Translated by the Tripiṭaka Master Zhu Fahu of the Western Jin Dynasty by Imperial Command
The Buddha told Tranquil Mind, “The numerous secret practices performed by the body of a Bodhisattva are robust and indestructible, just like a vajra. If there are beings who should be saved through a flawed body, the Bodhisattva will manifest a flawed body to save them; if there are beings who should be saved through an unflawed body, the Bodhisattva will manifest an unflawed body to save them. The body of a Bodhisattva cannot be destroyed in any way, it cannot be burned by fire nor cut by a knife, this body is solid, truly indestructible, and made of vajra. Therefore, Tranquil Mind! The body of a Bodhisattva adapts for the benefit and happiness of beings, influencing and transforming beings. The mind of a Bodhisattva does not dwell in stillness, nor does it harbor delusions. Since the essential nature of all beings is emptiness, so is one’s own essence, which is originally emptiness. Understanding emptiness and realizing that one’s body is emptiness means understanding that all phenomena are also emptiness. Conversely, because all phenomena are emptiness, it is understood that one’s body has attained emptiness, and all phenomena are emptiness. All phenomena are emptiness, and so is one’s body, which also attains emptiness. Because one’s body is emptiness, so are the phenomena of the past, future, and present.
“Having understood that the phenomena of the past, future, and present are emptiness, and having understood that one’s body is also emptiness, the emptiness of the past and future does not become confused. Since the emptiness of the future does not conflict with the emptiness of the past, the emptiness of the past does not conflict with the emptiness of the present, the emptiness of the present does not conflict with the emptiness of the past, the emptiness of the present does not conflict with the emptiness of the past and future, the emptiness of the past and future does not conflict with the emptiness of the present, the emptiness of the future does not conflict with the emptiness of the present, and the emptiness of the past, future, and present does not conflict with the present emptiness. Those who cultivate the emptiness of the past, future, and present do not find the five aggregates, the twelve ayatanas, or the eighteen dhatus in conflict. If birth and nirvana inherently possess emptiness, then the emptiness of birth and death is established through the actionless emptiness. The actionless emptiness is the emptiness of all actions, ultimately not contradicting emptiness.
“Furthermore, noble son! The so-called emptiness is undifferentiated; emptiness does not distance itself from desire, nor does it established from anything. Confliction is empty, because the person involved in the confliction, the matter, and the action itself are unattainable. Since conflict does not exist, there is nothing for emptiness to dispute, which is called the Tathagata’s emptiness. The Tathagata has no form; form returns to this emptiness, which is called the universal manifestation of all forms as the Tathagata’s image. Therefore, if one wishes to create an image for the Tathagata, it is like creating images for all that is inherently empty, which is called the image of the Tathagata. Thus, the Bodhisattva manifests all forms, while the Tathagata never fabricates nor manifests any form. Without form, without confliction, this truly manifests the form of all beings universally, not establishing anything through emptiness. By observing oneself and the emptiness of all bodies through the principle of emptiness, observing one’s Dharma body and all bodies, one realizes that there are no bodies. By observing the Tathagata’s body, it is understood that all bodies arise from causes and conditions. After this understanding, one can enter the gateway to the Dharma body. Entering this gateway of the Dharma body, one becomes the Dharma body, which is not a body of the five aggregates, twelve ayatanas, or eighteen dhatus, but rather it is the practice of equality in the Dharma body. All beings do things for benefit and happiness, and even all seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing are for the sake of achieving benefit and happiness for beings.
“Tranquil Mind! Just as the king of physicians, Jīvaka, gathers various medicinal herbs and creates the image of a child, this child’s appearance is beautiful, rare in the world, dignified, and supremely extraordinary, unparalleled. Whether walking, standing, sitting, lying down, or moving, this medicinal herb child has no flaws. If the kings of great nations, princes, ministers, officials, nobles, and elders come to Jīvaka and see this medicinal herb child and play and sing with him, their diseases will be eradicated, thus achieving peace, stillness, and a state without desires. Tranquil Mind! You see, the ability of Jīvaka to treat the diseases of the world is unmatched by other physicians. Similarly, Tranquil Mind! If a Bodhisattva practices as a Dharma body, even if beings are deeply mired in greed, anger, and ignorance, whether young or old, male or female, seeking pleasure, the Bodhisattva will join them in their amusements, thereby calming their greed and troubles. Because troubles are calmed and the mind is at peace, distant from blazing desires, they can be transformed, all these are accomplished by the Bodhisattva’s vows.
“Tranquil Mind! If the Bodhisattvas practice virtue and cultivate the Dharma body, they are indeed the Dharma body. The Bodhisattvas manifest eating and drinking to sustain their bodies because if they do not accept food to soothe their bodies, it is feared that the sustenance of other beings might also cease. Therefore, out of compassion for beings, the Bodhisattvas manifest the acceptance of food, but in reality, they do not ingest the food, nor does the food remain within their bodies, and the power of the Dharma body neither increases nor decreases. The Dharma body of the Bodhisattva has no birth and no death, no end and no beginning, yet it manifests birth and death in accordance with worldly conventions. Although the Bodhisattva manifests death, they understand that all phenomena are actionless; they manifest birth, yet roam freely among all effortless and unconstructed phenomena. Although all phenomena appear to have birth, in reality, they have no arising. Bodhisattvas manifest their bodies in different times and places through various causes and conditions, and although sometimes they manifest bodies with defects or undergoing suffering, the Dharma body itself is not destroyed. The body of the Tathagata is the Dharma body, Dharma sustenance, Dharma power, and the abode of Dharma.
“Tranquil Mind! To understand the body of the Tathagata, one should know that the Tathagata’s body is the body of emptiness, incomparable, the most revered among the three realms. If one were to compare it with the bodies of beings, it is beyond comparison and analogy. The Tathagata’s body is pure and undefiled, free from dust and taint, naturally clear and perpetually bright, its nature is benevolent, without birth or arising. The body of the Tathagata is tranquil, unbound by mental consciousness; the body of the Tathagata is formless, yet appears to beings through conditional convergence, like a phantom flower, mist, or the moon in water; the Tathagata’s body has transcended emptiness, formlessness, and desire; the Tathagata’s body pervades the ten directions of space, with a mind that equally understands the essence of the three realms, that all beings lack a ‘self-nature’; the Tathagata’s body is bottomless, boundless, immeasurable, without action or thought. The Tathagata’s body has no attachment, no contemplation, dwelling in the truth, and reaching the state of nirvana. The Tathagata’s body has no form, yet can naturally manifest forms; no suffering, yet can manifest suffering; naturally without thought, yet can manifest thoughts; no recognition of birth and death, yet can manifest the recognition of birth and death through conditional convergence; no earth, water, fire, or wind, yet can manifest the bodies of these four elements. The Tathagata understands that all phenomena manifested in the world are not real, the eyes see nothing, the ears hear nothing, the nose smells nothing, the tongue tastes nothing, the body feels nothing, and the sensations of the senses do not exist. The mind feels nothing, does not shift, has no mental consciousness, understands the truth, and has never advanced or retreated.
“Thus, Tranquil Mind! If a Bodhisattva wish to attain a body equal to that of the Tathagata, they should practice the Bodhisattva’s path without bounds, in every direction of the three thousand great thousand worlds, in every district, county, city, and large state. The Bodhisattva can manifest their body everywhere, yet all beings cannot see or know what the Bodhisattva does. Whether the Bodhisattva appears or not, they understand the subtle practice. Though not manifesting anything, they can universally manifest everything. Without seeing, hearing, feeling, or knowing, they can practice and enlighten beings, not losing the four foundations of mindfulness due to bodily actions. For the sake of beings, Bodhisattvas manifest the impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and not-self nature of the body, making beings understand that the essence of all bodies is tranquility.
“Bodhisattvas show the decay of the body to those beings who seek a wonderful body through the merits of good fortune, causing them to turn away from their greedy desires, because such pursuit of blessings is based on four types of inverted delusions. If there are beings who understand the principles of non-action and non-perception, recognizing their bodies as similar to grass, walls, and stones, then the Bodhisattva will manifest a pure body for these beings. Tranquil Mind! From the time the Bodhisattva was predicted by the Buddha Dipankara, until they achieve the pure body of the secret identity, even though the Bodhisattva may speak, what is spoken is essentially unspoken. Moreover, Tranquil Mind! The Tathagata speaks according to the time, in accordance with the minds of beings, speaking of the tranquility of the Bodhisattva’s secret identity, through which beings are saved, to an immeasurable and limitless extent. The so-called secret of the Bodhisattva’s body is due to the attainment of autonomy. The Bodhisattva, by proclaiming the secret of their own body and briefly stating the main points, if one were to elaborate in detail, even the time of as many kalpa as the sands of the river would not suffice to fully clarify it. “
The Secret Vajra Guardian said to Bodhisattva Tranquil Mind, “What is the secret of vocal sounds? The speech of a Bodhisattva is pure and adapts to the types of sentient beings. Even if sentient beings are reborn as animals, regardless of the number of species, sizes, the Bodhisattva will manifest corresponding sounds and speech, observing the voices of the beings, manifesting corresponding words, conforming to the language and sentences of the beings to teach the Dharma. They speak and converse with them at all times, discussing the principles of suffering, joy, good, and evil. The voice of the Bodhisattva can universally convey, reaching everywhere. The Bodhisattva may use singing, playing, transforming, anger, joy, and other means to articulate sounds and speech, tailoring their teachings to the speech and voices of the sentient beings. Because the Bodhisattva understands the minds and beliefs of all sentient beings, as well as what they prefer and are willing to accept, the Bodhisattva can distinguish clearly, making every sentient being understand.”
Bodhisattva Tranquil Mind asked the Secret Guardian, “What is the nature of the vocal sounds manifested by the Bodhisattva?”
The Secret Guardian replied, “The voice of the Bodhisattva conforms to the voices of all sentient beings. The voice of the Bodhisattva adapts to the infinite, just like the thoughts of sentient beings are different, and the words of beings across the five realms also vary endlessly, beyond calculation. The Bodhisattva adapts to these words, yet also has no words, which is called conforming to the voices of sentient beings. By observe the voice reaching everywhere, one should understand that the essence of all voices is emptiness. The Bodhisattva fully understands all words expressed by voices, the profound mysteries of which are endless and are manifestations of the Bodhisattva adapting to the opportune moments, impossible to fully express in words. The Bodhisattva freely proclaims incredible sounds, or manifests the voices of Indra, Brahma, the Four Heavenly Kings, or freely proclaims the voices of gods, nāgas, spirits, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, gandharvas, mahoragas, humans, and non-humans, adapting to the voices of sentient beings, whether high, middle, or low, coarse or fine, beautiful or ugly, they can manifest voices that bring joy to all beings.” Then, the verse is recited:
The words of the Bodhisattva resolve countless problems, extensively expounding various teachings.
With a compassionate heart, they heal sentient beings, deeply empathetic, broadly proclaiming to bring joy to their minds, protecting their intentions.
The voice of the Bodhisattva, like a collection of heavenly emperor’s tunes, soft and harmonious, if heard by sentient beings, can obscure all other noises.
Through artful music, lamentations, and canonical teachings, the Bodhisattva proclaims the Dharma.
Admired by Kinnaras for their elegant chants, the Bodhisattva’s voice is more perfect, complete in every aspect。
those who listen can cease desires, not harboring lustful thoughts.
All mountain spirits who enjoy music, in the realm of desire, the Bodhisattva manifests various wonderful sounds, from which all heavenly sounds arise, delighting everyone.
The Dharma voice of the Bodhisattva, timely in its utterance, chants to eliminate anger and desire, remove ignorance and pride, distinguishing clearly the path of practice.
Because of hearing this proclamation of the Dharma, all gods of the form realm feel joyous.
Hearing such unique teachings, sentient beings in the world are inspired to pursue the path to Buddhahood.
Nāgas, Garudas, and Mahoragas manifest various tunes;
hearing the Bodhisattva’s subtly taught virtues, all beings rejoice, filled with exuberance.
The voice of the Bodhisattva permeates countless sounds, audible to the peoples of Jambudvipa; those who hear it are liberated.
The sky deities and earth spirits, the Bodhisattva’s voice reaches unobstructedly;
all who hear the Dharma are without exception delighted, resolving doubts and feeling joyous.
Creatures like the sorrowful phoenix, swans, red-beaked crows, mountain birds, peacocks, parrots, kinnaras, geese, exotic birds, and mandarin ducks, upon hearing this voice, all feel joyous.
Lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, deer, mules, donkeys, foxes, rabbits, elephants, horses, dogs, cattle, sheep, and pigs, hearing the voice of the Bodhisattva, all feel joyous.
Beings with four legs, two legs, many legs, and no legs, all enjoy hearing the voice of the Bodhisattva,
understand the teachings, accept the instructions, and abandon wrongful actions.
In these three thousand great thousand worlds, whether in lands high, middle, or low, in hells, realms of hungry ghosts, animals, heavens, among people—all sounds
—the Bodhisattva adapts and speaks, leading all beings to abandon false views and focus solely on the Buddha.
The Bodhisattva, without desire or thought, never disputes, follows the correct livelihood, and keeps a mind devoted to the path.
They declare the Dharma timely and seasonally, focused single-mindedly, enduring the disputes of beings.
With the voice, the Bodhisattva educates billions of lands, reaching beings as numerous as grains of sand in the river, independent of wealth, unattached in mind.
Even in the lands of all Buddhas, demons who hear the harmonious voice of the Bodhisattva feel sorrow.
The Bodhisattva protects and supports the beings they save, moving and acting with respectful gestures.
Even if there are hundreds of billions of sentient beings with diverse thoughts, upon hearing the words of the Bodhisattva, they face no obstacles, join palms in respect.
Those asleep, deaf, mute, lame, without feet, or severely ill, because of the Bodhisattva’s wonderful words, can immediately hear and speak.
Beings troubled by worldly dust, in dire straits, the Bodhisattva, through the pure Dharma voice spoken, can enlighten all beings, even animals like crows, providing them coolness, distancing them from the heat of troubles.
What the Bodhisattva declares, all beings hear about the Buddha’s teachings and the noble practices of giving, precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom.
The merits widely declared by the Bodhisattva, even billions of kalpas cannot fully explain.
Just as time is without beginning or end, so are the intentions of the Bodhisattva infinite. The voice of the Bodhisattva speaking the Dharma never ceases.”
Dharma Torch 