The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
Chapter 25: Second Śatakratu
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)
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Table of Contents
Summary
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.
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.
Acknowledgements
This sūtra was translated by Gareth Sparham under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Translator’s Acknowledgments
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
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.
Chapter 25: Second Śatakratu
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.”
Then the Lord said to those gods, “Exactly so, gods, exactly so. It is exactly as you say. Without apprehending any dharma, be it form, or feeling, or perception, or volitional factors, or consciousness, up to or the knowledge of all aspects, [F.271.a] still they make known a presentation of the three vehicles—the vehicle of the śrāvakas, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, and the vehicle of the perfectly complete buddhas. Gods, you should treat those bodhisattva great beings who do not become separated from the perfection of wisdom, by way of not apprehending anything, exactly like tathāgatas.
“And why? It is because all three vehicles—the vehicle of the śrāvakas, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, and the Great Vehicle—are expounded in detail in this perfection of wisdom, but without apprehending the Tathāgata as other than the perfection of giving; without apprehending the Tathāgata as other than the perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom; without apprehending the Tathāgata as other than inner emptiness, up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; without apprehending the Tathāgata as other than the applications of mindfulness, right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and path; without apprehending the Tathāgata as other than the ten powers, fearlessnesses, detailed and thorough knowledges, and eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; and without apprehending the Tathāgata as other than . . . up to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Gods, it is because bodhisattva great beings train in all those dharmas, the perfection of giving and so on, and because they train in . . . up to the knowledge of all aspects, that you, gods, should therefore call those bodhisattva great beings, [F.271.b] practicing without becoming separated from the perfection of wisdom, just tathāgatas.
“When I was staying in the center of commerce in the center of an empire called Padmāvatī, in the presence of the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Dīpaṃkara, and I was, by way of not apprehending anything, inseparable from the perfection of giving; inseparable from the perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom; inseparable from inner emptiness, up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; inseparable from the applications of mindfulness; inseparable from the right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and path; and inseparable from the four concentrations, the four immeasurables, the four formless absorptions, 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, great compassion, and infinite other buddhadharmas, at that time, gods, that tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Dīpaṃkara prophesied my unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening: ‘You, brahmin student, in the future after incalculable eons have passed, in the Fortunate Age, right in this world system, will become the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha called Śākyamuni, perfect in knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of worlds, a driver of persons to be tamed, unsurpassed, a teacher of gods and humans, [F.272.a] a buddha, a lord.’ ”
Then those gods said to the Lord, “It is amazing, Lord, the extent to which this perfection of wisdom of the bodhisattva great beings is favorable to the knowledge of all aspects through not getting hold of or rejecting form; through not getting hold of or rejecting feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness; up to through not getting hold of or rejecting the knowledge of all aspects.”
Then the Lord, knowing the four retinues of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen, the bodhisattva great beings, the Four Mahārājas and the Cāturmahārājika gods, up to the Akaniṣṭha class of gods were assembled and seated, taking them all as witnesses, said to Śatakratu, head of the gods, “Kauśika, the Māras or the Māra class of gods will find no way to infiltrate any bodhisattva great being, or any monk, nun, layman, or laywoman, or any son of a good family or daughter of a good family, or any god or goddess who takes up, bears in mind, reads out loud, masters, cultivates, illuminates for others, or properly pays attention to this perfection of wisdom without becoming separated from the thought of the knowledge of all aspects. And why? Because those sons of a good family and those daughters of a good family will have made just the emptiness of form into a good sustainable position,398 [F.272.b] and they will have made just the emptiness of feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness into a good sustainable position. And why? Because emptiness finds no way to infiltrate emptiness, signlessness finds no way to infiltrate signlessness, and the wishlessness finds no way to infiltrate wishlessness. Similarly, it is because those sons of a good family and those daughters of a good family will have made just the emptiness of . . . up to the knowledge of all aspects into a good sustainable position. And why? Because emptiness finds no way to infiltrate emptiness, signlessness finds no way to infiltrate signlessness, and wishlessness finds no way to infiltrate wishlessness. And why? Because they have no intrinsic nature with which they might infiltrate, where infiltration might take place, and into which infiltration might take place.
“Kauśika, humans and nonhumans too find no way to infiltrate those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family. And why? Because those sons of a good family and daughters of a good family have become very habituated to love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
“Kauśika, those sons of a good family or those daughters of a good family will not die in a distressed state. And why? Because those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family practicing the perfection of giving have attended on all beings, serving them perfectly.
“Kauśika, those Cāturmahārājika gods included in the great billionfold world system, and those Trāyastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, Paranirmitavaśavartin, Brahmakāyika, Ābhāsvara, [F.273.a] Śubhakṛtsna, and Bṛhatphala gods who have produced the thought of unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening—those gods who have not heard, not taken up, not borne in mind, not mastered, and not properly paid attention to the perfection of wisdom—are gods who should, without being separated from the thought of the knowledge of all aspects, listen, take up, bear in mind, read aloud, master, and properly pay attention to it.
“Furthermore, Kauśika, those sons of a good family or those daughters of a good family who take up, bear in mind, read aloud, master, and properly pay attention to this perfection of wisdom without being separated from the thought of the knowledge of all aspects—they, Kauśika, whether they stay in an abandoned house, whether they stay in the open air, or whether they have gone the wrong way, do not get scared or petrified. And why? Because those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family have become very habituated to inner emptiness by way of not apprehending anything, have become very habituated to outer emptiness by way of not apprehending anything, up to have become very habituated to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature by way of not apprehending anything.”
Then the Cāturmahārājika gods, the Trāyastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, and Paranirmitavaśavartin, up to the Śuddhāvāsa class of gods, as many as are stationed in the great billionfold world system, said to the Lord, “We too will constantly and always arrange for the guarding, protection, and safekeeping of those sons of a good family and daughters of a good family who, without being separated from the thought of the knowledge of all aspects, believe in, take up, bear in mind, [F.273.b] read aloud, master, and properly pay attention to just this deep perfection of wisdom. And why? Because, Lord, it is thanks to bodhisattva great beings that the hells, the animal world, and the world of Yama are brought to an end, and that all poor gods, all poor humans, all the plagues of famines, all the plagues of headaches, and all hardships and troubles are brought to an end; it is thanks to bodhisattva great beings that the ten wholesome actions appear in the world, and the four concentrations, four immeasurables, four formless absorptions, perfection of giving, perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, perfection of wisdom, inner emptiness and . . . up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature appear in the world; and it is thanks to bodhisattva great beings that the four applications of mindfulness, four right efforts, four legs of miraculous power, five faculties, five powers, seven limbs of awakening, eightfold noble path, ten tathāgata powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, up to the knowledge of all aspects appear in the world.
“Furthermore, Lord, it is thanks to bodhisattva great beings that great sāla tree–like royal families [F.274.a] appear in the world, great sāla tree–like brahmin families appear in the world, great sāla tree–like business families appear in the world, wheel-turning emperor families appear in the world, Cāturmahārājika gods appear in the world, up to and the Akaniṣṭha class of gods appears in the world.
“Furthermore, Lord, it is thanks to bodhisattva great beings that the result of stream enterer appears in the world; that stream enterers appear in the world; that the result of once-returner and once-returners, the result of non-returner and non-returners, and the state of a worthy one and worthy ones appear in the world; and that their own awakening and pratyekabuddhas appear in the world.
“It is thanks to bodhisattva great beings that bringing beings to maturity appears in the world; that the purification of a buddhafield appears in the world; that tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas appear in the world; that turning the wheel of Dharma appears in the world; and that the Buddha Jewel appears in the world, the Dharma Jewel appears in the world, and the Saṅgha Jewel appears in the world.
“Lord, because of this one of many explanations, the world with its gods, humans, and asuras will arrange for the guarding, protection, and safekeeping of bodhisattva great beings.”
Then the Lord said to Śatakratu, head of the gods, “It is exactly so, Kauśika, exactly so. It is thanks to bodhisattva great beings that the hells, the animal world, [F.274.b] and the world of Yama are brought to an end, and similarly, up to that the Buddha Jewel, the Dharma Jewel, and the Saṅgha Jewel appear in the world. Therefore, Kauśika, the world with its gods, humans, and asuras should constantly and always show respect for, demonstrate reverence for, show honor to, worship, and arrange for the guarding, protection, and safekeeping of bodhisattva great beings. Kauśika, those who have it in mind to show respect for, demonstrate reverence for, show honor to, and worship me should have it in mind to show respect for, demonstrate reverence for, show honor to, and worship bodhisattva great beings. Therefore, Kauśika, the world with its gods, humans, and asuras should constantly and always show respect for, demonstrate reverence for, show honor to, worship, and arrange for the guarding, protection, and safekeeping of bodhisattva great beings.
“To illustrate, Kauśika, if this great billionfold world system were filled with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas like a thicket of sugarcane, or a thicket of naḍa reeds, or a thicket of bamboo, or a thicket of rushes, or a thicket of rice, or a thicket of sesame, and were a certain son of a good family or daughter of a good family to show respect for, demonstrate reverence for, show honor to, and worship them for as long as they lived with all they required, still, were someone to show respect for, demonstrate reverence for, show honor to, and worship just a single bodhisattva who had produced the first thought of awakening and was not separated from the six perfections, then just that would produce much greater merit than the former. And why? Kauśika, it is because it is not thanks to śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas that bodhisattva great beings [F.275.a] and tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas appear in the world; rather, it is thanks to the bodhisattva great beings that śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas and tathāgatas, worthy ones, perfectly complete buddhas appear in the world. Therefore, Kauśika, the world with its gods, humans, and asuras should constantly and always show respect for, demonstrate reverence for, show honor to, worship, and arrange for the guarding, protection, and safekeeping of bodhisattva great beings.”
This was the twenty-fifth chapter, “Second Śatakratu,” of “The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines.” [B21]