Translated by the Tripiṭaka Master Zhu Fahu from Yuezhi Country of the Western Jin Dynasty
Heard like this:
At one time, the Buddha was in Rājagṛha, within Vulture Peak Mountain, together with one thousand two hundred fifty great bhikṣus and countless Bodhisattvas. These great sages had already attained supernormal power, had mastered the universal holding, possessed wisdom that extended throughout the ten directions, had established the three liberations, understood the three times, and without any obstruction proclaimed the Three Jewels, delivering the three realms, and opening and expounding the Dharma gates of the three vehicles, enabling beings to understand the unsurpassed truth.
At that time, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, while wandering and walking in Rājagṛha upon Vulture Peak Mountain, was together with many Bodhisattvas and countless great disciples, also surrounded by devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, Asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas and many retinues. The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, for the sake of beings, broadly expounded the sūtras and Dharma, and in detail explained the different aspirations of cultivation within the three vehicles. Among those who came to listen to the Dharma, there were those studying the Śrāvaka vehicle who requested instruction from Mañjuśrī concerning the Four Noble Truths; those studying the Pratyekabuddha vehicle who sought explanations of the profound meaning of the twelve links of conditioned arising; and those learning the Great Vehicle who asked about various methods of cultivation, receiving the six kinds of liberating without limit, the four immeasurable minds, the repaying of the four heavy kindnesses, and mastering the great way of skillful means. Some asked about supernormal power, the four unfailing diligences, the four immeasurable minds, and other methods of cultivation, distinguishing and discerning the Bodhisattva path, and discussing how the thirty-seven Dharma gates reach the stage of non-retrogression, ultimately transcending and entering the realm of quiescent extinction. Some asked about the places of remorse and correcting errors, about the ten grounds, the ten forbearances, the ten discriminations, the ten auspicious signs, the ten holdings of Dharma, the ten seals of Dharma, and the ten kinds of Samādhi meditation. Others asked how to understand the non-destruction of all Dharmas and how to enter the state of the ultimate truth of non-arising forbearance. Mañjuśrī answered them all according to their questions, satisfying their minds so that no doubts remained.
At that time, among the assembly there were some newly learning, newly motivated Bodhisattvas who came to receive the teachings, yet they could not understand the causes and conditions of sin and merit, were covered by the five kinds of hindering veils, deluded by falsity and doubting suspicion, accustomed to inverted views, lacking courageous aspiration, relying upon form and appearance, holding timid and weak minds, and unable to ask Mañjuśrī about the methods of purifying all sins and sufferings to cultivate the Great Vehicle up to the unsurpassed path.
At that time, within the assembly there was a Bodhisattva named Tathāgata Equal Radiance Illumination. Seeing that these newly learning Bodhisattvas harbored hesitation and could not decide firmly, he then stepped forward and requested teaching from Mañjuśrī concerning the matter of absence of sin, the meaning of repentance, how to correctly encourage and assist, how to inquire without fault, and how to guide them without error so that they might advance.
Mañjuśrī answered the Bodhisattva Tathāgata Equal Radiance Illumination: “Virtuous man, a Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva who wishes to remove karmic offenses, to uphold equality, and to enter the Buddha Dharma of past, future, and present should prostrate with the five limbs touching the ground, then rise again, place the right knee upon the ground, and speak these words: ‘All beings travel upon mistaken paths, fall into wrong views, and they should be guided toward the Dharma gates of the sages and saints.’
“Desiring to transform and liberate all beings so that they all attain the unsurpassed, true, and perfectly equal path, one should therefore place the right knee on the ground and proclaim: ‘Just as the Tathāgata, the True Thusness, the Perfectly Enlightened One, when seated beneath the Bodhi tree upon the ground, removed all evil dharmas and perfected all good, so too shall I.’
“Then one should contemplate own head and entire body, stroke them with the hand, then point with the right hand toward the earth and say: ‘I shall subdue the Māra king and his retinues. If I attain the Buddha path, may all persons and all classes of beings cease and suppress the affairs of Māra and outer adversaries.’ Just as the World-Honored One, in former times beneath the Bodhi tree, pointed to the earth, vowing to attain Buddhahood and subduing eighteen koṭis of māra kings and their retinues, therefore one should press the right palm against the earth, opposite to the left palm.
“Then place the left knee upon the ground and say: ‘If there are those who sink within the ignorance, whose minds are inverted and not aligned with righteousness, stubborn and hard to transform, unable to develop capacity, greedy, defiled, dwelling in peril, slandering fellow learners, now understanding the principle, correcting the past, rectifying the future, and sincerely receiving the instruction of the four kinds of kindness,’ therefore one should touch the ground with the left hand and the left knee.
“When the head touches the ground, one should say: ‘May all persons cast aside the mind of pride and arrogance, and by means of various teachings cultivate filial devotion toward father and mother, revere elders, and thereby obtain the Buddha’s topknot mark which none can surpass or see the summit of, surpassing all worldly dharmas, the body transcending the three realms, the wisdom exceeding even space. Now I take refuge, and with the rite of the five limbs touching the ground I seek virtue, wishing to cause all beings to accomplish the great path.’
“The worldly person is born amid the five covering hindrances, yet through this merit, he naturally can remove these five covering hindrances, attain the five faculties and reach the five powers, extinguish the five desires, obtain the five kinds of supernormal power, depart from the five aggregates, and accomplish the five eyes. Among beings within the five destinies, he can obtain special fivefold methods of cultivation, with strict discipline, and with Samādhi and wisdom cultivated to the realm of liberation, mastering knowledge and correct views. Because of the merit of prostrating with the five limbs touching the ground, the covering hindrances are eliminated, he abides in the faculties and powers, constantly mindful of the Tathāgata and never forgetting.
“Then he speaks these words: ‘The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, only reveal compassion and pity. In all these worlds of the ten directions, the Bodhisattvas and even the Buddhas have wisdom without obstruction; their conduct is uniform, they uphold equality, they guard and protect the Dharma marks. With the pure body of Dharma they have speech that is in truth without explaining, with a pure mind that is in truth without mind. All Dharma wisdom is without obscuration, without coming and without going, and within all wisdom they universally behold beings with compassion, equally entering the essential meanings of the Tathāgata’s realization, the Dharmas of past, future, and present. Knowing the retribution of the causes and conditions of sins and merits, the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, are like holy eyes, their perfected wisdom able to bear witness. They assume heavy responsibility for beings and diligently strive. I, without knowing the Truth, delude myself within birth and death, unable to be keen and penetrating, lacking knowledge and recognition, dwelling within non-Dharma while believing it to be Dharma, violating precepts while believing them to be precepts, not being a guardian for beings yet believing myself to be a guardian, arousing unwholesome thoughts while believing them to be wholesome. My mind follows inversion, unable to understand impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self, clinging to the view of a body, creating many karmic offenses, committing non-Dharma, and disobeying the sūtras and the prohibitions established by the Buddha.
‘If I myself have committed these offenses, or instructed others to commit them, then I shall incur affliction that cover me—failing to hear the Buddha Dharma, despising the Bodhisattva-saintly assembly, failing to uphold the teachings of the Buddha Dharma, perceiving various affairs of Māra, becoming distant from all Pāramitās, liberating without limit, if someone gives I obstruct him, destroying the wholesome roots of others so that they cannot accomplish their aims—now I, within the radiance of the Buddhas and World-Honored Ones of the ten directions, repent and confess, not daring to conceal, so as to eliminate misfortunes, correct past errors, and cultivate in the future.
‘From this day forth, I dare not commit such actions again; let me not be covered by many karmic offenses, falling into the hells, hungry ghosts, animals, spirits, or realms of poverty. If I am born among humans, may I not be destitute or lacking; if I am born in the heavens, may I not be poor and premature death. May I broadly understand all sūtras and not be impoverished within the Buddha’s path; may wealth and worldly endeavors be abundant and not deficient, and may I employ the seven noble treasures to instruct those of shallow wisdom. The covering hindrances of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—these are conditions that disturb one’s kinship bonds and cause the mind to decay. If I am born on borderlands, if families fall into quarrels and division, if foul stench and filth arise that are hard to endure—may I not dwell among such companions, but constantly associate with and draw near the proper and upright ones who should be cultivated. Now, before the Buddhas of the ten directions, I repent of my faults, correcting the past and cultivating the future, not daring to conceal.’”
Mañjuśrī said: “One should reproach oneself in this way: ‘In former lives my conduct was not pure; I destroyed the cultivation of body, speech, and mind, gave rise to thoughts of lust, anger, and delusion to create harm; I indulged in laxity and negligence, flattery and deceit, insatiable greed, accumulation of evil karma, slander and ridicule, belittling and mockery, reviling the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha, lacking filial reverence toward father and mother, scorning elders. I obscured the virtues of sages and ordinary beings alike, unable to perceive myself clearly, belittling wisdom, behaving arrogantly toward the saints, boasting of myself, picking apart the strengths and weaknesses of others. Having committed faults myself, I then guided others to follow evil actions, instigating them to oppose the true Dharma. I did not know the proper time of the Buddha, did not know the proper time of the Dharma, did not know the proper time of the Sangha, did not know the proper time of good and evil, becoming deeply submerged in the hindrances of greed, lust, and anger, covered by ignorance and unable to make effort, harboring jealous falsehood, violent and difficult to teach. Desires and cravings were many, clinging to the notion of ‘I,’ dwelling among humans, among beings with lifespan, giving rise to intentions that lead toward the five destinies, gathering thoughts of taking and demanding, harboring thoughts of deceitful flattery, accumulating limitless actions of non-Dharma. I clung to the belief in a real self, thinking ‘this is mine,’ taking the impermanent as permanent, taking suffering as joy, taking what is without body as body, taking the impure as pure, falling into the four inverted views. Planting evil karma, intoxicated with forms, attached to wealth and goods, confused by arrogance and authority, wasting away in national duty, deluded by relatives and companions. As for the offenses committed—encountering the Buddhas, hearing the Buddha Dharma spoken yet unwilling to ask and receive it, not making offerings to the saintly assembly, distancing myself from the roots of virtue, abandoning liberations without limit and forgetting the mind of the path, opposing the Three Jewels, or else discarding the boundless right actions, the measureless merits, and the inexhaustible saintly wisdom and eloquence, indulging in my own desires, following evil companions, and distancing myself from good friends—now I must confess and repent these offenses before the Buddhas of the ten directions, correct past actions, cultivate the future, and dare not conceal my offenses again.’”
Mañjuśrī again said: “One should repent oneself in this way: ‘In former lives my aspirations were low and base, and in all the places I wandered I aroused wicked vows, reviling the Great Vehicle, cutting off the true teaching, urging people to follow the mistaken path, slandering the profound sūtras of the true Dharma proclaimed by the Buddha, and by various means suppressing the turning of the Dharma wheel so that it could not circulate. Some of these offenses were committed by myself; some were committed by instructing others, guiding and helping actions of non-Dharma, destroying stupas and monasteries, degrading and disturbing the saintly assembly, bringing ruin and scattering to villages and settlements, destroying the lands of great kingdoms; or harming cities and towns, plotting against kings, injuring relatives both within and outside of the clan; or crippling another’s body, causing wounds and scars, endangering the lives of others; imprisoning people, or instructing others to kill; my mind confused and absurd, constantly filled with doubt, teaching others to hesitate and waver, proclaiming others’ sins and misfortunes, causing people not to uphold the precepts, leading them into wrong views, causing them to follow the doctrines of outsiders and depart from the proper path of cultivation; harboring resentment myself, disturbing the minds of others, always causing others to give rise to anger without fail. All the offenses committed—whether committed by myself or by instigating others—must be confessed and repented before the Buddhas of the ten directions, praying that the radiance of the Buddha realm may rescue me, correcting past actions, cultivating the future, and not daring to conceal these offenses again.’”
Mañjuśrī said: “One should again repent and say: ‘In the past I clung to my own self and said, “This is what I possess,” and all that I saw was inverted. I was submerged in craving and lust. The mind in truth is not real, yet I falsely imagined that there was a real mind; I could not clearly understand that mind is like illusion, that its nature is as it is. I could not discern the teachings of the Buddhas, nor could I arouse the mind of the unsurpassed, true, and perfectly right path, yet I vainly sought to see where the Path might dwell. All Dharmas are originally without possession, yet I instead declared them to have possession. All the wholesome and unwholesome karma created by my body, speech, and mind, I now sincerely repent before the radiant Buddhas of the ten-direction worlds, correct what is wrong and turn toward the good, not daring to conceal anything.
‘In the past, when I practiced giving, holding precepts, forbearance, vigor, concentration, and wisdom, I did not understand Samādhi and upheld inverted views. When giving, I falsely imagined receiving reward; within my mind, there was grasping while guarding the prohibitions; believing in the existence of “I” and “others” while practicing forbearance; letting the mind cling to the body while cultivating vigor; dwelling in various deluded thoughts while arousing meditation; thinking of what is efficacious and what is not efficacious, believing in the existence of an “other”; indulging in negligence while craving wisdom; longing to take refuge in the Buddha path yet believing that the Buddha path has an actual location. All these I now repent before the Buddha radiance of the ten-direction worlds, correct what is wrong and turn toward the good, not daring to hide anything.
‘In ancient times past, I could not understand the meaning of True Thusness. When offering to the Buddha, I instead clung to yearning for the exquisite marks and the eighty excellent features. Though serving the Buddha, I could not enter the Dharma realm that is without distortion, nor did I understand the Dharma of non-abiding; instead I gave rise to various discriminating thoughts regarding all dharmas. Even when hearing the Sūtra and Dharma, or speaking them, I merely pondered its intent, yet did not comprehend the Dharma of non-action. Clinging to the saintly assembly, I produced notions of number, and when offering to the saintly assembly I generated the mind of seeking gain. All these I now repent before the Buddha radiance of the ten-direction worlds, correct what is wrong and turn toward the good, not daring to hide anything.
‘In ancient times past, I formed intentions toward Dharmas, seeking places of emptiness and stillness, cultivating alone in seclusion, practicing restraint and moderation, being content and joyful, taking few desires as virtue, yet unable to understand that all Dharmas are empty, and the mind nowhere clings, only which, can one be said to sit in stillness within seclusion, abiding within the Dharma realm. I did not understand the penetration into the Dharma realm without reception, nor that the realm of beings also has no reception. Because of attachment to self, I became partial and sank downward, unable to cultivate the Buddha path, believing that there existed marks of persons different from myself. I did not cultivate the four kindnesses, and though I should have delivered beings, I failed to accomplish it. I also did not understand that the Buddha path is as it is, and the mark is also as it is. Moreover, within the thirty-seven aids to the path, I gave rise to the thought of “I,” and from this made searching and expecting, not understanding the true meaning of the śramaṇa’s stillness. Having renounced and leaving home, receiving and upholding the complete precepts, cultivating according to the rules of the bhikṣu, thus acting, and together with the other wholesome roots created, I obtained stability because of these wholesome roots. The bliss of conditioned merit and the ease of the unconditioned are vastly distant from each other, utterly unmatched. All these I now repent before the Buddha radiance of the ten-direction worlds, correct what is wrong and turn toward the good, not daring to conceal anything.’
“‘Just as in the past the Buddha, the Deva among devas, when cultivating the Buddha path as a Bodhisattva, repented all karmic offenses, all obstacles, and all afflictive coverings, so too should I; and just as the future and present Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, have places of correction in their cultivation, so too should I now repent in this same manner. Before the noble Buddha—supreme, highest elder, most wondrous and extraordinary, unequalled—I confess and return my life. The Buddha’s holy wisdom is immeasurably vast beyond measure; he completely and freely knows all the innumerable particles of all worlds, and universally knows the thoughts within the minds of all beings. We ourselves, from innumerable asaṃkhyeya kalpas until now, due to the delusion we have practiced, have allowed ourselves to become negligent. Now I repent all karmic offenses and the calamities of afflictive coverings. Just as I repent the karmic offenses and misfortunes for myself, likewise for all beings within the five destinies such as hells, hungry ghosts, and animals, all who are covered by karmic offenses—I now prostrate with the five limbs touching the ground and repent.’ When one fully understands the subtle meanings, removing all limitations and obstacles, thereafter one can freely enter and contemplate all dharmas. Those what are able to be repented have no karmic offenses, no retribution, and no defilements of affliction, like empty space. One who has already entered all Dharmas, one who is not covered by karmic offenses is called one who has repented all faults.
“In this way, virtuous man, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva, for all past bondage of afflictions, for all actions undertaken, for all mistaken thoughts, for all conditions of wealth and livelihood, for all dependent places—should repent them all. If among these, due to contact with such forms, feelings, thoughts, or actions become unequal, one should cause them to understand that all is originally without true existence. If a cultivator realizes that all is originally without existence, he can enter this primal realm, the realm without thought, the realm without form, the realm without duality, the realm without the covering of the five aggregates, the realm without attainment, the realm without body, the realm of separation from desire, the realm without cultivation, the realm without action, the realm without obstruction, the realm without reliance, the realm without source. This is called the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva’s confession of repentance—without destructive offense, attaining the wisdom of the Buddha, extinguishing all stoppages, calamities, and coverings of obstruction.
Mañjuśrī said: “After repenting all these sins and faults, one should immediately arouse the mind to the unsurpassed truth and perfectly enlightenment, vowing to remove the calamities and karmic obstacles of all beings, so that they are without the coverings of karmic offenses, causing them to reach the Buddha, the True Thusness, and not become of the Śrāvaka vehicle nor the Pratyekabuddha vehicle. One should guide and teach beings: whoever seeks deliverance, I shall deliver them; whoever has not yet been liberated, I shall rescue them; whoever wishes to be extinguished, I shall cause them to be extinguished, becoming the refuge and salvation for all beings. One should guard the place of refuge, point out and indicate the direction of the path, like one who holds a bright lamp, illuminating with radiance, acting as leader, and great guide for merchants for the multitude. By relying upon these ten powers of the Tathāgata, in the very instant of arousing the mind, one becomes adorned and fully endowed with the four fearlessnesses, the thirty-two marks of a great person, the eighty excellent features, possessing the eight kinds of voice of the Tathāgata, understanding and penetrating the Tathāgata’s skillful means of teaching, entering into the thoughts within the minds of beings.
“The Buddha’s vast and unsurpassed wisdom pervades the Dharma realm; his pure moral discipline is without the slightest flaw, and like rain he showers phrases and verses of Dharma as firm as diamond. He does not abandon any being and causes beings not to fall back, eventually realizing the wisdom of all-seeds and the various supernormal powers, generating the perfectly true mind. Toward the Buddhas’ Dharma he does not give rise to attachment, and with all wholesome roots and merits he dedicates them to assist the fulfillment of the original vows of all Buddhas—past, future, and present. From the first arousing of the mind until the accomplishment of unsurpassed true and perfectly right enlightenment, all merit that appear in between are, as the Buddha taught, that all Dharmas originally have no root and no abiding place.
“What is called giving is in truth nothing given; the self-nature is originally pure, and holding precepts pure means only that there is originally no transgression; all beings entirely cease and none could to be arisen, and this alone is called forbearance; quiescence and non-action is vigor; the mind is as it is and without arising or ceasing is what is called concentration; delivering beings yet in truth having none to deliver, not clinging while crossing the swift current and abandoning all wrong views—this is wisdom.
“Entering the profound twelvefold conditioned arising yet having nothing to enter—this alone is worthy to be called subtle and mysterious; understanding that the nature of all Dharmas is empty—this is loving-kindness; acting without fabrication—this is compassion; not clinging to all Dharmas—this is sympathetic joy; surpassing the four sufferings without discrimination—this is equanimity; neither receiving nor not receiving, nor gathering—this is the four kinds of grace; without root and without abiding—this is the wholesome root called the five faculties; the mind without abiding and without grasping—this is the five powers; awakening to the origins and ends of all truths is the seven awakening-factors; not falling into duality, neither uniting nor dispersing—this is called the Path; attaining the conduct of natural simplicity—this is tranquility; understanding deliverance through wisdom and not opposing the gentle patience of the Dharma—this is contemplation; having wisdom as companion—this is supernormal power. All these I dedicate, encouraging and assisting beings to move toward the non-retrogressing turning of the Dharma wheel, guiding them in equality until they become Buddhas.
“The Tathāgata, by being fully endowed with adornments that accomplish his body, according to this meaning employs written words and speech, following the differing languages and voices of beings, distinguishing and explaining for them; the Dharma meanings he proclaims are universally pervasive, and none can obstruct them. The Tathāgata, through the ten powers, always possesses complete freedom; with wisdom as adornment he is accomplished, manifesting the transformative supernormal powers of all Buddhas, unsurpassed, without limit, most honored, unequalled. I dedicate and assist in accomplishing the cultivation of such Dharma.
“All past, future, and present Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, their bodies are originally pure, knowing naturalness and unobtainable. What is called purity is that the pure minds are pure unobtainable, and there is nothing to remove. Making offerings to the Buddhas, being without attachment to all Dharmas—this alone is to protect and uphold the Dharma. Without merit, without beings, making offerings to the Sangha in such a way completes all deportment and ritual propriety and accomplishes all cultivation. In this manner one cultivates, and extends it to all other matters, reaching equality with the path and wisdom of all past, future, and present Buddhas.
“One practices the Buddha Dharma in equality, does not fall into any path of Māra, does not mingle with Dharmas, does not cling to the states of Śrāvaka or Pratyekabuddha, cuts off all errors, practices liberations without limit, and obtains universal holding. Cultivating the Bodhisattva conduct, one swiftly approaches the right path, able to respond fully to the needs of beings, following the wishes of beings so that each obtains what they should obtain. One constantly abides in the realm of equality, acting freely, adorning all Buddha-lands, with eloquence whose radiance illuminates, returning to purity, cutting off all evil destinies, with Samādhi free and unobstructed, following all the actions of beings, obtaining all universal holding, none failing to shine with illumination, with holy and wondrous eloquence flowing forth from one’s own nature. With the mind of all-knowledge that has been aroused, one dedicates it entirely to assist in the Buddha’s path and wisdom.
“All past, future, and present ones who have accomplished the Buddha path have exhausted all outflows; precept, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge-and-vision that liberates beings are all complete; among the various powers they move freely without hindrance, without retreat, because they have no fear. The Dharma of the Buddhas is without obstruction; their limitless deeds of compassion are unequalled; their great compassion does not stand above beings, but is equal like empty space, with no summit that can be perceived, with no distinctions of merit or retribution. Pure, washing away the mind of delusion, they adorn their own body, speech, and mind. The devas, Śakra, and Brahmā all come to protect, they proclaim the teachings and turn the Dharma wheel, remove obstacles of ignorance and incomprehensible, teach and transform beings to establish the Buddha’s wisdom. All this I dedicate and assist, so that they may attain the Buddha’s unsurpassed great path.
“All past, future, and present Buddhas, when approaching Nirvāṇa, establish teaching through skillful means and majestic power, letting their śarīra be circulated so that beings may make offerings, gathering and receiving the intentions of all beings. From beginning to end until the final disappearance of the true Dharma, I assist in all meritorious qualities that can be assisted, vowing to seek the Buddha’s wisdom and the unsurpassed great path.
“Past, future, and present Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, manifest Nirvāṇa, gather the Śrāvaka disciples, transcend all obstacles, and guide beings so that they deeply trust and awaken to the true flavor of the Dharma realm, guiding their thoughts on Dharma so they cross beyond the eight wrong paths. The eight groups, dwelling in the ground of the non-conditioned lineage, some beings of this lineage go against the current and attain Srotāpanna; some attain Sakṛdāgāmin and returning twice; some died here and born there without returning and attain Anāgāmin; some with non-conditioned, non-arising, not coming and not going and attain Arhat; those who clearly discern the profound twelvefold conditioned arising become Pratyekabuddha; those whose wisdom reaches everywhere are Bodhisattvas.
“Those who first arouse the mind, their minds are equal like earth, universally entering all cultivations. Their actions accord with the truth, exhausting the root of birth and death, fully possessing the Buddha Dharma and attaining non-retrogression. In all births, truly there is nothing born, and thus they can enter the position of one-life-to-go. They speak and proclaim the wisdom of non-possession and radiate great light. All roots of merit and virtue have no root and no abiding place. All this I dedicate and assist so that such Dharma may be fulfilled.
“Vowing to seek the Buddha’s wisdom and the unsurpassed great path: all beings of past, future, and present within the three times, when seen through the Buddhas’ eyes, are pure. Their practice of giving is without consideration of self and without clinging; their meritorious actions in holding precepts are boundless, without limit. The percepts they cultivate, the ‘conduct’ of these principles, in truth has no mark of ‘conduct.’ All these merits I dedicate and assist to accomplish the Buddha’s wisdom and unsurpassed great path, yet there is no difference, equal and without diminution, pure and free of defilement, like empty space. The ones who entered the wondrous wisdom of the saintly assembly is the supreme leader who guide all the meanings. They cultivate diligently, naturaly, like empty space, true and nothing is comparable to it, like the realm of non-action, without companion; I dedicate and assist by means of this.
“In summary: just as the past, future, and present Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, when originally practicing the Bodhisattva path, performed boundless conduct, possessed liberations without limit in wisdom, skillful means without obstruction, practiced truly and excellently in purity, and upon completing pure conduct realized the Buddha’s wisdom—so all the meritorious roots that should be dedicated and assisted, I dedicate and assist.
“I shall learn these noble Dharma and dedicate and assist, vowing to seek the Buddha’s wisdom and the unsurpassed great Path, so that all beings—as many as the dust filling the worlds of the ten directions— all behold the Buddha and arouse the mind, beyond calculation, to awaken to the great Path, and to cultivate freely. I dedicate and assist all these wholesome roots. Understanding that these wholesome roots cannot be clung to, and that all Dharmas are like empty space: if one can dedicate and assist these wholesome roots, then there is no ‘root’ obtainable. Having departed from all roots, there is no protecting, no recollecting, and thus one is quiescent and without arising; upon penetrating non-arising, one enters all Dharmas; having entered all Dharmas, this is true dedication and wholesome roots—dedicating as if it were for oneself, and likewise dedicating to assist all Bodhisattvas, teaching all beings in the same way, equal and without difference. Virtuous man, this is the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva’s dedication and assistance toward the Buddha’s wisdom, in perfect accordance with nature and without fault, straight unto the great Path.
“Further, virtuous man, the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva abides in such profound, subtle, and magnificent teachings, and thereafter also proclaims these verbal teachings by means of speech.
“In the ten-direction worlds there are innumerable and incalculable Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, who in their worlds have attained the unsurpassed true and perfect path, accomplished the most perfect awakening, understood the scriptures, transcended the four kinds of Māra, and accomplished the dispassionate Dharma of having nothing to obtain, all having already gone beyond the two kinds of realms, which are the characteristics of written words and the correspondence of the sacred path. As they themselves have realized the Dharma, they further contemplate and, by skillful means, manifest the Dharma, opening, guiding, and teaching all beings who ought to be delivered, without losing their vast compassion. When beings make obeisance and question them, they abide at ease in quiescence, contemplate the Buddha-tree, receive the praise of the devas, nāgas, spirits, and gandharvas, fully comprehend all sounds, languages, and expressions, and explain them for all beings. If one can practice such Bodhisattva conduct, one can subdue Māra and his retinue, transform all adversaries, so that in their minds there is no longer the thorns—what are called thorns refer to the three poisons—fulfilling the aspirations of beings, at once in accordance with what is conceived in one’s mind extinguishing ignorance and darkness, and in the world accomplishing immeasurable, vast brightness and majestic power.
“The wisdom radiance of the sages enters immeasurable realms, able to clearly discern and thoroughly understand all principles; nothing can obstruct or destroy the wheel of their wisdom. They can employ skillful means, completely penetrating the fundamental dispositions of all beings, proclaiming scriptures and Dharma for beings, with nothing able to hinder them. They can cut off all actions that bind beings in various places, clearly illuminating all the teachings that beings hope to hear and receive.
“I prostrate with the five limbs to the ground and pay homage to the Buddhas, reverently taking refuge in the wondrous, superior, foremost, unsurpassable, incomparable, without anything above it, inexpressible, nothing can compare with it—the Buddha’s wisdom is thus difficult to reach, able to contemplate the realm of non-duality. Such homage of mine is for the sake of respecting the Buddha, who arises from no place, and arrives at no place. This is, by the homage of patience, first confessing all evils and faults, and by bowing to the Buddha, repenting errors and taking refuge, causing all calamities and sinful deeds to disperse entirely, just as dark clouds scatter and the sun shines.
“Even if there were in the ten-direction worlds beings as numerous as dust and sand, innumerable, whose thoughts at the moment of speech and resolve are incalculable, they would all exhort and assist the Buddhas to turn the Dharma wheel.
“These World-Honored Ones turn the unsurpassed Dharma wheel, the most supreme non-duality wheel, the wheel without form and without accomplishment, the wheel of the unattainable, the wheel that destroys all the nets of Māra, the wheel that has arisen since long ages out of awakening to the principle of non-arising and thereby attaining the great Path, the wheel that opens and guides beings to adorn and purify the Buddha-lands of the ten directions, the wheel of entering the Path that within the all-knowing wisdom possesses an exceedingly great power of subjugation and is without any who can overcome it, the wheel of understanding emptiness, non-form, and non-desire, the wheel of no action, the wheel of no birth and no arising, the wheel of all-emptiness and the true reality, the wheel that accomplishes the non-accomplishment, the wheel that subdues the non-deliverable, the wheel of profoundly subtle understanding of the twelvefold dependent arising, the wheel that destroys the various Māras and defeated outside adversaries, eliminating delusion and the foes who harm beings. They beat the inexhaustible Dharma drum, also blow the wordless Dharma conch, and raise aloft the banner of Dharma-wisdom.
“And the great radiance of knowledge, sacred wisdom, and liberation shines brilliantly, blazing like endless lamps and torches, and immediately pours down immeasurable nectar; the dripping Dharma-water delights beings and the wisdom of the noble ones. The unsurpassed great path, by means of the correct seven factors of awakening, fills them to abundance, extinguishing all beings’ birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, weeping, and vexation, extinguishing the obstacles of knotted nets and the roots of trees obscured by darkness. Therefore it is said that the radiance of wisdom is kindled, the boundless great lamp, and following the karmic actions originally created by beings and following their fruits of sin and merit, it discriminatingly teaches and explains for them.
“These World-Honored Ones in the innumerable and incalculable ten-direction worlds perform the Buddha’s work, skillfully revealing the Dharma and the precepts, unceasingly bestowing verbal teachings, and with wisdom clearly distinguishing the true principle. They also confer predictions upon the Bodhisattvas, who firmly abide within the noble assembly, teach and transform beings, pursue the profound and quiescent unconditioned Dharma, and uphold the scriptures without ever becoming satisfied.
“If there are Buddhas, the Great Sages, who are about to enter extinction, I shall exhort them not to enter extinction, causing them to concentrate, act in tranquility and stability, and in accordance with the Dharma-realm abide for a long and enduring time, teaching and transforming beings throughout immeasurable, innumerable, and incalculable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, abiding in the six pāramitās, delivering all beings without omission. If there is even a single person who has not yet attained liberation, they do not relinquish their lifespan, universally guiding them to enter various Universal Holding gates, enabling them all to behold the beginning of the practice, at the causal stage, of the Samādhis of all Buddhas.
If, by means of correct principles, one establishes the great meditative states, guiding beings to resolve upon the Mahāyāna, going to all the worlds of all Buddhas, revealing for beings that the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, swiftly accomplish the Buddha-path from non-arising. Although appearing to arise, are in truth without arising; likewise, although without extinction, they show extinction. They are quiescent, entirely without attachment. Virtuous man, this is the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva’s wisdom of exhorting and assisting the Buddhas and is without any fault.
Mañjuśrī said: “If one has already thus repented the faults that were committed, one should arouse the intention toward the unsurpassed true and perfect Path, constantly treating beings with a mind of compassion, holding no resentment.
When there is no resentment and no expectation, summon the three realms, exhorting and assisting all wholesome roots. Bowing at the crowns of the Buddhas, dedicating oneself and repenting faults, exhorting and assisting in the turning of the Dharma-wheel, revealing the immeasurable merits already established, then one can arouse the Wisdom of Sarvajña, the various supernormal powers, and sharp intelligence.
In the ten-direction worlds, the rare and marvelous jewels without owner, the flower garlands, the various fragrances, the ground incense, the unguent incense, lamps and flames, garments, banners and canopies, silken streamers, the musical instruments that sound of themselves without being struck, the palaces, bathing pools, rivers, seas, springs, the light of the sun and moon—these have no sovereign and no master, and no one dares to call them one’s own. I have personally seen them and have retained them in my mind, offering them to the illuminator of the world, the Buddha, the deva among devas. With these manifold offerings, I present rare and wondrous treasures to the Buddhas. All the seven-jeweled trees of the heavens and of the human realm within the three realms, the natural jewels, the flowers, the fragrances, the celestial music, and the resting couches are likewise offered to the Buddhas.
After completing the offerings, one understands that the realizations of all Buddhas are equal, that all Buddhas are without duality and without difference, having no fixed form, but only manifesting such thirty-two marks and the eighty excellent signs, and by skillful means manifesting immeasurable forms of color. All the Dharma that is proclaimed sends its sounds far and wide; they manifest countless bodies, the number of which is incalculable. In all worlds there is no fixed abode, they do not dwell in the Dharma-realm, they hold sincere faith, and from conditions they are liberated. They are those who may be offered to, and one’s service are offered to the Buddhas.
These World-Honored Ones do not waver within the various Dharma-realms, and there is no place for the liberations without limit. What they enter there is no obstruction, and where they reach there is no boundary. They contemplate the five-aggregate bodies of beings as though they were wilderness, without owners, entirely empty and devoid. If one does not understand this, one will merely increase sorrow and affliction. Teaching and transforming the various kinds of beings, they stand upon the Wisdom of Sarvajña and the wisdom of the various supernormal powers, universally entering all practices and realizing the Tathāgata, and all the practices they enter abandon the attachment to existence and non-existence. They reveal the states of beings and of humans, causing them to have no mind of arrogance. They turn the wheel of the Buddha-Dharma without negligence, completely abandoning speculative talk and laziness, subduing all the hosts of māras. The mental nature of beings is without limit; they sever all the roots of the afflictions, and for them reveal immeasurable Dharma gates. All beings are situated within various nets, and by the power of the path they extensively reveal the meaning. The Dharma of equality has no obstruction or fundamental basis and does not waver; it entirely arises and proclaims the Universal Gateway, completely accomplishing the Wisdom of Sarvajña, and by purely cultivating the merits of the Buddhas they adorn their bodies.
Offering śarīra with the merits of offerings such as lamps, incense, various flowers, all kinds of fragrances, and all offering vessels, these offerings are given to the Buddhas, the illuminators of the world: ‘Just as the Bodhisattvas made various offerings to the Buddhas of the past, offering to the Buddhas with not even the slightest attachment in their minds, so too do I establish and assist in the same way. I only wish that the great sages would extend great compassion, pity, and accept these offerings.’
Mañjuśrī said: “Further, virtuous man, when the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva abides here, he then utters these words: ‘My confession, in truth, is illusory and unreal. The wholesome acts that I have encouraged and brought forth are also without arising. The questions that I have asked are all empty and without anything. All the transgressions for which I confess are delusive and not real. Since the wholesome acts that I encourage are without arising, and the questions that I ask are empty and without anything, then the Path is likewise thus, empty and without anything.’
“The one that is without arising and empty and without anything — the concentration is likewise, without arising. There is no one to be liberated, no grasping, no thought; where there is no grasping, one can believe, understand, and be released. The assistance and encouragement that is without grasping considers the merit of confessing transgressions as the mind of the Path, and all beings within the absence of sin and the absence of merit obtain freedom. What was first encouraged and helped is all offered to all Tathāgatas and the sages assembly with wholesome roots, bowing the head in homage, presenting lamps, fragrances, flower-canopies, necklaces, and various precious treasures. Those who are the recipients of such offerings regard this merit as a single flavor of purity; purity means that its nature is pure, bright, clean, and luminous.
This is equal to the All-knowing Wisdom, serving as a vast, boundless activity of giving, practicing the Path with a mind of kindness and goodness free from defilement. The vows that are made gather together and turn toward the Path of the Tathāgata, and thereby help the unsurpassed perfect awakening, reaching the most perfect enlightenment.
“All Dharmas are without anything to assist: if the eyes do not abide in form and one understands that form is of its own nature, and the eyes do not grasp, then one should likewise understand karmic causation and its retribution in this way.
The place from which arising occurs does not depart from the eye, and there is no form; just as it arises, it immediately perishes, dispersing entirely, without any abiding place. The relation of the ear to sound, the nose to fragrance, the tongue to taste, the body to touch, and the mind to Dharma is also thus: understanding that there is no Dharma.
“All merit is also like this: assisting the Path, yet the Path itself has no goodness; there is only goodness arising from conditions, and mind born from deeds. The mind of the Path that is aroused is likewise without any abiding, arising only to disintegrate at once, vanishing entirely.
“They create wholesome roots with their mind and, with this mind, assist those who cultivate. Yet the mind that is aroused constantly transforms, impossible to apprehend. It is like a flame, or the sunshine of the day, which comes from nowhere and goes to nowhere; the flame arises, when conditions combine, it suddenly cannot be found.
The Bodhisattva’s mind of the Path is also thus: the bright radiance of wisdom brings forth wholesome roots yet does not abide. This appearance arises through Dharma, and this is what is called the Bodhisattva’s assistance enters quiescence. He receives prediction, attains the forbearance, and reaches the radiance of holy purity and wisdom.
“If the Bodhisattva walks in this Dharma, and his mind does not delight in practicing all sources of defilement, then all Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, will certify him and will exhort and assist him to focus upon wholesome roots. This is like the Buddhas’ wisdom liberation without limit, skillful in means, and the sacred wisdom upon which they rely enables many Bodhisattvas to practice the correct path. The words of exhortation and assistance that they proclaim, I likewise follow without wavering. If diligence can reach such a degree, then the Bodhisattva’s path can universally reach all places, with no place not thoroughly pervaded.
“Relying upon the power of aspiration and inherent nature, the realm he enters is immeasurable and boundless; he also abandons all notions and thoughts of correspondence and non-correspondence. If he has already entered the nature and practices accordingly, then his recollection of all Tathāgatas, True Thusnesses, is as though they appear before his eyes; contemplation is like space, knowing that all existence is equal to emptiness. Therefore he can freely enter immeasurable realms, contemplating that all actions within the Dharma-realm are fully perfected. The wisdom of supernormal power ascends into the palace of freedom, and thus he can explain and reveal his mind, universally abandoning all defilements of the world, destroying all nets, and acting in accordance with his own thoughts. He can behold the Buddhas of the ten directions, the deva among devas, and the assembly of Bodhisattvas, without omission and nothing unseen. He recollects that the Buddhas of the past, future, and present are without duality, and with these wholesome roots he exhorts and assists the sacred wisdom.
“I now exhort and assist beings just as the non-dual realm can universally reach all places; this wholesome root is likewise thus, able to make all things pervade. Among the multitude of beings he can expound, enabling all beings to enter the states born from all vehicles and from all Bodhisattva-gates; all are fully accomplished, and there is nothing he does not contemplate and recollect. His faculty of sight can behold all beings, completely and perfectly possessing immeasurable Buddha-work. He fully receives through the faculty of hearing all that can be heard: the sounds, languages, and discriminated expressions of devas, humans, birds, and crawling creatures. His wisdom, in the face of these diverse voices, always provided perfectly complete and comprehensive guidance.
“All karmic results created by beings, whether sin or merit, appear as the fruits of what they have done. He contemplates matters of the three times—past, future, and present—and clearly understands beings’ actions that are skilled in discrimination, comprehends their languages, and fully knows that all wholesome roots are without root, without abiding, and without anything carried out. Only thus can he possess the various liberations without limit. He universally beholds beings and guides them equally, constantly relying on the nature of non-self. All worldly people joyfully approach and meet him. He is in the world yet without entanglement, and has no obstruction at all; therefore he attains the foremost realm. He contemplates and enters, cutting off all dharmas and attaining unobstructed penetration.
With respect to the various Dharma-realms he does not destroy them; the place in which he abides is the subtle realm of true reality. All beings who are in distress and affliction he can guide into the Buddha-lands, causing them to behold that all realms are human realms, obtaining bright vision that beholds the ten directions, and receiving the empowerment of the sacred virtue of all Buddhas.
“He penetrates the dispositions and tendencies of all sentient beings, instructs and subdues conduct that is veiled by the afflictions, and in accordance with the Dharma gates taught, fully manifests the accomplishment of the sovereign and self-possessed state. The Path and practices he upholds accord with the non-arising; he lacks none of the four immeasurable minds, nor the four acts of repaying kindness, nor the six perfections for delivering beings in hardship, guiding them to realize vast and supreme wisdom. Sentient beings differ in will, mind, and disposition, yet he enables them to fulfill their sought-after aspirations, not giving rise to inverted deluded thoughts, obtaining inner delight and joy, endowed with a superlative and incomparable majestic virtue, their minds already abiding in tranquility, at last accomplishing true awakening.
“He personally beholds the dispositions and behavioral tendencies of sentient beings, teaches and transforms them with discernment, and manifests the ultimate Dharma, thereby ensuring that the practices of Bodhisattvas never become interrupted. He enables all sentient beings to be fully endowed with the boundless six liberations without limit and abide in the True Path without omission. The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones of the ten directions of the past, future, and present all employ this Dharma to instruct sentient beings, and obtain true accomplishment.
“Through the unsurpassed great Path he serves and attends, with a mind refined and gentle, fully endowed with merit, he proceeds to cause sentient beings to comprehend the Dharma of non-action, the wheel of scriptural teachings, all lands realms, and the Paths on which sentient beings proceed.
All those with any form or appearance he transforms and guides, enabling their minds to become clear, pure, joyful, and never to fall again, to personally behold the Buddhas, and to make offerings and take refuge. By means of this wholesome root he regards all forms as seeing the Buddha-body, and evenly contemplates the lands of the ten directions, thereby adorning and purifying all Buddha lands. He equally observes all devas, humans, peoples, and crawling and breathing beings, regarding their flattery and falsity as illusory transformations, and all comprehend and know that their fundamental nature is empty and without possession. He regards the three times equally, and within a single thought there is nothing into which he does not enter.
“All Dharmas, though possessing distinctions, ultimately return to equality and non-duality; by entering the power of the Path, they cause the myriad Dharmas together to realize the ultimate equality, cultivating and purifying the adornment of the markless, and equally penetrating skillful means. He observes the thoughts of sentient beings and, in accordance with their wills and habitual tendencies, responds to conditions and guides them, like a physician administering medicines, equally transmitting the unsurpassed wisdom of the True and Perfect Path. He transcends the conditioned Dharmas of the world, pure and undefiled, returning to equality, cleansing the afflictions, resentments, and defiled thoughts of sentient beings, enabling them to become thoroughly clear and bright. Returning to this Dharma of equality, they are able to enter the common body of Dharma of all Buddhas and accomplish the ultimate adornment. With will and mind cultivating the Dharma of gentleness and compliance, they follow diligent practice, and with courageous strength they apply themselves without weariness.
“Those who wish to deliver and transform sentient beings, relying upon this merit and wholesome root, enable the sentient beings of the ten directions to, within a single thought-moment, universally comprehend, and for all people of the world proclaim the collection of Bodhisattva vows and practices. With words and phrases, once proclaimed, he can manifest immeasurable teachings, displaying skillful means for sentient beings; within a single thought he enables each being to individually behold and individually hear the supernormal transformations of the gate of equality, and none fail to receive deliverance. When he turns the Dharma wheel, the mark of his tongue can cover his face and reach up to the Brahmā heaven, and the sound spreads far throughout the worlds of the ten directions.
“The body of the Tathāgata manifests the gate of the Path, bringing joy to sentient beings; with a unified, universal, and stable state he expounds immeasurable kinds of radiance. The Path of the Buddha is lofty, magnificent, and never interrupted; within a single time he manifests, proclaims, and verbally expounds, and can simultaneously reach the worlds of the five destinies in the ten directions, displaying the supernormal transformations of the Buddha, enabling all beings to wander and dwell therein, fully endowed with virtue, instructing and teaching all sentient beings. Manifesting these wholesome roots, he cultivates immeasurable Universal Holding gates, realizes the majestic brilliance of wisdom, and enables all sentient beings without exception to accomplish.
“The various wholesome roots cultivated by people, their aspirations, and their dispositions, though each is different, he enable them all to realize the wisdom of the radiance of total retention. If there are devas or humans who are sorrowful and afflicted, wishing to eliminate various calamities, all are enabled to realize the radiance of Universal Holding; all sources of treatises and writings are enabled to realize the radiance of Universal Holding; all actions and all matters corresponding to their diverse thoughts are entirely enabled to realize the radiance of Universal Holding, enabling them to comprehend the Universal Gate; the revolution of all faculties enables them to realize the gate of the radiance of Universal Holding; all pure and adorned decorations enable them to realize the gate of the radiance of Universal Holding; all roads and various beautiful majestic powers that delight the multitude are entirely enabled to realize the gate of the radiance of Universal Holding; being without obstruction, encompassing all Dharmas, directing them toward measureless majestic radiance and enabling them all to be complete, all Buddha Dharma gates are enabled to realize the radiance of Universal Holding. By means of this wholesome root and by this condition, they are entirely embraced and protected by the Buddhas.
“Viewing the Buddhas as seeing father and mother, they thereby gather in the Buddha lands, cultivating and purifying them. Being gathered in by the good spiritual friends, they respectfully serve the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, with a mind of various forms of love and joy, firm and unmoving, unshakable. They gather in sentient beings, accomplish teaching and transformation, and cherish all. If facing beings of the evil destinies, they employ sacred majesty to cut off the very roots of their afflictions. They gather in the worlds, bring forth cultivation, uphold wholesome Dharma, and teach all the canonical teachings. Those whom they transform and deliver are gathered in all Dharmas by a manner without leader or driver, wishing to hold and recite them.
“By means of this wholesome root, by this karmic result, dwelling in one matter they universally behold all matters, dwelling in all matters they behold one matter; with one matter they enter all matters, and with all matters they enter one matter; with one principle they instruct and transform all principles, and with all principles they elucidate one principle; by means of the absence of conditions they enter conditions, and guide conditions to enter the absence of conditions. By means of the dharma of nothingness they enter the diverse dispositions of sentient beings, teaching them according to their minds and conduct—by means of no-thought entering all thoughts, enabling those who have not yet advanced to all enter the Path, entering those with thought and guiding their advance toward the absence of thought.
“By means of this wholesome root, by this condition, and through this auspicious sign, from the mind and nature of a single person, of a single life-form that breathes, they universally behold the direction of the minds of all sentient beings; and from the aspirations and dispositions of all sentient beings they can illumine the inner intention of one person. Perfectly fulfilled to the utmost, they broaden the mind, and those whom they instruct have no boundary; by one person’s mind they exhort and reveal the thoughts and intentions of all sentient beings, and by all minds they arouse one mind. By the majestic power of all Buddhas they transform and instruct, opening and clarifying the mental conduct of all sentient beings, guiding the mind of one person to lead into the conduct of all sentient beings, and by all minds leading into one mind. Transforming and delivering the realm of sentient beings, they exhort the manifestation of the body of the Buddha’s radiance, their minds abiding in the state of the absence of the notion of the others, and within the absence of the notion of the others they remain unshaken; in the place established they do not abandon sentient beings, accomplishing liberation without limits without weariness or fatigue.
“By means of this wholesome root and by cultivating this condition, he abides in one Buddha land and yet universally beholds all Buddha lands; he abides in all Buddha lands and yet beholds a single Buddha land. Within all Buddha lands he enters the measureless Buddha lands, and within measureless Buddha lands he enters one Buddha land, with the endless original limit adorning and refining the purified lands. Through the teachings he enters, he cuts off the three poisons of lust, anger, and delusion, allowing none to remain; abiding in one land he teaches and transforms all lands, and dwelling in all lands he encourages advancement toward one land. All thoughts and contemplations that sentient beings give rise to are guided and aroused in the all directions, enabling one land to enter all lands and enabling one country to enter immeasurable Buddha lands and equally beholds the three realms. The thoughts arising among sentient beings cannot be made to sway him; with limitless compassion he opens and instructs people, having neither fixed location nor any place of abiding. If there are those who harbor doubt or hesitation, he universally delivers them, liberating all classes of sentient beings.
“By means of this wholesome root, past events enter the past, and further the past enters the future, and further the past enters the present; future events enter the future, and further future enters the past, and future enters the present; present events enter the present, and further the present enters the past. All past, future, and present enter the mark of equality, enabling the present to enter the present, the present to enter the past, and past, future, and present to universally enter equality.
“By means of this wholesome root, condition, and karmic result, he attains the Samādhi essence wisdom in which the Buddhas are immediately before his eyes; he accomplishes the Samādhi correct concentration of the Buddha virtue and the holy assembly of the Tathāgata; he attains the Samādhi of the adornment manifested by the Tathāgata Radiance Flower; he attains the Samādhi in which whatever appears is all made adorned and pure; he attains the Samādhi in which he manifests the body in all forms; he attains the Samādhi in which he enters all sounds, words, and speech. Further, the Śūraṃgama manifests various kinds of Nirvāṇa events; he attains the Samādhi of unceasing Buddha teaching; he will accomplish the Samādhi of single-minded purity, the Samādhi of ultimate, well-established abiding, the Samādhi of the vajra seat of concentrated intention, the vajra-like Samādhi, and the wisdom-eye Samādhi. By such Samādhis he illumines the minds of all sentient beings—their conduct, wills, and moral dispositions all differ—and past, future, and present affairs are all unobstructed to him, and only then is this the Tathāgata’s Samādhi site. Though sentient beings are each different, he enables them all to realize supernormal wisdom, and all their aspirations become fully accomplished.
“By means of this wholesome root, I and all sentient beings are able to accomplish the freedom of advancing and withdrawing, ultimately pure, receiving instruction and transformation. By means of this wholesome root, the fundamental source of the eye-faculty of all sentient beings becomes like the Buddha-eye; all sounds that the beings of the world are able to hear become accomplished as the Buddha-ear, their hearing without boundary; sentient beings’ nose-faculty becomes clear and unobstructed, like the Buddha’s nose, reaching everywhere without limit and without attachment; the tongue-faculty of all beings becomes endowed with extraordinary merit, obtaining the broad, long tongue-mark of the World-Honored One, and whatever they teach becomes like the speech of the Buddha; dwelling among all worldly Dharmas, whatever bodily deeds they perform and whatever actions they give rise to all become the Buddha-body; dwelling within all Dharma realms, though without fixed location, they transform and deliver sentient beings. All conduct becomes the work of Buddha wisdom, and according to the wills and aspirations of sentient beings they teach them by granting medicine appropriate to the illness. All fragrances become transformed into the fragrance of the Buddha’s virtue, perfuming the cultivation of the Path; all tastes become transformed into the taste of cultivating and accomplishing; all subtle and smooth tactile sensations become transformed into a gentle inward nature, entering into the activity of the meaning of Dharma; all dharmas are taken as instruction, enabling them to accomplish the Dharma of guidance for transforming sentient beings. All such realms that are entered, I shall accomplish, the great wisdom penetrating what all Buddhas have entered; the five aggregates of beings are covered over and harmed by various cravings, and I shall by Dharma transform these calamities and turn them into Buddha activities, causing all realms to become Buddha realms, causing all faculties to return to non-faculty, and causing those lacking roots to establish the root of the Path.
“By means of this wholesome root and through this condition, one attains the wisdom that abides nowhere, freely establishing oneself wherever the holy Path abides, enabling all sentient beings everywhere to understand, transforming all forms and appearances to become Buddha-forms. For this reason each person is enabled to comprehend this wisdom, transforming all sounds into Buddha-sound, all proclaimed for the sake of sentient beings to expound the teachings of the Path.
“Such practices enable all sentient beings fully to remove the doors of afflictions and desires. This is the Bodhisattva’s realization of the Dharma gate of the Bodhisattvas’ healing of mental conduct, which is the work of purifying all sentient beings’ intentions.
“The dwelling place of wisdom that brings delight to sentient beings enters the land of the unsurpassed, the realm of strength and power. The Bodhisattva practices descend at the appropriate time, neither contradicting nor opposing, and the bodily conduct, verbal speech, and mental actions cultivated have no obstruction, give rise to no harm, and conceal nothing, proclaiming the teachings of the Buddhas. His practice is not false; he realizes supernormal powers and his knowledge is complete. By means of this wholesome root, I shall cause my body and all sentient beings to accomplish purification, proclaiming it for others. This is the true, unfailing meaning of aiding the Buddha’s wisdom practiced by the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattvas.”
When Mañjuśrī spoke this “Chapter on the Fivefold Prostration Repentance,” five hundred Bodhisattvas all realized the tolerance of the non-arising of Dharmas, entirely removing doubts, hesitation, falsity, bondage, and the confusion of inverted wrong views. Bodhisattva Tathāgata Equal Radiance Illumination attained the Samādhi concentration of All Buddhas Indestructible.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, with the wisdom ear, heard from afar the Dharma spoken by Mañjuśrī, and immediately praised, saying: “Excellent, excellent. Virtuous one, you have well spoken this Dharma, able to remove the obstructions and coverings of faults of the Bodhisattvas and encourage them to enter the Path. If there are Bodhisattvas who may hear this teaching of encouragement and assistance, and are able to receive, uphold, recite, and expound it, then before long they shall all extinguish every obstruction of faults, leaving nothing to hinder them. It is like a lamp entering a dark room, where all darkness disappears; like the sun rising and illuminating the world, bringing brightness everywhere; like a blind person gaining sight, a deaf person gaining hearing, a mute person able to speak, a lame person able to walk, and what was blocked becoming open. The five aggregates naturally dissolve, the six waning afflictions are extinguished, they ascend to the hall of Dharma, enter the chamber of the Path, pass beyond the terrace of wisdom, and reside in the great sanctuary of the sage.”
“What is called the ‘hall of Dharma’?”
The Buddha said: “When supernormal powers have become unobstructed, without any hindrance, and one has realized the three insights.”
“What is called the ‘chamber of the Path’?”
The Buddha said: “When one has obtained Samādhi concentration and beholds the Buddhas of the ten directions as a person looking into a mirror, without near or far, everywhere fully seen.”
“What is called the ‘terrace of wisdom’?”
The Buddha said: “Wisdom that liberates without limit, understanding all emptiness, the mind without attachment, endowed with great loving-kindness and great compassion.”
“What is called the ‘great sanctuary’?”
The Buddha said: “Skillful and expedient means, knowing when to advance and when to withdraw, not abiding in the conditioned, not dwelling in the unconditioned, united with the Dharma-body and yet without union and without separation. Manifesting forms in the three realms, transforming into a Buddha-body of majestic marks, expounding the Dharma of the Path, and according to the time transforming Bodhisattvas, Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, noble adepts, great sages, ordinary persons, and foolish beings, enabling all sentient beings of the ten directions to be delivered, none failing to be saved, all set upon the great Path.”
After the Buddha had spoken thus, Bodhisattva Tathāgata Equal Radiance Illumination, the venerable Ānanda, the devas, nāgas, gods, asuras, and worldly people all rejoiced, made obeisance, and withdrew.
Dharma Torch 