Chapter 26: Getting Hold

26.1Then Śatakratu, head of the gods, said to the Lord, “It is amazing, Lord, how these bodhisattva great beings who have taken up or borne in mind or read aloud or mastered or properly paid attention to this perfection of wisdom in this very life get hold of good qualities; how they bring beings to maturity, purify a buddhafield, and pass on from buddhafield to buddhafield in order to attend on the lord buddhas; how, if they still want to revere, demonstrate reverence for, show honor to, and worship those lord buddhas on account of wholesome roots, those wholesome roots establish it accordingly; how they go into the presence of those lord buddhas and listen to the Dharma; how they never forget their Dharma right up until they fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening; [F.275.b] how they take possession of a perfect family, perfect celebrity, a perfect life, a perfect retinue, perfect major marks, perfect radiance, perfect eyes, a perfect voice, perfect concentration, and perfect dhāraṇī; how they go from world system to world system where the lord buddhas have not appeared and with skillful means magically produce themselves in the shape a buddha assumes; how they speak in praise of the perfection of giving and speak in praise of the perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom; how they speak in praise of inner emptiness, up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; how they speak in praise of the concentrations, speak in praise of the immeasurables and formless absorptions, speak in praise of the applications of mindfulness, and speak in praise of the right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and eightfold noble path; how they speak in praise of the ten powers, fearlessnesses, detailed and thorough knowledges, up to the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; and how with skillful means they tame beings in the three vehicles‍—the Śrāvaka Vehicle, Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and Great Vehicle‍—teaching them the Dharma.”

26.2Then Śatakratu, head of the gods, also said to the Lord, [F.276.a] “It is amazing, Lord, how these bodhisattva great beings who have taken possession of this perfection of wisdom have also taken possession of all the five other perfections as well and, similarly, how they have taken possession of all the dharmas on the side of awakening, all the meditative stabilizations, all the dhāraṇī gateways, all the emptinesses, the ten powers, the fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, up to and the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; how they have taken possession of the result of stream enterer and how they have taken possession of the result of once-returner, result of non-returner, state of a worthy one, a pratyekabuddha’s awakening, up to and the knowledge of all aspects; and how, Lord, those who have taken possession of this perfection of wisdom have taken possession of all the buddhadharmas.”

26.3Then the Lord said to Śatakratu, head of the gods, “It is exactly so, Kauśika, exactly so. By taking possession of this perfection of wisdom they have also taken possession of all the other five perfections as well, and similarly have taken possession of … up to the knowledge of all aspects.

26.4“Furthermore, Kauśika, listen well and hard and pay attention, and I will explain to you the good qualities that sons of a good family and daughters of a good family will obtain in this very life if they have taken up, borne in mind, read aloud, mastered, and properly paid attention to this perfection of wisdom.”

“I will do so, Lord,” said Śatakratu, head of the gods, and he listened to the Lord.

26.5The Lord said, [F.276.b] “Even if certain tīrthika religious mendicants, Māras, gods of the Māra class, or persons with unfounded conceit want to fight, want to dissuade, want to argue with, or want to contradict bodhisattva great beings, or sons of a good family or daughters of a good family, their wish to fight, wish to dissuade, wish to argue, and wish to contradict die down extremely quickly, and the intentions of those who want to fight, want to dissuade, want to argue, and want to contradict are not fulfilled. And why? Kauśika, it is because bodhisattva great beings practicing for a long time the perfection of giving, practicing the perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom always forsake those inner and outer dharmas on account of which beings for a long time have been fighting, dissuading, arguing, and contradicting, and they have established them in the perfection of giving. It is because bodhisattva great beings always forsake those inner and outer dharmas on account of which beings for a long time have been immoral, and have established beings in the perfection of morality; it is because bodhisattva great beings always forsake those inner and outer dharmas on account of which beings for a long time have been battling, fighting, and arguing, and they have established beings in the perfection of patience; it is because bodhisattva great beings always forsake those inner and outer dharmas [F.277.a] on account of which beings for a long time have become lazy, and they have established beings in the perfection of perseverance; it is because bodhisattva great beings always forsake those inner and outer dharmas on account of which beings for a long time have become distracted, and they have established beings in the perfection of concentration; and it is because bodhisattva great beings always forsake those inner and outer dharmas on account of which beings for a long time have become intellectually confused, and they have established beings in and inspired them to take up the perfection of wisdom.

26.6“Bodhisattva great beings, after having removed with skillful means attachment, rage, and obsession‍—the attachment, rage, and obsession on account of which beings have streamed through cyclic existences for a long time‍—have established them in and inspired them to take up the four concentrations; have inspired them to take up the four immeasurables and formless absorptions; have established them in and inspired them to take up the four applications of mindfulness, the right efforts, the legs of miraculous power, the faculties, the powers, the limbs of awakening, the eightfold noble path, the three emptiness, signless, and wishless gateways to liberation, the meditative stabilizations, and the dhāraṇī gateways; have established them in and inspired them to take up the ten tathāgata powers, the fearlessnesses, the detailed and thorough knowledges, and the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; and have established them in and inspired them to take up the result of stream enterer, the result [F.277.b] of once-returner, the result of non-returner, the state of a worthy one, and a pratyekabuddha’s awakening. Because of this, Kauśika, when bodhisattva great beings practice a bodhisattva’s practice, all of these good qualities and benefits will come about in this very life, and in a future life they will fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, turn the wheel of the Dharma, and, having established beings as they vowed to do, enter into complete nirvāṇa, into the element of nirvāṇa without any aggregates left behind. These, Kauśika, are the good qualities and benefits that will come about in a future life.

26.7“Furthermore, Kauśika, on that place on the earth where a son of a good family or a daughter of a good family will take up, bear in mind, read aloud, master, and properly pay attention to this perfection of wisdom, there on that place on the earth different tīrthika religious mendicants, Māras, gods of the Māra class, or persons with unfounded conceit cannot cause any disturbance in order to fight, argue against it, contradict it, or make it die out.

26.8“On top of that, such good qualities and benefits as these will come about for them as well: by listening to this perfection of wisdom they will gradually go forth by way of the three vehicles and bring an end to suffering.

26.9“To illustrate, Kauśika, there is a medicinal herb called maghī that gives relief from all poisons. In regard to this, a poisonous snake, a living thing seized with hunger, seeking food, sees some living creature. It wants to eat that creature and pursues that creature, following after it. Then that creature, scared out of its wits, terrified of dying, [F.278.a] runs to where there is the medicinal herb called maghī, and that poisonous snake, having sensed the smell of that medicinal herb, turns back. And why? Because such are the medicinal properties of that maghī herb that it suppresses all the venom of the poisonous snake. Kauśika, such is the power of the medicinal herb called maghī. Similarly, Kauśika, if any son of a good family or daughter of a good family takes up or bears in mind or reads out loud or masters or properly pays attention to this perfection of wisdom, even though fighting, dissuading, arguing, or contradicting it might happen, still, because of the grandeur of the perfection of wisdom and the power of the perfection of wisdom, it is calmed and dies down extremely quickly. Wherever they arise they die down right there, and they do not increase.

26.10“And why? Kauśika, it is because this perfection of wisdom is something that calms down all wrong unwholesome dharmas; it is not something that increases them. Which wrong unwholesome dharmas does it calm down and not increase? It calms down and does not increase these: greed, hatred, confusion, ignorance, volitional factors, consciousness, name and form, the six sense fields, contact, feeling, craving, appropriation, existence, birth , and old age and death, pain, lamentation, suffering, mental anguish, and grief‍—simply this great heap of suffering. It calms down and does not increase obscurations, hindrances, attachments, proclivities, snares, the view of a self, and the view of a being, of a living being, of a person, up to the view of one who knows and of one who sees, the view of permanence, the view of annihilation, the view of existence, and the view of nonexistence, up to every instance of a view, [F.278.b] as well as envy, immorality, malice, laziness, distraction, and intellectual confusion; the perception of permanence, perception of happiness, perception of self, and perception of beauty; the operations of craving; grasping at form ; grasping at feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness; grasping at the perfection of giving, and grasping at the perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom; grasping at inner emptiness, up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature; grasping at the applications of mindfulness, and grasping at the right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and eightfold noble path; grasping at the ten powers, fearlessnesses, detailed and thorough knowledges, and eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; grasping at all-knowledge and the knowledge of path aspects; grasping at the knowledge of all aspects; and grasping at nirvāṇa.

26.11“Kauśika, the Mahārājas, the Lokapālas, the Devas, the Śatakratus, heads of the gods, the Brahmās, the Sahāṃpati Brahmās, up to the Akaniṣṭha class of gods stationed in this great billionfold world system will constantly and always arrange for the guarding, protection, and safekeeping of those sons of a good family and daughters of a good family who take up or bear in mind or read aloud or master or properly pay attention to this perfection of wisdom.

26.12“Kauśika, [F.279.a] the lord buddhas who dwell and maintain themselves in world systems in the ten directions will constantly and always arrange for the guarding, protection, and safekeeping of those sons of a good family and daughters of a good family who take up or bear in mind or read aloud or master or properly pay attention to this perfection of wisdom. Thus their unwholesome dharmas will be reduced, and their wholesome dharmas will increase‍—that is, by way of not apprehending anything the perfection of giving, perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom increase and do not decrease; by way of not apprehending anything inner emptiness increases and does not decrease, up to by way of not apprehending anything the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature increases and does not decrease; by way of not apprehending anything the applications of mindfulness, right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and path increase and do not decrease; by way of not apprehending anything the ten powers, fearlessnesses, detailed and thorough knowledges, and eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha increase and do not decrease; by way of not apprehending anything all the meditative stabilizations and all the dhāraṇī gateways increase and do not decrease; up to and by way of not apprehending anything the knowledge of all aspects increases and does not decrease.

26.13“Theirs is polite speech and measured speech, [F.279.b] not unbridled speech. They are not overcome with rage, not overcome by conceit, and not overcome by miserliness, and they do not become envious.

26.14“They personally stop killing, they inspire others to stop killing, they speak in praise of stopping killing, and they speak in praise of others stopping killing as well, welcoming it.

26.15“They personally stop stealing, they inspire others to stop stealing, they speak in praise of stopping stealing, and they speak in praise of others stopping stealing as well, welcoming it.

26.16“They personally stop illicit sex because of lust, they inspire others to stop illicit sex because of lust, they speak in praise of stopping illicit sex because of lust, and they speak in praise of others stopping illicit sex because of lust as well, welcoming it.

26.17“They personally stop lying, they inspire others to stop lying, they speak in praise of stopping lying, and they speak in praise of others stopping lying as well, welcoming it. Similarly, they personally stop backbiting, insulting, and babbling nonsense; they inspire others to stop backbiting, insulting, and babbling nonsense; they speak in praise of stopping backbiting, insulting, and babbling nonsense; and they speak in praise of others stopping backbiting, insulting, and babbling nonsense as well, welcoming it.

26.18“They personally stop coveting, malice, and wrong view; they inspire others to stop coveting, malice, and wrong view; they speak in praise of stopping coveting, malice, and wrong view; and they speak in praise of others stopping coveting, malice, and wrong view as well, [F.280.a] welcoming it.

26.19“They personally stand in the perfection of giving, they inspire others to engage in the perfection of giving, they speak in praise of the perfection of giving, and they speak in praise of others practicing the perfection of giving as well, welcoming it. Similarly, they personally stand in the perfection of morality … the perfection of patience … the perfection of perseverance … the perfection of concentration … and the perfection of wisdom, they inspire others to engage in the perfection of wisdom, they speak in praise of the perfection of wisdom, and they speak in praise of others practicing the perfection of wisdom as well, welcoming it.

26.20“They personally meditate on inner emptiness, they inspire others to engage with inner emptiness, they speak in praise of inner emptiness, and they speak in praise of others meditating on inner emptiness as well, welcoming it. Similarly, they personally meditate on … up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, they inspire others to engage with … up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, they speak in praise of … up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, and they speak in praise of others meditating on … up to the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature as well, welcoming it.

26.21“They personally become absorbed in all the meditative stabilizations, they inspire others to become absorbed in all the meditative stabilizations, they speak in praise of becoming absorbed in all the meditative stabilizations, and they speak in praise of others become absorbed in all the meditative stabilizations as well, welcoming it.

26.22“They personally obtain the dhāraṇīs, they inspire others [F.280.b] to obtain dhāraṇīs, they speak in praise of obtaining dhāraṇīs, and they speak in praise of others obtaining dhāraṇīs as well, welcoming it.

26.23“They personally become absorbed in the first concentration, they inspire others to become absorbed in the first concentration, they speak in praise of abiding having become absorbed in the first concentration, and they speak in praise of others abiding having become absorbed in the first concentration as well, welcoming it.

26.24“They personally become absorbed in the second concentration … the third concentration … and the fourth concentration, they inspire others to become absorbed in the fourth concentration, they speak in praise of becoming absorbed in the fourth concentration, and they speak in praise of others becoming absorbed in the fourth concentration as well, welcoming it.

26.25“They personally become absorbed in loving-kindness, they inspire others to become absorbed in loving-kindness, they speak in praise of becoming absorbed in loving-kindness, and they speak in praise of others becoming absorbed in loving-kindness as well, welcoming it.

26.26“They personally become absorbed in compassion, joy, and equanimity, they inspire others to become absorbed in compassion, joy, and equanimity … they speak in praise of becoming absorbed in equanimity, and they speak in praise of others becoming absorbed in equanimity as well, welcoming it.

26.27“They personally become absorbed in the station of endless space … the station of endless consciousness … the station of nothing-at-all … and the station of neither perception nor nonperception, they inspire others to become absorbed [F.281.a] in the station of neither perception nor nonperception, they speak in praise of becoming absorbed in the station of neither perception nor nonperception, and they speak in praise of others becoming absorbed in the station of neither perception nor nonperception as well, welcoming it.

26.28“They personally cultivate the four applications of mindfulness, they inspire others to cultivate the applications of mindfulness, they speak in praise of cultivating the applications of mindfulness, and they speak in praise of others cultivating the applications of mindfulness as well, welcoming it.

26.29“Similarly, they personally cultivate the four right efforts … the four legs of miraculous power … the five faculties … the five powers … the seven limbs of awakening … and the eightfold noble path, they inspire others to cultivate the eightfold noble path, they speak in praise of cultivating the eightfold noble path, and they speak in praise of others cultivating the eightfold noble path as well, welcoming it.

26.30“They personally cultivate the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilizations, they inspire others to cultivate the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilizations, they speak in praise of cultivating the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilizations, and they speak in praise of others cultivating the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilizations as well, welcoming it.

26.31“They personally cultivate the eight deliverances, they inspire others to cultivate the eight deliverances, they speak in praise of cultivating the eight deliverances, and they speak in praise of others cultivating the eight deliverances as well, welcoming it.

26.32“They personally cultivate the nine serial absorptions, [F.281.b] they inspire others to cultivate the nine serial absorptions, they speak in praise of cultivating the nine serial absorptions, and they speak in praise of others cultivating the nine serial absorptions as well, welcoming it.

26.33“They personally cultivate the ten tathāgata powers … the four fearlessnesses … the four detailed and thorough knowledges … the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha … and the natural state not robbed of mindfulness … and they personally gain the knowledge of all aspects, inspire others to gain the knowledge of all aspects, speak in praise of gaining the knowledge of all aspects, and speak in praise of others gaining the knowledge of all aspects as well, welcoming it.

26.34“Furthermore, Kauśika, all the gifts that bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections give they make into something shared in common by all beings and dedicate, by way of not apprehending anything, to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.

26.35“Similarly, all the morality they protect, the patience they cultivate, the perseverance at which they exert themselves, the concentration they generate, and the wisdom they cultivate they make into something shared in common by all beings and dedicate, by way of not apprehending anything, to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.

26.36“Those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family practicing the six perfections have these sorts of mindfulness: ‘If I do not give gifts I will be born in poor families, I will not bring beings to maturity, I will not purify a buddhafield, and I will not gain the knowledge of all aspects.’ They think, ‘If I do not protect morality I will open the gates to the three terrible forms of life, I will not be born as a god or a human being and I will not bring beings to maturity or purify a buddhafield, so then how could I ever gain [F.282.a] the knowledge of all aspects?’ They think, ‘If I do not cultivate patience my sense faculties will be deficient, my countenance will have a shadow, and I will not obtain the perfect form ‍—the perfect form with which, the moment they see me practicing the bodhisattva way of life, beings become assured of unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening. If I do not obtain that perfect form, I will not bring beings to maturity or purify a buddhafield, so how could I ever gain the knowledge of all aspects?’ They think, ‘If I become lazy and do not make a vigorous attempt at this path of a bodhisattva, if I do not cultivate it, how could I ever complete the buddhadharmas and how could I ever gain the knowledge of all aspects?’ They think, ‘If I become mentally distracted and I do not train in order to perfect all the meditative stabilizations, I will not bring beings to maturity and will not purify a buddhafield, so how could I ever gain the knowledge of all aspects?’ And they think, ‘If I become intellectually confused I will not train with wisdom and skillful means, I will not transcend the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha levels, I will not bring beings to maturity, and I will not purify a buddhafield. How then could I ever fully awaken to the knowledge of all aspects?’

26.37“And they think, ‘Thus I will train perfectly. It would not be right for me not to complete the perfection of giving [F.282.b] because of the force of miserliness, not to complete the perfection of morality because of the force of immorality, not to complete the perfection of patience because of the force of malice, not to complete the perfection of perseverance because of the force of laziness, not to complete the perfection of concentration because of the force of distraction, and not to complete the perfection of wisdom because of the force of intellectual confusion, because, unless I complete the perfection of giving, perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom, I will not go forth to the knowledge of all aspects.’

26.38“Kauśika, those sons of a good family or daughters of a good family who take up or bear in mind or read aloud or master or properly pay attention to this perfection of wisdom, not separated from the knowledge of all aspects, will obtain good qualities and benefits like these in this life and in future lives.”

26.39Then Śatakratu, head of the gods, said to the Lord, “It is amazing, Lord, how this perfection of wisdom has been made available in order to tame the bodhisattva great beings and in order to lessen their conceit.”

26.40“Why has this perfection of wisdom been made available in order to tame the bodhisattva great beings and in order to lessen their conceit?” asked the Lord.

26.41Śatakratu, head of the gods, replied to the Lord, “Lord, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the ordinary perfection of giving without skillful means give a gift to the lord buddhas, the bodhisattvas, the pratyekabuddhas, [F.283.a] or the śrāvakas it occurs to them to think, ‘I am giving a gift to the lord buddhas, the bodhisattvas, the pratyekabuddhas, the śrāvakas, or to those who are pitiful, destitute, begging, and seeking shelter.’ Because of that giving they come to feel conceited.

26.42“When those bodhisattvas protect ordinary morality without skillful means, they think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of morality; I will complete the perfection of morality.’ Because of that morality they come to feel conceited.

26.43“Similarly, they think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of patience…, I am practicing the perfection of perseverance…, I am practicing the perfection of concentration…, I am practicing the perfection of wisdom.’ Because of that ordinary perfection of wisdom they come to feel conceited.

26.44“When they cultivate the ordinary applications of mindfulness … without skillful means they think, ‘I am cultivating the applications of mindfulness; I am cultivating the right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and eightfold noble path; I am cultivating the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilizations; I am cultivating all the meditative stabilizations and all the dhāraṇī gateways; I am cultivating the ten powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, and eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; and I am bringing beings to maturity, I am purifying a buddhafield, and I am going to gain [F.283.b] the knowledge of all aspects.’

26.45“They come to feel conceited because of settling down on grasping at ‘I’ and grasping at ‘mine.’ In this case, Lord, because bodhisattva great beings practicing all ordinary dharmas settle down on grasping at ‘I’ and grasping at ‘mine,’ this perfection of wisdom has not been made available to them in order to tame and in order to lessen their conceit .

26.46“Lord, here, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the extraordinary dharmas give a gift, they do not apprehend a giver, they do not apprehend something being given, and they do not apprehend a recipient. In this case the perfection of wisdom has been made available in order to tame bodhisattva great beings and in order to lessen their conceit .

26.47“Similarly, when they protect morality … cultivate patience … make an attempt at perseverance … cultivate concentration … and cultivate wisdom, they do not apprehend wisdom, they do not apprehend somebody with wisdom, and they do not apprehend the dharmas.

26.48“Similarly, they do not apprehend the applications of mindfulness, right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, or eightfold noble path; they do not apprehend the cultivation of the ten powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, or eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha; and similarly, they do not apprehend the cultivation of great love and great compassion, and they do not apprehend the cultivation of the knowledge of all aspects. So, in this case, Lord, the perfection of wisdom has been made available in order to bring discipline to bodhisattva great beings and in order to lessen their conceit.”

26.49This was the twenty-sixth chapter, [F.284.a] “Getting Hold,” of “The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines.”