s.1 In this sūtra the Buddha Śākyamuni recounts how the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha purified the buddha realms in his domain. In his explanation, the Buddha Śākyamuni emphasizes the view of the Great Vehicle, which he explains as the fundamental basis for all bodhisattvas who aspire to attain liberation. The attendant topics taught by the Buddha are the six perfections of generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom. The Buddha explains each of these six perfections in three distinct ways as he recounts the past lives of the buddha Sarvārthasiddha. First, he describes how Sarvārthasiddha learned the practices that purify buddha realms, namely the six perfections. Next, he explains how to seal these six virtuous practices with the correct view so that they become perfections. Finally, he recounts how Sarvārthasiddha, as a bodhisattva, received instructions for enhancing the potency of the perfections.

INTRODUCTION

The Jewel Mine is a Great Vehicle sūtra in which the Buddha Śākyamuni is requested by Mañjuśrī and others to explain how buddha realms are purified, as bodhisattvas receive teachings from the buddhas and subsequently train on the bodhisattva path based on these instructions.

In replying to Mañjuśrī, the Buddha does not present the way he himself purified buddha realms. Instead, he recounts how a certain past buddha, Sarvārthasiddha, purified infinite buddha realms as a bodhisattva prior to his awakening. This story originates with Dīpaṅkara, the buddha who is said to have prophesied the Buddha Śākyamuni’s awakening. According to The Jewel Mine, Dīpaṅkara told this story to the Buddha Śākyamuni to inspire him and to spur him on the path to awakening. By revealing how he himself received the story, Śākyamuni thus indicates the importance and relevance of studying the purification of buddha realms as a means to inspire fortitude in aspiring bodhisattvas.

The overarching principle in The Jewel Mine is the understanding that there have been innumerable buddhas before the Buddha Śākyamuni, and that there will be an infinite number of buddhas after him, each presiding over their individual buddha realms. Long before their full awakening, buddhas- to-be pledge to awaken and teach beings the paths to liberation. In this way the path followed by all bodhisattvas is the same: it starts with generating the mind of awakening. Then, according to The Jewel Mine, as the bodhisattva subsequently trains in purifying buddha realms, the practice consists of training in the six perfections—generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom. These common steps of the bodhisattva’s trajectory are all alluded to throughout the text.

Another important theme of The Jewel Mine is aspirations. Such prayers, we are told, are central to all bodhisattva activities. According to the Great Vehicle, buddhas appear to sentient beings based on three causes: the buddhas’ compassion, the buddhas’ aspirations, and sentient beings’ merit.

As a bodhisattva, it is therefore of crucial importance to engage in the practice of making aspirations. This sūtra describes the results of such aspirations accumulated from time without beginning.

The content of the text is structured in the following manner: first is a preliminary presentation of the setting of the sūtra, followed by the main presentation of the way the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha purified buddha realms by relying on the six perfections. The Buddha Śākyamuni explains each of these six perfections in three distinct ways as he recounts the past lives of the buddha Sarvārthasiddha. First, he describes how Sarvārthasiddha learned the practices that purify buddha realms, namely the six perfections. Next, he explains how to seal these six virtuous practices with the correct view so that they become perfections. Finally, he recounts how Sarvārthasiddha as a bodhisattva received instructions for enhancing the potency of the perfections.

The Buddha Śākyamuni begins his teaching with a presentation of the view of emptiness that makes use of a variety of analogies. Realizing this view is also referred to as “experiencing liberation devoid of obscurations.” The Buddha explains that the way to train in purifying buddha realms is to realize this view: “Mañjuśrī, it is by experiencing liberation devoid of obscurations that the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha purified his infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast buddha realms.” In this part of the sūtra, the Buddha shows how Sarvārthasiddha purified buddha realms throughout his previous lives, with each of the six perfections being the focus of a particular lifetime as a bodhisattva. First, we hear how the king Joyful and Wise accumulated merit through generosity. As he trained in discipline, he was the king Undefeated Army, while as a brahmin named Blazing Wit he developed the ability to maintain the view through patience. Next, we hear how Sarvārthasiddha’s practice of diligence unfolded in a life as the monk Dhṛtimati. He practiced the next perfection, that of concentration, in his life as the monk Pleasant Voice, who also developed unfailing memory as a quality of his concentration. Finally, he attained the perfection of wisdom as Megharāja, a former king turned monk.

In the second teaching, the practice of the six perfections is once again presented through six previous existences of the buddha Sarvārthasiddha. The first is his existence as Śāntamati, who was instructed by the buddha Sarvābhibhū to strive for buddhahood through the practice of generosity. The next incarnation of Sarvārthasiddha mentioned is the brahmin priest Viṣṇudatta, who practiced discipline. He is followed by the bodhisattva Always Looking, who perfected patience, the monk Sūrata, who perfected diligence, and the monk Concentrated Experience, who accomplished the perfection of concentration. Finally, as the monk Unsurpassed Wisdom he mastered the perfection of wisdom.

Then, for a third time, the Buddha Śākyamuni teaches the six perfections through the framework of six of Sarvārthasiddha’s other past lives. As the monk Careful Scrutiny he practiced generosity, and later as the wealthy kṣatriya layman Jagatīdhara he trained in discipline. Following this life, we hear of the monk Śāntamati, who practiced patience. Next, we are told how the bodhisattva Ārabdhavīrya strove in diligence, the brahmin priest Indradatta trained in aspirations, the brahmin priest Sandalwood Essence perfected skillful means, and finally how the bodhisattva Unsurpassed Knowledge realized the perfection of wisdom.

In the last part of the sūtra, the Buddha Śākyamuni reveals to Mañjuśrī the view of emptiness through a teaching on nonduality. As part of this concluding teaching, the Buddha also discloses the awakened feats of one of Mañjuśrī’s past lives as the brahmin Sūryadatta. Finally, in reply to a request by Mañjuśrī, the Buddha illustrates the long journey to buddhahood by telling how many buddhas Sarvābhibhū had followed and under whose guidance he had generated roots of virtue prior to his awakening, teaching in the process how a buddha is not someone limited to a single manifestation but a being capable of manifesting an inconceivable number of awakened emanations for the welfare of beings.

There is no extant Sanskrit version of this scripture, and the sūtra does not appear to have been translated into Chinese either. In producing this translation, we have therefore based our work on the Degé xylograph while consulting the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma). Additionally, when the readings in the Degé and the Comparative Edition appeared problematic, we consulted the Stok Palace manuscript. The colophon of the sūtra states that it was translated from the Sanskrit by the Indian scholars Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi along with the prolific Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé. Therefore, we can date the Tibetan translation to the late eighth to early ninth centuries, a dating that is also attested by the text’s inclusion in the early ninth century Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) catalog.

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra The Jewel Mine

[B1] [F.213.a] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling at Kālaka’s Grove in Sāketa together with a large saṅgha of monks possessing power and superknowledge. There were sixty-two thousand such worthy ones along with eighty-four thousand bodhisattvas, including the youthful Mañjuśrī. All the bodhisattvas had entered the Great Vehicle. They had entered infinite vehicles. They had entered innumerable vehicles. They had entered inconceivable vehicles. They had entered incomparable vehicles. They had entered immeasurable vehicles. They had entered inexpressible vehicles. They were making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in infinite world systems. They were making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in innumerable world systems. They were making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in inconceivable world systems. They were making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in incomparable world systems. They were making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in immeasurable world systems. They were making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in inexpressibly vast world systems.

Then the youthful Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva Sarvābhibhū, and others beseeched the Blessed One, [F.213.b] “Blessed One, please explain how a thus-gone one purifies his own limitless buddha realms out of love. We make this request because, Blessed One, all the bodhisattvas present in this entourage have entered the Great Vehicle. They have entered infinite vehicles. They have entered innumerable vehicles. They have entered inconceivable vehicles. They have entered incomparable vehicles. They have entered immeasurable vehicles. They have entered inexpressible vehicles. They are making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in infinite world systems. They are making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in innumerable world systems. They are making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in inconceivable world systems. They are making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in incomparable world systems.

They are making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in immeasurable world systems. They are making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in inexpressibly vast world systems.

“So, if these bodhisattvas hear from the Blessed One about the purification of limitless buddha realms, it will further increase their diligence to engage in the purification of limitless buddha realms in infinite world systems, to engage in the purification of limitless buddha realms in innumerable world systems, to engage in the purification of limitless buddha realms in inconceivable world systems, [F.214.a] and to engage in making aspirations for the purification of limitless buddha realms in incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast world systems. Their armor will become hard. Their armor will become strong. Their armor will become vajra- like. Their armor will become indestructible. Their armor will become impenetrable. Their armor will become invincible. Their resolve will become firm. Their resolve will become powerful. Their resolve will become unshakable. Their resolve will become irrevocable. Their resolve will become unassailable. They will attain the manifestation of the strengths. Their every action will be praised by all the blessed buddhas. They will not fall into darkness upon death. They will not be timid, agitated, or discouraged when performing the peerless activities of bodhisattvas. Attending to the wishes of sentient beings, there will be no impediment to their awakening. Striving to accomplish the wishes of sentient beings, they will teach the appropriate Dharma. When in the company of sentient beings, they will act as they are requested. They will become skilled in the procedures for guiding sentient beings. They will become skilled in bringing others into the fold of those who practice the buddha vehicle. They will have no attachment to any statement. Since they become skilled in the concise and the extensive, they will not consider duration or distance.”

The Blessed One replied to the youthful Mañjuśrī, “Well done, well done Mañjuśrī. You have all entered the Great Vehicle. You have entered infinite vehicles. You have entered innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible vehicles. [F.214.b] You have all been making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in infinite world systems. You have all been making aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast world systems. Loving, altruistic, and compassionate, you all enact the deepest wish of bodhisattva great beings, which is to bring benefit and happiness to all worlds. Mañjuśrī, whoever supplicates the Thus-Gone One will also generate the power of those bodhisattva great beings’ roots of virtue, so you should be confident. Therefore, Mañjuśrī, listen with the greatest care and keep this in mind.”

“Excellent, excellent Blessed One,” replied the youthful Mañjuśrī, and he listened as the Blessed One had directed.

Then the Blessed One said, “Mañjuśrī, in the east, beyond as many buddha realms as the number of particles in forty inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is the world system called Anabhibhūta. There resides the thus- gone, worthy, perfect buddha Sarvārthasiddha. Living there, he possesses limitless pure buddha realms in infinite world systems. He possesses the aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in incomparable world systems. He possesses the aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in immeasurable world systems. He possesses the aspirations to purify limitless buddha realms in inexpressibly vast world systems.

“Mañjuśrī, all noble sons or daughters who have entered the bodhisattva vehicle [F.215.a] will possess limitless pure buddha realms in infinite world systems once they hear about the limitless pure buddha realms in infinite world systems that belong to the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Sarvārthasiddha. They will also come to possess limitless pure buddha realms in innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast world systems.

“Mañjuśrī, once, in the middle of a marketplace in the Dīpavatī world system, when I heard from the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Dīpaṅkara about the limitless pure buddha realms of the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha, I developed acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Once I had thus developed acceptance that phenomena are unborn, the thus-gone Dīpaṅkara prophesied my unsurpassed and perfect awakening.

“He said, ‘Excellent, excellent! Sublime being, in the future, after an innumerable eon, you will become a thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha known as Śākyamuni, endowed with limitless pure buddha realms in immeasurable world systems. You will be endowed with limitless pure buddha realms in innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast world systems.’

“Mañjuśrī, when I heard the prophecy concerning myself from the thus- gone Dīpaṅkara, the force of that root of virtue impelled me to rise into the sky to a height of seven palm trees. Through the power of that Buddha, I saw the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Sarvārthasiddha teaching the Dharma to an audience of hundreds of thousands of beings who had gathered around him, full of respect. [F.215.b] When I saw that as I rested in the sky, I offered these verses of praise to that thus-gone one:

“ ‘Your wisdom vision is infinite and unimpeded.
Most excellent Blissful One, you are the eyes of the world. Your wisdom radiates without obstruction.
Blissful One, there is nothing you do not see in this world.

13. 1.13  “ ‘Blissful One, your light cannot be outshone.
    You go to millions of buddha realms in inconceivable number; Suddenly you appear on top of mountains and rocks— Nothing can overshadow the light of the Victorious One.
14. 1.14  “ ‘Just like placing a fruit in the palm of the hand,
    Blissful One, you reveal buddhas in limitless number,
    And in multifarious buddha realms
    The children of the victorious ones are freed from obscurations.
15. 1.15  “ ‘Protector of the world, in the universes in the ten directions
    You give prophecies to the children of the victorious ones engaged in merit, Saying, “You will reach the peace of awakening devoid of aggregates.”
    I see this, standing here in midair.
16. 1.16  “ ‘All bodhisattvas in the universes in the ten directions,
    Who dwell in midair with inspired minds,
    Praise you, victor over disturbing emotions, father of the victorious ones. I see this, standing here in midair.
17. 1.17  “ ‘The bodhisattvas in the universes in the ten directions
    Leave the Heaven of Joy after infinite deaths and transferences, And their subtle consciousness enters the final womb.
    I see this, standing here in midair.
18. 1.18  “ ‘The bodhisattvas in the universes in the ten directions Dwell at the right side of their mothers’ wombs,
    While the gods arrive to pay homage to them.
    I see this, standing here in midair.
19. 1.19  “ ‘The bodhisattvas in the universes in the ten directions Defeat Māra’s hordes and armies And arouse their unsurpassed mind of awakening. I see this, standing here in midair.
20. 1.20  “ ‘Just as fire is calmed when water is poured onto it, Protector of the world, in the universes in the ten directions You manifest complete peace, complete nirvāṇa. [F.216.a]
    I see this, standing here in midair.
21. 1.21  “ ‘Lord of humans who possesses the ten strengths, your magnificence shines Over the world without the slightest obscuration,
    And likewise over the immeasurable realms of the victorious ones.

I see this clearly, standing here in midair.

22. 1.22  “ ‘Just like a person’s dream of sensual pleasures,
    Or the mirages that appear at the end of spring,
    Or the perception of the reflection of the moon in water, I see the realms and the buddhas.
23. 1.23  “ ‘The moment I purified the buddha realms, I attained stainless wisdom. When stainless wisdom arose,
    The lord of humans prophesied my awakening.
24. 1.24  “ ‘All beings are like an echo, But the wise are not fooled. Today, when I heard your words, O protector,
    I realized the authentic nature of even my Dharma name.
25. 1.25  “ ‘As I experience unobscured liberation
    In incomparable, limitless buddha realms so pure,
    And likewise in the realms of innumerable victorious ones, I see the lords of humans abiding there all-seeing.’
26. 1.26  “Mañjuśrī, in this way, bodhisattva great beings should train in liberation devoid of obscurations. Bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations do not grasp at liberation, nor do they grasp at the nonexistence of liberation. They also do not grasp at obscurations, nor do they think, ‘There are no obscurations.’ They also do not grasp at the nonexistence of bodhisattvas, nor do they think ‘The bodhisattvas do not exist.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of experience, nor do they grasp at their experience. They do not grasp at the nonexistence of buddha realms, nor do they think, ‘The buddha realms exist.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the infinite, nor do they think, ‘The infinite exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the innumerable, nor do they think, ‘The innumerable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the inconceivable, nor do they think, ‘The inconceivable exists.’ [F.216.b] They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the incomparable, nor do they think, ‘The incomparable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the immeasurable, nor do they think, ‘The immeasurable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the inexpressible, nor do they think, ‘The inexpressible exists.’
27. 1.27  “Mañjuśrī, consider the following analogy. A man who is asleep has a fictitious dream in which he fully enjoys the five sense pleasures. The man is neither childish nor is he a fool, but rather someone wise, knowledgeable, and intelligent. So when he wakes up from his dream, he does not grasp at the nonexistence of the sense pleasures, nor does he think, ‘The sense pleasures are here.’ He does not grasp at the nonexistence of the joy of his pleasure, nor does he think, ‘The joy of pleasure exists.’ Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations do not grasp at the nonexistence of liberation, nor do they think, ‘Liberation exists.’ This also applies to all the previously mentioned aspects, down to ‘They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the inexpressible, nor do they think, “The inexpressible exists.” ’

“Mañjuśrī, consider the following analogy. A skilled magician or magician’s apprentice can conjure up various illusions in front a large crowd of common people, such as the various parts of an elephant, or a horse, or a chariot, or a group of infantry soldiers. When those who are neither childish nor foolish by nature, but wise and intelligent people who can realize what is happening and examine the situation, see the magician’s illusions, they do not grasp at the nonexistence of various parts of the elephant, nor do they think, ‘The various parts of the elephant exist.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the various parts of the horse, nor do they think, ‘The various parts of the horse exist.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the various parts of the chariot, nor do they think, ‘The various parts of the chariot exist.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the group of infantry soldiers, [F.217.a] nor do they think, ‘This group of infantry soldiers exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the illusion, nor do they think, ‘This illusion exists.’ Likewise, Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations do not grasp at liberation, nor do they think, ‘Liberation exists.’ This also applies to all the previously mentioned aspects, through ‘They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the inexpressible, nor do they think, “The inexpressible exists.” ’

“Mañjuśrī, consider the analogy of the reflection of the moon in the waters of a pristine lake under a clear, cloudless sky. When those who are neither childish nor foolish by nature, but wise and intelligent people who can realize what is happening and examine the situation, see this, they do not think that the moon does not exist, nor do they think, ‘The moon exists.’ They do not think that the reflection does not exist, nor do they think, ‘The reflection exists.’ Likewise, Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations do not grasp at the nonexistence of liberation, nor do they think, ‘Liberation exists.’ This also applies to all the previously mentioned aspects, down to ‘They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the inexpressible, nor do they think, “The inexpressible exists.” ’ They also do not grasp at the lack of attainment, nor do they think, ‘Attainment exists.’

“Mañjuśrī, consider the analogy of the fluttering distortions of a mirage in a clear, cloudless sky at the end of spring. When those who are neither childish nor foolish by nature, but wise and intelligent people who can realize what is happening and examine the situation, see this, they do not grasp at the nonexistence of the mirage, nor do they think, ‘The mirage exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the flutter, [F.217.b] nor do they think, ‘The flutter exists.’ Likewise, Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations do not grasp at the nonexistence of the experience, nor do they think, ‘The experience exists.’ They also do not grasp at the nonexistence of buddha realms, nor do they think, ‘The buddha realms exist.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the infinite, nor do they think, ‘The infinite exists.’ They do not grasp at nonexistence of the innumerable, nor do they think, ‘The innumerable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the inconceivable, nor do they think, ‘The inconceivable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the incomparable, nor do they think, ‘The incomparable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the immeasurable, nor do they think, ‘The immeasurable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the inexpressible, nor do they think, ‘The inexpressible exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of purity, nor do they think, ‘Purity exists.’ They do not grasp at the lack of attainment, nor do they think, ‘Attainment exists.’

“Mañjuśrī, think of a clear and cloudless sky that becomes covered as billowing clouds appear. When intelligent people see this, they do not grasp at the nonexistence of the cloudbanks, nor do they think, ‘The cloudbanks exist.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the cloud covering, nor do they think, ‘The cloud covering exists.’ Likewise, Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations do not grasp at the nonexistence of liberation, nor do they think, ‘Liberation exists.’ They also do not grasp at the nonexistence of the absence of obscurations, nor do they think, ‘The absence of obscurations exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of bodhisattvas, nor do they think, ‘Bodhisattvas exist.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of experience, nor do they think, ‘Experience exists.’2 [F.218.a] They do not grasp at the nonexistence of buddha realms, nor do they think, ‘The buddha realms exist.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the infinite, nor do they think, ‘The infinite exists.’ They do not grasp at nonexistence of the innumerable, nor do they think, ‘The innumerable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the inconceivable, nor do they think, ‘The inconceivable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the incomparable, nor do they think, ‘The incomparable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the immeasurable, nor do they think, ‘The immeasurable exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of the inexpressible, nor do they think, ‘The inexpressible exists.’ They do not grasp at the nonexistence of purity, nor do they think, ‘Purity exists.’ They do not grasp at the lack of attainment, nor do they think, ‘Attainment exists.’

“Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations should not think, ‘Will my buddha realms in infinite number be purified or not?’ And yet, the infinite buddha realms of the bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations all become purified without the bodhisattva great beings having to focus their minds. In the same way, bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations should not think, ‘Will my innumerable buddha realms be purified or not?’ and so on, down to ‘Will my inexpressibly vast buddha realms be purified or not?’ And yet, the inexpressibly vast buddha realms of the bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations all become purified without the bodhisattva great beings having to focus their minds.

“Mañjuśrī, take dawn as an analogy. At that time the sun does not think, ‘Shall I rise now?’ And yet, without any concentrated effort, the sun still rises at dawn. Mañjuśrī, in the same way, bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations [F.218.b] do not wonder how they will purify their limitless buddha realms. And yet, without any concentrated effort, bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations purify their infinite buddha realms, and so on, down to their inexpressibly vast buddha realms.

“Mañjuśrī, it is by experiencing liberation devoid of obscurations that the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha purified his infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast buddha realms.”

Then the youthful Mañjuśrī asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what is the extent of the buddha realms that the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Sarvārthasiddha has purified?”

The Blessed One replied, “Mañjuśrī, it is not easy to understand through language the extent of the buddha realms that the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Sarvārthasiddha has purified.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “Blessed One, is it possible to illustrate this through an analogy?”

The Blessed One replied, “Yes, Mañjuśrī, it is possible. Mañjuśrī, consider this analogy. Take together world systems as numerous as the particles in forty inexpressibly vast buddha realms. Fill them with mustard seeds, as if they were filled with dust or sand. Suppose then that someone decides to grind these mustard seeds into particles, and they divide each mustard seed into as many subparticles as there are mustard seeds altogether. Having done that, they go off in the eastern direction, carrying all the particles on their shoulders. With a single stride [F.219.a] they can cover as many universes as there are grains of sand in the Ganges. With such strides they move as fast as the miraculous speed of the mind. Proceeding in this manner, they continue for as many eons as there are grains of sand in the Ganges before placing a single particle. In this way they continue to travel into the eastern direction until they have placed all the particles. In the same way, they travel to the south, the west, the north, and the intermediate directions, placing the same number of particles. Likewise, in the zenith and the nadir they place an equal number of particles. Mañjuśrī, tell me, is the number of worlds where they place a mustard seed particle greater than those where they do not?”

Mañjuśrī replied, “Blessed One, there are fewer worlds where they place particles. Indeed, those where they do not place any particles are far greater in number.”

The Blessed One said, “Mañjuśrī, imagine that the universes where those particles have been placed and those where they have not been placed are taken together and then filled with mustard seeds as if they were filled with dust or sand. Suppose then that someone takes these mustard seeds and grinds each one into as many subparticles as there are mustard seeds altogether. Having done that, they go off in the eastern direction, carrying all the particles on their shoulders. With a single stride they cover as many universes as there are grains of sand in the Ganges while keeping a pace as fast as the miraculous speed of the mind. Proceeding with such strides and speed, they move for as many eons as there are grains of sand in the Ganges before putting down a single particle. In this way they continue to travel into the eastern direction until they have placed all the particles. In the same way, they travel to the south until they have placed all the particles, and likewise to the west, the north, the northeast, the southeast, the southwest, the northwest, the zenith, and the nadir, [F.219.b] thus placing the particles in all directions. Mañjuśrī, tell me, is the number of worlds where they place a particle greater than those where they do not?”

Mañjuśrī replied, “Blessed One, there are fewer worlds where they place particles. Indeed, those where they do not place any particles are far greater in number.”

The Blessed One said, “Mañjuśrī, imagine that the universes where those particles have been placed and those where they have not been placed are taken together and then filled with mustard seeds as if they were filled with dust or sand. Suppose then that someone takes these mustard seeds and grinds each one into as many subparticles as there are mustard seeds altogether. Having done that, they go off in the eastern direction, carrying all the particles on their shoulders. With a single stride they cover as many universes as there are grains of sand in the Ganges while keeping a pace as fast as the miraculous speed of the mind. Proceeding with such strides and speed, they move for as many eons as there are grains of sand in the Ganges before putting down a single particle. In this way they continue to travel into the eastern direction until they have placed all the particles. In the same way, they travel to the south until they have placed all the particles, and likewise to the west, the north, the northeast, the southeast, the southwest, the northwest, the zenith, and the nadir, thus placing the particles in each direction. Mañjuśrī, tell me, is the number of worlds where they place those particles greater than those where they do not?”

Mañjuśrī replied, “Blessed One, there are fewer worlds where they place those particles. Indeed, those where they do not place any particles are far greater in number.”

The Blessed One said, “Mañjuśrī, imagine that the universes where those particles have been placed and those where they have not been placed are taken together and then filled with mustard seeds. Then increase that number as in the previous analogies and multiply that number thirty thousand times. Mañjuśrī, the extent of infinite universes equal in number to the amount of particles in this final group [F.220.a] represents the scale of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Sarvārthasiddha’s tree of awakening. That tree of awakening is made of the seven precious substances and its fruits are wish-fulfilling jewels. Its boughs are as numerous as the particles in that final universe. Each bough splits into branches as numerous as the particles in that final universe. Each branch has as many fruits as there are particles in that final universe. Each fruit has an infinite number of parts. Mañjuśrī, this tree of awakening has manifested as the fruit of the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha’s virtuous conduct; it does not appear in the field of vision of sentient beings who have not purified their eyes. Mañjuśrī, think of the celestial palaces of the yakṣas, who live in midair. They do not appear to the vision of human beings. Likewise, this tree of awakening does not appear in the field of vision of sentient beings who have not purified their eyes. Mañjuśrī, sentient beings cannot touch this tree of awakening. Mañjuśrī, it is just like the celestial palaces of the yakṣas, who live in midair. They cannot be touched. Likewise, Mañjuśrī, sentient beings cannot touch this tree of awakening. This is because this tree of awakening only manifests as a result of the karmic ripening of beings with pure karma.

“Mañjuśrī, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha’s pure universes in the east are as numerous as the particles in the final analogy, and there is an equal number in the south, west, north, southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast, and at the zenith and the nadir. So immense are his pure buddha realms. [F.220.b] Relying on the liberation devoid of obscurations, I purify buddha realms on such a vast scale.

“Mañjuśrī, the appearance, growth, ripening, and splitting open of the fruits on the tree of awakening occurs continuously and without interruption. Mañjuśrī, consider the analogy of five hundred children playing. At any time some of those children will be standing up while others will be seated. Likewise, Mañjuśrī, the fruits on the tree of awakening continuously appear, grow, ripen, and split open without any interruption. Mañjuśrī, as another analogy, in a heavy rain bubbles are formed and disappear in the puddles without interruption. Likewise, the fruits on the tree of awakening continuously appear, grow, ripen, and split open without interruption. As the fruits age and split open, as many bodhisattvas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges emerge from each part of the fruit. They possess the thirty-two marks and are adorned with the eighty excellent signs. Like Nārāyaṇa, they have strong bodies. They reach their final existence as sentient beings and accomplish aspirations that purify limitless buddha realms in inexpressibly vast world systems. All of them, having purified buddha realms to such a vast extent, then reach awakening. They pay homage to the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Sarvārthasiddha, bowing their heads down to his feet before taking their place next to him. Then, to those bodhisattvas sitting next to him, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha describes his own purified buddha realms and teaches about the equality of the three times.

“The bodhisattvas listen attentively, retain the explanation about the pure buddha realms, and, as soon as they have heard it, gain the five supernatural abilities. The moment they gain the five supernatural abilities, [F.221.a] they prostrate with their heads to the feet of the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha. Then they circumambulate him three times and depart. Through the power of their miraculous abilities they go to their respective buddha’s realm, where they awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.

“Mañjuśrī, when in the past the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was engaged in bodhisattva practices, he trained in the three absorptions of the bodhisattvas. He became very familiar with them, took them as the path, relied on them, persevered in them, realized them, and applied them well. What are the three absorptions? They are the strength absorption of the bodhisattvas, the tranquility absorption of the bodhisattvas, and the absorption of the bodhisattvas that masters all phenomena.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Bouquet of Flowers. During the Bouquet of Flowers eon, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the unsurpassed guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Holy Jewel appeared in the world. The initial gathering of hearers around the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Holy Jewel numbered eight billion. They were all worthy ones who had exhausted their defilements. They were without disturbing emotions and were controlled. Their minds were liberated and their knowledge was liberated. They were of noble birth. They were great elephants who had done what needs to be done. They had laid down their burden and reached their goal. [F.221.b] They were liberated from the bondages of existence and had perfected the highest of all mental powers. The gathering of bodhisattvas was twice as large. All of them had made aspirations to purify infinite buddha realms in limitless universes. They had made aspirations to purify innumerable buddha realms in limitless universes. They had made aspirations to purify inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast buddha realms in limitless universes.

“There was also a second gathering of one hundred million hearers. The gathering of bodhisattvas was twice as large. Then there was a third gathering of ten billion hearers. They were all were worthy ones who were without disturbing emotions and were controlled, and so forth, down to ‘they had perfected the highest of all mental powers.’ The third gathering of bodhisattvas was twice as large. Each day and at every Dharma teaching the gathering of hearers and the gathering of bodhisattvas would learn the Dharma taught by the Thus-Gone One.

“Mañjuśrī, concerning the number of hearers gathered around the thus- gone Holy Jewel, a mathematician, or a proficient student of a mathematician, would be unable to calculate this number, even if they had one eon, or one hundred, or one thousand, or one hundred thousand, or ten million, or one hundred million, or ten billion, or one trillion, or even a hundred trillion eons. Even then would they be unable to say, ‘The gathering of hearers consists of this many hundreds, or thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or tens of millions, or hundreds of millions, [F.222.a] or billions, or hundreds of billions, or even trillions of individuals.’

“Mañjuśrī, consider this analogy. Even an astrologer, or the skilled apprentice of an astrologer, would be unable to count the number of stars in a great trichiliocosm and announce how many hundreds, or thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or tens of millions, or hundreds of millions, or billions, or hundreds of billions, or even trillions of stars there are. In this way, just as the number of stars is infinite, so, Mañjuśrī, the extent of these gatherings of hearers cannot be fathomed.

“Mañjuśrī, at that time there was a king called Joyful and Wise, who was a righteous Dharma king. He governed and ruled over the entire buddha realm. Due to the ripening of karma he had also attained the ability to display miracles. With this power he was able to worship the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Holy Jewel and the saṅgha of hearers and bodhisattvas for sixty quintillion years by offering them food of one hundred tastes, fabrics from Kāśī to wear, and all other necessities, such as dharma robes, alms bowls, bedding, and medicines, thus providing for their fundamental needs with these things.

“As he served the Thus-Gone One and the saṅgha of hearers with food of one hundred tastes, he accumulated vast and infinite roots of virtue. As he accumulated vast and infinite roots of virtue, he also generated the vast and infinite powers of these roots of virtue.

“He accumulated vast and innumerable roots of virtue. [F.222.b] The accumulation of these vast and innumerable roots of virtue also generated the vast and innumerable powers of these roots of virtue.

“He accumulated inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible roots of virtue related to the perfection of generosity and so he generated the vast and inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible powers of the roots of virtue that are related to the perfection of generosity.

“He accumulated vast and infinite roots of virtue related to the perfection of discipline. Having accumulated vast and infinite roots of virtue related to the perfection of discipline, he generated the vast and infinite powers of the roots of virtue that are related to the perfection of discipline. In the same way, on a vast scale he accumulated innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible roots of virtue related to the perfection of discipline. Having accumulated vast and innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible roots of virtue related to the perfection of discipline, he generated the vast and innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible powers of the roots of virtue that are related to the perfection of discipline.

“He accumulated vast, innumerable, and infinite roots of virtue related to the perfection of patience. Just as with the perfection of generosity and the perfection of discipline, he also accomplished the vast accumulation of the perfections of patience, diligence, and concentration.

“He accumulated vast and infinite roots of virtue related to the perfection of wisdom. Having accumulated vast and infinite roots of virtue related to the perfection of wisdom, he generated the vast and infinite powers of the roots of virtue that are related to the perfection of wisdom. [F.223.a] In the same manner, he accumulated vast and innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible roots of virtue related to the perfection of wisdom. Having accumulated vast and innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible roots of virtue related to the perfection of wisdom, he generated the vast and innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible powers of the roots of virtue that are related to the perfection of wisdom.

59. 1.59  “Mañjuśrī, in this way King Joyful and Wise generated the roots of virtue related to the six perfections. Then, overflowing with joy, faith, and rapture, he rose into the sky to the height of seven palm trees and praised the blessed thus-gone Holy Jewel in verses inspired by the six perfections:
60. 1.60  “ ‘With your ten strengths and endless knowledge,
    You are a lion of humans who has crossed the four rivers. An offering to you becomes infinite.
    Such generosity cannot be eclipsed.
61. 1.61  “ ‘A saltless field
    With no stones, dirt, or gravel Can be well plowed
    And made even and free of weeds.
62. 1.62  “ ‘Seeds planted in a field like this, Even if the farmer is fast asleep, Will in time yield firm roots, And green shoots will burgeon.
63. 1.63  “ ‘As the nāgas bring water to the ground, Leaves and stems also thrive, And following the cycle of the seasons, Fruits will, without doubt, mature.
64. 1.64  “ ‘Likewise, with desire and aversion crushed,
    And with freedom from delusion, comes a confident mind, A field of great qualities that you can till
    With the plow of knowledge.
65. 1.65  “ ‘Then, even though just a few seeds are sown, And the landowner applies no effort,
    The perfections are completed
    And the sprout of omniscience burgeons.
66. 1.66  “ ‘O protector, when generosity is shown to you,
    One obtains love and compassion and is freed from disturbing emotions, The three gateways to liberation manifest,

And in the end one attains the result of nirvāṇa.

67. 1.67  “ ‘Graced with the thirty-two marks,
    You are like the blooming karṇikāra tree. [F.223.b] As I accumulate roots of virtue,
    May I become like you, Blissful One!
68. 1.68  “ ‘Just as you are graced with the marks of merit
    And accumulate excellent deeds, supreme sage,
    And just as you are the most excellent among humans, May I also become like you, Blissful One!
69. 1.69  “ ‘May I be like you, with your matchless mind, Who rests in knowledge and then moves
    To set onto the right path
    Beings who have sunk into views.
70. 1.70  “ ‘When I reach awakening May I too rest in bliss And set straying beings
    Onto the path of the four truths of the noble ones!
71. 1.71  “ ‘Just as you have no aggregates,
    Have reached the unsurpassed exhaustion of the aggregates, And lead all immature beings fettered by their aggregates
    To abandon their aggregates,
72. 1.72  “ ‘May I too have no aggregates,
    Having attained the supreme awakening devoid of aggregates, And may I lead all beings fettered by their aggregates
    To fully abandon their aggregates!
73. 1.73  “ ‘Just as you have abandoned disturbing emotions And, like extinguishing a fire with water,
    Have freed suffering beings
    Consumed by the blaze of disturbing emotions,
74. 1.74  “ ‘May I too reach awakening And steer into perfect peace All disturbed beings ablaze with anger, stupidity, and desire Who have strayed from the path of peace.
75. 1.75  “ ‘Bound by the noose of miserliness
    And obscured in darkness fettered by jealousy,
    Beings attached to existence are bereft of a protector—

“ ‘Just like you, self-arisen one,
Are graced by the wisdom of the ten strengths
And satisfy the billions of suffering beings who thirst for saṃsāra With the wisdom of the ten strengths,

“ ‘May I too reach awakening
And, having gained unsurpassed wisdom,
Satisfy the billions of suffering beings who thirst for saṃsāra With the wisdom of the ten strengths!’

“Mañjuśrī, in this way for sixty quintillion years King Joyful and Wise offered to the blessed thus-gone Holy Jewel food endowed with a hundred tastes and clothed him in fabrics from Kāśī. Then he offered him these verses of praise while resting in midair. This produced infinite, innumerable, [F.224.a] inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible powers of the roots of virtue.

“The power of these roots of virtue prevented him from taking birth as a hell being for incalculable eons. It also prevented him from taking birth in the animal realms, in the world of the Lord of Death, or in the realms of the asuras. He was not born in the unfree states, in a lower caste, or in a poor family. For inexpressible numbers of eons he never fell ill due to physical imbalances of wind, bile, or phlegm. He was never physically impaired and never had yellow eyes, red eyes,3 crossed eyes, or a crooked face. His body was always graced with the thirty-two marks of great beings and never lacked the eighty excellent signs. Whenever he became a god among gods or a human among humans, he was never impaired or impoverished and never wanting in the most excellent aspirations. He never took birth in a buddha realm deprived of a buddha, and he was never ill. He was never proud because of his physical appearance, enjoyments, servants, or wealth, and he never became proud because of his women or clothes. He was always a generous sponsor. He was never proud of his discipline, and yet he always observed it. He was never proud of the teachings he received but endeavored to study extensively. He was never lustful, and yet the ladies of the harem always surrounded him. He never broke his pure conduct, and yet he obtained a son as soon as he wished. He never bred malevolent thoughts nor violent intentions. In this way, as the king gave rise to powerful absorption he accomplished these bodhisattva qualities and others as well.

“Mañjuśrī, what do you think? [F.224.b] If you believe that at that time, on that occasion, King Joyful and Wise was someone else, then you should reconsider that. This is because the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Sarvārthasiddha was at that time, on that occasion, the king Joyful and Wise.

May I establish them on the eightfold path!

Therefore, Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattvas who have entered the Great Vehicle should train by thinking, ‘I must search for the power of the roots of virtue that are related to the perfection of generosity.’

“Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great beings who have entered the Great Vehicle practice unobscured liberation. As a result, they create vast roots of virtue related to the perfection of discipline. They generate the vast power of the roots of virtue related to the perfection of discipline. [B2]

“Mañjuśrī, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago there lived two royal sages called Brahmadeva and Agnidatta. They always lived together, roaming around in wildernesses, forests, ravines, and jungles. They told themselves, ‘If we were to keep company with women, we would end up contravening our training due to desire. Even if we maintained discipline while mingling with them, we would contravene our training out of ill will. And whether we kept our discipline or failed to see any faults in our discipline while mingling with them, we would contravene our training out of dullness.’ Seeing such shortcomings in female company, they kept themselves to life in the wildernesses, forests, ravines, and jungles. [F.225.a]

“Mañjuśrī, at that time there was a king called Undefeated Army. When he was anointed as king he decided to give anyone who had renounced their home all the hay, wood, and water they needed. The two sages were happy to hear this and so they came to live in the realm of King Undefeated Army. Around the same time, some robbers stole from the wealth of King Undefeated Army and fled after their crime. The sages, however, saw the fleeing robbers. The bandits also noticed the holy men in the forest, and so they went up to them with folded hands and beseeched them, ‘Sages, if anyone asks if you have seen us, please do not tell them.’

“Then the sage Brahmadeva said to the sage Agnidatta, ‘Oh no! This is a very delicate situation. What should we do? If we say we haven’t seen the robbers, we will be deceiving others. But to disclose what we have seen will also be harmful. What do you think we should do?’

“The sage Agnidatta replied to the sage Brahmadeva, ‘Dear Brahmadeva, do not think of this as anything harmful. Why? Brahmadeva, those who hold on to a body and a life have defiled elements, elements that grip their minds. Brahmadeva, it is similar to this: when dust falls on a greasy cloth, the dust sticks to it. Likewise, Brahmadeva, the minds of those who hold on to a body have defiled elements, elements that grip their minds. Brahmadeva, for those who live without holding on to a body and a life, the defiled elements do not grip their minds completely and do not remain. Brahmadeva, consider this analogy: even if dust comes into contact with clean fabric, the dust will disappear as soon as the cloth has been shaken. [F.225.b] Likewise,

Brahmadeva, in the minds of those who do not hold on to a body and a life, the defiled elements do not grip their minds. Therefore, Brahmadeva, we too should not hold on to a body and a life. Brahmadeva, if we do not hold on to a body and a life, our minds will not be gripped by defiled elements. Dear Brahmadeva, no buddha has ever claimed to practice disciplined conduct that involves holding on to a body and a life!’

“The sage Agnidatta’s teaching to the sage Brahmadeva to forgo holding on to his body and his life led Brahmadeva to realize the absence of clinging to body and life.

“Then King Undefeated Army entered the deep forest in search of the robbers. He saw the sages living there and went up to them while dispatching servants into the deep forest to look for the bandits. King Undefeated Army paid homage to the sages by prostrating at their feet. King Undefeated Army then sat down next to the two sages and asked them, ‘Have you two sages seen any robbers entering or leaving this deep forest?’

“The two sages replied to King Undefeated Army, ‘Your Majesty, we do not even see ourselves, so how could we see any robbers?’

While King Undefeated Army and the sages were having this conversation, the king’s men caught the robbers. They brought them to the king and announced, ‘We have caught the robbers and are bringing them before you.’ King Undefeated Army had failed to understand the meaning behind what the two sages had told him, so he turned to them and said, ‘You liars! You are not sages!’ [F.226.a] Then, although the sages had not even harmed anyone, he decided to cut off their hands and feet. As the sage Agnidatta’s hands and feet were being severed, he spoke to King Undefeated Army: ‘Your Majesty, if you search for your self, please tell me what this king called Undefeated Army is like. Is King Undefeated Army his eyes, or is he different from his eyes? Is King Undefeated Army his ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind? Is King Undefeated Army different from his ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind?’ As the sage taught that the self cannot be observed, the king understood correctly the genuine meaning of the teaching. As King Undefeated Army investigated genuinely and correctly, he went beyond perceiving a self. When he experienced that the self cannot ultimately be observed, he was overcome by a strong feeling of regret. Since he had failed to understand the point that the innocent sages had explained, he had rashly committed a negative action. As a result, now that he fully and genuinely knew the nature of things, he was pained and worried. Devastated by regret he collapsed on the ground.

“Seeing the regret of King Undefeated Army, the sage Agnidatta said, ‘Great king, just as you do not perceive your self, do not perceive any severed feet or hands.’ As the sage Agnidatta taught emptiness to King

Undefeated Army, he was swiftly released from his fetters. He quickly realized the characteristics of the essential nature of phenomena and then began to consider the two sages as his teachers.

“The two sages now spoke to the king about discipline, saying, ‘Great king, to maintain pure discipline one must realize the aspiration of having a disciplined mind. Great king, look to the power of pure discipline. [F.226.b] Great king, by this truth, these words—that you were unaware that you let your mind remain unruly for an inexpressible number of eons—may our two right hands become as they were.’ No sooner had they said this, than the blessing of truth restored the right hands of the two sages.

“ ‘Great king, by this truth, these words of truth—that you were unaware that you let your physical actions be unruly for an inexpressible number of eons—may our two left hands become as they were.’ No sooner had they said this, than the blessing of truth restored the left hands of the two sages.

“ ‘Great king, by this truth, these words of truth—that you were unaware that you let your physical actions be unruly for an inexpressible number of eons—may our two left hands become as they were.’ In this way, the two sages recovered their hands and feet through the blessing of the sage Agnidatta’s truth.

“When King Undefeated Army saw the miracle of the blessing of the truth from the two sages, the hair on his body stood on end. Hearing the blessing of the truth of the sage Agnidatta, he became very diligent in purifying the actions of his body, speech, and mind. As he sat there, he began to practice the perfection of discipline of the noble ones.

“As a result, he saw from there limitless quintillions of buddhas throughout the universes in the ten directions. Some were fully awakening to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, some were turning the wheel of the unsurpassed Dharma, some were displaying all manner of miracles to instruct sentient beings, some were abandoning the formation of life, and some were passing beyond suffering into the realm of nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates. The king also saw the sage Agnidatta paying homage to and worshipping all these thus-gone ones. [F.227.a] The king saw that the sage Agnidatta, through all sorts of miraculous displays, presented the teachings of those blessed buddhas to sentient beings and spoke about the unsurpassed perfection of discipline. King Undefeated Army saw these thus-gone ones and several quintillions of sentient beings and, through the power of virtue related to the perfection of discipline, rose into the sky to the height of seven palm trees. Then, resting in midair, he praised the sage Agnidatta and all the blessed buddhas with these miraculous verses imbued with the perfection of discipline:

1.96 “ ‘Just as a stainless mirror

Reflects all you do with your body—both good and bad—

Likewise, virtuous and pure discipline
Reveals the faults and qualities of the mind.

97. 1.97  “ ‘Like a great tree that bears fruits as desired And yields fruits just as one wishes,
    Just so, the pure aggregate of discipline Gives results just as envisioned.
98. 1.98  “ ‘Just as a field adequately worked Becomes a source as envisioned, Just so, proper training in the aggregate of discipline Bears all qualities just as envisioned.
99. 1.99  “ ‘Just as the polishing of a wish-fulfilling jewel Grants enjoyments just as envisioned,
    Just so, polishing the aggregate of discipline Gives all qualities just as envisioned.
100. 1.100  “ ‘The initial conduct taught by the heirs of the victorious ones Is always discipline, which is like the primary foundation, And the victorious ones, with this stainless foundation, Accomplish the supreme peace of awakening.
101. 1.101  “ ‘A young nyagrodha tree, the king of trees, When planted and growing on even ground
     Will give ample branches,
     Yielding extraordinary flowers and fruits. [F.227.b]
102. 1.102  “ ‘Likewise, anyone abiding by the aggregate of discipline Gives rise to the qualities of the children of the victorious ones And thereby attains omniscient wisdom,
     Thus liberating sentient beings from their sufferings.
103. 1.103  “ ‘One who has discipline finds glory and splendor.
     Disciplined people become beautiful.
     The children of the victorious ones are always fond of the disciplined— The begetters of rare qualities.
104. 1.104  “ ‘The one who masters discipline through pure conduct Is the sage Agnidatta with a stainless code of conduct.
     I see one hundred masters of awakened qualities
     Extol him with exhaustive praises.

1.105 “ ‘Mastery of the practice of pure discipline

Has been praised by a hundred buddhas, Just as the master Agnidatta
Has been praised by a hundred buddhas.

106. 1.106  “ ‘Just so, having splendid discipline myself
     I received a hundred praises for my pure conduct, And in my next lives had no pain,
     As if cured of an infectious disease.
107. 1.107  “ ‘I now maintain stainless discipline,
     So I too see the actions of several quintillions
     Of bliss-gone ones inhabiting the ten directions, And their praise of discipline.
108. 1.108  “ ‘I now maintain stainless discipline,
     So I too see several quintillions of blissful ones Progressively awakening to unsurpassed buddhahood, Taming quintillions of māras.
109. 1.109  “ ‘I now maintain stainless discipline,
     So I too see several quintillions of blissful ones
     Praising the worthy ones, as well as victorious ones turning The incomparable and supreme wheel for the sake of beings.
110. 1.110  “ ‘I now maintain stainless discipline,
     So I too see several quintillions of blissful ones— Blissful ones who liberate from a hundred sufferings Unwise beings who are blinded by obscurations.
111. 1.111  “ ‘I now maintain stainless discipline, [F.228.a]
     So I too see several quintillions of blissful ones
     Guiding quintillions of beings and performing their deeds, Blissful ones who liberate beings through faith.
112. 1.112  “ ‘I now maintain stainless discipline,
     So I too see several quintillions of blissful ones Accomplishing vast benefit for sentient beings And reaching nirvāṇa free of renewed existence.
113. 1.113  “ ‘I now maintain stainless discipline,
     So I too see several quintillions of blissful ones
     Reaching nirvāṇa and then leaving vast amounts of relics, Satisfying sentient beings with happiness.

1.114 “ ‘Master, today as I heard your words

My eyes were also purified, inconceivably.
That is why I see through the strength of unobscured vision The victorious ones in the ten directions.

“ ‘Purified by my incomparable discipline
My eyesight became unobscured.
By perfecting the training in the aggregate of discipline I have gained the strength of unobscured eyesight.

“ ‘In this way, with hands folded toward you, excellent master, Just as the most powerful ones did,
With joined palms I pay homage to you
And aim for incomparable and stainless awakening.’

“All the thus-gone ones praised King Undefeated Army, who had acquired the power of the roots of virtue connected with the perfection of discipline. Acquiring the power of the roots of virtue connected with the perfection of discipline, the darkness in the ten directions disappeared. He saw all the blessed buddhas and received and mastered all the Dharma teachings given by those blessed buddhas. He did not get distracted by any of this and at all times, for an inexpressible eon, kept in mind what he had heard. In this regard, he actualized endless hundreds of thousands of quintillions of gateways to the Dharma in infinite number, [F.228.b] and in this way he realized patience regarding unobscured phenomena, and his mind became unbounded. As a result, wherever he takes birth, he immediately sees the blessed buddhas in the worlds in the limitless universes in the ten directions. He is able to address and converse with those blessed buddhas and, since he has an unobscured body, the blessed buddhas greet him and rejoice.

“Mañjuśrī, what do you think? If you think that, at that time, on that occasion, the sage Agnidatta was someone else, you should reconsider that, Mañjuśrī. Because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Vimalanetra was the sage Agnidatta. Mañjuśrī, what do you think? If you think that, at that time, on that occasion, the sage Brahmadeva was someone else, you should reconsider that, Mañjuśrī. Because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Supreme Sight was the sage Brahmadeva. Mañjuśrī, what do you think? If you think that, at that time, on that occasion, King Undefeated Army, who was freed from all limitations upon hearing about pure discipline, was someone else, you should reconsider that, Mañjuśrī. Because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was King Undefeated Army.

“Mañjuśrī, for this reason bodhisattva great beings should never let their discipline deteriorate. So keep faultless discipline, restrained discipline, unpolluted discipline, pure discipline, immaculate discipline, and perfect discipline. Do not get attached to the perfection of discipline and do not view the perfection of discipline as supreme. [F.229.a] In this way discipline becomes pure, and unobscured liberation is actualized. When unobscured liberation is actualized, you do not have to think, ‘How am I going to purify infinite buddha realms?’ Rather, as liberation devoid of obscurations manifests, infinite buddha realms are naturally purified without needing to focus the mind. In this way innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast buddha realms are purified. If the perfection of discipline is pure in this way, then the perfection of patience also becomes pure. Why? Because when you do not hold discipline to be supreme, then you purify the perfection of patience. Hold anything to be supreme, and you have no supreme perfection of discipline.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Most Excellent Immortality. Mañjuśrī, during that Most Excellent Immortality eon the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the unsurpassed guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Vairocana, appeared in the world. Mañjuśrī, at that time, on that occasion, there was a sage called Imperturbable Intelligence. Mañjuśrī, why was this sage called Imperturbable Intelligence? Mañjuśrī, long before the Most Excellent Immortality eon—infinite, inexpressible numbers of eons in the past—there was a thus-gone one called Vijayin, the measure of whose life was infinite. [F.229.b] He had purified inexpressible and immeasurable buddha realms. In a buddha realm of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Vijayin, there was a man of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree called Blazing Wit, who had produced roots of virtue with infinite billions of buddhas. Blazing Wit of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree had eight billion servants, all of whom were brahmins producing roots of virtue with infinite billions of buddhas.

“Mañjuśrī, for ninety quintillion years Blazing Wit of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree asked the blessed thus-gone Vijayin about the imperturbable realm, saying, ‘Blessed One, you often speak of the imperturbable realm. But what is meant by “imperturbable realm”? Why do you speak of that imperturbable realm?’

“The blessed thus-gone Vijayin replied to Blazing Wit of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree, ‘Blazing Wit, when I say “imperturbable realm,” it is a reference to the unconditioned realm. Blazing Wit, why is the unconditioned realm called the imperturbable realm? Blazing Wit, the unconditioned realm does not diminish, does not decrease, does not appropriate, does not set forth, is not exhausted, does not cease, does not wane, and does not increase. It has no affiliation, nor is it without affiliation. It does not change, grasp, or reject. It is not apprehended or abandoned, nor is it subtle, profound, dark, or light. It is neither day [F.230.a] nor night. It is not long, short, near, far, open, constricted, singular, or multiple, nor is it form. It is neither before nor after, neither going nor coming, and neither shifting nor static. It does not die and transmigrate, nor is it born. That is why the unconditioned realm is called the imperturbable realm.’ And that is why this sage became known as Imperturbable Intelligence.

123. 1.123  “The sage Imperturbable Intelligence also asked the thus-gone Vairocana about the imperturbable realm and the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Vairocana then explained the imperturbable realm to him for sixty quintillion years. As soon as he had heard the explanation of the imperturbable realm, he gained the power of the roots of virtue akin to it and with this power rose into the sky to the height of seven palm trees. As the sage Imperturbable Intelligence was resting in midair, he saw infinite quintillions of buddhas praise the perfection of patience. He also saw infinite quintillions of bodhisattvas who had perfected the perfection of patience. He saw in each retinue of each thus-gone one infinite billions of bodhisattvas who were completing the perfection of patience, or who will be completing the perfection of patience. He saw infinite billions of bodhisattvas who were abiding in the imperturbable realm and who had who brought to full measure their acceptance that phenomena are unborn. He saw that at the teachings of each thus-gone one infinite billions of bodhisattvas [F.230.b] were, and will be, completing the perfection of patience. They rested in the imperturbable realm, had developed acceptance that phenomena are unborn, and had developed the strength of certainty, or were about to develop the strength of certainty. This inspired him to praise the blessed thus-gone Vairocana in these verses imbued with the perfection of patience:
124. 1.124  “ ‘Having properly heard the Blissful One’s Dharma, Supreme human, I have found patience and peace. In this there is no doer and nothing to do.
     In the pure reality I abide free from doubt.
125. 1.125  “ ‘I heard your blessed speech, O knower of the world,
     And realized that all these phenomena are like the expanse of space. I have searched for so long
     For a great treasure like the Teacher.
126. 1.126  “ ‘Now I shall generate the great power of patience
     And search faithfully for the nature of things, just as it is. Today I have abandoned all doubt and uncertainty;
     I see endless billions of knowers of the world.

127. 1.127  “ ‘Just like birds who peck at their eggs,
     And whose beaks pierce them from the top or from the bottom To emerge from the broken shells,
     So, Blissful One, with your words I have broken free.
128. 1.128  “ ‘I see billions of knowers of the world
     Who have abandoned all the grounds of desire.
     There are billions of victorious ones with the power of patience— They are blissful masters of wisdom who give me prophecies.
129. 1.129  “ ‘Standing here where birds fly
     I see infinite blissful ones in the worlds in the ten directions
     Giving prophecies to the children of the victorious ones and teaching them. As they gain the power of patience, the lion’s roar resounds.
130. 1.130  “ ‘From the sky where I stand I also see Infinite victorious, blissful ones Who give prophecies to their children, saying, “You will become self-arising blissful ones

     Free of the noose of the demon of birth.”

131. 1.131  “ ‘Standing here where birds fly, [F.231.a]
     I can see infinite quintillions of blissful ones
     Who share with their children who conquer all foes and perfectly realize omniscience
     The prophecy that they will become invincible protectors of beings.
132. 1.132  “ ‘I see those who practice the conduct of the children of the victorious ones. To search for untainted awakening for the benefit of others,
     They abandon their kingdoms, wealth, heads, or eyes
     And find the strength to shoulder the load of the capable ones.
133. 1.133  “ ‘I see the children of the victorious ones pass away and descend from the Heaven of Joy, And then, while one hundred divine maidens sing
     And praise them with auspicious melodies,
     They are reborn in the castes of royals, sages, or priests.
134. 1.134  “ ‘I see the children of the victorious ones spend ten months in the womb. Like divine children in a god realm,
     They compassionately teach the Dharma and train the gods,
     While humans make offerings to them, as they rest in the womb.
135. 1.135  “ ‘I see the children of the victorious ones in their mothers’ wombs

As the gods pay homage to them.
On account of their virtuous minds no impure dirt can be found there, Just like jewels unstained by blemishes.

136. 1.136  “ ‘I see the children of the victorious ones abandon the seven emblems of royalty, And lands filled with broods of one thousand sons, Horses, and elephants;
     Cutting Māra’s noose, they enter the renunciate life.
137. 1.137  “ ‘I see the children of the victorious ones overcoming one hundred billion māras And reaching awakening to heal beings.
     They courageously abandon long-accumulated disturbing emotions, Shining like the sun of the blissful ones.
138. 1.138  “ ‘I see the children of the victorious ones taming their own disturbing emotions, Turning the incomparable, holy Dharma wheel,
     Taming billions of gods and humans,
     Reaching final exhaustion, and setting in motion the three turnings.
139. 1.139  “ ‘I see infinite thousands of victorious ones,
     Who travel to realms of victorious ones and tame sentient beings. For the sake of curing them they empty existence of beings;
     Like the sun opening a lotus, they awaken sentient beings.
140. 1.140  “ ‘I see infinite thousands of victorious ones,
     Who tame beings and perform the deeds of a buddha. [F.231.b] Like a person spitting saliva from their mouth,
     They reject dwelling among the thus-gone ones.
141. 1.141  “ ‘I see infinite thousands of buddhas
     Reaching peace like water being poured on a fire.
     Weary of the burden of beings’ suffering,
     Those with the ten strengths, having discarded all disturbing emotions, pass beyond.
142. 1.142  “ ‘I see infinite thousands of victorious ones
     Providing medicine to wandering beings and, with no physical remains, Passing beyond suffering while taking others beyond suffering.
     They pass beyond suffering yet give teachings.
143. 1.143  “ ‘In this way, to heal others I take refuge.

Through this accumulation of merit may I reach buddhahood.
Once liberated, may I free many billions of beings,
And bring peace to those bereft of protection who are bound by Māra’s noose.’

“With these verses imbued with the perfection of patience, the sage Imperturbable Intelligence praised the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Vairocana. Thanks to these roots of virtue he practiced bodhisattva conduct for inexpressible numbers of eons and was never obscured by dullness, never acted out of desire, never fell prey to women, never became entangled in the domain of the demons, and never entered a womb but always took birth miraculously. He was never obscured by demonic activity, never fell prey to demonic activity, never separated from the mind of awakening, and was never discouraged by cyclic existence. He benefited all beings and never failed to generate the intention to help others.

“For inexpressible numbers of eons he always turned his attention to the buddhas and never gave rise to thoughts colored by desire. For inexpressible numbers of eons, he never turned his attention to birth, never indulged in the causes of suffering, never lost the mind set upon omniscience, [F.232.a] never had a vulgar mind, never stopped thinking of omniscience, never separated from his spiritual friend, never lost focus on omniscience, was never without a spiritual friend, never saw his spiritual friends as truly existent, and never thought of conditioned phenomena and unconditioned phenomena as being different. He never strayed from the equality of the three times onto a mistaken path, and always avoided apprehending the three times.

“Mañjuśrī, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, the sage Imperturbable Intelligence was someone else, you should reconsider that, Mañjuśrī. Because at that time, on that occasion, the thus- gone Sarvārthasiddha was the sage Imperturbable Intelligence. By practicing for unobscured liberation, he has purified buddha realms to the extent I have just explained.

“Mañjuśrī, in this way bodhisattva great beings wish to experience a vast extent of buddha realms and therefore never abandon their practice aimed at unobscured liberation. They aspire to unobscured liberation. Furthermore, Mañjuśrī, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha created vast and infinite roots of virtue related to the perfection of diligence when he was previously practicing bodhisattva conduct. He generated vast and infinite powers of the roots of virtue related to the perfection of diligence. He created vast and innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible roots of virtue related to the perfection of diligence. He generated vast and inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible powers of the roots of virtue [F.232.b] related to the perfection of diligence.

“Mañjuśrī, infinite, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons before our time there was an eon called Ratnasambhavā. During that eon, the thus-gone one, the one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the unsurpassed guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Excellent God, appeared in the world. Mañjuśrī, the thus- gone Excellent God lived for eight billion eons.

“Mañjuśrī, at that time, on that occasion, a monk called Dhṛtimati came to the teachings of the thus-gone Excellent God. He was highly realized and extremely intelligent. He had a superb memory, was extraordinarily diligent, and had attained the power of the perfection of extraordinary diligence. He had served previous victorious ones and was a member of the royal caste who had taken ordination. His physical appearance was perfect, and he was beautiful and attractive. In this buddha realm there was not a single being, except for the thus-gone Excellent God, who was as beautiful as Dhṛtimati; so beautiful was he that people never tired of looking at him. He had served infinite billions of buddhas. As he purified himself, he attained the four bodhisattva absorptions that emerge from the boundless nature of things, which he acquired as he wished, without disturbing emotions and with no difficulty. At first he did not consider fully awakening to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. With full mastery over the ten strengths he was able to visit infinite buddha realms at will. The monk Dhṛtimati [F.233.a] went to see the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Excellent God. He first bowed his head to the thus-gone one’s feet, then circumambulated him three times before standing next to him with folded hands.

“Standing there, the monk Dhṛtimati asked the thus-gone Excellent God, ‘Blessed One, which Dharma should bodhisattva great beings put effort into when seeking to launch the great ship, to raise the grand bridge, to cross the ocean of saṃsāra, to liberate all sentient beings, to purify infinite buddha realms, to purify innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast buddha realms, and to achieve the purity of limitless buddha realms?’

“The thus-gone Excellent God replied to Dhṛtimati, ‘Monk, bodhisattva great beings who wish to accomplish these and further qualities beyond measure diligently apply themselves to realize unobscured liberation. They are diligent in that they have no consideration of night, day, cold, heat, hunger, food, thirst, drink, clothing, or strength. Thus, without entertaining any perception, they actualize unobscured liberation. They exert diligence in order to realize unobscured liberation and, as they are diligent, they actualize unobscured liberation. [F.233.b] Bodhisattva great beings who practice for unobscured liberation purify their infinite buddha realms and so on, down to ‘their inexpressibly vast buddha realms.’

“As the thus-gone Excellent God taught and instructed the monk Dhṛtimati, the monk was released from all notions. He then diligently practiced for eight hundred million eons in order to realize unobscured liberation. After the eight hundred million eons had passed, he fully realized unobscured liberation and reached deliverance by means of the ten powers of a bodhisattva. As a result, he manifested infinite billions of emanations who appeared as gods to those who have faith in gods, as nāgas to those who have faith in nāgas, as yakṣas to those who have faith in yakṣas, as gandharvas to those who have faith in gandharvas, as kumbhāṇḍas to those who have faith in kumbhāṇḍas, as asuras to those who have faith in asuras, as garuḍas to those who have faith in garuḍas, as kinnaras to those who have faith in kinnaras, and as mahoragas to those who have faith in mahoragas. The monk Dhṛtimati thus manifested continuously and without interruption to sentient beings in this buddha realm according to the object of their faith, leading to the maturation of an immeasurable number of sentient beings living there. This in turn caused him to swiftly complete the perfection of diligence.

“The thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Excellent God was aware that the monk Dhṛtimati had completed the perfection of diligence, so he delivered a Dharma teaching on the perfection of diligence, which Dhṛtimati appreciated, retained, and felt truly satisfied with. The thus-gone one then praised his perfection of diligence. [F.234.a] When the thus-gone Excellent God had delivered his discourse on the perfection of diligence, which Dhṛtimati appreciated and retained, and by which he felt inspired and elated, the monk rose above the ground to the height of seven palm trees due to the power of the roots of virtue related to the perfection of diligence.

“Mañjuśrī, as the monk Dhṛtimati was floating in midair, he gained the wisdom that knows the past actions of all the blessed buddhas in the infinite universes of the ten directions. That wisdom also knows all the supreme and common dispositions of every being in all buddha realms as well as the intentions and actions of all those beings. With this wisdom he had no doubt regarding the intentions and actions of all beings or the past actions of the blessed buddhas. So he offered the following verses of praise imbued with the perfection of diligence to the thus-gone Excellent God:

“ ‘Master of strength through the ten strengths, bearer of strength, of full strength,

You distribute much wealth and make all your children prosperous.

Blissful One, your heirs have found many riches—
You bring wealth to these beings racked with suffering.

156. 1.156  “ ‘Blissful One, you scatter and spread your wealth.
     Victorious One, your supreme heirs, now affluent,
     Joyfully practice the supreme conduct of healing wandering beings. They become like the victorious ones, the supreme victors.
157. 1.157  “ ‘Supreme sage, your heirs with blooming qualities
     Practice this supreme definitive conduct
     And realize that the fading of existence, the oppression of old age and death, And the hundred other sufferings that torment beings
158. 1.158  “ ‘Are all empty with no identity. [F.234.b]
     Thus, seeing that others cling to saṃsāra through death and rebirth, They lead others from suffering to happiness,
     Motivated by a surge of compassion.
159. 1.159  “ ‘When the compassionate wish to heal beings arises,
     They take rebirth, though their craving for saṃsāra is overcome. With immeasurable virtues such as mindfulness,
     They give soothing peace and happiness to wandering beings.
160. 1.160  “ ‘To travelers on wrong paths—sentient beings by the thousand— They use the ten strengths to show the supreme paths
     That lead to serenity, happiness, virtue, and the city of peace,
     Just as the previous self-arisen ones have done.
161. 1.161  “ ‘Infinite thousands of bodhisattvas—
     Like lovely children with beautiful heads, hands, and eyes— Maintain discipline, patience, diligence, absorption, Attentiveness to the teachings, learning, aspiration, and strength.
162. 1.162  “ ‘Beneath the lord of trees they tame Māra and his armies
     And reach the supreme level of peerless wisdom.
     These self-arisen ones lead thousands of beings
     So that they reach immortality, serenity, and happiness and go to peace.
163. 1.163  “ ‘As I have risen into the sky today, this is what I see:
     The thus-gone ones in the ten directions teach the ten strengths without error,
     And the victors’ heirs practice the qualities of the victorious ones Before receiving their prophecies.

164. 1.164  “ ‘The bodhisattvas are delighted and happy when they hear they have right conduct; They smile and are free of doubt and hesitation.
     With palms joined I bow in respect from here in the sky
     And praise those who have mastered the ten strengths and their qualities.
165. 1.165  “ ‘Here in the sky today I see
     Heirs of the victorious ones practicing virtue in a hundred cyclic existences. Dying in the Heaven of Joy, they pass on
     And become stainless, peerless, and supreme great elephants.
166. 1.166  “ ‘They descend from divine realms
     To enter the wombs of their comfortably sleeping mothers, While a thousand gods pay homage to them—
     I praise the chief among humans, gods, and goddesses!
167. 1.167  “ ‘When they enter their mother’s womb,
     It becomes as beautiful as a divine world.
     Like a lotus growing in water, they are unstained by the womb. Within their mothers, they rest happily and lightly.
168. 1.168  “ ‘Then they teach the Dharma to a hundred gods
     And set the supreme gods and their retinues upon the path of virtue Once they hear extensive teachings, [F.235.a]
     Like the thirsty drinking water or the earth soaking up nectar.
169. 1.169  “ ‘Standing here in the sky, I see
     The heirs of the victorious ones with flawless intelligence, mindful and wise, As they emerge from the sides of mothers
     Holding branches with their hands.
170. 1.170  “ ‘Leaders of gods and humans pay homage to them,
     As they take take fearless steps on the earth.
     They look in all directions,
     And with a smile they say, “There is no one like me in the three realms.”
171. 1.171  “ ‘Resting here in the sky, I see
     Numerous victors’ heirs joyfully curing beings. They reject their lands, with towns and cities Filled with affluence and wealth.
172. 1.172  “ ‘Just like a mighty elephant who breaks its ankle chain,
     With supreme intelligence they break attachment to their households. To cure others these heroes leave home.

They seek the ambrosia that pacifies suffering and exhausts existence.

173. 1.173  “ ‘Standing here in the sky, I see
     Heirs of the victorious ones intensely practicing disciplined conduct and austerities.
     Sitting cross-legged beneath the lord of trees, the tree of awakening, They tame the distracting Māra and reach sacred awakening.
174. 1.174  Becoming equal to all victorious ones,
     They abide in peace, joy, and happiness.
     As I see these perfect realms, I have perfected vast aspirations
     And gained the disciplined conduct to act in saṃsāra hundreds of times.
175. 1.175  “ ‘Standing here in the sky, I see
     A multitude of masters of the ten strengths in the ten directions Who, turning vast Dharma wheels,
     Vanquish attacks by adversaries and pacify the suffering of saṃsāra.
176. 1.176  “ ‘They overcome the disturbing emotions of fortunate beings.
     They clear away the darkness of ignorance and bring happiness to beings. When the lords of the world hear about that,
     They eliminate saṃsāric existence, and go where they have not gone.
177. 1.177  “ ‘Standing here in the sky today, I see
     Hundreds of victorious ones guiding their retinues of gods and humans. Their compassionate and loving minds enter into the world
     To assist beings of the divine and human realms.
178. 1.178  “ ‘I see hundreds of other victorious ones
     Who have exhausted the cycle of existence and abide in untainted peace, And hundreds of gods and humans who rejoice [F.235.b]
     And make offerings to their holy relics.
179. 1.179  “ ‘Lord of the world, supreme among humans,
     Gods, humans, and householders come to you
     To hear the Dharma, whose nature is utter peace, flow forth from your mouth.
     In your accomplishment I swiftly take refuge.
180. 1.180  “ ‘Lord of humans, I praise your pure qualities.
     Supreme guide, you benefit others with your ten strengths and qualities. Calm and self-controlled, you have found peace.
     Free from further saṃsāra, you have gone to fearlessness.

1.181 “ ‘Blissful lion of humans, through your power

And your supreme mind you also dwell in the sky.
Having attained the five supernatural abilities that will never decline, You manifest in the ten directions to infinite saṃsāric beings.

“ ‘Today I see many incomparable beings
With stainless conduct and the manifold qualities of the victorious ones, Whom I praise on account of their genuine qualities—
Victorious One, there is no limit to your qualities.’

“After the monk Dhṛtimati had praised the thus-gone Excellent God with these appropriately crafted verses, these roots of virtue caused him to maintain the five supernatural abilities for inexpressible numbers of eons. Now endowed with the five supernatural abilities, he emptied all these buddha realms of beings living in the hells, animal realms, and the world of the Lord of Death. He brought all classes of asuras to extinction and put an end to all unfree states. Through the power of his aspirations he took birth repeatedly in these buddha realms where sentient beings marveled at him as if he were the first buddha. Indeed, wherever he was born one would find the same signs that manifest when a thus-gone one appears. Since he had attained the five supernatural abilities, he manifested the signs that arise when a thus-gone one fully awakens. When he taught through the five supernatural abilities, he also manifested the signs that arise when a thus- gone one turns the wheel of Dharma. [F.236.a] When leaving his life he displayed the signs that arise when a thus-gone one abandons his life. The signs that arise when a thus-gone one passes into nirvāṇa also arose at the time of his deaths. In each life he tamed infinite quintillions of beings within the Great Vehicle, and he tamed many quintillions of beings within the Vehicle of the Hearers. This bodhisattva did not fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood for some time as he taught sentient beings through such awakened deeds.

“Mañjuśrī, if you think that at that time, on that occasion, the monk Dhṛtimati was someone else, and if you are unsure and harbor doubts, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. And why? Because, Mañjuśrī, at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was the monk Dhṛtimati. Mañjuśrī, in this way bodhisattva great beings who seek to accomplish unsurpassed and perfect awakening should acquire the power of diligence that the monk Dhṛtimati attained. Bodhisattva great beings who possess the strength of diligence come to rest their minds in equanimity with only a little difficulty. And why? Because bodhisattva great beings who possess the strength of diligence can withdraw their minds from the objects of their faculties. They do not apprehend the objects of their faculties but see these objects of the faculties as devoid of inherent existence. They do not apprehend the objects of the faculties or the characteristics of the faculties. Whatever characteristics of the faculties they see, they do not apprehend them. [B3] [F.236.b]

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Ambrosial Essence. During this eon, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the unsurpassed guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Anantavikrama, appeared in the world.

Mañjuśrī, when the thus-gone Anantavikrama appeared in the world, all sounds everywhere were of the truths of the noble ones. In this way, the sounds of all beings revealed the truths of the noble ones that are suffering, origin, cessation, and the path.

“Worshiping the thus-gone Anantavikrama there was a monk called Pleasant Voice, who knew the ultimate, knew about the Dharma teachings, knew the right time, knew the right measure, knew his own qualities, knew his retinue, and knew the difference between ordinary individuals and exceptional beings. He served the thus-gone Anantavikrama perfectly for nine hundred million eons without ever displeasing him. He also retained everything that Anantavikrama taught and never abandoned his aims.

“During these nine hundred million eons he never gave rise to notions of desire, ill will, or violence. He never entertained concepts of life or personal identity. He never entertained thoughts of things as being real, thoughts that they are things, or that they are not things. He also did not give rise to thoughts of desire, ill will, or violence. [F.237.a] He did not entertain thoughts of others being close or distant, or of something being known or unknown, nor did he have any thoughts of country, dislikes, or sentient beings. He had no thoughts involving life force, personal identity, entities, thing or no thing, marks, absence of marks, aspiration, nonaspiration, saṃsāra, nirvāṇa, wisdom, no wisdom, buddha, no buddha, solitary buddha, no solitary buddha, hearer, no hearer, ordinary individual, no ordinary individual, thoughts, or no thoughts. Instead, he meditated on the absorption free of all notions.

“By training in the absorption free of concepts, he accumulated roots of virtue through which he never failed to serve the blessed buddhas. In this way he attended an inexpressible number of quadrillions of buddhas. As he respectfully assisted and served all these blessed buddhas, he assimilated and became accustomed to the absorption of the essential nature devoid of entities. Applying himself to that absorption, for inexpressible numbers of eons he never took birth in a realm bereft of a buddha. [F.237.b] Though he never conceived of buddha realms or buddhas, he never stopped giving rise to the mind of awakening and always served and paid respect to the blessed buddhas. Manifesting in all buddha realms, he matured beings. Wherever he incarnated everyone thought that a buddha had appeared. He taught these beings by displaying all manner of miracles. Wherever he manifested, he incarnated in accordance with beings’ inclinations and, to guide others, manifested all types of incarnations within those buddha realms. These manifestations in turn emanated other manifestations that taught beings. Mañjuśrī, consider the displays that a magician conjures up and how those displays of the magician can also emanate further displays. Likewise, Mañjuśrī, the monk Pleasant Voice emanated displays that in turn produced other emanations.

“Mañjuśrī, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, the monk Pleasant Voice was someone else, you should reconsider that, Mañjuśrī. And why? Because at that time, on that occasion, the thus- gone Sarvārthasiddha was the monk Pleasant Voice. Mañjuśrī, in this way bodhisattva great beings who practice for unobscured liberation must rely on, meditate on, and apply themselves to the absorption of the essential nature devoid of entities. Moreover, the bodhisattvas’ absorption of the essential nature devoid of entities arises in those bodhisattvas who possess the perfection of wisdom.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, [F.238.a] and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Essential. During this period, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the unsurpassed guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Unrivaled Splendor, appeared in the world. Mañjuśrī, the light of the thus-gone Unrivaled Splendor radiated into the east, illuminating universes as numerous as the grains of sand in the river Ganges. In the south it illuminated universes as numerous as the grains of sand in the river Ganges. In the west it illuminated universes as numerous as the grains of sand in the river Ganges. In the north it illuminated universes as numerous as the grains of sand in the river Ganges. Likewise, in the southeast, southwest, northwest, northeast, and in the zenith and nadir—in all corners of the ten directions—the light of the thus-gone Unrivaled Splendor illuminated universes as numerous as the grains of sand in the river Ganges.

“Each being touched by the light became irreversible from unsurpassed and perfect awakening. In the world of the thus-gone Unrivaled Splendor, as many bodhisattvas as there are grains of sand in the river Ganges entered the irreversible vehicle. When the thus-gone one passed into nirvāṇa, most of these bodhisattvas fully awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood and established an inexpressible number of sentient beings in the three vehicles.

“At that time, on that occasion, a monk called Megharāja appeared in that buddha realm. [F.238.b] He was supreme among all the bodhisattvas in that world. He made an aspiration to always retain the initial, intermediate, and final sacred Dharma of all these bodhisattvas as they fully awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. Then, Mañjuśrī, as all these bodhisattvas fully awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood at their own time in their own universes, they benefitted an infinite and inexpressible number of beings before finally passing beyond suffering in the space of nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates. And indeed, the monk Megharāja retained all these thus-gone ones’ initial, intermediate, and final sacred Dharma teachings. Following the nirvāṇa of those thus- gone ones, the five degenerations became rampant in those worlds and the Dharma waned as beings lost their fortune.

“At that time, that bodhisattva became a non-Buddhist sage graced with the five supernatural abilities. He knew some treatises that were beneficial for the world and contained the Dharma, and he gave teachings based on them. He taught the Sāmaveda, Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda, as well as treatises on grammar, logic, and medical treatment. He also taught tantras related to wealth, poisons, mantras, and medicine, along with treatises on cycles of time, seasons, planets, and the constellations. He also taught all the crafts that could be of benefit to sentient beings.

“When a buddha appeared, Megharāja became his king, a universal monarch. Abandoning his kingdom and his retinue, he became a homeless renunciant who has left his house behind. After renouncing the world and becoming a monk, he upheld the teachings of all these thus-gone ones and made plentiful offerings to the relics of these great beings after they passed into final nirvāṇa. [F.239.a]

“He led infinite multitudes of people to make offerings to the buddhas. He dedicated all the roots of virtue connected with the holy Dharma, the offerings to the buddhas, and the maturing of sentient beings, as well as his own roots of virtue, to unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Looking upon all sentient beings impartially, he also dedicated the roots of virtue to the purification of buddha realms.

“Mañjuśrī, in this way the bodhisattva Megharāja used all his belongings to worship all the bodhisattvas who were awakening into buddhahood. He upheld the initial, intermediate, and final teachings of all these bodhisattvas still present, all those who had passed into final nirvāṇa, as well as boundless other thus-gone ones. However, the blessed buddhas did not prophesy his unsurpassed and perfect awakening. This is because he had not reached true certainty in the perfection of wisdom.

“At that time the thus-gone Unrivaled Splendor had not yet passed into nirvāṇa. Thus, through the power of his aspirations, the bodhisattva Megharāja was born again and again into the buddha realm of the blessed thus-gone Unrivaled Splendor. Through the strength of the ripening of his roots of virtue, he purified the perfection of wisdom as soon as he saw the thus-gone one. It was at that time that the thus-gone one gave him the prophecy of his unsurpassed and perfect awakening.

“What are the roots of virtue that the monk Megharāja relied on to accomplish the perfection of wisdom? The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by realizing the equality of the three times and seeing the equality of all phenomena of the three times. [F.239.b]

“The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom because he did not look differently upon any compounded or uncompounded phenomena. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be free of inherent nature. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be unborn and unceasing. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be neither coming nor going. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be neither staying nor going. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing that all phenomena are beyond abiding. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be identical with nirvāṇa. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be inexpressible. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be devoid of inherent nature. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be devoid of sentient beings. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be devoid of life. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be devoid of individuals. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to be like space. The monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing all phenomena to arise from the realm of phenomena. In this way, the monk Megharāja accomplished the perfection of wisdom by seeing that the realm of phenomena is the source of all phenomena. [F.240.a] Accomplishing the perfection of wisdom in this way, he acquired the power of these roots of virtue. As a result, he rose into the sky to the height of seven palm trees. He saw from midair blessed buddhas in boundless universes in the ten directions. Some of them were awakening to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, some were turning the wheel of the unsurpassed Dharma, some were displaying all manner of miracles to guide beings, some were abandoning their lives, and some were reaching nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates within the realm beyond all suffering. This inspired him to praise the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Unrivaled Splendor in these lines imbued with the perfection of wisdom:

201. 1.201  “ ‘For millions of eons in the cycle of existence
     I magnanimously performed boundless acts of generosity. Asking questions about the teachings of the blissful ones, I have pleased numerous beings worthy of offerings.
202. 1.202  “ ‘Known to the world, renowned in the world, The knowledgeable Vimalanetra Had vast amount of merit, piled high as Mount Meru— I worshiped him in search of awakening.
203. 1.203  “ ‘To his saṅgha as well— infinite sixty quintillions Of children of the thus-gone ones—
     To the victorious one and his hearers
     I paid homage for seventy quintillion years.
204. 1.204  “ ‘Full of joy and devotion, I offered to the blissful one Vast amounts of pleasing foods and drinks of all sorts, Yet this blissful one did not give me a prophecy.
205. 1.205  “ ‘In the past came a buddha,
     An omniscient protector of the world who eliminates suffering, A thus-gone one called Tongues of Fire Clouds—
     I served this victorious one and his hearers respectfully.
206. 1.206  “ ‘For six hundred forty million years I paid homage [F.240.b] To this guide and his retinue. Yet, as I was not widely trained in wisdom, This blissful one did not give me a prophecy.
207. 1.207  “ ‘In the past came a guide
     Known far and wide as Jñānasāgara; This dharma king’s retinue was formed Of sixty quintillion beings.

208. 1.208  “ ‘For nine hundred million years I paid homage To this supreme victor and his hearers.
     In search of sacred awakening,
     I practiced boundless acts of generosity.
209. 1.209  “ ‘Five years after his passing into nirvāṇa,
     I served the blissful one and his hearers, Offering edibles and beverages of all kinds,
     Yet this blissful one did not give me a prophecy.
210. 1.210  “ ‘In the past appeared the helmsman,
     The thus-gone Erudite Mountain of Wisdom.
     He had incomparable and inconceivable buddha realms— More than a hundred billion universes.
211. 1.211  “ ‘The gathering of this blissful protector Consisted of hearers who had seen the truth. Imagine if seven hundred billion buddha realms Were ground into particles,
212. 1.212  “ ‘And a person were to carry
     All these extremely subtle particles. That person who carries all those tiny particles Then runs toward the east.
213. 1.213  “ ‘With each step they cross over
     Buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges. Traveling like that for one hundred eons
     They leave a single tiny particle.
214. 1.214  “ ‘In this way, going eastward, they place All the extremely subtle particles. Similarly, in all ten directions
     They leave a similar number of tiny particles.
215. 1.215  “ ‘Imagine if all those buddha realms where they placed particles And the buddha realms where they did not
     Were brought together
     And filled with mustard seeds.
216. 1.216  “ ‘Imagine then if someone were to grind into particles All these universes [F.241.a] Filled with mustard seeds And proceed just as before,

217. 1.217  “ ‘With all the realms in every direction
     Multiplied a thousand times, and so on, as before.
     Even if one could realize this final extent,
     It would not compare to the size of that protector’s realm.
218. 1.218  “ ‘This blissful one was the master of worthy ones— Billions of hearers in inconceivable number.
     I made offerings to this victorious one and his hearers, Yet this thus-gone one did not give me a prophecy.
219. 1.219  “ ‘In the past came the guide Known far and wide as Lokacaitya. Though I made offerings to this supreme individual, This thus-gone one did not give me a prophecy.
220. 1.220  “ ‘Eight irreproachable blissful buddhas— The victorious Yaśodhara, Bhayaṅkara, Sūrata, Śālarāja, Maṇibhadra, Marīci,
     Keturāja, and Śatapuṇya—
221. 1.221  “ ‘In search of awakening
     I paid homage to these guides and their hearers.
     However, these thus-gone ones did not give me a prophecy Because I did not master wisdom.
222. 1.222  “ ‘During one eon came sixty thousand Powerful, all-seeing blissful ones. I made offerings to all these supreme beings, Yet the blissful ones did not give me a prophecy.
223. 1.223  “ ‘In the past came the guide
     Known in the ten directions as Moon of Generosity. I paid homage to this victorious one and his hearers, Yet the thus-gone one did not give me a prophecy.
224. 1.224  “ ‘In the past came the guide,
     The great blissful emanation Varacandana.
     I paid homage also to this most excellent man.
     Yet the supreme being did not give me a prophecy.
225. 1.225  “ ‘A guide who knows the world appeared in the past, Known in all directions as Lightning Cloud.
     I also made offerings to this victorious one and his hearers, Yet the thus-gone one did not give me a prophecy. [F.241.b]

226. 1.226  “ ‘In the past came a buddha supreme among humans, Who cut through the constraints of doubt,
     A blissful guide called Cloud of Generosity—
     Though I worshipped him he did not give me a prophecy.
227. 1.227  “ ‘In the past came a buddha renowned as Arhat,
     A guide of beings who was free of negativity.
     I made offerings to him who was wise in the ways of the world; Yet the thus-gone one did not give me a prophecy.
228. 1.228  “ ‘Billions of buddhas in the past in infinite number, Peerless protectors of the world with their hearers—
     I paid homage to them in search of supreme awakening, Yet these blissful ones did not give me a prophecy.
229. 1.229  “ ‘I paid homage to the peerless guides
     And trained in supreme, most excellent knowledge.
     As I came to realize the nature of phenomena and their characteristics, That is when Vimalaketu gave me a prophecy.
230. 1.230  “ ‘So today I see the nature of things And have cut through all doubts. I see the birth of all phenomena
     To be like an illusion, a mirage, or the moon in water.
231. 1.231  “ ‘When people between mountains Call out in melodious tones, An echo arises instantly
     Even though the sound has no creator.
232. 1.232  “ ‘Just like an echo between mountains, So do I regard all phenomena. I had no doubt in this regard,
     So this supreme individual gave me a prophecy.
233. 1.233  “ ‘Just like the trace of a bird in the sky,
     They did not, do not, and will not arise.
     Thus I saw the teaching of the victorious ones, So this supreme individual gave me a prophecy.
234. 1.234  “ ‘I saw that all phenomena are space-like, Do not arise anywhere, And do not arise from anywhere, as anything, So this supreme individual gave me a prophecy.

235. 1.235  “ ‘When one is thirsty in a dream, [F.242.a] Searching for cool, clear water Will not quench and pacify one’s thirst—
     I have realized that desirable objects are just like that.
236. 1.236  “ ‘Loud sounds from beaten drums Delight immature individuals, But apart from leather and wood there is no sound— The nature of things is just like that.
237. 1.237  “ ‘Sounds transmitted
     By the strings of a vīṇā are heard, But apart from wood and string there is no sound— The nature of things is just like that.
238. 1.238  “ ‘I saw that forms, sounds, tastes, scents, and textures Are all like the sounds of vīṇās. Thus all doubts and hesitations were overcome, So the guide of the world gave me a prophecy.
239. 1.239  “ ‘Earth, wood, grass, cane, Bamboo, and sorghum— All these things that surround us
     Form the “world’s relative environment.”
240. 1.240  “ ‘In the same way, the bones, nails, flesh, Hair, blood, pus, and skin That enclose spaces
     Are called the “relative body.”
241. 1.241  “ ‘I see that forms are like froth—they have no substance. Feelings are like water bubbles, And perceptions are like mirages,
     While beings with an immature nature get this wrong.
242. 1.242  “ ‘Thoughts are like a plantain tree, without substance, And consciousnesses are in every aspect like illusions. They make beings, including the gods, wander.
     Since I saw that, the victorious one gave me a prophecy.’
243. 1.243  “With these verses imbued with the perfection of wisdom, the monk Megharāja praised the thus-gone Unrivaled Splendor. As a result of those roots of virtue, he remained clear about the Dharma for an inexpressible eon, never considered discipline as having an inherent nature, never considered absorption as having an inherent nature, and always maintained the flow [F.242.b] of the perfection of wisdom. He also never looked at the perfection of wisdom as being real. Consider the following analogy: When a person has crossed the ocean on a ship, they can leave the ship behind and proceed joyfully to their destination. Likewise, though the monk Megharāja was making use of the perfection of wisdom, he did not cling to it. Similarly, consider the analogy of a man who wants fire. Though he makes use of fire, he protects himself from the danger of being burnt. Likewise, the bodhisattva Megharāja saw phenomena through the perfection of wisdom, yet he guarded himself against the danger of grasping. He taught the perfection of wisdom to others, yet he avoided the danger of considering it to be real. With the perfection of wisdom he accomplished the activities of the buddhas in boundless buddha realms, yet he did not grasp onto ‘sentient beings’ or ‘buddhas.’

“What do you think about this? Mañjuśrī, if you believe that at that time, on that occasion, the monk Megharāja was someone else, then you should reconsider that. That is because the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was, at that time and on that occasion, the monk Megharāja. Mañjuśrī, this is the way that the monk Megharāja used skillful means to cultivate the perfection of wisdom, and bodhisattvas who want to cultivate the perfection of wisdom genuinely should practice it with these skillful means. Bodhisattvas endowed with such skillful means purify limitless buddha realms; they purify innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast buddha realms.”

Then again the Blessed One spoke to the youthful Mañjuśrī: [F.243.a] “Mañjuśrī, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha practiced the tranquility absorption of the bodhisattvas when he was cultivating bodhisattva conduct prior to his awakening; he became familiar with it, took it as his path, relied upon it, practiced it with perseverance, and experienced it fully. He set out to practice it well and he perfected it. Through this practice he realized that the perfection of generosity is peace, utter peace. He realized that the perfections of discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom are also peace, utter peace. Take the analogy of the uncompounded elements: they are peace, utter peace. Just so he realized that the six perfections also are peace, utter peace. Similarly, just as the uncompounded elements are unborn and unceasing, just so the six perfections are unborn and unceasing. Similarly, just as a self or an inherent nature can never be apprehended anywhere, just so none of the six perfections can be apprehended. All phenomena are like the six perfections in being unborn and unceasing. All phenomena are peace. Peace cannot be apprehended. All that is peace is also beyond apprehension.

“Mañjuśrī, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons in the past, during the Sunlight eon, the thus- gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha whose name is Sarvābhibhū, appeared in the world. Mañjuśrī, the thus-gone Sarvābhibhū was worshipped by a monk called Śāntamati. [F.243.b] Because of his wish to attain perfect awakening, he offered up pleasant offerings to the thus-gone Sarvābhibhū for eight hundred million years without ever being displeasing. He went up to the blessed thus-gone Sarvābhibhū and asked him, ‘Blessed One, when bodhisattva great beings strive to attain the peace of buddhahood, what should they put their efforts into?’

“ ‘Monk Śāntamati,’ replied the thus-gone Sarvābhibhū, ‘the bodhisattva great beings who wish to train in order to reach buddhahood should strive in the perfection of generosity. Monk, as these bodhisattva great beings think, “I accomplish the perfection of generosity,” they should not apprehend the inherent existence of generosity, nor should they practice generosity free of the act of generosity. They should not apprehend any inherent existence of the objects of generosity, nor should they stop searching for objects of generosity. They should not apprehend any inherent existence of a benefactor, nor should they refrain from becoming a benefactor. They should not apprehend any intrinsic nature of actions, nor should they refrain from seeing actions as personal. They should not apprehend any inherent existence of training, nor should they avoid training in the wisdom of the buddhas. This generosity also needs to be dedicated to awakening, but they should not apprehend awakening as having inherent existence, nor should they apprehend the dedication as having an inherent existence. Still, they should not avoid dedicating their roots of virtue. Monk, as an analogy, people do not consider the appearance of a reflection of the moon in water as the moon, nor do they think that it is not the moon. You should relate to all actions in this way. If you give in this way, you will complete the perfection of generosity.’

“Thanks to his generosity, the thus-gone Sarvābhibhū gave this teaching on the perfection of generosity to the monk Śāntamati, [F.244.a] so that he acquired the boundless wisdom of dedicating all generous actions. Mañjuśrī, do not think that at that time, on that occasion, when the blessed thus-gone Sarvābhibhū taught how to discover the inconceivable aspects of the dedication of generosity, the monk Śāntamati was someone else. That is because the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha at that time, on that occasion, was the monk Śāntamati. Furthermore, from then on, for inexpressibly many eons, he never neglected to dedicate in inconceivable ways his practice of the perfection of generosity. Until he awakened to perfect buddhahood, he was never without any of the other boundless bodhisattva qualities. This became the cause for him to purify his limitless buddha realms, his innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast buddha realms. Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great beings who wish to purify infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast buddha realms should therefore be generous and diligently practice the perfection of generosity in that manner.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Infinite Resplendence, appeared in the world. [F.244.b] Mañjuśrī, a monk called Praśāntamati, who had generated roots of virtue with boundless billions of buddhas, appeared at the teachings of the thus-gone Infinite Resplendence. The monk Praśāntamati went to see the blessed thus-gone Infinite Resplendence, paid homage to him by bowing his head to the thus-gone one’s feet and stood to one side.

“Standing next to the thus-gone one, the monk Praśāntamati asked Infinite Resplendence the following question: ‘Blessed One, how should a bodhisattva who practices to reach awakening practice the perfection of generosity? How does a bodhisattva who practices the perfection of generosity accomplish the perfection of generosity?’

“The thus-gone Infinite Resplendence replied to the monk Praśāntamati, ‘Bodhisattva great beings who practice to reach awakening must realize that all phenomena are by nature nonexistent. They must understand that generosity is by nature nonexistent. They must understand that receiving is by nature nonexistent. They must understand that the benefactor is by nature nonexistent. They must understand that the object of generosity is by nature nonexistent. They must understand that offerings are by nature nonexistent. They must understand that dedication is by nature nonexistent. They must understand that any recipient of dedication is by nature nonexistent. They must understand that the object and agent of dedication are by nature nonexistent.

“ ‘This is because generosity is empty of inherent nature, receiving is empty of inherent nature, the recipients are empty of inherent nature, the result of generosity is empty of inherent nature, [F.245.a] dedication is empty of inherent nature, and awakening is empty of inherent nature. In this way confidence in emptiness is a boundless activity that becomes the pure perfection of generosity. Generosity can then be called the perfection of generosity and has no corruption.

“ ‘Praśāntamati, consider the analogy of an illusionist manifesting a precious queen. Even though she is of course considered a precious queen, she has no name. Likewise, Praśāntamati, although one does not apprehend generosity as having an inherent nature, one can still term it the perfection of generosity. Although one does not apprehend receiving as having an inherent nature, one can still speak of receiving. Although one does not apprehend a benefactor as having an inherent nature, one can still speak of a benefactor. Although the result of generosity has no observable inherent nature, one can still speak of the result of generosity. Although awakening has no observable inherent nature, one can still speak of awakening. Although a bodhisattva has no observable inherent nature, one can still speak of a bodhisattva. In this way, Praśāntamati, although bodhisattvas see no inherent nature in their actions, they do not overlook them. Indeed, it is with precisely these actions that the perfection of generosity is accomplished.’

“Then, when the thus-gone Infinite Resplendence established the monk Praśāntamati in the way of the perfection of generosity, the monk reached the level of peace. Because of these roots of virtue he never stirred from the level of peace. This peace of nirvāṇa is called the peace of generosity. When one perceives this, the phenomena of peace will manifest.

“Mañjuśrī, if you have any doubt, or wonder if at that time, on that occasion, the monk Praśāntamati [F.245.b] was someone else, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. That is because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was that monk called Praśāntamati. So, Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great beings should practice generosity while letting the equality of nirvāṇa turn their generosity into equality. This is the way to complete the perfection of generosity. The bodhisattva great beings who train in the perfection of generosity also maintain the perfection of discipline. This is because generosity and discipline are the same in having no fundamental nature.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Pure Jewel. During the Pure Jewel eon, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Peerless Diligence, appeared in the world. At that time, on that occasion, there lived a man called Viṣṇudatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree. He served infinite billions of buddhas and was born in a high caste on account of all the roots of virtue he had produced. He recited and retained the secret words of the brahmins and mastered the three Vedas. He was very learned in vocabulary, Kaiṭabha literature, etymology, the historical accounts also known as the fifth Veda, grammar, the Lokāyata system, [F.246.a] the scriptures on sacrifice, and female and male anatomy. He instructed ascetics of his caste, was renowned, and served as a teacher to renunciants.

“When Viṣṇudatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree heard that the buddha Peerless Diligence had appeared in the world, he thought, ‘Our secret words mention that there are two ways a great being endowed with thirty-two major marks can go, not three. If he stays in his home, he will become a universal monarch reigning over lands greater than the four continents and be a pious Dharma king, graced with the seven emblems of royalty. The seven emblems of royalty are the precious wheel, the precious elephant, the precious horse, the precious queen, the precious jewel, the precious householder, and the precious minister. This king will have one thousand sons, who will be powerful and intrepid, with perfect bodies, and able to conquer all adversaries. He will discipline the worlds of the four continents and, without using weapons, will bring the Dharma to bear and establish his rule firmly. However, if he shaves his head and beard and dons the saffron-colored robes, going forth from his home into homelessness, he will become a thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha with proper knowledge and conduct, a blissful one, a knower of the world, a most excellent guide who trains beings, a teacher of gods and humans. It is very difficult to see such a great being in the world, so I should go meet the thus- gone, worthy, perfect buddha Peerless Diligence. I must see if the blessed thus-gone Peerless Diligence [F.246.b] is a great being graced with the thirty- two major marks, or if he is not so graced. If he has those marks, I will know for sure that he is a perfect buddha and, even if he does not have the marks, it will still be very good to see such a holy being.’

“Then Viṣṇudatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree went to the thus-gone Peerless Diligence, surrounded and venerated by sixty thousand youths of the brahmin caste. He paid homage by bowing his head to the feet of the blessed thus-gone Peerless Diligence, circumambulated him three times, and then stood to one side. Viṣṇudatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree then spoke to the thus-gone Peerless Diligence: ‘Blessed One, how should bodhisattva great beings who genuinely follow the Great Vehicle, and genuinely follow infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, inexpressible vehicles, train in the perfection of discipline? Blessed One, as they train, how do bodhisattva great beings accomplish the perfection of discipline? How did the bodhisattva great beings who have accomplished the perfection of discipline master it?’

“The thus-gone Peerless Diligence replied to Viṣṇudatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree, ‘Brahmin, bodhisattva great beings who wish to train in the perfection of discipline, and who wish to accomplish the perfection of discipline, should abandon taking lives [F.247.a] while not apprehending such a thing as killing. They should abandon taking what is not given while not apprehending such a thing as stealing. They should abandon sexual misconduct while not apprehending such a thing as sexual misconduct. They should abandon lying while not apprehending such a thing as lying. They should abandon slander while not apprehending such a thing as slander. They should abandon harsh words while not apprehending such a thing as harsh words. They should abandon chatter while not apprehending such a thing as chatter. They should abandon covetousness while not apprehending such a thing as covetousness. They should abandon ill will while not apprehending such a thing as ill will. They should hold the correct view while not apprehending such a thing as a correct view. They should also know all phenomena without apprehending them or clinging to them. This is the way bodhisattva great beings should train in the perfection of discipline.

“ ‘By accomplishing the perfection of discipline in this way, bodhisattvas gain realization of the ground of peace. They do not hold on to any phenomena and do not cling to any of them. It is because of apprehending phenomena that people do not rest. But whoever sees things in this way sees interdependent origination. Whoever sees interdependent origination does not see phenomena. Whoever does not see any phenomena does not cognize anything. Whoever cognizes nothing practices for awakening. Anyone practicing for awakening does not act on anything. Whoever does not act on anything awakens to perfect buddhahood. Whoever awakens to perfect buddhahood does not awaken. Whoever does not awaken is said to have accomplished discipline. [F.247.b] Whoever cognizes these unascertainable phenomena just as they are has accomplished discipline. Whoever has accomplished discipline sees reality. Whoever sees reality, “is in peace,” “is in complete peace,” “is in thorough peace,” “has reached the supreme peaceful abode,” and “has reached the most excellent peaceful abode.” ’

“Then, as the blessed thus-gone Peerless Diligence taught the ground of complete peace, Viṣṇudatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree offered these verses of praise in harmony with peace to the blessed thus-gone Peerless Diligence:

271. 1.262  “ ‘You have pacified your desire and your anger;
     You are free of delusion and free of defilements.
     Great guide who abides at the ground of peace,
     Your mind is at peace—Blissful One, I pay homage to you!
272. 1.263  “ ‘With pride pacified, and conceit forever gone, You shine like the bright sun. You constantly reveal the qualities of complete peace. Your mind is at peace—Blissful One, I pay homage to you!
273. 1.264  “ ‘You form no disturbing emotions,
     But follow blessed ones to the ground of peace,
     And to the ground of peace you lead your heirs to stay. Your mind is at peace—Blissful One, I pay homage to you!
274. 1.265  “ ‘You teach, Blessed One, that forms are peace.
     And likewise feeling, perception, intention,
     And the stream of consciousness you say are peace.
     Your mind is at peace—Blissful One, I pay homage to you!
275. 1.266  “ ‘The compounded is peace, and the uncompounded also is peace. Your supreme domain as well is peace.
     Diligence is peace, and conduct too.
     Your mind is at peace—Blissful One, I pay homage to you!
276. 1.267  “ ‘Buddhas know the domain of peace.
     No ordinary beings reach this final ground. No hearers know that destination.
     Solitary buddhas do not realize it.
277. 1.268  “ ‘Supreme individual, you know how to get there. [F.248.a] The destination has no earth, water, or wind,
     So you show that the elements will not take one there. Even the sun and the moon do not go there.
278. 1.269  “ ‘It is not in space, nor on the earth, nor in between. Nothing is real, you also explain; All buddhas’ experience is like that. Blissful One, you explain complete peace.
279. 1.270  “ ‘You lead others to peace, the unsurpassed journey to peace,
     The complete peace where all stains are cleansed.
     You clear all questions brought to you and lead beings beyond suffering. Victorious One, you master all forms of protection.
280. 1.271  “ ‘Knowing the thoughts of all beings
     And their actions, Blissful One, you are omniscient.
     All phenomena you know are peace by nature.
     Your mind is at peace—Blissful One, I pay homage to you!
281. 1.272  “ ‘You rejoice in peace with thoughts pacified, Thus-Gone One. Like water cooling a fire, You lead wandering beings to the ground of peace.
     Your mind is at peace—Blissful One, I pay homage to you!
282. 1.273  “ ‘Guide, you have taken your final body. Sage, transcending suffering Created by all the bonds of saṃsāra, you know the bliss of nirvāṇa. Blissful One who transcends suffering, I pay homage to you!
283. 1.274  “ ‘Through the vast merit I have accumulated with this tribute Offered to you, protector whose mind realizes peaceful rest, May I, through this incomparable path of great accomplishment, Attain the peace of buddhahood!
284. 1.275  “ ‘May these words, in harmony with the peace of the protector, That praise the flourishing of peace taught by the Blissful One Take me to the ground of peace!
     Gone beyond, may I liberate unskilled beings!’
285. 1.276  “Viṣṇudatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree offered to the thus- gone Peerless Diligence this praise, which was in harmony with peace. These roots of virtue led him to thenceforth please billions of buddhas in infinite number, purify inexpressibly vast buddha realms, [F.248.b] mature billions of sentient beings in infinite number to perfect awakening, and take birth in the buddha realms that he had purified.
286. 1.277  “Mañjuśrī, if you think that at that time, on that occasion, Viṣṇudatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree was someone else, you should reconsider that. Why? Because the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha at that time, on that occasion, was Viṣṇudatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree.
287. 1.278  “Mañjuśrī, in this way bodhisattva great beings should consider the six perfections to be peace. They should always rely on the path of peace. They should not be inflamed. They should cultivate the tranquility absorption of the bodhisattvas. They should rely on it. They should become familiar with it. They should develop it. Mañjuśrī, in the practice of peace is nirvāṇa, while in unpeaceful conduct is the cycle of existence. Mañjuśrī, when in the past the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha practiced bodhisattva conduct, he relied on patience for a long time, became familiar with it, and developed it. [B4]

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Padmākara. Mañjuśrī, during this eon, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Anantamati appeared in the world. Mañjuśrī, the thus-gone [F.249.a] Anantamati’s purification of limitless buddha realms defies description. By way of comparison, his buddha realms are like those of the present blessed thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha. All sentient beings born in the buddha realms of the blessed thus-gone Anantamati were followers of the Great Vehicle, as no other sentient beings could take birth there. This thus-gone one taught the Dharma starting with the Great Vehicle. He spoke about the vastness of buddha realms and their purification.

“Mañjuśrī, at that time, on that occasion, a monk called Always Looking appeared at the teachings of the blessed thus-gone Anantamati. This monk possessed the four means of attracting students, which he used to gather disciples. He followed the four preferences of the noble ones, had realized the four correct understandings, and dwelt in the four abodes of Brahmā— he had great love, great compassion, great joy, and great equanimity—and, being free of disturbing emotions, he always dwelt in them. Mañjuśrī, Always Looking was known as the most excellent of all the bodhisattvas in the buddha realms of the blessed thus-gone Anantamati. He retained all the teachings of the thus-gone Anantamati and also retained the teachings of an inexpressible number of other blessed buddhas. With his patience he led limitless sentient beings to unsurpassed and perfect awakening in the buddha realms of each thus-gone one. [F.249.b] Upholding patience, in some buddha realms he taught as a buddha, and in others he demonstrated bodhisattva conduct, while in yet others he aroused the initial mind of awakening. Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva Always Looking had such magical abilities. Mañjuśrī, if you think that at that time, on that occasion, the bodhisattva Always Looking was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. Because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was the bodhisattva Always Looking.

“Mañjuśrī, in this way bodhisattva great beings who wish to awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood should strive to uphold the buddhas’ teachings, telling themselves that under no circumstances should those teachings vanish quickly. Mañjuśrī, in order to uphold the teachings of the buddhas, students should engage in upholding those teachings.”

Then, on that occasion, the Blessed One spoke the following verses: “Patience was extolled by all the past knowers of the world,

By supreme humans, the lions among humans.
Every one of those who wish to benefit the world,
And all those who are supreme among humans, praised patience.

283. 1.283  “Develop the strength of patience
     And you will have no enemy and strive toward awakening; Unsurpassed patience, when applied,
     Draws you to reach awakening quickly.
284. 1.284  “The lions of humans have no fear—they have patience. When searching for unsurpassed awakening
     They give their heads and hands and feet—
     The wise ones do not weary.
285. 1.285  “The strength of patience tames all enemies;
     The strength of patience vanquishes all disturbing emotions. Apply patience and you become a self-arisen one.
     Patience leads to the level of immortality.
286. 1.286  “The practice of patience gives a fine physical appearance. [F.250.a] The practice of patience will engender human faculties.
     Apply patience and you will have the excellent marks
     Of a thus-gone one, a being self-manifest in the world.
287. 1.287  “The strength of patience overcomes negativity.
     The strength of patience is their supreme strength. Applying patience, they have no enemy to fight—
     The knowers of the world wish to benefit wandering beings.
288. 1.288  “These self-arisen ones who have gone beyond
     Maintain patience, tame the demons,
     And find the mind of awakening that benefits the world— This unsurpassed strength is patience.
289. 1.289  “Nothing is like the strength of patience. These strong ones apply patience, So they can bear to look at any phenomenon. They are said to have the strength of altruism.
290. 1.290  “Maintaining patience cuts through doubt. Maintaining patience purifies wisdom.
     When maintaining patience there is no doubt. Always cultivate the supreme strength of patience!

1.291 “This patience has been extolled by the victorious ones.

With patience you accomplish everything envisioned. Therefore practice incomparable patience,
And before long you will become a knower of the world.

“Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva must therefore apply two types of patience: unshakable patience for external circumstances and patience for approaching the nature of phenomena.

“Mañjuśrī, when the blessed thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was practicing bodhisattva conduct he came to realize the sameness of diligence in which laziness is just like diligence and diligence is just like laziness. These two phenomena have the same characteristics: they are both the complete peace that is equivalent to nirvāṇa, are without distraction and conceit, are without weariness, are unchanging, are inactive, are without mind, and are free of mind, and there is no thinking of this and that. [F.250.b] Likewise there is no thought of the self. They are devoid of characteristics and imputations. They are inexpressible, are ungraspable, are without perceptions and are free of perceptions, are without mind and are free of mind, do not feel and are without feeling, are not conscious and are without consciousness, are unsullied, lack the defilement, do not abide in nirvāṇa, and are free of someone aware of it. He developed diligence and an unswerving determination to realize these phenomena.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Candraprabhārāja, appeared in the world. The light of the thus-gone Candraprabhārāja illuminated incalculable buddha realms. This light, which nothing could obscure, shone forth after he overcame every obscuration. Contact with this soothing cool light brought well-being. It was born of roots of merit. Thanks to the past aspirations of that thus-gone one, all sentient beings touched by this light experienced hitherto unknown well-being and bliss and remembered their previous roots of virtue.

“Mañjuśrī, at that time, on that occasion, there was a monk called Sūrata who was worshiping the thus-gone one. He had served this thus-gone one for thirty-six quintillion years, without ever being displeasing. He remembered what was taught and had given up on his own benefit. During those thirty-six quintillion years he questioned the blessed thus-gone Candraprabhārāja, primarily about the equality of diligence. [F.251.a] He asked, ‘Blessed One, how should the sons and daughters of good family who follow the bodhisattva vehicle realize the perfection of diligence? To what extent should they realize the sameness of diligence?’

296. 1.296  “The thus-gone Candraprabhārāja then explained the single characteristic of the sameness of diligence, teaching for thirty-six quintillion years by means of a hundred sextillion words of explanation. The monk Sūrata heard these explanations from the thus-gone Candraprabhārāja on the sameness of diligence and became endowed with the supreme sameness of diligence. Once he realized the sameness of diligence, he decided to offer praise to the blessed thus-gone Candraprabhārāja with these words in harmony with the sameness of diligence:
297. 1.297  “ ‘Guide of the classes of gods and humans, Māras and asuras, There is no one like you in the world,
     And if there is no one like you, how could there be someone superior?
298. 1.298  “ ‘Gone without committing negative actions, With a blissful one’s mind of sameness— Blissful One, this is your accomplishment:
     You are most noble, undistracted and peerless.
299. 1.299  “ ‘To you laziness and diligence are the same. Great guide, these phenomena Are said to be similar to echoes.
     Blessed One, you are an object of homage and a teacher.
300. 1.300  “ ‘Knowing that phenomena are indistinguishable, Your diligence is unchanging. The strength of diligence you have perfected. Blissful One, lord of humans, I pay homage to you!
301. 1.301  “ ‘You who always realize and proclaim This equality of pure diligence Tame millions of demons,
     Who then come in contact with supreme awakening.
302. 1.302  “ ‘With the ten strengths you illuminate the world. By relying on the sameness of diligence,
     You have gained an excellent human state,
     And so cause others to discover that too.
303. 1.303  “ ‘All the protectors of the world
     Have praised the sameness of diligence. [F.251.b]
     Going to the end of existence, the cessation of existence4— To the blessed ones, I too offer praise.

“ ‘Individuals who never weary
Of remaining calm and maintaining diligence
Will discover awakening,
To bring realization to unskilled, wandering beings.

“ ‘You who have perfected the strength of tranquility, Supreme being who has found the sameness of diligence, Protector of the world, you are their father
And these are your children.

“ ‘They have found diligence, found it excellently, And they come as perfect human beings,
The sameness of diligence
Perfectly established in their minds.

“ ‘Whoever lets the light of the world enter the mind, With regard to the sameness of diligence,
Will become a self-arisen blissful one,
And the power of the ten strengths will arise.’

“After the monk Sūrata offered the thus-gone Candraprabhārāja these verses of praise in harmony with the sameness of diligence, he himself realized the sameness of diligence. Indeed, thanks to these roots of virtue, he maintained the sameness of diligence continuously for inexpressible numbers of eons and always possessed nothing but skillful means. Now, if you have any doubt or wonder whether at that time, on that occasion, the monk Praśāntamati was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. Why? Because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was the monk called Sūrata. Mañjuśrī, this is why bodhisattva great beings should cultivate the sameness of diligence. Those bodhisattva great beings who put effort into the sameness of diligence actualize the perfection of concentration and perfect their training. And why? Because they must first focus their minds one-pointedly in order to acquire the sameness of diligence. That is why they attain supreme peace.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, [F.252.a] infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Śamathasamudgata, appeared in the world.

“Mañjuśrī, in the thus-gone Śamathasamudgata’s buddha realm sentient beings never let their conduct be influenced by the disturbing emotions of those in the desire realm. None of them produced the fetters of desire.

Mañjuśrī, at that time, on that occasion, during the lifetime of the blessed thus-gone Śamathasamudgata, there was a monk called Concentrated Experience who worshiped him. He pleased and served the thus-gone Śamathasamudgata for eighteen eons, without ever being displeasing. For the monk Concentrated Experience, all phenomena were objects of concentration, and in this way he meditated on tranquility for eighteen eons.

“Endowed with the strength of tranquility he mastered everything he undertook. Whatever phenomenon he would apprehend, he would train in its pacification, its harmony with nirvāṇa, its lack of characteristics, its certainty within the realm of phenomena, and its being just like space. Whatever characteristics he observed, they would take on the characteristics of the mind. Whatever mental characteristics he had, they would be one- pointedly focused. Whatever one-pointed focus he had, it would take on the characteristic of awakening. [F.252.b] Whatever characteristics of awakening he had, they were the characteristics of the elements of awakening. Whatever characteristics of the elements of awakening he had, they were the characteristics of a bodhisattva. Whatever characteristics of a bodhisattva he had, they were the characteristics of peace. Therefore, he had no hesitation or doubt that all phenomena are peace.

“Because of these roots of virtue, he went inexpressible numbers of eons without ever experiencing the disturbing emotions of those who revel in desire. Still, the strength of his aspirations led him to take numerous births within the desire realm, because in the desire realm there is a vast number of beings who are suitable recipients for the teachings. It was due to this greater purpose that he was born within the desire realm. Because of his great compassion he was enterprising and loving. Mañjuśrī, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, the monk Concentrated Experience was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. That is because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was the monk Concentrated Experience. Mañjuśrī, in this way the bodhisattvas who wish to awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood must meditate on special insight in harmony with tranquility. The bodhisattva great beings who meditate on special insight in harmony with tranquility accomplish the thoroughly peaceful perfection of wisdom.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Keturāja appeared in the world. Mañjuśrī, the blessed thus-gone Keturāja [F.253.a] lived for ninety quintillion years.

“Mañjuśrī, during the lifetime of the thus-gone Keturāja there lived two monks named Unsurpassed Wisdom and Unsurpassed Concentration. They were a supreme pair of hearers, a model pair. The monk Unsurpassed Wisdom had supreme wisdom, and the monk Unsurpassed Concentration had supreme miraculous abilities. Unsurpassed Wisdom tamed the hearers of the thus-gone Keturāja and made them realize the excellent view. Unsurpassed Concentration tamed them and led them to discover the ultimate meaning. In every direction, wherever the two monks would appear, the blessed thus-gone Keturāja had less to do. Unsurpassed Wisdom established sentient beings in the bodhisattva vehicle, and Unsurpassed Concentration introduced them to the conduct. Unsurpassed Wisdom taught them the perfection of wisdom, and Unsurpassed Concentration taught them skillful means. Unsurpassed Wisdom instructed them in the perfections of generosity, discipline, patience, and diligence, and Unsurpassed Concentration instructed them in the perfection of concentration. Unsurpassed Wisdom taught special insight, and Unsurpassed Concentration taught tranquility. Unsurpassed Wisdom taught about knowing the minds of sentient beings, and Unsurpassed Concentration taught the wisdom of peace. Unsurpassed Wisdom taught on the wisdom of the strengths, and Unsurpassed Concentration taught on the wisdom of the fearlessnesses. Unsurpassed Wisdom taught on the four correct understandings, and Unsurpassed Concentration taught on the wisdom of resting in equanimity within them. Unsurpassed Wisdom [F.253.b] taught on perseverance, and Unsurpassed Concentration gave instructions to heal and focus the mind. Unsurpassed Wisdom taught on absolute wisdom, and Unsurpassed Concentration taught on relative cognition. Unsurpassed Wisdom taught on means and wisdom, and Unsurpassed Concentration taught on the acquisition of means and wisdom. Unsurpassed Wisdom taught to tame sentient beings, and Unsurpassed Concentration taught to tame them through concentration. Unsurpassed Wisdom taught on omniscience, and Unsurpassed Concentration taught on the knowledge of all things. The specific qualities of the two monks could not be presented fully even if explained for an inexpressible number of eons. These two monks had inconceivable qualities like the few just mentioned. In this way the two monks were able to uphold the teachings of the blessed thus-gone Keturāja.

“After the thus-gone one had passed into final nirvāṇa, the two monk hearers upheld and preserved the teachings of the thus-gone one for eight hundred billion eons. Mañjuśrī, if you think that at that time, on that occasion, the monk Unsurpassed Wisdom was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. That is because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was the supremely intelligent monk Unsurpassed Wisdom. Mañjuśrī, if you think that at that time, on that occasion, the monk Unsurpassed Concentration, who was supremely skilled in miraculous displays, was someone other than the thus-gone Powerful Lion Gait, you should reconsider that. That is because the thus-gone Powerful Lion Gait at that time, on that occasion, was the monk Unsurpassed Concentration. Mañjuśrī, in this way bodhisattva great beings need to practice diligently the perfection of wisdom and skillful means. [F.254.a]

“Bodhisattva great beings who have the perfection of wisdom and skillful means find true certainty in the peace of the bodhisattva levels. They have familiarized themselves with and cultivated the peace of the bodhisattva levels. With proficiency they perceive whatever they apprehend as the Buddha’s body. Mañjuśrī, consider how people whose eyes have been rubbed with a golden light ointment see everything to be golden. They do not see objects in other colors. Likewise, Mañjuśrī, with the familiarization with and cultivation of the peace of the bodhisattva’s absorption and the ensuing proficiency, every object that the bodhisattva great beings perceive is seen as the Buddha’s body. Mañjuśrī, consider the analogy of an extremely clear jewel. When placed in different receptacles, it always takes the color of the receptacle. Likewise, Mañjuśrī, with the proficiency derived from the familiarization with and cultivation of the peace of the bodhisattva’s absorption, bodhisattva great beings see whatever they perceive, and all that their minds meet, as the Buddha’s body.

“Mañjuśrī, consider the following analogy. When someone has a great understanding of something, this knowledge is still present while dreaming. Likewise, Mañjuśrī, with the proficiency derived from the familiarization with and cultivation of the peace of the bodhisattva’s absorption, bodhisattva great beings see all manifest phenomena as the Buddha’s body.

“Mañjuśrī, consider the following analogy. When someone trains in a particular trade, they will come to master it. Likewise, Mañjuśrī, with the proficiency derived from the familiarization with and cultivation of the peace of the bodhisattva’s absorption, bodhisattva great beings come to see everything as the Buddha. When they make generous gifts, all recipients are blessed as the Buddha’s manifestation, so that their act of generosity also becomes an offering to the thus-gone ones. When they offer, [F.254.b] they know that they are making an offering to the thus-gone ones, and in this way the result of their perfection of generosity is greater. Since they trust that everything is the Buddha’s form, they also accomplish the perfection of discipline.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Padmaguru. Mañjuśrī, during this eon the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Heroic Solid Obstructer appeared in the world. Mañjuśrī, at that time there was also a monk called Careful Scrutiny, who worshiped the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Heroic Solid Obstructer. He served with joy and respect the thus- gone Heroic Solid Obstructer.

“At that time there also lived someone called Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree. He enjoyed great wealth and had many crops, treasuries, and warehouses. He had produced roots of virtue with eight trillion buddhas. For a long time he practiced with the monk Careful Scrutiny and followed him. They helped each other, lived together, and accumulated karma together. One day, the monk Careful Scrutiny went to see Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree. When he reached Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great sāla tree, he told him, ‘Householder, you should know that at the moment the thus-gone Heroic Solid Obstructer has come to the world and teaches the Dharma. He observes pure conduct and teaches the Dharma that is good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end. He teaches the excellent meaning using excellent words that are clear, complete, [F.255.a] pure, and skillful. So come, kṣatriya! Let’s go to meet the blessed Heroic Solid Obstructer. An encounter with the thus- gone one is the source of roots of virtue and so on, and we will hear the Dharma.’

“Then Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree went with the monk Careful Scrutiny to see the thus-gone Heroic Solid Obstructer. As soon as Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree saw the thus-gone Heroic Solid Obstructer, an intense devotion arose in his mind. This is because he had served this thus-gone one in the past and the thus-gone one had cared for him as his spiritual friend. Jagatīdhara had practiced in accord with his spiritual friend, and for a long time he followed faithfully the teachings of his spiritual friend. For limitless millions of eons he observed discipline and aspired to realize the equality of phenomena. Now a benefactor and sponsor who enjoyed generosity and discipline, the householder paid homage to the thus-gone Heroic Solid Obstructer by bowing his head to the feet of the blessed one. He then mentioned his caste and his name three times: ‘Blessed One, my name is Jagatīdhara. Blissful One, I am called Jagatīdhara. Venerable Blessed One, I am Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree.’

“The thus-gone Heroic Solid Obstructer replied to the member of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree, ‘Jagatīdhara, you are a happy man. Gods, asuras, yakṣas, gandharvas, humans, and all other sentient beings wish for the happiness of the cycle of existence, while you, Jagatīdhara, perceive a greater purpose. [F.255.b] That is why you have offered homage to the thus- gone one and given your name.’

“Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree told the thus-gone Heroic Solid Obstructer, ‘Blessed One, I, Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree, am seeking to awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, and to gain omniscience. I am seeking to arouse unobstructed wisdom. I am seeking to illuminate darkness. I am seeking to show the path to beings gone astray. I am seeking to lead followers. I am seeking to teach knowledge to those who do not have it. I am seeking to enrich sentient beings bereft of wealth. I am seeking to make those who are poor rich with the wealth of the noble ones. I am seeking to give a ship to those drowning. I am seeking to let them get hold of that ship. I am seeking to make them board vessels. I am seeking to establish resting places. I am seeking to construct bridges. I am seeking to support those in fear. I am seeking to give refuge to those without refuge. I am seeking to protect those without a protector. I am seeking to support those without support. I am seeking to give a place to live to those who do not have one. I am seeking to satisfy the dissatisfied. I am seeking to fulfill those without contentment. I am seeking to calm the angry. I am seeking to delight the frustrated. I am seeking to heal the ill. I am seeking to revive the dying. Blessed One, I give so that the recipients may attain the fruition of liberation. For those who want to experience immortality, there is no other recipient of offering like the thus- gone one to be found in all the worlds. [F.256.a] I prostrate at the feet of the blessed one so that I may accomplish just that.’

“The thus-gone Heroic Solid Obstructer replied to Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree, ‘This means that in terms of the profound qualities of the Buddha, your mind is set on omniscience—this is excellent, most excellent! Jagatīdhara, your eloquence is excellent. Your commitments are excellent. Your outlook is excellent. Your approach is unequaled. You have pure thoughts. Your mind is flexible. In this way, Jagatīdhara, you will please your spiritual friend. Maintaining pure discipline, you have practiced generosity. Jagatīdhara, you need to concentrate on these two practices. If the noble sons and daughters who follow the bodhisattva vehicle maintain discipline while practicing generosity for the benefit and happiness of all beings, they will approach awakening. This is because the bodhisattvas who wish to give and who maintain discipline have no difficulty approaching buddhahood.’

325. 1.325  “Then, after Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree heard this teaching on generosity and discipline, he made vast aspirations for the purification of buddha realms and the maturation of sentient beings. At that time, on that occasion, he offered to the thus-gone Heroic Solid Obstructer these verses of praise imbued with generosity and discipline:
326. 1.326  “ ‘Lord of humans, having abandoned desire You teach this supreme path. Hearing that most excellent explanation of the Dharma Inspired me to pray for the mind of supreme awakening.
327. 1.327  “ ‘The fearless ones who abide in unsurpassed awakening Act with a pure mind And rest in the peace of unsurpassed awakening. [F.256.b] They act out the Dharma to heal all beings.
328. 1.328  “ ‘Following in their footsteps, I seek to train, With faith in the victorious ones. Practicing to liberate beings who are bound, I shall reach unsurpassed awakening.
329. 1.329  “ ‘In order to open the eyes of the blind,
     And to redirect those on wrong paths,
     I seek to set them upon the unsurpassed path— Thus, I prostrate to the Teacher.
330. 1.330  “ ‘I practiced with hundreds of buddhas in the past.
     With the intention to follow the path of the victorious ones of the past, I seek to serve the saṅgha of the thus-gone ones—
     Thus, I prostrate to the Teacher.
331. 1.331  “ ‘I seek to train in the footsteps of past victorious ones. I seek to emulate their realization of peace.
     I seek to abandon all disturbing emotions—
     Thus, I pay homage to the victorious ones.
332. 1.332  “ ‘Sentient beings who, completely blind, lose their way— I seek to set them upon the supreme path.
     I seek to take them to the most excellent happiness— Thus, I pay homage to the victorious ones.
333. 1.333  “ ‘I seek to please all wandering beings. I seek to sprinkle their paths with water. I seek to show them the cool places—

Thus, I pay homage to the victorious ones.

334. 1.334  “ ‘Wandering beings are parched by their disturbing emotions; All beings are burnt by the fire of the disturbing emotions. Seeking to liberate those who do not see peace,
     Those wearied with no protector, I pay homage.
335. 1.335  “ ‘Unsatisfied by the objects of desire,
     Beings revolve in saṃsāra through the strength of attachment. Immature sentient beings who search for assistance—
     I seek to liberate them, thus I pay homage.
336. 1.336  “ ‘The strength of aversion makes immature beings deluded, And their minds, unrestrained, produce anger.
     In order to liberate all these beings,
     I pay vast homage to the victorious ones.
337. 1.337  “ ‘The strength of dullness obscures immature beings. They do not understand what to do and what to avoid. In order to liberate all these beings, [F.257.a]
     I pay vast homage to the victorious ones.
338. 1.338  “ ‘Immature beings are produced through the strength of jealousy. They do not understand peace and are bound to existence.
     In order to liberate all these beings,
     I pay vast homage to the victorious ones.
339. 1.339  “ ‘Immature beings are produced through the strength of stinginess. They do not know giving, liberation, or fruition.
     It is for all those with destructive emotions, and the rest who experience suffering,
     That I make offerings.
340. 1.340  “ ‘Immature beings are oppressed by the strength of disturbing emotions. Due to a lack of understanding, they accumulate negative actions.
     That is why all beings experience suffering—
     I make this offering for them.
341. 1.341  “ ‘Sentient beings who have faith in your teachings Are untouched by these ills. Seeking to train in the footsteps of the victorious ones, I pay homage to the victorious ones.
342. 1.342  “ ‘I shall search for those who are free of desire And called self-arisen ones;

I shall train just as they have trained.
What the victorious ones have done, I also shall do.

343. 1.343  “ ‘I shall search for those who are omniscient And make vast offerings to those victorious ones. Seeking to train in their footsteps,
     I pay vast homage to those victorious ones.
344. 1.344  “ ‘I shall search for those who have the strengths And make vast offerings to those victorious ones. I shall train just as they have trained
     And make vast offerings to those victorious ones.
345. 1.345  “ ‘I shall search for those who have the fearlessnesses And make vast offerings to those victorious ones.
     I shall train just as they have trained
     And make vast offerings to those victorious ones.
346. 1.346  “ ‘I shall search for those who have the correct understanding And make vast offerings to those victorious ones.
     I shall train just as they have trained
     And make vast offerings to those victorious ones.
347. 1.347  “ ‘I shall search for those who have the five powers And make vast offerings to those victorious ones.
     I shall train just as they have trained
     And make vast offerings to those victorious ones.
348. 1.348  “ ‘I shall search for those who have the eighteen qualities of the blissful ones, Who have the unique physical qualities of the victors, And who make offerings to those buddhas. [F.257.b] Following in their footsteps, I make offerings to them.
349. 1.349  “ ‘I seek pure objects of experience, pure actions, and the pure six sense faculties, With pure wisdom and pure absorption.
     I seek discipline and the absorptions.
     For that I make offerings to the buddhas, the guides.’
350. 1.350  “The monk Careful Scrutiny heard these verses of praise of the ten strengths recited by Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree, and so he said to the thus-gone Heroic Solid Obstructer, ‘Blessed One, I also have the

confidence to speak like this. Blissful One, I also have the confidence to

speak like this.’

351. 1.351  “The Blessed One replied, ‘Careful Scrutiny, please go ahead.’ “Then the monk Careful Scrutiny praised the blessed thus-gone Heroic Solid Obstructer with these verses of praise imbued with the ten strengths:
352. 1.352  “ ‘Blissful One, you practiced for ten million eons And found the pristine, uncompounded abode.
     In order to obtain it, I will follow you, O guide— May I become a buddha like you, supreme human.
353. 1.353  “ ‘When you were training, you made offerings
     To one hundred quintillion buddhas, the guides of the past. Having worshiped these victorious ones,
     You reached peerless, unsurpassed awakening.
354. 1.354  “ ‘Guide, with trumpets, drums, and gongs
     You made offerings to a hundred billion victors.
     Thus your chants resounded throughout the three realms, Captivating the minds of all beings.
355. 1.355  “ ‘Plucking beautifully the supple strings,
     You played at the stūpas of the buddhas with the ten strengths. Thus, Victorious One, you teach hundreds of billions of beings With your delightful and captivating voice.
356. 1.356  “ ‘Sitting before the blissful ones,
     You sang melodiously and played music. Thus, guide, your speech is beautiful,
     And also tames the minds of men and women.
357. 1.357  “ ‘Supreme and delightful food
     You served to the victorious ones and their hearers. [F.258.a] Due to those vast and excellent arrays of food and drink, You now enjoy so many pleasures.
358. 1.358  “ ‘Soft cloths from Kāśī,
     Of perfect golden color, ravishing, You offered as beautiful robes of the finest quality.
     Thus, Blissful One, the color of your body is inconceivable.
359. 1.359  “ ‘Joyfully and with respect,
     You have previously served the foremost of recipients With vast offerings of food and drink.

Thus, guide of the world, you now have seven types of greatness.

360. 1.360  “ ‘Divine food pleasing to the mind
     You served to the victorious ones and their hearers. Thus, with food characterized by supreme taste, Knower of the world, you now are pleased.
361. 1.361  “ ‘To the stūpas of the blissful ones you always offered Flowers of supreme scent, and likewise excellent fruits Of exquisite hue, soft and beautiful.
     For that reason, O guide, you attained the supreme fruit.
362. 1.362  “ ‘You always made the pleasing offerings
     Of perfume and unguents to the stūpas of the blissful ones. Thus your sweet-scented body, Blissful One,
     Has the fragrance of a sandalwood vessel.
363. 1.363  “ ‘Sweet-smelling creams and saffron
     You offered to the stūpas of the blissful ones. Thus the scent of saffron incense
     Emanates from your body in all directions.
364. 1.364  “ ‘A great variety of beautiful flower garlands
     You constantly placed on the bodies of the blissful ones. Thus the explanations of your gentle voice
     Are now worn by beings like garlands of lotus flowers.
365. 1.365  “ ‘Protector of the world, you never interrupted The teachings of the blissful ones. Thus, as you teach your retinue, No one creates any obstacles.
366. 1.366  “ ‘As your mind always rested wherever it was placed
     While listening to the Dharma explanations of the self-arisen ones, Your mind was never distracted in any direction.
     Thus, as you now teach, your explanations are not wasted.
367. 1.367  “ ‘When blissful ones of the past taught the Dharma, You considered it to be medicine, And you, yourself, a sick person.
     Thus everyone now embraces your teachings.
368. 1.368  “ ‘You saw the blissful ones to be physicians [F.258.b] And yourself as a sick person,

And the Dharma you perceived as medicine.

“ ‘You listened to the teachings of the blissful ones And never indulged in stinginess.
All these thus-gone ones taught you,
And you delighted the victorious ones.

“ ‘Having heard the teachings of the blissful ones, You taught others without any stinginess.
Thus, O guide, as you teach to your retinue,
You teach with confident eloquence.

“ ‘In order to seek perfect awakening,
In the past you familiarized yourself with the Dharma.

“ ‘O guide, I too am a seeker,
And I praise your qualities as a guide
So that I too may become supreme among humans And guide all sentient beings!’

“While the two bodhisattva great beings praised the blessed thus-gone

Heroic Solid Obstructer, he did not have any thoughts of superiority or

inferiority. Instead, he remained imperturbable like the ocean. Then, free

from any concerns of high and low, he spoke to the two bodhisattvas Careful Scrutiny and Jagatīdhara. He said, ‘Good, good, holy beings. Holy beings, that is how it is. Holy beings, your verses that express the qualities of the thus-gone ones have caused one hundred quintillion beings to purify buddha realms. You have generated and produced roots of virtue to mature sentient beings. Now you should dedicate the merit to seeing sentient beings in their respective realms and then manifesting accordingly to teach them the Dharma.’

“Mañjuśrī, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, the monk Careful Scrutiny was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. [F.259.a] Why? Because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone one who had reached the highest ground was the monk Careful Scrutiny. Mañjuśrī, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. Why? Because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was Jagatīdhara of the kṣatriya caste like a great śāla tree.

“Mañjuśrī, in this way bodhisattva great beings who wish to purify inexpressibly vast buddha realms and who wish to mature sentient beings with vast magical displays must make it their practice to declare the qualities

At that time you made offerings to the victorious ones of the thus-gone ones. They should put effort into that. Mañjuśrī, when the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was practicing bodhisattva conduct, he relied on remembering the buddha and, making that his training, became proficient. [B5]

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Utpalākara. Mañjuśrī, during this eon, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Very Subtle Mind, appeared in the world. Mañjuśrī, during the lifetime of the blessed thus-gone Very Subtle Mind there lived a monk called Śāntamati. He was a genuine follower of the bodhisattva vehicle and the most excellent of all the bodhisattvas in that buddha realm. [F.259.b] The monk Śāntamati went to the blessed thus-gone one and bowed his head down to the thus-gone one’s feet and sat to one side. Sitting there, the monk Śāntamati asked the blessed thus-gone Very Subtle Mind, ‘Blessed One, which quality enables bodhisattva great beings to become irreversible from awakening and swiftly awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood?’

“The blessed thus-gone Very Subtle Mind replied to the monk Śāntamati, ‘Monk, bodhisattva great beings who wish to become irreversible from awakening and swiftly awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood should strive to develop acceptance of the profound Dharma. Aspiring to bear the profound, they will become forbearing and be attracted to these Dharma teachings. This motivation will make them practice them, and practice will make the bodhisattvas persevere. Thus, they come to understand in exactly the way the thus-gone ones have explained. This is one quality of bodhisattva great beings irreversible from awakening. Śāntamati, bodhisattva great beings whose minds are stable in patience have great compassion for sentient beings. Why? Because for bodhisattvas who are stable in this patience, not even the buddhas can shake them from it.

“ ‘Moreover, Śāntamati, the nature of these phenomena is suchness that is unerring and nothing else but suchness. The bodhisattvas who sustain this realization no longer have doubt about any phenomena. This is [F.260.a] unsurpassed and perfect awakening. When they gain this patience, they are called buddhas because through this they realize the nature of all phenomena, see the way of all phenomena, and realize the range of all phenomena. That is why they are called buddhas. No one can change their minds or turn them away from this state by saying that this is not the reality of phenomena. Śāntamati, consider the analogy of a man or a woman who is eating a meal. No one can convince them that they are not eating. This is because it would be obvious and cannot be any other way. Likewise, Śāntamati, when bodhisattvas abide within this intrinsic nature, no one can convince them that it is not the intrinsic nature of phenomena. And why? Because it could not be any other way, since the intrinsic nature is directly experienced.

“ ‘Śāntamati, think of a man or a woman who is drinking. No one can fool or deceive that person by saying that they are not drinking, because it is obvious and could not be proven to be any other way. Likewise, no one can convince or deceive the bodhisattvas abiding within this intrinsic nature by telling them that it is not the intrinsic nature of all phenomena—their knowledge is only due to direct experience of the nature of things. Śāntamati, consider the analogy of hearers who see the truths. No one can deceive or fool them by saying, “This is not the path. This is not the fruition of the path.” Likewise, Śāntamati, no one can convince or deceive the bodhisattvas abiding within this intrinsic nature by telling them, “This is not the intrinsic nature.” And why? Because they perceive the intrinsic nature directly and not through some other circumstance. Thus they have acceptance of all dharmas just as the Buddha taught them.

“ ‘Śāntamati, what do you think? When neither ordinary people nor the properties of ordinary people are observed, is it because they do not abide? And is it likewise so concerning the hearers and the properties of the hearers, [F.260.b] the solitary buddhas and the properties of the solitary buddhas, the bodhisattvas and the properties of the bodhisattvas, and the buddhas and the properties of the buddhas?’

“Śāntamati replied, ‘Indeed, Blessed One. Because the basis on which phenomena would abide cannot be observed, no phenomena can be observed and they are said to be “non-abiding” or “unreal.” ’

“The Blessed One replied, ‘Śāntamati, excellent, excellent. Śāntamati, consider the analogy of space that does not abide in any way. Likewise, Śāntamati, all phenomena also do not abide. Śāntamati, like space, all phenomena do not abide.

“ ‘Śāntamati, conducive patience is of three kinds: lesser conducive patience, middling conducive patience, and greater conducive patience. To explain, lesser conducive patience is to have strong absorption. Middling conducive patience is tranquility absorption. Greater conducive patience is the absorption that gives power over all phenomena. Why? Because lesser conducive patience produces the strength of roots of virtue, middling conducive patience brings focus on peace, and greater conducive patience leads to profound wisdom as all objects are realized while one abides within the intrinsic nature.

“ ‘When realizing the intrinsic nature, all meanings are apprehended perfectly. This is the correct understanding of meaning in this context. With this, one realizes the single characteristic of all phenomena. This realization is the correct understanding of meaning in this context. Such Dharma teachings are delivered in the languages of people but without attachment to these languages. [F.261.a] Correct understanding of language in this context is an interest in people and their tongues with no attachment to these languages. With regard to these languages, bodhisattva great beings teach eloquently in a timely manner. They eloquently teach so that those who listen to the Dharma can understand it. They express eloquently the nature of phenomena as it is. They express eloquently the empty essence of phenomena as it is. They express eloquently the unborn and unceasing nature of phenomena as it is. They express eloquently how phenomena do not come or go. They express eloquently how phenomena do not die, do not transmigrate, and do not take rebirth. They express eloquently the way phenomena do not exist. They express eloquently how phenomena are not perceived and do not appear. They express eloquently how there are no explanations and that listening cannot be observed. They express eloquently the way actions do not exist and their karmic ripening does not exist. They express eloquently how saṃsāra does not exist and nirvāṇa cannot be observed. They express eloquently how there is absolutely no saṃsāra and how nothing can be observed transforming into nirvāṇa. They express eloquently how awakening and the attainment of awakening cannot be observed. They express eloquently how the defiled state does not exist and the purified state cannot be observed. They express eloquently how the attainment of qualities cannot be observed. They express eloquently how there is no abandonment of ordinary beings’ attributes and no attainment of the hearers’ qualities. They express eloquently how there is no going beyond the qualities of the hearers and no attainment of the solitary buddhas’ qualities. They express eloquently how there is no going beyond the qualities of the solitary buddhas and how there is no attainment of the buddhas’ qualities. They express eloquently how the buddhas’ qualities cannot be discarded and there is no going beyond nirvāṇa. This is the correct understanding of eloquence in this context. Also, this correct understanding of eloquence is invariably the same regarding all phenomena. Indeed, by attaining greater conducive patience in this way, bodhisattva great beings accomplish mastery over all things. [F.261.b]

“ ‘Those bodhisattva great beings who have attained greater conducive patience rest in the absorption of mastering all phenomena and eventually awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood and accomplish the deeds of the buddhas. At this point the deeds and domain of those bodhisattvas  become identical to the deeds and domain of the thus-gone ones. Just as the thus-gone ones depart and return, so the bodhisattvas depart and return. Just as the thus-gone ones see, observe, stretch, contract, wear the saṅghāṭī Dharma robes, remain by themselves, hold the alms bowl, eat, and drink, so those bodhisattvas see, observe, sleep, speak, remain silent, and so forth. In all their activities they conduct themselves just like the thus-gone ones do. Through the attainment of greater conducive patience, they fully awaken to buddhahood in those very bodies, and they can remain for inexpressible numbers of eons if they wish. Therefore, bodhisattva great beings who have greater conducive patience are said to be buddhas.’

“Then the monk Śāntamati asked the thus-gone one, ‘Blessed One, when a bodhisattva first generates the mind set upon fully awakening to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, does this initial arousing of the mind of awakening make them a bodhisattva?’

“The blessed one said, ‘Śāntamati, no, it does not. Śāntamati, someone with a mind that for the first time feels certain about the Dharma is called a bodhisattva who generates the mind of awakening for the first time.’

“Then, the bodhisattva Śāntamati offered praises to the thus-gone Very Subtle Mind in these verses imbued with the perfection of patience:

“ ‘No phenomena are produced, nor do they arise. They do not die and transmigrate, nor do they age. The victorious lions lead beings to this realization. The great sages establish beings in it. [F.262.a]

“ ‘Nowhere does a thing exist,
Nor can anyone find something that is other. There is nothing inside or outside.
The protector shows that things cannot be found.

“ ‘Though the blissful ones are said to have a mind at peace, No “movement” can be found;
This is called liberation from movement.
When they are free, they liberate numerous sentient beings.

“ ‘They teach that all phenomena are devoid of inherent nature. They liberate the world from the grasping of sentient beings. Though free from wandering, they liberate wandering beings— Thus they do not pass beyond, though they have gone beyond.

“ ‘The great sages have transcended existence.
Though they have crossed over, they have not attained anything. There is no going beyond or any coming back,

Yet still we say, “They have gone beyond.”

391. 1.391  “ ‘The speaker of words does not exist; The words themselves are not there. Whatever is said cannot be found, And whoever hears it does not exist.
392. 1.392  “ ‘Through the power of attachment to mistaken thoughts, Wandering beings have been roaming here.
     But a person who perceives the Dharma of peace
     Sees the self-arisen Thus-Gone One.
393. 1.393  “ ‘The peaceful ones also realize the supreme Dharma.
     They find joy and satisfy sentient beings.
     Going beyond disturbing emotions they become victorious ones— They themselves become victorious and have no sense of self.
394. 1.394  “ ‘They realize the awakening of the victorious ones,
     And, having awakened, they bring understanding to others. They bring sentient beings who are on the wrong path Onto the path that leads to unsurpassed awakening.
395. 1.395  “ ‘Abiding in peace, the victorious ones pacify others
     And thus ensure the liberation of living beings.
     For sentient beings who are completely lost,
     Those who possess wisdom impart knowledge against their ignorance.
396. 1.396  “ ‘All the great sages of the past
     Followed this supreme path of the victorious ones. The supreme sage also follows this path,
     As will all those in the future as well.
397. 1.397  “ ‘For those who realize this teaching, Even if ten billion buddhas Told them that they were mistaken
     And said, “You are not a victorious one,”
398. 1.398  “ ‘It would not change their minds.
     Their minds would not stray from that understanding,
     For they have perceived directly the ways of the victorious ones. King of humans, you sit in silence. [F.262.b]
399. 1.399  “ ‘The Dharma explained by the Blissful One I have no doubt about.

I cannot turn back from searching for the fundamental nature,

I who seek the three kinds of patience.

400. 1.400  “ ‘In that I will conduct myself like victorious ones— In coming and going, sleeping, Speaking, and standing—I should be like the Teacher, Keeping with the entire range of his activities.
401. 1.401  “ ‘As I will be given the prophecy,
     I am the nature of the victorious ones
     As I abide in the wisdom of the victorious ones. No wandering being can discourage me.
402. 1.402  “ ‘I will never change my mind—
     The moon and the stars are more likely to fall to earth,
     And Mount Meru is more likely to collapse into pieces and vanish in space. That reality will never change.
403. 1.403  “ ‘Those people who find this patience
     Will become buddhas who lead sentient beings to realization, And thus become self-arisen buddhas
     Who realize such a fundamental nature.
404. 1.404  “ ‘I heard this directly from the Victorious One
     And, having discovered patience, will, without regressing,
     Reach buddhahood, gain realization,
     And bring wandering beings to an understanding of this Dharma.
405. 1.405  “ ‘Just as those who see their own nature Will explain it to others, The knowledgeable victors will teach,
     And beings without realization will become realized.
406. 1.406  “ ‘Just as the victorious ones see phenomena, They teach on the basic realities of each. Relying on that, I have become a self-arisen one; Today I have obtained unsurpassed patience.
407. 1.407  “ ‘I take refuge in the self-arisen lord of sages,
     And I practice to find a cure for the world,
     To act in the self-arisen Victor’s realms,
     And to liberate wandering beings wearied by suffering.
408. 1.408  “ ‘In this way I train in the footsteps of the victorious ones To free sentient beings from what befalls them,
     Striving to adopt the way of the buddhas,

“ ‘I, Śāntamati, know the nature of phenomena
And will manifest in a hundred buddha realms;
Following the ways of all beings,
I shall manifest in accordance with their individual dispositions.

“ ‘In this way I will purify inconceivable buddha realms,
Give instructions to an inconceivable number of sentient beings, Uphold the most excellent Dharma methods,
And lead all to the wisdom of the Teacher.’ [F.263.a]

“As a result, the monk Śāntamati gained greater conducive patience, which allowed him to fill inexpressible realms with his manifestations. Mañjuśrī, if you have any doubt or wonder whether at that time, on that occasion, the monk Śāntamati was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. This is because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was the monk Śāntamati.

“Therefore, Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great beings who wish to develop acceptance that phenomena are unborn need to practice diligence. You may wonder how to avoid entertaining inappropriate objects of the mind and how to avoid the mind by naturally steering you onto wrong paths. The person who wishes to keep the mind undistracted should maintain diligence. By maintaining diligence, bodhisattvas quickly develop acceptance that phenomena are unborn.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Light of Permanence. During this eon, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Vimalacandraprabhātejorāja, appeared in the world. At that time there lived a bodhisattva great being called Ārabdhavīrya, who attended the teachings of the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened Vimalacandraprabhātejorāja. No one had ever seen anyone practice diligence like the bodhisattva great being Ārabdhavīrya. [F.263.b] In fact, the blessed one said that in his buddha realm the bodhisattva Ārabdhavīrya was supreme among all the bodhisattvas who observed pure conduct.

“Then, in the assembly of several hundred thousand beings gathered around and attending the thus-gone Vimalacandraprabhātejorāja, the bodhisattva Ārabdhavīrya stood up. He adjusted his upper garment on one shoulder and knelt on his right knee. With his palms together he bowed toward the blessed one. Then he said, ‘If I were to make a request, would the

Yet acting like sentient beings.

Blessed One grant me a teaching? There are a few points about which I would like to ask the Blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened Buddha.’

“The blessed thus-gone Vimalacandraprabhātejorāja replied to the bodhisattva Ārabdhavīrya, ‘Son of noble family, you can ask the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened Buddha anything you want. My answer to your question will delight you.’

“The bodhisattva Ārabdhavīrya then asked the blessed thus-gone Vimalacandraprabhātejorāja, ‘Blessed One, you often speak about diligence, but how much diligence should a bodhisattva practice?’

“The blessed thus-gone Vimalacandraprabhātejorāja replied to the bodhisattva Ārabdhavīrya, ‘Very good, very good. Son of noble family, you have asked the thus-gone one about this point in order to benefit and delight numerous beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of gods and humans. [F.264.a] So, son of noble family, listen carefully and retain my explanations, and I shall explain.’

“ ‘Very well, Blessed One,’ the bodhisattva Ārabdhavīrya replied, and he readied himself to listen as the blessed one had directed.

“The blessed one said, ‘To realize equality a bodhisattva should never abandon diligence, not even for an instant. To realize all phenomena in this way, one should not apply one’s intelligence elsewhere and not entertain other thoughts. This, son of noble family, is how much diligence bodhisattva great beings must maintain to accomplish awakening. Furthermore, son of noble family, bodhisattva great beings reflect on the diligence of the thus- gone, worthy, perfectly awakened buddhas of the past. They tell themselves, “Just as the thus-gone ones of the past took hold of their body and mind and practiced generosity when they engaged in bodhisattva conduct, so I shall also practice.” If one practices generosity and also has that realization, then one is accomplishing the perfection of generosity.

“ ‘What does it mean “to take hold of body and mind”? It means to not apprehend any giving, giver, receiving, or recipient. In this context, that is the perfection of wisdom. To think, “I will purify an inexpressible number of buddha realms,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To think, “I will mature an inexpressible number of sentient beings,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To think, “I will perfect the strengths of thus-gone ones,” is to take hold of body and mind well. [F.264.b] To think, “I will master the fearlessnesses of the thus-gone ones,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To think, “I will master the powers of the thus-gone ones,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To think, “I will master the eighteen unique buddha qualities,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To think, “I will master omniscience,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To think, “I will train in  skillful means,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To think, “I will engage the minds of sentient beings,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To think, “I will train in the knowledge of the right time,” is to take hold of body and mind well. Similarly, to think, “I will train in the knowledge of the right measure, of meanings, of the attributes, of the self and others, and of exceptional beings and ordinary individuals,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To think, “I will abandon any reasoning that needs to be abandoned, and I will familiarize myself with any reasoning that needs to be adopted,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To think, “I will train in knowing how to examine the body,” is to take hold of body and mind well. To take hold of body and mind in this way is called diligence. To take hold of body and mind in this way without wavering, relaxing, or interrupting it, but rather sustaining it, is the practice of diligence. To focus on this kind of diligence and concentrate on its practice is known as practicing diligence.’

425. 1.420  “When the bodhisattva great being Ārabdhavīrya heard about the perfection of diligence in this way, [F.265.a] he settled into in the absorption that masters all phenomena. He also maintained diligence. He manifested emanations in infinite world systems to mature sentient beings in accordance with what they trust in. He matured infinite sentient beings with infinite skillful means. In all these buddha realms, he served infinite quintillions of buddhas. Then, the bodhisattva great being Ārabdhavīrya offered these verses of praise imbued with the perfection of diligence to the blessed thus-gone Vimalacandraprabhātejorāja:
426. 1.421  “ ‘You who possess the ten powers, your diligence Is unique among all beings. Wise sage, thanks to diligence
     You experience the supreme reality.
427. 1.422  “ ‘You who have the ten strengths, with diligence You have purified infinite buddha realms
     And matured sentient beings fully;
     Your knowledge is incomparable.
428. 1.423  “ ‘Lion of humans endowed with the ten strengths,
     With your diligence you destroy sentient beings’ concepts. You who realize emptiness
     Have abandoned the very concept of sentient beings.
429. 1.424  “ ‘Without apprehending emptiness,
     Through diligence you know all things.
     Through the strength of diligence you go to the other shore And come to abide on the levels of peace.
430. 1.425  “ ‘Blissful One, your heirs reach unsurpassed awakening By following in your footsteps. You who are endowed with the ten strengths, with your diligence You reveal that which is genuinely greatest.
431. 1.426  “ ‘Through the strength of diligence you go to the other shore, And, Blissful One, your children follow in your footsteps.
     With hundreds of emanations of all kinds,
     You mature sentient beings.
432. 1.427  “ ‘In order to liberate wandering beings, [F.265.b] Your heirs have reached awakening.
     Blessed One, on this level of yours
     The heirs of the blissful ones follow you.
433. 1.428  “ ‘In order to mature wandering beings, Your heirs wear armor As they all follow in your footsteps
     And lead numerous beings to awakening.
434. 1.429  “ ‘Lion! Lord of humans!
     You ten billion children maintain diligence. In order to liberate beings
     They go to billions of buddha realms.
435. 1.430  “ ‘The victor’s face, like a stainless moon, Shines with infinite and awesome light. Sage, your heirs are peerless beings Who act with perfect purity.
436. 1.431  “ ‘Your heirs, who have purified their human minds, Purify all the buddha realms. Thanks to the supreme among humans, the mighty ones, Billions of sentient beings yearn for selflessness.
437. 1.432  “ ‘Your diligence is unlike any other diligence.
     Your absorption is unmoving, an unwavering absorption. Through the strength of diligence you go to the other shore And inspire gods and humans to practice diligence.
438. 1.433  “ ‘The world with its gods, humans, and gandharvas You outshine completely with your diligence. Knowing awakening, you maintain firm diligence. You know how to liberate beings from existence.

“ ‘Those who destroy the characteristics of conditioned phenomena And reach awakening that does not exist,
With their diligence forever unweakened—
To them I pay homage.

“ ‘Those whose thoughts are always for awakening,
Who uphold the families of the victorious ones
And steadily dedicate themselves to the level of the blissful ones— To them also I pay homage.

“ ‘Those who work for beings’ benefit and health,
Who are never discouraged
And have faith in the level of the blissful ones Untouched by old age and death—to them I pay homage!

“ ‘In you who are free from sickness, old age, and death [F.266.a] And have overcome the three defilements, I take refuge. Through this merit may I become a blissful one
And reach awakening beyond aging and dying!’

“Once the bodhisattva great being Ārabdhavīrya had offered these verses of praise imbued with the perfection of diligence to the blessed thus-gone Vimalacandraprabhātejorāja, he mastered this practice of diligence. He then avoided nine hundred million eons in saṃsāra.

“Mañjuśrī, if you think that at that time, on that occasion, the bodhisattva Ārabdhavīrya was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. That is because the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha at that time, on that occasion, was the bodhisattva Ārabdhavīrya. Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great beings who follow the Great Vehicle and wish to purify infinite buddha realms and mature sentient beings in infinite number must therefore dedicate all roots of virtue to the purification of buddha realms.

“To realize liberation devoid of obscurations, they also should not abandon diligence. The bodhisattva great being Ārabdhavīrya, who was stable in liberation devoid of obscuration, settled his mind in order to know the thoughts of sentient beings. Mastering all the strengths of the thus-gone ones, he attained the absorption called conforming to all sentient beings’ thoughts. Once he reached this absorption, he distinguished three groups of sentient beings: those determined to be correct, those determined to be mistaken, and those of the indeterminate category. Among them, in order to ripen sentient beings in the mistaken group, he trained in skillful means. [F.266.b] Having acquired these skillful means that can lead mistaken sentient beings, he stayed in saṃsāra for inexpressible numbers of eons in order to guide them.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, inconceivable, incomparable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Ambrosial Essence. During this eon, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Eternal King Finial of Jewels appeared in the world. Mañjuśrī, in the buddha realm of the thus-gone Eternal King Finial of Jewels there was a member of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree called Indradatta. With greatest respect he had followed billions of buddhas beyond count and acquired immeasurable roots of virtue. Indradatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree went to meet the blessed thus-gone Eternal King Finial of Jewels. He first paid homage by bowing his head to the feet of the thus-gone one and then stood to one side of the blessed one. Standing there, Indradatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree said to the blessed thus-gone Eternal King Finial of Jewels, ‘How many skillful means must bodhisattva great beings possess to mature sentient beings and purify buddha realms?’

“The blessed thus-gone Eternal King Finial of Jewels [F.267.a] replied to Indradatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree, ‘Indradatta, when bodhisattva great beings gain the bodhisattva absorption called fulfillment of all sentient beings’ wishes, they acquire the skillful means to purify buddha realms and to mature all sentient beings. Because they have the bodhisattva absorption called fulfillment of all sentient beings’ wishes, all the aspirations that they make come to fruition. They obtain and accomplish whatever they envision. If they so wish, they can accomplish the perfection of the aspirations of a single thus-gone one. If they so wish, they can accomplish the perfection of the aspirations of two thus-gone ones. If they so wish, they can accomplish the perfection of the aspirations of three thus-gone ones. They can even accomplish the aspirations of thus-gone ones beyond count. They accomplish the aspirations of infinite thus-gone ones, and as a result they purify infinite buddha realms.

“ ‘Indradatta, in the east, beyond as many buddha realms as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, there is a world system called Bejeweled, where the buddha Śubhacandra presently resides, alive and well. Indradatta, all the aspirations that the thus-gone Śubhacandra made when he was practicing bodhisattva conduct have now been fulfilled. One of his aspirations was, “May the limits of my buddha realm be hard to grasp!” This aspiration has been fulfilled; the extent of his buddha realm is difficult to appraise.

“ ‘He also prayed, “May the dimensions of the arrangement of my buddha realm [F.267.b] be hard to appraise! In my buddha realm, may the amount of jewels be hard to know! In my buddha realm, may the number of bodhisattvas be hard to count! In my buddha realm, may it not be possible to measure the checkered patterns made of precious substances that cover it! In my buddha realm, may it not be possible to measure the enjoyments and say, ‘There are this many enjoyments related to form, sound, smell, taste, and texture!’ In my buddha realm, may the number of sentient beings who practice virtue be beyond count! In my buddha realm, may the number of sentient beings who aspire to practice virtue be beyond count! In my buddha realm, may the number of sentient beings who actually practice virtue be difficult to measure!”

“ ‘These aspirations were all fulfilled, and today the arrangements of his buddha realms are difficult to measure, the amount of jewels is hard to know, the number of bodhisattvas is hard to count, the design of the jewel ornaments is hard to measure, the extent of the enjoyments connected with form, sound, scent, taste, and texture is hard to evaluate, and the number of sentient beings who practice virtue is hard to count. In his buddha realm, the number of sentient beings who aspire to practice virtue is hard to measure. The thus-gone one previously made these aspirations and countless others while he was practicing bodhisattva conduct. All his aspirations have been perfected based on the bodhisattva absorption called fulfillment of all sentient beings’ wishes. Indradatta, bodhisattva great beings [F.268.a] must therefore be diligent in acquiring the absorption called fulfillment of all sentient beings’ wishes.’

“As soon as Indradatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree heard about these aspirations from the thus-gone Eternal King Finial of Jewels, he also made the same aspirations. Then the blessed one prophesied that his buddha realms would be endowed with inconceivable qualities. Mañjuśrī, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, Indradatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. That is because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was Indradatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree; the buddha realm of the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha is endowed with such qualities. Thus, Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great beings should train in making such aspirations. If they train in this way in making aspirations, then bodhisattva great beings become skilled in means, which in turn enables them to mature infinite billions of sentient beings. They maintain immeasurable lifespans, and they cause infinite billions of sentient beings to have immeasurable lifespans as well.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, limitless, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, there was an eon called Fount of Virtue. Mañjuśrī, during this eon, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Gandhottamarāja, appeared in the world. [F.268.b] Mañjuśrī, in the buddha realm of the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened buddha Gandhottamarāja, there was a member of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree named Sandalwood Essence. Sandalwood Essence of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree went to meet the thus-gone Gandhottamarāja. When he reached the dwelling of the blessed thus-gone Gandhottamarāja, he prostrated to him by bowing his head to the thus-gone one’s feet and then stood to one side. Standing there, Sandalwood Essence of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree asked the thus-gone one Gandhottamarāja, ‘We often hear mention of someone “possessing skillful means.” Blessed One, how many skillful means should a bodhisattva great being possess?’

“The blessed thus-gone Gandhottamarāja replied to Sandalwood Essence of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree, saying, ‘Sandalwood Essence, bodhisattva great beings always penetrate the thoughts of all sentient beings. Penetrating their thoughts, they teach the Dharma in many ways. Such is the extent of the skillful means of bodhisattva great beings. Because they have these skillful means, they teach the Dharma in accordance with sentient beings, just as they need. Due to their skillful means, they remain diligent for inexpressible numbers of eons in order to purify buddha realms and mature sentient beings. Due to their skillful means, as they practice the perfection of wisdom the idea of abandoning skillful means never occurs to them. They swiftly purify inexpressibly vast buddha realms.’

“Then, as soon as the blessed thus-gone Gandhottamarāja had taught Sandalwood Essence of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree [F.269.a] about skillful means and the perfection of wisdom, he accomplished what he had been taught. As he accomplished what he had been taught, he gained the knowledge that penetrates the thoughts of sentient beings. Having attained such skillful means, he remained diligent for inexpressible numbers of eons to purify buddha realms and mature sentient beings. For inexpressible numbers of eons it never occurred to him to part from his skillful means as he practiced the perfection of wisdom he had realized through his skillful means. Because he had aroused such an attitude, he purified an inexpressible number of billions of buddha realms in world  systems in all ten directions. In each buddha realm he also matured inexpressible octillions of beings. In each buddha realm he brought immeasurable billions of beings to accept the profound Dharma.

“Mañjuśrī, if you think that at that time, on that occasion, Sandalwood Essence of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. That is because the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha at that time, on that occasion, was Sandalwood Essence of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree. Mañjuśrī, in this way bodhisattva great beings should diligently cultivate the patience that has ascertained the mind’s features. [B6]

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, limitless, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, [F.269.b] the blessed buddha Jñānākara, appeared in the world. In the buddha realm of the thus- gone Jñānākara there was a bodhisattva great being called Unsurpassed Knowledge. The bodhisattva great being Unsurpassed Knowledge received teachings from the blessed thus-gone Jñānākara, and then left to travel the length and breadth of the country to mature sentient beings. While traveling the country in this way, he purified inexpressibly vast buddha realms, and in each buddha realm he matured quintillions of sentient beings in inexpressible number by teaching them and infusing their minds with certainty about the unsurpassed Dharma. Then he made this aspiration: ‘In all the buddha realms where I take birth, may sentient beings understand and know that a buddha has come. In all the buddha realms where I take birth, may sentient beings be cut off from the hell realms, the animal realms, the world of the Lord of Death, the asura realms, and every other state lacking freedom.’ His aspiration was then fulfilled. Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva Unsurpassed Knowledge practiced bodhisattva conduct, and in all the buddha realms where he was born, sentient beings knew that a buddha had appeared, and they were cut off from the hell realms, the animal realms, the world of the Lord of Death, the asura realms, and every other state lacking freedom. As a result, they never returned to that buddha realm.

“He also made the following aspiration: ‘Whenever I practice bodhisattva conduct, may the ground that I touch with the soles of my feet become stūpas that remain until the end of the eon. May any sentient being who sees these stūpas, or hears about them, or goes to that region turn toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening without regressing. [F.270.a] As long as the sites of these stūpas remain, may the holy Dharma not wane in this buddha realm. As long as the sites of these stūpas remain, may sentient beings in this buddha realm continuously listen to the sacred Dharma. May everyone who hears my name turn toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening without regressing.’ This aspiration was then fulfilled and, through his activity, he maintained and purified that buddha realm according to his aspirations.

“He made as many aspirations as one hundred eighty million buddhas and formed them for as long as the lifespan of one hundred eighty million buddhas. He maintained a gathering of hearers as large as the gatherings of hearers connected with one hundred eighty million buddhas. He gathered a bodhisattva assembly as large as the bodhisattva assemblies of one hundred eighty million buddhas. He possessed as many excellent qualities as there are in the buddha realms of one hundred eighty million buddhas. He purified quintillions of buddha realms in infinite number and then went to meet the blessed thus-gone Jñānākara. He prostrated with his head to the feet of the thus-gone Jñānākara and stood to his side. Standing there, the bodhisattva Unsurpassed Knowledge said to the thus-gone Jñānākara, ‘The children of the Blessed One are all one family because they are born from the same father. So, Blessed One, could the Thus-Gone One please give a Dharma teaching to these younger siblings of mine to explain how bodhisattvas heal numerous beings?’ [F.270.b]

“The thus-gone Jñānākara replied to the bodhisattva Unsurpassed Knowledge, ‘Unsurpassed Knowledge, you now practice the perfection of wisdom. Even though you have not awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, you still accomplish the deeds of a buddha. This is excellent, excellent.’

“Then the blessed thus-gone Jñānākara addressed the saṅgha of monks: ‘Monks, look at the activities of the bodhisattva Unsurpassed Knowledge. Monks, a mathematician or the proficient student of a mathematician would be unable to calculate the amount of sentient beings matured by the bodhisattva Unsurpassed Knowledge, even if the mathematician or his proficient student had one eon, or one hundred eons, or one hundred billion eons to do so.’

“Mañjuśrī, in that realm, the bodhisattva Unsurpassed Knowledge brought an infinite number of sentient beings beyond suffering to the hearers’ nirvāṇa. He led twice that many bodhisattva great beings to unsurpassed and perfect awakening. And when all these bodhisattvas had awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, they too led an immeasurable number of beings beyond suffering before passing into nirvāṇa themselves. This is how the bodhisattva great being Unsurpassed Knowledge led sentient beings beyond suffering. He led sentient beings in great number to awakening.

457. 1.457  “Mañjuśrī, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, the bodhisattva Unsurpassed Knowledge was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. Because at that time, on that occasion, the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha was the bodhisattva Unsurpassed Knowledge. Mañjuśrī, in this way, [F.271.a] when the thus-gone Sarvārthasiddha previously practiced bodhisattva conduct, he rested in the stainless buddhas’ complete liberation and thereby mastered skillful means. Mañjuśrī, this shows that bodhisattva great beings must acquire skillful means. In order for bodhisattvas to bring skillful means to perfection, it is necessary to teach them about the absorption that brings mastery over all phenomena. For bodhisattva great beings who rest in the absorption that brings mastery over all phenomena, generating the mind of awakening just once is enough to serve blessed buddhas in inexpressibly vast buddha realms and accomplish all their practices. Mañjuśrī, it is like water flowing unceasingly and torrentially from a lake to a low-lying area. Likewise, wherever bodhisattva great beings who rest in the absorption that brings mastery over all phenomena look, that place and all that is there become saturated with buddha qualities. In this way, these bodhisattvas observe the buddha qualities.”
458. 1.458  Then the youthful Mañjuśrī praised the Blessed One with these verses: “Blessed One, phenomena are nondual.
     Separation between phenomena does not exist.
     This is the defining characteristic of phenomena,
     And yet a defining characteristic of all phenomena does not exist.
459. 1.459  “Just as space is not
     An adequate example for space, The example of phenomena Cannot be applied to anything.
460. 1.460  “Phenomena cannot be seen by phenomena; Phenomena cannot look at phenomena.
     As for knower and phenomena,
     Neither of them exist.
461. 1.461  “The unwise perceive both Buddhas and buddha qualities, Yet there are no buddhas
     Or buddha qualities to be perceived. [F.271.b]
462. 1.462  “ ‘Buddha qualities’ and ‘buddhas’ Are in the domain of immature beings.

As for buddha qualities and buddhas, No one is capable of knowing them.

463. 1.463  “Although we say words like these, No names apply to these phenomena. Phenomena have no names;
     Realize them to be the same as the self.
464. 1.464  “Just as there is no designation for the self, And yet one speaks of ‘the self,’ So phenomena also are labeled; Realize them to be the same as the self.
465. 1.465  “Just as there is no designation for the self, And yet one speaks of ‘the self,’ So the wise should constantly realize That phenomena cannot be labeled.
466. 1.466  “Just as a drawing in the sky Never appeared and never will, So the labels for phenomena Never appeared and never will.
467. 1.467  “Anyone who puts labels on these things, Using designations of insubstantial things, Is not praised by knowledgeable people, But is censured by the wise.
468. 1.468  “Just so, anyone who puts labels Onto phenomena that are labeled Is not praised by knowledgeable people, But is censured by the wise.
469. 1.469  “Going does not exist, yet using the word go The buddhas offer teachings. Just like a drawing in the sky,
     So one should understand phenomena.
470. 1.470  “Just like the trace of a bird in space, ‘Going’ definitely has no existence. Just like a blanket made of turtle hair,
     So one should see the peaceful intrinsic nature.
471. 1.471  “Their nature is that of a reflection of the face in a mirror, So those skilled in teaching explain.

Like the reflection of the face in a mirror, So all phenomena should be seen.

472. 1.472  “When people are in the mountains,
     Their shouts make the rocks resound.
     Just as that echo has not been produced, Likewise no one has produced phenomena.
473. 1.473  “The victorious ones explain phenomena in this way:
     They do not exist nor are they produced.
     They understand phenomena to be self-arisen and then teach. The thus-gone ones act in extraordinary ways. [F.272.a]
474. 1.474  “Whoever realizes the Dharma taught by the victorious ones Is a marvelous guide of people. When a person with good eyesight shows something to a person who is blind

     And they perceive the form, that is extraordinary.

475. 1.475  “When the forms shown by others
     Are seen by people who are blind, that is a marvel. Likewise, having heard your speech, O guide, People obtain faith—that is extraordinary.
476. 1.476  “Such teachings on phenomena
     Should be realized by seekers of liberation. Those who do not see phenomena,
     They see the Thus-Gone One.”
477. 1.477  Then, after the youthful Mañjuśrī had recited these verses before the Blessed One, he asked him, “Blessed One, you teach immature people that no phenomenon has inherent existence and that these teachings on every phenomenon’s lack of inherent existence are not the indirect teachings of the Blessed One. Why is that? Blessed One, you teach that from the beginning no phenomena exist inherently since nothing can be perceived. Indeed how can anything exist? Blessed One, no phenomena can be perceived, therefore no phenomena can be reckoned. Why? Blessed One, all phenomena are like space, nondual and indivisible. Blessed One, we speak about ‘form,’ yet it is nondual and thus cannot be reckoned. This is because, Blessed One, form is like space, nondual and indivisible. Blessed One, to illustrate, no duality can be perceived in space. Likewise, no duality can be perceived in terms of form. Blessed One, in the same way feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are nondual and indivisible. [F.272.b] Why?

Blessed One, consciousness is like space, nondual and indivisible. Blessed One, no matter which form, consciousness, nonduality, or uncompounded phenomenon one considers, none of them are dual or divisible.

478. 1.478  “Blessed One, no matter which feeling, perception, formation, consciousness, nonduality, indivisibility, compounded phenomenon, or uncompounded phenomenon one considers, they are all nondual and indivisible. Although we say, ‘This is a compounded phenomenon and this is an uncompounded phenomenon,’ Blessed One, they should be regarded as nondual. Blessed One, bodhisattva great beings who experience liberation devoid of obscurations are said to act without duality. Blessed One, all past roots of virtue, all future roots of virtue, and all present roots of virtue should be classified as nondual. The roots of virtue from the desire realm, the form realm, the formless realm, and the space of nirvāṇa are all called nondual. Defiled roots of virtue and undefiled roots of virtue are all called nondual. The hearers’ roots of virtue, the solitary buddhas’ roots of virtue, and the buddhas’ roots of virtue are all called nondual. All roots of virtue [F.273.a] and all roots of nonvirtue are nondual and indivisible. Saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are nondual and indivisible. Blessed One, when one is free from any uncertainty or doubt regarding the nondual way of phenomena, one is called a bodhisattva great being who experiences nonduality.”
479. 1.479  Then, at that time, the youthful Mañjuśrī spoke these verses: “Those who realize the nondual way of the victorious ones Have no doubts and are blissful ones.
     They see that there is no aging and dying,
     And they make offerings to the victorious ones and hearers.
480. 1.480  “In the nondual reality beyond distinctions, The blissful ones reveal all teachings.
     When hearing their very words,
     Wise people have no doubts.
481. 1.481  “Abiding in peace free of fault,
     Blissful ones give their unique teachings on awakening. They fully remain in the teachers’ domain
     And abide by the words of the teachers.
482. 1.482  “Those who say, ‘This is form,’
     And say, ‘This is feeling, perception, intention, Compounded phenomena, and consciousness,’ Do not abide by the words of the Teacher.

492. 1.483  “There are some who say, ‘Virtue is excellent And negative actions are bad.’ Such people who act in dualistic ways
     Do not abide by the words of the Teacher.
493. 1.484  “Whoever speaks of ‘the three realms’
     Does not apply the teachings of the sage,
     Because, if in the ultimate reality not a single realm exists, How could there be three realms?
494. 1.485  “Some speak dualistically, saying, ‘This is compounded, While this is uncompounded.’ These people are not enthusiastic about applying The teachings of the Blissful One.
495. 1.486  “Whoever says, ‘This Dharma is nondual,’
     Does not abide by the words of the Teacher. [F.273.b] Indeed, in the Dharma teachings of the Blissful One There is neither duality nor nonduality.
496. 1.487  “Though they say, ‘These are the teachings of the Blissful One,’ The Teacher and his words cannot be observed.
     There is neither a teacher nor teaching,
     Nor does what he explains exist.
497. 1.488  “Whatever he teaches cannot be perceived. Whatever is seen is unborn; Nothing whatsoever can be observed.
     The children of the victorious ones realize in this way.
498. 1.489  “Even the Dharma taught by the Blissful One Cannot be observed. ‘Empty’ or ‘emptiness’—none of that can be observed;
     ‘Without characteristics’ and ‘absence of characteristics’ are the same.
499. 1.490  “And whenever ‘wishlessness’ is explained,
     Wishlessness also cannot be observed.
     Likewise, ‘liberation’ and ‘the liberated’ cannot be observed. This is the Dharma taught by the Blissful One.
500. 1.491  “If one misunderstands and twists
     This Dharma taught by the Blissful One, One is always shackled,
     Trapped like an insect in a spider’s web.
501. 1.492  “Supreme beings, compassionate teachers, Protectors of the world who help living beings, Went through a hundred hardships,
     Gave rise to compassion, and appeared.
502. 1.493  “Those who please conceptually-minded beings Teach that supreme path; While practicing joyfully in accord with the blissful ones, They become followers of the teachings of the blissful ones.
503. 1.494  “Although one instructs using words like coming and going, There is nothing there to observe. ‘That which I teach cannot be observed.’ So the blissful ones teach reality.
504. 1.495  “ ‘Peaceful’ and ‘peace’ do not exist in any way, Nor does the absence of peace exist.
     The teacher of peace also does not exist—
     No ‘peace’ can ever be observed.
505. 1.496  “The state of defilement is nowhere to be found, Nor has anyone become defiled. People with understanding do not exist, [F.274.a] Nor does anyone who teaches it.
506. 1.497  “Likewise, the victorious ones teach the Dharma. Teacher and teaching do not exist; Even the name teaching does not exist.
     This is the reality of the victorious ones that should be realized.
507. 1.498  “Teacher and teaching, sensation and stimulus, Guide and guidance, peace and source of peace Are all like the trace of a bird flying in the sky. The Capable One taught this reality.
508. 1.499  “Whoever realizes this reality Sees the Thus-Gone One. He will serve the lord of humans,
     Acquire wisdom, and realize buddhahood.”
509. 1.500  Then the Blessed One asked the youthful Mañjuśrī, “Mañjuśrī, who can understand these Dharma explanations?” Mañjuśrī replied, “Blessed One, these Dharma explanations are understood through the absence of birth and the absence of cessation.”

The Blessed One asked, “Mañjuśrī, if they are understood through the absence of birth and the absence of cessation, how will you explain the Dharma after awakening to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood?”

Mañjuśrī replied, “Blessed One, if the self and awakening are different, then I have fully awakened to buddhahood.”

The Blessed One said, “Mañjuśrī, if you explain this to ordinary immature beings, you will frighten them.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “If a few intimidating Dharma teachings scare them, Blessed One, will they not be afraid of all Dharma teachings?”

The Blessed One replied, “Mañjuśrī, what does the word fear refer to?” Mañjuśrī said, “Blessed One, fear is another word for error.”
The Blessed One asked, “Mañjuśrī, what does the word error refer to?” Mañjuśrī replied, “Blessed One, [F.274.b] error refers to the limit of reality.” The Blessed One said, “Mañjuśrī, the limit of reality is without fear.” Mañjuśrī said, “Blessed One, yes, that is correct. The limit of reality is not

afraid; it is said to be the absence of fear. Blessed One, it is like this: Even though we do speak of “the limit of reality,” ultimately, the limit of reality cannot be observed. Likewise, Blessed One, neither fear nor the absence of fear can be observed. Blessed One, all phenomena are beyond expression while even this inexpressibility cannot be observed.”

Then, at that time, the youthful Mañjuśrī spoke these verses:

“All phenomena are free of fear,
But this absence of fear does not exist. Phenomena are merely spoken about, But they have no actual features.

“Even a son yet to be born
Is called son,
Though there is no son yet. Relative phenomena are like that.

“They are like the sons of a barren woman, Whose death cannot be observed. Likewise relative phenomena
Also have no observable features.

“Relative phenomena, even relatively, Have never arisen and will not arise, Just as a drawing does not exist When it is traced in space.

“The relative is called relative,

And those who follow this
Are called mistaken.
Those with eyesight speak about what they see.

511. 1.511  “Of relative and ultimate realities, Neither is realized; And still, whoever fails to realize them Does not realize reality.
512. 1.512  “Those who fail to realize the nature of things Are referred to as ordinary beings, And all the protectors of the world Call them the extremists,
513. 1.513  “While those who see reality [F.275.a]
     Are born into the teaching of the buddhas, And even ten billion demons
     Would be powerless to discourage them.
514. 1.514  “Those who realize the peace Of unsurpassed awakening Are wise ones unobscured By either fear or fearlessness.
515. 1.515  “Those who have followed ten million buddhas And experience the ground of peace
     Are wise ones who do not see
     Either fear or fearlessness.
516. 1.516  “Having reached the ground of nonduality, The wise ones have no attachment. They are the children of the lord of humans, Manifestations of his Dharma, children of his mind.
517. 1.517  “They have understood and reached realization, They have attained the supreme Dharma level, And even when they perish
     They have neither pain nor joy.
518. 1.518  “They are not happy in perishing,
     Nor do they have any wish to be alive. These heroic proponents of equanimity Accumulate many virtues.

1.519 “Training on the path for the sake of awakening,

These holders of the Buddha’s line Are within the Buddha’s domain And train just like their father.

520. 1.520  “With diligence and fearlessness They seek omniscience And abide in the peace of nirvāṇa, In order to cure all sentient beings.
521. 1.521  “They reveal the transcendence of suffering To those burning in the world. Without any consideration for themselves,
     They dwell neither in happiness nor in suffering.
522. 1.522  “As though their heads were on fire, They search for soothing peace. For the sake of all sentient beings They also search for the teachings.
523. 1.523  “Day and night, for the happiness of others, They search for the natural state. Even for ten billion eons
     They never forsake their diligence.
524. 1.524  “Sons, wives, wealth, crops,
     Their heads, and likewise their kingdoms— They abandon all without cowardice
     And train in letting them all go.
525. 1.525  “For the sake of all living beings They reach supreme awakening. Such beings endowed with a supreme mind Are difficult to meet or hear.”
526. 1.526  Then, the bodhisattva Sarvābhibhū, who was present in the assembly, [F.275.b] spoke to the Blessed One: “Blessed One, as an analogy, when a bird flies in the sky it travels here and there without support or attachment to the space element. Likewise, Blessed One, the youthful Mañjuśrī abides within the space of phenomena and teaches the Dharma with no attachment. Blessed One, how long will the youthful Mañjuśrī remain within the realm of phenomena?”
527. 1.527  The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva Sarvābhibhū, “Sarvābhibhū, when infinite hundreds of sextillions of buddhas have passed into nirvāṇa, the youthful Mañjuśrī will enter unsurpassed and perfect awakening. When all these thus-gone ones have reached unsurpassed and perfect awakening within their pure buddha realms, he will pass beyond suffering into nirvāṇa.

“Son of noble family, in the past, infinite, innumerable, inconceivable, incomparable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Jñānaketu appeared in the world. Long before his time the thus-gone Jñānākara appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Unsurpassed Wisdom appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Jñānadarśana appeared in the world. Long before that the thus- gone Jñānagocara appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Jñānakoṣa [F.276.a] appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Jñānaketu appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Siṃhanāda appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Siṃhavikrama appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Siṃhamati appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Balapramathana appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Vegadhāra appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Śrīkūṭavināśaka appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Prāmodyarāja appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Balavegavikrama appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Praśāntacarya appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Śāntaprabhāketurāja appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Anantamati appeared in the world. Long before that the thus- gone Anantavinaya appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Padmaketu appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Vimalāsya appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Candraprabha appeared in the world. [F.276.b] Long before that the thus- gone Vimalaprabha appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Sarvaśaṅkitasumardaka appeared in the world. Long before that the thus- gone Avabhāsakara appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Sarvābhibhū appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Amṛtadhāra appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Amṛtakīrti appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Vimalanetra appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Anivartin appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Vimalanetra appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Saugandhikarāja appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Saugandhakaśrī appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Gandharāja appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Pratibhānamati appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Utpalanetra appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Eye of Infinite Appearances appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Sarvaśatrudamana appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone

Abhyudgataparvatarājālaṃkṛta appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone [F.277.a] Brāhmaketu appeared in the world. Long before that the thus-gone Brāhmaśaraṇa appeared in the world. Long before that, there came sixty thousand buddhas in one eon. The first one was called Prabha and the last one was the thus-gone Kīrtiprabha. Long before that, there came forty million buddhas. The first one was called the thus-gone Dīpaṅkara and the last one was the thus-gone Netrasañcāra. Long before that, there came ninety million buddhas in one eon. The first one was the thus-gone Sukhanetra and the last one was the thus-gone Discerned Through Discernment.

“Long before that the thus-gone Nandottama appeared in the world. In the buddha realm of the thus-gone Nandottama there were the bodhisattva great beings Yaśodatta, Vīrapravīṇa, Brāhmanetra, Candana, Great Beauty, Siṃhala, Samantaprāsādika, Anantapratibhāna, Adīnamati, Sūrata, and Sukhasaṃvāsa. These eleven bodhisattvas were gentle and friendly, with hundreds of thousands of qualities, and were observing pure conduct. At that time, there was also a member of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree named Sūryadatta. He was knowledgeable, sharp, and wise. Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree left the city of Ratnavatī with five hundred companions, all of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree, [F.277.b] and arrived at a grove called Myriad Delights. At that time, in that grove, the eleven bodhisattvas were happily engaged in the contemplation on how to best benefit the world. As Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree strolled around the Myriad Delights grove, he saw those holy beings staying there. They were gentle and friendly, neither mean nor arrogant, undistracted, not gossiping, of few words, mindful, wise, knowledgeable, and disciplined.

“Witnessing that they had produced roots of virtue, trained extensively in wisdom, and entrusted themselves to the family of noble ones, he felt admiration for these holy beings. Motivated by such faith he went to meet the eleven holy beings, together with his companions, all of them members of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree. The holy being Yaśodatta saw Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree approaching from afar. Looking at him, he noticed all the movements of the child of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree, including his walk, his gaze, and the way he moved his body. They were like the movements of someone who has observed pure conduct for a long time. Yaśodatta thought, ‘This holy being is a vessel for unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’

“The noble son Yaśodatta then spoke to the ten other holy beings: ‘Venerable ones, Sūryadatta walks like a holy being, a son of the Buddha. He has become a recipient for the unsurpassed Dharma teachings of the

Buddha. You should instruct and give further teachings to this bodhisattva on the way that holy beings arouse compassion. Take him under your care so that this noble son can benefit numerous ordinary beings and manifest as a teacher.’

Accordingly, when Sūryadatta [F.278.a] of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree came to meet them, the eleven holy beings taught him. Realizing that they were noble ones, he saw these holy beings as teachers. He prostrated with his head to the holy beings’ feet and then stood to their side. Then, the noble son Yaśodatta told Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree, ‘Son, Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree, sit down.’

However, Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree remained where he was out of deep respect for these holy beings. Sūryadatta revered these holy beings like a daughter-in-law who stands before her parents-in- law. When someone suffering from a disease finally sees the doctor from a distance, they begin already to feel a sense of relief. Likewise, Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree felt relief as soon as he saw these sons of noble family. When people sentenced to death are saved by someone who acts out of a wish to save them, to help them, and to make them happy, those who are freed will consider that savior to be their refuge and they will think of their savior’s love and care, thus keeping their savior’s deeds at the forefront of their minds. This is how Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree looked up to the holy beings, seeing them as his refuge and remembering their great love and care for him.

“Then the son of good family Yaśodatta said to Sūryadatta, the member of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree, ‘Sūryadatta, it is very rare to find thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened buddhas who have appeared in the world. The appearance of thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened buddhas in the world is as rare as the bloom of an uḍumbara flower in this world. [F.278.b] It is that rare that they teach their Dharma, which is unlike anything in the world, is in opposition to the world, and has a depth that is hard to fathom, difficult to realize, beyond intellectual examination, not within the intellectual domain of any non-Buddhist opponent, not comprehended by hearers, not known by solitary buddhas, and not experienced by bodhisattvas. It is toward these thus-gone ones that you should engender devotion. If you respect them, honor them, become insightful, develop loving kindness, let wisdom emerge, develop awareness, manifest the superknowledges, and apply yourself to the branches of awakening, those teachings will be right in front of you.

“ ‘How do the thus-gone ones teach the Dharma that is unlike anything in the world? Sūryadatta, all phenomena are without reality, like drawings in the sky. These teachings are unlike anything else in the world. Sūryadatta, it is like this: Drawings in the sky never have existed and never will. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form is like the sky with no inherent nature. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also like the sky and have no inherent nature. Sūryadatta, it is like the analogy of a drawing in the sky, which has never come into being. In the same way, forms are unborn. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also unborn. Sūryadatta, it is like the analogy of a drawing in the sky, which does not cease. Just like that, Sūryadatta, form does not cease. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness also never cease to exist. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which has never come and will never go. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form also does not come and does not go. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness also do not come and do not go. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, [F.279.a] which is unborn and unarisen. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form is also unborn and unarisen. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also unborn and unarisen. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which has never gone through transference and was never born. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form is also not transferred and born. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also not transferred and born. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which has never arisen in any way. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form also does not arise in any way. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness also do not arise in any way. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which is unborn and does not exist. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form is also unborn and does not exist. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also unborn and do not exist. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which is not established and has no real existence. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form is also not established and has no real existence. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also not established and have no real existence. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which is inexpressible and cannot be described. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form is also inexpressible and cannot be described. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also inexpressible and cannot be described.

“ ‘Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which cannot be labeled and never will be. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form also cannot be labeled, and it never will be. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness also cannot be labeled and never will be. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which is nothing but a mere convention. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form is also nothing but a mere convention. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness [F.279.b] are also nothing but mere conventions. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which is merely relative; there is no other drawing in the sky that is not merely a relative phenomenon. Likewise, Sūryadatta, form is also merely relative; there is no form that is not a merely relative phenomenon. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also merely relative; apart from being relative phenomena there is no feeling, and so on. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which is a mere name; there is no other drawing in the sky that is not merely a name. Likewise, form is also a mere name; there is no form that is not merely a name. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also merely names; apart from being merely names there is no other feeling, and so on. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which is a mere expression; there is no other drawing in the sky that is not merely an expression. Likewise, form is also merely an expression; there is no form that is not merely an expression. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also merely expressions; apart from expressions there is no other feeling, and so on. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which is merely a label; there is no other drawing in the sky that is not merely a label. Likewise, form is also merely a label; there is no form that is not merely a label. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also merely labels; apart from being merely labels there is no other feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which is merely an idea; there is no other drawing in the sky that is not merely an idea. Likewise, form, [F.280.a] feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also merely ideas; there is no other form, feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness that is not merely an idea. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy a drawing in the sky, which is a mere designation; there is no other drawing in the sky that is not merely a designation. Likewise, form, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are also merely designations; there is no other form, feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness that is not merely a designation. Sūryadatta, take as an analogy words indicating a drawing in the sky, which cannot be observed on the ultimate level. Likewise, so-called ‘form,’ ‘feeling,’ ‘perception,’ ‘formation,’ and ‘consciousness’ have never been observed by the thus-gone ones of the past, nor will they be observed by the thus-gone ones of the future, or those of the present.

“ ‘Sūryadatta, in the past when the blessed buddhas were practicing bodhisattva conduct in order to realize this wisdom, they abandoned all pleasant and valuable things yet felt no discouragement. Those who abide by this wisdom do not see in a worldly way. Those who abide by this wisdom do not follow worldly pursuits. Those who abide by this wisdom will not label. Those who abide by this wisdom have awakened to perfect buddhahood. Those who abide by this wisdom are unperturbed by the cycle of existence. Those who abide by this wisdom are not involved with saṃsāra, nor are they involved with nirvāṇa. Those who abide by this wisdom are not involved with defilement or with purification. Those who abide by this wisdom do not experience peace, nor do they experience an absence of peace.’

“When he heard the holy being Yaśodatta’s explanation, Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree praised that explanation and rejoiced. [F.280.b]

“Next, the eleven holy beings spoke to Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree in order to inspire him with joy: ‘Son of noble family, you have heard this profound Dharma, yet you have not been frightened. You are not scared at all, utterly unafraid, and you have not lost your senses. Excellent! Excellent! Son of noble family, this is the basis for your training.’

“When Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree heard this profound, stainless Dharma teaching, he was filled with contentment and satisfaction, and he rejoiced full of happiness. Filled with joy and happiness, he perfected the profound buddha qualities. [B7]

“Then Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree and the eleven great beings went to meet the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Nandottama. They bowed their heads to the feet of the blessed one and stood to one side. Then the great being Yaśodatta prayed to the thus-gone Nandottama with these verses:

“ ‘The guides rejoice in those who are skilled In the way to abide in the realm of peace. Supreme being, please teach
The way to become a perfect being!

“ ‘Hearing the teachings of the knower of the world, People enter supreme awakening.
Those who hear them become great sages—
This is the way taught to cure beings.

“ ‘As I entered my family of the blissful ones, The sages praised the buddhas’ wisdom
And the victorious ones rejoiced—
Hearing that inspired me to stand firm. [F.281.a]

1.545

“ ‘Victorious One, all those teachings I have sought

Please explain to me, O guide.
Those teachings fully known by the teachers, Guide, teach us well, leaving nothing out!

546. 1.546  “ ‘Because the guide of the world Nandottama Trained in the conduct of the victors’ children, He became the chief guide of people
     And revealed all buddha qualities.
547. 1.547  “ ‘All “qualities” are of a single characteristic:
     They are free of characteristics and have no characteristics.
     They are peace, without “I,” without movement, without good qualities, Without eloquence, peaceful, and without life.
548. 1.548  “ ‘The qualities of the victors are devoid of affliction and purification. They have no substance and are nothing at all.
     There is no teacher and no teaching.
     There is no explanation and no one explaining.
549. 1.549  “ ‘They are not sensation and there is no one feeling. They are not cognition and there is no one knowing. They are not anyone and there is no one doing anything. They have neither been made nor added to.
550. 1.550  “ ‘There is no one who adopts and no one who rejects. There is no one speaking and no one listening.
     There is no one who knows and no cognition.
     No one sees them as real.
551. 1.551  “ ‘They are neither peace nor agitation.
     There is no one causing peace and no one who has caused peace. They are neither made nor not made.
     There is no mind and no one producing sensations.
552. 1.552  “ ‘They are neither compounded nor uncompounded.
     They are neither transmigration nor a lack of transmigration. They neither come nor go.
     They are undying and unborn.
553. 1.553  “ ‘They lack birth and are not something born.
     They have no cessation nor are they perishable.
     They know neither stability nor destruction.
     In this way the qualities of the victorious ones are indestructible.

1.554 “ ‘This is the way the qualities of the victorious ones should be understood.

555. 1.555  “ ‘The guides, the thus-gone ones of the past, Have taught in this very same way. The guides, the buddhas of the future,
     Will also explain in the very same way. [F.281.b]
556. 1.556  “ ‘All the guides who come at present,
     All these victors, teach in the very same way. The bodhisattvas who know
     The intrinsic nature are fearless.
557. 1.557  “ ‘They also realize the ground of peace—
     The wise teach what is difficult to know.
     The victors’ principal disciples who know this much Free oppressed wandering beings from misery.
558. 1.558  “ ‘They have incomparable compassion for these beings. Indeed, they always feel loving kindness for all beings. Because they abide in emptiness
     They do not doubt the teachings of the victorious ones.
559. 1.559  “ ‘Since they abide in the absence of characteristics They also have no aspirations. Just as the wind doe not obstruct space,
     These courageous ones have no attachment to beings.
560. 1.560  “ ‘For tens of millions of eons they cycle in saṃsāra Offering teachings to tens of millions of sentient beings; Defilement entirely comes to an end,
     And beings reach sacred awakening in buddhahood.
561. 1.561  “ ‘If the demons should pose as millions of buddhas, The hearers would know and tell them,
     “I have realized the nature of phenomena
     And you are no guide.
562. 1.562  “ ‘ “I have cultivated the flawless eye of wisdom And thus have cleared all doubts. I do not rely on anyone else to know what is empty. You, you are no supreme being—go away!”
563. 1.563  “ ‘Since the victorious ones teach the nature of phenomena in this way, And the children of the guides rest in that state,
     Quintillions of demons cannot overcome them;
     Even a mountain of demons could not deter them.’

564. 1.564  “When Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree heard the blessed thus-gone Nandottama utter these verses6 suffused with emptiness, he gained corresponding roots of virtue. Attaining the roots of virtue in such a manner, he rose above the ground to the height of seven palm trees. In infinite world systems in the ten directions he saw infinite quintillions of bodhisattvas accomplishing bodhisattva practices through a variety of skillful means. [F.282.a] He saw infinite quintillions of bodhisattvas going through death and transference from the Heaven of Joy and entering mothers’ wombs. He saw infinite quintillions of bodhisattvas each receiving offerings from one hundred thousand gods while they were in their mothers’ wombs. He saw infinite quintillions of bodhisattvas taking the seven steps upon birth. He also saw infinite quintillions of bodhisattvas renouncing their homes, and infinite quintillions of bodhisattvas reaching perfect awakening. He saw Śakra and Brahmā requesting infinite buddhas to turn the wheel of the Dharma. He saw infinite blessed buddhas turning the wheel of the Dharma. He saw infinite blessed buddhas guiding beings through infinite approaches. He saw infinite blessed buddhas in the worlds in the ten directions going beyond suffering within the realm of nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates. Then, while resting in midair, Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree praised in verses the blessed thus-gone Nandottama:
565. 1.565  “ ‘Excellent, excellent, supreme among all humans.
     Guide, these Dharma teachings you have taught
     Are like a bird’s trace in the sky.
     They are insubstantial, incomparable, and nothing whatsoever.
566. 1.566  “ ‘Free of characteristics, like letters traced in the sky, This is the Dharma taught by the blissful ones.
     Like emanations producing further manifestations, The victorious ones do not teach in actuality.
567. 1.567  “ ‘Like optical illusions that occur during spring, Which appear but lack reality, [F.282.b]
     The blissful ones teach the Dharma,
     And the Teacher himself is also like that.
568. 1.568  “ ‘Whatever doubt and hesitation I might have had, They left me in the guide’s presence.
     May I know the Dharma taught by the Blissful One And guide beings to liberation!

1.569 “ ‘May I purify supreme, excellent realms of the victorious ones

With all the accomplishments of the ten strengths,
And having become a buddha, supreme among humans, May I bring realization to those bereft of realization!

570. 1.570  “ ‘For beings carried off by the ocean of existence,
     Who are devoid of abode, refuge, and support,
     May I become their refuge and free them from suffering. May I show them the abode free from old age and death.
571. 1.571  “ ‘May I also transform the experiences of one quintillion demons Into the domain of the victorious ones.
     May I bring sentient beings out of the land of the demons
     And lead them to the country of the great sage.
572. 1.572  “ ‘The blissful ones teach the Dharma of peace. Those who hear it do not hear anything. Rather, they abide in the supreme way
     And become guides to teach living beings.
573. 1.573  “ ‘Anyone who realizes the nature of things,
     And in front of the Teacher, the lord of victors, Becomes learned in all the treatises and free of fear, Will become an unsurpassed blissful one.
574. 1.574  “ ‘Those who realize this emptiness Free from an idea of “empty” Become flawless blissful ones
     And liberate many millions of living beings.
575. 1.575  “ ‘Wise people have no liking for filth And no attachment to the tastes of food. The realized aspire to remoteness— They are wise, holy persons.
576. 1.576  “ ‘The pure, who are praised by those with the ten strengths, Remain steadfast at all times. Always delighting in the noble family,
     With great joy they attain supreme awakening.
577. 1.577  “ ‘Those teachings that the blissful ones praise
     They see, stable in their knowledge of them.
     The awakening of the blissful ones who abide in such peace [F.283.a] Is praised by the guides of the world.

1.578 “ ‘Guide, from your teaching today I have heard about what is empty,

And I have realized unsurpassed wisdom.
I will become a buddha, a lord among humans, And liberate unwise wandering beings.

“ ‘Sage, I take refuge in you,
In whom no mistaken understanding can be found. You have no doubt regarding any phenomenon. That is why there is no one like you in the world.

“ ‘By praising the guide, the Blissful One, I have accumulated considerable merit. Through these virtuous actions,
May I become a lord of beings!’

“Because of the roots of virtue that arose when Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree praised the blessed thus-gone Nandottama with these verses, he never became deranged or stupid for an inexpressible number of eons. Whenever and wherever he was born, he became a great being guiding others. Never did he regress. Never did others influence him. Never was he swayed by others. For inexpressible numbers of eons he constantly matured sentient beings, not resting even for a moment.

“Sarvābhibhū, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, the noble son Yaśodatta was someone else, then, Sarvābhibhū, you should reconsider that. That is because at that time, on that occasion, the noble son Bhadrapāla was the noble son Yaśodatta.

“Sarvābhibhū, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, Essence of Knowledge was someone else, then, Sarvābhibhū, you should reconsider that. That is because at that time, on that occasion, the noble son Ratnākara was the noble son Essence of Knowledge. [F.283.b]

“Sarvābhibhū, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, Sandalwood Essence was someone else, then, Sarvābhibhū, you should reconsider that. That is because at that time, on that occasion, the bodhisattva Protector was the noble son Sandalwood Essence.

“Sarvābhibhū, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, the noble son Brāhmanetra was someone else, then, Sarvābhibhū, you should reconsider that. That is because at that time, on that occasion, the bodhisattva Sārthavāhabhadra was the noble son Brāhmanetra.

“And likewise the bodhisattva Agnidatta was the noble son Sūrata. At that time, on that occasion, the bodhisattva Bhadrapāla was the noble son Matidhara. At that time, on that occasion, the bodhisattva Indradatta was the noble son Dhāraṇa. At that time, on that occasion, the bodhisattva Varuṇa was the noble son Anantapratibhāna.

“Sarvābhibhū, what do you think? If you think that at that time, on that occasion, Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree was someone else, then, Sarvābhibhū, you should reconsider that. That is because the youthful bodhisattva Mañjuśrī at that time, on that occasion, was Sūryadatta of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree.

“In this way, Sarvābhibhū, the bodhisattva great beings who are not influenced by others, who do not want to be led by others, and who refuse to be swayed by others, rely on, accompany, and serve a spiritual friend respectfully in order to experience the realm of phenomena. In order to receive the profound Dharma, one should be very inquisitive.”

The youthful Mañjuśrī then asked the Blessed One, [F.284.a] “Blessed One, the bodhisattva Sarvābhibhū gave rise to these strengths and experienced the realm of phenomena as a result. With how many perfect buddhas did he generate roots of virtue? How many blessed buddhas did he question?”

“Mañjuśrī,” the Blessed One replied, “even if all the earth of the great trichiliocosm, and all its grasses and trees, branches and leaves, were ground into particles, these particles could still be counted. But the blessed buddhas with whom the bodhisattva Sarvābhibhū generated roots of virtue, the blessed buddhas with whom he was introduced to and experienced the realm of phenomena, and those who taught him skillful means, are incalculable.

“Mañjuśrī, in the past, innumerable, infinite, inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, and inexpressible numbers of eons ago, during the Śāntaskandhin eon, the thus-gone one who had purified infinite, immeasurable, and inexpressibly vast buddha realms, the one with proper knowledge and conduct, the blissful one, the knower of the world, the most excellent guide who trains beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the blessed buddha Indradhvaja, appeared in the world. In the thus-gone Indradhvaja’s buddha realm there was a monk called Valiant who was learned, perspicacious, astute, realized, and wise. This monk went to pay homage to the blessed, [F.284.b] thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Indradhvaja. He paid respect to the thus-gone Indradhvaja for eight quintillion years, retained the thus-gone one’s explanations, and did not pursue any selfish aims. Indeed, he paid homage to the thus-gone one with the mind of omniscience for eight quintillion years, and delighted infinite hundreds of billions of buddhas with his roots of virtue. He paid homage to all the thus-gone ones and paid reverence to all of them with the mind of omniscience. He retained the teachings all the thus-gone ones imparted at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end.

“Next came the Śāntagarbha eon, during which time ninety million buddhas appeared. The bodhisattva pleased all the awakened blessed ones and paid homage to them. Having done so with the mind of omniscience, he retained the teachings all the thus-gone ones imparted at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end.

“Then followed the Candraprabha eon, at which time the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Precious Learned King came. The life of the thus- gone Precious Learned King spanned eight hundred million eons. The bodhisattva Valiant served him beautifully during those eight hundred million eons without ever being displeasing. During those eight hundred million eons the thus-gone Precious Learned King introduced Valiant to the realm of phenomena, [F.285.a] showing him how to understand the realm of phenomena, which is like a drawing made in the sky. For eight hundred million eons he showed him how all phenomena are like drawings in the sky. ‘Valiant,’ he said, ‘the four primary elements may be transformed into something else, but all phenomena are like drawings in the sky, and that will never change, not even in the slightest.’

“When the bodhisattva Valiant heard how to understand the realm of phenomena, he gained strength in the roots of virtue. As a result of acquiring strength in the roots of virtue, he rose into the sky up to the height of seven palm trees. He saw infinite worlds in the ten directions in which infinite bodhisattvas awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. Some were turning the wheel of the unsurpassed Dharma, some were displaying all manner of miracles to guide beings, some were abandoning their lives, and some were passing beyond suffering into nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates. This inspired him to praise the blessed thus-gone Precious Learned King with these profound verses:

“ ‘Seeking the incomparable peace of awakening, I have given rise to great, heartfelt devotion
For ten billion past buddhas,
And served respectfully these guides of old.

“ ‘Never thinking of anything else,
I have left my mind in emptiness at all times.
The blissful ones have taught that phenomena are empty— Phenomena are nothing but the mind’s thoughts.

“ ‘I outshine all extremists,
Ignorant beings who speak of an individual identity in things. All phenomena are like the reflection of the moon in water—
I do not have the slightest doubt about it!

607. 1.598  “ ‘I heard and realized the blissful ones’ explanations
     On how the eye is ultimately empty.
     The eye is not an eye,
     The Blessed One explained to people who lack insight. [F.285.b]
608. 1.599  “ ‘He said that surely the nose, tongue, ears, and likewise The body are also devoid of inherent existence.
     Likewise, thoughts and the thinker are also emptiness; Mind is bare and empty.
609. 1.600  “ ‘Form also is devoid and empty of form. Sounds, scents, tastes, and textures are empty. All phenomena are empty of inherent existence, The sense fields are devoid of inherent existence, And likewise the elements are empty of elements.
610. 1.601  “ ‘Reality is also empty of reality. For beings who lack sharpness And do not understand the emptiness of things,
     He said that everything is like the trace of a bird in the sky.
611. 1.602  “ ‘Nothing has inherent existence,
     And things never become the cause of other things.
     When something lacks inherent existence,
     It is devoid of intrinsic nature and cannot condition other things.
612. 1.603  “ ‘How could that which lacks inherent existence Arise from something other? This causality is taught by the blissful ones.
613. 1.604  “ ‘All phenomena remain stable, unmoving—
     A state of peace that is unchanging and without harm. Just like space, nothing can be perceived—
     This point maddens unwise beings.
614. 1.605  “ ‘Just as mountains are unmoving,
     Just so phenomena are never altered.
     Phenomena have no death, transference, or rebirth— This is what the victorious ones have taught.
615. 1.606  “ ‘Whoever genuinely realizes phenomena Honors the victorious guides. Those who do not emphasize this
     Do not pay homage to the reality of the victorious ones.
616. 1.607  “ ‘Whoever realizes phenomena as they are
     Pays respect to the victorious ones, the blissful ones;
     They pay homage to the victorious ones through the Dharma And awaken to supreme buddhahood.
617. 1.608  “ ‘Those who realize phenomena as they are
     Are wise people who uphold the family of the victorious ones; They hold the teachings of the blissful ones
     And awaken to supreme buddhahood.
618. 1.609  “ ‘One hundred victors explain emptiness, [F.286.a] Which one hundred billion bodhisattvas retain. Those who are wise do not doubt
     That this is the blissful ones’ route to awakening.
619. 1.610  “ ‘Today I have found the intrinsic nature—
     The Dharma taught by the blissful ones.
     I have become a guide, supreme among humans,
     Who will liberate beings who experience intense suffering.
620. 1.611  “ ‘Because I understand emptiness in this way,
     Today I pay homage to the father of the Dharma.
     Since in every respect you are the greatest human being, Blissful One, I take refuge in you.’
621. 1.612  “In everything that was produced as a result of the roots of virtue from praising the blessed thus-gone Precious Learned King with verses suffused with emptiness, the bodhisattva Valiant outshone all other beings in retention, tranquility, and knowledge.
622. 1.613  “Mañjuśrī, if you think that at that time, on that occasion, the bodhisattva Valiant was someone else, then, Mañjuśrī, you should reconsider that. That is because the bodhisattva Sarvābhibhū at that time, on that occasion, was the bodhisattva Valiant. Thus, Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great beings who wish to purify inexpressibly vast buddha realms should train in emptiness as the gateway to liberation. When they train in this, their minds must be free from defilement and unhindered. When their minds are without defilement and unhindered, they can perform any action they focus on. Mañjuśrī, if you train in this emptiness, you will gain such wisdom that you will accomplish everything you wish for. Everything will turn out according to your wishes —this is the kind of wisdom that you will gain.
623. 1.614  “Mañjuśrī, to the east, past ten buddha realms, there is a world called Ever-Shining [F.286.b] where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Vegadhāra.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past eighteen buddha realms, there is a world called Wealthy where beings know me as the thus-gone Pure Eyes.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past sixty buddha realms, there is a world called Śubhāśaya where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Conceiver of All Things.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past a hundred buddha realms, there is a world called Vaiḍūryagarbha where beings know me as the thus-gone Suvarṇaskandhin.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past two million buddha realms, there is a world called Golden where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Śrīgarbha.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east of this buddha realm, past eight hundred thousand buddha realms, there is a world called Śāntacarya where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Indrarāja.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past a hundred thousand buddha realms, there is a world called Cloud Color where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Balarāja.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past three hundred buddha realms, there is a world called Manojñagandha [F.287.a] where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Parvatarāja.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past thirty-eight thousand buddha realms, there is a world called Mirror Appearance where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Gandharāja.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past eight hundred million buddha realms, there is a world called Candrāloka where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Vanquisher of Aging and Death.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past nine hundred million buddha realms, there is a world called Kālagata where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Śramaṇa King.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are grains of sands in the river Ganges, there is a world called Equal Life where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Gandhottama.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are grains of sand in thirty-eight Ganges rivers, there is a world called Ritual of Peace where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Pure Intelligence.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in sixty buddha realms, there is a world called Anindita [F.287.b] where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Ratnavyūha.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in an inexpressible number of world systems, there is a world called Everlasting Jewel where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha King of Majestic Nobility.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are particles in ten inexpressibly vast world systems, there is a world called Ratnākara where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Cīrṇavrata.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in eighteen inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Established Mind where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Crown King.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in twenty-five inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Truly Gone where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Arising Crown.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in twenty-five inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Nigama where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Sarvābhibhū. [F.288.a]

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in thirty inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Scent of Bliss where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Aniketacārin.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in thirty- one inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Avakīrṇakusuma where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Īśvara.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in thirty- eight inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Campaka Color where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Yaśodeva.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in forty inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Divine Manifestation where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Apratiṣṭhita.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in forty- one inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Prasiddha where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha King of Melody.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, [F.288.b] past as many worlds as there are particles in seventy-one inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Anindita where beings know me as the thus-gone Bhaiṣajyarāja.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in seventy-four inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Golden where beings know me as the thus-gone King of Majestic Impermanence.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east there is a world called Pratimaṇḍita where beings know me as the thus-gone Respecting.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east there is a world called Golden Crest where beings know me as the thus-gone Cleansed of the Stains of Affliction.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in forty- four inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Abhyudgata where beings know me as the thus-gone Śrīgarbha.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east there is a world called Avabhāsin where beings know me as the thus-gone Śrīkūṭa.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many worlds as there are particles in thirty- one inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Yaśasvin where beings know me as the thus-gone Pacifier of Disturbing Emotions. [F.289.a]

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are particles in thirty-five inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Tejasvin where beings know me as the thus-gone Intelligent.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are particles in thirty-six inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Brahmā’s Advent where beings know me as the thus-gone Śrītejorāja.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are particles in thirty-seven inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Joyful Buddha where beings know me as the thus-gone Matirāja.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are particles in thirty-eight inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Jewel Door where beings know me as the thus-gone Master of the World.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are particles in thirty-four inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Ratnaśikhara where beings know me as the thus-gone Puṣya.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are particles in thirty inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Ratnakusumasampuṣpita where beings know me as the thus-gone Equal to the Earth. [F.289.b]

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are particles in thirty-four inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Extreme Beauty where beings know me as the thus-gone Sarvārthadarśa.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are particles in thirty-five inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Candanagandha where beings know me as the thus-gone Infinite Appearances.

“Mañjuśrī, to the east, past as many buddha realms as there are particles in forty inexpressibly vast buddha realms, there is a world called Abhibhava where beings know me as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Sarvārthasiddha.

“Mañjuśrī, when I accomplish awakened activities in the different buddha realms I have just enumerated, sentient beings know me by a different name each time, and even if I were to speak for an inexpressible eon you could not know all my buddha realms in just the eastern direction. Likewise, in buddha realms in all directions, sentient beings know me as thus-gone ones with different names, and even if I were to speak for an inexpressible eon it would be difficult to go through all the different buddha realms in their entirety. Mañjuśrī, sentient beings with few roots of virtue feel inspired when they hear about my immeasurable buddha realms. Mañjuśrī, if bodhisattvas who have entered this vehicle and who have pleased their spiritual friends in this vehicle were to give rise to doubt when they hear about my infinite buddha realms, [F.290.a] how much more so would that be true for followers of the vehicle of the hearers, followers of the vehicle of the solitary buddhas, and for ordinary, immature beings?

“Mañjuśrī, I clearly recall the past. Many infinite, innumerable, inconceivable eons ago, in a world called Fount of Qualities, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Anantavīrya appeared. At that time, on that occasion, I was a girl from the brahmin caste called Anantamati. The thus- gone Anantavīrya was surrounded by eight trillion bodhisattvas, all of whom had entered the Great Vehicle. They had entered infinite vehicles. They had entered innumerable vehicles. They had entered inconceivable vehicles. They had entered incomparable vehicles. They had entered immeasurable vehicles. They had entered inexpressible vehicles. The blessed thus-gone Anantavīrya explained to them how he purified his infinite buddha realms, and I too, because of wishing to attain perfect awakening, served and venerated the blessed thus-gone Anantavīrya.

“As I heard about the purification of this buddha’s infinite realms, I prayed, ‘May my buddha realms be much vaster than his!’ and dedicated all the roots of virtue to the purification of vast buddha realms. The blessed thus-gone Anantavīrya did in fact prophesy my awakening into unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, as well as my purification of limitless buddha realms. Thus, as I never relinquished my diligence in pursuit of unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood and the purification of vast buddha realms, I continued to serve immeasurable quintillions of buddhas. [F.290.b] The roots of virtue accumulated in this way led me to purify vast buddha realms and awaken into unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.”

637. 1.637  At that time, the Blessed One recounted these verses of the girl Anantamati: “Within indescribable saṃsāra, Inconceivably long ago,
     I began striving diligently
     To unfold the extent of the buddha realms.
638. 1.638  “Known as Anantavīrya,
     You have appeared, incomparable being.
     You train millions of beings,
     Teaching to worldly beings including the gods.
639. 1.639  “Anantavīrya, you possess all buddha qualities. You have perfected the strengths, Are firm in the fearlessnesses,
     And learned in the correct understandings.
640. 1.640  “You have the power of knowing what is correct and incorrect, Can perceive karma, and have actualized wisdom;
     You can see all actions
     And the way they ripen without doubt.
641. 1.641  “You know the different dispositions And are a deft guide for beings.
     Of the faiths of sentient beings, You know them all, fully and completely.
642. 1.642  “You also know the different levels Of the faculties of sentient beings. Of the supreme faculties and the ordinary ones, You know them all, fully and completely.
643. 1.643  “In the freedom of concentration and wisdom, The perfection of absorption, Equipoise, and the immeasurable contemplations, You, holy being, have trained.

644. 1.644  “Through the absorption of the buddhas There is nothing you do not know. Knowing everything and seeing everything, Nothing obscures your vision.
645. 1.645  “I have asked you, Thus-Gone One,
     About the extent of your buddha realm, And you have spoken to me for a great eon About your vast buddha realms.
646. 1.646  “The defiled as well as the pure, You know it all completely— There is no phenomenon anywhere That you do not know!
647. 1.647  “The faults of the buddha realms [F.291.a]
     And all their qualities you know perfectly well. The vast teachings of the buddhas—
     Lord among humans, explain them to us we pray!
648. 1.648  “The maturation of sentient beings, The way in which people awaken, The disturbing emotions by which beings are afflicted, The way the unwise thus circle in saṃsāra,
649. 1.649  “And any disturbing emotion that people generate— You know them all! People’s paths and their minds, Guide, you know them!
650. 1.650  “How absorption arises, How it is maintained, And how people emerge from their absorption— Teacher, you know all these perfectly well!
651. 1.651  “The concentrations and the immeasurable contemplations, All absorptions that there are, Tranquility and special insight— All aspects you know perfectly well.
652. 1.652  “The way phenomena are labeled
     And the circumstances through which they are explained— Teacher, this you know perfectly well,
     And you have no doubt about it.

653. 1.653  “You practiced for millions of eons
     And from this your wisdom emerged.
     Teacher, great sage endowed with the strengths, You found the power of strength.
654. 1.654  “All the infinite, inconceivable practices That I and all others have done For a hundred billion eons, You know them all.
655. 1.655  “Where and how we will awaken, And all the births we have taken, You, guide of beings, Know all of it precisely.
656. 1.656  “Where and how beings are born, Into which family, And what activities they engage in, You, guide of beings, know them all.
657. 1.657  “Down to the last,
     You, guide, know the ways of saṃsāra And where beings are born.
     The Thus-Gone One is aware of it all.
658. 1.658  “The kind of wisdom that explains How things were in former times, You know this, wise one, Beyond a trace of doubt.
659. 1.659  “The discipline and Dharma,
     The kind of practice to be applied, And the wisdom to be embraced— Guide, these you know perfectly. [F.291.b]
660. 1.660  “What actions, accomplished by whom, Producing which birth as a wandering being, And how karmic ripening is experienced— Protector, these you know perfectly.
661. 1.661  “The ways of their abode And their uninterrupted lives You also know completely.
     That is why you have no hesitation.

671. 1.662  “Any thought engendered in anybody, This also you know well. The causes of such thoughts
     Are no secret to you, guide of beings.
672. 1.663  “Past abodes you know. There is no one like you; Guide of beings, you are like Ten billion buddhas.
673. 1.664  “Remembering the virtues of each living being, You know them perfectly. That is why the guide’s wisdom is unhindered Toward the qualities of the buddha.
674. 1.665  “What kind of continuum Inhabits which kind of body, You know all of that in your omniscience.
     That is why there is none greater than the Victorious One.
675. 1.666  “Guide, you know all phenomena Without the slightest doubt. Everything that beings experience, You see with the eyes of a buddha.
676. 1.667  “You know birth, death, and transference. There is no one like you. In the whole world including the gods There is none greater than you, sage.
677. 1.668  “The exhaustion of defilements you know fully; You have realized it fully. You have eliminated all disturbing emotions And have even overcome all karmic traces.
678. 1.669  “All sentient beings’ disturbing emotions
     And their conduct you know, O guide.
     You know who experiences disturbing emotions And how these disturbing emotions arise.
679. 1.670  “You know perfectly All the karmic traces Left by indulging in disturbing emotions— You have gone beyond them.
680. 1.671  “You know perfectly
     The paths followed by you and others That abandon disturbing emotions. That is why you master the path.
681. 1.672  “After I offer these praises to Anantavīrya—
     The protector of all worlds, the guide of beings— [F.292.a] Infinite quintillions of eons will pass,
     And I will come as another being.
682. 1.673  “Leaving here, I will be born in the god realms, Always as the lord of the gods. To infinite millions of gods
     I will show the way to realize the wisdom of the victorious ones.
683. 1.674  “Then I will die and transmigrate from the abodes of the gods And become a king, a lord of humans.
     To infinite billions of sentient beings
     I will show the way to realize the wisdom of the victorious ones.
684. 1.675  “Hearing my Dharma teachings
     They will be inspired with incomparable respect, Their minds will rest,
     And they will listen with pure minds.
685. 1.676  “Infinite millions of sentient beings
     Will be destined for supreme awakening. Those who hear my words and realize them Will surely awaken as buddhas.
686. 1.677  “Even if infinite millions of buddhas
     Taught the vastness of buddha realms
     For infinite billions of eons,
     It would not suffice to explain how vast they are.
687. 1.678  “Buddhas’ qualities may be talked about,
     The great sages may praise buddha realms,
     Yet all are explained to be empty of inherent existence And shown to be unborn and unceasing.
688. 1.679  “This praise to the Buddha,
     Any teaching of the Buddha’s qualities,
     And any blissful ones’ talk of buddha realms— Any explanation they give is like that too.

“Phenomena are peace, the blissful ones explain.
This peaceful nature cannot be found.
Whatever is explained is empty too;
This is maddening for wandering beings bereft of protector.

“After the girl Anantamati of the brahmin caste like a great śāla tree had praised the blessed thus-gone Anantavīrya with these verses, she changed sex and was never again reborn in a female body. Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva great beings who wish to purify buddha realms beyond measure and fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood [F.292.b] should therefore train in emptiness devoid of obscurations, which accomplishes the bodhisattvas’ liberation.”

When the Blessed One delivered this Dharma teaching this entire buddha realm shook in six ways: it quivered, trembled, and quaked; wobbled, rocked, and swayed; vibrated, shuddered, and reeled; rattled, shook, and convulsed; clattered, rattled, and clanged; and boomed, thundered, and roared. When the east lowered, the west rose, and when the west lowered, the east rose. When the south moved down, the north went up, and when the north moved down, the south went up. When the center sank the periphery sprang up, and when the periphery sank, the center sprang up.

The minds of sixty-six quintillion living beings experienced liberation from defilement with no further grasping. Monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen in immeasurable number saw phenomena in their purity with the Dharma eye free of defilement and impurity. Quintillions of bodhisattvas in infinite number developed acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Thousands of living beings in infinite number, including gods and humans, who had not previously engendered the mind of awakening, now set their minds toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening.

When the Blessed One had spoken, the eighty-four thousand bodhisattvas, all the monks, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.

This concludes the noble Great Vehicle sūtra “The Jewel Mine.”

c. Colophon

c.1 The Indian paṇḍitas Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi, as well as the translator- editor, Venerable Yeshé Dé, edited and finalized the text after revising it in accordance with the new language register.

n.

NOTES

1. n.1  The Denkarma catalog is dated to c. 812 ᴄᴇ. In this catalog, The Jewel Mine is included among the Miscellaneous Sūtras (mdo sde sna tshogs) less than ten sections (bam po) long. Denkarma, 297.a.5. See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 54, no. 95.
2. n.2  Translated based on Peking Yongle: spyod pa ’di na’o. All other witnesses: spyod pa med pa ’di na’o.
3. n.3  Tibetan: ’jigs pa’i mig. Literally “fearful eyes.”
4. n.4  Translated based on Stok: srid ’gags pa. Degé reads srin ’gags pa.
5. n.5  Translated based on Stok: mtho bar yang mi dgongs / dma bar yang mi dgongs pa. Degé and the witnesses in the Comparative Edition read ma thos par yang mi dgongs / dams par yang mi dgongs pa.
6. n.6  Here the text says that these words are spoken by Nandottama, whereas before the verses the text says that it is Yaśodatta who offers these verses to Nandottama.

b.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

’phags pa dkon mchog ’byung gnas zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Toh 124, Degé Kangyur vol. 54 (mdo sde, tha), folios 213.a–292.b.

’phags pa dkon mchog ’byung gnas ces bya ba thegs pa chen po’i mdo. Stok no. 249, Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 77 (mdo sde, la), folios 166.b–291.b.

’phags pa dkon mchog ’byung gnas 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), 2006–2009, vol. 54, pp. 553–739.

Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Degé Tengyur, vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.

Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.

g.

1. g.1  Abhibhava zil gyis gnon pa

   ལ་ས་གནོན་པ།

   Abhibhava

   A world system.

2. g.2  Abhyudgata mngon par ’phags pa

   མན་པར་འཕགས་པ།

   Abhyudgata

GLOSSARY

A world system.

3. g.3  Abhyudgataparvatarājālaṃkṛta mngon par ’phags pa’i ri rgyal ba rgyan pa

   མན་པར་འཕགས་པ་་ལ་བ་ན་པ།

   Abhyudgataparvatarājālaṃkṛta

   A buddha.

4. g.4  Absorption ting nge ’dzin

   ང་་འན།

   samādhi

5. g.5  Adīnamati blo gros mi zhan

   ོ་ས་་ཞན།

   Adīnamati

   A bodhisattva.

6. g.6  Agnidatta

mes sbyin

ས་ན།

Agnidatta

A sage and bodhisattva.

7. g.7  Always Looking rtag tu rnam par lta ba

   ག་་མ་པར་་བ།

   —

   A monk.

8. g.8  Ambrosial Essence bdud rtsi’i snying po

   བད་་ང་པོ།

   Amṛtagarbha

   The name of an eon.

9. g.9  Amṛtadhāra bdud rtsi ’chang

   བད་་འཆང་།

   Amṛtadhāra

   A buddha.

10. g.10  Amṛtakīrti bdud rtsi grags pa

    བད་་གས་པ།

    Amṛtakīrti

    A buddha.

11. g.11  Anabhibhūta zil mi non pa

    ལ་་ནོན་པ།

    Anabhibhūta

    A buddha field in the eastern direction.

12. g.12  Anantamati blo gros mtha’ yas

    ོ་ས་མཐའ་ཡས།

    Anantamati

    A buddha.

13. g.13  Anantamati

blo gros mtha’ yas

ོ་ས་མཐའ་ཡས།

Anantamati

The name of a brahmin girl who is a past life of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

14. g.14  Anantapratibhāna spobs pa mtha’ yas

    ོབས་པ་མཐའ་ཡས།

    Anantapratibhāna

    A bodhisattva.

15. g.15  Anantavikrama mtha’ yas rnam par gnon pa

    མཐའ་ཡས་མ་པར་གནོན་པ།

    Anantavikrama

    A buddha.

16. g.16  Anantavinaya mtha’ yas ’dul ba

    མཐའ་ཡས་འལ་བ།

    Anantavinaya

    A buddha.

17. g.17  Anantavīrya brtson grus mtha’ yas

    བོན་ས་མཐའ་ཡས།

    Anantavīrya

    A buddha.

18. g.18  Aniketacārin gnas med par spyod

    གནས་ད་པར་ོད།

    Aniketacārin

    A buddha.

19. g.19  Anindita ma smad pa

    མ་ད་པ།

    Anindita

    A world system.

20. g.20  Anivartin phyir mi ldog pa

    ར་་ོག་པ།

Anivartin

A buddha.

21. g.21  Apratiṣṭhita mi gnas pa

    ་གནས་པ།

    Apratiṣṭhita

    A buddha.

22. g.22  Ārabdhavīrya brtson grus brtsams

    བོན་ས་བམས།

    Ārabdhavīrya

    A bodhisattva.

23. g.23  Arhat dgra bcom

    ད་བམ།

    Arhat

    A buddha.

24. g.24  Arising Crown gtsug phud ’byung

    གག་ད་འང་།

    —

    A buddha.

25. g.25  Asura lha ma yin

    ་མ་ན།

    asura

    The traditional adversaries of the devas (gods), who are frequently portrayed in Brahmanical mythology as having a disruptive effect on cosmological and social harmony.

26. g.26  Atharvaveda srid srung gi rig byed

    ད་ང་་ག་ད།

    Atharva Veda

    Along with the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, and Sāmaveda, one of the four Vedas, the most ancient Sanskrit religious literature of India. Primarily concerned with practical applications, including protection, healing, and magic.

27. g.27  Avabhāsakara snang byed



ང་ད།

Avabhāsakara

A buddha.

28. g.28  Avabhāsin snang ba can

    ང་བ་ཅན།

    Avabhāsin

    A world system.

29. g.29  Avakīrṇakusuma me tog bkram pa

    ་ཏོག་བམ་པ།

    Avakīrṇakusuma

    A world system.

30. g.30  Balapramathana stobs rab tu ’joms pa

    ོབས་རབ་་འམས་པ།

    Balapramathana

    A buddha.

31. g.31  Balarāja stobs kyi rgyal po

    ོབས་་ལ་པོ།

    Balarāja

    A buddha.

32. g.32  Balavegavikrama stobs kyi shugs rnam par gnon pa

    ོབས་་གས་མ་པར་གནོན་པ།

    Balavegavikrama

    A buddha.

33. g.33  Bejeweled rin chen can

    ན་ན་ཅན།

    —

    A world system.

34. g.34  Bhadrapāla bzang skyong

    བཟང་ང་།

Bhadrapāla

A bodhisattva.

35. g.35  Bhaiṣajyarāja sman gyi rgyal

    ན་་ལ།

    Bhaiṣajyarāja

    A buddha.

36. g.36  Bhayaṅkara ’jigs mdzad

    འགས་མཛད།

    Bhayaṅkara

    A buddha.

37. g.37  Blazing Wit blo gros ’bar ba

    ོ་ས་འབར་བ།

    —

    A brahmin.

38. g.38  Blissful one bde gshegs

    བ་གགས།

    sugata

    An epithet for a buddha.

39. g.39  Bouquet of Flowers me tog gi tshogs

    ་ཏོག་་ཚོགས།

    —

    The name of an eon.

40. g.40  Brahmā tshangs pa

    ཚངས་པ།

    Brahmā

    A high ranking deity, presiding over a divine world where other beings consider him the creator; he is also considered to be the “Lord of the Sahā-world” (our universe).

41. g.41  Brahmadeva drang srong tshangs pa’i lha

    ང་ོང་ཚངས་པ་།

Brahmadeva

A sage.

42. g.42  Brāhmaketu tshangs pa’i tog

    ཚངས་པ་ཏོག

    Brāhmaketu

    A buddha.

43. g.43  Brāhmanetra tshangs pa’i mig

    ཚངས་པ་ག

    Brāhmanetra

    A bodhisattva.

44. g.44  Brahmā’s Advent tshangs pa ’byung ba

    ཚངས་པ་འང་བ།

    —

    A world system.

45. g.45  Brāhmaśaraṇa tshangs pas skyabs

    ཚངས་པས་བས།

    Brāhmaśaraṇa

    A buddha.

46. g.46  Branches of awakening byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos

    ང་བ་་ོགས་་ས།

    bodhipakṣadharma

    Thirty-seven practices that lead the practitioner to the awakened state: the four applications of mindfulness, the four thorough relinquishments, the four bases of miraculous power, the five powers, the five strengths, the eightfold path, and the seven branches of awakening.

47. g.47  Campaka Color tsam pa kha dog can

    ཙམ་པ་ཁ་དོག་ཅན།

    —

    A world system.

48. g.48  Candana tsan dan

ཙན་དན།

Candana

A bodhisattva.

49. g.49  Candanagandha tsan dan gyi dri

    ཙན་དན་་།

    Candanagandha

    A world system.

50. g.50  Candrāloka zla ba snang ba

    ་བ་ང་བ།

    Candrāloka

    A world system.

51. g.51  Candraprabha zla ’od

    ་འོད།

    Candraprabha

    A buddha.

52. g.52  Candraprabha zla ’od

    ་འོད།

    Candraprabha

    The name of an eon.

53. g.53  Candraprabhārāja zla ’od rgyal po

    ་འོད་ལ་པོ།

    Candraprabhārāja

    A buddha.

54. g.54  Careful Scrutiny legs par brtags spyod

    གས་པར་བགས་ོད།

    —

    A monk.

55. g.55  Cīrṇavrata brtul zhugs spyad

    བལ་གས་ད།

Cīrṇavrata

A buddha.

56. g.56  Cleansed of the Stains of Affliction nyon mongs dri ma sbyangs

    ན་མོངས་་མ་ངས།

    —

    A buddha.

57. g.57  Cloud Color sprin gyi kha dog

    ན་་ཁ་དོག

    —

    A world system.

58. g.58  Cloud of Generosity sprin sbyin

    ན་ན།

    —

    A buddha.

59. g.59  Conceiver of All Things don thams cad sems pa

    དོན་ཐམས་ཅད་མས་པ།

    —

    A buddha.

60. g.60  Concentrated Experience bsam gtan spyod yul

    བསམ་གཏན་ོད་ལ།

    —

    A monk.

61. g.61  Concentration bsam gtan

    བསམ་གཏན།

    dhyāna

    The fifth of the six perfections.

62. g.62  Correct understandings so so yang dag pa rig pa

    སོ་སོ་ཡང་དག་པ་ག་པ།

    pratisaṃvid

See “four correct understandings.”

63. g.63  Crown King gtsug phud rgyal po

    གག་ད་ལ་པོ།

    —

    A buddha.

64. g.64  Dhāraṇa kun tu ’dzin pa

    ན་་འན་པ།

    Dhāraṇa

    A bodhisattva.

65. g.65  Dhṛtimati mos pa’i blo gros

    མོས་པ་ོ་ས།

    Dhṛtimati

    A monk.

66. g.66  Diligence brtson ’grus

    བོན་འས།

    vīrya

    The fourth of the six perfections and second of the five powers.

67. g.67  Dīpaṅkara mar me mdzad

    མར་་མཛད།

    Dīpaṅkara

    A buddha.

68. g.68  Dīpavatī mar me can

    མར་་ཅན།

    Dīpavatī

    A world system.

69. g.69  Discerned Through Discernment rnam par ’byed pas rnam par phye ba

    མ་པར་འད་པས་མ་པར་་བ།

    —

A buddha.

70. g.70  Discipline tshul khrims

    ལ་མས།

    śīla

    The second of the six perfections.

71. g.71  Divine Manifestation lhas sprul pa

    ས་ལ་པ།

    —

    A world system.

72. g.72  Eighteen qualities of the blissful ones bde gshegs rnams kyi btswa brgyad

    བ་གགས་མས་་བ་བད།

    —

    See “eighteen unique buddha qualities.”

73. g.73  Eighteen unique buddha qualities sangs rgyas kyi chos ma ’dres pa bco brgyad

    སངས་ས་་ས་མ་འས་པ་བ་བད།

    aṣṭadaśāveṇikābuddhadharma

    Eighteen special features of a buddha’s physical state, realization, activity, and wisdom that are not shared by ordinary beings.

74. g.74  Equal Life tshe mnyam

    ་མཉམ།

    —

    A world system.

75. g.75  Equal to the Earth sa dang mnyam pa

    ས་དང་མཉམ་པ།

    —

    A buddha.

76. g.76  Erudite Mountain of Wisdom mkhas pa ye shes ri bo

    མཁས་པ་་ས་་བོ།

    —

    A buddha.

77. g.77  Essence of Knowledge mkhas pa’i snying po

    མཁས་པ་ང་པོ།

    —

    A bodhisattva.

78. g.78  Essential bskal pa’i snying po

    བལ་པ་ང་པོ།

    —

    The name of an eon.

79. g.79  Established Mind yid grub

    ད་བ།

    —

    A world system.

80. g.80  Eternal King Finial of Jewels rin chen tog rgyun mi ’chad pa’i rgyal po

    ན་ན་ཏོག་ན་་འཆད་པ་ལ་པོ།

    —

    A buddha.

81. g.81  Ever-Shining rtag tu snang bar byas

    ག་་ང་བར་ས།

    —

    A world system.

82. g.82  Everlasting Jewel rin po che kun tu gnas pa

    ན་པོ་་ན་་གནས་པ།

    —

    A world system.

83. g.83  Excellent God bzang po’i lha

    བཟང་པོ་།

    —

    A buddha.

84. g.84  Extreme Beauty

shin tu mdzes

ན་་མས།

—

A world system.

85. g.85  Eye of Infinite Appearances mtha’ yas snang ba’i spyan

    མཐའ་ཡས་ང་བ་ན།

    —

    A buddha.

86. g.86  Faith dad pa

    དད་པ།

    śraddhā

87. g.87  Five powers dbang lnga

    དབང་།

    pañcendriya

    The five powers, or faculties, are those of faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and wisdom.

88. g.88  Five supernatural abilities mngon par shes pa lnga

    མན་པར་ས་པ་།

    pañcābhijña

    Divine sight, divine hearing, the ability to know past and future lives, the ability to know the minds of others, and the ability to produce miracles.

89. g.89  Fount of Qualities yon tan rab tu bskyed pa

    ཡོན་ཏན་རབ་་བད་པ།

    —

    A world system.

90. g.90  Fount of Virtue dge ba ’byung ba

    ད་བ་འང་བ།

    —

    The name of an eon.

91. g.91  Four abodes of Brahmā tshangs pa’i gnas pa bzhi



ཚངས་པ་གནས་པ་བ།

catubrahmavihāra

The “four immeasurable contemplations” (immeasurable love, compassion, joy, and equanimity) are often referred to as the four abodes of Brahmā.

92. g.92  Four correct understandings so so yang dag pa rig pa bzhi

    སོ་སོ་ཡང་དག་པ་ག་པ་བ།

    catuḥpratisaṃvid

    The four correct understandings are the mastery of meaning, the mastery of Dharma, the mastery of language, and the mastery of courageous eloquence.

93. g.93  Four means of attracting students bsdu ba’i dngos po bzhi

    བ་བ་དས་པོ་བ།

    catuḥsaṅgrahavastu

    The qualities of teachers that enable them to gather fortunate students, namely, that they should be generous, their language should be pleasant, they should teach each individual according to that person’s needs, and they should act in conformity with what they teach.

94. g.94  Four preferences of the noble ones phags pa’i rigs bzhi

    ཕགས་པ་གས་བ།

    caturāryavaṃśa

    Simple food, simple clothing, a simple dwelling place, and simple possessions.

95. g.95  Four rivers chu bo bzhi

    ་བོ་བ།

    caturogha

    Someone who has “crossed the four rivers” is awakened. The four rivers are (1) the river of desire, (2) the river of existence, (3) the river of beliefs, and (4) the river of ignorance.

96. g.96  Gandharāja dri’i rgyal po

    ་ལ་པོ།

    Gandharāja

    A buddha.

97. g.97  Gandharāja spos kyi rgyal po

    ོས་་ལ་པོ།

    Gandharāja

    A buddha.

98. g.98  Gandharva dri za

    ་ཟ།

    gandharva

    A class of generally benevolent beings who inhabit the sky and are most renowned as celestial musicians.

99. g.99  Gandhottama spos mchog

    ོས་མག

    Gandhottama

    A buddha.

100. g.100  Gandhottamarāja spos mchog rgyal po

     ོས་མག་ལ་པོ།

     Gandhottamarāja

     A buddha.

101. g.101  Garuḍa nam mkha’ lding

     ནམ་མཁའ་ང་།

     garuḍa

     A class of nonhuman beings who have the form of eagle-type birds with gigantic wingspans. They are traditionally considered enemies of the nāgas.

102. g.102  Generosity sbyin pa

     ན་པ།

     dāna

     The first of the six perfections.

103. g.103  Golden gser du snang ba

     གར་་ང་བ།

     —

     A world system.

104. g.104  Golden Crest gser gyi gtsug

     གར་་གག

     —

A world system.

105. g.105  Great Beauty rab mdzes

     རབ་མས།

     —

     A bodhisattva.

106. g.106  Great trichiliocosm ’jig rten gyi khams stong gsum gyi stong chen po

     འག་ན་་ཁམས་ོང་གམ་་ོང་ན་པོ།

     trisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu

     The largest universe spoken of in Buddhist cosmology, consisting of one billion smaller world systems.

107. g.107  Hearer nyan thos

     ཉན་ཐོས།

     śrāvaka

     A follower of the early teachings of the Buddha, focusing on the monastic lifestyle.

108. g.108  Heaven of Joy dga’ ldan

     དགའ་ན།

     Tuṣita

     A divine world located in the desire realm; in Buddhist thought it is where all future buddhas dwell prior to their awakening.

109. g.109  Heroic Solid Obstructer dpa’ sra rnam par gnon pa

     དཔའ་་མ་པར་གནོན་པ།

     —

     A buddha.

110. g.110  Holy Jewel dkon mchog dam pa

     དན་མག་དམ་པ།

     —

     A buddha.

111. g.111  Immeasurable contemplations tshad med pa

     ཚད་ད་པ།

     apramāṇa

     See “four abodes of Brahmā.”

112. g.112  Imperturbable Intelligence mi khrugs pa’i blo gros

     ་གས་པ་ོ་ས།

     —

     A sage.

113. g.113  Indradatta dbang pos byin

     དབང་པོས་ན།

     Indradatta

     A brahmin.

114. g.114  Indradhvaja dbang po’i rgyal mtshan

     དབང་པོ་ལ་མཚན།

     Indradhvaja

     A buddha.

115. g.115  Indrarāja dbang po’i rgyal po

     དབང་པོ་ལ་པོ།

     Indrarāja

     A buddha.

116. g.116  Infinite Appearances mtha’ yas snang ba

     མཐའ་ཡས་ང་བ།

     —

     A buddha.

117. g.117  Infinite Resplendence gzi brjid dpag tu med

     ག་བད་དཔག་་ད།

     —

     A buddha.

118. g.118  Intelligent blo gros ’dzin

     ོ་ས་འན།

     —

     A buddha.

119. g.119  Īśvara

dbang phyug

དབང་ག

Īśvara

A buddha.

120. g.120  Jagatīdhara gro ba ’dzin

     ་བ་འན།

     Jagatīdhara

     A kṣatriya.

121. g.121  Jewel Door rin chen sgo

     ན་ན་།

     —

     A world system.

122. g.122  Jñānadarśana ye shes mthong ba

     ་ས་མཐོང་བ།

     Jñānadarśana

     A buddha.

123. g.123  Jñānagocara ye shes spyod yul

     ་ས་ོད་ལ།

     Jñānagocara

     A buddha.

124. g.124  Jñānākara ye shes ’byung gnas

      ་ ས ་ འ  ང ་ག ན ས །

     Jñānākara

     A buddha.

125. g.125  Jñānaketu ye shes dpal

     ་ས་དཔལ།

     Jñānaketu

     A buddha.

126. g.126  Jñānakoṣa ye shes kyi mdzod

     

་ས་་མཛོད།

Jñānakoṣa

A buddha.

127. g.127  Jñānasāgara ye shes rgya mtsho

     ་ས་་མཚོ།

     Jñānasāgara

     A buddha.

128. g.128  Joyful and Wise bde gnas blo gros

     བ་གནས་ོ་ས།

     —

     A king.

129. g.129  Joyful Buddha sangs rgyas dgyes pa

     སངས་ས་དས་པ།

     —

     A world system.

130. g.130  Kaiṭabha shes gsal

     ས་གསལ།

     Kaiṭabha

     The study of the prescribed rules for Brahmanical rites. It is one of the subjects a learned brahmin is supposed to have mastered.

131. g.131  Kālagata dus las ’das

     ས་ལས་འདས།

     Kālagata

     A world system.

132. g.132  Kālaka’s Grove nag po’i kun dga’ ra ba

     ནག་པོ་ན་དགའ་ར་བ།

     Kālakārāma

     Grove offered to the Buddha by Kālaka, a wealthy man of Sāketa.

133. g.133  Kāśī yul ka shi pa



ལ་ཀ་་པ།

Kāśī

Old name of Benares. Kāśīka is the name of the special muslin produced in the city.

134. g.134  Keturāja tog gi rgyal po

     ཏོག་་ལ་པོ།

     Keturāja

     A buddha.

135. g.135  King of Majestic Impermanence mi rtag gzi brjid rgyal po

     ་ག་ག་བད་ལ་པོ།

     —

     A world system.

136. g.136  King of Majestic Nobility gzi brjid ’phags pa’i rgyal po

     ག་བད་འཕགས་པ་ལ་པོ།

     —

     A buddha.

137. g.137  King of Melody dbyangs kyi rgyal po

     དངས་་ལ་པོ།

     —

     A buddha.

138. g.138  Kinnara mi’am ci

     འམ་།

     kinnara

     A class of nonhuman beings that are half human, half animal. Typically their upper bodies are animal, and their lower bodies human. The term literally means “Is that human?”

139. g.139  Kīrtiprabha grags pa’i ’od

     གས་པ་འོད།

     Kīrtiprabha

     A buddha.

140. g.140  Kṣatriya rgyal rigs



ལ་གས།

kṣatriya

The warrior caste in the Indian caste system.

141. g.141  Kumbhāṇḍa grul bum

     ལ་མ།

     kumbhāṇḍa

     A class of supernatural being. The name uses a play on the Sanskrit word āṇḍa, which means “egg” but is a euphemism for testicle. Thus, they are often depicted as having testicles as big as pots (Sanskrit: khumba).

142. g.142  Light of Permanence rtags kyi ’od

     གས་་འོད།

     —

     The name of an eon.

143. g.143  Lightning Cloud glog sprin

     ག་ན།

     —

     A buddha.

144. g.144  Limit of reality yang dag pa’i mtha’

     ཡང་དག་པ་མཐའ།

     bhūtakoṭi

     This term has three meanings: (1) a synonym for the ultimate nature, (2) the experience of the ultimate nature, and (3) the quiesent state of a worthy one (arhat) to be avoided by bodhisattvas.

145. g.145  Lokacaitya ’jig rten mchod rten

     འག་ན་མད་ན།

     Lokacaitya

     A buddha.

146. g.146  Lokāyata ’jig rten rgyang pan pa

     འག་ན་ང་པན་པ།

     Lokāyata

     An ancient Indian philosophical system that is based on adherence to materialism and atheistic skepticism.

147. g.147  Lord of Death gshin rje

     གན་།

     Yama

     From Vedic times, the Lord of Death is the one who directs the departed into the next realm of rebirth.

148. g.148  Mahoraga lto ’phye chen po

     ོ་འ་ན་པོ།

     mahoraga

     A type of nonhuman being with the form of an enormous serpent.

149. g.149  Maṇibhadra nor bzangs

     ནོར་བཟངས།

     Maṇibhadra

     A buddha.

150. g.150  Mañjuśrī ’jam dpal

     འཇམ་དཔལ།

     Mañjuśrī

     A great bodhisattva, one of the eight “close sons” of the Buddha; considered the embodiment of wisdom.

151. g.151  Manojñagandha yid du ’ong ba’i dri

     ད་་འོང་བ་།

     Manojñagandha

     A world system.

152. g.152  Māra bdud

     བད།

     Māra

     The demon who assailed Śākyamuni prior to his awakening; any demonic force; the personification of conceptual and emotional obstacles.

153. g.153  Māra bdud

     བད།

     māra

The deities ruled over by Māra; any demonic force; the personification of conceptual and emotional obstacles.

154. g.154  Marīci ’od chen

     འོད་ན།

     Marīci

     A buddha.

155. g.155  Master of the World ’jig rten slob dpon

     འག་ན་ོབ་དཔོན།

     —

     A buddha.

156. g.156  Matidhara blo gros ’chang

     ོ་ས་འཆང་།

     Matidhara

     A bodhisattva.

157. g.157  Matirāja blo gros rgyal po

     ོ་ས་ལ་པོ།

     Matirāja

     A buddha.

158. g.158  Megharāja – sprin gyi rgyal po  ན་་ལ་པོ།  Megharāja A monk.
159. g.159  Mindfulness  –  dran pa  ན་པ།  smṛti
160. g.160  Mirror Appearance – me long dkyil ’khor snang ba ་ལོང་དལ་འར་ང་བ། A world system.

161. g.161  Moon of Generosity  zla sbyin ་ན།  — A buddha.
162. g.162  Most Excellent Immortality mi ’chi ba kun tu ’phags pa

     ་འ་བ་ན་་འཕགས་པ།

     —  The name of an eon.

163. g.163  Mount Meru lhun po

     ན་པོ།

     Meru

     The highest mountain at the center of our world according to traditional Buddhist cosmology.

164. g.164  Myriad Delights dga’ ba sna tshogs

     དགའ་བ་་ཚོགས།

     —

     A grove.

165. g.165  Nāga klu

     །

     nāga

     A class of nonhuman beings who live in aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

166. g.166  Nandottama dga’ mchog

     དགའ་མག

     Nandottama

     A buddha.

167. g.167  Nārāyaṇa sred med kyi bu

     ད་ད་་།

     Nārāyaṇa

     Another name for the Hindu god Viṣṇu.

168. g.168  Netrasañcāra spyan rig

     ན་ག

     Netrasañcāra

     A buddha.

169. g.169  Nigama grong brdal

     ང་བལ།

     Nigama

     A world system.

170. g.170  Nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates lhag ma med pa’i mya ngan las ’das pa

     ག་མ་ད་པ་་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།

     nirupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa

     The attainment of nirvāṇa without any remainder of the physical and mental aggregates.

171. g.171  Pacifier of Disturbing Emotions nyong mongs pa zhi bar byed pa

     ང་མོངས་པ་་བར་ད་པ།

     —

     A buddha.

172. g.172  Padmaguru pad ma bla ma

     པད་མ་་མ།

     Padmaguru

     The name of an eon.

173. g.173  Padmākara pad ma’i ’byung gnas

     པད་མ་འང་གནས།

     Padmākara

     The name of an eon.

174. g.174  Padmaketu pad ma’i tog

     པད་མ་ཏོག

     Padmaketu

     A buddha.

175. g.175  Parvatarāja

ri’i rgyal po

་ལ་པོ།

Parvatarāja

A buddha.

176. g.176  Patience bzod pa

     བཟོད་པ།

     kṣānti

     The third of the six perfections.

177. g.177  Peerless Diligence brtson grus dpe med

     བོན་ས་ད་ད།

     —

     A buddha.

178. g.178  Pleasant Voice snyan pa’i sgra dbyang

     ན་པ་་དང་།

     —

     A monk.

179. g.179  Powerful Lion Gait seng ge rtsal gyis bzhud pa

     ང་་ལ་ས་བད་པ།

     —

     A buddha.

180. g.180  Prabha ’od

     འོད།

     Prabha

     A buddha.

181. g.181  Prāmodyarāja mchog tu dga’ ba’i rgyal po

     མག་་དགའ་བ་ལ་པོ།

     Prāmodyarāja

     A buddha.

182. g.182  Praśāntacarya rab tu zhi bar spyod pa



རབ་་་བར་ོད་པ།

Praśāntacarya

A buddha.

183. g.183  Praśāntamati rab tu zhi ba’i blo gros

     རབ་་་བ་ོ་ས།

     Praśāntamati

     A monk.

184. g.184  Prasiddha rab tu grub pa

     རབ་་བ་པ།

     Prasiddha

     A world system.

185. g.185  Pratibhānamati blo gros spobs

     ོ་ས་ོབས།

     Pratibhānamati

     A buddha.

186. g.186  Pratimaṇḍita rab tu brgyan

     རབ་་བན།

     Pratimaṇḍita

     A world system.

187. g.187  Precious Learned King dkon mchog mkhas pa’i rgyal po

     དན་མག་མཁས་པ་ལ་པོ།

     —

     A buddha.

188. g.188  Precious queen bud med rin po che

     ད་ད་ན་པོ་།

     strīratna

     In Buddhist literature, one of the seven emblems of a universal monarch.

189. g.189  Protector skyob sbyin

     བ་ན།

—

A bodhisattva.

190. g.190  Pure Eyes dag pa’i spyan

     དག་པ་ན།

     —

     A buddha.

191. g.191  Pure Intelligence blo gros dag pa

     ོ་ས་དག་པ།

     —

     A buddha.

192. g.192  Pure Jewel rin po che dag pa

     ན་པོ་་དག་པ།

     —

     The name of an eon.

193. g.193  Puṣya skar rgyal

     ར་ལ།

     Puṣya

     A buddha.

194. g.194  Ratnākara dkon mchog ’byung gnas

     དན་མག་འང་གནས།

     Ratnākara

     A world system.

195. g.195  Ratnākara dkon mchog ’byung gnas

     དན་མག་འང་གནས།

     Ratnākara

     A bodhisattva.

196. g.196  Ratnakusumasampuṣpita rin chen me tog shin tu rgyas pa

     ན་ན་་ཏོག་ན་་ས་པ།

     Ratnakusumasampuṣpita

A world system.

197. g.197  Ratnasambhavā rin chen ’byung ba

     ན་ན་འང་བ།

     Ratnasambhavā

     The name of an eon.

198. g.198  Ratnaśikhara rin po che’i rtse mo

     ན་པོ་་་མོ།

     Ratnaśikhara

     A world system.

199. g.199  Ratnavatī rin chen ldan

     ན་ན་ན།

     Ratnavatī

     A city.

200. g.200  Ratnavyūha rin chen bkod pa

     ན་ན་བད་པ།

     Ratnavyūha

     A buddha.

201. g.201  Realm of phenomena chos kyi dbyings

     ས་་དངས།

     dharmadhātu

     A synonym for ultimate truth, the nature of phenomena.

202. g.202  Respecting gsol ba byed pa

     གསོལ་བ་ད་པ།

     —

     A buddha.

203. g.203  Ṛgveda nges brjod kyi rig byed

     ས་བད་་ག་ད།

     Ṛgveda

Along with the Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, and Atharvaveda, one of the four Vedas, the most ancient Sanskrit religious literature of India. Generally considered the “first” of the four Vedas.

204. g.204  Ritual of Peace zhi ba’i cho ga

     ་བ་་ག

     —

     A world system.

205. g.205  Sāketa yul gnas bcas

     ལ་གནས་བཅས།

     Sāketa

     Place where the Buddha resided and taught, thought to be present day Ayodhyā.

206. g.206  Śakra brgya byin

     བ་ན།

     Śakra

     A divine being who rules the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Another name for Indra.

207. g.207  Śālarāja sA la’i rgyal po

     ་ལ་ལ་པོ།

     Śālarāja

     A buddha.

208. g.208  Samantaprāsādika kun nas mdzes

     ན་ནས་མས།

     Samantaprāsādika

     A bodhisattva.

209. g.209  Śamathasamudgata zhi gnas yang dag ’phags

     ་གནས་ཡང་དག་འཕགས།

     Śamathasamudgata

     A buddha.

210. g.210  Sāmaveda snyan tshig gi rig byed

     ན་ག་་ག་ད།

     Sāmaveda

Along with the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda, one of the four Vedas, the most ancient Sanskrit religious literature of India. It primarily contains melodic notations for the chanting of Vedic hymns.

211. g.211  Sandalwood Essence tsan dan gyi snying po

     ཙན་དན་་ང་པོ།

     —

     A brahmin.

212. g.212  Saṅghāṭī snam sbyar

     མ་ར།

     saṅghāṭī

     One of the three robes of a monk. This robe is a shawl with thirty-two patches, allowed for fully ordained monks.

213. g.213  Śāntacarya zhi ba’i spyod pa

     ་བ་ོད་པ།

     Śāntacarya

     A world system.

214. g.214  Śāntagarbha zhi ba’i snying po

     ་བ་ང་པོ།

     Śāntagarbha

     The name of an eon.

215. g.215  Śāntamati zhi ba’i glo gros

     ་བ་་ས།

     Śāntamati

     A monk.

216. g.216  Śāntaprabhāketurāja zhi ba’i ’od zer tog gi rgyal po

     ་བ་འོད་ར་ཏོག་་ལ་པོ།

     Śāntaprabhāketurāja

     A buddha.

217. g.217  Śāntaskandhin zhi ba’i phung po

     ་བ་ང་པོ།

Śāntaskandhin

The name of an eon.

218. g.218  Sārthavāhabhadra ded dpon bzang po

     ད་དཔོན་བཟང་པོ།

     Sārthavāhabhadra

     A bodhisattva.

219. g.219  Sarvābhibhū thams cad zil gyis gnon pa

     ཐམས་ཅད་ལ་ས་གནོན་པ།

     Sarvābhibhū

     A bodhisattva and a buddha.

220. g.220  Sarvārthadarśa don thams cad gzigs pa

     དོན་ཐམས་ཅད་གགས་པ།

     Sarvārthadarśa

     A buddha.

221. g.221  Sarvārthasiddha don thams cad grub pa

     དོན་ཐམས་ཅད་བ་པ།

     Sarvārthasiddha

     A buddha, one of the main characters in this text.

222. g.222  Sarvaśaṅkitasumardaka dogs pa thams cad legs par ’joms pa

     དོགས་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་གས་པར་འམས་པ།

     Sarvaśaṅkitasumardaka

     A buddha.

223. g.223  Sarvaśatrudamana dgra thams cad ’dul ba

     ད་ཐམས་ཅད་འལ་བ།

     Sarvaśatrudamana

     A buddha.

224. g.224  Śatapuṇya bsod nams brgya

     བསོད་ནམས་བ།

     Śatapuṇya

A buddha.

225. g.225  Saugandhakaśrī dri mchog dpal

     ་མག་དཔལ།

     Saugandhakaśrī

     A buddha.

226. g.226  Saugandhikarāja dri mchog rgyal po

     ་མག་ལ་པོ།

     Saugandhikarāja

     A buddha.

227. g.227  Scent of Bliss bde ba’i dri

     བ་བ་།

     —

     A world system.

228. g.228  Seven precious substances rin po che sna bdun

     ན་པོ་་་བན།

     saptaratna

     Ruby, sapphire, lapis lazuli, emerald, diamond, pearl, and coral. Sometimes lists of the seven substances differ slightly.

229. g.229  Siṃhala seng nge ’dzin

     ང་་འན།

     Siṃhala

     A bodhisattva.

230. g.230  Siṃhamati seng ge blo gros

     ང་་ོ་ས།

     Siṃhamati

     A buddha.

231. g.231  Siṃhanāda seng ge sgrog pa

     ང་་ག་པ།

     Siṃhanāda

A buddha.

232. g.232  Siṃhavikrama senge ge rnam par gnon pa

     ་་མ་པར་གནོན་པ།

     Siṃhavikrama

     A buddha.

233. g.233  Six perfections pha rol tu phyin pa drug

     ཕ་རོལ་་ན་པ་ག

     ṣaṭpāramitā

     The trainings of the bodhisattva path: generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom.

234. g.234  Solitary buddha rang sangs rgyas

     རང་སངས་ས།

     pratyekabuddha

     An individual who, in their last life, attains liberation by realizing the nature of interdependent origination without relying upon a spiritual guide.

235. g.235  Special insight lhag mthong

     ག་མཐོང་།

     vipaśyanā

     An important form of Buddhist meditation focusing on developing insight into the nature of phenomena. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other being “tranquility.”

236. g.236  Śramaṇa King dge sbyong rgyal po

     ད་ོང་ལ་པོ།

     —

     A buddha.

237. g.237  Śrīgarbha dpal gyi snying po

     དཔལ་་ང་པོ།

     Śrīgarbha

     A buddha.

238. g.238  Śrīkūṭa dpal brtsegs

     དཔལ་བགས།

Śrīkūṭa

A buddha.

239. g.239  Śrīkūṭavināśaka dpal brtsegs rnam par ’joms pa

     དཔལ་བགས་མ་པར་འམས་པ།

     Śrīkūṭavināśaka

     A buddha.

240. g.240  Śrītejorāja dpal gyi gzi brjid rgyal po

     དཔལ་་ག་བད་ལ་པོ།

     Śrītejorāja

     A buddha.

241. g.241  Śubhacandra dge ba’i zla ba

     ད་བ་་བ།

     Śubhacandra

     A buddha.

242. g.242  Śubhāśaya dge ba bsags

     ད་བ་བསགས།

     Śubhāśaya

     A world system.

243. g.243  Sukhanetra bde spyan

     བ་ན།

     Sukhanetra

     A buddha.

244. g.244  Sukhasaṃvāsa grogs na bde

     གས་ན་བ།

     Sukhasaṃvāsa

     A bodhisattva.

245. g.245  Sunlight nyi ma snang ba

     ་མ་ང་བ།

—

The name of an eon.

246. g.246  Supreme Sight spyan mchog

     ན་མག

     —

     A buddha.

247. g.247  Sūrata des pa

     ས་པ།

     Sūrata

     The name of a buddha, a monk, and a bodhisattva.

248. g.248  Sūryadatta nyi mas byin

     ་མས་ན།

     Sūryadatta

     A brahmin.

249. g.249  Suvarṇaskandhin gser gyi phung po

     གར་་ང་པོ།

     Suvarṇaskandhin

     A buddha.

250. g.250  Tejasvin gzi brjid can

     ག་བད་ཅན།

     Tejasvin

     A world system.

251. g.251  Ten powers dbang bcu

     དབང་བ།

     daśavaśitā

     Powers attained by bodhisattvas on the path: power over life, karma, materials, devotion, aspiration, miracles, birth, Dharma, mind, and wisdom. Not to be confused with the ten strengths, which are qualities of buddhahood.

252. g.252  Ten strengths stobs bcu

     ོབས་བ།

daśabala

A category of the distinctive qualities of a buddha. They are knowing what is possible and what is impossible, knowing the results of actions or the ripening of karma, knowing the various inclinations of sentient beings, knowing the various elements, knowing the supreme and lesser faculties of sentient beings, knowing the paths that lead to all destinations of rebirth, knowing the various states of meditation, knowing previous lives, knowing the death and rebirth of sentient beings, and knowing the cessation of the defilements.

253. g.253  Three gateways to liberation rnam thar sgo gsum

     མ་ཐར་་གམ།

     trivimokṣadvāra

     Emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness.

254. g.254  Tongues of Fire Clouds me rtse sprin

     ་་ན།

     —

     A buddha.

255. g.255  Tranquility zhi gnas

     ་གནས།

     śamatha

     One of the basic forms of Buddhist meditation, which focuses on calming the mind. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, with the other technique being “special insight.”

256. g.256  Truly Gone nges par song ba

     ས་པར་སོང་བ།

     —

     A world system.

257. g.257  Undefeated Army sde mi pham pa

     ་་ཕམ་པ།

     —

     A king.

258. g.258  Universal monarch ’khor los bsgyur ba’i rgyal po

     འར་ལོས་བར་བ་ལ་པོ།

     cakravartin

Literally “wheel-wielder,” denotes a powerful being who has control over vast regions of the universe.

259. g.259  Unrivaled Splendor mtshung pa med pa’i gzi brjid ’od

     མང་པ་ད་པ་ག་བད་འོད།

     —

     A buddha.

260. g.260  Unsurpassed Concentration bsam gtan bla ma

     བསམ་གཏན་་མ།

     —

     A monk.

261. g.261  Unsurpassed Knowledge shes rab bla ma

     ས་རབ་་མ།

     —

     A bodhisattva.

262. g.262  Unsurpassed Wisdom ye shes bla ma

     ་ས་་མ།

     —

     A monk and a past buddha.

263. g.263  Utpalākara ud pa la ’byung ba

     ད་པ་ལ་འང་བ།

     Utpalākara

     The name of an eon.

264. g.264  Utpalanetra ud pa la’i spyan

     ད་པ་ལ་ན།

     Utpalanetra

     A buddha.

265. g.265  Vaiḍūryagarbha vai dUrya snying po

     བཻ༹་་ང་པོ།

     Vaiḍūryagarbha

A world system.

266. g.266  Vairocana rnam par snang mdzad

     མ་པར་ང་མཛད།

     Vairocana

     A buddha.

267. g.267  Valiant dpa’ sra

     དཔའ་།

     —

     A monk.

268. g.268  Vanquisher of Aging and Death rga shi ’joms pa

     ་་འམས་པ།

     —

     A buddha.

269. g.269  Varacandana tsan dan dam pa

     ཙན་དན་དམ་པ།

     Varacandana

     A buddha.

270. g.270  Varuṇa chu lha

     ་།

     Varuṇa

     A bodhisattva. Alternatively, the god of waters, an ancient deity of the Vedic pantheon.

271. g.271  Vegadhāra shugs ’chang

     གས་འཆང་།

     Vegadhāra

     A buddha.

272. g.272  Very Subtle Mind shin tu phra sems

     ན་་་མས།

     —

A buddha.

273. g.273  Vijayin rgyal ba dang ldan pa

     ལ་བ་དང་ན་པ།

     Vijayin

     A buddha.

274. g.274  Vimalacandraprabhātejorāja dri ma med pa’i zla ’od gzi brjid rgyal po

     ་མ་ད་པ་་འོད་ག་བད་ལ་པོ།

     Vimalacandraprabhātejorāja

     A buddha.

275. g.275  Vimalaketu dri med tog

     ་ད་ཏོག

     Vimalaketu

     A buddha.

276. g.276  Vimalanetra dri ma med pa’i spyan

     ་མ་ད་པ་ན།

     Vimalanetra

     A buddha.

277. g.277  Vimalanetra spyan ldan dri med

     ན་ན་་ད།

     Vimalanetra

     A buddha.

278. g.278  Vimalanetra dri ma med pa’i mig

     ་མ་ད་པ་ག

     Vimalanetra

     A buddha.

279. g.279  Vimalaprabha dri ma med pa’i ’od zer

     ་མ་ད་པ་འོད་ར།

     Vimalaprabha

     A buddha.

280. g.280  Vimalāsya

dri ma med pa’i zhal

་མ་ད་པ་ཞལ།

Vimalāsya

A buddha.

281. g.281  Vīrapravīṇa dpa’ mkhas

     དཔའ་མཁས།

     Vīrapravīṇa

     A bodhisattva.

282. g.282  Viṣṇudatta khyab ’jug gi byin

     བ་འག་་ན།

     Viṣṇudatta

     A brahmin.

283. g.283  Wealthy rin chen yod

     ན་ན་ཡོད།

     —

     A world system.

284. g.284  Wisdom shes rab

     ས་རབ།

     prajñā

     The sixth of the six perfections.

285. g.285  Yajurveda mchod sbyin

     མད་ན།

     Yajurveda

     Along with the Ṛgveda, Sāmaveda, and Atharvaveda, one of the four Vedas, the most ancient Sanskrit religious literature of India. It is primarily comprised of instructions and arrangements for Vedic rites.

286. g.286  Yakṣa gnod sbyin

     གནོད་ན།

     yakṣa

     A class of beings that haunt or protect natural places and cities. They can be malevolent or benevolent, and are known for bestowing wealth and worldly boons.

287. g.287  Yaśasvin grags can

     གས་ཅན།

     Yaśasvin

     A world system.

288. g.288  Yaśodatta grags byin

     གས་ན།

     Yaśodatta

     A bodhisattva.

289. g.289 Yaśodeva grags pa’i lha གས་པ་། Yaśodeva A Buddha.
290. g.290 Yaśodhara grags ’chang གས་འཆང་། – Yaśodhara – A Buddha.