The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
Chapter 52: Completion of Means
- Jinamitra
- Surendrabodhi
- Yeshé Dé

Toh 10
Degé Kangyur, vol. 29 (shes phyin, khri brgyad, ka), folios 1.a–300.a; vol. 30 (shes phyin, khri brgyad, kha), folios 1.a–304.a; vol. 31 (shes phyin, khri brgyad, 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 1.0.21 (2023)
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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 52: Completion of Means
Then venerable Śāriputra asked venerable Subhūti, [F.207.a] “Venerable Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings have become absorbed in the three meditative stabilizations on emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness in a dream, do they improve on account of the perfection of wisdom?”
Venerable Śāriputra having asked that, venerable Subhūti said to him, “Venerable Śāriputra, if they improve on account of having meditated during the day, they improve in a dream like that as well. And why? Venerable Śāriputra, it is because a dream and the daytime are undifferentiated. Venerable Śāriputra, if bodhisattva great beings who practice meditation on the perfection of wisdom during the daytime have a meditation on the perfection of wisdom, then there is also a meditation on the perfection of wisdom in bodhisattva great beings’ dreams as well.”
Venerable Subhūti having said that, venerable Śāriputra then asked him, “Venerable Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings have made some karma in a dream is there an accumulation or diminution569 in their karma?”
“Venerable Śāriputra,” replied Subhūti, “the Lord has said that all phenomena are like a dream, so there is no accumulation or diminution there. And why? Because you cannot apprehend any phenomenon in a dream that is accumulated or diminished.”
“Venerable Subhūti, if it is thought about in a certain way, on waking there is also an accumulation or reduction in one’s karma,” said Śāriputra.
Venerable Subhūti asked venerable Śāriputra in return, “Venerable Śāriputra, what would you say about the karma of someone who committed a murder during the day, and someone who dreamed about committing the murder and on waking thought, ‘I killed him. It is excellent that I killed him’?” [F.207.b]
“Venerable Subhūti,” said Śāriputra, “karma does not happen without an objective support; intention does not happen without an objective support. Karma only happens with an objective support, and intention only happens with an objective support.”
“Exactly so, Venerable Śāriputra, exactly so!” said Subhūti. “Karma does not happen without an objective support; intention does not happen without an objective support. Venerable Śāriputra, karma only happens with an objective support, not without an objective support, and intention only happens with an objective support, not without an objective support. The intellect engages with the seen, the heard, the thought—something one has been aware of; the intellect does not engage with the unseen, the unheard, the unthought—a thing of which one has not been conscious. There, one intellectual act gets hold of defilement. Another intellectual act gets hold of purification. Therefore, Venerable Śāriputra, karma only happens with an objective support, not without an objective support, and intention only happens with an objective support, not without an objective support.”
“Venerable Subhūti, the Lord has said ‘all karma is isolated and all intention is isolated,’570 so how could karma happen with an objective support, and not happen without an objective support, and how could intention happen with an objective support, and not happen without an objective support?” asked Śāriputra.
“Venerable Śāriputra,” replied Subhūti, “ordinary beings, having made each separate one into a causal sign,571 pile up karmas, so karma happens only with an objective support, not without an objective support; intention happens only with an objective support, not without an objective support.”
Venerable Subhūti having said that, venerable Śāriputra asked him, [F.208.a] “Venerable Subhūti, if bodhisattva great beings in a dream give gifts, guard morality, cultivate patience, make an effort at perseverance, become absorbed in concentration, cultivate wisdom, and have also turned over those wholesome roots to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, would they have been turned over to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening?”
“Venerable Śāriputra,” said Subhūti, “you should ask this of Maitreya, the bodhisattva great being interrupted by a single birth, prophesied by the Lord to be irreversible from awakening, who has direct witness of this. He will respond with the answer.”
Then venerable Śāriputra said to the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Son of a good family, the elder Subhūti has said this: ‘You should ask this of Maitreya, the bodhisattva great being interrupted by a single birth, prophesied by the Lord to be irreversible from awakening, who has direct witness of this. He will respond with the answer.’ ”
Venerable Śāriputra having said this, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya said to him, “Venerable monk Śāriputra, what do you think, will this—the designation ‘Maitreya the bodhisattva great being’—respond with the answer; or will form respond with the answer; or will feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness respond with the answer; or even will that emptiness of form respond with the answer, or will that emptiness of feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness [F.208.b] respond with the answer? They cannot do so. I see no dharma at all that responds with the answer, no answer that is the response, and no one to be responded to with an answer. I also see no dharma of which unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening has been prophesied, none by which it has been prophesied, and none the prophecy is about. All those dharmas are not two and cannot be divided into two, so I do not see those dharmas.”
Then venerable Śāriputra asked the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Son of a good family, have you had direct witness of those dharmas in the way you have explained them to be?”
“Venerable monk Śāriputra,” said Maitreya, “I do not directly witness those dharmas in the way I have explained them to be.”
Then it occurred to venerable Śāriputra to think, “Ah! The bodhisattva great being Maitreya has a deep wisdom, exhibited in this exposition of how he has practiced the practice of the perfection of giving, perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom—practicing these without apprehending anything.”
Then the Lord asked venerable Śāriputra, “Venerable Śāriputra, what do you think, do you see that dharma on account of which you come to be known as a worthy one?”
“Similarly, Śāriputra,” said the Lord, “it also does not occur to bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom to think, ‘This dharma has been prophesied to fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, this is the dharma that is being prophesied, and this is the dharma that will be prophesied.’ Bodhisattva great beings [F.209.a] practicing like that are practicing the perfection of wisdom.
“They are not anxious, thinking, ‘May it not be that I do not fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.’ They do fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that are practicing the perfection of wisdom. Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that do not tremble, feel frightened, or become terrified, thinking, ‘May it not be that I do not fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.’ They do fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.”
Then venerable Subhūti asked the Lord, “Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings complete the perfection of wisdom and get close to the knowledge of all aspects?”
Venerable Subhūti having asked this, the Lord said to him, “Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of giving see hungry beings, or see thirsty beings, or the badly clothed, or those with threadbare shawls, or thin mats, or without any mats at all, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the perfection of giving such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, those beings will not face those disadvantages, they will not occur in any way at all, and so that in that buddhafield those beings will have the possessions and enjoyments of the Cāturmahārājika gods, of the Trāyastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, and Paranirmitavaśavartin gods, the possessions and enjoyments just as they have them.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva [F.209.b] great beings practicing the perfection of giving like that complete the perfection of giving.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of morality see beings who are killing, or see . . . up to beings with wrong views, or see those with a short lifespan, who are ugly, have little autonomy, a lot of trouble, few enjoyments, little charisma, in a disadvantaged family, or with missing limbs, they reflect deeply, thinking, ‘One way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, may those beings not have those faults, may they not occur in any way at all.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the perfection of morality.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of patience see beings bearing malice toward each other, striking with sticks, stones, and weapons, threatening each other’s lives, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice for awakening so that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, those beings will not have those faults, they will not occur in any way at all, and so that they think all beings are like parents, think all beings are like brothers and sisters, and have loving and beneficial thoughts.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the perfection of patience [F.210.a] and get close to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of perseverance see beings lacking in perseverance, lazy, not taking pleasure in the three vehicles, turning their backs on the three vehicles, far from entering into the Śrāvaka Vehicle, or Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, or Buddha Vehicle, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the perfection of perseverance so that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, those beings will not have those faults, they will not occur in any way at all, and so that all beings will make a vigorous, stable attempt to pass into complete nirvāṇa in the Śrāvaka Vehicle, or Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, or Great Vehicle, whichever is suitable.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the perfection of perseverance and get close to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of concentration see beings obscured by the five obscurations—desire for sense gratification, malice, drowsiness and dozing, gross mental excitement and uneasiness, and doubt—or see those under the influence of the five obscurations, or see those separated from the first concentration, up to separated from the fourth concentration, or see those separated from love, compassion, joy, and equanimity, or from the absorption in the station of endless space, absorption in the station of endless consciousness, absorption in [F.210.b] the station of nothing-at-all, and absorption in the station of neither perception nor nonperception, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the perfection of concentration, I must purify a buddhafield, I must bring beings to maturity so that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, those beings will not have those faults, they will not occur in any way at all.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the perfection of concentration and get close to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom see beings who are intellectually confused or separated from ordinary and extraordinary right view, saying action has no effect, saying things exist and saying things do not exist, saying things are annihilated and saying things are eternal, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice in such a way that I practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity so that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, those beings will not have those faults, they will not occur in any way at all.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the perfection of wisdom and get close to the knowledge of all aspects. [F.211.a] [B39]
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see the three masses of beings—those destined for the perfect state, those destined to be wrong, and those not necessarily destined—they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, there will not even be words for those destined to be wrong, and those not necessarily destined; they will not occur in any way at all.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings in the hells, and see beings in the animal world, and the world of Yama, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, there will not even be words for the three terrible forms of life, they will not occur in any way at all.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see stumps, thorns, crevices, crevices in cliffs, precipices, [F.211.b] runoff from gutters, and pools of excrement on the face of the earth, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, there will not be those faults, they will not occur in any way at all, and it will be smooth like the palm of a baby’s hand.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see the face of the earth made of a clay without gold and silver, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, the face of the earth will be completely covered with golden sand.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings who have become acquisitive, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, [F.212.a] and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, there will be no beings who become acquisitive, they will not occur in any way at all.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see the four castes (royal caste, brahmin caste, business caste, and low caste), they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, there will not even be words for the four castes, they will not be made known in any way at all.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see privileged, middling, and deprived beings, or see beings from low families, bad families, and good families, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening beings, will not have such faults, they will not occur in any way at all.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, [F.212.b] Subhūti, when bodhisattva great being practicing the six perfections see beings who are different colors, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, beings will not be different colors; rather, beings will all stand out, be beautiful and good looking, and endowed with an excellent, clear, splendid color.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see a ruler, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, no one will be designated ruler other than the Dharma king, the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete Buddha; it will not occur in any other way at all.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings in different forms of life, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, [F.213.a] and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, there will be no different forms of life—as beings in hell, in the animal world, the world of Yama, or as gods or humans—they will not occur in any way at all. Rather, all beings will have the same work and will be inseparable from the four applications of mindfulness, up to the four detailed and thorough knowledges.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see the four birthplaces of beings—birth from an egg, birth from a womb, birth from warmth and moisture, and miraculous birth—they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, all beings will take none other than miraculous birth, and there will be no birth from an egg, birth from a womb, or from warmth and moisture; those will not occur in any way at all.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings lacking the five clairvoyances, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice [F.213.b] the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, all beings will have the five clairvoyances.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see the feces and urine of beings, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, all beings will come to live on joy.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings who do not radiate light, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, all beings will radiate self-originated light.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to [F.214.a] the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see the months of all beings, as well as the half-months, seasons, and the cycle of years, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, there will not even be words for the months, half-months, seasons, or cycle of years of all beings.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings who live short lives, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, all beings will have infinite life.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings who do not have the major marks, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, [F.214.b] when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, all beings will have the thirty-two major marks of a great person.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings who have not planted wholesome roots, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, all beings will have planted wholesome roots, and on account of having planted those wholesome roots will remain in the presence of the lord buddhas.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings afflicted by disease, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, all beings will not have the four diseases that come from wind disorder, bile disorder, phlegm disorder, or disorder of the three in combination.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings [F.215.a] practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings who have become afflicted by the three afflictions, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, all beings will not be afflicted by the three afflictions—greed, hatred, and confusion—and all beings will be free from greed, free from hate, and free from confusion.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
Similarly, connect this with the rest at full length, just as it has been connected in the first section.572
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections see beings with deficient belief, they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, even the words for the two vehicles—Śrāvaka Vehicle and Pratyekabuddha Vehicle—will not be made known, and all beings will come to have set out directly for the knowledge of all aspects.’
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings [F.215.b] practicing the six perfections see beings with pride in being superior they reflect deeply, ‘I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, even the words for pride in being superior will not be made known; rather, all beings will have no pride in being superior.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections produce the thought, ‘If, in my buddhafield, life is finite, light is finite, and the community of monks is finite, I will not, for the time being, fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. Rather, I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that one way or the other in my buddhafield, when I have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, there will be infinite life, infinite light, and an infinite community of monks.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections reflect deeply, ‘If at that time my buddhafield is a single one I will not, for the time being, [F.216.a] fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. Rather, I must practice the six perfections, purify a buddhafield, and bring beings to maturity such that when I have gained awakening, one way or the other there will be as many buddhafields as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great being practicing the six perfections should reflect deeply, ‘Oh! Saṃsāra is long. Oh! The world of beings is limitless.’ And they should properly pay attention to this: ‘Oh! This saṃsāra is boundless like space. Oh! This world of beings is also boundless like space. Here there is nobody in saṃsāra, and there is nobody liberated either.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that complete the six perfections and get close to the knowledge of all aspects.”
This was the fifty-second chapter, “Completion of Means,” of “The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines.”