnesses . . . the detailed and thorough knowledges . . . the meditative stabilizations . . . the dhāraṇī gateways . . . the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha . . . and the knowledge of all aspects is not the knowledge of all aspects’?”

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“Venerable Śāriputra,” replied Subhūti, “form is empty of form. Venerable Śāriputra, the emptiness of form is not form and is not production. Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, the nonproduction of form is not form.

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21.­14

“Venerable Śāriputra, feeling . . . perception . . . volitional factors . . . and consciousness is empty of consciousness. Venerable Śāriputra, the emptiness of consciousness is not consciousness and is not production. Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, the nonproduction of consciousness is not consciousness.

21.­15

“Venerable Śāriputra, the perfection of giving is empty of the perfection of giving. Venerable Śāriputra, the emptiness of the perfection of giving is not the perfection of giving and is not production. Similarly, [F.230.a] Venerable Śāriputra, the perfection of morality . . . the perfection of patience . . . the perfection of perseverance . . . the perfection of concentration . . . and the perfection of wisdom is empty of the perfection of wisdom. The emptiness of the perfection of wisdom is not the perfection of wisdom and is not production. Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, the nonproduction of the perfection of wisdom is not the perfection of wisdom.

21.­16

“Venerable Śāriputra, inner emptiness is empty of inner emptiness. Venerable Śāriputra, the emptiness of inner emptiness is not inner emptiness and is not production, up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature is empty of the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature. The emptiness of the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature is not the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, and it is not production. Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, the nonproduction of the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature is not the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.

21.­17

“Venerable Śāriputra, the applications of mindfulness are empty of the applications of mindfulness. The emptiness of the applications of mindfulness is not the applications of mindfulness and is not production. Similarly, Venerable Śāriputra, the right efforts . . . the legs of miraculous power . . . the faculties . . . the powers . . . the limbs of awakening . . . the path . . . the ten powers . . . the fearlessnesses . . . the detailed and thorough knowledges . . . the meditative stabilizations . . . the dhāraṇī gateways . . . the buddhadharmas . . . and the knowledge of all aspects is empty of the knowledge of all aspects. The emptiness of the knowledge of all aspects is not the knowledge of all aspects and is not production. Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, [F.230.b] the nonproduction of the knowledge of all aspects is not the knowledge of all aspects.”

21.­18

Śāriputra then asked, “Venerable Subhūti, why do you say, ‘It is because a decrease in form is not form; a decrease in feeling . . . perception . . . volitional factors . . . and consciousness is not consciousness; and similarly, a decrease in the constituents . . . the sense fields  . . . the dependent originations . . . the emptinesses . . . the dharmas on the side of awakening . . . the perfections . . . the powers . . . the fearlessnesses . . . the detailed and thorough knowledges . . . the buddhadharmas, up to and the knowledge of all aspects is not the knowledge of all aspects’?”

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21.­19

“Venerable Śāriputra,” replied Subhūti, “it is because decrease, form, and not being divided, as well as decrease, feeling, perception, volitional factors, consciousness, and not being divided‍—all those dharmas are not conjoined and not disjoined, are formless, cannot be pointed out, do not obstruct, and have only one mark‍—that is, no mark. The constituents, the sense fields, the dependent originations, the perfections, the dharmas on the side of awakening, all the emptinesses, the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, and the knowledge of all aspects are similar, so decrease, the knowledge of all aspects, and not being divided‍—all those dharmas [F.231.a] are not conjoined and not disjoined, are formless, cannot be pointed out, do not obstruct, and have only one mark‍—that is, no mark.

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21.­20

“Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, a decrease in form is not form, and a decrease in feeling . . . perception . . . volitional factors . . . and consciousness is not consciousness. Connect this in the same way with each, up to a decrease in the knowledge of all aspects is not the knowledge of all aspects.”

21.­21

Śāriputra then asked, “Venerable Subhūti, why do you say, ‘Anything called form is counted as not two. Similarly, anything called feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness is counted as not two, up to anything called the knowledge of all aspects is counted as not two’?”

21.­22

“Venerable Śāriputra,” replied Subhūti, “it is because nonproduction is not one thing and form another; nonproduction itself is form, and form itself is nonproduction. It is because nonproduction is not one thing and feeling . . . perception . . . volitional factors . . . and consciousness another; nonproduction itself is consciousness, and consciousness itself is nonproduction.

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“Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, anything called form is counted as not two, and anything called feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness is counted as not two‍—similarly with the constituents, the sense fields, the dependent originations, the perfections, the dharmas on the side of awakening, [F.231.b] all the emptinesses, the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, and the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha.

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“Venerable Śāriputra, it is because nonproduction is not one thing and the knowledge of all aspects another; nonproduction itself is the knowledge of all aspects, and the knowledge of all aspects itself is nonproduction. Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, anything called the knowledge of all aspects is counted as not two.”

21.­25

Then venerable Subhūti said to the Lord, “Lord, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom investigate those dharmas like that, because of absolute purity they then view the nonproduction of form; because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness; because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of a self; and because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of a being, a living being, one who lives, an individual, a person, one born of Manu, a child of Manu, one who does, one who feels, one who knows, and one who sees. Similarly, because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of the constituents, sense fields, and dependent origination; because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of the perfection of giving; and similarly, because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of the perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom; [F.232.a] because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of inner emptiness, up to because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of the applications of mindfulness; and because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of the right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, path, ten powers, fearlessnesses, detailed and thorough knowledges, dhāraṇīs, meditative stabilization gateways, eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, and the knowledge of all aspects. Because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of an ordinary person; because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of the dharmas of an ordinary person; because of absolute purity they view the nonproduction of a stream enterer and the dharmas of a stream enterer, a once-returner and the dharmas of a once-returner, a non-returner and the dharmas of a non-returner, a worthy one and the dharmas of a worthy one, a pratyekabuddha and the dharmas of a pratyekabuddha, a bodhisattva and the dharmas of a bodhisattva, and a buddha; and they view the nonproduction of the buddha dharmas.”

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21.­26

Śāriputra then said, “According to the way I understand the meaning of what venerable Subhūti has said, form is a nonproduction; feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness are a nonproduction; the constituents are a nonproduction, the sense fields are a nonproduction, and dependent origination is a nonproduction; the perfections [F.232.b] are a nonproduction; all the emptinesses are a nonproduction; the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening are a nonproduction; the meditative stabilizations and dhāraṇī gateways are a nonproduction; the ten powers, fearlessnesses, detailed and thorough knowledges, and eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha are a nonproduction; the knowledge of all aspects is a nonproduction; an ordinary person is a nonproduction and the dharmas of an ordinary person are a nonproduction; a stream enterer and the dharmas of a stream enterer, a once-returner and the dharmas of a once-returner, a non-returner and the dharmas of a non-returner, a worthy one and the dharmas of a worthy one, a pratyekabuddha and the dharmas of a pratyekabuddha, a bodhisattva and the dharmas of a bodhisattva, and a buddha are a nonproduction; and the buddha dharmas are a nonproduction.

21.­27

“Venerable Subhūti, if form is a nonproduction, up to the buddha dharmas are a nonproduction, then, Venerable Subhūti, will śrāvakas not have already gained śrāvaka awakening, and similarly, ordinary persons not have already gained . . . up to pratyekabuddha awakening as well?360 Similarly, will bodhisattvas not have already gained the knowledge of all aspects, will the five forms of life not also be undifferentiable, and will bodhisattva great beings not have already gained the five awakenings?361 Venerable Subhūti, if all dharmas are a nonproduction, why would stream enterers cultivate the path in order to eliminate the three fetters; once-returners cultivate the path in order to weaken greed, hatred, and confusion; non-returners cultivate the path in order to eliminate the five fetters that are associated with the lower realms; [F.233.a] worthy ones cultivate the path in order to eliminate the five fetters that are associated with the upper realms; and those in the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle cultivate the path in order to reach their own awakening? Why do bodhisattva great beings undertake the difficult practices for the sake of beings and experience those sufferings, whatever they may be; why has a tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening; and why has a tathāgata turned the wheel of the Dharma?”

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21.­28

Subhūti replied, “Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept362 that an unproduced dharma has an attainment, or a clear realization. I do not accept that which is unproduced becomes a stream enterer. I do not accept that which is unproduced has the result of stream enterer. I do not accept that which is unproduced becomes a once-returner and has the result of once-returner, a non-returner and result of non-returner, the state of a worthy one and the result of the state of a worthy one, or a pratyekabuddha’s awakening and a pratyekabuddha.

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21.­29

“Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept that bodhisattvas are undertaking difficult practices, or that bodhisattva great beings practice with the idea of difficulty. And why? Because it is not possible, Venerable Śāriputra, for bodhisattva great beings who entertain the idea of difficulty to work for the welfare of infinite, countless beings. Rather, Venerable Śāriputra, by generating the perception they are a father, generating the perception they are a mother, generating the perception they are a son, generating the perception they are ‘me,’ they can work for the welfare of infinite, countless beings. Venerable Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings must produce this thought: [F.233.b] ‘Just as we say “self” again and again but it does not exist and cannot be apprehended as anyone at all in any way at all, we must produce that thought in just such a way about all inner and outer dharmas as well.’ If they produce such an idea, then the idea of difficulty does not arise. And why? Because bodhisattva great beings do not appropriate363 and do not apprehend any dharma as anything at all in any way at all.

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21.­30

“Venerable Śāriputra, in the absence of production I do not accept that there is the state of a tathāgata and unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, and I do not accept a turning of the wheel of the Dharma.

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“I do not accept that an unproduced dharma attains an unproduced attainment.”

21.­31

“Well then, Venerable Subhūti, does an unproduced dharma attain a produced attainment, or does a produced dharma attain an unproduced attainment?” asked Śāriputra.

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21.­32

Subhūti replied, “Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept that a produced dharma attains an unproduced attainment, nor do I accept that an unproduced dharma attains a produced attainment.”

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21.­33

“Venerable Subhūti, is there then no attainment and is there no clear realization?” asked Śāriputra.

21.­34

Subhūti replied, “Venerable Śāriputra, there is an attainment and there is a clear realization, but not in a dual way. Venerable Śāriputra, attainment and clear realization are labeled by ordinary convention. A stream enterer, or once-returner, or non-returner, or worthy one, or pratyekabuddha, or bodhisattva‍—even a buddha‍—is labeled by ordinary convention. Ultimately there is no attainment and there is no clear realization, there is no [F.234.a] stream enterer, there is no once-returner, there is no non-returner, there is no worthy one, there is no pratyekabuddha, there is no bodhisattva, and there is not even a buddha.”

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21.­35

“Venerable Subhūti, is the unproduced similar to an attainment and a clear realization that, as ordinary convention, is formless, cannot be pointed out, does not obstruct, and has only one mark‍—that is, no mark?” asked Śāriputra.

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21.­36

“Exactly so, Venerable Śāriputra, exactly so,” Subhūti replied. “Because of this one of many explanations, neither is production produced nor is nonproduction produced.”

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21.­37

“Venerable Subhūti, are you confident in your readiness to say again and again that ‘dharmas are unproduced’? Are you also confident in your readiness to say there is no production of unproduced dharmas?” asked Śāriputra.

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21.­38

Subhūti replied, “In regard to what you have said, Venerable Śāriputra‍—‘Are you confident in your readiness to say again and again that “dharmas are unproduced”?’‍—I have no confident readiness to say again and again that dharmas are unproduced. I have no confident readiness to say there is no production of unproduced dharmas. And why? Because, Venerable Śāriputra, an unproduced dharma, nonproduction, confident readiness, saying something, and a state of production‍—all those dharmas are not conjoined and not disjoined, are formless, cannot be pointed out, do not obstruct, and have only one mark‍—that is, no mark.”

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21.­39

“Venerable Subhūti, is there no production of saying, is there also no production of confident readiness, and is there also no production of a dharma? Are those dharmas that are the point of departure for what has to be said [F.234.b] also not produced?” asked Śāriputra.

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21.­40

“Exactly so, Venerable Śāriputra,” replied Subhūti. “There is no production of saying, there is also no production of confident readiness, and there is also no production of a dharma. Those dharmas that are the point of departure for a confidence giving a readiness to speak are not produced. And why? Because there is no production of form, and there is no production of feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness. Similarly, there is no production of the constituents, the sense fields, or dependent originations; of the perfections, the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, all the emptinesses, all the meditative stabilizations, all the dhāraṇīs, the powers, the fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, or the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; up to there is no production of the knowledge of all aspects.”

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21.­41

“Exactly so, Venerable Subhūti,” agreed Śāriputra. “There is no production of saying, there is also no production of confident readiness, and there is also no production of a dharma; those dharmas that are the point of departure for a confidence giving a readiness to speak are not produced. There is no production of the aggregates, the constituents, sense fields, dependent origination, the perfections, the dharmas on the side of awakening, all the emptinesses, all the meditative stabilizations, all the dhāraṇīs, the powers, the fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, up to the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha. Connect this in the same way with there is no production of . . . up to the knowledge of all aspects. Since this is the case the five forms of life are differentiable as ordinary conventions, but not ultimately.” [F.235.a]

21.­42

“Exactly so, Venerable Śāriputra, exactly so,” agreed Subhūti. “Venerable Śāriputra, just as attainment and clear realization exist as ordinary conventions, similarly the five forms of life too are differentiable as ordinary conventions, but not ultimately. And why? Venerable Śāriputra, it is because ultimately there is no maturation of karma, there is no production, there is no cessation, there is no defilement, and there is no purification.”

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21.­43

“Venerable Subhūti, is an unproduced dharma produced, or is a produced dharma produced?” asked Śāriputra.

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21.­44

Subhūti replied, “Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept that an unproduced dharma is produced, nor do I accept that a produced dharma is produced.”

21.­45

“Venerable Subhūti, what unproduced dharma do you not accept is produced?” asked Śāriputra.

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21.­46

Subhūti replied, “Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept that unproduced form is produced; I do not accept that unproduced feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness are produced; and similarly with the constituents, the sense fields, dependent origination, the perfections, the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, all the emptinesses, the powers, the fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, and the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha. I do not accept that unproduced awakening is attained; I do not accept that it is clearly realized.”

21.­47

“Venerable Subhūti, what produced dharma do you not accept is produced?” asked Śāriputra.

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21.­48

Subhūti replied, “Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept that a produced form empty of an intrinsic nature is produced. Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept [F.235.b] that a produced feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness empty of an intrinsic nature is produced. Venerable Śāriputra, connect this in the same way with I do not accept . . . , up to a produced awakening empty of an intrinsic nature is produced.”

21.­49

“Venerable Subhūti, is an unproduced dharma produced, or is a produced dharma produced?”364 asked Śāriputra.

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21.­50

Subhūti replied, “Venerable Śāriputra, the unproduced is not produced, and the produced is not produced either. And why? Venerable Śāriputra, it is because both produced and unproduced dharmas are neither conjoined nor disjoined because there is no production. And why? Venerable Śāriputra, it is because there is no production of form; there is no production of feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness; and similarly, there is no production of the constituents, the sense fields, dependent origination, the perfections, the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, all the emptinesses, all the meditative stabilizations, all the dhāraṇīs, the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, or the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha. Connect this in the same way with physical volitional factors, verbal volitional factors, or mental volitional factors, up to there is no production of the knowledge of all aspects.

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21.­51

“Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, there is no production of saying, there is also no production of confident readiness, and there is also no production of a dharma; those dharmas that are the point of departure for a confidence giving a readiness to speak are not produced.”

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21.­52

Śāriputra then declared, “Venerable Subhūti should be placed highest among Dharma teachers. And why? Because he escapes right from whatever it is he is asked about.” [F.236.a]

Subhūti replied, “It is because all dharmas have no fixed position.”365

21.­53

“Venerable Subhūti, in what way do all dharmas have no fixed position?” asked Śāriputra.

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Subhūti replied, “Venerable Śāriputra, form is empty of a basic nature. It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without366 both. Venerable Śāriputra, feeling . . . perception . . . volitional factors . . . and consciousness is empty of a basic nature. It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without both.

21.­54

“Venerable Śāriputra, the eyes are empty of a basic nature. They have no fixed position inside, they have no fixed position outside, and they cannot be apprehended without both. Venerable Śāriputra, the ears . . . the nose . . . the tongue . . . the body . . . and the thinking mind is empty of a basic nature. It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without both.

21.­55

“Venerable Śāriputra, a form is empty of a basic nature. It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without both. Venerable Śāriputra, a sound . . . a smell . . . a taste . . . a feeling . . . and a dharma is empty of a basic nature. It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without both.

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21.­56

“Venerable Śāriputra, the perfection of giving is empty of a basic nature. It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without both. Venerable Śāriputra, similarly the perfection of morality . . . the perfection of patience . . . the perfection of perseverance . . . the perfection of concentration . . . and the perfection of wisdom [F.236.b] is empty of a basic nature. It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without both.

21.­57

“Venerable Śāriputra, inner emptiness is empty of a basic nature. It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without both. Venerable Śāriputra, . . . up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature is empty of a basic nature. It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without both.

21.­58

“Venerable Śāriputra, the applications of mindfulness are empty of a basic nature. They have no fixed position inside, they have no fixed position outside, and they cannot be apprehended without both. Venerable Śāriputra, similarly the right efforts . . . the legs of miraculous power . . . the faculties . . . the powers . . . the limbs of awakening . . . and the path is empty of a basic nature. It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without both.

21.­59

“Venerable Śāriputra, the powers . . . the fearlessnesses . . . the detailed and thorough knowledges . . . and the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha are empty of a basic nature. They have no fixed position inside, they have no fixed position outside, and they cannot be apprehended without both.

21.­60

“Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, all dharmas have no fixed position because they are empty of a basic nature.

21.­61

“It is thus, Venerable Śāriputra, that bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections should purify form; should purify feeling, perception, volitional factors, and [F.237.a] consciousness; should purify the constituents, the sense fields, dependent origination, the perfections, all the emptinesses, the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, the meditative stabilizations, the dhāraṇīs, the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, and the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; up to should purify the knowledge of all aspects.”

21.­62

“Venerable Subhūti how do bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections purify the awakening path?” asked Śāriputra.

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Subhūti replied, “Venerable Śāriputra, there is an ordinary perfection of giving and there is an extraordinary perfection of giving. Similarly, there is an ordinary perfection of morality . . . perfection of patience . . . perfection of perseverance . . . perfection of concentration . . . and perfection of wisdom and there is an extraordinary perfection of wisdom.”

21.­63

“Venerable Subhūti, what is an ordinary perfection of giving and what is an extraordinary one?” asked Śāriputra.

21.­64

“Venerable Śāriputra,” replied Subhūti, “here bodhisattva great beings become givers, great philanthropists, and give food to those leading a secluded religious life, to brahmins, to the pitiful, to the destitute, to travelers, and to those who are begging for food. They give drinks to those who want drink, transport to those who want transport, clothes to those who want clothes, flowers to those who want flowers, flower garlands to those who want flower garlands, incense to those [F.237.b] who want incense, creams to those who want creams, homes to those who want a home, seats and beds to those who want seats and beds, tools to those who want tools, medicine to those who want medicine, up to whatever human requirements are appropriate‍—a son to those who want a son; a daughter to those who want a daughter; a wife to those who want a wife; a kingdom to those who want a kingdom; their head to those who want a head; their eyes to those who want eyes; a major or minor part of their body to those who want a major or minor part of the body; and their flesh, blood, and marrow to those who want flesh, blood, and marrow. They give all that away with a fixed position, thinking, ‘I am giving, they are receiving, this is charity, that is stinginess, I am a philanthropist, I am giving all my possessions away, I am doing what the buddhas said to do, I am practicing the perfection of giving.’ Having given those gifts by way of apprehending something, they make them into something shared in common by all beings and dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, thinking, ‘Through the result of this charity of mine may those beings be happy in this life and may they, without appropriating anything, enter into complete nirvāṇa.’

21.­65

“They give those gifts attached to the three attachments. To which three? To the idea of self, the idea of other, and the idea of giving. Attached to those three attachments they give those gifts.

21.­66

“That is called the ordinary perfection of giving. And why is it called the ordinary perfection of giving? [F.238.a] Because it does not move from the ordinary, does not transcend the ordinary, and does not pass beyond the ordinary. Because of this it is called the ordinary perfection of giving.

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21.­67

“What is an extraordinary perfection of giving? It is the purity of the three spheres. And what is the purity of the three spheres? Venerable Śāriputra, here bodhisattva great beings giving gifts do not apprehend a self, do not apprehend a recipient, do not apprehend giving, and do not delight in its maturation. That, Venerable Śāriputra, is the bodhisattva great beings’ purity of the three spheres.

21.­68

“Furthermore, Venerable Śāriputra, here bodhisattva great beings giving gifts give away gifts to all beings but without apprehending all beings, without apprehending a self, and without apprehending a gift; they dedicate it to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening but without apprehending even awakening. That, Venerable Śāriputra, is called the extraordinary perfection of giving. And why is it called the extraordinary perfection of giving? Because it moves from the ordinary, transcends the ordinary, and passes beyond the ordinary. Because of this it is called the extraordinary perfection of giving.

21.­69

“The perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, and perfection of concentration are similar to that. [B18]

21.­70

“Venerable Śāriputra, there is also an ordinary perfection of wisdom and there is also an extraordinary one.

21.­71

“What is the ordinary perfection of wisdom? [F.238.b] Venerable Śāriputra, here bodhisattva great beings with a fixed position apprehending ‘I have curbed miserly thoughts’ give gifts fixed on the ideas of self, beings, and giving, giving away all their possessions‍—inner and outer things, owned and unowned‍—whatever they may be.

21.­72

“Firm in the good qualities of the ascetic, with a fixed position apprehending body, speech, and mind, and with a fixed view of self, a fixed view of beings, and a fixed view of the wholesome, they devote themselves to morality and the ten wholesome actions. Having made those moralities into something shared in common by all beings, with an apprehension of awakening they dedicate them to awakening by way of apprehending something.

21.­73

“With a fixed view of praising self and disparaging others, self and beings, and patience, they put up with all the nasty things beings do, and, having made those wholesome roots into something shared in common by all beings, dedicate them, by way of apprehending something, to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.

21.­74

“Apprehending a body, apprehending a collection of merit, apprehending a collection of knowledge, apprehending self, apprehending beings, and apprehending awakening, they make a vigorous attempt, and on account of that they falsely project that they are making a vigorous attempt.

21.­75

“They meditate on love, compassion, joy, and equanimity; become absorbed in and emerge from the concentrations, clairvoyances, concentrations, and absorptions; and on account of relishing them [F.239.a] falsely project them. With a view that apprehends something, having made those wholesome roots into something shared in common by all beings, they dedicate them to awakening. Those are the ordinary ones.

21.­76

“Apprehending ‘form is empty’; apprehending ‘feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness are empty’; and similarly, apprehending up to ‘the awakening of a buddha is empty,’ they meditate on emptiness, which is to say, they practice while apprehending those, and having made those wholesome roots into something shared in common by all beings, they dedicate them, again by way of apprehending them, to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. Without skillful means (1) they confess, by way of apprehending them, all wrongdoings; (2) while apprehending, they rejoice in all the merits of self and others; and (3) they request all the buddhas to teach for the welfare of self and others, and having made the three aggregates of merit367 into something shared in common by all beings, they dedicate them without skillful means to the knowledge of all aspects. That is called the ordinary perfection of wisdom.

21.­77

“What is the extraordinary perfection of wisdom? With wisdom that does not apprehend self, beings, or what is to be given, they purify the perfection of giving for awakening through the purity of the three spheres; without apprehending self, beings, morality, or awakening, they purify the perfection of morality for awakening through the purity of the three spheres; without apprehending self, patience, or awakening, they purify the perfection of patience for awakening through the purity of the three spheres; without apprehending self, body, mind, [F.239.b] perseverance, merit, or knowledge, they purify the perfection of perseverance for awakening through the purity of the three spheres; without apprehending self, beings, concentrations, meditative stabilizations, or absorptions, they purify the perfection of concentration for awakening through the purity of the three spheres; without apprehending all beings, they purify the perfection of wisdom for awakening, and they dedicate all the wholesome roots to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening with a dedication free from poison,368 an unsurpassed dedication, a dedication equal to the unequaled, an inconceivable dedication, an incomparable dedication, a dedication that is infinite.

“That is called the extraordinary perfection of wisdom.

21.­78

“Why is it called ordinary, worldly369 and why extraordinary, supramundane?

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“There ordinary, worldly is used in seven different ways:370 on account of them the world is established; the world is the same as them; on account of them there is something given to the world; on account of them [F.240.a] they do not escape the world; they are for the coming into being of the world; and they come into being in the world. Those are called ordinary, worldly.

21.­79

“What is extraordinary, supramundane? It is used in seven different ways: on account of them the world goes free; they eliminate the world; on account of them a world causes an escape; those that are not the world; the world from which they will escape; those who free from the world; and those who free in the world. Those are called extraordinary, supramudane.371

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21.­80

“It is thus, Venerable Śāriputra, that bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections purify the awakening path.”

21.­81

“Venerable Subhūti, what is the bodhisattva great beings’ awakening path?” asked Śāriputra.

21.­82

Subhūti replied, “Venerable Śāriputra, the four applications of mindfulness are the bodhisattva great beings’ awakening path. The four right efforts, four legs of miraculous power, five faculties, five powers, seven limbs of awakening, and eightfold noble path; the emptiness, signless, and wishless gateways to liberation; inner emptiness, up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; and all the meditative stabilizations, all the dhāraṇī gateways, the ten tathāgata powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four detailed and thorough knowledges, the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, great love, and great compassion‍—those, Venerable Śāriputra, are called the bodhisattva great beings’ awakening path.”

21.­83

“Venerable Subhūti, for the perfection of what is this the labor?” asked Śāriputra.

Subhūti replied, “This is the labor, Venerable Śāriputra, for the perfection of wisdom. And why? Because, Venerable Śāriputra, the perfection of wisdom is the one that gives birth to śrāvaka dharmas, [F.240.b] pratyekabuddha dharmas, bodhisattva dharmas, buddha dharmas, and all wholesome dharmas. Venerable Śāriputra, the perfection of wisdom incorporates and includes śrāvaka dharmas, pratyekabuddha dharmas, bodhisattva dharmas, buddha dharmas, and all wholesome dharmas. Venerable Śāriputra, having practiced this perfection of wisdom those earlier tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening; Venerable Śāriputra, having trained in this same perfection of wisdom, future tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas will fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening; and, Venerable Śāriputra, having trained in this same perfection of wisdom, tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas now dwelling and maintaining themselves in world systems in all ten directions fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.

21.­84

“Venerable Śāriputra, if, when this perfection of wisdom has been explained, bodhisattva great beings do not become unsure and do not become perplexed, you should know that those bodhisattva great beings stay in that state, without staying in that state, in order to protect beings, [F.241.a] in order not to abandon beings, and you should know that the bodhisattva great beings, furthermore, stay in that state, by way of not staying in that state, inseparable from attention to great compassion.”

21.­85

Śāriputra replied, “Venerable Subhūti, if you accept that those who stay in that state, staying in a state inseparable from paying attention to great compassion, are bodhisattva great beings, in that case, Venerable Subhūti, all beings will be bodhisattvas. And why? Because all beings are inseparable from attention.”

21.­86

“Excellent, excellent, Venerable Śāriputra,” said Subhūti. “I will object to venerable Śāriputra in that venerable Śāriputra has got at just what is meant by expressing the statement as an absolute.372

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“And why? Venerable Śāriputra, you should know that the nonexistence of attention is because of the nonexistence of a being; you should know that the emptiness of attention is because of the emptiness of a being; you should know that the isolation of attention is because of the isolation of a being; you should know that the absence of an intrinsic nature in attention is because of the absence of an intrinsic nature in a being; and you should know that there is no full awakening of attention because there is no full awakening of a being.

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“Venerable Śāriputra, you should know that the nonexistence of attention is because of the nonexistence of form; you should know that the emptiness of attention is because of the emptiness of form; you should know that the isolation of attention is because of the isolation of form; you should know that the absence of an intrinsic nature in attention is because of the absence of an intrinsic nature in form; and you should know that there is no full awakening of attention because there is no full awakening of form.

21.­89

“Similarly, [F.241.b] you should know that the nonexistence of attention is because of the nonexistence of feeling . . . perception . . . volitional factors . . . and consciousness; you should know that the emptiness of attention is because of the emptiness of consciousness; you should know that the isolation of attention is because of the isolation of consciousness; you should know that the absence of an intrinsic nature in attention is because of the absence of an intrinsic nature in consciousness; and you should know that there is no full awakening of attention because there is no full awakening of consciousness.

21.­90

“Similarly, you should know that the nonexistence of attention is because of the nonexistence of the constituents . . . the sense fields . . . dependent origination . . . the truths . . . the dharmas on the side of awakening . . . the perfections . . . all the emptinesses . . . all the meditative stabilizations . . . all the dhāraṇī gateways, up to and the knowledge of all aspects. Similarly, you should know that because of the emptiness of the knowledge of all aspects, the isolation of the knowledge of all aspects, the absence of an intrinsic nature in the knowledge of all aspects, and because there is no full awakening of the knowledge of all aspects, there is no full awakening of attention.

21.­91

“Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, I say bodhisattva great beings are not separated from staying in this state or from this attention.”

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21.­92

The Lord then complimented venerable Subhūti: “Excellent, excellent, Subhūti! You should give instruction in the perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings just like this, just as you have explained through the Tathāgata’s power, and bodhisattva great beings should train in the perfection of wisdom just as you explain.”

21.­93

As venerable Subhūti was expounding this perfection of wisdom chapter, the great billionfold world system [F.242.a] shook in six ways: it shook, shook greatly, and shook violently; quaked, quaked greatly, and quaked violently; stirred, stirred greatly, and stirred violently; became disturbed, greatly disturbed, and violently disturbed; roared, roared greatly, and roared violently; and resounded, resounded greatly, and resounded violently. The eastern direction sank down and the western direction rose up; the western direction sank down and the eastern direction rose up; the southern direction sank down and the northern direction rose up; the northern direction sank down and the southern direction rose up; the middle sank down and the edges rose up; and the edges sank down and the middle rose up.

21.­94

Then at that moment the Lord smiled. Venerable Subhūti then inquired of the Lord, “Lord, why did you smile? What is the cause, what is the condition?”

21.­95

The Lord replied, “Subhūti, just as inside this Sahā world system the perfection of wisdom is being taught, similarly in infinite, countless world systems in the eastern direction the tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas are also teaching this very perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings. Similarly, all around in infinite, countless world systems in the ten directions, tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas are teaching this very perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings.”

21.­96

As venerable Subhūti was expounding this perfection of wisdom chapter, two billion living beings of divine and human rank gained forbearance for dharmas that are not produced, and as the lord buddhas were teaching this very perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva great beings in all the ten directions, infinite, [F.242.b] countless numbers of beings produced the thought of unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.

21.­97

This was the twenty-first chapter, “Subhūti,” of the “Eighteen Thousand Mother of All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas Perfection of Wisdom.”


22.

Chapter 22: Śatakratu

22.­1

And indeed all the Four Mahārājas stationed in the great billionfold world system together with many hundreds of thousands of one hundred million billion gods were assembled in that very retinue, as were the Śatakratus,373 heads of the gods, and the Suyāmas, Saṃtuṣitas, Nirmāṇaratis, Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartins, and Brahmapurohitas, up to the Brahmās together with many hundreds of thousands of one hundred million billion gods also assembled, and as many Brahmās, up to Śuddhāvāsa classes of gods stationed in the great billionfold world system together with hundreds of thousands of one hundred million billion gods, also were assembled. The light originating from the maturation of earlier karma coming from the bodies of those Cāturmahā­rājika gods, and the light originating from the maturation of earlier karma coming from the bodies of those Trāyastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, and Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin classes of gods, and Brahmakāyika gods, up to the Śuddhāvāsa class of gods, does not approach the natural light of the Tathāgata even by a hundredth part, or by a thousandth part, or by a hundred thousandth part, or by a hundred-thousand hundred-millionth part; it would not stand up to any number, or fraction, or counting, or example, or comparison. In the presence of374 the natural light of the Tathāgata all the lights originating from the maturation of earlier karma coming from the bodies of the gods do not gleam, do not radiate, and do not shine. [F.243.a] Among those the light of the Tathāgata reveals itself as the highest, reveals itself as special, and reveals itself as the best, superb, exemplary, unsurpassed, and unrivaled. As an analogy, just as a fired iron statue in the presence of the golden Jambū River does not gleam, does not radiate, and does not shine, similarly, in the presence of the natural light of the Tathāgata all the lights originating from the maturation of earlier karma coming from the bodies of the gods do not gleam, do not radiate, and do not shine. Among those the light of the Tathāgata reveals itself as the highest, reveals itself as special, and reveals itself as the best, superb, exemplary, unsurpassed, and unrivaled.

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23.

Chapter 23: Hard to Understand

23.­1

Then it occurred to those gods to think, “What would the elder Subhūti accept those listening to the Dharma to be like?”

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Then venerable Subhūti, understanding in his mind the thoughts occurring to those gods, said to those gods, “Gods, I would accept those listening to the doctrine to be like illusory beings. I would accept those listening to the doctrine to be like magically created beings. They will not listen to, master, or directly realize anything at all.”

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24.

Chapter 24: Unlimited

24.­1

Then it occurred to Śatakratu, head of the gods, to think, “I will magically create flowers in order to worship this rain of Dharma being expounded by the elder Subhūti, and we will strew those flowers near, strew them in front, and strew them around the lord buddhas, the community of bodhisattva great beings, the monks, the elder Subhūti, and the perfection of wisdom.” And it occurred to all the Cāturmahā­rājika gods, up to the Akaniṣṭha class, as many as are stationed in the great billionfold world system, to think, “We will magically create flowers in [F.259.b] order to worship this rain of Dharma being expounded by the elder Subhūti, and will strew those flowers near, strew them in front, and strew them around the lord buddhas, the community of bodhisattva great beings, the monks, the elder Subhūti, and the perfection of wisdom.” Then Śatakratu, head of the gods, and all the Cāturmahā­rājika gods, up to the Akaniṣṭha class, as many as are stationed in the great billionfold world system, did magically create coral tree flowers and strewed them near, strewed them in front, and strewed them around the lord buddhas, the community of bodhisattva great beings, the monks, the elder Subhūti, and the perfection of wisdom. Immediately after Śatakratu, head of the gods, and the gods up to the Akaniṣṭha class had strewed those flowers, they matted together and spread out over the great billionfold world system and stayed there suspended in the sky, a second story of flowers delightful and pleasing to the mind.


25.

Chapter 25: Second Śatakratu

25.­1

The women and men and masses of seers, together with the gods‍—those with the Indras,397 those with the Brahmās, and those with the Prajāpatis as their leaders‍—cried out three times cries of delight in the Dharma that the elder Subhūti, through the might of the Tathāgata, through the sustaining power of the Tathāgata, had pointed out, taught, thrown light on, and illuminated: “Ah! How well it has been explained. Ah! How well this Dharma has been explained. Ah! How well the true dharmic nature of this Dharma has been explained.” And they said, “Lord, we shall treat those bodhisattva great beings who do not become separated from the perfection of wisdom, who do not apprehend any dharma, be it form, or feeling, or perception, or volitional factors, or consciousness, up to or the knowledge of all aspects, but still make known the presentation of the three vehicles‍—the vehicle of the śrāvakas, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, and the vehicle of the perfectly complete buddhas‍—exactly like tathāgatas.”


26.

Chapter 26: Getting Hold

26.­1

Then Śatakratu, head of the gods, said to the Lord, “It is amazing, Lord, how these bodhisattva great beings who have taken up or borne in mind or read aloud or mastered or properly paid attention to this perfection of wisdom in this very life get hold of good qualities; how they bring beings to maturity, purify a buddhafield, and pass on from buddhafield to buddhafield in order to attend on the lord buddhas; how, if they still want to revere, demonstrate reverence for, show honor to, and worship those lord buddhas on account of wholesome roots, those wholesome roots establish it accordingly; how they go into the presence of those lord buddhas and listen to the Dharma; how they never forget their Dharma right up until they fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening; [F.275.b] how they take possession of a perfect family, perfect celebrity,399 a perfect life, a perfect retinue, perfect major marks, perfect radiance, perfect eyes, a perfect voice, perfect concentration, and perfect dhāraṇī; how they go from world system to world system where the lord buddhas have not appeared and with skillful means magically produce themselves in the shape a buddha assumes; how they speak in praise of the perfection of giving and speak in praise of the perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom; how they speak in praise of inner emptiness, up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; how they speak in praise of the concentrations, speak in praise of the immeasurables and formless absorptions, speak in praise of the applications of mindfulness, and speak in praise of the right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and eightfold noble path; how they speak in praise of the ten powers, fearlessnesses, detailed and thorough knowledges, up to the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; and how with skillful means they tame beings in the three vehicles‍—the Śrāvaka Vehicle, Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and Great Vehicle‍—teaching them the Dharma.”

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27.

Chapter 27: Reliquary

27.­1

Then the Lord said to Śatakratu, head of the gods, “Kauśika, if some son of a good family or daughter of a good family takes up or bears in mind or reads out loud or recites or teaches or intones or harmonizes with or properly pays attention to this deep perfection of wisdom, and if they go up to the front line of battle and have engaged in or are engaging in, or are traversing, or are sitting down or standing up in a battle that is underway, Kauśika, even if an arrow or a club or a stick or a stone or a sword is flung at that son of a good family or daughter of a good family who takes up or bears in mind or reads out loud or recites or teaches or intones or harmonizes with or properly pays attention to this deep perfection of wisdom, it is impossible that those projectiles would land on their body; it is impossible that the attacks of others would interfere with their life. And why? Kauśika, it is because that son of a good family or daughter of a good family who has practiced the perfection of wisdom for a long time has vanquished their own greed arrows and greed swords; they have vanquished others’ greed arrows and greed swords; they have vanquished their own hatred arrows and confusion arrows and their hatred swords and confusion swords; they have vanquished others’ hatred arrows and confusion arrows and hatred swords and confusion swords; they have vanquished their own arrows of instances of views and swords of instances of views, and they have vanquished others’ arrows of instances of views and swords of instances of views; they have vanquished their own obsession [F.284.b] arrows and obsession swords, and they have vanquished others’ obsession arrows and obsession swords; and they have vanquished their own proclivity arrows and proclivity swords, and they have vanquished others’ proclivity arrows and proclivity swords. Kauśika, because of this one of many explanations, even if an arrow or a sword is flung at a son of a good family or daughter of a good family, it does not land on their body.


28.

Chapter 28: Declaration of the Good Qualities of the Thought of Awakening

28.­1

Śatakratu, head of the gods, having said this, the Lord then said to him, “Exactly so. Kauśika, exactly so. Those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family [F.294.a] who write out and make this perfection of wisdom into a book; take it up, bear it in mind, read it aloud, master it, and properly pay attention to it and on top of that respect, revere, honor, and worship it with flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, creams, powders, robes, parasols, flags, and banners would, based on that, make a lot of merit, an immeasurable, countless, inconceivable, infinite, incomparable amount. And why? Kauśika, it is because the knowledge of all aspects of tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas issues forth from the perfection of wisdom. Kauśika, the five perfections, all the emptinesses, the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, the distinct attributes of a buddha, the five eyes, the six clairvoyances, bringing beings to maturity, and the perfect purification of a buddhafield issue forth from the perfection of wisdom. Kauśika, all-knowledge, knowledge of path aspects, and knowledge of all aspects issue forth from the perfection of wisdom. Kauśika, the Śrāvaka Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and the Great Vehicle issue forth from the perfection of wisdom, and unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening issues forth from the perfection of wisdom too.


29.

Chapter 29: Different Tīrthika Religious Mendicants

29.­1

Then, many different tīrthika religious mendicants intent on criticizing, a hundred of them, specifically approached the Lord to level criticism.

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Then it occurred to Śatakratu, head of the gods, to think, “These many different tīrthika religious mendicants intent on criticizing the doctrine, a hundred of them, have specifically approached the Lord to level criticism. I will certainly recite as much of the perfection of wisdom as I have taken up in order that these different tīrthika religious mendicants will not get at all close to the Lord to hinder the teaching of the perfection of wisdom.”


30.

Chapter 30: The Benefits of Taking Up and Adoration

30.­1

Then venerable Ānanda said to the Lord, “Lord, you do not praise422 the perfection of giving, and you do not praise the perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, or perfection of concentration. Similarly, up to you do not proclaim the names of the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha as you proclaim the name of the perfection of wisdom.”

30.­2

Venerable Ānanda having said this, the Lord then said to him, “Ānanda, these‍—that is, the [F.2.a] five perfections, connect this in the same way with each, up to the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha‍—are preceded by the perfection of wisdom.

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31.

Chapter 31: Physical Remains

31.­1

Then the Lord asked Śatakratu, head of the gods, “Kauśika, which of these two options would you choose: to have this Jambudvīpa filled right to the top with the physical remains of tathāgatas and to respect, revere, honor, and worship them with flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, creams, powders, robes, parasols, flags, and banners, or to be given this perfection of wisdom?”

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“Lord,” replied Śatakratu, “were I to be offered this Jambudvīpa filled right to the top with the physical remains of the tathāgatas and to be offered this perfection of wisdom written out in book form‍—were I to be presented with these two options‍—I would want the perfection of wisdom. And why? Lord, it is not that I do not venerate those physical remains of the tathāgatas. Lord, I do indeed venerate them. It is not that I do not respect those physical remains of the tathāgatas, or do not revere, do not honor, and do not worship them. But I respect, revere, honor, and worship those physical remains of the tathāgatas because they come about from the perfection of wisdom. The physical remains of the tathāgatas [F.10.a] are suffused by the perfection of wisdom. That is why the physical remains of the tathāgatas get to be worshiped.”

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32.

Chapter 32: The Superiority of Merit

32.­1

“Kauśika, [F.22.b] there is infinitely great merit from establishing one being in the result of stream enterer, but not so much from establishing the beings in Jambudvīpa in the ten wholesome actions. And why? Kauśika, those who have been established in the ten wholesome actions have not totally got out from the forms of life in the hells, in the animal realms, in the worlds of Yama, or as asuras. A being established in the result of stream enterer is freed from all the terrible forms of life. Similarly, there is infinitely great merit from establishing one being in a pratyekabuddha’s awakening, but not so much from establishing the beings in Jambudvīpa in the ten wholesome actions. Kauśika, a son of a good family or daughter of a good family who establishes one being in unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening creates infinitely greater merit than that. And why? Because it is established specifically so the way of buddhas is not brought to an end.

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33.

Chapter 33: Dedication

33.­1

Then the bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to the elder Subhūti, “Venerable monk Subhūti, when the basis of meritorious action arisen from a bodhisattva great being’s rejoicing that has been made into something shared in common by all beings has been dedicated to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening‍—and dedicated, furthermore, by way of not apprehending anything‍—that basis of meritorious action arisen from a bodhisattva great being’s rejoicing [F.36.a] that has been made into something shared in common by all beings and dedicated to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening is the highest, the most excellent, the foremost, the best, the most superb, sublime, unsurpassed, and unrivaled in comparison to the bases of meritorious action arisen from all beings’ rejoicing, and in comparison to the bases of meritorious action arisen from giving, the bases of meritorious action arisen from morality, and the bases of meritorious action arisen from meditation of those who have set out in the Śrāvaka Vehicle and those who have set out in the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle. And why? Because all the bases of meritorious action arisen from giving, arisen from morality, and arisen from meditation of those in the Śrāvaka Vehicle and those in the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle are made for personal disciplining, for personal calming, and for a personal complete nirvāṇa; the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, up to emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness are for personal disciplining, personal calming, and a personal complete nirvāṇa, but that basis of meritorious action arisen from a bodhisattva’s rejoicing is for disciplining all beings, for calming all beings, and for the complete nirvāṇa of all beings, because it has been dedicated to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.”

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34.

Chapter 34: Perfect Praise of the Quality of Accomplishment

34.­1

Then venerable Śāriputra said to the Lord, “Lord, the perfection of wisdom makes things clear because of absolute purity. Lord, the perfection of wisdom makes you want to bow. Lord, I bow to the perfection of wisdom. Lord, the perfection of wisdom is untainted by all three realms. Lord, the perfection of wisdom corrects visual distortions because of having eliminated all the darkness of afflictive emotion and views. Lord, the perfection of wisdom works as the highest of the dharmas on the side of awakening. Lord, the perfection of wisdom provides security because it has eliminated all hazards, terrors, and persecution. Lord, the perfection of wisdom gives light because then all beings easily appropriate [F.52.b] the five eyes. Lord, the perfection of wisdom shows the ruts449 because beings caught in the ruts avoid the two edges. Lord, the perfection of wisdom works as the knowledge of all aspects because of having eliminated all residual impressions, connections, and afflictions. Lord, the perfection of wisdom is the mother of great bodhisattvas because she gives birth to all the buddhadharmas. Lord, the perfection of wisdom is unproduced and unceasing because of being empty of its own mark. Lord, the perfection of wisdom counteracts saṃsāra because it is not unmoved and not destroyed. Lord, the perfection of wisdom works as the protector of all unprotected beings because it is the giver of all precious dharmas. Lord, the perfection of wisdom works as the ten powers because it deals with those who are untamed. Lord, the perfection of wisdom works as repeating and thus turning the wheel of the Dharma that has twelve aspects three times because it does not go forward and does not turn back.450 Lord, the perfection of wisdom works to show the intrinsic nature of all dharmas because of the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature. Since this is the case, Lord, how does one stand in the perfection of wisdom?”

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35.

Chapter 35: Hells

35.­1

Then venerable Śāriputra inquired of the Lord, “Where did they die, Lord, bodhisattva great beings who have come here and believe in this perfection of wisdom? How long has it been since a son of a good family or daughter of a good family believing in this perfection of wisdom as the meaning and method455 set out for unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening? On how many tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas have they attended? For how long have they been practitioners of the perfection of giving? For how long have they been practitioners of the perfection of morality, patience, perseverance, and concentration? For how long have they been practitioners of the perfection of wisdom?”