The Fourfold Accomplishment

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was in the Jeta Grove, in Anāthapiṇḍada’s park at Śrāvastī. He was residing there with a great saṅgha of five hundred monks, one hundred thousand bodhisattvas who had all donned the great armor, and the gods who inhabit the desire and form realms. There, the Blessed One, surrounded and revered by this retinue of hundreds of thousands of beings, taught the Dharma.

Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta raised a jeweled parasol measuring ten leagues in diameter as an offering to the Blessed One and held it above the Blessed One’s head. Within the retinue was a god from the Heaven of Joy named Śrībhadra whose progress toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening had become irreversible. Together with his attendants, he had joined the retinue and taken his seat. Now he rose from his seat, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. Joining his palms, he bowed toward Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta and inquired of him, [F.61.b] “Mañjuśrī, have you still not had enough of making offerings to the Thus-Gone One?”

“Divine being, tell me,” Mañjuśrī asked in return, “is the ocean ever satiated by all of the water that it receives?”

“No, Mañjuśrī, it is not,” replied the god.

Mañjuśrī then said, “Divine being, bodhisattvas seek boundless and immeasurable omniscient wisdom that is as difficult to fathom as the depths of the great ocean,5 so they can never have enough of making offerings to the Thus-Gone One.”

“Mañjuśrī, what should bodhisattvas focus on when they make offerings to the Thus-Gone One?” asked the god.

Mañjuśrī replied, “Divine being, there are four things that bodhisattvas should focus on when they make offerings to the Thus-Gone One. These four are omniscience, liberating all beings, ensuring that the lineage of the Three Jewels is not broken, and attaining the array of qualities of the buddhafield. Divine being, bodhisattvas should make offerings to the Thus-Gone One while focusing on those four things.”

“Mañjuśrī,” said the god, “when you were among the Brahmā realm gods you gave a Dharma teaching to Brahmā Śikhin called The Fourfold Accomplishment of the Bodhisattva Path. Mañjuśrī, would you please teach that? I and everyone in this assembly would like to hear it. Mañjuśrī, bodhisattvas are not stingy with the Dharma, nor are they tight-fisted with the Dharma as teachers.”

“Divine being,” Mañjuśrī replied, “in that case listen well, pay attention, and I will explain the Dharma teaching called The Fourfold Accomplishment to you.

“Divine being, these are the four altruistic intentions that bodhisattvas generate: [F.62.a] bodhisattvas generate the intention to gather together immeasurable beings, they generate the intention to ripen immeasurable beings, they generate the intention to accumulate immeasurable roots of virtue, and they generate the intention to perfectly realize the boundless buddha qualities. Divine being, those are the four altruistic intentions that bodhisattvas generate.

“Divine being, these are the four attitudes bodhisattvas generate that are like a rock: an attitude that has no hostility toward those who make requests, an attitude of compassion toward those who have gone astray, an attitude of not losing insight, and an attitude of bringing all undertakings to completion. Divine being, those are the four attitudes bodhisattvas generate that are like a rock.

“Divine being, these are the four attitudes bodhisattvas generate that are superior: superior discipline, superior learning, superior great love, and superior great compassion.

“Divine being, these are the four attitudes bodhisattvas generate that are stable, substantial, inseparable, and like a vajra: not being separated from the intention, not being separated from spiritual companions, not being separated from striving, and not being separated from the Great Vehicle.

“Divine being, these are the four attitudes bodhisattvas generate that are difficult to accomplish: not being involved with the afflictions; not being involved with gain, honor, and praise; not being involved with a lesser vehicle; and not being involved with crude people. [F.62.b]

“Divine being, these are the four attitudes bodhisattvas generate that are unsurpassed: the wish to relinquish all manner of pleasing things,6 having no regret after giving them away, not wishing for any result, and the attitude of dedication to awakening.

“Divine being, these are the four qualities that crown bodhisattvas: the perfection of wisdom, skill in methods, understanding the true Dharma, and bringing beings to fruition.

“Divine being, these are the four that demonstrate the bodhisattvas’ path to awakening: exerting oneself in the perfections, acting in accord with the means for drawing beings to the path, accomplishing the abodes of Brahmā, and demonstrating playful mastery of the supernatural perceptions.

“Divine being, these four are excellent, holy, and supreme among the qualities of the bodhisattvas: having no hostility toward anyone, generating the wish to liberate those who oppose oneself, being conscientious regardless of one’s wealth or the vastness of one’s domain, and acting in accord with the Dharma, no matter how destitute and poor one may be.

“Divine being, these are the four inclinations of bodhisattvas: being satisfied with one’s own wealth as a householder, harboring no desire for another’s wealth, being satisfied with the family of the noble ones after one has gone forth, and adopting ascetic practices and reducing one’s material possessions.

“Divine being, these are the four gifts of bodhisattvas: the gift of Dharma; the gift of material wealth; the gift of paper, ink, pens, and books; [F.63.a] and the gift of wholeheartedly exclaiming ‘Well done!’ to those who teach the Dharma.7

“Divine being, these are the four essentials of bodhisattvas: essential perseverance rather than studying, essential relinquishment rather than having possessions, essential service to the teacher8 rather than to the body, and the essential development of roots of virtue rather than a livelihood.

“Divine being, these are the four things that bodhisattvas should not forsake: they should not forsake the thought of awakening, they should not forsake the holy Dharma, they should not forsake beings, and they should not forsake pursuing any qualities that are roots of virtue.

“Divine being, these are the four motives of bodhisattvas: dwelling in the deep forest, delighting in solitude, yearning for virtuous qualities, and skillfully ripening beings.

“Divine being, these are the four mansions of bodhisattvas: the abodes of Brahmā, being delighted when hearing the Dharma expounded, reflecting on emptiness, and gathering with beings of the same spiritual lineage.

“Divine being, these four are the bodhisattvas’ inexhaustible wealth: the wealth of learning, the wealth of teaching the Dharma, the wealth of assembling beings in need, and the wealth of dedication to awakening.

“Divine being, these are the four treasures of bodhisattvas: the treasure of retention, the treasure of eloquence, the treasure of the Dharma, and the treasure of dedication to inexhaustible enjoyment.

“Divine being, these are the bodhisattvas’ four types of departure: [F.63.b] departure from society, departure from all inhabited lands, departure from ignoble intentions, and departure from all the three realms.

“Divine being, these are the bodhisattvas’ four types of happiness: the happiness of being free from possessiveness and grasping due to a disregard for all material things, the happiness of solitude due to abandoning one’s homeland, the happiness of quiescence due to relinquishing the afflictions, and the happiness of attaining nirvāṇa by not forsaking beings.

“Divine being, these are the bodhisattvas’ four supreme joys: supreme joy due to seeing the Thus-Gone One, supreme joy due to hearing the Dharma, supreme joy due to giving without regret, and supreme joy due to engendering happiness in all beings.

“Divine being, these are the bodhisattvas’ four truths: not forsaking the thought of awakening, not breaking one’s commitments, not forsaking those who have taken refuge, and restraining one’s speech so that one always speaks the truth.

“Divine being, these are the bodhisattvas’ four virtuous qualities: applying oneself with good intentions to all virtuous qualities, not harboring contempt toward anyone who is untrained, becoming a friend to all beings without being asked, and not hoping for any reward because one has already accomplished all manner of good qualities and because one does not wish to be compensated.

“Divine being, these four are the pure practices of bodhisattvas: pure discipline because of the lack of self, pure absorption because of the non-existence of beings, pure insight because of the non-existence of the soul, and [F.64.a] pure liberation because of the non-existence of persons.

“Divine being, these are the four feet of bodhisattvas: the foot of the Dharma, the foot of purpose, the foot of engaging in the ascetic practices and having few possessions, and the foot of gathering9 the accumulations of the path of awakening.

“Divine being, these are the four hands of bodhisattvas: the hand of faith, the hand of discipline, the hand of learning, and the hand of insight.

“Divine being, these are the four eyes of bodhisattvas: the physical eye due to correct karmic action, the divine eye due to undiminished supernatural perception, the eye of insight due to possessing the power of extensive learning, and the Dharma eye due to reflection on all phenomena.

“Divine being, these are the four things that bodhisattvas never tire of: they never tire of generosity, they never tire of living in the deep forest, they never tire of hearing the Dharma, and they never tire of the entire collection of virtuous qualities.

“Divine being, these are the four hardships of bodhisattvas: the hardship of being patient and tolerant toward beings who are weak; the hardship of wanting to give all one’s possessions to the poor; the hardship of not being angry at those who ask for one’s head‍—that most important body part‍—but instead generating the thought that they are one’s spiritual teacher; and the hardship of taking birth at will due to not conceptualizing birth.

“Divine being, these are the bodhisattvas’ four types of good health: being healthy because the elements are in balance, being healthy because one is not tormented by the afflictions, [F.64.b] being healthy because one will establish all beings in happiness, and being healthy because one harbors no doubts regarding any phenomena.

“Divine being, these are the four personal perspectives of bodhisattvas: the perspective of the perfections, the perspective of the factors of awakening, the perspective of the authentic spiritual teacher, and the perspective of not committing any misdeeds.

“Divine being, these are the four unshakable qualities that bodhisattvas possess: the unshakable mind of awakening, unshakable commitments, the unshakable practice of what one preaches, and unshakable correct exertion.

“Divine being, these are the bodhisattvas’ four accumulations: the accumulation of tranquility, the accumulation of special insight, the accumulation of learning, and the accumulation of all roots of virtue.

“Divine being, these are the four ways that bodhisattvas integrate the teachings: integrating intention with application, integrating giving away with dedication, integrating love with compassion, and integrating method with wisdom.

“Divine being, these four dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ Dharma10 obscurations: seeing a dirty well yet still seeing the moon at the bottom; seeing a muddy pond, pool, or well yet still seeing the moon at the bottom; seeing the moon although the sky is cloudy; and seeing the moon although the sky appears shrouded in wind, dust, and smoke.

“Divine being, these four dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ karmic obscurations: [F.65.a] seeing oneself fall from a high cliff into an abyss; seeing a road with highs and lows; seeing oneself set out on a narrow roadway; being lost in the dream and seeing many terrifying things.

“Divine being, these four dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ afflictive obscurations: seeing someone convulsing due to a strong poison, hearing the call of a large pack of vicious predators, seeing oneself living among rogues, and seeing one’s body and clothing covered with filth.

“Divine being, these four dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ attaining dhāraṇī: seeing a great treasure chest filled with many jewels, seeing a pool filled with blooming lotus flowers, seeing oneself finding a bundle of white cloth, and seeing a god with a parasol being held over his head.

“Divine being, these four dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ attaining absorption: seeing an attractive girl with beautiful jewelry who offers worship by scattering flowers, seeing a flock of pure white swans flying in the sky and calling out, seeing the hand of the luminous Thus-Gone One being placed on the top of one’s head, and seeing the Thus-Gone One seated on a lotus and engaged in concentration.

“Divine being, these four dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ seeing the Thus-Gone One: seeing a moonrise, seeing a sunrise, seeing a lotus flower opening, and seeing the lord of the Brahmā realms in the posture of utter quiescence. Divine being, those four [F.65.b] dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ seeing the Thus-Gone One.

“Divine being, these four dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ particular characteristics: seeing a great sāla tree that is full of brilliantly colored leaves, flowers, and fruits; seeing a metal bowl filled with gold; seeing the sky filled with parasols, banners, and standards; and seeing a great universal emperor.

“Divine being, these four dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ taming Māra: seeing a great champion overcome all of the enemy’s champions, raise a standard, and advance; seeing a great hero defeat an army and then advance; seeing a king being consecrated; and seeing oneself sitting at the seat of awakening and taming Māra.

“Divine being, these are the four corresponding dreams that are signs of the bodhisattvas’ non-regression: seeing a white diadem affixed on one’s head, seeing oneself making unstinting offerings, seeing oneself seated on a great Dharma seat, and seeing the Thus-Gone One sitting at the seat of awakening and teaching the Dharma.

“Divine being, these four dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ attainment of the seat of awakening: seeing a vase; seeing oneself surrounded by blue roller birds; seeing that wherever one goes, all of the trees first reach upward, then bow and pay homage; and seeing a bright golden light. Divine being, those four dreams are consequences of the bodhisattvas’ attainment of the seat of awakening.”

When Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta gave this Dharma teaching on The Fourfold Accomplishment, [F.66.a] the god Śrībhadra was happy and rejoiced. Since he had become exceedingly happy, delighted, and joyful, he and his retinue showered the entire retinue with divine mandārava flowers as well as blue, pink, red, and white lotus flowers as an offering to Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta. As soon as they had scattered the flowers, through the power of the Buddha, beautiful, fragrant, and delightful lotus flowers the size of chariot wheels appeared in the sky above them. In the center of each of the flowers were bodhisattvas ornamented with the thirty-two marks of a great being.

Then the god Śrībhadra asked Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta, “Mañjuśrī, where did these bodhisattvas come from?”

“Divine being, where did these flowers of yours come from?” Mañjuśrī asked in return.

“Mañjuśrī,” replied the god, “these flowers are emanations‍—I scattered them to make an offering to you.”

Mañjuśrī then said, “Divine being, you should view the bodies of those bodhisattvas just as you view these flowers‍—as emanations.”

At that moment the Blessed One smiled. As happens when the blessed buddhas smile, a multitude of light rays of various colors‍—blue, yellow, red, white, violet, and crystalline‍—emanated from the mouth of the Blessed One. These light rays pervaded infinite and limitless world systems and reached all the way up to the realm of Brahmā above. Their splendor outshone the radiance of the sun and the moon. Then the light rays returned and dissolved into the Blessed One’s crown. [F.66.b]

At that point the god Śrībhadra rose from his seat, arranged his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. Joining his palms, he bowed toward the Blessed One and praised the Blessed One with these verses:

“Divine being,” the Blessed One replied to Śrībhadra, “do you see these bodhisattvas in the sky above who are seated in the center of lotuses on lion thrones?”

“Yes, Blessed One, I see them.”

“Divine being,” the Blessed One then explained, “all these bodhisattvas have gathered from the ten directions to hear the Dharma in the presence of Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta. They have come to hear this Dharma teaching on The Fourfold Accomplishment. Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta ripened all these bodhisattvas. All these bodhisattvas are now only one birth away from unsurpassed and perfect awakening. They will fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood in one buddhafield or another, each with their various names, throughout the worlds in the ten directions.”

“Blessed One,” the god replied, “I cannot comprehend the number of bodhisattvas here‍—how many are there?”

The Blessed One then asked Venerable Śāriputra, “Śāriputra, can you comprehend how many bodhisattvas there are here?”

“Blessed One,” said Śāriputra, “in one instant, one moment, or one second, I can count all the stars in an entire three-thousandfold universe. However, Blessed One, I would be unable to count these bodhisattvas even in a hundred years.” [F.67.b]

“Śāriputra,” the Blessed One replied, “even if this continent of Jambūdvīpa were filled with minute particles, it would be possible to determine their number by counting them. However, it would be impossible to determine the number of these bodhisattvas by counting them, because the bodhisattvas that have gathered here are that innumerable.”

“Blessed One, how can there be that many buddhafields in which these bodhisattvas will fully awaken to buddhahood?” asked Śāriputra.

“Silence, Śāriputra, do not say that,” replied the Blessed One. “Śāriputra, the thus-gone ones empty countless buddhafields. Consider this, Śāriputra: The lifespan of the thus-gone ones lasts for as many eons as there are grains of sand in the Ganges. Each and every day each one delivers as many Dharma teachings as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, and in all of those Dharma teachings he prophesies as many bodhisattvas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges. Even if one were to identify a single bodhisattva to the east, beyond as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, the thus-gone one will empty that many buddhafields.11 Therefore, it goes without saying that the thus-gone ones, who know the minds of all beings born into the buddhafields of the ten directions, whom they perceive with the ordinary, corporeal eye of a thus-gone one, will empty all those buddhafields.”

At that point the great hearers and the entire retinue were amazed and exclaimed, “Our teachers have such vast magical powers, are so mighty, and have such great supreme knowledge! We are so fortunate!”

The bodhisattvas who had assembled from the worlds in the ten directions [F.68.a] and hovered in the air now descended from the sky and bowed their heads at the feet of the Blessed One and Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta, circumambulated them, and then departed into the ten directions.

At that point the god Śrībhadra said to Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta, “Mañjuśrī, you performed these deeds and ripened countless beings for awakening‍—well done! Mañjuśrī, please grace us with your eloquence, beginning with the teachings that ripen the awakening of bodhisattvas.”

“Divine being,” replied Mañjuśrī, “there are thirty-five teachings that ripen the awakening of bodhisattvas. The thirty-five teachings are these: urging them toward timeliness; urging them toward moderation; urging them toward proportion; urging them toward capacity; urging them toward stability; urging them toward the perfections; urging them toward method; urging them toward the altruistic intention; urging them toward great love; urging them toward great compassion; urging them toward the Great Vehicle; urging them toward the Lesser Vehicle; urging them toward the truth; urging them to act on it; urging them to protect the Dharma; urging them to teach what they have studied; urging them to not discriminate among various types of beings; urging them to be equally generous to those who have faulty discipline and those who observe discipline; urging them to declare the work of Māra; urging them to fulfill their promises; urging them to not grow weary of cyclic existence; urging them to subdue Māra; urging them to be grateful and appreciative; urging them to eliminate the cause; urging them to not be afraid of the gateways to liberation; urging them to worship and serve the Thus-Gone One; urging them to joyfully consider ways to help beings; [F.68.b] urging them to not mix that with worldly Dharma; urging them to delight in the deep forest; urging them to have few desires and be content; urging them toward the past as well as the future;12 urging them to liberate those who are not liberated; urging them to comfort those who are not comforted; urging those who have not passed into parinirvāṇa to pass into parinirvāṇa;13 urging them to not interrupt the lineage of the Three Jewels; and urging them to accept the array of good qualities of the buddhafield as completely pure. Divine being, those are the thirty-five teachings that ripen the awakening of bodhisattvas.

“Divine being, bodhisattvas who have been ripened do not waver from unsurpassed and perfect awakening. No opponent whatsoever can overpower them. From then on, they no longer fear14 a bodhisattva’s ten types of pride. The ten types of pride are these: pride due to being disciplined; pride due to being learned; pride due to being eloquent; pride due to being successful, revered, and praised; pride due to living in the deep forest; pride due to one’s ascetic practices and having few belongings; pride due to being attractive, wealthy, powerful, and having attendants; pride due to Śakra, Brahmā, and the world protectors offering service; pride due to one’s absorption and supernatural perception; and being free from any arrogance due to the fact that the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas who have faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha are fond of, praise, and glorify them. Divine being, they are not at all arrogant due to those ten types of a bodhisattva’s pride.”

The god Śrībhadra then said to Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta, “Mañjuśrī, [F.69.a] wherever you are and wherever this Dharma teaching is practiced, the Buddha will be seen there, turning the wheel of Dharma.”

The Blessed One replied, “Yes, divine being, that is correct. What you say is true. Wherever Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta is, that place will not seem empty.15 Wherever this Dharma teaching is performed, that is the endeavor of the Thus-Gone One, the lord of Dharma. Those beings who hear this Dharma teaching and develop interest in it become my followers. The beings who hear this Dharma teaching and develop interest in it should be regarded as having been trained by the Thus-Gone One. Those who understand this Dharma teaching and persist in their pursuit of suchness will not regress from unsurpassed and perfect awakening.”

The Blessed One then said to the bodhisattva Maitreya, the elder Mahā­kāśyapa, and Venerable Ānanda, “Holy beings, I entrust this Dharma teaching to you so that you may adopt, uphold, teach, and master it. Soon I will pass into parinirvāṇa, so rely on this Dharma teaching that carries out the buddhas’ work for all beings.”

Then Maitreya inquired, “Blessed One, since we will uphold this Dharma teaching, what is its name? How should it be remembered?”

“Maitreya,” the Blessed One replied, “you should remember this Dharma teaching as The Fourfold Accomplishment, The Path of the Bodhisattvas, or Ripening the Bodhisattvas.”

After the Blessed One had said this, the bodhisattva Maitreya, [F.69.b] Venerable Mahā­kāśyapa, Venerable Ānanda, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the Blessed One’s words.