The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
Chapter 62: Leaping Above Absorption
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
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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 62: Leaping Above Absorption
Then venerable Subhūti asked the Lord, “Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality incorporate the perfection of giving?”
Venerable Subhūti having asked this, the Lord replied to him, “Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality do not grasp the śrāvaka level or pratyekabuddha level as absolute on account of any rule, be it a rule to do with body or speech or mind.624 Standing in the perfection of morality they do not kill beings. They do not steal, do not engage in illicit sex because of lust, do not lie, [F.278.b] do not insult, do not engage in backbiting, do not babble nonsense, do not covet, do not bear malice, and do not have a wrong view. Standing in that perfection of morality, whatever the gift they give, be it food to those who are begging for food, something to drink to those who want something to drink, incense to those who want incense,625 transport to those who want transport, clothes to those who want clothes, flower garlands to those who want flower garlands, creams to those who want creams, beds to those who want beds, seats to those who want seats, a lamp to those who want a lamp, prerequisites for those who need the prerequisites,626 up to whatever human requirements are appropriate,627 they make that gift into something shared in common by all beings and dedicate it to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. They make a dedication in such a way that it is not a dedication to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of morality incorporate the perfection of giving.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality incorporate the perfection of patience?”
“Subhūti, here if every being were to chop and carry off every major or minor part of the body of bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality, it would not disturb even a single production of their thought of awakening. They would not nurse pent-up anger and would not bear malice. Rather, it would occur to them to think, ‘I have found every being chopping and carrying off the major or minor parts of my body [F.279.a] like that as something very useful.’ In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality incorporate the perfection of patience.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality incorporate the perfection of perseverance?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings thinking, ‘I will free every being from saṃsāra and establish them in the realm of immortality,’ do not slacken off from physical and mental perseverance. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality incorporate the perfection of perseverance.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality incorporate the perfection of concentration?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings, having become absorbed in and abiding in the first concentration, and having become absorbed in and abiding in the second, third, and fourth concentration, do not hold the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level as a support, but rather think, ‘Absorbed in this perfection of meditative stabilization I will free every being from saṃsāra.’ In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality incorporate the perfection of concentration.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great being standing in the perfection of morality incorporate the perfection of wisdom?” [F.279.b]
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality do not see any phenomenon other than all those that do not pass beyond suchness. They do not see any phenomenon as compounded, nor do they see it as uncompounded. They do not see an existent thing as compounded, nor do they see a nonexistent thing as uncompounded, nor do they see a causal sign that is compounded, nor do they see the absence of a causal sign that is uncompounded, nor do they see any phenomenon as there or not there. With that perfection of wisdom and skillful means they do not fall to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of morality incorporate the perfection of wisdom.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience incorporate the perfection of giving?” asked Subhūti.
“Subhūti, here, starting from their first production of the thought up until seated at the site of awakening, were all beings to criticize, humiliate, and chop off the major or minor parts of the body of bodhisattva great beings, it would occur to those bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience to think, ‘Mine is simply the giving of gifts, mine is not the withholding of them.’ They give food to those who want food, something to drink to those who want something to drink, and similarly, up to they give whatever human requirements are appropriate, and they make that gift into something shared in common by all beings and dedicate it to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. One way or the other they make the dedication in such a way that the dedication operates without the threefold intellectual apprehension of [F.280.a] someone who is dedicating, something being dedicated, or something to which the dedication is made. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience incorporate the perfection of giving.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience incorporate the perfection of morality?” asked Subhūti.
“Subhūti, here, starting from their first production of the thought up until seated at the site of awakening, bodhisattva great beings do not deprive any being of its life. They do not steal, and similarly, up to they do not have a wrong view. Also, their minds are not occupied with the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha level. They make those wholesome roots into something shared in common by all beings and dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, and one way or the other they make the dedication in such a way that the dedication operates without the threefold intellectual apprehension . . . , up to of something to which the dedication is made. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience incorporate the perfection of morality.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience incorporate the perfection of perseverance?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience will themselves to persevere, thinking, ‘I would go a single yojana, go a hundred yojanas, go a thousand yojanas, go to a single world system, or go to a hundred thousand one hundred million world systems [F.280.b] if I could make even just one single being train in the points of training, if I could establish them in the result of stream enterer, up to the state of a worthy one, or a pratyekabuddha’s awakening, or if I could establish them in unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.’ They make those wholesome roots into something shared in common by all beings and dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience incorporate the perfection of perseverance.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience incorporate the perfection of concentration?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience are detached from sense objects and detached from wrong unwholesome dharmas. Connect this in the same way with each, up to they perfectly accomplish and dwell in the fourth concentration.628 They dedicate whatever mind and mental factor dharmas furnished with the wholesome that they have produced to the knowledge of all aspects, and at that time they make the dedication in such a way that they do not apprehend the concentrations or the branches of the concentrations. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience incorporate the perfection of concentration.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience incorporate the perfection of wisdom?”
“Subhūti, here when bodhisattva great beings are standing in the perfection of patience [F.281.a] they dwell as those who view the dharmas in their isolated aspect, or calm aspect, or extinct aspect, but they do not actualize that true nature of dharmas up until they are seated at the site of awakening. Having sat down there they reach the knowledge of all aspects, and arising from there they turn the wheel of the Dharma. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience incorporate the perfection of wisdom, but incorporate it in such a way that they do not take up and do not reject anything at all.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance incorporate the perfection of giving?”
“Subhūti, here, bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance do not slacken off from physical and mental perseverance. They think, ‘Mine is the full awakening to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, mine is not not fully awakening to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening,’ and they go one yojana, or a hundred yojanas, or a thousand yojanas, or to a single world system, or to one hundred million world systems, or to a hundred thousand one hundred million world systems for the sake of beings, keeping on in the perfection of perseverance even if it is just to establish one single being in awakening. If they do not find a bodhisattva-vehicle person, still they establish a śrāvaka-vehicle person in the state of a śrāvaka and they establish a pratyekabuddha-vehicle person in the state of a pratyekabuddha. At the very least they establish just one being [F.281.b] in the path of the ten wholesome actions. They satisfy beings with the gift of Dharma and material gifts, but they do not dedicate those wholesome roots to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level. Rather they make those gifts into something shared in common by all beings and dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance incorporate the perfection of giving.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance incorporate the perfection of morality?”
“Subhūti, here, starting from their first production of the thought up until seated at the site of awakening, bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance personally stop killing, inspire others to stop killing, speak in praise of stopping killing, and speak in praise of others stopping killing as well, welcoming it. Connect this is in the same way with each, up to they personally stop wrong view, inspire others to stop wrong view, speak in praise of stopping wrong view, and speak in praise of others stopping wrong view as well, welcoming it.629 With that morality they do not yearn for the desire realm and they do not yearn for the form realm or the formless realm. They do not yearn for the śrāvaka level and they do not yearn for the pratyekabuddha level. Rather, they make those wholesome roots into something shared in common by all beings and dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, [F.282.a] and one way or the other they make the dedication in such a way that the dedication occurs without the threefold intellectual apprehension of someone who is dedicating, something being dedicated, and something to which the dedication is made. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance incorporate the perfection of morality.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance incorporate the perfection of patience?”
“Subhūti, here, starting from their first production of the thought up until seated at the site of awakening, if those in human form, up to630 in nonhuman form have disturbed the minds of bodhisattva great beings, or have chopped and carried off the major or minor parts of their bodies, still it does not occur to those bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance to think, ‘They are chopping something off me, or cutting me into pieces, or depriving me of something.’ Rather, it occurs to them to think, ‘Those who have come here and chopped and carried off the major or minor parts of my body are exactly those for whose sake I have taken care of my body, so I have found something very useful here.’ They have paid attention excellently to the basic nature of the true nature of dharmas. They do not dedicate those wholesome roots to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level, but rather, having made them into something shared in common by all beings, they dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance incorporate the perfection of patience.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva [F.282.b] great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance incorporate the perfection of concentration?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings detached from sense objects, detached from wrong unwholesome dharmas, perfectly accomplish and dwell in the first concentration that has applied thought and has sustained thought and joy and happiness born of detachment; up to perfectly accomplish and dwell in the fourth concentration, in love, up to equanimity, up to in the station of neither perception nor nonperception absorption. But they do not appropriate the maturations of those concentrations, immeasurables, and formless absorptions; rather, they are born in them to work for the welfare of all beings, and with the six perfections—the perfection of giving, perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom—they bring those beings to maturity, passing on from buddhafield to buddhafield in order to attend on the lord buddhas and plant wholesome roots. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance incorporate the perfection of concentration.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance incorporate the perfection of wisdom?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance [F.283.a] do not view the perfection of giving as a material reality, as a real thing, or as a causal sign, up to they do not view the perfection of concentration as a material reality, as a real thing, or as a causal sign. Connect this is in the same way with each, up to they do not view the applications of mindfulness, up to the knowledge of all aspects as a material reality, as a real thing, or as a causal sign. They do not view all dharmas as a material reality, and they do not view them as a real thing, or as a causal sign. They do not make their home in any dharma. They live up to their words. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance incorporate the perfection of wisdom.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration incorporate the perfection of giving?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings detached from sense objects, detached from wrong unwholesome dharmas, perfectly accomplish and dwell in the first concentration.631 Connect this is in the same way with each, up to they perfectly accomplish and dwell in the station of neither perception nor nonperception absorption. Standing in the perfection of concentration they give the gift of material possessions and the gift of Dharma to those beings, without mental distraction. They personally632 give the gift of material possessions and the gift of Dharma. They inspire others to give the gift of material possessions and the gift of Dharma, speak in praise of giving the gift of material possessions and the gift of Dharma, [F.283.b] and speak in praise of others giving the gift of material possessions and the gift of Dharma as well, welcoming it. They do not dedicate those wholesome roots to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level. Rather, having made them into something shared in common by all beings, they dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration incorporate the perfection of giving.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration incorporate the perfection of morality?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration do not produce a thought associated with greed, do not produce a thought associated with hatred or one associated with confusion, and do not produce a thought associated with violence. Rather, they dwell with attention connected to the knowledge of all aspects. They do not dedicate those wholesome roots to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level. Rather, having made them into something shared in common by all beings, they dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration incorporate the perfection of morality.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration incorporate the perfection of patience?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration [F.284.a] analytically understand form to be like a mass of foam, understand feeling to be like a water bubble, understand perception to be like a mirage, understand volitional factors to be like a plantain tree, and analytically understand consciousness to be like something conjured up by magic. When they analytically understand the five aggregates to be like that, the perception that they are worthless becomes available. With such an analytical understanding, even when a major or minor part of their body is chopped off it occurs to them to think, ‘Who is chopping this off? Whose feeling is it? Whose perception is it? Whose volitional factors are they? Whose consciousness is it?’ With such an analytical understanding it also occurs to them to think, when abusive things have been done, ‘In whom does malice arise when abused and humiliated, and who is abusing and humiliating here?’ In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration incorporate the perfection of patience.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration incorporate the perfection of perseverance?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings detached from sense objects, detached from wrong unwholesome dharmas, perfectly accomplish and dwell in the first concentration. Connect this is in the same way with each, up to perfectly accomplish and dwell in the fourth concentration. Without apprehending the concentrations or the branches of the concentrations and with a mind in meditative equipoise like that, they experience the performance of miraculous power in its various aspects (supply the details here);633 hear human and divine sounds with the divine ear constituent; with their minds know the thought processes of other beings, other persons . . . ; connect this is in the same way with each, up to know an unsurpassed thought for what it is, [F.284.b] an unsurpassed thought; recollect past lives in their various aspects (also supply the details here); up to and see with their purified divine eyes that transcend the human how beings fare according to the karma they have accumulated. Standing in those five clairvoyances they pass on from buddhafield to buddhafield in order to attend on the lord buddhas, and in order to plant wholesome roots, bring beings to maturity, and purify a buddhafield. They do not dedicate those wholesome roots to the śrāvaka level or the pratyekabuddha level. Rather, having made them into something shared in common by all beings, they dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration incorporate the perfection of perseverance.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration incorporate the perfection of wisdom?”
“Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration do not apprehend form; do not apprehend feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness; do not apprehend the perfection of giving, do not apprehend the perfection of morality, do not apprehend the perfection of patience, do not apprehend the perfection of perseverance, do not apprehend the perfection of concentration, and do not apprehend the perfection of wisdom; do not apprehend the applications of mindfulness, do not apprehend the right efforts, connect this in the same way with each, up to [F.285.a] and do not apprehend the knowledge of all aspects. They do not apprehend the compounded element and do not apprehend the uncompounded element. Since they do not apprehend anything, they do not occasion anything, and since they do not occasion anything, they do not make anything arise and do not make anything stop. And why? Subhūti, it is because whether the tathāgatas arise or whether the tathāgatas do not arise, this true dharmic nature of dharmas simply remains, this establishment of dharmas simply remains, this dharma-constituent simply remains, so with regard to it there is no arising and no stopping. They stand with undistracted minds inseparable from attention connected with the knowledge of all aspects. In that way, Subhūti, the bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration incorporate the perfection of wisdom.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of wisdom incorporate the perfection of giving?”