The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
Chapter 69: An Explanation of Meditation on the Path
- Jinamitra
- Surendrabodhi
- Yeshé Dé

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 1.0.18 (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 69: An Explanation of Meditation on the Path
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings become absorbed in the first concentration, up to become absorbed in the fourth concentration, become absorbed in the immeasurables, up to and become absorbed in the formless absorptions, but they do not get saddled with their maturation. And why? Because they are endowed with skillful means, those skillful means endowed with which they understand that the concentrations, immeasurables, and formless absorptions are empty of their own mark, up to understand that they do not occasion anything.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, even though, starting from the production of the first thought, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom endowed with skillful means travel the path to eliminate what seeing and meditation eliminate, it does not cause them to reach the result of stream enterer, and it does not cause them to reach the result of once-returner, the result of non-returner, or the state of a worthy one. And why? Because, even while practicing the dharmas on the side of awakening, they understand that all dharmas are empty of their own mark and pass beyond the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha level. Subhūti, this is the bodhisattva great beings’ forbearance for the nonproduction of dharmas.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom become absorbed in the eight deliverances, and become absorbed in the nine serial absorptions, but do not reach the result of stream enterer, up to do not reach the state of a worthy one. And why? Because they understand all dharmas [F.26.a] are empty of their own mark, up to and they understand that all dharmas do not occasion anything.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings master the ten tathāgata powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, and great compassion, but still they do not reach the knowledge of all aspects until they have purified a buddhafield and brought beings to maturity. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings should practice the perfection of wisdom like that.” [B47]
The Lord having said that, venerable Subhūti said to him, “Lord, bodhisattva great beings who practice the deep dharmas like that but do not get saddled with their maturation are endowed with the finest awareness.”
Venerable Subhūti having said that, the Lord said to him, “Exactly so, Subhūti, exactly so! Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice the deep dharmas like that but do not get saddled with their maturation are endowed with the finest awareness. And why? Subhūti, it is because the bodhisattva great beings do not move from their intrinsic nature.”682
“Lord, from which intrinsic nature do they not move?”
“Subhūti, they do not move from a nonexistent thing.683 In regard to what you have said, Subhūti—‘From which intrinsic nature do they not move?’—they do not move from the intrinsic nature of form; they do not move from the intrinsic nature of feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness; they do not move from the intrinsic nature of the perfection of giving, perfection of morality, perfection of patience, [F.26.b] perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom; they do not move from the intrinsic nature of the concentrations, immeasurables, and formless absorptions; they do not move from the intrinsic nature of the applications of mindfulness, up to the eightfold noble path; up to and they do not move from the intrinsic nature of the emptiness meditative stabilization, signlessness meditative stabilization, and wishlessness meditative stabilization, and great compassion. And why? Subhūti, it is because the intrinsic nature of these dharmas is a nonexistent thing. Subhūti, a nonexistent thing cannot fully awaken to a nonexistent thing.”
“Lord, can a nonexistent thing fully awaken to an existent thing?”
“No, Subhūti.”
“Lord, can an existent thing684 fully awaken to a nonexistent thing?”
“No, Subhūti.”
“No, Subhūti.”
“Lord, can an existent thing fully awaken to an existent thing?”
“No, Subhūti.”
“Lord, if a nonexistent thing does not fully awaken to an existent thing, an existent thing does not fully awaken to a nonexistent thing, a nonexistent thing does not fully awaken to a nonexistent thing, and an existent thing does not fully awaken to an existent thing, well then, wouldn’t there be no attainment and no full awakening?”
“Subhūti, there is indeed a clear realization, but it is not through this set of four productions.” [F.27.a]
“So then, Lord, what sort of thing is clear realization?”
“Seeing sameness, not like an existent thing and not like a nonexistent thing either, is clear realization because it is without thought construction; it is free from thought construction. Clear realization is that sort of thing, where those thought constructions do not exist.”685
The Lord having said that, venerable Subhūti asked him, “Lord, what is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction?”
“Subhūti, ‘form is permanent’ and ‘impermanent’ is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction; ‘feeling . . . ,’ ‘perception . . . ,’ ‘volitional factors . . . ,’ and ‘consciousness is permanent’ and ‘impermanent’ is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction. ‘Form is happiness’ and ‘suffering’ is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction; ‘feeling . . . ,’ ‘perception . . . ,’ ‘volitional factors . . . ,’ and ‘consciousness is happiness’ and ‘suffering’ is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction. ‘Form has a self’ and ‘is selfless’ is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction; ‘feeling . . . ,’ ‘perception . . . ,’ ‘volitional factors . . . ,’ and ‘consciousness has a self’ and ‘is selfless’ is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction. ‘Form is calm’ and ‘not calm’ is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction; ‘feeling . . . ,’ ‘perception . . . ,’ ‘volitional factors . . . ,’ and ‘consciousness is calm’ and ‘not calm’ is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction. ‘Form has to be comprehended’ and ‘does not have to be comprehended’ is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction; ‘feeling . . . ,’ ‘perception . . . ,’ ‘volitional factors . . . ,’ and ‘consciousness has to be comprehended’ and ‘does not have to be comprehended’ is the bodhisattva great beings’ thought construction. ‘The noble truth of suffering has to be comprehended’ is thought construction; ‘origination has to be abandoned’ is thought construction; ‘cessation has to be actualized’ [F.27.b] is thought construction; ‘the path has to be cultivated’ is thought construction; ‘the four concentrations have to be cultivated’ is thought construction; ‘the four immeasurables have to be cultivated’ is thought construction; ‘the four formless absorptions have to be cultivated’ is thought construction; ‘the four applications of mindfulness, four right efforts, four legs of miraculous power, five faculties, five powers, seven limbs of awakening, and eightfold noble path have to be cultivated’ is thought construction; ‘the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation have to be cultivated’ is thought construction; ‘the eight deliverances and nine serial absorptions have to be cultivated’ is thought construction; ‘I must pass beyond the result of stream enterer, the result of once-returner, the result of non-returner, the state of a worthy one, and a pratyekabuddha’s awakening’ is thought construction; ‘I must complete the ten bodhisattva levels’ is thought construction; ‘I must enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva’ is thought construction; ‘I must purify a buddhafield’ is thought construction; ‘I must bring beings to maturity’ is thought construction; ‘I must generate the ten tathāgata powers’ is thought construction; ‘I must complete the four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, and eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha’ is thought construction; ‘I must gain the knowledge of all aspects’ is thought construction; and ‘I must eliminate all residual impression connections’ is thought construction.
“Therefore, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom do not construct in thought what should not be constructed in thought. They do not construct in thought ‘form is permanent or impermanent’ that should not be constructed in thought; they do not construct in thought ‘feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness is permanent or impermanent’ [F.28.a] that should not be constructed in thought; they do not construct in thought . . . , up to ‘I must gain the knowledge of all aspects’ that should not be constructed in thought. And why? Because something real does not concoct something unreal and something unreal does not concoct something real,686 and you cannot apprehend, apart from something real and unreal, something doing the concocting, something being concocted, someone who does the concocting, and somewhere the concocting happens.
“Therefore, Subhūti, form, up to the knowledge of all aspects is without thought construction, up to awakening is without thought construction. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings should thus practice the perfection of wisdom without thought construction.”
“Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom see all dharmas without thought construction?”687
Venerable Subhūti having asked that, the Lord said to him, “Subhūti, there is no intrinsic nature of form, up to consciousness, up to there is no intrinsic nature of the knowledge of all aspects. That which has no intrinsic nature is without thought construction. For that reason, Subhūti, form . . . , up to consciousness is without thought construction. Similarly, connect this with each, up to the knowledge of all aspects is without thought construction. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom like that enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva.”
The Lord having said that, venerable Subhūti asked him, “Lord, if no phenomenon at all can be apprehended as having an intrinsic nature, on what path do bodhisattva great beings enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva—on the śrāvaka path, or the pratyekabuddha path, or the buddha path?”
Venerable Subhūti having asked that, the Lord said to him, [F.28.b] “Indeed, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings do not enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva on the śrāvaka path, or the pratyekabuddha path, or the buddha path, but still, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva having trained on all paths. To illustrate, Subhūti, worthy ones do indeed enter into the flawlessness that is a perfect state, having trained on all the paths,688 but still, until they have produced the path’s result they will not reach the result of a worthy one in a single instant of the path. Similarly, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings also do indeed enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva having produced all the paths, but still, until they have reached the vajropama meditative stabilization they will not reach the knowledge of all aspects, because they gain the knowledge of all aspects through the wisdom of the unique single instant.”
The Lord having said that, venerable Subhūti inquired of him, “Lord, if bodhisattva great beings enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva having completed all paths, in that case, Lord, given that the Aṣṭamaka path is different, the stream enterer path is different, the path of the candidate for once-returner is different, the once-returner path is different, the path of the candidate for non-returner is different, the non-returner path is different, the path of the candidate for worthy one is different, the worthy one path is different, the pratyekabuddha path is different, and the path of the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete Buddha is different, well then, Lord, if all those paths are different from each other, how will bodhisattva great beings enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva [F.29.a] having completed all paths? Lord, if bodhisattva great beings have to complete all paths to enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva, would they not, having produced all paths, be an Aṣṭamaka; would they not, having produced the path of seeing, be a stream enterer; would they not, having produced the path of meditation, be a candidate for once-returner and a once returner; up to would they not be a worthy one; and would they not, having produced the pratyekabuddha path, be a pratyekabuddha? Lord, there is no chance, it is impossible that bodhisattva great beings, having produced the Aṣṭamaka path, are an Aṣṭamaka, or, having become an Aṣṭamaka enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva; it is impossible for bodhisattva great beings to enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva and reach the knowledge of all aspects. Similarly, it is impossible that bodhisattva great beings, having reached the result of stream enterer, up to having reached the state of a worthy one or a pratyekabuddha’s awakening, enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva; it is impossible for bodhisattva great beings to enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva and reach the knowledge of all aspects. Given that it would be impossible for bodhisattva great beings to enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva and reach the knowledge of all aspects, how, Lord, are we to understand bodhisattva great beings entering into the secure state of a