The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
Chapter 54: Teaching the Cultivation of Skillful Means

Then venerable Subhūti inquired of the Lord, “Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom fully master emptiness and how do they become absorbed in the emptiness meditative stabilization? How do they fully master signlessness and how do they become absorbed in the signlessness meditative stabilization? How do they fully master wishlessness and how do they become absorbed in the wishlessness meditative stabilization? How do they master . . . up to the eightfold noble path? How do they cultivate the eightfold noble path? How do they master the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening? How do they cultivate the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening?”

Venerable Subhūti having said this, the Lord replied to him, “Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom should understand analytically ‘form is empty,’ and should understand analytically ‘feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness are empty.’ Similarly, connect this with each, up to they should understand analytically ‘the desire realm is empty.’ They should understand analytically ‘the form realm and the formless realm are empty.’ And, one way or the other, when they understand this analytically, such an analytical understanding should be without mental distraction. Without mental distraction they do not see the phenomenon that is the phenomenon to be actualized, and not seeing that phenomenon they do not [F.219.a] actualize it. And why? Because they are well trained in phenomena that are empty of their own marks, so they see that all those phenomena‍—an actualizer, something to be actualized, and something through which there is actualization‍—are not joined and are not disjoined.”

The Lord having said this, venerable Subhūti asked him, “Lord, in regard to what the Lord has said, ‘Bodhisattva great beings should not actualize emptiness,’ how do bodhisattva great beings stand in emptiness but not actualize emptiness?”

The Lord responded, “When bodhisattva great beings contemplate emptiness furnished with the best of all aspects, they do not contemplate that they should actualize it; rather, they contemplate that they should master it. They contemplate that it is not the time it should be actualized, but rather it is the time it should be mastered. When not in actual576 meditative equipoise, bodhisattva great beings attach their minds to an objective support and without letting the dharmas on the side of awakening lessen, in the meantime do not actualize the extinction of outflows. And why? Because the bodhisattva great beings are endowed with such prodigious knowledge that they remain with the dharmas on the side of awakening, understanding that it is thus the time for mastery, and it is not the time for actualization.

“Subhūti, there bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom thus understand analytically that it is the time for the perfection of giving; that it is the time for the perfection of morality, patience, perseverance, [F.219.b] concentration, and wisdom; that it is the time to cultivate the applications of mindfulness, up to that it is the time to cultivate the eightfold noble path; that it is the time to cultivate the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilizations; that it is the time to acquire the ten tathāgata powers; that it is the time to acquire the four fearlessnesses and the four detailed and thorough knowledges; that it is the time to acquire great love and great compassion; and that it is not the time to actualize the result of stream enterer, up to that it is not the time to actualize the state of a worthy one; that it is not the time to actualize a pratyekabuddha’s awakening; and that it is not the time to acquire and to master all-knowledge.577

“Thus, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom master emptiness, and persisting with emptiness master signlessness and wishlessness. Persisting with signlessness and wishlessness, they cultivate the eightfold noble path but still do not actualize the result of stream enterer, up to the state of a worthy one. Similarly, connect this with they cultivate the applications of mindfulness and persist in the applications of mindfulness but still do not actualize it. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings thus master the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, cultivate the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, and persist in the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, but still do not actualize it.

“To illustrate, Subhūti, a brave, heroic, firmly grounded, physically beautiful, handsome, good-looking [F.220.a] person endowed with the finest, clearest, most deeply imbued beautiful skin color, an expert archer holding hardened weapons578 who is thoroughly established in the sixty-four vocational arts, knowing as much as can be known about all crafts and vocations, giving pleasure to and loved by many persons, gains great wealth from whatever work they undertake and with that wealth respects, reveres, honors, and worships many people. Having made them feel immense rapture, delight, joy, and happiness, for some purpose or other they lead the mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, into a hair-raising jungle terrifying to simple folk. That person, after having led them there, inspires the mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, to be fearless, saying, ‘Do not be scared, do not be scared, I will quickly free you from this terrifying, scary place.’ When enemies, murderers, and opponents of that person come close in that jungle, because that person has the ultimate power of wisdom, they get those mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, out of that jungle, leading them to freedom. Having reached a settlement, or market town, or city, or other spot uninjured and unharmed, they occasion a feeling of joy and mental happiness in them, but they do not poison their minds against those beings who are enemies and opponents. What is the reason for this? It is because they have expertise in all the vocational arts, so they magically produce immensely more and braver opponents with even more hardened weapons than the enemies and opponents in that jungle, getting rid of those beings who are enemies and opponents by scaring them. Then, having easily freed their parents, sons, and daughters, [F.220.b] that person lives at ease.

“Similarly, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings radiate out loving thoughts with all beings as the objective support‍—compassionate, joyful, and balanced thoughts with all beings as the objective support‍—and while doing so bodhisattva great beings in the interim do not employ a causal sign as a conventional label.579 They do not actualize that signlessness meditative stabilization on account of which, were they to have actualized it, they would stand on the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha level.

“To illustrate further, Subhūti, a winged bird glides through the air without falling to the ground, but even though it glides through the air in the sky it does not stand and take up a position there. Similarly, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings also master emptiness and practice emptiness, also master signlessness and wishlessness and make a practice of signlessness and the wishlessness, but they do not actualize those emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilizations on account of which, were they to have actualized them, they would fall to the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha level before completing any of the ten tathāgata powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, great love, great compassion, or any of those infinite buddhadharmas, having practiced which they would reach the knowledge of all aspects.

“To illustrate further, Subhūti, a person, a powerful master archer well trained in archery, shoots an arrow far into the sky. Having shot the arrow far into the sky they again shoot with a series of other, later arrows going after the earlier, not letting them fall to earth. Those arrows do not fall to earth for as long as that person does not want them to. Then, thinking, ‘Let those arrows fall to earth,’ [F.221.a] they do not shoot a later arrow up into the sky and that leading series of arrows falls to earth. Similarly, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom assisted by skillful means do not actualize the final limit of reality for as long as the wholesome roots of unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening have not matured, but when the wholesome roots of unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening have matured, they then actualize the final limit of reality.

“Therefore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom should ponder the true dharmic nature of those dharmas like that.”

The Lord having said this, venerable Subhūti said to him, “Those who do what is difficult, Lord, are the bodhisattva great beings who train in this true nature of dharmas, train in the very limit of reality, train in suchness, train in the dharma-constituent, train in the emptiness of what transcends limits, up to580 train in the emptiness of its own mark, up to train in the three gateways to liberation but do not, in the interim, fall away from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. Lord, it is amazing! Sugata, it is amazing!”

“Subhūti,” said the Lord, “it is because the bodhisattva great beings do not forsake all beings and, Subhūti, because they find and produce within themselves the thought581 of a bodhisattva great being, Subhūti, who has not forsaken all beings‍—this type of special prayer: ‘I will not forsake these ignorant beings, these beings who are deceived because they perceive nonexistent phenomena as existing.582 I [F.221.b] should not forsake all those ignorant beings. I have not forsaken all beings, so I should also free all these beings caught up in nonexistent phenomena.’ When those bodhisattva great beings find and produce within themselves the emptiness meditative stabilization gateway to liberation, find and produce within themselves the signlessness meditative stabilization gateway to liberation, and find and produce within themselves the wishlessness meditative stabilization gateway to liberation, but in the interim, before reaching the knowledge of all aspects, do not actualize the very limit of reality, you should know that at that time they are endowed with skillful means.

“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who want to understand analytically those deep, deep places‍—namely, inner emptiness, up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, and the four applications of mindfulness and three gateways to liberation‍—find and produce within themselves the thought, ‘These beings have been involved for a long time in a false apprehension of facts because of perceiving a self, perceiving a being, up to perceiving someone who knows and someone who sees, so in order to eliminate their view falsely apprehending facts I will fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening and teach the Dharma.’ Then when the bodhisattva great beings become absorbed in the emptiness meditative stabilization, they still do not actualize that very limit of reality on account of which, were they to have actualized it, they would have reached the result of stream enterer, up to would have reached a pratyekabuddha’s awakening. Subhūti, when the bodhisattva great beings become absorbed in the signlessness meditative stabilization and wishlessness meditative stabilization gateways to liberation, the bodhisattva great beings meditate and become absorbed [F.222.a] but still do not actualize the very limit of reality on account of which, were they to have actualized it, they would have reached the result of stream enterer, up to would have reached the state of a worthy one and a pratyekabuddha’s awakening.

“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing like that are endowed with those wholesome roots and do not actualize the very limit of reality, but still on account of the production of that thought they do not fall away from the four concentrations, four immeasurables, four formless absorptions, or four applications of mindfulness; up to the eightfold noble path; the emptiness, signlessness and wishlessness meditative stabilizations; the ten tathāgata powers, four fearlessnesses, or four detailed and thorough knowledges; great love; or great compassion. At that time bodhisattva great beings are endowed with the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening and do not fall away from them. Assisted by skillful means they grow in the wholesome dharmas and their faculties are also not like those of śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas but are keener.

“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings think, ‘The minds of these beings have been distorted for a long time by the fourfold erroneous perception of permanence, perception of happiness, perception of the pleasant, and perception of a self, so I will practice for awakening for their sake, and having thus fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening will teach them so that one way or the other they do not practice with the idea of “permanent,” or the idea of “happiness,” or the idea of “pleasant,” or the idea of “self,” but rather with the idea of “impermanent,” the idea of “unpleasant,” the idea of “suffering,” [F.222.b] and the idea of “selfless.” ’ Bodhisattva great beings who have produced that thought and practice the perfection of wisdom with skillful means do not enter into absorption in a buddha’s meditative stabilization until they have completed the ten tathāgata powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, great love, and great compassion. During that time, they meditate on and become absorbed in the wishlessness meditative stabilization but do not actualize the very limit of reality until they have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.

“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings think, ‘For a long time these beings have been involved in a false apprehension of facts with the idea of “a self,” or the idea of “a being,” up to or the idea of “one who knows” and “one who sees,” and the idea of “form,” or the idea of “feeling,” or the idea of “perception,” or the idea of “volitional factors,” or the idea of “consciousness,” or the idea of “aggregates,” or the idea of “constituents,” or the idea of “sense fields,” or the idea of “four concentrations,” or the idea of “four immeasurables,” or the idea of “four formless absorptions.” When I fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, one way or the other I will make it so that they will not have these faults of beings who falsely apprehend facts.’ Bodhisattva great beings with the production of those thoughts who practice the perfection of wisdom with skillful means do not actualize the very limit of reality until they have completed the ten tathāgata powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, great love, and great compassion, and at that time they [F.223.a] complete the cultivation of the emptiness meditative stabilization gateway to liberation.

“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom think, ‘For a long time these beings have been practicing a practice with causal signs: the causal sign for woman, the causal sign for man, the causal sign for form, the causal sign for formless. When I fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, one way or the other I will make it so that beings will not have such faults as these.’ When bodhisattva great beings who produce those thoughts and also with skillful means practice the perfection of wisdom, they do not, in the interim, actualize the very limit of reality until they have completed the ten tathāgata powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, great love, and great compassion. Endowed with that production of the thought they complete the cultivation of the signlessness meditative stabilization gateway to liberation.

“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom think, ‘For a long time these beings have been practicing a practice while making wishes‍—that is, they have harbored a strong liking for Śatakratu, Brahmā, a world protector, or a wheel-turning emperor; they have harbored a strong liking for form, feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness; up to they have harbored a strong liking for the knowledge of all aspects‍—so for their sake, fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, one way or the other I will teach the doctrine so that beings will not have these [F.223.b] wish-making faults.’

“Thus, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who produce those thoughts and also with skillful means practicing the perfection of wisdom complete the cultivation of the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilization gateways to liberation, and do not, in the interim, actualize the very limit of reality for as long as the ten tathāgata powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, great love, and great compassion are still not completed, and until they have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.

“Subhūti, it is impossible and there is no chance that bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections; practicing inner emptiness, up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; practicing the applications of mindfulness; practicing the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilizations; practicing the ten tathāgata powers, up to and practicing the four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, great love, great compassion, and the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha‍—it is impossible that those bodhisattva great beings practicing and mastering them with such knowledge could fall into the absence of volitional activity583 or inhabit the three realms.

“Subhūti, you should ask bodhisattva great beings thus practicing mastery of those thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, ‘How do bodhisattva great beings who want to fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening cultivate the perfection of wisdom when they master those dharmas [F.224.a] with a realization that does not cause them to actualize emptiness; does not cause them to realize the very limit of reality; and does not cause them to actualize the signlessness, wishlessness, not occasioning anything, nonproduction, or the absence of an existing thing which would otherwise lead to the attainment of the result of stream enterer, up to or the state of a worthy one or a pratyekabuddha’s awakening?’ If, Subhūti, when a bodhisattva great being has asked bodhisattva great beings about that, they respond, ‘Those bodhisattva great beings must pay attention to emptiness, must pay attention to signlessness, must pay attention to wishlessness, and must pay attention to not occasioning anything, to nonproduction, and to the absence of an existing thing,’ then, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great being should know that the lord buddhas have prophesied the unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening of those bodhisattva great beings. And why? Subhūti, it is because they pronounce on, point out, and sort out the mastery of bodhisattva great beings irreversible from awakening. But if, Subhūti, when asked they respond, ‘They should not pay attention to emptiness, and they should not pay attention to signlessness, wishlessness, not occasioning anything, nonproduction, or the absence of an existing thing,’ then, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great being should know that the lord buddhas have not prophesied the unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening of those bodhisattva great beings. And why? [F.224.b] Subhūti, it is because they do not pronounce on, point out, or sort out the mastery of irreversible bodhisattva great beings, and do not pronounce on, do not point out, and do not sort out the Dharma of irreversible bodhisattva great beings. In regard to them, that bodhisattva great being should know that those bodhisattva great beings are not like irreversible bodhisattva great beings who, having achieved mastery, have stepped onto the irreversible level, passing beyond the Tanū level.”

“Would there then, Lord, be ways in which the bodhisattva great beings would be irreversible from awakening?” asked Subhūti.

“There would be, Subhūti,” said the Lord. “It would be if the bodhisattva great beings, whether or not they have heard of the six perfections, give an answer just like an irreversible bodhisattva great being.”

“Therefore, Lord,” said Subhūti, “those bodhisattva great beings who practice for awakening are many, but levels that have been cleansed or levels that have not been cleansed do not appear‍—those bodhisattva great beings who give an answer just like an irreversible bodhisattva great being are few.”584

“Exactly so, Subhūti, exactly so!” replied the Lord. “Subhūti, those bodhisattva great beings of whom the irreversible knowledge level has been prophesied are few. Those who are prophesied are those who will give such an answer, and you should know that those who will give such an answer are those with cleansed wholesome roots. [F.225.a] The world with its gods, humans, and asuras cannot steal those bodhisattva great beings away.”