The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
Chapter 45: A Boat
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 45: A Boat
“To illustrate, Subhūti, you should know that when a boat has broken up on the ocean, unless those people who are standing in it grab hold of a log, or an inflated skin, or a human corpse as a support, Subhūti, they will not reach the shore of the ocean and will die. Subhūti, when a boat has broken up on the ocean, those people who have it in mind to grab hold of a log, or an inflated skin, or a human corpse as a support, Subhūti, they will not die in the ocean; they will happily cross over the ocean and stand on dry land. Similarly, Subhūti, those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family in the Bodhisattva Vehicle endowed with just faith and just joy who do not write out, clearly articulate, recite, or properly pay attention to the sūtras connected with this deep perfection of wisdom, and similarly, connect this with do not write out, clearly articulate, recite, or hold as a support the perfection of concentration, perfection of perseverance, perfection of patience, perfection of morality, or perfection of giving, and similarly, connect this with each, up to do not write out, clearly articulate, recite, properly pay attention to, or hold as a support the knowledge of all aspects—you should know about these people in the Bodhisattva Vehicle who have set forth to the knowledge of all aspects that in the interim they will get into trouble on the path. They [F.150.a] will actualize the śrāvaka level or pratyekabuddha level. Subhūti, those people in the Bodhisattva Vehicle who have faith, have forbearance, have serene confidence, have a surpassing aspiration, have enjoyment, have belief, have renunciation, and have not given up the effort for full awakening to unsurpassed, complete awakening will write out, clearly articulate, recite, and properly pay attention to this perfection of wisdom. Look, Subhūti, those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family with faith, forbearance, serene confidence, a surpassing aspiration, belief, and renunciation, who have not given up the effort for unsurpassed, complete awakening, and those who assist525 the perfection of wisdom, up to assist the knowledge of all aspects will not get into trouble in the interim. They pass beyond the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha levels and, having brought beings to maturity and purified a buddhafield, fully awaken to unsurpassed, complete awakening.
“To illustrate further, Subhūti, when a man or a woman has it in mind to ladle water into an unfired, unbaked pot, you should know, Subhūti, that pot does not last long; straight away it gets ruined and dissolves. And why? Because that pot has not been fired and therefore afterward goes back to being ordinary earth. Similarly, Subhūti, if those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family in the Bodhisattva Vehicle who have faith in, [F.150.b] have forbearance for, take joy in, have serene confidence in, have a surpassing aspiration toward, enjoy, have belief in, have sacrificed for, and have not given up the effort for full awakening to unsurpassed, complete awakening, but still are not assisted by the perfection of wisdom; are not assisted by skillful means; are not assisted by the perfection of concentration, perfection of perseverance, perfection of patience, perfection of morality, or perfection of giving; are not assisted by inner emptiness, up to are not assisted by emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; are not assisted by the applications of mindfulness, right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, or path; are not assisted by the ten tathāgata powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, or eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; up to are not assisted by the knowledge of all aspects, then in the interim those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family will get into trouble. Subhūti, in the interim what trouble do those sons of a good family or daughters of a good sfamily in the Bodhisattva Vehicle get into? It is this, namely, the śrāvaka level and the pratyekabuddha level.
“To illustrate further, Subhūti, when a man or a woman has ladled river, or spring, or lake, or pond, or tank water into a fired pot you should know, Subhūti, that pot will happily make it back home. Similarly, if bodhisattva great beings who have faith in, have forbearance for, [F.151.a] take joy in, have serene confidence in, have a surpassing aspiration toward, enjoy, have belief in, have sacrificed for, and have not given up the effort for full awakening to unsurpassed, complete awakening are assisted by the perfection of wisdom, are assisted by skillful means, up to the knowledge of all aspects, then you should know, Subhūti, that those bodhisattva great beings will not in the interim get into trouble on the path—that is, on the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level—and without harm will fully awaken to unsurpassed, complete awakening.
“To illustrate further, Subhūti, if an oceangoing ship that has not been well joined, with leaks unpatched and heavily loaded with goods, is launched on the water, Subhūti, you should know in the interim that boat will sink, the goods going one way and the boat another, and such a trader as that, unskilled in means, will meet with great harm and become separated from the great jewels. Similarly, Subhūti, bodhisattvas who have faith in, have forbearance for, take joy in, have serene confidence in, have a surpassing aspiration toward, enjoy, have belief in, have sacrificed for, and have not given up the effort for full awakening to unsurpassed, complete awakening, but still are not assisted by the perfection of wisdom, are not assisted by skillful means, up to are not assisted by the knowledge of all aspects, then, Subhūti, those bodhisattva great beings will get into trouble in the interim and lose a great profit—namely, they will lose the heap of jewels that is the knowledge of all aspects. Subhūti, [F.151.b] in the interim what trouble do those bodhisattva great beings get into? It is this, namely, the śrāvaka level and the pratyekabuddha level.
“To illustrate further, Subhūti, if a man gifted with intelligence plies his way on an oceangoing ship that has been well joined, with the leaks patched, you should know, Subhūti, in the interim that boat will not break up and will reach where it is going. Similarly, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who have faith in, have forbearance for, take joy in, have serene confidence in, have a surpassing aspiration toward, enjoy, have belief in, have sacrificed for, and have not given up the effort for full awakening to unsurpassed, complete awakening, and are also assisted by the perfection of wisdom, are also assisted by skillful means as well, up to are assisted by the knowledge of all aspects as well, then, Subhūti, those bodhisattva great beings will not turn back in the interim from unsurpassed, complete awakening. And why? Because, Subhūti, those bodhisattva great beings have faith in, have forbearance for, take joy in, have serene confidence in, have a surpassing aspiration toward, enjoy, have belief in, have sacrificed for, and have not given up the effort for full awakening to unsurpassed, complete awakening, and are assisted by the perfection of wisdom, also are assisted by skillful means, up to and are assisted by the knowledge of all aspects as well. Those bodhisattvas do not fall to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level.
“To illustrate further, Subhūti, if there is a very old, decrepit, one hundred and twenty-year-old man [F.152.a] and he falls sick in his body with a wind, or bile, or phlegm disorder, or a disorder from them in combination, what do you think, Subhūti, does that man have the power to get up as he personally might want to do?”
“Lord,” replied Subhūti, “even were that man able to get up from a chair, still, because of his old age and his sickness he is frail, so he would not have the strength to go one krośa526 or two krośa. Even though he is able to get up from a chair he is not able to go.”
“Similarly, Subhūti,” continued the Lord, “even though bodhisattva great beings have faith in, have forbearance for, take joy in, have serene confidence in, have a surpassing aspiration toward, enjoy, have belief in, have sacrificed for, and have not given up the effort for full awakening to unsurpassed, complete awakening, because they have not also been assisted by the perfection of wisdom, up to have not been assisted by the knowledge of all aspects, then, Subhūti, because those bodhisattva great beings thus have not been assisted by the perfection of wisdom and have not been assisted by skillful means, they will fall in the interim to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level.
“To illustrate further, Subhūti, it is like two strong people lifting up from under his left and right armpits that same very old, decrepit, one hundred and twenty-year-old man who has fallen sick in his body with a wind, or bile, or phlegm disorder, or a disorder from them in combination, [F.152.b] and raising him up out of that chair, saying, ‘Hey! You sir! Held and supported by us go where you want to go, wherever you like. In the interim, up to arriving in that place, you will not fall.” Similarly, Subhūti, you should know that if bodhisattva great beings who have faith in, have forbearance for, take joy in, have serene confidence in, have a surpassing aspiration toward, enjoy, have belief in, have sacrificed for, and have not given up the effort for full awakening to unsurpassed, complete awakening have also been assisted by the perfection of wisdom and also have been assisted by skillful means, those bodhisattva great beings will not turn back in the interim; those bodhisattva great beings have the power to reach that ground—namely, unsurpassed, complete awakening.”
Subhūti then asked, “How is it, Lord, that those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family who have set out in the Bodhisattva Vehicle have not been assisted by the perfection of wisdom and have not been assisted by skillful means and even fall to the śrāvaka level and the pratyekabuddha level?”
“Excellent, Subhūti, excellent that you have it in mind to inquire of the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete Buddha about this topic!” said the Lord. “Subhūti, here, right from the beginning when bodhisattvas give a gift they give the gift with a mindstream that has fallen into grasping at ‘I’ and grasping at ‘mine.’ When they guard morality, are patient, make a vigorous effort, [F.153.a] are absorbed in concentration, and cultivate wisdom, they cultivate wisdom with a mind that has fallen into grasping at ‘I’ and grasping at ‘mine.’ While giving a gift it occurs to them to think, ‘I am giving a gift; this gift has to be given; I am generous. I am protecting morality; morality has to be cultivated by me; I am moral. I am being patient; patience has to be cultivated by me; I am patient. I am making an effort; effort has to be made by me; I am industrious. I am becoming absorbed in concentration; concentration has to be cultivated by me; I am in possession of concentration. I am cultivating wisdom; wisdom has to be cultivated by me; I am wise.’ Thus, on account of that giving they falsely project things. They falsely project ‘that gift.’ They falsely project, ‘It is my gift.’ Similarly, they falsely project ‘morality, patience, perseverance, and concentration,’ as well as ‘wisdom.’ On account of wisdom they falsely project things. They falsely project, ‘This is my wisdom.’
“And why? Because these thought constructions do not exist in the perfection of giving because the perfection of giving has gone to the farthest limit. These thought constructions do not exist in the perfection of morality. Similarly, thought construction also does not arise in the perfection of patience, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of concentration, or the perfection of wisdom. And why? Because, whereas the perfection of wisdom has gone to the farthest limit, those in the Bodhisattva Vehicle [F.153.b] neither know the farthest limit nor know the farther shore, so they have not been assisted by the perfection of giving; have not been assisted by the perfection of morality, the perfection of patience, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of concentration, or the perfection of wisdom; up to have not been assisted by the knowledge of all aspects, and hence fall to the śrāvaka level and the pratyekabuddha level and do not go forth to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Subhūti, how is it that a son of a good family or daughter of a good family in the Bodhisattva Vehicle comes to be without skillful means? Subhūti, here, right from the beginning it occurs to a son of a good family or daughter of a good family in the Bodhisattva Vehicle giving a gift without skillful means, guarding morality without skillful means, cultivating patience without skillful means, making an effort without skillful means, becoming absorbed in concentration without skillful means, and cultivating wisdom without skillful means that, ‘I am giving a gift; it has to be given to them; this gift has to be given. I am protecting morality. I am cultivating patience. I am making an effort. I have to become absorbed in concentration. I have to cultivate wisdom; wisdom has to be cultivated.’ So, they falsely project on account of that giving. They falsely project on account of the gift. They falsely project, ‘I am generous.’ They falsely project that it is moral. They falsely project on account of morality. They falsely project, ‘I am moral.’ They falsely project patience. They falsely project on account of patience. [F.154.a] They falsely project, ‘I am patient.’ They falsely project perseverance. They falsely project on account of perseverance. They falsely project, ‘I am industrious.’ They falsely project concentration. They falsely project on account of concentration. They falsely project, ‘I am in possession of concentration.’ They falsely project wisdom. They falsely project on account of wisdom. They falsely project, ‘I am wise.’
“And why? Because those thought constructions do not exist in the perfection of giving as thought constructs them. And why? Because that—namely, the perfection of giving—has gone to the farthest limit. Similarly, connect this with because that—namely, the perfection of wisdom—has gone to the farthest limit. This is because those thought constructions do not exist in the perfection of wisdom as thought constructs them. And why? Because whereas that perfection of wisdom has gone to the farthest limit, those sons of a good family in the Bodhisattva Vehicle neither know the farthest limit nor know the farther shore. They have not been assisted by the perfection of giving. Similarly, connect this with each as before, up to they have not been assisted by the perfection of wisdom, up to have not been assisted by the knowledge of all aspects, and hence fall to the śrāvaka level and the pratyekabuddha level and do not go forth to the knowledge of all aspects. Therefore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who have not been assisted by the perfection of wisdom and skillful means fall to the śrāvaka level and the pratyekabuddha level.
“How is it, Subhūti, that bodhisattva great beings assisted by the perfection of wisdom and skillful means do not fall to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level [F.154.b] and reach unsurpassed, complete awakening?
“Subhūti, here, right from the beginning it does not occur to bodhisattva great beings when giving a gift, up to cultivating wisdom, to falsely project with a thought that has fallen into grasping at ‘I’ and grasping at ‘mine’ that, ‘I am giving a gift; this gift has to be given; the gift has to be given to them.’ Similarly, connect this with each, up to the perfection of wisdom. They do not falsely project giving. They do not falsely project on account of a gift. They do not falsely project, ‘This is my gift.’ Similarly, connect this with each, up to They do not falsely project the perfection of wisdom. They do not falsely project anything on account of wisdom. They do not falsely project, ‘This is my wisdom.’
“And why? Because the thought construction on account of which there is false projection does not exist in the perfection of giving, up to the thought construction on account of which there is false projection does not exist in the perfection of wisdom. That—namely, the perfection of giving—up to the perfection of wisdom has gone to the farthest limit. And those bodhisattvas, furthermore, know the farthest limit and know the farther shore, so they have been assisted by the perfection of giving. They have been assisted by the perfection of morality, the perfection of patience, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of concentration, and the perfection of wisdom, up to have been assisted by the knowledge of all aspects, and hence do not fall to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level and go forth to the knowledge of all aspects.
“It is thus, Subhūti, that the bodhisattva great beings have been assisted by the perfection of wisdom and similarly have been assisted [F.155.a] by skillful means so they do not fall to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level. Similarly, connect this with all the bright side just as you have with the dark side.”527
This was the forty-fifth chapter, “Boat,” of “The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines.” [B35]