དགོངས་པ་ངེས་འགྲེལ།
Unraveling the Intent
Saṃdhinirmocana
འཕགས་པ་དགོངས་པ་ངེས་པར་འགྲེལ་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
’phags pa dgongs pa nges par ’grel pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Noble Sūtra of the Great Vehicle “Unraveling the Intent”
Āryasaṃdhinirmocananāmamahāyānasūtra

Toh 106
Degé Kangyur, vol. 49 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 1.b–55.b.
Translated by the Buddhavacana Translation Group (Vienna)
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2020
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Summary
In Unraveling the Intent, the Buddha gives a systematic overview of his three great cycles of teachings, which he refers to in this text as the “three Dharma wheels” (tridharmacakra). In the process of delineating the meaning of these doctrines, the Buddha unravels several difficult points regarding the ultimate and relative truths, the nature of reality, and the contemplative methods conducive to the attainment of complete and perfect awakening, and he also explains what his intent was when he imparted teachings belonging to each of the three Dharma wheels. In unambiguous terms, the third wheel is proclaimed to be of definitive meaning. Through a series of dialogues with hearers and bodhisattvas, the Buddha thus offers a complete and systematic teaching on the Great Vehicle, which he refers to here as the Single Vehicle.
Acknowledgements
Translation by the Buddhavacana Translation Group.
The text was translated by Gregory Forgues and edited by Casey Kemp. With special thanks to Harunaga Isaacson, Matthew Kapstein, Klaus-Dieter Mathes, Jonathan Silk, Lambert Schmithausen, Tom Tillemans, and William Waldron for their helpful comments and advice.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Qiang Li (李强) and Ya Wen (文雅), which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Introduction
Setting and Summary
In Unraveling the Intent, the Buddha gives a systematic overview of his three great cycles of teachings, which he refers to in this text as the “three Dharma wheels” (tridharmacakra). In the process of delineating the meaning of these doctrines, the Buddha unravels several difficult points regarding the ultimate and relative truths, the nature of reality, and the contemplative methods conducive to the attainment of complete and perfect awakening, and he also explains what his intent was when he imparted teachings belonging to each of the three Dharma wheels. Through a series of dialogues with hearers and bodhisattvas, the Buddha thus offers a complete and systematic teaching on the Great Vehicle, which he refers to here as the Single Vehicle .
The sūtra is set in an unfathomable palace displayed by the Buddha’s powers and attended by countless beings. The three gates of liberation (emptiness, appearancelessness, and wishlessness) are the entrance to this abode of the tathāgatas, the inconceivable nondual state of a buddha who, possessed of the gnosis (jñāna) of the Tathāgata’s liberation, is dwelling in the domain of truth (dharmadhātu), together with an immeasurable retinue of hearers and a retinue of bodhisattvas including Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana, Vidhivatparipṛcchaka, Dharmodgata, Suviśuddhamati, Viśālamati, Guṇākara, Paramārthasamudgata, Avalokiteśvara, Maitreya, and Mañjuśrī.
The Context
The sūtra is structured in the form of a series of dialogues between the Buddha and advanced bodhisattvas or hearers, as well as between bodhisattvas (see chapter 1). These dialogues deal with both the theory and practice of the entire bodhisattva path. Narrative elements are extremely limited in this teaching. However, a narrative pattern can be found in chapter 2 and 3, which begin, respectively, with a story about a group of non-Buddhists (tīrthikas) and some followers of the Buddha who have gathered to discuss a difficult point regarding the nature of reality and cannot agree on anything. The main protagonists then beg the Buddha to provide an explanation for the quandary these assemblies cannot not resolve, or alternatively to explain his underlying intent when he expounded the teachings that gave rise to conflicting interpretations.
Each chapter starts with a question on a topic requiring further elucidation: In the first chapter, the bodhisattva Vidhivatparipṛcchaka questions the bodhisattva Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana on the inexpressible (anabhilāpya) and nondual (advaya) ultimate. In the second chapter, the bodhisattva Dharmodgata questions the Buddha on the ultimate beyond speculation (sarvatarkasamatikrānta). In the third chapter, the bodhisattva Suviśuddhamati questions the Buddha on the ultimate that is beyond being distinct or indistinct (bhedābhedasamatikrānta) from conditioned phenomena. In the fourth chapter, Subhūti questions the Buddha on the ultimate that is of a single nature (ekarasa) within all phenomena. In the fifth chapter, the bodhisattva Viśālamati questions the Buddha on the secrets of mind (citta), thought (manas), and cognition (vijñāna). In the sixth chapter, the bodhisattva Guṇākara questions the Buddha on the three defining characteristics (lakṣaṇa) of phenomena. In the seventh chapter, the bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata questions the Buddha on the three kinds of essencelessness (niḥsvabhāvatā) as well as on the Buddha’s three turnings of the Dharma wheel. In the eighth chapter, the bodhisattva Maitreya questions the Buddha on the practice of mental stillness (śamatha) and insight (vipaśyanā). In the ninth chapter, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara questions the Buddha on the stages of the bodhisattva path and the Single Vehicle (ekayāna). In the tenth chapter, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī questions the Buddha on the bodies (kāya) and activity of the tathāgatas.
From a broader perspective, it is possible to consider that the teaching imparted in this sūtra is structured in terms of the basis (āśraya), the path (mārga), and the result (phala). The first four chapters on the five characteristics of the ultimate1 as defined in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras represent a teaching on the abovementioned basis, namely, true reality (tathatā) as it is; chapters 5–9, a teaching on the path in terms of practices and stages to attain awakening; and chapter 10, a teaching on the result through the doctrine of the tathāgatas’ bodies and activity to awaken beings. All major Tibetan traditions consider chapter 3, focusing on the relation between the two truths, and chapter 8, focusing on meditative practice, to be authoritative. These are among the scriptures most quoted on their respective topics by Tibetan authors regardless of lineage.
Main Points of the Subject Matter
The Basis
The first four chapters point out the nature of reality by distinguishing the unconditioned from the conditioned, the pure from the afflicted, the ultimate from the conventional, nondual gnosis from mind’s elaborations, inexpressible reality from conventional expressions, and the actual from the imaginary. The first chapter thus starts with the distinction between conditioned and unconditioned phenomena, which became a prevalent theme in the various Abhidharmas. Through this distinction, the point is made that the ultimate is inexpressible and nondual. The realization of this inexpressible ultimate is achieved through gnosis alone. Conceptions in terms of conditioned and unconditioned merely exist in the way of a magical illusion. Yet, in order to lead beings to awakening, buddhas have to use such labels. The second chapter elaborates on this very point. Although the ultimate is beyond speculation, the Buddha taught liberation by means of verbal expressions and conventions belonging to the domain of phenomenal appearances and notions.
As a consequence, the first two chapters delineate two domains corresponding to the two truths (satyadvaya): (1) the pure domain of the ultimate, which, being inexpressible, nondual, and beyond speculation, is the realm of nonconceptual gnosis free from conventional appearance and notions, and (2) the afflicted domain of dualistic conventional expressions and notions, which is the realm of mental elaborations. These domains are respectively labeled by the buddhas as “the unconditioned” and “the conditioned” only for the sake of instructing beings, for the Buddha explains that this distinction between unconditioned and conditioned is only made on the level of the conditioned, namely, from the perspective of dualistic conventions. Within the realm of these conventional expressions, in the context of the path, it follows that these two domains are apparently mutually exclusive, although the Buddha hints at the fact that, from the perspective of the ultimate, the conditioned is not the conditioned and the unconditioned is not the unconditioned.
Chapter 3 explains how the relation between the ultimate and conditioned phenomena seen from this higher perspective should be communicated on the level of conventions. From this standpoint, one cannot say whether the ultimate is distinct or indistinct from conditioned phenomena. The Buddha shows that positing these two domains as distinct or indistinct is wrong. Since conditioned phenomena are characterized by the fact of being produced by causes and conditions, it is inappropriate to conceive (a) the conditioned and (b) the emptiness of an inherent nature as either identical or different. On the one hand, being conditioned (i.e., dependent on something other) is identical with being empty of an intrinsic nature; on the other hand, the domain of the conditioned is defined as the realm of afflictions, while the domain of the unconditioned is understood as the pure realm. Some might therefore think that phenomena and the nature of phenomena are distinct, but the Buddha teaches in the fourth chapter that the empty nature of conditioned phenomena, the ultimate, cannot be said to be distinct from those phenomena. As such, this subtle and profound ultimate is indeed of a single character within phenomena whose defining characteristic appears to be diverse. To realize this nature of phenomena, which is unconditioned selflessness, one should only rely on nondual gnosis, not mind.
The Path
Chapter 5 is a presentation of the “secrets of mind, thought, and cognition.” Here the Buddha introduces the concept of “appropriating cognition” (ādānavijñāna), also called “subliminal cognition” (ālayavijñāna), “mind” (citta), or “mind containing all the seeds” (sarvabījaṃ cittam). This mind, in which mental events manifest, acts is like a mirror in which reflections appear. It is the basis of previous mental imprints resulting from volitions and actions that create predispositions (i.e., latent dispositions) to experience reality in conventional terms. However, once bodhisattvas cognize in an intuitive and personal way the ultimate by means of gnosis, they no longer perceive this mind.2 In the closing verses of this chapter, the Buddha explains that this mind is without a self, since it is conditioned and composed by seeds. Through these definitions, the Buddha de facto delineates two realms: the domain of dualistic mind and the domain of nondual gnosis.
Chapter 6 is a teaching on the three defining characteristics (lakṣaṇa) of phenomena: the imaginary defining characteristic (parikalpitalakṣaṇa), the other-dependent defining characteristic (paratantralakṣaṇa), and the actual defining characteristic (pariniṣpannalakṣaṇa): (1) The imaginary defining characteristic is the superimposition onto phenomena of an essence or a defining characteristic existing from its own side, by means of designations or conventional expressions. This imaginary characteristic is utterly false in the way of a visual aberration, since phenomena are ultimately devoid of any defining characteristic that makes them what they are. (2) The other-dependent defining characteristic corresponds to the dependent arising of phenomena. It refers to phenomenal appearances upon which an imaginary defining characteristic is superimposed. This point is grasped once the imaginary defining characteristic of phenomena is understood to be a wrong conception. It is worth noting that the other-dependent defining characteristic delineates the domain of conditioned cognitions, namely, the mind as presented in chapter 5 (this point is made clear in 7.10 with regard to karma and rebirth), and as such, represents the domain of affliction (see 6.11).3 (3) The actual defining characteristic is the permanent and immutable reality of phenomena. It is the ultimate unerring object that is manifest once the selflessness of phenomena, the nonexistence of any fictive defining characteristic in phenomena arising dependently, has been realized. Only the actual defining characteristic constitutes the domain of purification, since the other-dependent defines the domain of affliction, namely, the realm of the conditioned. In the closing verses of this chapter, the Buddha gives a quintessential presentation of the path: one should first recognize that phenomena are devoid of imaginary defining characteristics by seeing them as mere designations superimposed on conditioned cognitions. At that time, one will abandon phenomena characterized by affliction, namely, conditioned phenomena in the form of conditioned cognitions, and turn toward phenomena characterized by purification that are in harmony with ultimate reality.
Chapter 7 begins with Paramārthasamudgata’s question: why did the Buddha first teach the defining characteristic of phenomena, their arising, their cessation, and so forth through the notions of the five aggregates, the twelve sense domains, and so on, when he later explained that all phenomena are without an essence? The Buddha answers by teaching the three kinds of essencelessness, namely, essencelessness regarding defining characteristics, essencelessness regarding arising, and essencelessness regarding the ultimate: (1) Essencelessness regarding defining characteristics refers to the imaginary defining characteristic of phenomena. It is the essencelessness of what is utterly nonexistent (i.e., the defining characteristic), which is like a sky flower. (2) Essencelessness regarding arising refers to the other-dependent defining characteristic of phenomena arising from causes other than themselves. It is presented as the magic illusion of dependent arising, in the context of this teaching the magic illusion of mind. (3) Essencelessness regarding the ultimate has two aspects. The first is the essencelessness of all conditioned phenomena with regard to the ultimate. As a corollary of dependent arising, those phenomena are in fact not born as anything, being dependent on causes and conditions for their arising and therefore impermanent. The second aspect of essencelessness with regard to the ultimate refers to the only unconditioned object of purification, the actual defining characteristic of phenomena, the ultimate selflessness of phenomena, which is like space, itself also unconditioned. This permanent and immutable nature of phenomena is the primordial state of peace of that which, being without a defining characteristic, is unborn and unceasing, by nature in the state of nirvāṇa.
In 7.10, the Buddha describes the entire process leading to confusion: beings reify the other-dependent and the actual defining characteristics in terms of the imaginary defining characteristic. Failing to understand that conventional expressions do not refer to actual things, they superimpose an essence on conditioned cognitions and imagine reality to be just as it is described by their linguistic conventions. Figments of imagination become causes and conditions for their mental activities, which will lead them to the afflictions of action and rebirth. The process described here is akin to a world of virtual reality where even the projector, the conditioned mind, is imaginary. As one takes the projected phenomena as real and reifies them, one acts, suffers, dies, and is endlessly “respawned” within this virtual reality. Although this pseudo-reality projected by mind is nonexistent, it will condition one’s mind and one’s future existence as one will act in accordance with one’s state of mind within this virtual reality. In 7.10, the other-dependent is therefore equated with the appropriating mind, the basis of the imaginary defining characteristic of phenomena, the object of dreamlike conceptualizations (see also 7.25).
Next, the Buddha explains how various beings relate to this process and how he has helped them with teachings corresponding to their circumstances and capacities. For example, some can understand on a dualistic level that defining characteristics (i.e., the virtual reality of phenomena) lack an essence, and thus slowly develop repulsion toward conditioned phenomena, even if they are not able to realize the ultimate nature of phenomena, their nondual primordial selflessness which is the domain of gnosis. In accordance with this model of reality, the Buddha declares that there is only the path and journey toward liberation and thus a Single Vehicle for both hearers and bodhisattvas because there is only a single purification.
In 7.30, Paramārthasamudgata defines the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma. Because this doctrine is included in this specific chapter, it seems logical to interpret the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma in relation to the three kinds of essencelessness: (1) The first turning used the notion that phenomena have a defining characteristic to teach the essencelessness of these defining characteristics in a series of teachings such as the five aggregates, the twelve sense domains, and so on (see also 4.1–6). In our metaphor on virtual reality, one could see these teachings as being expounded on the basis of the very imaginary phenomena conceptualized as truly existing. When children experience a nightmare, their parents show that the monster does not exist by implicitly, i.e. provisionally, accepting its existence, saying, “Look! It is not there.” (2) The second turning of the wheel teaches the first aspect of essencelessness with regard to the ultimate, stating that phenomena are unborn. From this perspective, the primordial selflessness of phenomena is still taught in relation to dualistic phenomena. As a consequence, Paramārthasamudgata considers this cycle of teachings as provisional. (3) The third turning of the wheel aims at teaching the second aspect of essencelessness with regard to the ultimate in a way that is not limited to the domain of dualistic phenomena. To pursue our metaphor, this third cycle of teachings gives a complete overview of the three defining characteristics of phenomena: the completely imaginary experience of a virtual reality, the magic illusion of the projecting mind, and the primordial domain of gnosis. Paramārthasamudgata declares the third turning to be of definitive meaning.
It is worth noting that the doctrine of the three defining characteristics can be seen as delineating three great categories of soteriological approaches found in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist traditions: (1) the deconstruction of putative notions of an individual self through mereological and relational strategies; (2) the deconstruction of notions of a self regarding conditioned phenomena through the impossibility of their ultimate arising, since these conditioned phenomena merely exist in dependence; and (3) the pointing out of the nondual ultimate nature of phenomena, which altogether bypasses imaginary mental constructions.
In the eighth chapter, the famous Maitreya chapter on meditation, the Buddha first gives a series of definitions followed by the description of a process, a pattern frequently used in this sūtra. First, the objects of the practices of mental stillness (śamatha) and insight (vipaśyanā) are defined as, respectively, an image without and with conceptualization, while their objects, when both practices are combined, are the point where things end (vastvanta) and the accomplishment of the goal (kṛtyānuṣṭhāna, i.e., the attainment of the path). Mental stillness consists in directing one’s attention (manasikāra) inward toward the mind that is directing attention (see 8.3). It follows a state of inner absorption produced by concentrating on a referential object. The practice of insight consists in analyzing, discerning, and differentiating the various cognitive aspects of the image (pratibimba) that is the object of concentration. These two practices are neither different nor identical. They are not different in that they take mind as a referential object, but they are not identical because insight takes a conceptual image as its referential object. The Buddha thus explains in an often-cited passage that this image taken as an object of concentration is not different from mind insofar as cognition is constituted by the mere representation (vijñaptimātra) that is the object of this cognition. The mind and the image, which is its object manifesting as a mental event, appear as different, although they are not. All mental images, whether in the context of practice or not, are mere representations. Once one has realized this, directing one’s attention toward true reality is the one-pointedness of mind in which mental stillness and insight are unified. A superior way to practice this path is therefore to focus on that which is universal in all the various specific teachings imparted by the Buddha. This approach, which is based on a practice devoid of mental engagement (vitarka) and investigation (vicāra), directly focuses on the element that converges toward true reality. The ensuing shift in one’s basis of existence (āśrayaparivṛtti) mentioned in this sūtra does not here refer to a transformation of the subliminal cognition (ālayavijñāna). According to 10.2, this shift, once all corruption has been eliminated, consists in nothing other than the bodhisattva’s attainment of the truth body (dharmakāya).
The Buddha then explains how one attends to phenomenal appearances in an increasingly nonconceptual way. He also gives an elucidation of the analytical knowledge of designations (dharmapratisaṃvid) and their objects (arthapratisaṃvid) attained through the practice of mental stillness and insight. In this context, a few key definitions are given; for example, the true reality of representations is that all conditioned phenomena are mere representations (see 8.20.2.iii). When presented in four aspects, the analytical knowledge of designations and their objects encapsulate the entire path through the four stages of mental appropriation, experience, affliction, and purification. When asked about the nature of gnosis, the Buddha answers that it “consists in the mental stillness and insight that take a universal teaching as a referential object” while “perception consists in the mental stillness and insight that take a specific teaching as a referential object” (see 8.25). Practically, bodhisattvas direct their attention to true reality, discarding the phenomenal appearances of designations and objects of designation. Without taking any essential characteristic as a referential object, they do not pay attention to phenomenal appearances. Their attention is focused on that which is of a single character within all phenomena. The Buddha then gives a list of all the phenomenal appearances eliminated by emptiness, from the emptiness of all phenomena up to the emptiness of emptiness. By letting go of their object of concentration, the phenomenal appearance corresponding to a mental image, bodhisattvas free themselves from the bonds of conditioned phenomenal appearances (nimitta). Connecting these instructions on meditative practice with his teaching on the three defining characteristics, the Buddha explains that he taught the defining characteristic of emptiness in the Great Vehicle as the nonexistence and nonperception of an imaginary defining characteristic with regard to both affliction and purification in the other-dependent and actual defining characteristics of phenomena.
Practical instructions are also given to overcome obstacles and distractions to the practice of mental stillness and insight. On the ultimate stage of the path, these practices eliminate extremely subtle obstructions resulting in the complete purification of the truth body. The gnosis and vision utterly free from attachment and hindrance are attained. Finally, the Buddha explains how bodhisattvas obtain their great powers by being skillful in the following six points: (1) the arising of the mind, (2) the underlying condition of the mind, (3) the emergence from the mind, (4) the increase of the mind, (5) the decrease of the mind, and (6) skillful means. In this section of the Maitreya chapter, an overview of the vijñaptimātra doctrine is given through the notion of cognition, which includes the appropriating cognition as well as the arising cognitions taking various phenomenal appearances as their object. In this context, it is explained that the supramundane mind of the buddhas does not have any phenomenal appearance as its object.
In chapter 9, the Buddha is questioned on the stages (bhūmi) of a bodhisattva and a buddha, the names of these stages, and their adverse factors and specific arising, as well as on the ten perfections (pāramitā). A final instruction is imparted regarding the Single Vehicle. As mentioned in previous chapters, the Buddha explains that he taught the essence of phenomena in the vehicle of hearers in terms of the aggregates, the sense domains, and so on, and that he presented these phenomena in the light of a single principle in the Great Vehicle, the domain of truth (dharmadhātu). Those who conceptualize these teachings by taking them literally do not understand his underlying intention, which is that both vehicles are in fact teachings based on a single principle.
The Result
In the tenth chapter, Mañjuśrī questions the Buddha on the defining characteristic of the truth body of the tathāgatas. The Buddha explains the truth body in the sense of a result attained through the practice of the stages and perfections. This attainment consists in a shift in one’s basis of existence. From the perspective of beings belonging to the domain of mental elaborations and conditioned phenomena, the truth body is therefore inconceivable, being utterly beyond mental elaborations,. Here again the Buddha delineates two distinct realms.
The tathāgatas, who appear as emanation bodies (nirmāṇakāya), are said to be like a manifestation, an apparition. Through their skillful means and sovereign power (adhiṣṭhāna), they liberate beings by imparting three kinds of teaching: the sūtras, the Vinaya, and the mātṛkās (generally taken as more or less equivalent to the Abhidharma and related literature): (1) The sūtras teach what was heard, how to take refuge, the training, and the awakening. (2) The Vinaya teaches the precepts and vows of individual liberation to hearers and bodhisattvas. (3) The mātṛkās are systematic teachings on important doctrinal points, such as the defining characteristic of the conventional and the ultimate, the defining characteristic of referential objects consisting of the awakening factors and their features, and so forth. In the section of the mātṛkā pertaining to the ascertainment of the qualities of cognitive objects, the Buddha goes into a lengthy discussion on logical analysis according to the four principles of reason (yukti): (1) the principle of reason based on dependence (apekṣāyukti), (2) the principle of reason based on cause and effect (kāryakāraṇayukti), (3) the principle of reason based on logical proof (upapattisādhanayukti), and (4) the principle of reason based on the nature of phenomena itself (dharmatāyukti). The explanation given by the Buddha on the third yukti of this list (cf. 10.7.4.vii.c) is very extensive and resembles a short treatise on epistemology in which the notion of means of knowledge or valid cognition (pramāṇa) is meticulously investigated. In this section, the Buddha explains the characteristics of valid and invalid reasonings. He concludes by stating that three types of valid cognition should be accepted: direct cognition (pratyakṣa), inference (anumāna), and authoritative scriptures (āptāgama).
The Buddha next elucidates “the meaning of the dhāraṇī through which bodhisattvas comply with the underlying intention of the profound Dharma expounded by the tathāgatas, the complete meaning of the sūtras, the Vinaya, and the mātṛkās.” This quintessential teaching encapsulating the meaning of the entire Dharma states that beings are in truth beyond activity and beyond being afflicted or purified. It is only because of their reification of illusory phenomena in terms of identity and essence that they conceive their reality in the way they do, which leads them to suffering. Abandoning this “body afflicted by corruption” (dauṣṭhulyakāya),4 they obtain the truth body that is inconceivable and unconditioned (i.e., the dharmakāya). In this context, the Buddha concludes by explaining that the tathāgatas are not characterized by mind, thought, and cognition. Their mind arises without effort in the way of an emanation (nirmāṇa). In their case, one cannot say whether their mind exists or not, their domain consisting of pure realms. It follows that the tathāgatas are characterized by nonduality: “They are neither completely and perfectly awakened nor not completely and perfectly awakened; they neither turn the wheel of Dharma nor do not turn the wheel of Dharma; they neither attain the great parinirvāṇa nor do not attain the great parinirvāṇa. This is because the truth body is utterly pure and the emanation body constantly manifests.” Once the truth body has been purified through the practice focusing on the domain of truth (dharmadhātu), “the great light of gnosis manifests in beings, and innumerable emanated reflections arise.” One should keep in mind, though, the teachings imparted in Chapter 3 on the conventional and ultimate truths. From the perspective of the ultimate, nothing has ever been purified by anybody, as the concluding verses of the formula in Chapter 10 make clear:
“The possessors of qualities resulting from affliction and purificationAre all without movement and without a person;Therefore, I declare them to be without activity,As they are neither purified nor afflicted, be it in the past or the future.
“Relying on views resulting from their latent dispositions,On account of which they wrongly conceive the body afflicted by corruption,They reify [the ego through concepts such as] ‘I’ and ‘mine.’As a consequence, notions arise, such as ‘I see,’ ‘I eat,’ ‘I do,’ ‘I am afflicted,’ and ‘I am purified.’
“Thus, those who understand this fact as it really isAbandon the body afflicted by corruption and insteadWill obtain a body that is not a support for any defilement,Being free from mental elaborations and unconditioned.”
Source Text and Various Versions
The only complete extant versions of the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra (Saṃdh.) are Chinese and Tibetan translations produced from Sanskrit manuscripts. All the recensions of the sūtra in Tibetan include a prologue followed by ten chapters. In addition to the various Kangyur editions, the sūtra is also quoted in full in the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi. The list of the available recensions of the text across Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan include:5
1. Sanskrit (including Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit)
• Matsuda 1995 (complete reconstruction from manuscript of Saṃdh. 9.1–6)
• Nagao 1964: 43 (gives the list of the seven kinds of tattva mentioned in Saṃdh. 8.20.2 and quoted in the Madhyāntavibhāgabhāṣya)
• Nagao 1982–1987: I.4, I.7.6
• Tucci 1971: 1 (two verses from Saṃdh. 3.7 that are quoted in Kamalaśīla’s Bhāvanākrama: nimittabandhanāj jantur atho dauṣṭhulabandhanāt / vipaśyanāṃ bhāvayitvā śamathañ ca vimucyata iti) and ibid., p. 22 (a sentence drawn from 7.15 also quoted in the Bhāvanākrama: ekāntasattvārthavimukhasya ekāntasaṃsārābhisaṃskāravimukhasya [nā] uttarā samyaksaṃbodhir uktā mayeti)
2. Chinese
• 相續解脫地波羅蜜了義經 (Taishō 678) and 相續解脫如來所作隨順處了義經 (Taishō 679) translated by Guṇabhadra (394–468 ᴄᴇ) between 435 and 443 ᴄᴇ (these two texts include respectively chapters 9 and 10)
• 深密解脫經 (Taishō 675) translated by Bodhiruci (fl. 508–535 ᴄᴇ) in 514 (includes a prologue followed by ten chapters as in the Tibetan versions of the text)
• 佛說解節經 (Taishō 677) translated by Paramārtha (498–569 ᴄᴇ) in 557 (mentioned in Wonch’uk’s commentaries on the sūtra; the prologue is different from those translated by Bodhiruci and Xuanzang; only the first four chapters are translated)
• 解深密經 (Taishō 676) translated by Xuanzang (596–664 ᴄᴇ) in 647 (a complete translation of the prologue and the ten chapters)
3. Tibetan
a. Tshalpa group
• Kʙ116 mdo sde, ca 1b1–71a1 (vol. 57)7
• C747 mdo sde, ca 1b1–71a7 (vol. 29)
• D106 mdo sde, ca 1b1–55b7 (vol. 49)
• J51 mdo sde, ca 1b1–59b8 (vol. 44)
• Kǫ774 mdo sna tshogs, ngu 1b1–60b7 (vol. 29, p. 1)
• R106 mdo sde, ca 1b1–55b7 (vol. 49)
• U106 mdo sde, ca 1b1–55b7 (vol. 49)
• VD D4038 mdo ’grel (sems tsam), zi 44a–97b
• VG GT3542 mdo ’grel (sems tsam), ’i 59b–136a
• VP Kǫ5539 mdo ’grel (sems tsam), ’i 47b–109a
b. Thempangma group
• L82 mdo sde, na 1b1–80b1 (vol. 42)
• S106 mdo sde, na 1b1–80b1 (vol. 63)
• T107 mdo sde, na 1b1–70b1 (vol. 68)
• V156 mdo sde, na 1b1–69b6 (vol. 65)
• Z137 mdo, na 1b1–93a6 (vol. 59)
c. Mustang group
• X mdo sde, wa 66a–132a
• He64.6 mdo, wa 62b5–125b8
d. Bhutan group
• Cz082-001 mdo, na 1b1–82a5
• Dd031-001 mdo, ca 1b1–69b2
• Dk034-001 mdo, na 1b1–87b1
• Gt028-001 mdo, na 1b1–72b3
• Np012-001 mdo, na 1b1–87a7
• Pj043-001 mdo, ca 1b1–62b4
• Pz045-001 mdo ca 1b1–61a5
e. Mixed/Independent editions
• F156 mdo sde, ba (tsha) 1b1–72a7 (vol. 68)
• H109 mdo sde, ca 1b1–87b7 (vol. 51)
• Lg11.8 mdo, da-L74 224b5–276a2
• N94 mdo sde, ca 1–81a7 (vol. 51)
• Ng13.07 mdo pa dgongs 111b3–162a8
• O23 mdo sde, cha
f. Other canonical collections
• Ablaikit collection IOM, RAS Tib.979/117
• Go19,01 ka 1b–36a6 (vol. 19)
• Bd3.7 vol. 3 (ta) pha 1b1–84a6
• Do mdo sde, da 196a–246b
g. Dunhuang manuscripts
• SaṃdhDH: Stein Tib. n°194 (49 folios); Stein Tib. n°683 (1 folio) (these folios cover ca. 40% of the sūtra; see Hakayama 1984–1987)8
In addition, five commentaries have been composed on the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra:
• Asaṅga’s Āryasaṃdhinirmocanabhāṣya (dgongs pa nges par ’grel pa’i rnam par bshad pa) D3981 mdo ’grel (mdo), ngi 1b–11b
• Wonch’uk’s *Āryagambhīrasaṃdhinirmocanasūtraṭīkā (dgongs pa zab mo nges par ’grel pa’i mdo rgya cher ’grel pa) D4016 mdo ’grel (mdo), ti 1b–di 175a9
• Jñāṇagarbha’s Āryasaṃdhinirmocanasūtre āryamaitreyakevalaparivartabhāṣya (dgongs pa nges par ’grel pa’i mdo las ’phags pa byams pa’i le’u nyi tshe bshad pa) D4033 mdo ’grel (sems tsam), bi 318b–345a
• Changchup Dzutrül (byang chub rdzu ’phrul)’s *Āryasaṃdhinirmocanasūtravyākhyāna (bstan bcos sna tshogs), D4358 mdo ’grel, co 1b–jo 183b
• Trisong Detsen (khri srong lde brtsan)’s *Samyagvākpramāṇoddhṛtasūtra (bka’ yang dag pa’i tshad ma las mdo btus pa) D4352 mdo ’grel (bstan bcos sna tshogs), co 173a–205b
Translation Issues and Academic Research
I applied various methods and followed a series of steps during the process of translating the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra from the Tibetan:
1. Identifying and organizing source texts
I first collated all the available Tibetan editions of Saṃdhinirmocana: Bd, C, D, Dunhuang (Hakayama 1984–87), Do, F, H, L, N, S, Kǫ, U, VD, X, and Z, as well as the various extant Sanskrit fragments found in Buescher (2007), Levi (1925), Matsuda (1995, 2013), Nagao (1964), and Tucci (1971). For the Chinese, we used Xuanzang’s translation.10 I then produced a critical edition of the text prologue (nidāna) to get a sense of the textual variations across major available editions of the Tshalpa (tshal pa), Thempangma (them spangs ma), mixed Kangyurs, and independent Kangyur groups. In addition, Dr. Kojirō Katō (Tokyo University), who is editing the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra, kindly sent me his critical edition of the seventh chapter.11 His work has proved invaluable to confirming the findings of my own work on the prologue. The editions belonging to the Thempangma differ significantly from those included in the Tshalpa line of transmission. As an independent Kangyur close to the Thempangma line, the Phukdrak (phug brag) edition offers very interesting readings on the level of syntax and lexicography compared to the editions of the Tshalpa group. It also diverges from the Thempangma witnesses in many locations. In the absence of colophons mentioning the translators’ and editors’ names across the available editions, it remains difficult to understand the history of these witnesses from the perspective of the underlying translation and editing process. As a consequence of its palatable variant readings compared to the Tshalpa and Thempangma editions, I used the Phukdrak witness quite extensively while translating the Degé edition, as well as the Stok edition and the Degé version of the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī, to examine more thoroughly difficult passages. The available Sanskrit fragments were on occasion also useful to determine the Sanskrit equivalent of a Tibetan technical term. They, however, did not reveal major variations from the Tibetan texts. I referred to the Dunhuang recension sporadically, as Schmithausen warned us not to follow it blindly.12 I also referred to Xuanzang’s translation regarding a few difficult passages of the text. This translation is similar to those of the Tshalpa group and might have been carried out on the basis of a Sanskrit manuscript similar to the one (or those) used for the translation upon which the Tibetan Tshalpa editions are based.
2. Evaluating the available translations
The Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra is a major text of Indian Buddhism that has early on attracted the attention of Buddhist Studies scholars. It has been translated into French, English, and German (partially). Lamotte (1935) provided a critical edition of Saṃdhinirmocana and a translation from Tibetan (N) and Chinese (Taishō 676) into French. He also attempted to reconstruct or identify technical terms in Sanskrit, which have for the most part been confirmed by subsequent finds of Sanskrit fragments.13 Lamotte’s work is a major resource for the study of Saṃdhinirmocana. It has been until now the standard edition and translation of this text on account of its accuracy and methodological academic approach. As a side note, I followed Lamotte’s segmentation of the text into paragraphs. His French translation is generally reliable, although some technical passages can be significantly improved, particularly in the case of chapter 8 on meditation and chapter 10 on the result of the path. Frauwallner (1969) gives a partial translation of Saṃdhinirmocana (i.e., chapters 6 and 7) from Tibetan into German. As one would expect, Frauwallner’s academic translation of these two chapters aims at accuracy over readability. Kawasaki 1976 is also a partial translation of chapter 8 into English (§6.1–9). This translation does not improve Lamotte’s. Powers’ (1995) translation from Tibetan (D) into English, in spite of its merit, could be widely improved upon in terms of methodology, accuracy, and readability.14 Brunnhölzl 2018 offers a partial translation of chapter 7, as well as a few key passages from chapter 5.
Translations by Cleary (1999) and Keenan (2000) are from the Chinese (Taishō 676) into English. I used Keenan’s work to get a sense of the Chinese text while translating the Degé edition but only referred to Cleary occasionally. Keenan’s work seems to me more accurate than Cleary’s, although the latter was useful for unraveling difficult passages, since his style is more free and primarily intends to communicate the meaning of the text. Cornu (2005) has provided a translation of the text from Tibetan (D) into French that mainly follows Powers 1995, a somewhat regrettable fact since Lamotte’s (1935) is more accurate. Schmithausen’s (2014) work contains numerous difficult passages of Saṃdhinirmocana translated from various Tibetan and Chinese editions into English. It is an invaluable resource for the study of Saṃdhinirmocana. In addition, it offers useful Sanskrit reconstructions of important technical terms. Together with Lamotte’s translation, it has been a constant companion while translating the text.
3. Checking intertextual patterns and delineating the scope of primary sources
The Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra is part of a larger network of texts, both in the Kangyur and the Tengyur:
1. The nidāna of Saṃdhinirmocana almost exactly matches those of the Buddhabhūmisūtra (D275) and the Tathāgataguṇajñānācintyaviṣayāvatāranirdeśasūtra (D185). The Buddhabhūmisūtra is a very short text that was also translated into Chinese by Xuanzang in 646 (see Keenan 1980, p. 336ff.). Textual parallelisms of this kind are useful to double checking some passages or gathering more background information about the source text.
2. As mentioned above, Saṃdhinirmocana is also found in extenso in the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi and is therefore part of a tradition of texts sharing common ideas.15 This point should be kept in mind while translating, particularly when one has to evaluate the potential impact of terminological choices from the perspective of a more philosophical approach to the text, which, in the case of Saṃdhinirmocana, should be a major concern. For example, one should pay attention to the fact that interpreting “representation-only” (vijñaptimātra) as a strong form of idealism essentializing mind could be misleading from the perspective of a cultural translation of the worldview propounded in Saṃdhinirmocana since mind, just as much as the external object, is explicitly declared to be empty of any own-being, essence, or intrinsic nature (see chapter 8 on the three kinds of niḥsvabhāvatā) in this text.16
3. Another important point is the presence of the aforementioned five commentaries on Saṃdhinirmocana found in the Tengyur (D).17 I occasionally referred to these works while finalizing the final draft of the translation. However, I first focused on the available editions of Saṃdhinirmocana itself as I did not want to be influenced by the interpretations of later authors. Instead, I attempted to go through all possible logically meaningful readings according to the Tibetan and Sanskrit sources without any preconceptions resulting from my reading of later commentarial traditions.
4. In the same vein, one should note that Saṃdhinirmocana has played a major role in Tibetan hermeneutical debates. For centuries, it has been considered a central scripture referred to extensively in the writings of Tibet’s great luminaries, such as Jé Tsongkhapa (rje tsong kha pa, 1357–1419) or Jamgön Mipham Gyatso (’jam mgon mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912). While it would certainly be fascinating to study the impact of Saṃdhinirmocana in the context of Tibetan Madhyamaka,18 I chose not to take into account Indian or Tibetan commentaries or exegeses of the sūtra in order to focus on the source text itself.
4. Collating academic research
I proceeded to search all articles and monographs referring to Saṃdhinirmocana I could find at the very beginning of this translation project. In this quest for relevant academic research, I benefited from the excellent bibliography found in Delhey 2013 regarding research done on the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi, which I expanded with a list of complementary reference works (see the bibliography). Among the existing academic literature on Saṃdhinirmocana, Schmithausen 2014 stands out and, unsurprisingly, proved to be a major resource for this translation project.
5. Organizing academic resources according to the text structure and specific translation issues
1. The translation of the title of the text became the object of several discussions among scholars regarding the meaning of the Sanskrit words saṃdhi and nirmocana as a consequence of Lamotte’s first complete translation of the text.19 Among the various available options, I opted for simplicity and translated the Sanskrit Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra with “The Sūtra Unraveling the Intent,” which I believe renders accurately the meaning and structure of the text. Various interlocutors indeed ask the Buddha repeatedly to explain difficult points in order to clarify the purpose of his seemingly contradictory or complex doctrines on the nature of reality.
2. Regarding the content of the sūtra itself, I proceeded to organize secondary sources by chapter and referenced this research in the notes accompanying my translation.20 The last chapter of Saṃdhinirmocana includes a very technical passage on valid cognition (pramāṇa) whose definitions predate Dignāga’s system of logic. Translating Trisong Detsen’s *Samyagvākpramāṇoddhṛtasūtra, which is a commentary on the teaching on the four principles of reason (rigs pa bzhi), would help us better understand pre-Dignāgean Buddhist logic.21
Translating the text
In this stage of the overall process, I followed Jean-François Billeter’s pragmatic approach to the translation of classical Chinese texts. This approach consists in five operations:22
1. The first stage of the translation process is purely analytical. A passage is translated on the basis of lexicographical resources (e.g., dictionaries) and syntactic rules (e.g., grammars). During this operation, it is important to distinguish what is understood and what still remains problematic. All options should be kept open. Interpretations or eisegetical readings should be rejected. From a practical perspective, I systematically used the Mahāvyutpatti to find the Sanskrit terms behind general Tibetan expressions. For technical terms, I relied on Schmithausen (2014) and the academic research mentioned above.
Our Tibetan text is itself a translation. This somewhat complicates our task since we have to decipher the Sanskrit behind the Tibetan in order to make sense of some difficult sentences or passages. However, this approach is necessary on a lexicographical and syntactic level as can be seen in the following examples: One should read the Tibetan brtsams pa as ārabhya, a Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit expression that has the meaning of “referring to/having to do with” and not “beginning with.”23 Likewise, rab tu phye ba stands for prabhāvita, which in the Saṃdhinirmocana means “consisting in/characterized as/characterized by” and not “distinguished.”24 The problem is even more acute in the case of Sanskrit compounds that have been translated into Tibetan according to the way they were formulated in Sanskrit. As an illustration of this, compounds ending with lakṣaṇa (Tib. mtshan nyid) often make more sense in Saṃdhinirmocana as bahuvrīhis than karmadhārayas or tatpuruṣas, not to mention dvandvas. Lamotte thus reads rtog ge kun las ’das mtshan nyid (sarvatarkasamatikrāntalakṣaṇa) as a bahuvrīhi,25 which I believe is appropriate in the context of the passage in question.
2. Once a “technically correct” translation of the source text has been produced, Billeter advises us to bring together the various elements of a sentence or a passage until we obtain a clear picture of what is said in the source text. This step therefore consists in understanding the meaning of the translated passage by literally seeing (or visualizing) its meaning. In a way, the first operation is about das Erklären (“explanation”), while the second concerns das Verstehen (“understanding”). In this sense, the latter uses the resources of one’s imagination and metalinguistic knowledge to establish connections with a web of meaning that is not restricted to the translated sentence or passage alone.
The second operation is therefore a synthesis, a recognition of relations between meaning units of various orders (one would think here of the idea conveyed by saṃjñā and similar terms in which the upasarga sam- plays a central role), whereas the first phase is analytical (in the sense of vicāra, vicāraṇa, and vijñāna, in which the upasarga vi- expresses the notion of taking apart). In fact, translators translate into the target language their comprehension of the source text. They actually never translate the text itself but their understanding or representation of ideas, situations, and emotions conveyed by a text. To illustrate this point, one could mention the problem, encountered by scholars, of translating terms related to meditative practice. The Maitreya chapter of Saṃdhinirmocana is probably the most difficult to understand if one is not familiar with Buddhist practice. Lamotte translates manasikāra with “réflection,” while Frauwallner uses “Beobachtung” (lit. “observation”). Both these translation choices obfuscate the meaning of what the term “directing one’s attention” actually denotes. This is not in itself a major issue, but if such inaccuracies proliferate in the same passage or chapter, the meaning of the translation becomes unclear, although it may well be technically correct on a syntactic level and lexicographical perspective (at least when it comes to correctly identifying Tibetan technical terms on the basis of the Sanskrit).
In the context of pre-Dignāgean Buddhist logic, chapter 10 represents another case in point. This chapter is indeed replete with abstruse concepts not belonging to the well-researched and documented later systems of Buddhist logic. In this case, translating the many occurrences of the connective particle kyi in long compounds with the English preposition “of” will not help the reader much, though it will certainly give the translators the peace of mind of having produced a “technically correct” translation. However, I believe that translators have only two options here: (a) take a risk and, for example, tell us if they actually understand the connective kyi in the sense of “belonging to,” “resulting from,” “consisting of,” and so on; or (b) admit that they do not understand the source text. In the case of the technical compounds found in chapter 10, I therefore tried to ask myself what these terms actually referred to, what could have been the system of logic presented in these pages. For example, I read gzhan gyi rigs kyi dpe nye bar sbyar ba’i mtshan nyid (anyajātīyadṛṣṭāntopasaṃhāralakṣaṇa)26 as rendering into Tibetan a Sanskrit bahuvrīhi. As a consequence, I translated this long compound with “[The logical proof] characterized by a demonstration through an instance belonging to a different class [of phenomena]”
It goes without saying that these translations are at this stage provisional, as further research on the subject matter is necessary. But in order to translate these technical terms, we cannot just give a technically correct translation of a succession of words. Beyond the first phase of the work, which is purely analytical, we still need to develop a mental representation of the situation presented in the text by establishing relations with a context that might go beyond the text.
3. In the third operation, Billeter insists on the necessity for translators to become writers. They should formulate in the target language their understanding of the source text as accurately and naturally as possible. At this stage, translators should focus on literary elements of the translation, such as idioms, voice, and figures of speech. According to Billeter, difficulties in writing accurately and naturally in the target language are often the direct consequence of not having performed the second operation. The translation might well be technically correct, but it still does not make sense, an experience all translators go through when they fail to understand the meaning (or visualize the situation) referred to by the source text.
4. In the fourth operation, translators should reflect on the role played by linguistic constraints and conventions in the formulation of the source text as well as those imposed by the target language. What options did the author of the text have in terms of expression? How would someone express the same ideas in the target language? As a consequence, the notion of form and pragmatics in the target language becomes central. To detail the various operations leading to an actual translation, Vinay and Darbelnet’s model is useful.27 Translators should first identify the units of translation in relation to the translation process: the lexicon (e.g., semantic values, objective and affective aspects, lexical associations and modulations), the syntactic structure (e.g., transpositions between word classes, supplementation of pronouns or conjunctions, modifications in terms of gender, number, characterization, tenses, voice, modality, and verbal aspects), and the message (e.g., meaning, stylistics, pragmatics, topicalization, figures of speech, metalinguistic aspects, specific segmentation of reality). Then, they should examine the descriptive, affective, and intellectual content of the units of translation in the source text to reconstitute the situation at the origin of the message. These two first steps correspond to Billeter’s two first operations. Finally, translators still have to formulate the message in the target language without omitting any relevant element from the source language.
To achieve this, Vinay and Darbelnet argue that translators have only two methods: direct and oblique translation. Direct translation includes three strategies:
• a. Borrowing: the term in the source language is used in the target language to overcome an insuperable metalinguistic lacuna, or it is used because the term is also commonly used in the target language. For instance, I use the Sanskrit bodhisattva and nirvāṇa in my English translation.
• b. Calque: I translated bodhicitta with “awakening mind,” which is both a lexical and structural calque.
• c. Literal translation: most lists and simple sentences are for instance relatively unproblematic direct translations of the source language.
When a Literal translation fails to render the message, is structurally impossible, or misleads the reader due to the lack of a corresponding expression belonging to the same register, one should turn to an oblique translation method among the following strategies:
• d. Transposition: one replaces a word class by another. For example, the frequent nominalizations of Sanskrit and Tibetan are turned into verb clauses. The highly technical nature of some terms makes it necessary to reflect the Sanskrit as much as possible while “unpacking” what is a condensed compound. As an illustration, I translated tadanyavairūpyopalabdhi with “a perception that does not conform with anything other than the [thing to establish],” in which vairūpya is translated as a verb.
Our text is mostly written in the same way as a treatise (śāstra), reflecting what is referred to as the nominal style in Sanskrit, or scholastic Sanskrit, in which the nominalization of verbal clauses by means of compounds or suffixes is common. As is often the case in technical or hyperspecialized environments, processes or conceptual frameworks are encapsulated as technical terms (often nouns) implying a complex or recurring pattern. As an analogy, think of a medical term such as hemiglossectomy standing for a removal of a part of the tongue. The passive impersonal phrase “a hemiglossectomy was performed on the patient at 11 pm” includes the nominalization of an action through a compound (hemiglossectomy). It could be rewritten as “[the surgeon] removed a portion of the patient’s tongue at 11 pm.” As can be seen from the translations of Lamotte and Frauwallner, nominalization seems to be less of a problem in French and German than it is in modern (American) English in which readability is more of a concern. When translating the Saṃdhinirmocana, I therefore tried to turn nominal compounds common in scholastic Sanskrit into English verbal sentences by transposing these compounds into verbal sentences. However, since the text is very technical (particularly from Chapter 7 onward), I decided in some cases to keep nominal compounds that were indicative of a technical term and not just a nontechnical action or state of affairs. For example, the text mentions throughout a “concept” being referred to a “X” (see for instance 7.3–6). Just like the surgical term above, such complex nominal compounds stand for a specific action or concept and are part of a “specialist’s jargon.” Turning these compounds into verbal sentences might have the counterproductive effect of erasing an essential feature of this kind of literature consisting in endless lists of often technical terms. Therefore, in this particular case, it would probably be best to avoid transposition.
• e. Modulation: this strategy implies a change of perspective or standpoint made in order to avoid an awkward rendering of the source language. In its simplest form, translating sla ba ma yin (D, folio 25.b, 7.32) with “it is difficult” is an illustration of an optional modulation. Any change of syntactic subject for the sake of clarifying a sentence would be a modulation. Whether this decision is appropriate or not on the part of the translator is something that one should evaluate on a case-by-case basis.
I would like to illustrate this point with issues related to the nidāna of the sūtra, in which topicalization plays an important role. The first paragraph of the prologue is a presentation of the place where the Buddha is dwelling. The topicalization of the temple (khang) is achieved through a succession of compounds, mainly bahuvrīhis. Lamotte’s translation reflects this thematization to perfection. In contrast, Powers fails to topicalize the palace to the same degree. In his translation, the logical subject of the several clauses describing this palace is sometimes ambiguous. In this case, one should consider the fact that the Sanskrit structure of this paragraph is built on a process of topicalization that we can easily render in English. In a word, we have no reason to alter this literary device by inducing a modulation of the translation through a change of perspective induced, for example, by a modification of the grammatical or logical subject in the target language.
• f. Equivalence: the same situation can be expressed both in the source language and the target language in completely different stylistic and structural ways due to the necessity to resort to idioms in order to convey the message of the source text. For example, I translated evam etat (de de bzhin te/no) literally with “so it is” in English, which is a slightly pompous and old-fashioned expression no one would probably use today. Instead, one would probably say in an actual dialogue something like “You are right, Dharmodgata” or “This is true, Dharmodgata.”28
• g. Adaptation: this method aims at replacing altogether a reference to a situation in the source language if it is completely unknown in the target language. I generally try to avoid adaptations while translating, for the simple reason that one has to be certain that, for instance, two different metaphors or examples refer to the same situation or object.
To conclude on this point, it seems to me that a number of fixed or technical expressions in the Kangyur could be translated in a systematic way following Vinay and Darbelnet’s approach. This research would establish a set of solid conventions that would improve accuracy and readability.
Returning to Billeter’s schema, in his fourth operation the translator should verify that what has been translated into the target language corresponds to the meaning of the source text. Do the two texts express the same idea? Do they produce the same effect on the reader? To answer these questions, Billeter recommends reading one’s text aloud. During this operation, translators should also check whether the translation fits within a specific cultural register in the target language. Discourses take place within a corpus of existing literature that is culturally determined by centuries of textual production. Some statements from a different cultural background resonate through a web of meaning, discursive practices, or literary figures of speech once expressed in the target language. In fact, the web of meaning of the target language within which the translation is received finds its parallel in the web of meaning within which the source text was produced. Within the source text and culture, concepts, ideas, and references resonate throughout sentences, paragraphs, chapters, works, and genres. For example, some philosophical definitions can represent intratextual and extratextual variations on a theme for which there is no metalinguistic context in the target language. Translators therefore need to understand the text not only as a whole and in relation to its various components, but also in connection with both the source and the target cultures. This is of course particularly true of more “philosophical” texts for which it is essential to evaluate how the translation interacts with the webs of meaning of the source and target cultures. Practically, it is important to cross check the consistency (or lack thereof) of meaning units across the text while keeping in mind that the translation is also obviously culturally situated. This process is fundamental because it facilitates the validation (or invalidation) of translation hypotheses resulting from the two first steps of the translation process.
In the context of Saṃdhinirmocana, the problem is compounded by the fact that the sūtra can be read as a collection of independent texts that would have been put together during the third or fourth century ᴄᴇ. The academic community considers the sūtra as a highly composite compilation lacking coherence from a philological perspective.29 Lamotte explains that the first four chapters represent a Prajñāpāramitā for the reasons mentioned above. He sees chapters 5 through 7 as forming a second group of ideas found in the Prajñāpāramitā literature that influenced the Yogācāra school. Finally, he considers chapters 8 through 10 to be later additions.
It is undeniable that the various recensions in Tibetan and Chinese refer to texts that are quite different in structure. For instance, Paramārtha’s translation includes only the first four chapters, which, according to Lamotte, might have originally formed an independent sūtra. In addition, it is obvious that the ten chapters of Saṃdhinirmocana do not follow a consistent textual pattern. The first six have no title. They are concluded by a few summarizing gāthās and a standard formula indicating the name of the person who questioned the Buddha and the number of the chapter (e.g., “This was the chapter of Guṇākara—the sixth chapter”). Chapter 7 has a whole summary of the chapter in the form of a supplement right after the concluding gāthās, while in chapter 10 the Buddha is questioned on complementary topics once the concluded gāthās have been proclaimed. Chapters 7, 8, 9, and 10 each come to an end with a nītārthanirdeśa (instruction of definitive meaning) on the chapter topic. This nītārthanirdeśa is referred to as a Saṃdhinirmocana and used as the chapter title. On account of this, Lamotte surmises that there might have originally been several independent Saṃdhinirmocanasūtras that came to be grouped together as the text we know today.
One should also note that the dialogue structure of chapters 1 through 7 differs from that of chapters 8 through 10. In the first group, the Buddha elaborates on a topic in the form of a monologue once his interlocutor has questioned him on a specific topic, whereas in the second group a dialogue takes place through short questions and answers. As a consequence of all these philological divergences, one has to conclude that the text is rather composite in nature and probably the result of a succession of additions and adjustments. In a word, I agree with Schmithausen that Saṃdhinirmocana is not an organic whole that would have been composed from the onset in its present form and that its chapters are not mutually dependent.30 However, this hypothesis should ideally be the object of further research by a team following an approach similar to that of Professor Jonathan Silk’s European Research Council project “Open Philology — The Composition of Buddhist Scriptures” at the University of Leiden, to which I have had the good fortune to take part. The multiformity and intertextuality of Mahāyāna sūtras are not the result of a linear development from an Ur-text but the expression of oral-formulaic processes of composition and transmission. For our research program focusing on the Ratnakūṭa collection of sūtras, we have been developing digital and philological tools to identify, analyze, and map the fluidity and modularity of Mahāyāna texts. By using these tools, we could better understand the historical development of the complex textual environment of the Saṃdhinirmocana, which includes several translations and many witnesses of this work.
From the perspective of the narrative and doctrinal content of the Tibetan translation, a somewhat different picture emerges. Even if each chapter does not depend on all others in terms of meaning, there is definitely a progression with regard to the flow of thought in Saṃdhinirmocana insofar as later chapters do depend on the definitions and lines of thinking posited in the former chapters, a central fact for translators of this complex text. We can perceive this continuity in the intratextual cross-references that create a terminological resonance echoing throughout the text. Unraveling these cross-references is as important during the translation process as noting the textual variations indicating a deviation from a specific literary pattern. While translating I thus tried to evaluate the text in terms of regularities and discontinuities in the use of definitions and the flow of meaning unfolding throughout the text. One should therefore temper the impression that the text has been “patched” together on the basis of loosely related texts on the basis of philological arguments whose significance is difficult to assess. For example, the fact that chapter 1 is the only chapter in which a dialogue occurs between two bodhisattvas has never been mentioned by any researcher as a textual inconsistency preventing them from considering the first four chapters as a coherent whole. Minor divergences should therefore not deter us from asking ourselves why these chapters were taught or put together in the first place. I would like to illustrate with a few concrete examples the doctrinal coherence of the text. The term ādānavijñāna in 5.3 is also found in 8.37.1.i; the model of the three kinds of essencelessness (niḥsvabhāvatā) of chapter 7 corresponds to the model of the three defining characteristics (lakṣaṇa) of chapter 6, of which two are foreshadowed in 1.2 through the terms parikalpa (kun tu rtog pa) and *apariniṣpanna (yongs su ma grub pa); the other-dependent defining characteristic (paratantralakṣaṇa) introduced in chapter 6 is mentioned in 7.10; chapter 8 presupposes chapters 5 and 6;31 the concluding paragraphs of 7.33 and 8.41 are almost identical; as noted by Schmithausen, saṃskāranimitta is referred to in similar ways in both 1.5 and 7.25–27;32 *viśuddhyālambana is mentioned with the same function in 4.8, 7.6, 7.25–27, and 8.20; 10.7.2 refers to the seven aspects of true reality (tathatā) defined in 8.20.2; 8.21 and 10.7.4.ii contain the same formulation; the famous quote “Whether tathāgatas . . .” is found in 4.10, 7.9, and 10.7.4.vii.d; 10.9 mentions the enumeration citta, manas, and vijñāna exactly in the way it is expressed in 5.1–6; 10.9 enumerates the domains as in 8.23.
On account of the elements adduced above and with Davidson’s principle of charity in mind, I would like to formulate the hypothesis that there is a good reason why these chapters are found in this order: the structure of the text as we know it today is necessary to provide Mahāyāna practitioners with a systematic teaching on (1) ultimate reality qua basis, which is the nondual inexpressible domain of gnosis (chapters 1 through 4), (2) the path to awakening from the domain of mind to the domain of gnosis (chapters 5 through 9), and (3) ultimate reality qua result of the path, which represents a shift in one’s basis of existence as one attains the domain of gnosis (chapter 10).
Indeed, it seems impossible to deny that, considered as a single text (and not as a succession of independent texts), the Saṃdhinirmocana aims at providing a systematic teaching on the Single Vehicle through the three aspects of basis, path, and result in order to solve seeming contradictions and quandaries in doctrines that were of primary importance for followers of the Great Vehicle (e.g., the two truths in chapter 3 and meditative practice in chapter 8). Now, if we read the Saṃdhinirmocana as a single text, we have to confront the web of meaning found in this text in its entirety with the web of meaning of the target culture in order to avoid potential misunderstandings.
This operation has a major impact on the translation of some key terms, such as vijñaptimātra. Since idealism (in the sense that mind is an unchanging essence) is not an option given the teaching imparted in this sūtra, I tried to avoid any potential confusion resulting from an unfortunate choice of terminology. In a word, I would rather stay on the safe side than insert in my translation a potentially misleading term. As a consequence, I decided to translate vijñaptimātra as “a mere representation” instead of using nominalizations such as “cognition-only.” The first expression is relatively unambiguous in the target culture as it minimizes the risk of misunderstanding the message of the text. Another option would be “just a representation.” These formulations mitigate the risk of superimposing an essence on what is meant by vijñapti.33 The formulation “cognition-only” in the sense of “pure cognition” is in contrast ambivalent. It could also (but not necessarily) signify that only cognition truly exists and by extension, that only mind exists as an essence.
In the last step of the translation process, Billeter recommends that translators perform various operations aiming at polishing the translation, such as replicating the possible effects of semantic resonance throughout the text, improving the connection between sentences and paragraphs, modifying the order of clauses, solving problems of euphony, or editing the translation to make it clearer and simpler by chunking long sentences or eliminating repetitions. To illustrate one of these various tasks in the context of the present project, I decided to review all the terminology pertaining to the semantic field of insight (vipaśyanā) after I had finished translating the entire text. I took as a starting point 8.4, in which vipaśyanā is defined by means of a series of technical terms, such as pratyavekṣaṇa, vibhājanā, pravicaya, paritarka, parimīmāṃsā, nitīraṇa, and vitarka. I first tried to find the best translation for each term in the context of this chapter. Next, I checked the usage of all these terms and other related concepts (e.g., pratisaṃkhyā) throughout the text to standardize the corresponding English terminology. I also tried to minimize the use of square brackets indicating additions to the text when these additions were logically implied by the source text. A typology of such situations would include various operations, such as breaking down a compound, clarifying an abbreviated form corresponding to a well-attested collocation, stating a logical subject, object, or verb that is elided in the source text, mentioning the number of a technical term that usually comes as a list of individual items.
Through all these operations, my aim has been to maximize both accuracy and readability while maintaining the consistency of the very systematic presentation of the Great Vehicle developed in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra. This text is important in this spiritual tradition since it condenses all aspects of Mahāyāna. I hope that this translation will contribute to improve our understanding of the interplay between liberation as a path and primordial freedom as the ground of being.
The Translation
The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra
Unraveling the Intent
Prologue
[F.1.b] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus have I heard at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in an unfathomable palace, built with the blazing seven precious substances,34 that emitted35 great light rays suffusing countless universes.36 Each of its rooms was well arranged and its design was infinite. It was the indivisible maṇḍala, the domain transcending the three worlds. Arising from the supreme roots of virtue of the one who transcends the world,37 it was characterized by the perfectly pure cognition of the one who has achieved complete mastery.38 Abode of the Tathāgata where the assembly of innumerable bodhisattvas gathered, it was attended by countless gods, nāgas, [F.2.a] yakṣas, gandharvas, demigods, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans. Supported by the great joy and bliss of savoring the Dharma and designed to accomplish the complete welfare of all beings, it was free of any harm caused by the stains of afflictions and clear of any demon. Surpassing all manifestations, this unfathomable palace was displayed by the sovereign power of the Tathāgata. Mindfulness, intelligence, and realization were its pathway;39 mental stillness and insight were the vehicle leading to it; the great gates of liberation—emptiness, appearancelessness, and wishlessness—were its entrance. It was set on foundations adorned with an infinite accumulation of excellent qualities, which were like great kings of jeweled lotuses.40
The Blessed One had a perfectly realized mind and was free from dualistic behavior. Absorbed in the Dharma of the nonexistence of defining characteristics, he was residing in the domain of the buddhas. He had attained equality with all buddhas. His realization was unobstructed and his qualities41 were irreversible. He could not be overcome by objects of experience.42 His abode was inconceivable.43 Perfectly skilled in the sameness of the three times,44 his five bodies were present in all worlds. His knowledge of all phenomena was free from doubt. He understood all practices. His knowledge of phenomena was without uncertainty. [F.2.b] His body was unimaginable. He possessed the gnosis bodhisattvas vow to accomplish.45 He had attained the nondual abode of the buddhas, the sublime perfection, the supreme indivisible gnosis of the Tathāgata’s liberation.46 He had realized the sameness [of all phenomena], the state of a buddha in which there is neither a center nor a periphery,47 and reached the ultimate within the domain of truth, the point where the sphere of space ends.48
The Blessed One was accompanied by the entire immeasurable assembly of hearers. Children of noble family, they were the heirs of the Buddha. Their minds were liberated, their wisdom was emancipated, and their discipline was completely pure. They happily gathered with those who longed for the Dharma. They had heard much, kept in mind what they had heard, and accumulated [merit from] what they had heard. They excelled in thought, speech, and deeds. Their wisdom was swift, quick, sharp, emancipating,49 discerning,50 vast, extensive, profound, and unequaled. They possessed the jewel of wisdom and the three forms of knowledge. They had attained the supreme state of happiness in this life. The purity of their merit,51 the excellence of their peaceful conduct, their patience, and their gentleness were vast.52 They were fully engaged in the teaching of the Tathāgata.
The Blessed One was also accompanied by all the innumerable bodhisattvas assembled from various buddha realms. Firmly settled and engaged in a vast state, they had gone forth through the Dharma of the Great Vehicle. Impartial toward all beings, they were free from all conceptions, conceptualizations, and fabrications. Victorious over all demons and opposition, they were not involved with the considerations of the hearers and solitary realizers. [F.3.a] Steadfast through the great joy and happiness of savoring the Dharma, they were free from the five great fears. Solely progressing toward the stages from which there is no regression, they had perfectly actualized the stage in which one pacifies the torment of beings. Among them were thus the bodhisattva mahāsattvas Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana, Vidhivatparipṛcchaka, Dharmodgata, Suviśuddhamati, Viśālamati, Guṇākara, Paramārthasamudgata, Āryāvalokiteśvara, Maitreya, and Mañjuśrī.
Chapter 1
At that time, the bodhisattva Vidhivatparipṛcchaka questioned the bodhisattva Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana on the ultimate whose defining characteristic is inexpressible and nondual:53 “O son of the Victorious One, when it is said that all phenomena are nondual, what are these phenomena? In what way are they nondual?”
Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana replied, “Noble son, all phenomena, what we refer to as all phenomena, are of just two kinds: conditioned and unconditioned. With respect to these, the conditioned is neither conditioned nor unconditioned. The unconditioned is neither unconditioned nor conditioned.”
Vidhivatparipṛcchaka inquired, “O son of the Victorious One, why is the conditioned neither conditioned nor unconditioned and the unconditioned neither unconditioned nor conditioned?”
Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana answered, “Noble son, the term conditioned is a word, a label used by the Teacher. Words that are labels used by the Teacher are conventional expressions arising from imagination. These conventional expressions arising from imagination are always unreal54 conventional expressions arising from imagination in its diversity. Therefore, the term conditioned is not the conditioned. [F.3.b] Noble son, the term unconditioned is also included within conventions, just as expressions other than conditioned and unconditioned are and will [always] be. One might object that there is, however, no expression in the absence of the object [to which it refers]. What is then this object? It is the complete and perfect awakening to inexpressible [reality] through the sublime gnosis and vision55 of the noble ones.56 But in order57 to lead [others] to the perfect realization of this very inexpressible nature of phenomena, the Teacher labels this object with the term conditioned.
“Noble son, the term unconditioned is also a word, a label used by the Teacher. Words that are labels used by the Teacher are conventional expressions arising from imagination.58 These conventional expressions arising from imagination are always conventional expressions deprived of any actuality that arise from imagination in its diversity. Therefore, the term unconditioned is not the unconditioned. Noble son, the term conditioned is also included within conventions, just as expressions other than conditioned and unconditioned are and will [always] be. One might object that there is, however, no expression in the absence of the object [to which it refers]. What is then this object? It is the complete and perfect awakening to inexpressible [reality] through the sublime gnosis and vision of the noble ones. But in order to lead [others] to the perfect realization of this very inexpressible nature of phenomena, the Teacher labels this object with the term unconditioned.”
Vidhivatparipṛcchaka asked, “O son of the Victorious One, as the noble ones completely and perfectly awaken to inexpressible [reality] through their sublime gnosis and perception, why do they [F.4.a] label this object with the terms conditioned and unconditioned in order to lead [others] to the perfect realization of this very inexpressible nature of phenomena?”
Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana replied, “Noble son, it is like the following example: A magician or his skillful apprentice, finding himself at the juncture of four great roads, assembles grass, leaves, twigs, pebbles, or stones and produces all kinds of magic illusions, such as regiments of elephants, horses, chariots, and soldiers or collections of jewels, pearls, beryl, seashells, crystal, and coral, as well as an abundance of wealth and grain in treasuries and granaries. At that time, in the presence of these illusions, those who are naive, slow-witted, or confused, not perceiving the grass, leaves, twigs, pebbles, or stones, see and hear those magical tricks and think that whatever appears exists—that these regiments of elephants, horses, chariots, and soldiers or collections of jewels, pearls, beryl, seashells, crystal, and coral, as well as this abundance of wealth and grain, treasuries and granaries, exist. Clinging to these magical illusions according to the way they see and hear things and strongly believing in them, they express themselves through conventions, such as ‘This one is true but the other is false.’ They still need to examine these illusions.
“Those who are not naive or confused but have wisdom perceive the grass, leaves, twigs, pebbles, or stones. They see and hear those magical tricks and understand that whatever appears does not exist—that these regiments of elephants, horses, chariots, and soldiers or collections of jewels, pearls, beryl, seashells, crystal, and coral, as well as this abundance of wealth and grain, treasuries and granaries, do not exist. [F.4.b] Yet, they understand that the conception of an elephant regiment exists since its manifestation as a conception through an expedient59 exists, as do the manifestations as conceptions of regiments of horses, chariots, and soldiers or collections of jewels, pearls, beryl, seashells, crystal, and coral, as well as this abundance of wealth and grain, treasuries and granaries, together with other similar manifestations. So they understand that all those magical illusions, these magic illusions deceiving the eye, exist [in the way magical illusions do].60 Thinking in this way, [these wise beings] do not express themselves through conventions, such as ‘This one is true but the other is false,’ on account of clinging to these magical illusions in the way they see and hear things and thus strongly believing in them.61 However, they do express themselves through conventions in order to convey the true nature62 [of these illusions to others], although they do not need to further examine these illusions.63
Likewise, some childish or ordinary beings have not attained the transcendent sublime wisdom. They have not understood that the nature of all phenomena is inexpressible. When those beings perceive conditioned and unconditioned phenomena, they believe that whatever appears as a conditioned or unconditioned phenomenon exists, and they express themselves through conventions, such as ‘This one is true but the other is false,’ on account of clinging to these appearances according to the way they see and hear things and thus strongly believing in them. They still need to examine these appearances.
“With regard to this, some beings who are not childish and have seen the truth have attained the transcendent sublime wisdom. They have understood that the nature of all phenomena is inexpressible. When they perceive conditioned and unconditioned phenomena, they believe that whatever appears as a conditioned or unconditioned phenomenon does not exist. However, with respect to these appearances, they think that the conceptions in terms of conditioned and unconditioned, [F.5.a] the manifestation of conceptions through an expedient in terms of conditioned and unconditioned, the occurrence of conceptualization, and the phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena exist in the way magical illusions do. That which deludes the mind exists [in the way magical illusions do].64 Thinking in that way, they do not express themselves through conventions, such as ‘This one is true but the other is false,’ on account of clinging to these appearances according to the way they see and hear things and thus strongly believing in them. However, they do express themselves through conventions in order to convey the true nature [of these appearances to others], although they do not need to further examine these appearances.
“Noble son, the noble ones are thus completely and perfectly awakened to inexpressible [reality] through their sublime gnosis and vision of this object, but in order to lead [others] to the perfect realization of this very inexpressible nature of phenomena, they label this object with the terms conditioned and unconditioned.”
At that time, the bodhisattva Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana recited these verses:
This was the chapter of the bodhisattva Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana—the first chapter.
Chapter 2
Then the bodhisattva Dharmodgata spoke these words: “Blessed One, very long ago in ancient times, beyond as many universes as there are grains of sand in seventy-seven Ganges rivers, I was residing in the world Kīrtimat of the tathāgata Viśālakīrti. There I saw 7,700,000 non-Buddhists, together with their teachers, who had gathered in one place to consider the ultimate defining characteristic of phenomena.65 [F.5.b] Although they had examined, analyzed, investigated, and considered in detail the ultimate defining characteristic of phenomena, they did not understand it. They had changing opinions, lacked certainty, and were slow-witted as well as argumentative. Insulting one another with harsh words, they became abusive, agitated, unprincipled, and violent. Then, Blessed One, I thought to myself, ‘This is so sad, and yet, how marvelous, how wonderful are the manifestations of the tathāgatas in the world and, through their manifestations, the realization and actualization of the ultimate whose defining characteristic is beyond all speculation!’ ”66
The Blessed One answered to the bodhisattva Dharmodgata: “So it is, Dharmodgata. So it is. I have completely and perfectly awakened to the ultimate characterized as being beyond all speculation. Yet,67 after I attained complete and perfect awakening, I communicated through words, gave explanations, established distinctions, expressed myself through conventions, and imparted teachings. One might ask why I did this. I have explained that the ultimate is what is cognized by noble beings in a personal and intuitive way,68 whereas ordinary beings’ knowledge [resulting from interacting] with one another belongs to the domain of speculation.69 Therefore, Dharmodgata, you should know in this way through this approach that the ultimate is what is characterized as transcending all speculation. Moreover, Dharmodgata, I have explained that the ultimate represents the domain in which there is no phenomenal appearance,70 whereas speculation is the domain of phenomenal appearance. Therefore, Dharmodgata, you should know in this way through this approach that the [F.6.a] ultimate is what is characterized as transcending all speculation. Moreover, Dharmodgata, I have explained that the ultimate is inexpressible, whereas speculation is the domain of verbalization. Therefore, Dharmodgata, you should know in this way through this approach that the ultimate is what is characterized as transcending all speculation. Moreover, Dharmodgata, I have explained that the ultimate is free from all conventions, whereas speculation is the domain of conventions. Therefore, Dharmodgata, you should know in this way through this approach that the ultimate is what is characterized as transcending all speculation. Moreover, Dharmodgata, I have explained that the ultimate is devoid of argumentative disputation, whereas speculation is the domain of argumentative disputation. Therefore, Dharmodgata, you should know in this way through this approach that the ultimate is what is characterized as transcending all speculation.71
“Dharmodgata, it is like this: beings who have only tasted pungent or bitter flavors their entire lives cannot imagine, infer, or appreciate the taste of honey and sugar. Those who have indulged in desire and have been burnt by the torment of desire for a long time cannot imagine, infer, or appreciate the inner happiness of the recluse, which is independent from all phenomenal appearances related to form, sound, smell, taste, and contact. Those who have indulged and taken delight in conversations for a long time cannot imagine, infer, or appreciate the inner happiness of the noble beings who remain silent. Those who have indulged and taken delight in conventions for a long time through seeing, hearing, discriminating, and cognizing cannot imagine, infer, or appreciate the cessation of all conventions, the nirvāṇa that is the [F.6.b] extinction of transitory aggregates. Dharmodgata, it is like this: Those who have indulged and taken delight in argumentative disputations for a long time on account of their attachment to the self cannot imagine, infer, or appreciate that there is no attachment to the self and no argumentative disputations in Uttarakuru.
“Dharmodgata, likewise, those who [have indulged for a long time in] speculation cannot imagine, infer, or appreciate the ultimate whose defining characteristic transcends all speculation.”
Then, at that moment, the Blessed One spoke these verses:
This was the chapter of the bodhisattva Dharmodgata—the second chapter.
Chapter 3
Then the bodhisattva Suviśuddhamati addressed the Blessed One, “Blessed One, at an earlier time, you spoke these words: ‘The ultimate is subtle and profound. Characterized as transcending what is distinct or indistinct74 [from conditioned phenomena], it is difficult to understand.’ How wonderful indeed are these words of yours! Blessed One, regarding this point, I once saw many bodhisattvas who, having attained the stage of engagement through aspiration,75 assembled in one place to discuss in the following way whether conditioned phenomena and the ultimate are distinct or indistinct. Among them, some declared, ‘The defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are indistinct.’76 Others replied, ‘It is not the case that the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are indistinct, for they are distinct indeed.’ [F.7.a] Some others, who were perplexed and lacked certainty, said, ‘Some pretend that the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are distinct. Some pretend that they are indistinct. Which bodhisattvas speak the truth? Which speak falsity? Which are mistaken? Which are not?’ Blessed One, I thought to myself, ‘So, none of these noble sons understands the ultimate whose subtle defining characteristic transcends whether it is distinct or indistinct from conditioned phenomena. These bodhisattvas are truly77 naive, confused, dull, unskilled, and mistaken.’ ”
The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva Suviśuddhamati, “So it is, Suviśuddhamati. So it is. Indeed, none of these noble sons understands the ultimate whose subtle defining characteristic transcends whether it is distinct or indistinct from conditioned phenomena. These [bodhisattvas] are truly naive, confused, dull, unskilled, and mistaken. Why is this so? Suviśuddhamati, it is because those who analyze conditioned phenomena in this way neither realize nor actualize the ultimate.
“Why? Suviśuddhamati, if the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate were indistinct, [even] spiritually immature people—all ordinary beings—would, as a consequence, realize the truth. As mere ordinary beings,78 [F.7.b] not only would they attain nirvāṇa, the unsurpassable good,79 but they would also fully and completely awaken to unsurpassable complete and perfect awakening.
“If the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate were distinct, even those who realize the truth would, as a consequence, not be detached from the phenomenal appearances of conditioned phenomena. Since they would not be detached from the phenomenal appearances of conditioned phenomena, they would also not be liberated from the bondage of phenomenal appearances. If they were not liberated from the bondage of phenomenal appearances, they would not be liberated from the bondage of corruption. If they were not liberated from these two kinds of bondage, those who realize the truth would neither attain nirvāṇa, the unsurpassable good, nor fully and completely awaken to the unsurpassable complete and perfect awakening.
“Suviśuddhamati, ordinary beings do not realize the truth and,80 as mere ordinary beings, neither do they attain nirvāṇa, the unsurpassable good, nor do they fully and completely awaken to the unsurpassable complete and perfect awakening. For these reasons, it is not correct to say that the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are indistinct. Regarding this point, you should know through this approach that those who consider the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate to be indistinct are not right but wrong.
“Suviśuddhamati, it is not the case that those who realize the truth are not detached from the phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena, for they are indeed detached from it.81 Neither are they not liberated from the bondage of phenomenal appearance, for they are indeed liberated from it. Nor are they not liberated from the bondage of corruption, for they are indeed liberated from it. Since they are liberated from these two kinds of bondage, [F.8.a] not only do they attain nirvāṇa, the unsurpassable good, but they will also fully and completely awaken to the unsurpassable complete and perfect awakening.82 For all these reasons, it is not correct to say that the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are distinct. Regarding this point, you should know through this approach that those who consider the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate to be distinct are not right but wrong.
“Moreover, Suviśuddhamati, if the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate were indistinct, then, just as the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena is encompassed by the defining characteristic of affliction, so too would the defining characteristic of the ultimate be included in the defining characteristic of affliction.
“However, Suviśuddhamati, if the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate were distinct, then the defining characteristic of the ultimate could not be the universal defining characteristic within all the defining characteristics of conditioned phenomena.
“Suviśuddhamati, the defining characteristic of the ultimate is not encompassed by the defining characteristic of affliction, and the defining characteristic of the ultimate is the universal defining characteristic within all the defining characteristics of conditioned phenomena. For these reasons, it is not correct to say that the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are either indistinct or distinct. Regarding this point, you should know through this approach that those pretending that the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are indistinct or distinct are not right but wrong.
“Moreover, Suviśuddhamati, if the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate were not distinct, [F.8.b] then, just as the defining characteristic of the ultimate is not specific to any defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena, so too would all defining characteristics of conditioned phenomena not be specific to any conditioned phenomenon, and yogis would also not look for the ultimate beyond whatever they see, hear, distinguish, or know with regard to conditioned phenomena.83
“However, Suviśuddhamati, if the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate were distinct, then, the mere selflessness and essencelessness of conditioned phenomena would not be the defining characteristic of the ultimate. The defining characteristic of affliction and the defining characteristic of purity themselves would be simultaneously established as distinct defining characteristics of conditioned phenomena.
“Suviśuddhamati, the defining characteristics of conditioned phenomena are specific and not unspecific to conditioned phenomena; yogis do look for the ultimate beyond whatever they see, hear, distinguish, or know with regard to conditioned phenomena; the ultimate is indeed characterized by the mere selflessness and essencelessness of conditioned phenomena; and the defining characteristic of affliction and the defining characteristic of purity also are not simultaneously established as distinct defining characteristics of conditioned phenomena. For all these reasons, it is not correct to say that the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are neither indistinct nor distinct. Regarding this point, you should know through these approaches that those pretending that the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are indistinct or distinct are not right but wrong.
“Suviśuddhamati, it is like this: It is not easy to decide84 whether the whiteness of the conch is distinct or indistinct from the defining characteristic of the conch, likewise with the yellowness of gold. It is not easy to decide whether the quality of the sound produced by a vīṇā is [F.9.a] distinct or indistinct from the defining characteristic of sound, likewise with aloe and its fragrance, pepper and its heat, myrobalan and its astringency, cotton and its softness, and clarified butter and butter. Thus it is not easy to decide whether the impermanence of all conditioned phenomena is distinct or indistinct from the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena, likewise with the suffering of all beings with outflows and the defining characteristic of beings with outflows, as well as the selflessness of all phenomena and the defining characteristic of phenomena.
“Suviśuddhamati, it is like this: It is not easy to decide whether the defining characteristic of restless desire and the defining characteristic of afflictions are distinct or indistinct from the defining characteristic of desire. You should know it is just like this with anger and delusion too. Likewise, Suviśuddhamati, you should not see anything good85 in deciding whether the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are distinct or indistinct. In this way, Suviśuddhamati, I have completely and fully awakened to the ultimate that is subtle, extremely subtle, [profound], extremely profound, difficult to understand, extremely difficult to understand, and characterized as transcending being distinct or indistinct from conditioned phenomena.86 Yet, after I attained complete and perfect awakening, I communicated through words, gave explanations, established distinctions, expressed myself through conventions, and [F.9.b] imparted teachings.”87
Then, at that moment, the Blessed One spoke these verses:
This was the chapter of the bodhisattva Suviśuddhamati—the third chapter.
Chapter 4
Then the Blessed One spoke these words to Subhūti: “Subhūti, do you know how many beings in the world90 display their knowledge91 under the influence of conceit? Do you know how many beings in the world display their knowledge without conceit?”
Subhūti answered, “Blessed One, according to my knowledge, there are only a few in the world of beings who present their knowledge without conceit, but countless, innumerable, and inexpressible in number are those who do so under its influence. Blessed One, at one time I was staying in a hermitage set in a great forest. There were many monks living in the vicinity who had also established themselves there. At sunrise, I saw them gather together. They showed their knowledge and revealed their understanding by taking various aspects of phenomena as referential objects.92
“Some showed their knowledge by taking the five aggregates as referential objects: their phenomenal appearance, their arising, their disintegration, [F.10.a] their cessation, and the acknowledgment of their cessation. In the same way, some showed their knowledge by taking the twelve sense domains as referential objects, some by taking dependent arising as a referential object. Some showed their knowledge by taking the four kinds of sustenance as referential objects: their phenomenal appearance, their arising, their disintegration, their cessation, and the acknowledgment of their cessation.
“Some showed their knowledge by taking the four noble truths as referential objects: their defining characteristic, the comprehension of suffering, the abandoning of the cause of suffering, the actualization of the cessation of suffering, and the practice of the path.
“Some showed their knowledge by taking the eighteen constituents as referential objects: their phenomenal appearance, their varieties, their manifoldness, their cessation, and the actualization of their cessation.
“Some showed their knowledge by taking the four applications of mindfulness as referential objects: their phenomenal appearance, their adverse factors, their antidotes, their practice, their arising from having been non-arisen, their remaining after they arose, and their maintaining, resuming, or increasing. In the same way, some showed their knowledge by taking as referential objects the four correct self-restraints, as well as the four bases of supernatural powers, the five faculties, the five forces, and the seven branches of awakening. Some showed their knowledge by taking as referential objects the eight branches of the noble path: [F.10.b] their phenomenal appearance, the antidotes to their adverse factors, their practice, their arising from having been non-arisen, their remaining after they arose, and their maintaining, resuming, or increasing.93
“Then I thought to myself, ‘These venerable monks displayed their knowledge by revealing their understanding by taking various aspects of phenomena as referential objects, but they have not perceived the ultimate, whose defining characteristic is of a single nature94 everywhere.’ These venerable persons have conceit and, without doubt, display their knowledge under the influence of conceit. Blessed One, at an earlier time, you spoke these words: ‘The ultimate is subtle, profound, difficult to understand, extremely difficult to understand, and characterized as being of a single nature everywhere.’ How wonderful indeed are these very words of yours! Blessed One, if even those who practice your teaching, such as these beings who became monks, find it difficult to understand in this way the ultimate whose defining characteristic is of a single nature everywhere, what need is there to mention how difficult it is for those outsiders who do not follow your teaching?”
The Blessed One replied, “So it is, Subhūti. So it is. I have completely and fully awakened to the ultimate that, being characterized as being of a single nature everywhere, is subtle, extremely subtle, profound, extremely profound, difficult to understand, and extremely difficult to understand. Yet, after I attained complete and perfect awakening, [F.11.a] I communicated through words, gave explanations, established distinctions, expressed myself through conventions, and imparted teachings. One might ask why I did this.
“Subhūti, it is because I teach that the ultimate is the referential object conducive to purification95 within the aggregates, as well as within the sense domains, dependent arising, the sustenances, the truths, the constituents, the applications of mindfulness, the self-restraints, the bases of supernatural powers, the faculties, the forces, the branches of awakening, and, Subhūti, the eightfold path. This referential object conducive to purification within the aggregates is of a single nature everywhere and its defining characteristic is not different from theirs. It is just the same from the sense domains up to the eightfold path: the referential object conducive to purification within these various referential objects is of a single nature everywhere and its defining characteristic is not different from theirs. Subhūti, through this approach, you should thus know that what is characterized as being of a single nature everywhere is the ultimate.96
“Moreover, Subhūti, once renunciants who practice yoga have realized in reference to a single aggregate the selflessness of phenomena, which is the ultimate reality,97 they do not look for this ultimate reality, this selflessness, individually within the other aggregates or in the sense domains, dependent arising, the sustenances, the truths, the constituents, the applications of mindfulness, the self-restraints, the bases of supernatural powers, the faculties, the forces, the branches of awakening, and the eightfold path. Instead, they rely upon the nondual gnosis98 that is in accordance with true reality. Through this alone,99 [F.11.b] they infallibly ascertain and realize the ultimate, characterized as being of a single nature everywhere. Subhūti, through this approach, you should thus know that what is characterized as being of a single nature everywhere is the ultimate.
“Moreover, Subhūti, if ultimate reality itself, the selflessness of phenomena, had a defining characteristic distinct [from the defining characteristics of phenomena] in the way the aggregates, the sense domains, dependent arising, the sustenances, the truths, the constituents, the applications of mindfulness, the self-restraints, the bases of supernatural powers, the faculties, the forces, the branches of awakening, and the eightfold path have defining characteristics distinct from one another, then, on account of this, ultimate reality itself, the selflessness of phenomena, would have causes and arise from causes. If it arose from causes, it would be conditioned. If it were the conditioned, it would not be the ultimate. If it were not the ultimate, one would need to look for some other ultimate. Subhūti, this ultimate, the selflessness of phenomena, does not arise from causes. It is not conditioned. Neither is it the case that it is not the ultimate. One must [therefore] not look for an ultimate other than that ultimate. Thus, whether tathāgatas manifest or not, because it is the case that it permanently and immutably abides within phenomena, only this nature of phenomena, this constituent abiding in phenomena, is constant.100 Subhūti, for all these reasons, you should know through this approach that the ultimate is characterized as being of a single nature everywhere.
“Subhūti, it is like this: although there are many varieties of forms with distinct defining characteristics within space, since space itself is free from phenomenal appearances, [F.12.a] devoid of conceptions, and without change, its defining characteristic is of a single nature everywhere. Likewise, Subhūti, you should know that the ultimate is characterized as being of a single nature everywhere, within all phenomena whose defining characteristics are distinct from one another.”
Then, at that moment, the Blessed One spoke these verses:
This was the chapter of Subhūti—the fourth chapter.
Chapter 5
Then, the bodhisattva Viśālamati asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when bodhisattvas who are skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition are called ‘skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition,’ what does it mean?101 When they are designated in this way, what does it refer to?”
The Blessed One answered, “Viśālamati, you are asking this for the benefit and happiness of many beings, out of compassion for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of all beings, including gods and humans. Your intention is excellent when questioning the Tathāgata on this specific point. Therefore, listen, Viśālamati. I will explain to you in which way bodhisattvas are skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition.
“Viśālamati, when such and such beings are reborn and manifest102 in this saṃsāra comprised of six destinies, in any class of beings or state of birth, be it egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born, [F.12.b] or spontaneously generated,103 there is first a twofold appropriation: the appropriation of the physical sense faculties together with their supports, and the appropriation of mental imprints producing the elaboration of conventional expressions with regard to phenomenal appearances, names, and conceptualizations. In dependence upon this twofold appropriation, the mind containing all the seeds matures, merges [with the embryo], grows, increases, and expands.104 This twofold appropriation occurs in the realm of form but it does not appear in the realm of the formless.105
“Viśālamati, this cognition is also called ‘appropriating cognition’ because it grasps and appropriates the body. It is also called ‘subliminal cognition,’ because it dwells and lies hidden in this body, sharing a common destiny. It is also called ‘mind,’ because it is accumulated106 and developed by visual forms, sounds, smells, flavors, tangible objects, and phenomena.107
“Viśālamati, taking this appropriating cognition as support and basis, the six kinds of cognition,108 that is, visual, auditive, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental cognitions, arise. Among these, a visual cognition arises on the basis of the eye, which is connected with a visual cognition and a visual form. Simultaneously and in conformity with this visual cognition, a mental cognition that conceptualizes the object arises at the same time, having the same object. [Likewise,] Viśālamati, an auditive, olfactory, gustatory, or tactile cognition arises on the basis of a sense faculty connected to a cognition, such as the ear, nose, tongue, or body, and a sound, smell, flavor, or tangible object. Simultaneously and in conformity with this auditive, olfactory, gustatory, or tactile cognition, a mental cognition that conceptualizes the object arises at the same time, having the same object. If only one visual cognition arises at one time, [F.13.a] then only one mental cognition that conceptualizes the object arises simultaneously, having the same object. If two, three, four, or five cognitions arise simultaneously, then also in that case, having the same object as the group of five cognitions, only one mental cognition that conceptualizes this object arises simultaneously.109
“Viśālamati, it is like this: If the conditions for the arising of a single wave in a large stream of water are present, then only one wave arises.110 If the conditions for the arising of two or many waves are present, then two or many waves arise.111 However, the river [itself] neither stops as a stream of water nor becomes exhausted. If the conditions for the arising of a single reflection in a perfectly polished mirror are present, then only one reflection arises.112 If the conditions for the arising of two or many reflections are present, then two or many reflections arise.113 However, the mirror neither transforms itself into the object corresponding to the reflection nor manifests reflections by being in close contact [with the reflected objects].114 Viśālamati, similarly, taking this appropriating cognition as support and basis, as in the examples of the river and the mirror, if the conditions for the arising of one visual cognition are present, then only one visual cognition arises. If the conditions for the simultaneous arising of up to five cognitions are present, then up to five cognitions simultaneously arise.
“Viśālamati, taking in this way the knowledge115 of this doctrine as a support and basis, bodhisattvas are skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition. Yet, when the Tathāgata designates [F.13.b] the bodhisattvas as skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition, they are not designated as completely skilled merely on account of this. Viśālamati, I call bodhisattvas ‘skilled in the ultimate’ as soon as116 they, by themselves and in their own experience,117 neither perceive the appropriation nor the appropriating cognition but [instead perceive] in accordance with the truth; as soon as they neither perceive the subliminal nor the subliminal cognition; neither the accumulated nor the mind;118 neither the eye, nor the form, nor the visual cognition; neither the ear, nor the sound, nor the auditive cognition; neither the nose, nor the smell, nor the olfactory cognition; neither the tongue, nor the flavor, nor the gustatory cognition; and neither the body, nor the tangible object, nor the tactile cognition. Viśālamati, I call bodhisattvas ‘skilled in the ultimate’ as soon as they, by themselves and in their own experience, neither perceive thought, nor phenomena, nor mental cognition but instead perceive in accordance with the truth. Viśālamati, the Tathāgata designates as skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition the bodhisattvas who are skilled in the ultimate. Viśālamati, for this reason, bodhisattvas are skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition. Also, when the Tathāgata designates them as such, it is for this reason.”
Then, at that moment, the Blessed One spoke these verses:
This was the chapter of Viśālamati—[F.14.a] the fifth chapter.
Chapter 6
Then, the bodhisattva Guṇākara asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when bodhisattvas who are skilled in the defining characteristics of phenomena are called ‘skilled in the defining characteristics of phenomena,’ what does it mean? Moreover, when the Tathāgata designates them as such, what does it refer to?”
The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva Guṇākara, “Guṇākara, for the benefit and happiness of many beings, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of all beings, including gods and humans, you are asking this. Your intention is excellent when questioning the Tathāgata on this specific point. Therefore, listen, Guṇākara, I will explain to you in which way bodhisattvas are skilled in the defining characteristics of phenomena.
“Guṇākara, the defining characteristics of phenomena are three. What are these three? They are the imaginary defining characteristic, the other-dependent defining characteristic, and the actual defining characteristic.120
“Guṇākara, what is the imaginary defining characteristic [of phenomena]? It is what is nominally and conventionally posited121 as the essence or the distinctive [characteristic] of phenomena, even just122 in order to designate123 [them].124
“Guṇākara, what is the other-dependent defining characteristic [of phenomena]? It is the dependent arising of phenomena. It is like this: ‘When this is, that arises; because this arises, that arises.’ It is also from ‘[in dependence upon ignorance as a condition,] conditioning mental factors [arise]’ up to ‘thus, the whole great mass of suffering comes to be.’ [F.14.b]
“Guṇākara, what is the actual125 defining characteristic [of phenomena]? It is their true reality, namely, the unsurpassable complete and perfect awakening that is finally attained by bodhisattvas as they realize this [true reality] through their diligence and correct application of mind and then become perfectly familiar with the realization of this [true reality].126
“Guṇākara, it is like this: you should consider the imaginary defining characteristic to be just like127 the falsity of the visual aberrations [perceived] by someone suffering from the timira visual disorder.
“Guṇākara, it is like this: you should consider the other-dependent defining characteristic to be just like the phenomenal appearances manifesting to this very person suffering from the timira disease, such as [actually nonexistent] hairs, flies, sesame seeds, [or patches of] blue, yellow, red, or white [in their visual field].
“Guṇākara, it is like this: you should consider the actual defining characteristic to be just like the original and unerring visual object seen by the same person when their vision is healthy and free from the visual aberrations resulting from the timira disease.
“Guṇākara, it is like this: when a pure crystal is in contact with something blue, it appears to be a sapphire. Because people perceive it by mistake as a sapphire, they are deceived by it. When this pure crystal is in contact with something red, green, or yellow, it appears to be a ruby, an emerald, [F.15.a] or gold. Because people perceive it by mistake as a ruby, an emerald, or gold, they are deceived by it.
“Guṇākara, it is like this: You should consider the mental imprint of conventions in terms of an imaginary defining characteristic128 upon the other-dependent defining characteristic to be just like the contact of colors with a pure crystal. Thus, you should consider the perception of an imaginary defining characteristic [superimposed] on the other-dependent defining characteristic to be just like the mistaken perception of a sapphire, ruby, emerald, or gold [superimposed] on the pure crystal.
Guṇākara, it is like this: You should consider the other-dependent defining characteristic to be just like this pure crystal itself. Thus, you should consider the actual defining characteristic as the permanent and immutable lack of any actuality or essence in the imaginary defining characteristic [superimposed] on the other-dependent defining characteristic,129 just as there is permanently and immutably no actuality or essence in the defining characteristic of a sapphire, ruby, emerald, or gold [superimposed] on a pure crystal.
Thus, Guṇākara, bodhisattvas distinctly perceive130 the imaginary defining characteristic on the basis of names denoting phenomenal appearances.131 They distinctly perceive the other-dependent defining characteristic on the basis of the erroneous conception132 [that superimposes] an imaginary defining characteristic133 on the other-dependent defining characteristic.134 They distinctly perceive the actual defining characteristic on the basis of the nonexistence of any erroneous conception [that superimposes] an imaginary defining characteristic on the other-dependent defining characteristic.
“Guṇākara, when bodhisattvas distinctly perceive the imaginary defining characteristic [superimposed] on the other-dependent defining characteristic of phenomena exactly as it is, they distinctly perceive the phenomena devoid of any defining characteristic exactly as they are. [F.15.b] Guṇākara, when bodhisattvas distinctly perceive the other-dependent defining characteristic exactly as it is, they distinctly perceive the phenomena characterized by affliction exactly as they are. Guṇākara, when bodhisattvas distinctly perceive the actual defining characteristic exactly as it is, they distinctly perceive the phenomena characterized by purification exactly as they are. Guṇākara, when bodhisattvas distinctly perceive the phenomena devoid of a defining characteristic [superimposed] on the other-dependent defining characteristic exactly as they are, they abandon the phenomena characterized by affliction. Once they have abandoned the phenomena characterized by affliction, they will obtain the phenomena characterized by purification. Guṇākara, since bodhisattvas distinctly perceive in this way the imaginary, other-dependent, and actual defining characteristics of phenomena exactly as they are, they distinctly perceive the phenomena devoid of a defining characteristic, those characterized by affliction, and those characterized by purification exactly as they are.135 Having distinctly perceived the phenomena devoid of a defining characteristic exactly as they are, they abandon the phenomena characterized by affliction. Once they have abandoned the phenomena characterized by affliction, they will obtain the phenomena characterized by purification. For all these reasons, bodhisattvas are skilled in the defining characteristics of phenomena. Moreover, when the Tathāgata designates the bodhisattvas as ‘skilled in the defining characteristics of phenomena,’ it is for these reasons.”
Then, at that moment, the Blessed One spoke these verses:
This was the chapter of Guṇākara —the sixth chapter.
Chapter 7
At that time, the bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when I was alone in a secluded place, I had the following thought: ‘The Blessed One also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic specific to the five aggregates, mentioning the defining characteristic of their arising, disintegration, abandonment, and comprehension.137 In the same way, he spoke of the twelve sense domains, dependent arising, and the four kinds of sustenance. The Blessed One also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic of the four noble truths, mentioning the comprehension of suffering, the abandoning of the cause of suffering, the actualization of the cessation of suffering, and the practice of the path. The Blessed One also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic specific to the eighteen constituents, mentioning their varieties, manifoldness, abandonment, and comprehension. The Blessed One also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic specific to the four applications of mindfulness, mentioning their adverse factors, antidotes, practice, their arising from being non-arisen, their remaining after they arose, and their maintaining, resuming, or increasing. Similarly, he also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic specific to the four correct self-restraints, the four bases of supernatural powers, the five faculties, the five forces, and the seven branches of awakening. [F.16.b] The Blessed One also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic specific to the eight branches of the path, mentioning their adverse factors, antidotes, and practices, their arising from being non-arisen and remaining after they arose, and their maintaining, resuming, or increasing.’
“When the Blessed One further said, ‘All phenomena are without an essence,138 unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa,’ what was the underlying intent of the Blessed One? I would like to ask the Blessed One about this point: what was the Blessed One thinking when he said, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa’?”
The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata, “Paramārthasamudgata, this reflection of yours arose virtuously and appropriately. It is excellent indeed. You are asking this for the benefit and happiness of many beings, out of compassion for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of all beings, including gods and humans. Your intention is excellent when questioning the Tathāgata on this specific point. Therefore, listen, Paramārthasamudgata. I will explain to you what my underlying intent was when I declared, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, [F.17.a] primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.’139
“Paramārthasamudgata, the essencelessness of all phenomena has three aspects. Having in mind essencelessness regarding defining characteristics, essencelessness regarding arising, and essencelessness regarding the ultimate, I thus taught what is called the essencelessness of all phenomena.
“Paramārthasamudgata, what is the essencelessness of all phenomena with regard to defining characteristics? It is the imaginary defining characteristic [of phenomena]. Why? Because as much as this defining characteristic is nominally and conventionally posited, it is not posited140 on the basis of an essence or a distinctive [characteristic].141 Therefore, it is called the essencelessness of all phenomena with regard to defining characteristics.
“Paramārthasamudgata, what is the essencelessness of all phenomena with regard to arising? It is the other-dependent defining characteristic of phenomena. Why? Because this is [the defining characteristic] arising on account of causes other [than itself] and not by itself. Therefore, it is called essencelessness with regard to arising.
“Paramārthasamudgata, what is the essencelessness of all phenomena with regard to the ultimate? Phenomena arising in dependence upon causes, which lack an essence on account of lacking an essence in terms of arising and also lack an essence on account of lacking an ultimate essence. Why? Because, Paramārthasamudgata, I showed that the referential object conducive to purification within phenomena is the ultimate, but the other-dependent defining characteristic is not the referential object conducive to purification. Therefore, this essencelessness is called essencelessness with regard to the ultimate.
“Moreover, Paramārthasamudgata, the actual defining characteristic of phenomena should also be referred to as essencelessness with regard to the ultimate. Why? Because, Paramārthasamudgata, the selflessness of phenomena is called the essencelessness of phenomena, which is the [F.17.b] ultimate, but the ultimate is characterized by142 the essencelessness of all phenomena. Therefore, it is called essencelessness with regard to the ultimate.143
“Paramārthasamudgata, it is like this: consider essencelessness with regard to defining characteristics to be exactly like a [nonexistent] sky flower; consider essencelessness with regard to arising, as well as essencelessness with regard to the ultimate in one of its aspects, to be exactly like a magic illusion;144 consider essencelessness with regard to the ultimate in its other aspect, which consists in the selflessness of phenomena and pervades everything, to be exactly like space, which consists in the essencelessness of form and pervades everything.145
“Paramārthasamudgata, with this threefold essencelessness in mind, I taught what is called the essencelessness of all phenomena. Paramārthasamudgata, having in mind essencelessness with regard to defining characteristics, I taught, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.’ Why? Because, Paramārthasamudgata, what lacks a specific defining characteristic is unborn. What is unborn is unceasing. What is unborn and unceasing is primordially in the state of peace. What is primordially in the state of peace is naturally in the state of nirvāṇa. For what is naturally in the state of nirvāṇa, there is nothing in the slightest that passes into the state of nirvāṇa. Therefore, having in mind essencelessness with regard to defining characteristics, I taught, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.’
“Paramārthasamudgata, having in mind essencelessness with regard to the ultimate, [F.18.a] which is characterized by selflessness, I taught, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.’ Why? Because essencelessness with regard to the ultimate, which is characterized by selflessness, indeed abides permanently and immutably. As the nature of phenomena, it is unconditioned and free from all afflictions. What permanently and immutably abides as the very nature of phenomena, being unconditioned, is unborn and unceasing due to being unconditioned. Because it is free from all afflictions, it is primordially in the state of peace and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.146 Therefore, having in mind essencelessness with regard to the ultimate, which is characterized by selflessness, I taught, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.’
“Paramārthasamudgata, I did not designate three kinds of essencelessness because those in the world of beings consider that the imaginary essence and the other-dependent essence, as well as the actual essence, are different by nature.147 Rather, I did so because they superimpose an imaginary essence on the other-dependent essence and the actual essence and because they designate the other-dependent essence and the actual essence as the defining characteristics of an imaginary essence. While they designate them in this way, their minds,148 which are saturated with designations, become confined to such designations and predisposed149 toward them. On this basis, they wrongly conceive the other-dependent essence and the actual essence as the defining characteristics of an imaginary essence. [F.18.b] Wrongly conceiving them in this way, with their wrong conception of the other-dependent essence as the defining characteristic of an imaginary essence acting as a cause and condition, they will give rise in the future to an other-dependent essence.150 As a result of this, they will be afflicted by the afflictions of defilements, karma, and birth. Because they will not pass beyond saṃsāra, they will transmigrate and wander among hell beings, animals, hungry ghosts, gods, demigods, and humans for a very long time.
“Among these beings, Paramārthasamudgata, some do not produce roots of virtue from the very beginning. They do not clear obstructions or bring their mental continuums to maturity. Their confidence in my teaching is limited and they have not accomplished the accumulations of merit and gnosis. I impart to those beings the teaching on essencelessness with regard to arising. Once they have heard this teaching, they understand that conditioned phenomena arising in dependence on causes are of an impermanent, unstable, and unreliable nature. They develop aversion and repulsion towards conditioned phenomena. Once they have done this, they turn away from wrongdoing. Not committing any wrongdoing, they establish themselves in virtue. With this as a cause, they produce the roots of virtue that were yet to be produced. They clear obstructions that were yet to be cleared. They bring their mental continuums, which were not yet mature, to maturity. As a result, their confidence in my teaching becomes vast, and they will accomplish the accumulations of merit and gnosis.
“Although such beings have produced in this way roots of virtue up to the accomplishment of the accumulation of merit and gnosis, they [F.19.a] do not understand essencelessness with regard to arising just as it is, as the essencelessness with regard to defining characteristics and the essencelessness with regard to the ultimate in its two aspects. For this reason, they will not be completely repulsed by all conditioned phenomena, completely free from desire, or completely liberated. They will not be completely liberated from all the afflictions of defilements, karma, and birth. It is therefore for them that the Tathāgata imparts the teaching on the essencelessness with regard to defining characteristics and the essencelessness with regard to the ultimate. He does so in order to make them feel repulsion towards all conditioned phenomena, as well as to free them from desire, to completely liberate them, and to take them perfectly151 beyond the afflictions of defilements, karma, and birth.
“Once they have heard this teaching, they do not wrongly conceive the other-dependent essence as the defining characteristic of an imaginary essence. As a result, they accept the essencelessness with regard to arising as the essencelessness with regard to defining characteristics and the essencelessness with regard to the ultimate in its two aspects. They discern and understand it exactly as it is. It is like this: Their minds,152 which are no longer saturated with designations, are not confined to these designations or predisposed toward them. As a result, by attaining the powers of wisdom in this life and perfectly cutting off the continuity [of the aggregates] into a future existence, they will put an end to the other-dependent defining characteristic. On this basis, they will be completely repulsed by all conditioned phenomena, completely free from desire, and completely liberated. [F.19.b] They will be completely liberated from all the afflictions of defilements, karma, and birth.
“Moreover, Paramārthasamudgata, even those belonging to the lineage of the hearers’ vehicle attain nirvāṇa, the unsurpassable happiness, through this very path and journey,153 as do those belonging to the lineage of the solitary realizers’ vehicle and the lineage of the tathāgatas. This is why it is the single path of purification for hearers, solitary realizers, and bodhisattvas. Since there is only a single purification, there is no other. Therefore, with this in mind, I taught the Single Vehicle. Yet, it is not the case that those in the world of beings are not of various types corresponding to their capacities, be they weak, average, or sharp in accordance with their nature.
“Paramārthasamudgata, even if they were to exert themselves as all buddhas did,154 individuals belonging to the hearers’ lineage with the state of peace as their sole journey could not reach the heart of awakening and attain the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening. Why? Because, having limited compassion and a great fear of suffering, they belong to a lineage that is by nature inferior. Thus, having limited compassion, they avoid striving for beings’ welfare. Being afraid of suffering, they stay clear from the conditioning process of the mental factors.155 However, I did not teach that avoiding striving for beings’ welfare and staying clear from the conditioning process of the mental factors was the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening. Therefore, these individuals are called those who have the state of peace as their sole journey.
“I taught that hearers who evolve toward awakening belong to the [F.20.a] category of bodhisattvas because, liberated from the obscuration of defilements and inspired by the tathāgatas, they liberate their minds from the obscuration of cognitive objects. It is [only] because they first liberated themselves from the obscuration of defilements for their own sake that the Tathāgata designated them as the lineage of hearers.
“Thus, Paramārthasamudgata, there are beings with various degrees of confidence in my Dharma and my Vinaya, which are well proclaimed, well imparted, pure in their intention, and well communicated. In this teaching, Paramārthasamudgata, the Tathāgata, having in mind the three kinds of essencelessness, teaches through a discourse of provisional meaning: ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.’
“Among such beings, Paramārthasamudgata, some have produced roots of virtue, purified their obscurations, and brought their mental continuum to maturity. They have much confidence in my teaching and have accomplished the accumulations of merit and gnosis. Once they have heard my teaching, they understand my explanations in accordance with my underlying intent exactly as it is. Moreover, they recognize that this teaching is the truth.156 Through their wisdom, they realize its meaning exactly as it is. By also engaging in the practice of this realization, they will very quickly attain the ultimate state. They will develop faith in these teachings, and think, ‘Amazing! The Blessed One is completely and perfectly awakened. Through him, one becomes perfectly awakened with respect to all phenomena.’
“Among such beings, some have not produced roots of virtue, purified their obscurations, and brought their mental continuums to maturity. Their confidence in my teaching is limited and [F.20.b] they have not accomplished the accumulations of merit and gnosis. They are honest and sincere. Unable to evaluate and refute157 [others’ views], they do not consider their own as supreme. Once they have heard my teaching, although they do not understand my explanations in accordance with my underlying intent exactly as it is, they still develop confidence and faith in these teachings: ‘The Tathāgata’s discourse is profound and has the appearance of profundity. [Because] emptiness is the topic of this discourse, it is difficult to perceive and difficult to understand. Being beyond judgment, it does not belong to the domain of speculation. It can [only] be known by intelligent scholars well versed in the subtle.’158 They think, ‘We do not understand the meaning of this sūtra and these teachings that were taught by the Blessed One. Profound is the awakening of the Buddha and the nature of phenomena. Only the Tathāgata understands them. We, however, do not. The Dharma taught by the tathāgatas arises according to the various inclinations of beings. Their gnosis159 and perception are infinite, whereas ours are merely like the [shallow] hoofprints left by a cow.’ Filled with devotion for these discourses, they also write them down. Having written them down, they also keep them in mind, read them, propagate them, venerate them, expound them, recite them, and chant them aloud. However, because they do not understand these profound teachings in accordance with my underlying intent, they are unable to engage themselves in the various aspects of practice. As a consequence of this, they will further develop their accumulation of merit and gnosis, and those whose mental continuums are still immature will bring them to maturity.
“Other beings have not perfectly completed these stages up to the great accumulation of merit and gnosis. [F.21.a] They are dishonest and insincere. Capable of evaluating and refuting [others’ views], they consider their own as supreme. Once they have heard my teaching, they do not understand my profound explanations in accordance with my underlying intent exactly as it is. Although they have confidence in this teaching, they wrongly conceive it according to its literal meaning: ‘All phenomena are only without an essence, only unborn, only unceasing, only primordially in the state of peace, and only naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.’ As a consequence of this, they acquire the view that all phenomena are inexistent and the view that they are without defining characteristics. Then, once they have acquired these views, they negate all phenomena by [negating] all defining characteristics, thereby negating the imaginary defining characteristic as well as the other-dependent and actual defining characteristics. Why is it said that they negate all three defining characteristics? Because, Paramārthasamudgata, if the other-dependent and actual defining characteristics are accepted, then the imaginary defining characteristic also will be distinctly perceived. Now, those who consider the other-dependent and actual defining characteristics as inexistent have already negated the imaginary defining characteristic. This is why they are called those who negate all three defining characteristics. They consider my teaching to be the truth while considering some nonsense to be its meaning. Those who consider my teaching to be the truth while considering some nonsense to be its meaning cling to my teaching as the truth while at the same time clinging to some nonsense as its meaning. Since they have confidence in my teaching, they will progress by developing virtuous qualities. However, because they wrongly conceive some nonsense to be the meaning of my teaching, they will stray from wisdom. Straying from wisdom, [F.21.b] they will stray from the vast and immeasurable virtuous qualities.
“Others hear from those beings that my teaching is the truth while some nonsense is its meaning. Then, delighted by this view, they accept that my teaching is the truth and some nonsense is its meaning. Thus, they wrongly conceive my teaching as the truth with some nonsense as its meaning. As a consequence of this, you should know that they will likewise stray from virtuous qualities.
“Others who take no delight in this view are overcome by fear and anxiety when they hear that all phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa. They then say, ‘These are not the words of the Buddha but the words of Māra!’ Thinking in this way, they reject this discourse, disparage it, denigrate it, and criticize it. As a consequence of this, they will obtain the great misfortune as well as the great karmic obscuration [of rejecting the truth].160 This is precisely why I said, ‘Those who mislead the multitude of beings into obtaining the great karmic obscuration, who consider all defining characteristics as inexistent and teach some nonsense as the meaning of my teaching, are burdened with great karmic obscuration [of rejecting the truth].
“Paramārthasamudgata, among such beings, some have not produced roots of virtue, purified their obscurations, and brought their mental continuum to maturity. Their confidence in my teaching is limited, and they have not accomplished the accumulations of merit and gnosis. They are dishonest and insincere. Although they are unable to evaluate and refute [others’ views], they consider their own as supreme. When they hear my teaching, they neither understand my explanations in accordance with my underlying intent exactly as it is, nor do they develop confidence in this teaching. They accept that my teaching is not the truth and its meaning is some nonsense. They say, ‘These are not the words of the Buddha [F.22.a] but the words of Māra!’ Thinking in this way, they reject this discourse, disparage it, denigrate it, criticize it, and distort [its meaning]. In many ways, they apply themselves to discarding, undermining, and subverting this discourse, considering as enemies those who are devoted to it. From the very beginning, they are affected by the karmic obscuration [of rejecting the truth]. As a consequence of this, they also cause [others] to be obscured by this karmic obscuration. Although it is easy to determine the beginning of this karmic obscuration, it is difficult to know how many myriad eons it will last.
“Thus, Paramārthasamudgata, those are the various degrees of confidence in my Dharma and my Vinaya,161 which are well proclaimed, well imparted, pure in their intention, and well communicated.”
Then, at that moment, the Blessed One spoke these verses:
Then, the bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, the speech expounding the underlying intent of the buddhas is subtle, extremely subtle, profound, extremely profound, difficult to understand, and extremely difficult to understand. How marvelous, how wonderful it is!
“This is how I understand the meaning of the words spoken by the Blessed One: The phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena, namely, the basis of the imaginary defining characteristic, the object of conceptualization,162 is nominally and conventionally posited as an essential characteristic or a distinctive characteristic,163 for example as the aggregate of form, its arising, its cessation, its abandonment, or the comprehension of this aggregate. What is posited in this way is the imaginary defining characteristic. For this reason, Blessed One, you referred to essencelessness with regard to the defining characteristics of phenomena. The phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena, namely, the basis of the imaginary defining characteristic, the object of conceptualization, is the other-dependent defining characteristic. For this reason, Blessed One, you referred to essencelessness with regard to both the arising of phenomena and the ultimate in one of its aspects.
“This is how I understand the meaning of the words spoken by the Blessed One: this very phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena, namely, the basis of the imaginary defining characteristic, the object of conceptualization, is devoid of any actuality or essence as that which has an imaginary defining characteristic.164 [F.23.a] On account of this, this essencelessness or selflessness of phenomena, true reality, the referential object conducive to purification, is the actual defining characteristic. For this reason, Blessed One, you referred to the essencelessness of phenomena with regard to the ultimate in its other aspect.
“One should proceed in exactly the same way with the remaining aggregates as well as with each of the twelve sense domains, the twelve factors of conditioned existence, the four kinds of sustenance, and the six and eighteen constituents.
“This is how I understand the meaning of the words spoken by the Blessed One: The phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena, namely, the basis of the imaginary defining characteristic, the object of conceptualization, is nominally and conventionally posited as an essential characteristic or a distinctive characteristic, for example as the noble truth of suffering or the comprehension of suffering. For this reason, Blessed One, you referred to essencelessness with regard to the defining characteristics of phenomena. The phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena, namely, the basis of the imaginary defining characteristic, the object of conceptualization, is the other-dependent defining characteristic. For this reason, Blessed One, you referred to essencelessness with regard to both the arising of phenomena and the ultimate in one of its aspects.
“This is how I understand the meaning of the words spoken by the Blessed One: This very phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena, namely, the basis of the imaginary defining characteristic, the object of conceptualization, is devoid of any actuality or essence as that which has an imaginary defining characteristic.165 [F.23.b] On account of this, this essencelessness or selflessness of phenomena, true reality, the referential object conducive to purification, is the actual defining characteristic. For this reason, Blessed One, you referred to the essencelessness of phenomena with regard to the ultimate in its other aspect.
“As with the noble truth of suffering, one should proceed in exactly the same way with the other truths. As with the truths, so one should proceed in exactly the same way with each of the applications of mindfulness, the self-restraints, the bases of supernatural powers, the faculties, the forces, the branches of awakening, and the branches of the path.
“This is how I understand the meaning of the words spoken by the Blessed One: The phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena, namely, the basis of the imaginary defining characteristic, the object of conceptualization, is nominally and conventionally posited as an essential characteristic or a distinctive characteristic, for example as correct concentration,166 its adverse factors and antidotes, its practice, its arising from being non-arisen, its remaining after it arose, and its maintaining, resuming, increasing, or expanding. For this reason, Blessed One, you referred to essencelessness with regard to the defining characteristics of phenomena. The phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena, namely, the basis of the imaginary defining characteristic, the object of conceptualization, is the other-dependent defining characteristic. For this reason, Blessed One, you referred to essencelessness with regard to both the arising of phenomena and the ultimate in one of its aspects.
“This is how I [F.24.a] understand the meaning of the words spoken by the Blessed One: This very phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena, namely, the basis of the imaginary defining characteristic, the object of conceptualization, is devoid of any actuality or essence as that which has an imaginary defining characteristic. On account of this, this essencelessness or selflessness of phenomena, true reality, the referential object conducive to purification, is the actual defining characteristic. For this reason, Blessed One, you referred to the essencelessness of phenomena with regard to the ultimate in its other aspect.
“Blessed One, thus it is said, for example, that dried ginger should be added to all medicinal powders and elixirs. Likewise, this teaching of definitive meaning expounded by167 the Blessed One in reference to the statement, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa,’168 should also be added to all the discourses of provisional meaning.169
“Blessed One, it is like this: for example, the canvas for a painting, whether blue, yellow, red, or white, is identical for all painted figures and thus perfectly clarifies their contours. Likewise, this teaching of definitive meaning expounded by the Blessed One in reference to the statement, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa,’ is identical in all discourses of provisional meaning and thus perfectly clarifies their interpretable intent.
“Blessed One, it is like this: for example, adding clarified butter to all sorts of stews, meat dishes, and porridge is delicious. Likewise, it is delightful to add to all discourses of provisional meaning this teaching of definitive meaning expounded by the Blessed One in reference to the statement, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.’ [F.24.b]
“Blessed One, it is like this: for example, space is identical everywhere and, [being empty and free from all obstruction,] does not hinder any endeavor. Likewise, this teaching of definitive meaning expounded by the Blessed One in reference to the statement, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa,’ is identical in all discourses of provisional meaning and does not hinder any endeavor in the course of the hearers’, solitary realizers’, or bodhisattvas’ vehicle.”
Following these words, the Blessed One complimented the bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata: “Excellent, Paramārthasamudgata, this is excellent! You have understood my explanation in accordance with the Tathāgata’s underlying intent. Your examples of the dried ginger, painting, clarified butter, and space perfectly illustrated its point. Paramārthasamudgata, so it is, and not otherwise. Therefore, keep in mind this teaching in this way.”
Then, the bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata spoke again to the Blessed One: “In the deer park of Ṛṣivadana in Vārāṇasī, the Blessed One first set in motion the wonderful wheel of Dharma by teaching the four noble truths to those who were engaged in the hearers’ vehicle. Not a single god or human in the world had previously ever turned such a wheel of Dharma. However, this turning of the Dharma wheel by the Blessed One was surpassable and adapted to the circumstances. Being of provisional meaning,170 it became a topic of dispute. Then, for those who were engaged in the Great Vehicle, [F.25.a] you turned the second, even more wonderful, wheel of Dharma in the form of a teaching on emptiness: ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa.’ However, this turning of the Dharma wheel by the Blessed One was surpassable and adapted to the circumstances. Being of provisional meaning, it became a topic of dispute. Then, for those who were engaged in all vehicles,171 you turned the third wonderful Dharma wheel of excellent discernment in reference to the statement, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and by nature in the state of nirvāṇa.’172 This turning of the Dharma wheel by the Blessed One was unsurpassable and not limited to the circumstances.
“Blessed One, when sons or daughters of noble family have heard the teaching of definitive meaning taught by the Blessed One in reference to the statement, ‘All phenomena are without an essence, unborn, unceasing, primordially in the state of peace, and naturally in the state of nirvāṇa,’ they develop devotion for this teaching and commission its transcription into writing. Once it has been put into writing, they keep it in mind, read it, venerate it, propagate it, expound it, chant it aloud, contemplate it, and apply it in their practice. As they do so, how much merit will they produce?”
The Blessed One answered, “Paramārthasamudgata, these sons and daughters of noble family will produce immeasurable and [F.25.b] incalculable merit. Although it is difficult to illustrate this with examples, I will briefly explain it to you. Paramārthasamudgata, it is like this: Compared to the amount of earth, the amount of dirt at the tip of a fingernail does not come close to a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred thousandth of it, or anything implying calculation, partition, numeration, analogy, or comparison. Compared to the amount of water contained in the four great oceans, the amount of water contained in the hoofprint of an ox does not come close to a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred thousandth of it, or anything implying calculation, partition, numeration, analogy, or comparison. Likewise, Paramārthasamudgata, compared to the amount of merit accumulated by developing confidence in my teaching of definitive meaning up to applying it in one’s practice, the amount of merit accumulated by developing confidence in my teaching of provisional meaning . . . up to applying it in one’s practice does not come close to a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred thousandth of it, or anything implying calculation, partition, numeration, analogy, or comparison.”
The bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata inquired, “Blessed One, what is the name of this teaching as a Dharma discourse that unravels the Tathāgata’s intent?173 How should I keep it in mind?”174
The Blessed One answered: “Paramārthasamudgata, this is a teaching of definitive meaning on the ultimate. Therefore, keep it in mind as The Teaching of Definitive Meaning on the Ultimate.”
As the Blessed One expounded this teaching of definitive meaning on the ultimate, six hundred thousand beings produced the mind directed at the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening;175 three hundred thousand hearers purified the Dharma eye from impurities and contaminations; one hundred and fifty hearers who were without attachment liberated their minds from all outflows; and seventy-five thousand bodhisattvas attained the acceptance that phenomena are non-arisen. [F.26.a]
This was the chapter of the bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata—the seventh chapter.
Chapter 8
Then, the bodhisattva Maitreya asked a question to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when bodhisattvas practice mental stillness and insight in the Great Vehicle, what is their support and basis?”
The Blessed One answered, “Maitreya, their support and basis are the discourses teaching Dharma and the constant aspiration to attain the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening.
“The Blessed One taught that four things are the referential objects of mental stillness and insight: the image with conceptualization; the image without conceptualization; the point where phenomena end; and the accomplishment of the goal.”
“Blessed One, how many referential objects of mental stillness are there?”
“There is [only] one, namely, the image without conceptualization.”
“How many are the referential objects of insight?”
“There is only one, namely, the image with conceptualization.”
“How many are the referential objects of both combined?”
“There are two, namely, the point where phenomena end and the accomplishment of the goal.”
“Blessed One, once bodhisattvas have taken as a support and basis these four things that are the referential objects of mental stillness and insight, how do they dedicate themselves to mental stillness? How do they become skilled in the practice of insight?”
“Maitreya, I have given to the bodhisattvas discourses teaching Dharma in the following twelve collections of teachings: sūtras, discourses in prose and verse, prophecies, poetic discourses, aphorisms, discourses for specific beings, narratives, parables, discourses on previous lives, extensive discourses, teachings on miracles, and instructions. [F.26.b] Once bodhisattvas have properly heard these explanations, once they have memorized them well, recited them, examined them, and understood them by means of discernment, they remain alone in seclusion and settle themselves in a state of inner absorption. Then, they direct their attention in that (1) they direct their attention toward the teachings they have properly contemplated176 and (2) continuously direct their attention inwardly toward the mind that is directing attention. As they repeatedly engage themselves in this way, their bodies and minds become flexible. The occurrence of this physical and mental flexibility is what is called mental stillness. This is how bodhisattvas dedicate themselves to mental stillness.
“Once they have obtained177 this physical and mental flexibility, they settle in this very state and abandon some aspects of mind [corresponding to mental stillness].178 Then, they apply themselves to analyzing the image that is the object of their concentration according to the teachings they have properly contemplated. Differentiating, discerning, considering, and examining in this way the cognitive aspects of the image that is the object of their concentration, accepting and wishing to do so, and distinguishing, scrutinizing, and investigating [this discerning mind in the same way] is what is called [the practice of] insight. This is how bodhisattvas are skilled in insight.”
“Blessed One, when bodhisattvas direct their attention inwardly toward the mind that takes the mind as its referential object but have not yet attained physical and mental flexibility, what do you call their practice of directing attention?”
“Maitreya, this is not yet mental stillness. So you should refer to it as a practice aspiring to mental stillness.”
“Blessed One, when bodhisattvas direct their attention toward the image that is the object of their concentration according to the teachings they have properly contemplated, but they have not yet attained physical and mental flexibility, what do you call their practice of [F.27.a] directing attention?”
“Maitreya, this is not yet insight. So you should refer to it as a practice aspiring to insight.”
“Blessed One, should we refer to the path of mental stillness and the path of insight as being distinct or indistinct from one another?”
“Maitreya, we should refer to them as neither distinct nor indistinct. Why are they not distinct? Because mental stillness takes mind, which is the referential object of insight, as its object. Why are they not indistinct? Because insight takes a conceptual image as its referential object.”
“Blessed One, what image bodhisattvas focus on as their object of concentration? Should we consider it as distinct from mind or not?”179
“Maitreya, we must consider that it is not distinct from mind. Why? Because this image is merely a representation. Maitreya, I have explained that cognition is constituted180 by the mere representation that is the referential object [of this cognition].”181
“Blessed One, if this image that is the object of concentration is not distinct from the mind, how does this very mind investigate itself?”
“Maitreya, [ultimately] no phenomenon whatsoever investigates any phenomenon at all. However, the mind that arises as [if it were conscious of an object] appears as [if it were investigating itself]. Maitreya, it is like this: based on a form [in front of a mirror], you see that same form on the clear surface of this mirror and realize that you are seeing a reflection, an image
“Blessed One, should we say that mental images naturally present to beings, such as the appearance of material form and so forth, [F.27.b] are also not distinct from mind?”182
“Maitreya, we should say that they are not distinct. However, foolish beings with erroneous ideas do not understand just as it is that [mental] images are mere representations. As a consequence, their minds are mistaken.”
“Blessed One, when do the bodhisattvas practice only insight?”
“When do the bodhisattvas practice only mental stillness?”
“Whenever they direct their attention toward the unimpeded mind without interruption.”
“When do they combine both insight and mental stillness and unite them evenly?”
“Whenever they direct their attention toward the one-pointedness of mind.”
“Blessed One, what is a mental appearance?”
“Maitreya, this is the referential object of insight, the conceptual image that is the object of concentration.”
“What is the unimpeded mind?”
“Maitreya, it is the referential object of mental stillness, the mind that takes the image as an object.”
“What is one-pointedness of mind?”
“[One-pointedness of mind is] realizing in regard to the image that is the object of concentration, ‘This is merely a representation,’ and, on realizing that, directing one’s attention toward true reality.”185
“Blessed One, how many kinds of insight are there?”
“Maitreya, there are three: insight arising from phenomenal appearance, insight arising from inquiry, and insight arising from awakening.”186
“What is insight arising from phenomenal appearance?”
“It is the insight in which attention is directed exclusively toward a conceptual image, the object of concentration.”
“What is insight arising from inquiry?”
“It is the insight in which attention is directed in order to perfectly understand whatever phenomena were not yet understood by means of wisdom.”187 [F.28.a]
“What is insight arising from awakening?”
“It is the insight in which attention is directed on whatever phenomena one perfectly understood by means of wisdom in order to attain the happiness of liberation.”
“How many kinds of mental stillness are there?”
“There are three kinds of mental stillness corresponding to the unimpeded mind. Maitreya, it is also said to be of eight kinds: the first, second, third, and fourth meditative absorptions, the domain of the infinity of space, the domain of infinite cognition, the domain of nothingness, and the domain of neither conception nor lack of conception. It is also of four kinds: immeasurable loving-kindness, immeasurable compassion, immeasurable joy, and immeasurable equanimity.”
“Blessed One, you have mentioned ‘mental stillness and insight that are established in Dharma’ and ‘mental stillness and insight that are not established in Dharma.’ What do these terms mean?”
“Maitreya, the mental stillness and insight that are established in Dharma are the mental stillness and insight whose object is in agreement with phenomenal appearance as presented in the teachings that bodhisattvas have understood and contemplated.
“You should know that the mental stillness and insight that are not established in Dharma are the mental stillness and insight whose object, being unrelated to the teachings that bodhisattvas have understood and contemplated, is based on other instructions or precepts, such as taking as referential objects putrefying or festering corpses as well as any other similar objects, the impermanence of all conditioned phenomena, the suffering [inherent to all conditioned phenomena], the selflessness of all phenomena, and nirvāṇa as the state of peace.188
“Maitreya, regarding this, I consider those bodhisattvas who follow the teaching based on the mental stillness and insight established in Dharma to possess sharp faculties. As for those faithfully following the teaching based on the mental stillness and insight that are not established in Dharma, I consider them to possess inferior faculties.” [F.28.b]
“Blessed One, you also mentioned ‘the mental stillness and insight with a specific189 teaching as a referential object’ and ‘the mental stillness and insight with a universal teaching as a referential object.’ What do these terms mean?”
“Maitreya, suppose that bodhisattvas practice the mental stillness and insight that take as a referential object an individual teaching, such as a specific discourse, among all the teachings they have understood and contemplated. This is called mental stillness and insight with a specific teaching as a referential object.
Now, suppose that bodhisattvas unify, condense, subsume, or gather teachings from various discourses into a single one, thinking that all these teachings converge toward true reality, lean toward true reality, and tend toward true reality; converge toward awakening, lean toward awakening, and tend toward awakening; converge toward nirvāṇa, lean toward nirvāṇa, and tend toward nirvāṇa; and converge toward a shift in one’s basis of existence,190 lean toward a shift in one’s basis of existence, and tend toward a shift in one’s basis of existence. Thinking that all these teachings actually refer to the immeasurable and infinite virtuous truth,191 they direct their attention [toward their referential object]. This is [called] mental stillness and insight with a universal teaching as a referential object.”
“Blessed One, you also mentioned mental stillness and insight ‘with a fairly universal teaching as a referential object,’ ‘with a highly universal teaching as a referential object,’ and ‘with an infinitely universal teaching as a referential object.’ What do these terms mean?”
“Maitreya, suppose the bodhisattvas gather together [the meaning of] each of the twelve collections of my teaching, from the sūtras up to the extensive discourses, the teachings on miracles, and the instructions. [F.29.a] Having done so, they direct their attention toward this referential object. This should be known as the mental stillness and insight with a fairly universal teaching as a referential object.
When the bodhisattvas gather together192 all the teachings or discourses they have understood and contemplated and then direct their attention onto this referential object, this should be known as the mental stillness and insight with a highly universal teaching as a referential object.
“When the bodhisattvas gather together the teachings imparted by the tathāgatas that refer to the infinite truth,193 the infinite words and letters expressing it, and the ever-increasing infinite wisdom and eloquence of the tathāgatas and then direct their attention toward this referential object, this should be known as the mental stillness and insight with an infinitely universal teaching as a referential object.”
“Blessed One, how do bodhisattvas obtain mental stillness and insight with a universal teaching as a referential object?”
“Maitreya, you should know that they obtain them through five causes: (1) At the time of directing their attention, they destroy all supports of corruption in every moment. (2) After giving up the variety of conditioned phenomena, they rejoice in the joy of Dharma. (3) They perfectly know the immeasurable and unceasing brilliance of Dharma in the ten directions. (4) They bring together, without conceptualizing them, the phenomenal appearances that are imbued with the accomplishment of the goal and in harmony with the element conducive to purification. (5) In order to attain, perfect, and accomplish the truth body, they seize the most supreme and auspicious cause.”
“Blessed One, how should we know at which point[the bodhisattvas cognize and obtain the mental stillness and the insight that have a universal teaching as a referential object?”
“Maitreya, you should know that they cognize them on the first bodhisattva stage, Utmost Joy, and obtain them on the third stage, Illuminating. Maitreya, in spite of this, even beginners among bodhisattvas should not abstain from training in them and directing their attention toward their referential object.”
“Blessed One, in what way do mental stillness and insight become a concentration associated with mental engagement194 and investigation? [F.29.b] In what way do they become a concentration not with mental engagement but with investigation only? In what way do they become a concentration without either mental engagement or investigation?”
“Maitreya, when mental stillness and insight attend to experiences of the manifest and coarse195 phenomenal appearances mentioned in the teachings the bodhisattvas have understood, investigated, and examined, this is the concentration associated with mental engagement and investigation.
“When mental stillness and insight do not consist in attending the experiences corresponding to the manifest and coarse phenomenal appearances mentioned in their teachings but consist in being merely mindful of appearances, namely, in attending the experience of subtle phenomenal appearances,196 this is a concentration not with mental engagement but with investigation only.
“When mental stillness and insight consist in practicing by directing one’s attention toward the experience of the effortless Dharma with regard to each and every phenomenal appearance mentioned in these teachings, this is a concentration without either mental engagement or investigation.
“Moreover, Maitreya, mental stillness and insight arising from inquiry consist in a concentration associated with mental engagement and investigation. The mental stillness and insight arising from awakening is a concentration not with mental engagement but with investigation only.197 The mental stillness and insight taking a universal teaching as its referential object consist in a concentration without either mental engagement or investigation.”
“Blessed One, what is the cause of mental stillness? What is the cause of setting the mind? What is the cause of equanimity?”
“Maitreya, when one feels excited or feels one might become excited, one directs one’s attention toward phenomena that induce sorrow and the unimpeded mind.198 This is what is called the cause of mental stillness.
“Maitreya, when one feels drowsy or feels one might become drowsy, one directs one’s attention toward phenomena that induce joy and mental appearance.199 This is what is called the cause of setting the mind.
“Maitreya, whether one is devoted to mental stillness or insight only, [F.30.a] or practices them in union, when one applies one’s mind without being affected by these two secondary defilements,200 [namely agitation and drowsiness,] one directs one’s attention spontaneously. This is what is called the cause of equanimity.”
“Blessed One, the bodhisattvas who practice mental stillness and insight possess the analytical knowledge of designations as well as the analytical knowledge of the objects of designation.201 In what way do they possess these analytical knowledges?”
“Maitreya, the analytical knowledge of designations comprises five points: names, phrases, letters, their individual apprehension, and their collective apprehension. What is a name? It is that which superimposes a so-called essential or distinctive characteristic on the phenomena conducive to affliction and purification for the sake of communication. What is a phrase? It is that which is based on a collection of those very names taken as its support and basis in order to designate objects of affliction and purification. What are letters? They are phonemes acting as the basis for both names and phrases. What is the analytical knowledge that apprehends them individually? It is the analytical knowledge resulting from directing one’s attention toward a specific referential object. What is the analytical knowledge that apprehends them collectively? It is the analytical knowledge resulting from directing one’s attention toward a general referential object. When all these five points are put together, this should be known as the analytical knowledge of designations. This is how bodhisattvas possess the analytical knowledge of designations.
“Maitreya, the analytical knowledge of the objects of designation comprises ten points: the diversity of things and the nature of things;202 the apprehending subject and the apprehended object; the abodes and objects of enjoyment; wrong view and correct view; and the object conducive to affliction and the object conducive to purification. [F.30.b]
1. “Maitreya, all203 the various divisions of phenomena conducive to affliction and purification according to their aspects represent the diversity of things, namely, the fivefold enumeration of the aggregates, the sixfold enumeration of the internal sense domains, the sixfold enumeration of the external sense domains, and so on.
2. “Maitreya, the true reality of all these very phenomena conducive to affliction and purification is the nature of things itself. It has seven aspects:204 (i) the true reality of arising in the sense that all conditioned phenomena are without beginning and end; (ii) the true reality of defining characteristics in the sense that everything, person or phenomenon, is without a self; (iii) the true reality of representations in the sense that all conditioned phenomena are mere representations;205 (iv) the true reality of existence in the sense of the truth of suffering that I have taught; (v) the true reality of mistaken action206 in the sense of the truth of the origin of suffering that I have taught; (vi) the true reality of purification in the sense of the truth of cessation [of suffering] that I have taught; (vii) the true reality of correct action in the sense of the truth of the path that I have taught.
“Maitreya, on account of the true reality of arising, defining characteristics, and existence, all beings are similar and equal. Maitreya, on account of the true reality of defining characteristics and representations, all phenomena are similar and equal. Maitreya, on account of the true reality of purification, the awakening of the hearers, the awakening of the solitary realizers, and the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening are similar and equal. Maitreya, on account of the true reality of correct action, similar and equal too are the wisdoms encompassed by the mental stillness and insight that take as a referential object a universal teaching that has been heard, contemplated, and practiced.207 [F.31.a]
3. “Maitreya, the apprehending subject consists in the phenomena of the five physical sense domains, mind, thought, cognition, and mental states.
4. “Maitreya, the apprehended object consists in the six external sense domains. In addition, Maitreya, apprehending subjects are also apprehended objects.
5. “Maitreya, the objects corresponding to abodes are the worlds of beings, which manifest wherever there are beings: as one, one hundred, one thousand, or one hundred thousand villages; as one, one hundred, one thousand, or one hundred thousand continents; as one, one hundred, one thousand, or one hundred thousand great continents of Jambudvīpa; as one, one hundred, one thousand, or one hundred thousand times the four great continents; as one, one hundred, one thousand, or one hundred thousand universes of a thousand worlds; as one, one hundred, one thousand, or one hundred thousand bichiliocosms; as one, one hundred, one thousand, one hundred thousand, ten million, one billion, ten billion, one hundred billion, or ten trillion trichiliocosms; as one, one hundred, one thousand, one hundred thousand times an incalculable number of them; or as many as the number of atoms present in one hundred thousand times an incalculable number of trichiliocosms.
6. “Maitreya, I have taught that objects of enjoyment are the assets and belongings owned by beings for the sake of their enjoyment.
7. “Maitreya, a wrong view is a mistaken conception, thought, or view conceiving the impermanent as permanent, suffering as happiness, impurity as purity, or selflessness as self with regard to notions such as an apprehending subject. [F.31.b]
8. “Maitreya, a correct view, being the opposite of a wrong view, is its antidote.
9. “Maitreya, the object conducive to affliction is of three kinds: the object conducive to the affliction comprising the defilements of the three worlds, to the affliction of karma, and to the affliction of arising.
10. “Maitreya, the object conducive to purification consists of all that is in harmony with awakening on account of being free indeed from the three sorts of affliction.
“Maitreya, you should know that all objects of designation are included in these ten points.
“Moreover, Maitreya, the analytical knowledge of these objects of designation comprises five items. What are they? They are the topics to be comprehended, the objects of designation to be comprehended, comprehension, the result of comprehension, and the communication of this result.
1. “Maitreya, the topics to be comprehended consist of anything that is knowable or perceptible, such as what is referred to as the aggregates, the internal and external sense domains, and so forth.
2. “Maitreya, the objects of designation to be comprehended consist of [all] cognitive objects, however diverse they appear and as they really are: the conventional and the ultimate; shortcomings and qualities; conditions and time; the defining characteristics of arising, abiding, and disintegrating; sickness, old age, and death; suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering; true reality, the ultimate limit of existence, and the domain of truth; condensed and detailed teachings; categorical, analytical, interrogative, and dismissive answers; and secret instructions and proclamations. You should know that these are the objects of designation to be comprehended.
3. “Maitreya, comprehension is grasping both [F.32.a] the topics and the objects of designation to be comprehended, any factor that is in harmony with awakening, such as the applications of mindfulness, the correct self-restraints, and so forth.
4. “Maitreya, the result of comprehension consists of disciplining and completely eliminating desire, anger, and delusion, as well as in actualizing the results of the path of the recluse together with the virtuous qualities of the hearers and tathāgatas I have described as mundane and supramundane, ordinary and extraordinary.
5. “Maitreya, communicating this result consists in revealing what brings about liberation208 on the basis of209 the very teachings one has actualized, as well as in propagating these teaching for the sake of others.210
“Maitreya, you should know that all objects are subsumed within these five points.
“Maitreya, the bodhisattvas’ analytical knowledge of the objects of designation includes four topics. What are they? They are mental appropriation, experience, affliction, and purification. Maitreya, you should know that all the objects of designation are also included within these four topics.
“Maitreya, the bodhisattvas’ analytical knowledge of the objects of designation is also presented according to three topics. What are they? They are letters, meanings, and contexts.
1. “Maitreya, you should understand the letters as forming collections of names.
2. “Maitreya, meanings comprise ten aspects: the defining characteristic of true reality, the defining characteristic of comprehension, the defining characteristic of abandonment, the defining characteristic of realization, the defining characteristic of practice, the defining characteristic consisting of these very five defining characteristics, the defining characteristic of the relation between the support and the supported, [F.32.b] the defining characteristic of the phenomena undermining comprehension and so forth, the defining characteristic of the phenomena in harmony with comprehension, and the defining characteristic of the benefits and shortcomings resulting respectively from having comprehension or not.
3. “Maitreya, there are five contexts: the context of the surrounding universe, the context of beings, the context of Dharma, the context of discipline, and the context of methods of discipline.
“Maitreya, you should know that all objects of designation are also included within these three topics.”
“Blessed One, what differences are made between the comprehension of the objects of designation that is produced by the wisdom arising from hearing the Dharma, the comprehension of the objects of designation that is produced by the wisdom arising from contemplating the Dharma, and the comprehension of the objects of designation that is produced by the wisdom arising from practicing mental stillness and insight?”
“Maitreya, through the wisdom arising from hearing the Dharma, the bodhisattvas rely on the literal meaning of words but not on their underlying intent, which they do not understand; although they are in harmony with liberation, their comprehension is [limited to] the objects of designation that do not liberate them.
“Maitreya, through the wisdom arising from contemplating the Dharma, the bodhisattvas do not rely exclusively on the literal meaning of words but also on the underlying intent, which they understand; although they are in great harmony with liberation, their comprehension is [still limited to] the objects of designation that do not liberate them.
“Maitreya, through the wisdom arising from practicing mental stillness and insight, the bodhisattvas, relying on the literal meaning of words or not, rely on the underlying intent, which they understand by means of an image, an object of concentration corresponding to a cognitive object; they are in great harmony with liberation, and their comprehension includes the objects of designation that liberate them. Maitreya, such is the difference between them.” [F.33.a]
“Blessed One, what is the gnosis211 of the bodhisattvas who practice mental stillness and insight and who comprehend designations as well as objects of designation? What is their perception?”
“Maitreya, I have explained their gnosis212 and perception in many ways, but I will give you a concise explanation. Gnosis consists in the mental stillness and insight that take a universal teaching as a referential object. Perception consists in the mental stillness and insight that take a specific teaching as a referential object.”
“Blessed One, as bodhisattvas practice mental stillness and insight, which kinds of phenomenal appearance do they discard? How do they direct their attention to achieve this?”
“Maitreya, they discard the phenomenal appearance of designations and objects of designation by directing their attention on true reality. They discard names by not taking the essence of names as a referential object and by not paying attention to the phenomenal appearance that constitutes their basis. You should know that just as it is with names, so it is also with words, letters, and all objects of designation. Maitreya, they discard letters, meanings, and contexts by not taking their essence as a referential object and by not paying attention to the phenomenal appearance that constitutes their basis.”213
“Blessed One, is phenomenal appearance also discarded with regard to the analytical knowledge of the object of designation corresponding to true reality?”
“Maitreya, if the analytical knowledge of the object of designation corresponding to true reality does not have a phenomenal appearance and does not take a phenomenal appearance as its referential object, then what would be discarded in that case? Maitreya, the analytical knowledge of the object of designation corresponding to true reality disposes of all the phenomenal appearances of designations and objects of designation. But I did not teach that anything at all could dispose of this analytical knowledge.”
“Blessed One, you have explained by way of analogy that it is impossible to discern one’s own appearance214 in a container filled with muddy water, a dirty mirror, or an agitated pond surface, [F.33.b] but that it is possible in a container filled with clear water, a well-polished mirror, or a quiet pond. You have explained that, likewise, the mind of those who do not practice cannot know true reality exactly as it is, whereas the mind of those who do practice can indeed. In reference to this statement, what is this mental inspection?215 What true reality do you have in mind here, and what is the meaning of this statement?”
“Maitreya, I spoke those words in reference to the three kinds of mental inspection: the mental inspection arising from hearing the Dharma, the mental inspection arising from contemplating the Dharma, and the mental inspection arising from practicing the Dharma. I taught this having in mind the true reality of representations.”216
“Blessed One, how many kinds of phenomenal appearances did you teach to the bodhisattvas who possess the analytical knowledge of designations and objects of designation and who engage in eliminating phenomenal appearances?”
“Maitreya, there are ten kinds of phenomenal appearances, and these bodhisattvas eliminate them by means of emptiness. What are these ten?
1. “The diverse phenomenal appearances in the way of words and letters through which designations and objects of designation are analytically known—these phenomenal appearances are eliminated by means of the emptiness of all phenomena.217
2. “The phenomenal appearances corresponding to a continuum of arisings and cessations or abidings and transformations through which the object designated as the true reality of existence is analytically known—these phenomenal appearances are eliminated by means of the emptiness of defining characteristic and by the emptiness of what is without beginning and end.
3. “The phenomenal appearances resulting from the belief in a perduring self or the thought, ‘I am,’ through which the object designated as the apprehending subject is analytically known—these phenomenal appearances are eliminated by means of the emptiness of the inner subject and the emptiness of what is not taken as a referential object.218
4. “The phenomenal appearances resulting from the belief in objects of enjoyment through which the object designated as the apprehended object is analytically known—these phenomenal appearances are eliminated by means of the emptiness of the outer object.219
5. “The phenomenal appearances of pleasure within the inner subject and of beauty regarding the outer object through which courtesans220 and possessions are analytically known as objects of enjoyment—these phenomenal appearances are eliminated by means of the emptiness of the outer object and the emptiness of essence. [F.34.a]
6. “The innumerable phenomenal appearances through which objects of designation corresponding to states of existence are analytically known—these phenomenal appearances are eliminated by means of the great emptiness.
7. “With formlessness as a support, the phenomenal appearances of the liberation brought about by inner peace are analytically known—these phenomenal appearances are eliminated by means of the emptiness of conditioned phenomena.
8. “The phenomenal appearance of the selflessness of persons and phenomena, the phenomenal appearance of what is merely a representation, and the phenomenal appearance of the ultimate through which the object of designation corresponding to the true reality of defining characteristics is analytically known—these phenomenal appearances are eliminated by means of the emptiness of the limitless, the emptiness of the substanceless, the emptiness of essence of the substanceless, and the emptiness of the ultimate.
9. “The phenomenal appearances of what is unconditioned and changeless through which the object of designation corresponding to the true reality leading to purification221 is analytically known—these phenomenal appearances are eliminated by means of the emptiness of the unconditioned and the emptiness devoid of rejection.
10. “The phenomenal appearances of emptiness resulting from directing one’s attention toward this very emptiness as an antidote to phenomenal appearances are eliminated by means of the emptiness of emptiness.”
“Blessed One, when bodhisattvas eliminate these ten kinds of phenomenal appearances, which phenomenal appearances do they eliminate and from which binding phenomenal appearances will they be free?”
“Maitreya, by eliminating the object of concentration, the phenomenal appearance corresponding to an image,222 bodhisattvas will be free from phenomenal appearances consisting in the phenomenal appearances of affliction, which they will also eliminate.
“Maitreya, you should know that these various kinds of emptiness are the direct antidotes to these various kinds of phenomenal appearance. But it is not the case that each of them is not an antidote to all phenomenal appearances. Maitreya, it is like this: ignorance does not [directly] bring about all afflictions up to old age and death [with regard to the twelve factors of conditioned existence]. Yet, because it is indeed the closely or very closely related condition [for their arising, it does bring them about indirectly]. This is why it is taught that ignorance directly brings about conditioning mental factors. You should consider the present topic in the same way. [F.34.b]
“Blessed One, what is it that bodhisattvas realize in the context of the Great Vehicle? What is then inherent to the defining characteristic of emptiness that causes bodhisattvas to not deviate from it because of pride?”
Then, the Blessed One said, “Excellent, Maitreya. You question the Tathāgata on this point so that bodhisattvas will not deviate from emptiness. This is excellent indeed. Why? Because, Maitreya, bodhisattvas who deviate from emptiness will also deviate from the entire Great Vehicle. Therefore, listen well, Maitreya, and I will explain to you what is inherent to the defining characteristic of emptiness.
“Maitreya, emptiness as taught in the Great Vehicle means that the other-dependent and actual defining characteristics are completely devoid of the imaginary defining characteristic of affliction and purification and that bodhisattvas do not take this imaginary defining characteristic as a referential object.”223
“Blessed One, how many types of concentration are included within mental stillness and insight?”
“Maitreya, you should know that they include all the types of concentration of the hearers, bodhisattvas, and tathāgatas that I have taught.”
“Blessed One, from which causes do mental stillness and insight arise?”
“Maitreya, they arise from a pure discipline and a pure view resulting from hearing and contemplating [the Dharma] as their causes.”
“Blessed One, please explain what their results are.”
“Maitreya, a pure mind and a pure wisdom are their results. You should know that all mundane and supramundane virtuous qualities of the hearers, the bodhisattvas, and the tathāgatas are also their results.” [F.35.a]
“Blessed One, what is the activity of mental stillness and insight?”
“Maitreya, they liberate one from the two kinds of bonds: the bonds of phenomenal appearance and the bonds of corruption.”
“Blessed One, among the five obstacles mentioned by the Blessed One, which are obstacles to mental stillness, which are obstacles to insight, and which are obstacles to both?”
“Maitreya, caring224 about the body and objects of enjoyment is an obstacle to mental stillness. Not obtaining instructions from noble beings as desired is an obstacle to insight. Living in a state of confusion and being content with bare necessities are obstacles to both.225 On account of the first of these, one will not exert oneself. On account of the second, one will not exert oneself through to the completion of practice.”
“Blessed One, among the five obstructions mentioned by the Blessed One, which are obstructions to mental stillness, which are obstructions to insight, and which are obstructions to both?”
“Maitreya, agitation and remorse are obstructions to mental stillness. Laziness, lethargy, and doubts are obstructions to insight. Craving for desired objects and malicious thoughts are obstructions to both.”
“Blessed One, when is the path of mental stillness purified?”
“At the time when agitation and remorse have been conquered.”
“Blessed One, when is the path of insight purified?”
“At the time when laziness, lethargy, and doubts have been conquered.”226
“Blessed One, how many kinds of mental distractions will bodhisattvas engaged in mental stillness and insight experience?”
“Maitreya, they will experience five kinds of mental distractions: the mental distraction with regard to the way one directs one’s attention, the mental distraction with regard to outer objects, the mental distraction with regard to the inner subject, the mental distraction produced by phenomenal appearances, [F.35.b] and the mental distraction resulting from corruption.
1. “Maitreya, if bodhisattvas forsake the way attention is directed in the Great Vehicle227 and fall into the way hearers and solitary realizers direct their attention, then this is mental distraction regarding the way one directs one’s attention.
2. “If bodhisattvas let their minds wander among the five external objects of desire, entertainments, phenomenal appearances, conceptualizations, defilements, secondary defilements, and external referential objects, then this is mental distraction with regard to outer objects.
3. “If bodhisattvas sink into laziness and lethargy, experience the taste of absorption, or become stained by any secondary defilement related to absorption, then this is mental distraction with regard to the inner subject.
4. “If bodhisattvas direct their attention toward the phenomenal appearance that is the inner subject’s object of concentration by relying upon the phenomenal appearances of outer objects, then this is mental distraction produced by phenomenal appearances.
5. “If bodhisattvas become conceited by identifying themselves with the body afflicted by corruption with regard to sensations arising in the course of directing the inner subject’s attention, this is mental distraction ensuing from corruption.”
“Blessed One, for which obstacles do mental stillness and insight serve as antidotes from the first stage of the bodhisattva path up to the stage of a tathāgata?”
1. “Maitreya, on the first stage, mental stillness and insight are antidotes to the defilement of bad destinies as well as to the affliction of karma and birth.
2. “On the second stage, they are antidotes to the arising of confusion resulting from subtle transgressions.
3. “On the third stage, they are antidotes to attachment for desirous objects.
4. “On the fourth stage, they are antidotes to craving for absorption and Dharma.
5. “On the fifth stage, they are antidotes to the exclusive rejection of saṃsāra and exclusive inclination toward nirvāṇa.
6. ‘On the sixth stage, they are antidotes to the abundant arising of phenomenal appearances.
7. “On the seventh stage, they are antidotes to the subtle arising of phenomenal appearances.
8. “On the eighth, they are antidotes to exerting oneself toward what is without phenomenal appearance as well as to not having mastery over phenomenal appearances.
9. On the ninth, they are antidotes to not having mastery in teaching the Dharma in every aspect. [F.36.a]
10. “On the tenth, they are antidotes to not having obtained the perfect analytical knowledge of the truth body.
11. “Maitreya, on the stage of a tathāgata, mental stillness and insight are antidotes to the extremely subtle defiling obstructions and the even more subtle cognitive obstructions.228 By fully eliminating these obstructions, one abides within the truth body that has been completely purified. As a consequence, one obtains the realization of the object corresponding to the accomplishment of the goal—the gnosis and vision that are utterly free from attachment and hindrance.”229
“Blessed One, in what way do bodhisattvas obtain mental stillness and insight, so that they will attain the unsurpassable complete and perfect awakening?”230
“Maitreya, once bodhisattvas have obtained mental stillness and insight, they consider the seven aspects of true reality.231 With their minds concentrated on the doctrine that has been heard and contemplated, they direct their attention inwardly toward the true reality that has been well232 understood, contemplated, and focused upon. As they direct their attention in this way on true reality, their minds then remain in complete equanimity233 toward each and every subtle phenomenal appearance that manifests, not to mention coarse ones.
“Maitreya, these subtle phenomenal appearances include the phenomenal appearances appropriated by mind; the phenomenal appearances of experiences, representations, affliction, and purification; the internal or external phenomenal appearances and those that are both internal and external; the phenomenal appearances related to the notion that one must act for the benefit of all beings; the phenomenal appearances of knowledge and suchness; the phenomenal appearances of the four noble truths of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path;234 the phenomenal appearances of the conditioned, the unconditioned, the permanent, the impermanent, and the nature inherent to what is subject to suffering and change [F.36.b] or what is not subject to change; the phenomenal appearance distinct or indistinct from the defining characteristic specific to the conditioned; the phenomenal appearance of everything as a result of having the notion of ‘everything’ in reference to anything; and the phenomenal appearance of the selflessness of the person and of phenomena. The bodhisattva’s mind remains in complete equanimity toward all these phenomenal appearances as they manifest.
“Continually practicing in this way, they will in due time purify their minds from obstacles, obstructions, and distractions. In the course of this practice, the seven aspects of the cognition that is personal and intuitive, the gnosis235 that is the awakening236 to the seven aspects of true reality, will arise. Such is the bodhisattvas’ path of seeing. By obtaining it, bodhisattvas have entered the faultless state of truth,237 are born into the lineage of tathāgatas, and, upon obtaining the first stage, enjoy all the advantages of this stage. Because they have already obtained mental stillness and insight, they have attained their two referential objects: the image with conceptualization and the image without conceptualization. Thus, having obtained the path of seeing, they attain the point where phenomena end.238
“In the higher stages, they enter the path of practice and direct their attention toward their threefold referential object.239 It is like this: in the way one uses a smaller wedge to pull out a larger one and thus drives out a wedge by means of a wedge, they eliminate all phenomenal appearances related to affliction by eliminating internal phenomenal appearances. When they eliminate them, they also eliminate corruption. By getting rid of phenomenal appearance and corruption, they gradually purify their minds in the higher stages in the way gold is refined. They will attain the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening and also obtain the realization of the object corresponding to the accomplishment of the goal.240 Thus, Maitreya, [F.37.a] once bodhisattvas have achieved mental stillness and insight in this way, they will attain the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening.”
“How do bodhisattvas practice so that they accomplish the great powers of a bodhisattva?”
“Maitreya, the bodhisattvas who are skillful with regard to these six topics accomplish the great powers of a bodhisattva: (1) the arising of the mind, (2) the underlying condition of the mind, (3) the emergence from the mind, (4) the increase of the mind, (5) the decrease of the mind, (6) and skillful means.
1. “How are they skillful with regard to the arising of the mind? They are skillful with regard to the arising of the mind as it is if they know the sixteen ways in which mind arises:241 (i) the representation that is a support and receptacle, for example, the appropriating cognition;242 (ii) the representation that is a variegated image of a referential object, for example, the mental cognition of conceptualizations that simultaneously apprehends forms and so on, or that simultaneously apprehends outer and inner objects, or that in a single instant simultaneously settles in several states of concentration, perceives numerous buddha fields, or sees many tathāgatas—being nothing but the mental cognition of conceptualizations; (iii) the representation taking limited phenomenal appearances as its object, for example, the mind related to the [realm of] desire; (iv) the representation taking vast phenomenal appearances as its object, for example, the mind related to the [realm of] form; (v) the representation taking immeasurable phenomenal appearances as its object, for example, the mind related to the domain of limitless space and limitless cognition; (vi) the representation taking subtle phenomenal appearances as its object, for example, the mind related to the domain of nothingness; (vii) the representation taking ultimate phenomenal appearances as its object, for example, the mind related to the domain of neither conception nor lack of conception; (viii) the representation that does not have phenomenal appearance [as its object], for example, the supramundane mind and the mind having cessation as its object; [F.37.b] (ix) the representation involving suffering, for example, the mind of hell beings; (x) the representation involving mixed sensations, for example, the mind experienced in the [realm of] desire; (xi) the representation involving joy, for example, the mind belonging to the first and second meditative absorptions; (xii) the representation involving bliss, for example, the mind belonging to the third meditative absorption; (xiii) the representation involving neither suffering nor bliss, for example, the mind belonging to the fourth meditative absorption up to the domain of neither conception nor lack of conception; (xiv) the representation involving defilements, for example, the mind associated with defilements and secondary defilements; (xv) the representation involving virtue, for example, the mind associated with faith and so on; and (xvi) the neutral representation, for example, the mind that is not associated with either defilement or virtue.
2. “How are they skillful with regard to the underlying condition of the mind? They are skillful when they cognize the true reality of representations as it truly is.243
3. “How are they skillful with regard to the emergence from the mind? They are skillful when they cognize the as they truly are the two bonds, namely, the bonds of phenomenal appearance and corruption.
4. “How are they skillful with regard to the increase of the mind? They are skillful when they cognize as such the arising and increase of the mind at the moment when the mind that is the antidote to phenomenal appearance and corruption arises and increases.
5. “How are they skillful with regard to the decrease of the mind? They are skillful when they cognize as such the decrease and decline of the mind at the moment when the mind afflicted by the adverse factors of phenomenal appearance and corruption decreases and declines.
6. “How are they skilled in terms of means? They are skillful when they practice the eight liberations, the eight domains of mastery, and the ten domains of totality.
“Maitreya, in this way bodhisattvas have accomplished, do accomplish, and will accomplish the great powers of a bodhisattva. [F.38.a]”
“The Blessed One said that all sensations have come to complete cessation in the domain of the nirvāṇa with no aggregates remaining. What are then those sensations?”244
“Maitreya, in brief, two kinds of sensations cease: (1) the sensations245 arising from corruption incumbent on being alive and (2) the sensations arising from their resulting objects.
1. “Among those, the sensations arising from corruption related to one’s existence are of four kinds: (i) sensations arising from physical corruption, (ii) sensations arising from nonphysical corruption, (iii) sensations arising from corruption currently brought to fruition, and (iv) sensations arising from corruption not yet brought to fruition.
“Sensations arising from corruption brought to fruition refer to present sensations, whereas sensations arising from sensations not yet brought to fruition refer to sensations that are the causes for future sensations.
2. “The sensations of their resulting objects are also of four kinds: (i) sensations related to places, (ii) sensations related to necessities, (iii) sensations related to enjoyments, and (iv) sensations related to relations.
“Moreover, there are sensations in the domain of the nirvāṇa with aggregates remaining. Although these include sensations not yet brought to fruition,246 their opposites, the experience of sensations arising from present sensations, have not completely ceased. They are experienced as a mixture of pleasant and unpleasant sensations. Both kinds of sensation already brought to fruition have completely ceased. Only the category of sensations arising from present sensations are experienced. In the domain of the nirvāṇa with no aggregates remaining, even this will cease when one passes into parinirvāṇa. This is why I said that all sensations have come to a complete cessation in the domain of the nirvāṇa with no aggregates remaining.”
Thereupon, the Blessed One spoke these words to the bodhisattva Maitreya: “Maitreya, you questioned the Tathāgata with determination and skill regarding the perfect and pure path of yoga. This is excellent. I taught that this path of yoga is perfect and pure, and exactly247 so I have [F.38.b] taught and will teach all the perfect buddhas of the past and the future. The sons and daughters of noble family should devote themselves to this path with great effort.”248
Then, the bodhisattva Maitreya asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what is the name of the teaching imparted in this Dharma discourse that unravels the Tathāgata’s intent? How should I keep it in mind?”262
The Blessed One answered, “Maitreya, this is a teaching of definitive meaning on yoga. Keep it in mind as The Teaching of Definitive Meaning on Yoga.” As the Blessed One expounded this teaching, six hundred thousand beings produced the mind directed at the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening, three hundred thousand hearers [F.39.a] purified the Dharma eye from impurities and contaminations; one hundred and fifty hearers who were without attachment liberated their minds from all outflows; and seventy-five thousand bodhisattvas attained the state wherein their attention was directed toward the great yoga.263
This was the chapter of the bodhisattva Maitreya—the eighth chapter.
Chapter 9
Then the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara addressed the Blessed One, “Blessed One, the ten stages of the bodhisattva are called (1) Utmost Joy, (2) Stainless, (3) Illuminating, (4) Radiant, (5) Hard to Conquer, (6) Manifest, (7) Far Reaching, (8) Immovable, (9) Excellent Intelligence, and (10) Cloud of Dharma. When taken together with the eleventh, [called] Buddha Stage, in how many kinds of purification and subdivisions are they included?”
The Blessed One answered, “Avalokiteśvara, you should know that they are included in four kinds of purification and eleven subdivisions.
“Avalokiteśvara, you should know that the first stage is included in the purification of intention; the second, in the purification of superior discipline; and the third, in the purification of superior mind; while stages four to eleven are included in the purification of superior wisdom, which gradually leads to perfection from stage to stage. These stages are thus included in four kinds of purification.
“What are the eleven levels—the subdivisions including the ten stages of the bodhisattva and the Buddha Stage?
1. “On the first level consisting of actions based on superior264 devotion, bodhisattvas cultivate superior devotion and patience265 by engaging in the ten practices related to Dharma.266 Once they have passed beyond this stage, they will enter the faultless state of truth of the bodhisattvas.267
2. “Although the first level is accomplished by these practices, [F.39.b] the second level is not, because the bodhisattvas are still unable to act while being aware of confusion resulting from subtle transgressions. By striving to accomplish this level, they will succeed.
3. “Although the second level is accomplished by this practice, the third level is not, because the bodhisattvas are still unable to settle into a perfect mundane concentration and recollect what they have heard. By striving to accomplish this level, they will succeed.
4. “However, the fourth level is not thereby accomplished, because the bodhisattvas, who frequently engage in practicing the awakening factors268 in the way they obtained them, are still unable to settle their minds due to attachment to states of absorption and the teaching.269 By striving to accomplish this level, they will succeed.
5. “Although the fourth level is accomplished through this practice, the fifth level is not, because the bodhisattvas are still unable to fully examine the truths or settle in superior equanimity regarding saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, which they exclusively reject or focus upon, respectively. They are still unable to practice the awakening factors in conjunction with skillful means. By striving to accomplish this level, they will succeed.
6. “Although the fifth level is accomplished by this practice, the sixth level is not, because, even once they have recognized the activities of conditioned states for what they are, the bodhisattvas are still unable to maintain for long an aversion toward them. They are also still unable to remain for long directing their attention toward what lacks phenomenal appearances. By striving to accomplish this level, they will succeed.
7. “Although the sixth level is accomplished by this practice, the seventh level is not, because the bodhisattvas are still unable to remain without hindrance and interruption while directing their attention toward what lacks phenomenal appearance. By striving to accomplish this level, they will succeed. [F.40.a]
8. “Although the seventh level is accomplished by this practice, the eighth level is not, because the bodhisattvas are still unable to rest in equanimity while striving to abide in what lacks phenomenal appearance. They are also still unable to attain mastery over phenomenal appearance. By striving to accomplish this level, they will succeed.
9. “Although the eighth level is accomplished by this practice, the ninth level is not because the bodhisattvas are still unable to masterfully teach the Dharma in all its aspects by using synonyms, definitions, explanations, and categories. By striving to accomplish this level, they will succeed.
10. “Although the ninth level is accomplished by this practice, the tenth level is not because the bodhisattvas are still unable to obtain the analytical knowledge of the perfect truth body. By striving to accomplish this level, they will succeed.
11. “Although the ninth level is accomplished by this practice, the tenth level is not because the bodhisattvas are still unable to obtain the gnosis and vision that are utterly free from attachment and hindrance regarding all cognitive objects.270 By striving to accomplish this level, they will succeed.
“Since this level is accomplished by this practice, all levels are accomplished. Avalokiteśvara, you should know that all the stages are included in these eleven levels.”
“Blessed One, why is the first stage called Utmost Joy? Why are the other stages up to the Buddha Stage called what they are?”
1. “The first stage is called Utmost Joy because there is a supreme and immense joy in attaining the immaculate and sublime purpose, the supramundane mind.
2. The second stage is called Stainless because it is free from all stains consisting in [even] subtle transgressions or faulty discipline.271
3. The third stage is called Illuminating because it is the very state of concentration and recollection imbued with the immeasurable light of gnosis.272 [F.40.b]
4. The fourth stage is called Radiant because the fire of gnosis produced by the practice of the awakening factors is set ablaze273 in order to burn the fuel of afflictions.
5. The fifth stage is called Hard to Conquer because it is difficult indeed to master the practice of these very awakening factors in conjunction with skillful means.274
6. The sixth stage is called Manifest because the activity of conditioning mental factors becomes manifest, as does the bodhisattvas’ attention that is repeatedly directed toward what lacks phenomenal appearance.
7. The seventh stage is called Far Reaching because once the bodhisattvas engage for a long time without hindrance and interruption while directing their attention toward what lacks phenomenal appearance, this stage is connected with the subsequent stages of purification.
8. The eighth stage is called Immovable because what lacks phenomenal appearance is spontaneously accomplished and the bodhisattvas are unshaken by the manifestation of defilements resulting from phenomenal appearance.
9. The ninth stage is called Excellent Intelligence because the bodhisattvas obtain a vast intelligence that flawlessly masters all aspects related to teaching the Dharma.
10. The tenth stage is called Cloud of Dharma because the body afflicted by corruption, which is as empty as the sky, is pervaded and covered by the accumulation of Dharma275 that is like a [great] cloud.276
11. The eleventh stage is called Buddha Stage because once one has abandoned the most subtle defiling and cognitive obstructions, one completely and perfectly awakens and knows all aspects to be known,277 without attachment and hindrance.”
“Blessed One, how many kinds of delusion and adverse factors of corruption are there on these stages?”
“Avalokiteśvara, there are twenty-two kinds of delusion and eleven adverse factors of corruption:
1. “On the first stage, there is the delusion of wrongly conceiving the person and phenomena, the delusion of bad destinies, and the adverse factor of the corruption resulting from these.
2. “On the second stage, there is the delusion of confusion resulting from subtle transgressions, [F.41.a] the delusion related to the various aspects of the maturation of karma, and the adverse factor of the corruption resulting from these two.
3. “On the third stage, there is the delusion of desire, the delusion of perfectly remembering what was heard, and the adverse factor of the corruption resulting from these.
4. “On the fourth stage, there is the delusion of attachment to the states of absorption, the delusion of attachment to Dharma, and the adverse factor of the corruption resulting from these.
5. “On the fifth stage, there is the delusion of attending to saṃsāra as exclusively negative or positive, the delusion of attending to nirvāṇa as exclusively negative or positive, and the adverse factor of the corruption resulting from these.
6. “On the sixth stage, there is the delusion of making manifest the activity of conditioning mental factors, the delusion of the many manifesting phenomenal appearances, and the adverse factor of corruption resulting from these.278
7. “On the seventh stage, there is the delusion of the manifestation of subtle phenomenal appearances, the delusion toward skillful means since one’s attention is exclusively directed toward what lacks phenomenal appearance, and the adverse factor of the corruption resulting from these.
8. “On the eighth stage, there is the delusion of exerting oneself toward what lacks phenomenal appearance, the delusion of not having mastery over phenomenal appearances, and the adverse factor of the corruption resulting from these.
9. “On the ninth stage, there is the delusion of having mastery in the boundless teaching and expression of Dharma, the delusion of having mastery in continuously keeping it in mind in terms of wisdom and eloquence,279 the delusion of having command of eloquent speech, and the adverse factor consisting in the corruption resulting from these two types of delusion.
10. “On the tenth stage, there is the delusion with regard to the sublime superior knowledge, the delusion of engaging in what is secret and subtle, and the adverse factor consisting of the corruption resulting from these two.
11. “On the Buddha Stage, there is the delusion of the extremely subtle attachment to cognitive objects, the delusion of the extremely subtle hindrance related to defilements, and the adverse factor consisting of the corruption resulting from these two. [F.41.b]
“Avalokiteśvara, this is a presentation of the stages according to twenty-two kinds of delusion and eleven types of corruption. The unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening does not have any of them.”
“In which case,280 Blessed One, the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening, the most sublime blessing and result, is truly wondrous! Once bodhisattvas have torn the great net of delusion in this fashion and gone beyond the vast jungle of corruption, they will awaken to the complete and perfect enlightenment.”281
“Blessed One, through how many kinds of purifications are these stages presented?”
“Avalokiteśvara, they are presented through eight purifications: (1) the purification of intention, (2) the purification of the mind, (3) the purification of compassion, (4) the purification of the perfections, (5) the purification of the vision of buddhas and of their veneration, (6) the purification of bringing beings to maturity, (7) the purification of birth, and (8) the purification of power.
“Avalokiteśvara, you should know that the purifications on the first stage, from the purification of superior intention up to the purification of power, as well as the purifications on the higher stages including the Buddha Stage, from the purification of superior intention up to the purification of power, become more and more intense.282 Thus, if one excepts the purification of birth on the Buddha Stage, the qualities on the first stage seem similar to those of the higher stages. However, you should know that the qualities of each higher stage are superior to those on the former stage. You should also understand that the qualities on the ten stages of a bodhisattva can be surpassed, whereas the qualities on the Buddha Stage are unsurpassable.”
“Blessed One, why did you declare that, among all kinds of birth, the birth of a bodhisattva is supreme?” [F.42.a]
“Avalokiteśvara, it is supreme for four reasons: (1) it accomplishes the great purification of one’s roots of virtue, (2) it is appropriated as a result of mental inspection, (3) it is imbued with the compassion that protects all beings, and (4) it is not itself afflicted, but it repels the afflictions of others.”
“Blessed One, why did you declare that bodhisattvas practice with a vast aspiration, are sublime, have a sublime aspiration, and possess the force of aspiration?”
“Avalokiteśvara, [I declared this] for four reasons: (1) bodhisattvas are skilled with respect to the blissful state of nirvāṇa, (2) they are able to attain it swiftly, (3) they have both given up this swift attainment and this blissful state, and (4) without wavering or being compelled,283 they mentally produce the aspiration to go for a long time through many kinds of suffering for the sake of beings. Therefore, I said that bodhisattvas possess a vast aspiration, a sublime aspiration, and the force of aspiration.”
“Blessed One, how many foundations of training do the bodhisattvas have?”
“Avalokiteśvara, they have six: generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditative absorption, and wisdom.”
“Blessed One, among those six, how many constitute the training in superior discipline, how many constitute the training in superior mind, and how many constitute the training in superior wisdom?”
“Avalokiteśvara, you should know that the first three constitute the training in superior discipline, meditative absorption constitutes the training in superior mind, wisdom constitutes the training in superior wisdom, and diligence is present in each of these trainings.” [F.42.b]
“Blessed One, how many of these foundations of training constitute the accumulation of merit? How many constitute the accumulation of gnosis?”
“Avalokiteśvara, the training in superior discipline constitutes the accumulation of merit. The training in superior wisdom constitutes the accumulation of gnosis. Diligence and meditative absorption are present in both.”
“Blessed One, how do bodhisattvas train in these six foundations of training?”
“Avalokiteśvara, they train in these six foundations of training according to five points: (1) by having devotion from the beginning for the teaching of the pure Dharma, for the teaching of the six perfections, and for the collection of teachings on the bodhisattva [path]; (2) by accomplishing next the wisdom arising from hearing, contemplating, and practicing [the truth] through the ten activities related to Dharma; (3) by preserving the awakening mind; (4) by relying upon a virtuous friend; and (5) by continuously practicing virtue.”
“Blessed One, why are the foundations of training known in terms of a sixfold classification?”
“Avalokiteśvara, there are two reasons: (1) they benefit beings and (2) they are antidotes to defilements. You should know that, among them, three benefit beings while three are antidotes to defilements.
1. “Through their generosity, bodhisattvas benefit beings by providing them with what is necessary to life; through their discipline, they benefit beings by not impoverishing them, harming them, or ridiculing them; and through their patience, they benefit beings by enduring impoverishment, harm, and ridicule. Thus, they benefit beings through these three foundations of training.
2. “Through their diligence they apply themselves to the virtue that completely overcomes defilements and eliminates them, since defilements are unable to deflect them from this practice; through their meditative absorption [F.43.a] they destroy defilements; and through their wisdom they put an end to their latent dispositions. Thus, these three foundations of training are antidotes to defilements.”
“Blessed One, why are the other perfections known in terms of a fourfold classification?”
“Avalokiteśvara, it is because they assist these six perfections:
1. “With the first three perfections, bodhisattvas benefit beings. Then, they establish beings in virtue through the skillful means consisting of the four methods of conversion. Therefore, I taught that the perfection of skillful means assists the first three perfections.
2. “Avalokiteśvara, suppose the bodhisattvas are unable to practice at all times in this life as a result of their many defilements. Suppose they are unable to focus their minds within due to the weakness of their superior intention as a result of their limited experience284 and aspiration. Suppose they are unable to accomplish the supramundane wisdom because they did not practice the meditative absorption based on the referential objects corresponding to the teachings on the bodhisattva path they have heard. However, since they have accumulated merit, even to a limited extent, they produce with their minds the aspiration that their defilements will decrease in the future. This is the perfection of aspiration. Because defilements decrease and bodhisattvas are able to exert their diligence through this perfection, the perfection of aspiration therefore assists the perfection of diligence.
3. “Then, relying on a noble being and on hearing the Dharma, they attain the state in which they direct their attention on discipline. Once they have turned away from having a superior intention whose power is limited, they obtain the power of intention of the heavenly realms.285 This is the perfection of power. Because bodhisattvas are able to focus on their minds within through this perfection, the perfection of power therefore assists the perfection of meditative absorption. [F.43.b]
4. “The bodhisattvas settle in meditative absorption as they practice the referential objects corresponding to the teachings on the bodhisattva path they have heard. This is the perfection of wisdom. Because bodhisattvas are able to accomplish supramundane wisdom through this perfection, the perfection of gnosis therefore assists the perfection of wisdom.”
“Blessed One, why should one know that the six perfections are taught in this order?”
“Avalokiteśvara, it is because the former is the support on which the latter is established, and so on and so forth. By not fixating on their bodies and possessions, bodhisattvas acquire discipline. By maintaining their discipline, they take possession of patience. Through patience, they engage in diligence. By having engaged in diligence, they establish meditative absorption. Once meditative absorption is established, they will obtain the supramundane wisdom.”
“Blessed One, of how many kinds are these perfections?”
“Avalokiteśvara, each of these perfections is of three kinds:
1. “The three kinds of generosity are the gift of Dharma, the gift of material objects, and the gift of fearlessness.
2. “The three kinds of discipline are the discipline that turns away from what is not virtuous, the discipline that engages in virtue, and the discipline that engages in benefiting beings.
3. “The three kinds of patience are the patience of enduring harm, the patience of not considering [one’s own] suffering, and the patient acceptance of Dharma by means of reflection.286
4. “The three kinds of diligence are the diligence that is like armor, the diligence to practice virtue, and the diligence to benefit beings.
5. “The three kinds of meditative absorption are the meditative absorption of blissful abiding that, nonconceptual and peaceful, is an antidote to defilements and suffering, the meditative absorption that brings about good qualities, and the meditative absorption that accomplishes the welfare of beings. [F.44.a]
6. “The three kinds of wisdom are the wisdom that takes the conventional truth as its referential object, the wisdom that takes the ultimate truth as its referential object, and the wisdom that takes the welfare of beings as its referential object.”
“Blessed One, why are the perfections called ‘perfections’?”
“Avalokiteśvara, this is for five reasons. The perfections are without attachment, disinterested, free from faults, nonconceptual, and dedication of merit:
1. “Being without attachment, they are completely devoid of attachment to factors adverse to themselves.
2. “Being disinterested, they are free from thoughts fixating on results or on some reward obtained from their accomplishment.
3. “Being free from faults, they are not involved with afflicted phenomena and lack unskillful means.
4. “Being nonconceptual, they are free from any literal assumption of having a defining characteristic specific to them.
5. “Being dedication of merit, they are the aspiration for the result of the bodhisattva path by having produced and accumulated287 these perfections.”
“Blessed One, what are the factors adverse to the perfections?”
“Avalokiteśvara, you should know that there are six factors: (1) considering as beneficial the joy produced by desirous objects, (2) indulging into pleasurable activities through one’s body, speech, or mind, (3) not enduring contempt with patience, (4) invoking merit to justify one’s lack of diligence, (5) being distracted by occupations, entertainment, and people, and (6) considering as beneficial the conventional mental elaborations arising from what one sees, hears, thinks, or is conscious of.”
“Blessed One, what is the result of the maturation of these perfections?”
“Avalokiteśvara, [F.44.b] you should know that there are six: (1) great wealth, (2) rebirth in pleasant destinies, (3) happiness and satisfaction from peace and concord, (4) sovereignty over beings, (5) the absence of physical harm, and (6) the renown of having great powers.”
“Blessed One, how are these perfections involved with afflicted phenomena?”
“Avalokiteśvara, they are involved through four practices: (1) the practice of the perfections without compassion, (2) the improper practice of the perfections, (3) the irregular practice of the perfections, and (4) the negligent practice of the perfections.
“The improper practice of the perfections occurs when the practice of one of these perfections impairs the practice of the other perfections.”
“Blessed One, what are unskillful means?”
“Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattvas assist beings by means of these perfections. If they do not establish beings in virtue once they have pulled them from nonvirtuous states and instead are satisfied to merely provide material objects to them, this is unskillful means. Why? Avalokiteśvara, one does not assist beings by merely doing this. It is like this: excrements, whether in large or small quantity, cannot be made to smell good by any method288 whatsoever. Likewise, no method that merely supports beings with material objects can make happy those who are suffering because their nature is to experience the suffering arising from being conditioned.289 In contrast, establishing them in virtue is the best and only way to benefit them.”
“Blessed One, how many kinds of purification are [included] in these perfections?”
“Avalokiteśvara, I did not state that there were other purifications apart from the five kinds [I have already mentioned].290 However, in relation to what I have already explained, [F.45.a] I will clarify for you the (1) general and (2) specific purifications included in the perfections.
1. “You should know that the general purifications that are common to all perfections include seven points: (1) bodhisattvas do not seek to make a profit from others through the teachings on the bodhisattva path; (2) they do not produce wrong conceptions with regard to these teachings; (3) with respect to these teachings, they do not give rise to indecision or doubts as to whether they will attain awakening or not; (4) they do not praise themselves, nor do they blame others or despise them; (5) they do not generate arrogance or carelessness; (6) they are not satisfied with only limited or inferior attainments; and (7) they are not stingy or envious of others because of these teachings.
2. “You should know that the purifications specific to each perfection also includes seven points:
“The seven points of the purification included in the perfection of generosity are as follows: (1) bodhisattvas practice generosity that is the purification of generosity through the purification291 of the object that is the gift, and (2–7) they practice generosity that is the purification of generosity through the purification of discipline, view, mind, speech, knowledge, and stains. Thus, as I have just explained, the purifications included in the perfection of generosity that bodhisattvas obtain and practice constitute the seven aspects of the purification of generosity.
“The seven points of the purification included in the perfection of discipline are as follows: (1) bodhisattvas are skilled in all aspects of the foundation of training related to vows, (2) they are skilled in removing transgressions, (3) their discipline is free from doubts, (4) they have a firm discipline, (5) they maintain discipline in all circumstances, (6) they engage in discipline at all times, and (7) they engage in the training by correctly practicing the foundations of training. These are the seven aspects of the purification of discipline.
“The seven points of the purification included in the perfection of patience are as follows: (1) when confronted with any kind of adversity, bodhisattvas do not waver because they are confident in the maturation of their karma; [F.45.b] (2) they do not engage in harming others by abusing, insulting, striking, intimidating, or criticizing them in order to retaliate; (3) they do not hold grudges; (4) when accused,292 they do not give rise to defilements; (5) they themselves do not indulge in accusations; (6) they do not practice patience with a mind that is fearful of consequences or interested; and (7) they do not fail to accomplish others’ benefit. These are the seven purifications of patience.
“The seven points of the purification included in the perfection of diligence are as follows: (1) bodhisattvas understand the equanimity of diligence; (2) with reference to diligence, they neither praise themselves nor deprecate others; (3–6) they are powerful, diligent, enthusiastic, and resolute; and (7) they never cease to be diligent with respect to virtuous qualities. These are the seven purifications of diligence.
“The seven points of the purification included in the perfection of meditative absorption are (1) the meditative absorption in the concentration that understands phenomenal appearance, (2) the perfect meditative absorption in concentration, (3) the meditative absorption in the concentration that has these two aspects, (4) the meditative absorption in the spontaneously arising concentration, (5) the meditative absorption in the concentration without support, (6) the meditative absorption in the concentration that produces flexibility, and (7) the meditative absorption in the concentration in the boundless practice of the referential objects corresponding to the teachings on the bodhisattva path. These are the seven purifications of meditative absorption.
“The seven points of the purification included in the perfection of wisdom are as follows: (1) Once they have abandoned the extremes of superimposition and negation by means of wisdom, bodhisattvas emerge [from cyclic existence] through the middle path. (2) On account of this wisdom, they realize the very meaning of the gate to liberation exactly as it is, namely, the threefold gate to liberation: emptiness, wishlessness, and appearancelessness. (3) They realize exactly as it is the very meaning of essence, namely, the threefold essence: the imaginary, the other-dependent, and the actual. (4) They realize exactly as it is the very meaning of essencelessness, namely, the threefold essencelessness regarding defining characteristics, arising, and the ultimate. [F.46.a] (5) They realize exactly as it is the very meaning of the conventional truth in relation to the five sciences.293 (6) They realize exactly as it is the very meaning of the ultimate truth with respect to the seven aspects of true reality. (7) They frequently abide in the unique approach of the nonconceptual state free of mental elaborations. By means of the insight that takes countless universal teachings as its referential object, they correctly accomplish the attainment resulting from the practice of the teachings that are in harmony with Dharma. You should know that these are the seven purifications of meditative absorption.”
“Blessed One, what is the function of each of these five purifications?”
“Avalokiteśvara, you should know that the five functions are as follows: (1) Having no attachment, the bodhisattvas continuously practice the perfections in this life. Because they practice them with enthusiasm, they are conscientious. (2) Being disinterested, they obtain the cause for the careful practice of these perfections in their future lives. (3) Free of any wrongdoing, they practice the perfect, pure, and stainless perfections. (4) Unburdened by conceptions, they swiftly perfect the perfections through their skillful means. (5) Because they transfer their merit, they will attain in all their future lives the inexhaustible perfections together with the desirable results produced by the maturation of their karma, until they obtain the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening.”
“Blessed One, what is the vastness of the bodhisattvas’ practice of these perfections?”
“Avalokiteśvara, bodhisattvas are without attachment and disinterested, and they transfer their merit.”
“In what way are they without afflictions?”
“They are free of any wrongdoing and conceptions.”
“In what way are they stainless?”
“They act as they mentally inspect.”
“In what way are they immovable?”
“They are said to be immovable because this is the nature of those who have entered the stages of a bodhisattva.” [F.46.b]
“In what way are the perfections utterly pure?”
“Avalokiteśvara, they are included within the tenth stage and the Buddha Stage.”
“Blessed One, why is the desirable result of the maturation resulting from the practice of the perfections always inexhaustible294 in the case of the bodhisattvas? Why do they obtain this inexhaustibility through the perfections?”
“Avalokiteśvara, it is because they practice each perfection295 in dependence upon the others.”
“Blessed One, why is it that bodhisattvas do not have faith in the desirable result of the maturation resulting from the practice of the perfections in the way they have faith in the perfections?”
“Avalokiteśvara, this is due to five reasons: (1) The perfections are the cause for the highest bliss and happiness, (2) they are the cause for the benefit of oneself and others, (3) they are the cause for the desirable result of their maturation in future lives, (4) they are the foundation of the freedom from afflictions, and (5) they have the nature of immutability.”
“Blessed One, what are their specific powers?”
“Avalokiteśvara, you should know that their specific powers have the following four qualities: (1) When the bodhisattvas practice the perfections, they eliminate adverse factors, such as greed, faulty discipline, mental agitation, laziness, distraction, and wrong views; (2) they will attain the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening; (3) in this life, they will benefit themselves as well as beings; and (4) in future lives they will attain the desirable result of their maturation, which is vast and inexhaustible.”
“Blessed One, from what cause do these perfections arise? What are their result and benefit?”
“Avalokiteśvara, the perfections have compassion as their cause. As result, they have the desirable result of their maturation and [F.47.a] the result accomplishing the benefit of beings. As benefit, they have the great benefit of accomplishing the great awakening.”
“Blessed One, if the bodhisattvas have inexhaustible resources as well as compassion for beings, why are there poor people in the world?”
“Avalokiteśvara, this is nothing but the fault resulting from beings’ own karma. If it were not so, if no obstruction were brought about by beings’ own faults, bodhisattvas could at all times engage in compassionate activities toward them. As bodhisattvas have inexhaustible resources, how could the vision of suffering manifest? Avalokiteśvara, it is like this: hungry ghosts whose bodies are tormented by thirst perceive the waters of the ocean as a dry and barren place. This is not the fault of the ocean but the fault resulting from the maturation of nothing but these hungry ghosts’ own karma. Likewise, the absence of result is not the fault of the bodhisattvas’ generosity, which is like the ocean, but the fault of beings themselves, the fault resulting from the karma of those who are like hungry ghosts.”
“Avalokiteśvara, they apprehend it through the perfection of wisdom.”
“Blessed One, when they apprehend essencelessness through the perfection of wisdom, why then do they not apprehend that essencelessness has an essence?”297
“Avalokiteśvara, I did not declare that essencelessness is apprehended by means of an essence.298 However, if one does not use expressions to teach, it is impossible to explain that this essencelessness is inexpressible and cognized intuitively. On this basis, I said that they perceive essencelessness.”
1. “Avalokiteśvara, bodhisattvas possess virtuous qualities, generosity and so on, that they have practiced over immeasurable periods of time. But when defilements arise in them, they are unable to overcome them and, instead, are overcome by them. Thus, this inferior and intermediate aspiration on the stage where one proceeds by means of aspiration is called perfection.
2. “Then, bodhisattvas possess virtuous qualities that they have practiced during further immeasurable periods of time. When defilements arise in them, these bodhisattvas overcome them and cannot be overcome by them. Thus, taking hold of these qualities beginning with the first stage is called immediate perfection.
3. “Next, bodhisattvas possess virtuous qualities that they have practiced during even longer immeasurable periods of time. In the bearer of such qualities, no defilement arises at all. Thus, taking hold of these qualities beginning with the eighth stage is called great perfection.”300
“Blessed One, how many kinds of latent dispositions toward defilements are there on the stages?”
“Avalokiteśvara, there are three:301
1. “The latent dispositions that destroy the factors conducive to the manifestation of defilements are as follows: on the first five stages, the factors conducive to the manifestation of innate defilements are non-innate defilements. At that point, these factors do not manifest. As a consequence, these latent dispositions are called latent dispositions that destroy the factors conducive [to the manifestation of defilements].
2. “The latent dispositions of limited power are as follows: on the sixth and seventh stages, subtle aspects of the latent dispositions manifest and through practice are suppressed. Therefore, as a consequence of this subtle manifestation, these latent dispositions are called latent dispositions of limited power.
3. “The subtle latent dispositions are as follows: on the eighth stage and above, defilements do not manifest at all because there only remain cognitive obstructions to be cleared. Therefore, these latent dispositions are called subtle latent dispositions.”
“Blessed One, how many kinds of elimination of corruption characterize these latent dispositions?”302
“Avalokiteśvara, there are three kinds:303 (1) the elimination of superficial corruption characterizes the first and the second type of latent dispositions]304 (2) the elimination of deeper corruption characterizes [F.48.a] the third type of latent dispositions, and (3) since the elimination of the innermost corruption is the state in which there are no latent dispositions at all, I have taught that it is the Buddha Stage.”
“Blessed One, after how many eons are these types of corruption eliminated?”
“Avalokiteśvara, they are abandoned within three incalculable periods of time—within immeasurable eons, seasons, moons, half-moons, days and nights, days, half days, hours, minutes, seconds, or split seconds.”
“Blessed One, how should the defining characteristic, the fault, and the positive quality of defilements arising in bodhisattvas be known?”
1. “Avalokiteśvara, defilements arising in bodhisattvas have the defining characteristic of nondefilement. Why? Because they fully realize the domain of truth, which is only determined on the first stage. On account of this, the defilements of bodhisattvas arise only with full awareness, not unconsciously. Therefore, [defilements arising in bodhisattvas have] the defining characteristic of nondefilements.
2. “Because they do not have the capacity to produce suffering in [bodhisattvas’] own [mental] continuums, they are faultless.
3. “Because they are the cause dispelling the suffering from the world of beings, they have boundless positive qualities.”
“Blessed One, if even the defilements arising in this way in bodhisattvas outshine the roots of virtue produced by all beings, hearers, and solitary realizers to such an extent, what need is there to mention their other positive qualities?305 The supreme value of the bodhisattvas’ awakening is truly amazing!
“Blessed One, what was your underlying intention when you declared that the vehicle of the hearers and the Great Vehicle constitute the Single Vehicle?” [F.48.b]
“In the vehicle of the hearers, I taught the essence of various phenomena, such as the five aggregates, the six internal sense domains, the six external sense domains, and so forth. In the Great Vehicle, I presented exactly these same phenomena by teaching them in terms of a single principle, the domain of truth. Therefore, I did not declare that [these two] vehicles are distinct from one another. Those who conceptualize these teachings exclusively according to their literal meaning also conceptualize these [two] vehicles as being distinct—some by superimposing, others by negating. As a consequence, they think that the two vehicles are contradictory306 and thus refute one another. This is what I had in mind when I taught the Single Vehicle.”
Then, at that moment, the Blessed One spoke these verses:
Then, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what is the name of the teaching imparted in this Dharma discourse that unravels the Tathāgata’s intent? How should I keep it in mind?”
The Blessed One answered, “Avalokiteśvara, this is a teaching of definitive meaning on the stages and the perfections. Keep it in mind as The Teaching of Definitive Meaning on the Stages and the Perfections. As the Blessed One expounded this teaching, seventy-five thousand bodhisattvas obtained the bodhisattva’s concentration, the light of the Great Vehicle. [F.49.a]
This was the chapter of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara—the ninth chapter.
Chapter 10
Then the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī addressed the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when you mention ‘the truth body of the tathāgatas,’ what is the defining characteristic of this truth body of the tathāgatas?”
The Blessed One answered, “Mañjuśrī, the truth body of the tathāgatas is characterized when one has fully achieved a shift in one’s basis of existence, the emergence [from cyclic existence] through the practice of the stages and the perfections.307 Because of the two [following] reasons, you should know that this truth body is characterized by inconceivability: (1) it is beyond mental elaborations and is not produced by intentional action,308 (2) while beings are fixated on mental elaborations and produced by intentional action.”
“Blessed One, is the shift in the hearers’ and solitary realizers’ basis of existence also designated as the truth body?”
“Mañjuśrī, it is not.”
“Blessed One, how should it be called?”
“Mañjuśrī, it should be called the liberation body.309 With regard to the liberation body, the tathāgatas are similar and equal to the hearers and solitary realizers, but, on account of the truth body, they are distinctively superior to them. This being so, they are also distinctively superior to them in terms of the distinctively immeasurable aspect of their positive qualities. This is not easy to illustrate with examples.”
“Blessed One, how should we consider those who have the characteristic of manifesting themselves through the birth of a tathāgata?”
“Mañjuśrī, those who have the characteristic of the emanation body310 resemble those who manifest in the world realms. You should see them as those whose characteristic is to be established by the sovereign power311 of the buddhas, being fully adorned with the ornaments of the tathāgatas’ qualities. The truth body does not have this manifestation of arising.”
“Blessed One, how should we consider the skillful means employed by the emanation body [for the sake of liberating beings from cyclic existence]?”312 [F.49.b]
“Mañjuśrī, being conceived in a family renowned to be powerful or honorable in all the buddha fields of the trichiliocosm, taking birth, growing up, enjoying desirous objects, leaving home, displaying immediately the practice of austerities, renouncing them, and displaying all the stages of the complete and perfect awakening should be considered as the skillful means of the emanation body.”
“Blessed One, through which teachings emanating from their sovereign power do the tathāgatas bring to maturity those spiritually immature beings who have been converted? How do they liberate spiritually mature beings by means of the very referential object [taught in the Great Vehicle]?”
“Mañjuśrī, they bring them to maturity through three teachings: the sūtras, the Vinaya, and the mātṛkās.”
“Blessed One, what are the sūtras, the Vinaya, and the mātṛkās?”
“Mañjuśrī, it is like this: sūtras are teachings that gather the subject matter of various Dharma methods in four, nine, or twenty-nine topics.
1. “What are the four topics? They are (i) what was heard, (ii) taking refuge, (iii) the training, and (iv) the awakening.
2. “What are the nine topics? They are (i) concepts of sentient beings, (ii) their possessions, (iii) their birth, (iv) their existence after birth, (v) their affliction and purification, (vi) their diversity, (vii) the teacher, (viii) the teaching, and (ix) the assembly.
3. “What are the twenty-nine topics? They are the topics related to affliction: (i) [the phenomena] included in the conditioned, (ii) their progressive activity, (iii) the cause of their arising in future lives once they have been conceptualized as a person, and (iv) the cause of their arising in future lives once they have been conceptualized as phenomena.
“They are also the topics related to purification: [F.50.a] (v) the referential objects that are taken as reference points;313 (vi) the exertion in [the practice of] these very [objects]; (vii) mental abiding;314 (viii) blissful abiding in this very life; (ix) the referential objects that liberate from all suffering; (x) the three kinds of comprehension, which are the comprehension of the basis of error, the comprehension of the basis of error with respect to beings’ conceptions for nonpractitioners, and the comprehension of the basis of humility for those who practice Dharma; (xi) the basis of practice; (xii) the actualization [of practice];315 (xiii) the practice; (xiv) [the practice] as the central activity; (xv) its aspects; (xvi) its referential objects; (xvii) the skills in the investigation of what has already been eliminated and what not yet been eliminated; (xviii) [the factors] that are distractions from practice; (xix) [the factors] that are not distractions from practice; (xx) the source of nondistraction; (xxi) the yoga of clear mindfulness316 that is protected by317 the practice; (xxii) the benefit of practice; (xxiii) its stability; (xiv) the unification with the lord of the noble [practice]; (xv) the unification with its retinue and entourage; (xxvi) the realization of true reality; (xxvii) the attainment of nirvāṇa; (xxviii) the fact that the well-expounded Dharma and Vinaya are superior to the correct views of mundane beings and all nonpractitioners; and (xxix) the impairments resulting from not practicing. Thus, Mañjuśrī, without practicing the well-expounded Dharma and Vinaya, impairments will ensue, and this is not because one has faulty views.
“Mañjuśrī, the Vinaya is my teaching on individual liberation for hearers and bodhisattvas, as well as that which is associated with it.” [F.50.b]
“Blessed One, how many topics are included in [the teaching on the] individual liberation of bodhisattvas?”
“Mañjuśrī, there are seven topics: (1) the teachings on the ceremony of taking [the vows of the bodhisattva discipline], (2) the teachings on the basis of serious downfalls,318 (3) the teachings on the basis of transgressions, (4) the teachings on the nature of transgressions, (5) the teachings on the nature of what are not transgressions, (6) the teachings on the emergence from transgressions, and (7) the teachings on the abandonment of the vows.
“Mañjuśrī, the mātṛkās are the teachings that I imparted and categorized into eleven topics. What are these eleven topics? They are (1) the defining characteristic of the conventional, (2) the defining characteristic of the ultimate, (3) the defining characteristic of referential objects consisting of the awakening factors, (4) the defining characteristic of their features; (5) the defining characteristic of the[ir] nature, (6) the defining characteristic of their result, (7) the defining characteristic of the description of the experience of them, (8) the defining characteristic of the factors disrupting them,319 (9) the defining characteristic of the factors conducive to them, (10) the defining characteristic of the defects related to them, and (11) the defining characteristic of their benefit.
1. “Mañjuśrī, consider that the defining characteristic of the conventional has three subtopics: (1) the teaching on persons, (2) the teaching on the imaginary nature, and (3) the teaching on the activity, movement, and action of phenomena.
2. “Consider the defining characteristic of the ultimate in terms of the teaching on the seven aspects of true reality.320
3. “Consider the defining characteristic of referential objects in terms of the teaching on all the things corresponding to cognitive objects.
4. “Consider the defining characteristic of [their] features in terms of the teaching on the eight features of the analysis of cognitive objects. What are these eight? They are (i) the truth of cognitive objects, (ii) their determination,321 (iii) their faults, (iv) their positive qualities, (v) the methods for analyzing, (vi) the processes related to them, (vii) the principles of reason, and (viii) the condensed and extensive presentations of cognitive objects.
i. “With respect to these eight points, the truth of cognitive objects is true reality.
ii. “The determination of cognitive objects consists in establishing the person or the imaginary essence [F.51.a] or in establishing categorical, analytical, interrogative, and dismissive answers as well as secret instructions.322
iii. “The faults of cognitive objects are the defects of phenomena related to affliction, which I have taught in several ways.
iv. “The positive qualities of cognitive objects are the benefits arising from phenomena related to purification, which I have taught in several ways.
v. “The methods for analyzing cognitive objects includes six points: (a) the method for analyzing the meaning of true reality; (b) the method for analyzing attainments; (c) the method for analyzing explanations; (d) the method for analyzing the elimination of the two extremes; (e) the method for analyzing the inconceivable; and (f) the method for analyzing the underlying intention.
vi. “The processes related to cognitive objects are the three times, the three defining characteristics of the conditioned, and the four conditions.
vii. “There are four principles of reason in the analysis of cognitive objects: (a) the principle of reason based on dependence, (b) the principle of reason based on cause and effect, (c) the principle of reason based on logical proof, and (d) the principle of reason based on the nature of phenomena itself.
a. “The arising of conditioned phenomena and the causes for their being expressed through conventions, as well as related causal conditions, constitute the principle of reason based on dependence.
b. “The causes that will bring about a result,323 a completion, or an action once phenomena have arisen, as well as related causal conditions, constitute the principle of reason based on cause and effect.
c. “The causes establishing the meaning and bringing about the valid understanding of the thesis,324 the demonstration, and the statement of a proof, as well as related causal conditions, constitute the principle of reason based on logical proof.325 This logical proof is, moreover, of two kinds: valid and invalid. Among these, five are characterized as valid326 and seven as invalid. What are the five logical proofs characterized as valid? They are the logical proofs characterized by (I) a perception that is a direct cognition of the thing to establish,327 (II) a perception that is a direct cognition of something existing in dependence on the thing to establish,328 (III) a demonstration through an instance belonging to the same class,329 [F.51.b] (IV) an actual demonstration, and (V) a citation from a valid scripture.330
“With regard to those five logical proofs:
I. “The logical proof characterized by the perception that is a direct cognition of the thing to establish consists [for example] in perceiving through a direct cognition that all conditioned phenomena are impermanent, suffering, and without a self as well as anything conforming to this.331
II. “The logical proof characterized by a direct cognition of something existing in dependence on the thing to establish consists in inferring something not directly perceptible by means of something332 [directly perceptible], as well as in anything conforming to this, [for example], (A) the perception as a direct cognition of the principle of impermanence that exists in dependence on the things to establish, [namely,] the momentariness of all conditioned phenomena, the existence of a next life, and the consequence of good and bad deeds;333 (B) the perception as direct cognition of the diversity of beings that exists in dependence on the thing to establish, [namely,] the diversity of karma; or (C) the direct cognition of the happiness and suffering of beings that exists in dependence on the things to establish, [namely,] virtue and nonvirtue].334
III. “You should know that the logical proof characterized by a demonstration through an instance belonging to the same class of phenomena335 consists in anything conforming to this, [for example] in the demonstration of external and internal conditioned phenomena through (A) the perception of death and rebirth, being born and other forms of suffering,336 and causal dependence,337 which are established as facts in all worlds or (B) the perception of wealth and misery, which are established as facts in all worlds, including those of future lives.338
IV. “Thus, you should know that a logical proof characterized by one of the three proofs mentioned above339 is an actual demonstration because it is conclusive with respect to the thing that must be established.
V. “Mañjuśrī, you should know that the logical proof characterized by a citation from a valid scripture consists in the words taught by quoting the omniscient ones, such as ‘Nirvāṇa is peace’ and other similar statements. [F.52.a]
“Therefore, on account of these five kinds of characteristics, an analysis of cognitive objects founded on the principle of reason based on logical proof is valid.340 Because such an analysis is valid, you should rely on it.”
“Blessed One, how many qualities do those we should consider as having the defining characteristics of the omniscient tathāgatas have?”
“Mañjuśrī, they have five qualities: (A) wherever they manifest, they are renowned in this world for their omniscience; (B) they have the thirty-two marks of a great being; (C) by means of their ten powers, they eliminate all qualms affecting beings; (D) the words of the Dharma they teach through the four kinds of assurance cannot be refuted or disputed by any opponent; (E) on the basis of their Dharma and Vinaya, the eightfold noble path as well as the four noble truths manifest for those who have renounced cyclic existence.341 Thus, you should know that their manifestation, marks, elimination of doubts, freedom from refutations and disputes, and support [for those who have renounced cyclic existence] constitute the defining characteristic of the omniscient tathāgatas.
“Thus, the principle of reason based on logical proof is valid on account of the five characteristics included within these valid cognitions: direct cognitions, inferences, and authoritative scriptures.342
“What are the seven logical proofs characterized as invalid? They are the logical proofs characterized by (I) a perception that conforms with something other than the thing to be established,343 (II) a perception that does not conform with anything other than the thing to establish,344 (III) a perception that conforms with all things,345 (IV) a perception that does not conform with anything,346 (V) a demonstration through an instance belonging to a different class of phenomena,347 (VI) a demonstration that is not actually demonstrating anything, and (VII) a citation drawn from an invalid scripture.
“The logical proof characterized by a perception that does not conform with anything348 is ascertained when the defining characteristics of the proof and the premise do not conform with one another because they are incompatible in terms of reason, essence, karma, quality, or cause and effect.349 [F.52.b]
“Mañjuśrī, the logical proof characterized by a perception that does not conform with anything350 is comprised by the logical proof characterized by a perception that conforms with something other than the thing to be established351 and similar instances. This proof is therefore inconclusive with respect to the thing to establish.352 This is called an unestablished logical proof.353
“Moreover, the logical proof characterized by a perception that conforms with all things354 is comprised by the logical proof characterized by a perception that does not conform with anything other than the thing to establish355 and similar instances. This proof is therefore inconclusive with respect to the thing to establish. This is also called an unestablished logical proof.356
“Because these logical proofs are not established, the analysis is invalid according to the principle of reason based on logical proof. Since this analysis is invalid, you should not rely on it. You should know that the logical proof characterized by a citation from an invalid scripture is invalid by nature.
d. “Whether tathāgatas manifest or not, the constancy of the domain of truth, the nature of phenomena, on account of the constancy of phenomena, constitutes the principle of reason based on the nature of phenomena.357
viii. “The condensed and the extensive presentation of cognitive objects consists of first summarizing, then analyzing words and sections of the teaching, and finally concluding the explanation.
5. “The defining characteristic of the nature of awakening factors consists in the apprehension of a referential object together with its aspects, as I have taught, such as the awakening factors, the four applications of mindfulness, and so on.
6. “The defining characteristic of their result is the accomplishment of their result, the mundane and supramundane positive qualities, by abandoning the defilements associated with the mundane or the supramundane phenomena.
7. “The defining characteristic of accounts telling how one experiences them as one proclaims them, explains them, and correctly teach them to others is the analytical knowledge of the gnosis358 that liberates within true reality.
8. “The defining characteristic of the factors disrupting them is the afflicted phenomenon in the form of an obstacle to the practice of these very awakening factors. [F.53.a]
9. “The defining characteristic of the factors conducive to them is the phenomenon useful to [enhancing] them.
10.” The defining characteristic of defects related to them is the fault interrupting them.
11. “Mañjuśrī, you should know that the defining characteristic of their benefit consists in their corresponding positive qualities.”
Then, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī further said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, please explain the meaning of the formula through which bodhisattvas comply with the underlying intention359 of the profound Dharma expounded by the tathāgatas, the complete meaning of the sūtras, the Vinaya, and the mātṛkās that is not known by those not following you.”
“Mañjuśrī, listen. I will explain to you the complete meaning of the formula so that bodhisattvas will in this way understand my underlying intention. Mañjuśrī, the possessors of qualities resulting from affliction and purification360 are all without movement and without a person. This is why I taught that all phenomena are in every respect beyond activity. It is not the case that the possessors of qualities resulting from affliction first became afflicted and will then become purified from these afflictions or that the possessors of qualities resulting from purification have become purified from afflictions they previously acquired. Thus, foolish ordinary beings rely on views resulting from their latent dispositions, on account of which they wrongly conceive the body afflicted by corruption as the essence of phenomena and persons. As a consequence, reifying [the ego through concepts such as] ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ they mistakenly conceive of the following notions: ‘I see,’ ‘I hear,’ ‘I smell,’ ‘I taste,’ ‘I touch,’ ‘I am conscious,’ ‘I eat,’ ‘I do,’ ‘I am afflicted,’ and ‘I am purified.’ [F.53.b]
“Thus, those who understand this fact as it really is abandon the body afflicted by corruption and instead obtain the body that is not a support for any defilement, being pure, free from mental elaborations, unconditioned, and unproduced by intentional action. Mañjuśrī, you should know that this is the complete meaning of the formula.”
Then, at that moment, the Blessed One spoke these verses:
“Blessed One, how should we know the defining characteristic of the arising of the tathāgatas’ mind?”
“Mañjuśrī, tathāgatas are not characterized by mind, thought, or cognition.363 However, you should know that, similar to an emanation,364 the tathāgatas’ mind arises in the way of something that is not produced by intentional action.”
“Blessed One, if the truth body of the tathāgatas is not produced at all by intentional action, how then could their mind arise without being produced by intentional action?”365
“Mañjuśrī, their mind arises on account of a previous intentional action, namely, the practice of skillful means and wisdom. Mañjuśrī, it is like this: although awakening from a state of sleep in which there is no thought ensues [spontaneously] without resulting from intentional action, [F.54.a] one will awaken due to previous intentional actions. Although the emergence from the absorption in the state of cessation is not produced by intentional action, one will emerge from it merely due to previous intentional actions. Just as the mind arises from a state of sleep or from the absorption in the state of cessation, you should know that the tathāgatas’ mind also arises due to previous intentional actions such as the practice of skillful means and wisdom.”
“Blessed One, should we say that the mind emanated by tathāgatas exists or not?”
“Mañjuśrī, [their] mind neither exists nor does not exist, because it is causally independent and causally dependent.”366
“Blessed One, what is the sphere of activity of the tathāgatas? What is the domain367 of the tathāgatas? Should we consider these two as distinct?”
“Mañjuśrī, the sphere of activity of the tathāgatas consists in the pure buddha realms, the arrayed ornaments of inconceivable and boundless positive qualities common to all tathāgatas. The domain of the tathāgatas comprises five domains: the domain of the surrounding universe, the domain of beings, the domain of Dharma, the domain of discipline, and the domain of methods of discipline.368 There is a distinction between the two.”
“Blessed One, how should we understand the defining characteristic of the tathāgatas’ complete and perfect awakening, of their turning of the wheel of Dharma, and of their great parinirvāṇa?”
“Mañjuśrī, the tathāgatas are characterized by nonduality.369 They are neither completely and perfectly awakened nor not completely and perfectly awakened; [F.54.b] they neither turn the wheel of Dharma nor do not turn the wheel of Dharma; they neither [attain] the great parinirvāṇa nor do not attain the great parinirvāṇa. This is because the truth body is utterly pure and the emanation body constantly manifests.”
“Blessed One, why should we consider that the merit produced by beings on account of seeing, hearing, or serving the tathāgatas’ emanation body arises from the tathāgatas?”
“Mañjuśrī, it is because these activities consist in taking a superior referential object thanks to the tathāgatas, and also because the emanation body is the tathāgatas’ sovereign power.”
“Blessed One, since this does not seem to be produced by intentional action, why is it that the great light of gnosis manifests in beings solely through the truth body of the tathāgatas and that innumerable emanated reflections also manifest [as the tathāgatas’ emanation body], while this light and its reflections do not manifest from the hearers’ and solitary realizers’ liberation body?”
“Mañjuśrī, while this does not seem to be produced by intentional action, on account of the power of very strong beings and the force of beings’ karma, a great light manifests to beings from water and fire crystals produced from the disks of the moon and sun. However, it does not manifest from water and fire crystals produced from other sources. From a precious gem that has been well polished through [intentional] action, reflections corresponding to its engraving manifest [when it is placed before a light source]. However, they do not manifest from another unpolished gem. Likewise, because the truth body of the tathāgatas also is established by having been purified through the practice of skillful means and insight focusing on the immeasurable domain of truth, [F.55.a] the great light of gnosis manifests in beings, and innumerable emanated reflections arise. However, they do not manifest from the hearers’ and solitary realizers’ liberation body.”
“Blessed One, you said that, through the force of the tathāgatas’ and bodhisattvas’ sovereign power, one can obtain an excellent body in the realm of desire, such as that of a warrior or a brahman, a body that is like a great sāla tree, or the excellent body of a god residing in the realm of desire, the realm of form, or the realm of the formless. Blessed One, what was your underlying intention with regard to this?”
“Mañjuśrī, by means of their sovereign power, tathāgatas teach as they are the path and practices through which one obtains all these excellent bodies. Those accomplishing these path and practices will always obtain all these perfect bodies, while those who reject or denigrate these path and practices, as well as those who have animosity or resentment toward them, will always obtain all kinds of miserable bodies upon their death. Mañjuśrī, on account of this skillful means, you should know in this way that, because of the sovereign power of the tathāgatas, one will be reborn in a perfect body as well as in a miserable one.”
“Blessed One, in the universes that are impure and pure, what is abundant? What is rare?”
“Mañjuśrī, in the universes that are impure, [F.55.b] eight things are abundant and two are rare. Abundant are (1) followers of traditions other than mine; (2) suffering beings; (3) beings who are different in terms of lineages, families, and communities or wealth and poverty; (4) beings engaging into wrongdoing; (5) beings who have lost their discipline; (6) beings in bad destinies; (7) followers of inferior vehicles; and (8) bodhisattvas with inferior intentions and practices. Rare are (1) the actions of bodhisattvas having superior intentions and practices and (2) the manifestation of tathāgatas.
“Mañjuśrī, in the universes that are pure, it is the opposite of this. You should know that these eight things are rare and these two things abundant.”
Then, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what is the name of the teaching imparted in this Dharma discourse that unravels the Tathāgata’s intent? How should I keep it in mind?”
The Blessed One answered, “Mañjuśrī, this is a teaching of definitive meaning establishing the deeds of the tathāgatas. Keep it in mind as The Teaching of Definitive Meaning Establishing the Deeds of the Tathāgatas. As the Blessed One expounded this teaching, seventy-five thousand bodhisattvas obtained the perfect analytical knowledge of the truth body.
After the Blessed One had spoken these words, the prince Mañjuśrī together with the entire retinue of gods, humans, demigods, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.
The [tenth chapter of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī] called “The Chapter Establishing the Positive Qualities [of the Tathāgatas]” of [the sūtra of] the Great Vehicle called “Unraveling the Intent” is concluded.
Abbreviations
Bd | Bardan (Zanskar) canonical collection |
---|---|
C | Choné xylograph Kangyur |
Cbeta | Chinese Electronic Buddhist Association, (www.cbeta.org) |
Cz | Chizhi Kangyur |
D | Degé xylograph Kangyur |
Dd | Dodedrak Kangyur |
Dk | Dongkarla Kangyur |
Do | Dolpo canonical collection |
F | Phukdrak manuscript Kangyur |
Go | Gondhla (Lahaul) canonical collection |
Gt | Gangteng Kangyur |
H | Lhasa xylograph Kangyur |
He | Hemis I Kangyur |
J | ’jang sa tham/Lithang xylograph Kangyur |
Kʙ | Berlin manuscript Kangyur |
Kǫ774 | Peking 1737 xylograph Kangyur |
L | London (Shelkar) manuscript Kangyur |
Lg | Lang mdo Kangyur |
Mvyut | Mahāvyutpatti |
N | Narthang xylograph Kangyur |
Ng | Namgyal Kangyur |
Np | Neyphug Kangyur |
O | Tawang Kangyur |
Pj | Phajoding I Kangyur |
Pz | Phajoding II Kangyur |
R | Ragya Kangyur |
S | Stok manuscript Kangyur |
Saṃdh. | Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra |
Saṃdhdh | Dunhuang manuscript: Stein Tib. n°194 (49 folios) and Stein Tib. n°683 (1 folio) (Hakamaya 1984–1987) |
T | Tokyo manuscript Kangyur |
Taishō 676 | 解深密經, translated by Xuanzang (596–664 ᴄᴇ) |
TrBh | Sthiramati’s Triṃśikāvijñaptibhāṣyam |
U | Urga xylograph Kangyur |
V | Ulaanbaatar manuscript Kangyur |
VD | Degé; xylograph of the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi from the Tengyur |
VG | Golden; xylograph of the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi from the Tengyur |
VP | Peking; xylograph of the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi from the Tengyur |
VinSg | Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi |
X | Basgo manuscript Kangyur |
YBht P ’i | Tibetan translation of Acarya Asanga’s Yogācārabhūmi from the Peking Tengyur (n°. 5540, sems-tsam, ’i 143aI-382a5 (vol. I l l : 121-217) |
Z | Shey Palace manuscript Kangyur |
Notes
Bibliography
Tibetan Sources
’phags pa dgongs pa nges par ’grel pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryasaṃdhinirmocananāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 106, Degé Kangyur vol. 49 (mdo sde, ca) folios 1.b–55.b.
’phags pa dgongs pa nges par ’grel pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 49, pp. 3–131.
Asaṅga. rnal ’byor spyod pa’i sa (Yogācārabhūmi). Toh 4035, Degé Tengyur vol. 127 (sems tsam, tshi) folios 1.b–283.a
Asaṅga. rnal ’byor spyod pa’i sa rnam par gtan la dbab pa bsdu ba (Yogācārabhūmiviniścayasaṃgraha). Toh 4038, Degé Tengyur vol. 130 (sems tsam, zhi), folios 1.b–289.a; vol. 131 (sems tsam, zi), folios 1.b–127.a.
Buddhabhūmisūtra (sangs rgyas kyi sa’i mdo). Toh 275, Degé Kangyur vol. 68 (mdo sde, ya), folios 36.a–44.b.
Kamalaśila. bsgom pa’i rim pa (Bhāvanākrama). Toh 3915, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 22.a–41.b; Toh 3916, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 42.a–55.b; and Toh 3917, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 55.b–68.b.
Mahāvyutpatti (bye brag tu rtogs par byed pa chen po). Toh 4346, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (sna tshogs, co), folios 1.b–131.a.
Māyājāla (mdo chen sgyu ma’i dra ba). Toh 288, Degé Kangyur vol. 71 (mdo sde, sha), folios 230.a–244.a.
Tathāgataguṇajñānācintyaviṣayāvatāranirdeśasūtra (de bzhin gshegs pa’i yon tan dang ye shes bsam gyis mi khyab pa’i yul la ’jug pa bstan pa’i mdo). Toh 185, Degé Kangyur vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 106.a–143.b.
Trisong Detsen (khri srong lde brtsan). bka’ yang dag pa’i tshad ma las mdo btus pa (Samyagvākpramāṇoddhṛtasūtra). Toh 4352, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (sna tshogs, co), folios 173.b–203.a.
Vasubandhu. dbus dang mtha’ rnam par ’byed pa’i ’grel pa (Madhyāntavibhāgabhāṣya). Toh 4027, Degé Tengyur vol. 124 (sems tsam, bi), folios 1.b–27.a.
Wonch’uk. dgongs pa zab mo nges par ’grel pa’i mdo rgya cher ’grel pa (*Āryagambhīrasaṃdhinirmocanasūtraṭīkā) Toh 4016, Degé Tengyur vol. 118 (mdo ’grel, ti), folios 1.b–291.a; vol. 119 (mdo ’grel, thi), folios 1.b–175.a.
IOL Tib J 194. British Library, London. Accessed through The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online.
Other Canonical Sources for Samdh.
Bd3.7 vol. 3 (ta) pha, folios 1.b–84.a
C747 vol. 29 (mdo sde, ca), folios 1.b–71.a
Dd031-001 (mdo ca), folios 1.b–69.b
Dk034-001 (mdo na), folios 1.b–87.b
Do (mdo sde, da), folios 196.a–246.b
F156 vol. 68 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 1.b–72.a
Go19,01 vol. 19 (ka), folios 1.b–36.a
Gt028-001 (mdo na), folios 1.b–72.b
H109 vol. 51 (mdo sde, ca), folios 1.b–87.b
He64.6 (mdo, wa), folios 62.b–125.b
J51 vol. 44 (mdo sde, ca), folios 1.b–59.b
Kǫ774 vol. 29 (mdo sna tshogs, ngu), folios 1.b–60.b
L82 vol. 42 (mdo sde, na), folios 1.b–80.b
N94 vol. 51 (mdo sde, ca) folios 1.a–81.a.
Np012-001 (mdo na), folios 1.b–87.a
Pj043-001 (mdo ca), folios 1.b–62.b
Pz045-001 (mdo ca), folios 1.b–61.a
R106 vol. 49 (mdo sde, ca), folios 1.b–55.b
S106 vol. 63 (mdo sde, na), folios 1.b–80.b
U106 vol. 49 (mdo sde, ca), folios 1.b–55.b
X (mdo sde, wa), folios 66.a–132.a
Z137 vol. 59 (mdo, na), folios 1.b–93.a
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Glossary
Abiding in phenomena
chos gnas pa nyid
ཆོས་གནས་པ་ཉིད།
dharmasthititā
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Absorption
snyoms par ’jug pa
སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ།
samāpatti
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Absorption in the state of cessation
’gog pa la snyoms par zhugs pa
འགོག་པ་ལ་སྙོམས་པར་ཞུགས་པ།
nirodhasamāpatti
See Mvyut 1500 and 1988.
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Accept
len
ལེན།
ādadante
accepted
cf. Sanskrit text in Matsuda 2013, p. 940 ad Lamotte VIII.40.
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Acceptance that phenomena are non-arisen
mi skye ba’i chos la bzod pa
མི་སྐྱེ་བའི་ཆོས་ལ་བཟོད་པ།
anutpattidharmakṣānti
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Accomplishment of the goal
dgos pa yongs su grub pa
དགོས་པ་ཡོངས་སུ་གྲུབ་པ།
kṛtyānuṣṭhāna
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Accumulated
kun tu bsags pa
ཀུན་ཏུ་བསགས་པ།
ācita
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Accused
shag kyis ’chags
ཤག་ཀྱིས་འཆགས།
codanā
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Activity of conditioning mental factors
’du byed kyi ’jug pa
འདུ་བྱེད་ཀྱི་འཇུག་པ།
saṃskārapravṛtti
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Actual defining characteristic
yongs su grub pa’i mtshan nyid
ཡོངས་སུ་གྲུབ་པའི་མཚན་ཉིད།
pariniṣpannalakṣaṇa
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Actual essence
yongs su grub pa’i ngo bo nyid · yongs su grub pa’i rang bzhin
ཡོངས་སུ་གྲུབ་པའི་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད། · ཡོངས་སུ་གྲུབ་པའི་རང་བཞིན།
pariniṣpannasvabhāva
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Actualization
mngon du bya ba
མངོན་དུ་བྱ་བ།
sākṣātkāra
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Actually refer to
mngon par rjod pas rjod pa
མངོན་པར་རྗོད་པས་རྗོད་པ།
abhivadamānā · abhivadanti
Mahāvyutpatti 1290.
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Affliction
kun nas nyon mongs pa
ཀུན་ནས་ཉོན་མོངས་པ།
saṃkleśa
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Aggregate
phung pho
ཕུང་ཕོ།
skandha
The five skandhas (pañcaskandha) are: forms (rūpa), sensation (vedanā), conception (saṃjñā), formations (saṃskāra), consciousness (vijñāna).
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Analysis
brtag pa
བརྟག་པ།
parīkṣā
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Analytical knowledge
so sor yang dag par rig pa
སོ་སོར་ཡང་དག་པར་རིག་པ།
pratisaṃvid
See Har Dayal 2004, p. 260ff.
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Analytical knowledge of designations
chos so sor yang dag par rig pa
ཆོས་སོ་སོར་ཡང་དག་པར་རིག་པ།
dharmapratisaṃvid
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Analytical knowledge of the objects of designation
don so sor yang dag par rig pa
དོན་སོ་སོར་ཡང་དག་པར་རིག་པ།
ārthapratisaṃvid
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Analyze
so sor rtog par byed · so sor rtog pa
སོ་སོར་རྟོག་པར་བྱེད། · སོ་སོར་རྟོག་པ།
pratyavekṣaṇa · pratyavekṣa
pratyavekṣaṇa
analyzing
The term so sor rtog pa has two meanings in our text: (1) analysis (pratyavekṣa) and (2) comprehension, realization, awakening (pratibodha).
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Anumāṇa
—
anumāṇa
Technical term in Buddhist logic.
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Appearance
snang ba
སྣང་བ།
pratibhāsa
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Appearancelessness
mtshan ma med pa
མཚན་མ་མེད་པ།
animitta
One of the three gates of liberation along with emptiness and wishlessness.
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Applications of mindfulness
dran pa nye bar gzhag pa
དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་གཞག་པ།
smṛtyupasthāna
The four foundations of mindfulness refers to the application of mindfulness to: the body, sensations, the mind, phenomena.
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Appropriating cognition
len pa’i rnam par shes pa
ལེན་པའི་རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ།
ādānavijñāna
ādānavijñāna
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Argumentative disputation
rtsod pa
རྩོད་པ།
vivāda
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Aspiration
smon lam
སྨོན་ལམ།
praṇidhāna
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Aspiration
mos pa
མོས་པ།
praṇidhāna
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Assumption
mngon par zhen pa
མངོན་པར་ཞེན་པ།
abhiniviśanti
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Attaining the powers
stobs bskyed pa
སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་པ།
balādhāna
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Attending
rjes su dpyod pa
རྗེས་སུ་དཔྱོད་པ།
anucaranti
attend
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Authoritative scripture
yid ches pa’i lung gi tshad ma
ཡིད་ཆེས་པའི་ལུང་གི་ཚད་མ།
āptāgamapramāṇa
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Avalokiteśvara
spyan ras gzigs · ’phags pa spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug
སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས། · འཕགས་པ་སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་དབང་ཕྱུག
Avalokiteśvara · Āryāvalokiteśvara
Āryāvalokiteśvara
The bodhisattva who embodies compassion, also mentioned in this text as Āryāvalokiteśvara, the noble Avalokiteśvara.
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Awakening
byang chub
བྱང་ཆུབ།
bodhi
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Awakening factors
byang chub kyi phyogs dang mthun pa’i chos
བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི ཕྱོགས་དང་མཐུན་པའི་ཆོས།
bodhyaṅga
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Awakening mind
byang chub kyi sems
བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས།
bodhicitta
bodhicitta
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Awareness
shes bzhin
ཤེས་བཞིན།
samprajāna
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Bahuvrīhi
—
bahuvrīhi
Type of Sanskrit compound.
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Bases of supernatural powers
rdzu ’phrul gyi rkang pa
རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་རྐང་པ།
ṛddhipādaḥ
The four bases of supernatural powers (ṛddhipāda, rdzu ’phrul gyi rkang pa bzhi) are: (1) concentration through will (chanda, ’dun pa), (2) concentration through vigor (vīrya, brtson ’grus), (3) concentration through the mind (citta, bsam pa), and (4) concentration through investigation (mīmāṃsā, dpyod pa ). See Rahula 2001, p. 163.
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Belief in a perduring self
’jig tshogs la lta ba
འཇིག་ཚོགས་ལ་ལྟ་བ།
satkāyadṛṣṭi
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Beryl
bai dUr+ya
བཻ་དཱུརྱ།
vaidūrya
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Bichiliocosm
stong gnyis pa bar ma’i ’jig rten gyi khams
སྟོང་གཉིས་པ་བར་མའི་འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།
dvitīyamadhyama sāhasralokadhātu
Equal to a thousand universes of a thousand worlds (i.e., a universe of a million worlds).
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Binding
’ching ba
འཆིང་བ།
bandhana
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Blessed one
bcom ldan ’das
བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
bhagavān · bhagavat
An epithet for a buddha.
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Body afflicted by corruption
gnas ngan len gyi lus
གནས་ངན་ལེན་གྱི་ལུས།
dauṣṭhulyakāya
dauṣṭhulyakāya
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Branches of awakening
byang chub kyi yan lag
བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཡན་ལག
bodhyaṅgāni
The seven branches of awakening are: (1) correct mindfulness, (2) correct discrimination of dharmas, (3) correct vigor, (4) correct joy, (5) correct flexibility, (6) correct concentration, and (7) correct equanimity.
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Bring together
kun ’byung ba
ཀུན་འབྱུང་བ།
samudaya
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Buddha field
sangs rgyas kyi zhing
སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་།
buddhakṣetra
Also translated as “buddha realm.”
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Buddha realm
sangs rgyas kyi zhing
སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་།
buddhakṣetra
Also translated as “buddha field.”
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Buddha Stage
sangs rgyas kyi sa
སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ས།
buddhabhūmi
The name of a bodhisattva stage.
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Can [only] be known by intelligent scholars well versed in the subtle
zhib mo brtags pa’i mkhas pa dang ’dzangs pas rig pa
ཞིབ་མོ་བརྟགས་པའི་མཁས་པ་དང་འཛངས་པས་རིག་པ།
sūkṣmaṃ nipuṇapaṇḍitavijñavedanīyaḥ
Mahāvyutpatti 2918.
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Causal dependence
rang dbang med pa
རང་དབང་མེད་པ།
asvatantra
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Cause and effect
rgyu dang ’bras bu
རྒྱུ་དང་འབྲས་བུ།
hetuphala
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Changing opinions
blo gros tha dad pa
བློ་གྲོས་ཐ་དད་པ།
matibheda
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Characterized by
rab tu phye ba
རབ་ཏུ་ཕྱེ་བ།
prabhāvita
characterized as
See Schmithausen 2014, p. 557, §512.1. Also translated here as “consisting in” and “constituted.”
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Clarified butter
mar gyi snying khu
མར་གྱི་སྙིང་ཁུ།
sarpirmaṇḍa
Mahāvyutpatti 5683.
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Clear mindfulness
gsal ba
གསལ་བ།
paṭu
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Cloud of Dharma
chos kyi sprin
ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྤྲིན།
dharmameghā
The name of a bodhisattva stage.
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Cognition
rnam par shes pa
རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ།
vijñāna
vijñāna
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Cognition that is personal and intuitive
so sor rang rig pa
སོ་སོར་རང་རིག་པ།
pratyātmavedya · pratyātmavedanīya · pratyātmajñāna · prātyatmam
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Collection of teachings on the bodhisattva [path]
byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod
བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྡེ་སྣོད།
bodhisattvapiṭaka
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Communication
ming du bya ba
མིང་དུ་བྱ་བ།
saṃjñāpya
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Complete equanimity
lhag par btang snyoms
ལྷག་པར་བཏང་སྙོམས།
adhyupekṣya
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Completely
thams cad kyi thams cad
ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་ཐམས་ཅད།
sarveṇa sarvam
Mahāvyutpatti 6405.
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Comprehension
yongs su shes pa
ཡོངས་སུ་ཤེས་པ།
parijñā
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Concentrated
mnyam par bzhag pa
མཉམ་པར་བཞག་པ།
samāhita
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Concentration
ting nge ’dzin
ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
samādhi
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Conception
’du shes
འདུ་ཤེས།
saṃjñā
saṃjñā
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Conception
rtog pa
རྟོག་པ།
kalpanā
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Conceptualization
rnam rtog · rnam par rtog pa
རྣམ་རྟོག · རྣམ་པར་རྟོག་པ།
vikalpa
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Conceptualize
gdags pa
གདགས་པ།
prajñapti
Also translated here as “decide.”
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Conclusive
gcig tu nges pa
གཅིག་ཏུ་ངེས་པ།
aikāntikaḥ
Mahāvyutpatti 7587.
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Conditioned
’du byas
འདུ་བྱས།
saṃskṛta
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Conditioned phenomena
’du byed
འདུ་བྱེད།
saṃskāra
Also translated here as “conditioning mental factors.”
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Conditioning mental factors
’du byed
འདུ་བྱེད།
saṃskāra
Also translated here as “conditioned phenomena.”
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Conditioning process of the mental factors
’du byed mngon par ’du bya ba
འདུ་བྱེད་མངོན་པར་འདུ་བྱ་བ།
saṃskārābhisaṃskaraṇa
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Conducive
grogs
གྲོགས།
sahāya
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Confined
rjes su ’brel ba
རྗེས་སུ་འབྲེལ་བ།
anubandha
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Confusion
’khrul pa
འཁྲུལ་པ།
bhrānta
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Consequence
chud mi za ba
ཆུད་མི་ཟ་བ།
avipraṇa
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Consideration
yongs su rtog pa
ཡོངས་སུ་རྟོག་པ།
paritarka
paritarka
considering
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Consisting in
rab tu phye ba
རབ་ཏུ་ཕྱེ་བ།
prabhāvita
Also translated here as “characterized by” and “constituted.” See Schmithausen 2014, p. 557, §512.1.
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Constancy of phenomena
chos gnas pa nyid
ཆོས་གནས་པ་ཉིད།
dharmasthititā
Mahāvyutpatti 1719.
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Constant
rnam par gnas pa
རྣམ་པར་གནས་པ།
vyavasthita
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Constituent
khams
ཁམས།
dhātu
The eighteen constituents are: eye, visual object, visual consciousness; ear, sound, auditive consciousness; nose, smell, olfactory consciousness; tongue, taste, gustative consciousness; body, touch, tactile consciousness; mind, mental objects, mental consciousness. When it refers to six elements, they are: earth, water, fire, air, space, and consciousness.
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Constituted
rab tu phye ba
རབ་ཏུ་ཕྱེ་བ།
prabhāvita
See Schmithausen 2014, p. 557, §512.1. Also translated here as “characterized by” and “consisting in.”
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Contemplation
bsams pa
བསམས་པ།
cintā
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Convention
rjes su tha snyad
རྗེས་སུ་ཐ་སྙད།
anuvyavahāra
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Conventionally
brda
བརྡ།
saṃketa
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Correct concentration
yang dag pa’i ting nge ’dzin
ཡང་དག་པའི་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
samyaksamādhi
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Correct self-restraints
yang dag par spong ba
ཡང་དག་པར་སྤོང་བ།
samyakprahāṇa
self-restraints
See “four correct self-restraints.”
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Corruption
gnas ngan len
གནས་ངན་ལེན།
dauṣṭhulya
dauṣṭhulya
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Decide
gdags pa
གདགས་པ།
prajñapti
Also translated here as “conceptualize.”
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Dedication of merit
yongs su bsngo ba
ཡོངས་སུ་བསྔོ་བ།
pariṇāmanā · pariṇata
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Deeper
phri · phyi
ཕྲི། · ཕྱི།
—
Lit. “outer.”
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Deer park
ri dags kyi nags
རི་དགས་ཀྱི་ནགས།
mṛgadāva
The forest, located outside of Varanasi, where the Buddha first taught the Dharma.
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Defilement
nyon mongs pa
ཉོན་མོངས་པ།
kleśa
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Defining characteristic
mtshan nyid
མཚན་ཉིད།
svabhāvalakṣaṇa
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Defining characteristic
mtshan nyid
མཚན་ཉིད།
lakṣaṇa
lakṣaṇa
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Delusion
gti mug
གཏི་མུག
moha
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Delusion
kun tu rmongs pa · rnam par rmongs pa
ཀུན་ཏུ་རྨོངས་པ། · རྣམ་པར་རྨོངས་པ།
saṃmoha
Also translated here as “obscuration.”
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Demonstration
bshad pa
བཤད་པ།
deśana
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Description
rnam par bsnyad pa
རྣམ་པར་བསྙད་པ།
vyākhyā
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Designation
btags pa
བཏགས་པ།
prajñapti
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Determination
rnam par bzhag pa
རྣམ་པར་བཞག་པ།
vyavasthā
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Dhāraṇī
gzungs
གཟུངས།
dhāraṇī
Also rendered here as “keeping it in mind,” “formula.”
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Dharma discourse
chos kyi rnam grangs
ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྣམ་གྲངས།
dharmaparyāya
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Dharma of the nonexistence of defining characteristics
mtshan nyid med pa’i chos
མཚན་ཉིད་མེད་པའི་ཆོས།
alakṣaṇadharma
Mahāvyutpatti 353.
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Dharmodgata
chos ’phags
ཆོས་འཕགས།
Dharmodgata
A bodhisattva mahāsattva.
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Differentiating
rnam par ’byed pa
རྣམ་པར་འབྱེད་པ།
vibhājanā
vibhājanā
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Diligence
brtson ’grus
བརྩོན་འགྲུས།
viryā
Also translated here as “vigor.”
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Direct cognition
mngon sum gyi tshad ma
མངོན་སུམ་གྱི་ཚད་མ།
pratyakṣapramāṇa
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Direct their attention
yid la byed
ཡིད་ལ་བྱེད།
manasikāra
directing one’s attention
directing attention
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Discerning
rab tu rnam par ’byed pa
རབ་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་འབྱེད་པ།
pravicaya
pravicaya
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Discerning
nges par rtog pa · nges par rtogs pa
ངེས་པར་རྟོག་པ། · ངེས་པར་རྟོགས་པ།
nirūpaṇā
Mahāvyutpatti 7450.
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Discipline
tshul khrims
ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས།
śīla
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Discourses teaching Dharma
chos gdags pa rnam par gzhag pa
ཆོས་གདགས་པ་རྣམ་པར་གཞག་པ།
dharmaprajñaptivyavasthā(pa)na
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Discriminating
bye brag ’byed pa
བྱེ་བྲག་འབྱེད་པ།
nitīraṇa
discriminate
Also rendered here as “distinguishing.”
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Discrimination of dharmas
chos rab tu rnam par ’byed pa
ཆོས་རབ་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་འབྱེད་པ།
dharmapravicaya
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Distinct
dad pa
དད་པ།
bheda
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Distinctive
bye brag
བྱེ་བྲག
viśeṣa
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Distinctive characteristic
bye brag gi mtshan nyid
བྱེ་བྲག་གི་མཚན་ཉིད།
viṣeśalakṣaṇa
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Distinctly perceive
rab tu shes
རབ་ཏུ་ཤེས།
prajānāti
distinctly perceived
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Distinguishing
bye brag ’byed pa
བྱེ་བྲག་འབྱེད་པ།
nitīraṇa
nitīraṇa
distinguish
Also rendered here as “discriminating.”
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Diversity of things
ji snyed yod pa nyid
ཇི་སྙེད་ཡོད་པ་ཉིད།
yāvadbhāvikatā
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Domain of truth
chos kyi dbyings
ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས།
dharmadhātu
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Domains of mastery
zil gyis gnon pa’i skye mched
ཟིལ་གྱིས་གནོན་པའི་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
abhibhvāyatana
See Buswell & Lopez 2014, p. 2.
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Dvandva
—
dvandva
Type of Sanskrit compound.
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Effortless
lhun gyis grub pa
ལྷུན་གྱིས་གྲུབ་པ།
anābhoga
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Elaboration of conventional expressions
tha snyad ’dogs pa’i spros pa
ཐ་སྙད་འདོགས་པའི་སྤྲོས་པ།
vyavahāraprapañca
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Eloquence
spobs pa
སྤོབས་པ།
pratibhāna
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Emanation body
sprul sku
སྤྲུལ་སྐུ།
nirmāṇakāya
emanation bodies
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Emancipation
nges par ’byung ba
ངེས་པར་འབྱུང་བ།
niḥsaraṇa · niryāṇa
emancipated
emancipating
Also translated here as “pathway.”
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Emptiness
stong pa nyid
སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
śūnyatā
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Emptiness devoid of rejection
dor ba med pa stong pa nyid
དོར་བ་མེད་པ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
anavakāraśūnyatā
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Emptiness of the limitless
mtha’ las stong pa nyid
མཐའ་ལས་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
atyantaśūnyatā
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Emptiness of the substanceless
dngos po stong pa nyid
དངོས་པོ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
a(sva)bhāvaśūnyatā
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Equanimity
btang snyoms
བཏང་སྙོམས།
upekṣā
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Erroneous conception
mngon par zhen pa
མངོན་པར་ཞེན་པ།
abhiniveśa
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Essence
ngo bo nyid
ངོ་བོ་ཉིད།
svabhāva
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Essencelessness
ngo bo nyid med pa nyid
ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མེད་པ་ཉིད།
niḥsvabhāvatā
niḥsvabhāvatā
The three kinds of essencelessness are essencelessness regarding defining characteristics, essencelessness regarding arising, and essencelessness regarding the ultimate.
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Essencelessness regarding arising
skye ba ngo bo nyid med pa nyid
སྐྱེ་བ་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མེད་པ་ཉིད།
utpattiniḥsvabhāvatā
essencelessness with regard to arising
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Essencelessness regarding defining characteristics
mtshan nyid ngo bo nyid med pa nyid
མཚན་ཉིད་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མེད་པ་ཉིད།
lakṣaṇaniḥsvabhāvatā
essencelessness with regard to the defining characteristics
lakṣaṇaniḥsvabhāvatā
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Essencelessness regarding the ultimate
don dam pa ngo bo nyid med pa nyid
དོན་དམ་པ་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མེད་པ་ཉིད།
paramārthaniḥsvabhāvatā
essencelessness with regard to the ultimate
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Essential characteristic
ngo bo nyid kyi mtshan nyid
ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་ཀྱི་མཚན་ཉིད།
svabhāvalakṣaṇa
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Established
rnam par bzhag pa
རྣམ་པར་བཞག་པ།
vyavasthā
establishing
Also translated here as “posited” and “determination.”
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Examine
rtag
བརྟག
examined
examining
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Examine
rnam par dpyad
རྣམ་པར་དཔྱད།
vicārita · vicāraṇa
examined
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Examine
’jal ba
འཇལ་བ།
examined
examining
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Examining
yongs su dpyod pa
ཡོངས་སུ་དཔྱོད་པ།
parimīmāṃsā · paricāra
parimīmāṃsā
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Excellence of their peaceful conduct
bzod pa dang des pa chen po dang ldan pa
བཟོད་པ་དང་དེས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་དང་ལྡན་པ།
mahākṣāntisauratyasamanvāgataḥ
Mahāvyutpatti 1115.
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Excellent Intelligence
legs pa’i blo gros
ལེགས་པའི་བློ་གྲོས།
sādhumatī
The name of a bodhisattva stage.
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Excited
bzlums
བཟླུམས།
uddhata
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Expedient
rnam grangs
རྣམ་གྲངས།
paryāya
In the sūtra, paryāya is used to denote (1) an expedient or a trick in the context of illusions produced by a magician; (2) a method, an approach through which one can practice in accordance with a teaching; or (3) a scripture, a teaching regarding a specific aspect.
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Express themselves through conventions
tha snyad ’dogs
ཐ་སྙད་འདོགས།
vyavaharanti
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Extent
mthar thug pa
མཐར་ཐུག་པ།
paryanta
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Fabrication
yongs su rtog pa
ཡོངས་སུ་རྟོག་པ།
parikalpa
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Factors of conditioned existence
srid pa’i yan lag
སྲིད་པའི་ཡན་ལག
bhavāṅga
The twelve factors or links of conditioned existence are: ignorance (avidyā), mental formations (saṃskāra), consciousness (vijñāna), mind and matter (nāmarūpa), the six sense organs (ṣaḍāyatana), contact (sparśa), sensation (vedanā), craving (tṛṣṇā), clinging (upādāna), becoming (bhava), birth (jāti), aging and dying (jarāmaraṇa).
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Faculties
dbang po
དབང་པོ།
indriya
See “five faculties.”
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Faith
dad pa
དད་པ།
śraddhā
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Falsity
skyon chags pa
སྐྱོན་ཆགས་པ།
duṣṭatā
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Far Reaching
ring du song ba
རིང་དུ་སོང་བ།
dūraṅgamā
The name of a bodhisattva stage.
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Faultless state of truth
yang dag pa nyid skyon med pa
ཡང་དག་པ་ཉིད་སྐྱོན་མེད་པ།
samyaktvanyāma
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Five faculties
dbang po lnga
དབང་པོ་ལྔ།
pañcendriyāṇi
[five] faculties
The five faculties are those of (1) faith, (2) vigor, (3) mindfulness, (4) concentration (samādhi), and (5) wisdom (prajñā). These are similar to the five forces but in a lesser stage of development.
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Five forces
stobs lnga
སྟོབས་ལྔ།
pañcabalāni
Differing only in intensity, the five forces are similar to the five faculties: (1) faith, (2) vigor, (3) mindfulness, (4) concentration (samādhi), and (5) wisdom (prajñā).
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Five great fears
’jig pa chen po lnga
འཇིག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་ལྔ།
pañcamahābhaya
The five great fears are “the fear concerning livelihood, fear of disapproval, fear of death, fear of bad transmigrations, and fear that is timidity when addressing assemblies.” (Powers 1995, p. 316, n. 19).
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Five sciences
rigs pa’i gnas lnga po
རིགས་པའི་གནས་ལྔ་པོ།
pañcavidyā
The five sciences are grammar, logic, philosophy, medicine, and crafts.
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Flexibility
shin tu sbyangs pa
ཤིན་ཏུ་སྦྱངས་པ།
praśrabdhi
praśrabdhi
flexible
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Focus their minds within
sems nang du ’jog
སེམས་ནང་དུ་འཇོག
cittasthāpana
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Foolish being
byis pa
བྱིས་པ།
bāla
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Forces
stobs
སྟོབས།
bala
See “five forces.”
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Formula
gzungs
གཟུངས།
dhāraṇī
“Formula” in the sense of a “mnemonic formula” encapsulating a method or key points in a few words. On the meaning of this term, see Braarvig 1985.
Also rendered here as “keeping it in mind,” “dhāraṇī.”
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Foundations of training
bslab pa’i gzhi
བསླབ་པའི་གཞི།
śikṣāpada
The six foundations of training are generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditative absorption, and wisdom.
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Four correct self-restraints
yang dag par spong ba bzhi
ཡང་དག་པར་སྤོང་བ་བཞི།
catvāri prahāṇāni
The four correct self-restraints are: giving up nonvirtues, avoiding nonvirtues, generating virtues, developing virtues. See Edgerton 1953, p. 389,2.
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Four kinds of assurance
mi ’jigs pa bzhi
མི་འཇིགས་པ་བཞི།
catvāri vaiśāradyāni
The four kinds of assurance of a tathāgata are (1) assurance concerning complete awakening (abhisambodhivaiśāradya, thams cad mkhyen pa la mi ’jigs pa ); (2) assurance concerning the destruction of the impurities (āsravakṣayavaiśāradya, zag pa zad pa mkhyen pa la mi ’jigs pa); (3) assurance concerning harmful things (antarāyikadharmavaiśāradya, bar du gcod pa’i chos la mi ’jigs pa); and (4) assurance concerning the path that leads to emancipation (nairyāṇikapratipadvaiśāradya, thob par ’gyur bar nges par ’byung ba’i lam la mi ’jigs pa). See Rahula 2001, p. 230, in which they are called “perfect self-confidence.”
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Four kinds of sustenance
zas bzhi
ཟས་བཞི།
catvārāhārāḥ
[four kinds] of sustenance
The four kinds of sustenance are the sustenance of material ingestion, the sustenance of contact, the sustenance of will, and the sustenance of consciousness.
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Four methods of conversion
bsdu ba’i dngos po bzhi’i ming
བསྡུ་བའི་དངོས་པོ་བཞིའི་མིང་།
catvāri saṃgrahavastūni
Mahāvyutpatti 924. The four methods of conversion are: (1) generosity (dāna), (2) kind words (priyavādita), (3) being supportive of others (arthacaryā), and (4) being consistent with one’s own teachings (samānārthatā). (see Mvyut 924).
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Four noble truths
’phags pa’i bden pa bzhi
འཕགས་པའི་བདེན་པ་བཞི།
catvāri āryasatyāni
The four noble truths, as stated in this sūtra, are: the comprehension of suffering, the abandoning of the cause of suffering, the actualization of the cessation of suffering, and the practice of the path.
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Four seals of Dharma
phyag rgya bzhi
ཕྱག་རྒྱ་བཞི།
caturmudrā
The impermanence of all conditioned phenomena, the suffering inherent to all conditioned phenomena, the selflessness of all phenomena, and nirvāṇa as the state of peace.
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Free from covetousness
zang zing med pa
ཟང་ཟིང་མེད་པ།
nirāmiṣa
In the sense of “disinterested,” “not expecting a reward.”
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Free of any wrongdoing
kha na ma tho ba med pa
ཁ་ན་མ་ཐོ་བ་མེད་པ།
anavadya
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Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana
don zab dgongs pa nges par ’grel
དོན་ཟབ་དགོངས་པ་ངེས་པར་འགྲེལ།
Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana
A bodhisattva mahāsattva.
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Gandharva
dri za
དྲི་ཟ།
gandharva
Type of being in Buddhist cosmogony.
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Garuḍa
—
garuḍa
Type of being in Buddhist cosmogony.
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Gates of liberation
—
—
Emptiness, appearancelessness, and wishlessness.
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Gāthā
—
gāthā
A gāthā is a verse or stanza.
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Generosity
sbyin pa
སྦྱིན་པ།
—
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Gnosis
ye shes
ཡེ་ཤེས།
jñāna
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Gnosis and vision
shes pa dang mthong ba
ཤེས་པ་དང་མཐོང་བ།
jñānadarśana
jñānadarśana
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Gone forth
nges par ’byung ba
ངེས་པར་འབྱུང་བ།
niryātaka · parivrājaka
Having left one’s home to become a wandering mendicant. Also translated here as emancipation and as pathway.
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Great emptiness
chen po stong pa nyid
ཆེན་པོ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
mahāśūnyatā
The emptiness of the space containing all domains, objects, and locations.
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Guṇākara
yon tan ’byung gnas
ཡོན་ཏན་འབྱུང་གནས།
Guṇākara
A bodhisattva mahāsattva.
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Had realized the sameness [of all phenomena], the state of a buddha in which there is neither a center nor a periphery
mtha’ dang dbus med pa’i sangs rgyas kyi sa mnyam pa nyid bu thugs su chud pa
མཐའ་དང་དབུས་མེད་པའི་སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ས་མཉམ་པ་ཉིད་བུ་ཐུགས་སུ་ཆུད་པ།
anantamadhyabuddhabhūmisamatādhigataḥ
Mahāvyutpatti 369.
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Hard to Conquer
shin tu sbyang dka’
ཤིན་ཏུ་སྦྱང་དཀའ།
sudurjayā
The name of a bodhisattva stage.
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Hearer
nyan thos
ཉན་ཐོས།
śrāvaka
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Hell being
dmyal ba pa
དམྱལ་བ་པ།
nāraka
Type of being in Buddhist cosmogony.
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How
ji tsam du
ཇི་ཙམ་དུ།
tāvatā · tāvat · yāvat
With the meaning of “truly, really, indeed.”
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Hungry ghost
yi dags
ཡི་དགས།
preta
Type of being in Buddhist cosmogony.
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Illuminating
’od byed pa
འོད་བྱེད་པ།
prabhākarī
The name of a bodhisattva stage.
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Image
gzugs brnyan
གཟུགས་བརྙན།
pratibimba
Also translated as “reflection.”
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Imaginary
kun brtags pa
ཀུན་བརྟགས་པ།
parikalpita
parikalpita
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Imaginary defining characteristic
kun brtags pa’i mtshan nyid
ཀུན་བརྟགས་པའི་མཚན་ཉིད།
parikalpitalakṣaṇa
parikalpitalakṣaṇa
The imaginary defining characteristic corresponds to the attribution of an essence, an inherent entity, to that which is by nature dependent on an other (paratantra) to exist or appear as what it is perceived to be.
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Imaginary essence
kun brtags pa’i ngo bo nyid · kun brtags pa’i rang bzhin
ཀུན་བརྟགས་པའི་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད། · ཀུན་བརྟགས་པའི་རང་བཞིན།
parikalpitasvabhāva
parikalpitasvabhāva
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Imagination
kun tu rtog pa
ཀུན་ཏུ་རྟོག་པ།
saṃkalpa · parikalpa
parikalpa
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Immovable
mi g.yo ba
མི་གཡོ་བ།
acalā
The name of a bodhisattva stage.
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In accordance with the truth
yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du
ཡང་དག་པ་ཇི་ལྟ་བ་བཞིན་དུ།
yathābhūtam
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In their own experience
nang gi so sor rang rig pa
ནང་གི་སོ་སོར་རང་རིག་པ།
adhyātmaṃ prātyatmam
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Inconclusive
gcig tu ma nges pa
གཅིག་ཏུ་མ་ངེས་པ།
anaikāntikaḥ
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Individual liberation
so sor thar pa
སོ་སོར་ཐར་པ།
prātimokṣa
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Indivisible
dbyer med pa · ma ’dres pa · ma ’dres pa’am dbyer med pa
དབྱེར་མེད་པ། · མ་འདྲེས་པ། · མ་འདྲེས་པའམ་དབྱེར་མེད་པ།
asaṃbhedaḥ
Mahāvyutpatti 5192.
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Inexhaustible
mi zad pa · ma ’tshal ba
མི་ཟད་པ། · མ་འཚལ་བ།
akṣaya
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Inexpressible
brjod du med
བརྗོད་དུ་མེད།
anabhilāpya
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Inference
rjes su dpag pa’i tshad ma
རྗེས་སུ་དཔག་པའི་ཚད་མ།
anumānapramāṇa
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Innate
lhan cig skyes
ལྷན་ཅིག་སྐྱེས།
sahaja
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Inner absorption
nang du yang dag bzhag
ནང་དུ་ཡང་དག་བཞག
pratisaṃlāna
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Innermost
snying po
སྙིང་པོ།
—
Lit “heart” or “marrow.”
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Inquiry
yongs su tshol ba
ཡོངས་སུ་ཚོལ་བ།
paryeṣaṇā
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Insight
lhag mthong
ལྷག་མཐོང་།
vipaśyanā
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Intelligence
blo gros
བློ་གྲོས།
mati
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Intention
bsam pa
བསམ་པ།
āśaya
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Investigating
rtog pa
རྟོག་པ།
vitarka
investigate
Also translated here as “mental engagement.”
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Investigation
dpyod pa
དཔྱོད་པ།
vicāra
In our text, the specific quality of vicāra is to remain mindful of nimitta in the sense of “mentally watching” or noting them without engaging in a more discursive way.
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Jambudvīpa
’dzam bu gling
འཛམ་བུ་གླིང་།
Jambudvīpa
The continent (dvīpa) on which we live which, according to ancient South-Asian cosmology, is shaped like a jambū fruit.
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Joy
dga’ ba
དགའ་བ།
prīti
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Karmadhāraya
—
karmadhāraya
Type of Sanskrit compound.
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Keep it in mind
gzung bar bgyi
གཟུང་བར་བགྱི།
dhārayāmi
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Keep it in mind
zung shig
ཟུང་ཤིག
dhāraya
keep in mind
(cf. Sanskrit text in Matsuda 2013, p. 940 ad Lamotte VIII.41). Dhāraya is a causative imperative of dhṛ-.
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Keeping it in mind
gzungs
གཟུངས།
dhāraṇī
Also rendered here as “dhāraṇī,” “formula.”
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Kiṃnara
—
kiṃnara
Type of being in Buddhist cosmogony.
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Kīrtimat
grags pa can
གྲགས་པ་ཅན།
Kīrtimat
World of the tathāgata Viśālakīrti.
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Label
ming du btags · ’jig rten gyi ming du btags pa · ’jig rten gyi tha snyad · ’jig rten gyi tha snyad du btags pa · ’jig rten gyi tha snyad du btags pa’am ’jig rten gyi tha snyad · ’jig rten gyi tha snyad du btags pa’am ’jig rten tha snyad · ’jig rten tha snyad · btags pa’i tshig
མིང་དུ་བཏགས། · འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་མིང་དུ་བཏགས་པ། · འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཐ་སྙད། · འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཐ་སྙད་དུ་བཏགས་པ། · འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཐ་སྙད་དུ་བཏགས་པའམ་འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཐ་སྙད། · འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཐ་སྙད་དུ་བཏགས་པའམ་འཇིག་རྟེན་ཐ་སྙད། · འཇིག་རྟེན་ཐ་སྙད། · བཏགས་པའི་ཚིག
lokasaṃjñā
Mahāvyutpatti 6558.
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Lacked certainty
yid gnyis can
ཡིད་གཉིས་ཅན།
vimati
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Latent disposition
bag la nyal
བག་ལ་ཉལ།
anuśaya
Also translated here as “predisposition.”
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Liberation
rnam par thar pa
རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པ།
vimokṣa
See Hayal 1978: 229.
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Lies hidden
rab tu sbyor bar byed pa
རབ་ཏུ་སྦྱོར་བར་བྱེད་པ།
pralayanata
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Literal
sgra ji bzhin
སྒྲ་ཇི་བཞིན།
yathāruta
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Magic illusion
sgyu ma’i las · sgyu ma byas pa
སྒྱུ་མའི་ལས། · སྒྱུ་མ་བྱས་པ།
—
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Mahoraga
—
mahoraga
Type of being in Buddhist cosmogony.
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Maitreya
byams pa
བྱམས་པ།
Maitreya
Bodhisattva of loving kindness; the next buddha to follow Śākyamuni..
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Manifest
mngon du gyur pa
མངོན་དུ་གྱུར་པ།
abhimukhī
The name of a bodhisattva stage.
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Mañjuśrī
’jam dpal
འཇམ་དཔལ།
Mañjuśrī
The bodhisatva of wisdom.
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Mātṛkā
ma mo
མ་མོ།
mātṛkā
An early name for the Abhidharmapiṭaka and also a germinal list or index of topics.
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Meaning of true reality
de kho na’i don
དེ་ཁོ་ནའི་དོན།
tattvārtha
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Meditative absorption
bsam gtan
བསམ་གཏན།
dhyāna
See Hayal 1978, p. 221.
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Mental appearance
sems kyi mtshan ma
སེམས་ཀྱི་མཚན་མ།
cittanimitta
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Mental elaboration
spros pa
སྤྲོས་པ།
prapañca
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Mental engagement
rtog pa
རྟོག་པ།
vitarka
vitarka
Also translated here as “investigating.”
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Mental imprint
bag chags
བག་ཆགས།
vāsanā
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Mental inspection
so sor brtags pa
སོ་སོར་བརྟགས་པ།
pratisaṃkhyā
pratisaṃkhyā
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Mental state
sems las byung ba
སེམས་ལས་བྱུང་བ།
caitasika
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Mental stillness
zhi gnas
ཞི་གནས།
śamatha
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Mere representation
rnam par rig pa tsam
རྣམ་པར་རིག་པ་ཙམ།
vijñaptimātra
vijñaptimātra
merely a representation
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Mind
sems
སེམས།
citta
citta
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Mind containing all the seeds
sa bon thams cad pa’i sems
ས་བོན་ཐམས་ཅད་པའི་སེམས།
sarvabījaṃ cittam
Schmithausen translates this term with “all-seed mind,” which can mean both “mind containing all the seeds” or “mind consisting of all the seeds.” See Schmithausen 2014, p. 65, n. 221.
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Mindfulness
dran pa
དྲན་པ།
smṛti
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Nāga
klu
ཀླུ།
nāga
Type of being in Buddhist cosmogony.
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Naturally present
rang bzhin du gnas pa
རང་བཞིན་དུ་གནས་པ།
svabhāvasthita · svabhāvasthita · nisargabhāva
Schmithausen understands this term as meaning “normal”: “should we [indeed] say that even the normal (rang bzhin du gnas pa, *prakṛtisthita?) images . . .” (Schmithausen 2014, p. 392, n. 1733). I understand the use of rang bzhin du gnas pa as implying a context where the object of the cognition is not an object of concentration corresponding to visualization practices as in the case of the kasiṇa. In the Pāli tradition, kasiṇa designates a visualization object used as a support for the totality of the meditator’s attention. In this paragraph, sems can has the connotation of beings who do not practice the yoga taught in this chapter, that is, ordinary beings.
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Nature of phenomena
chos nyid
ཆོས་ཉིད།
dharmatā
dharmatā
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Nature of things
ji lta ba bzhin du yod pa nyid
ཇི་ལྟ་བ་བཞིན་དུ་ཡོད་པ་ཉིད།
yathāvadbhāvikatā
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Negate
skur pa ’debs
སྐུར་པ་འདེབས།
apavāda
negated
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Negation
skur pa ’debs pa
སྐུར་པ་འདེབས་པ།
apavāda
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Next life
’jig rten pha rol
འཇིག་རྟེན་ཕ་རོལ།
paraloka
Lit. “the world beyond [death].”
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Nidāna
gleng gzhi
གླེང་གཞི།
nidāna
Introductory part of a sūtra .
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Nirvāṇa
mya ngan las ’das pa
མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
nirvāṇa
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Noble being
’phags pa
འཕགས་པ།
ārya
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Noble truth
’phags pa’i bden pa
འཕགས་པའི་བདེན་པ།
āryasatya
[noble] truth
See “four noble truths.”
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Non-Buddhist
mu stegs pa
མུ་སྟེགས་པ།
tīrthika
Heretics or adherents of non-Buddhist schools.
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Nonduality
gnyis su med pa
གཉིས་སུ་མེད་པ།
advaya
nondual
Mahāvyutpatti 1717.
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Object
dngos po · yul
དངོས་པོ། · ཡུལ།
vastu
vastu
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Object conducive to purification
rnam par dag pa’i dmigs pa
རྣམ་པར་དག་པའི་དམིགས་པ།
*viśuddhyālambana
viśuddhyālambana
See Schmithausen 2014, p. 362, §306.5 and n. 1644.
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Object of experience
spyod yul
སྤྱོད་ཡུལ།
gocara
objects of experience
Also translated here as “sphere of activity.” See note 42.
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Obscuration
kun tu rmongs pa
ཀུན་ཏུ་རྨོངས་པ།
saṃmoha
Also translated here as “delusion.”
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Obscuration of cognitive objects
shes bya’i sgrib pa
ཤེས་བྱའི་སྒྲིབ་པ།
jñeyāvaraṇa
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Obstacle
gegs
གེགས།
vibandha
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Obstruction
sgrib pa
སྒྲིབ་པ།
āvaraṇa
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Of a single nature
ro gcig pa
རོ་གཅིག་པ།
ekarasa
of a single character
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One-pointedness of mind
sems rtse gcig pa nyid
སེམས་རྩེ་གཅིག་པ་ཉིད།
cittaikāgratā
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Ordinary being
so so’i skye bo
སོ་སོའི་སྐྱེ་བོ།
pṛthagjana
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Other-dependent
gzhan gyi dbang
གཞན་གྱི་དབང་།
paratantra
paratantra
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Other-dependent defining characteristic
gzhan gyi dbang gi mtshan nyid
གཞན་གྱི་དབང་གི་མཚན་ཉིད།
paratantralakṣaṇa
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Other-dependent essence
gzhan gyi dbang gi ngo bo nyid · gzhan gyi dbang gi rang bzhin
གཞན་གྱི་དབང་གི་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད། · གཞན་གྱི་དབང་གི་རང་བཞིན།
paratantrasvabhāva
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Paramārthasamudgata
don dam yang dag ’phags
དོན་དམ་ཡང་དག་འཕགས།
Paramārthasamudgata
A bodhisattva mahāsattva.
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Parinirvāṇa
yongs su mya ngan las ’das pa
ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
parinirvāṇa
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Pathway
nges par ’byung ba
ངེས་པར་འབྱུང་བ།
niḥsaraṇa · niryāṇa
Setting forth, issue, exit, departure, escape, a road out of town. Also translated here as “emancipated” and “gone forth.”
See also note 39.
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Patience
bzod pa
བཟོད་པ།
—
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Paying attention
yang dag par rjes su mthong ba
ཡང་དག་པར་རྗེས་སུ་མཐོང་བ།
samanupaśyati
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Perfection
pha rol tu phyin pa
ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།
pāramitā
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Perfection of wisdom
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa
ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།
prajñāpāramitā
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Perfectly pure cognition
blo shin tu rnam par dag pa
བློ་ཤིན་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་དག་པ།
suviśuddhabuddhiḥ
Mahāvyutpatti 351.
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Perfectly skilled in the sameness of the three times
dus gsum mnyam pa nyid tshar phyin pa
དུས་གསུམ་མཉམ་པ་ཉིད་ཚར་ཕྱིན་པ།
tryadhvasamatāniryātaḥ
Mahāvyutpatti 360.
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Phenomenal appearance
mtshan ma
མཚན་མ།
nimitta
nimitta
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Phenomenal appearance of conditioned phenomena
—
saṃskāranimitta
saṃskāranimitta
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Point where phenomena end
dngos po’i mtha’
དངོས་པོའི་མཐའ །
vastanta
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Point where phenomena end
dngos po’i mtha’
དངོས་པོའི་མཐའ།
vastvanta
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Point where the sphere of space ends
nam mkha’i khams kyi mthas gtugs pa
ནམ་མཁའི་ཁམས་ཀྱི་མཐས་གཏུགས་པ།
ākāśadhātuparyavasānaḥ
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Posited
rnam par bzhag pa
རྣམ་པར་བཞག་པ།
vyavasthā
This term has the connotation of something being agreed upon, represented, arranged, settled, decreed, or established. Also translated here as “established” and “posited.”
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Possessed the gnosis bodhisattvas vow to accomplish
ye shes byang chub sems dpa’ thams cad kyis yang dag par mnos pa
ཡེ་ཤེས་བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱིས་ཡང་དག་པར་མནོས་པ།
sarvabodhisattvasampratīcchītajñanaḥ
Mahāvyutpatti 366.
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Prasiddhānumāṇa
—
prasiddhānumāṇa
Technical term in Buddhist logic.
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Predisposition
bag la nyal
བག་ལ་ཉལ།
anuśaya
predisposed
Also translated here are “latent disposition.”
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Primordially in the state of peace
gzod ma nas zhib
གཟོད་མ་ནས་ཞིབ།
ādiśānta