The Attainment of Manifest Enlightenment

32.1Then the venerable Su­bhūti asked the Blessed One, “Reverend Lord! If irreversible great bodhisattva beings are endowed with such enlightened attributes, what are the aspects of the path on which they abide and through which they then swiftly attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment? What is the enlightenment of the lord buddhas?”

The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti, the six transcendent perfections constitute the path of great bodhisattva beings. The thirty-seven aspects of enlightenment, the three gateways to liberation, [F.367.b] the fourteen aspects of emptiness, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, and similarly, the ten powers of the tathāgatas, the four assurances, and [all other fruitional attributes], up to and including the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, constitute the path of great bodhisattva beings. Furthermore, Su­bhūti, all things constitute the path of great bodhisattva beings.

32.2“Su­bhūti, do you think that there is anything in which those great bodhisattva beings who would attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment, having trained their minds, should not train? Su­bhūti, there is nothing at all in which great bodhisattva beings should not train. If you ask why, it is because without training with respect to all phenomena and attributes, great bodhisattva beings cannot attain omniscience.”

32.3The venerable Su­bhūti then asked the Blessed One, “Reverend Lord! If all things are empty of inherent existence, how could great bodhisattva beings differentiate between attributes that are mundane or supramundane, contaminated or uncontaminated, conditioned or unconditioned, the attributes of ordinary people, the attributes of those who have entered the stream, the attributes of those who are tied to one more rebirth, the attributes of those who will no longer be subject to rebirth, the attributes of arhatship, or the attributes of individual enlightenment, up to and including the attributes of the genuinely perfect buddhas‍—knowing whence and whereby anything arises and what constitutes anything?” [F.368.a]

32.4The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti, it is so! It is just as you have spoken. All things are empty of inherent existence. Su­bhūti, if all things were apprehended not to be empty, great bodhisattva beings would not attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment. Su­bhūti, it is because all things are empty of inherent existence that great bodhisattva beings will attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment.

32.5“Su­bhūti, you have said that if all things are empty of inherent existence, how could great bodhisattva beings differentiate between attributes that are mundane or supramundane, and so forth, up to and including the attributes of genuinely perfect buddhas–knowing whence and whereby anything arises and what constitutes anything. If, Su­bhūti, sentient beings knew that all things are empty of inherent existence, then great bodhisattva beings would not undertake training with respect to all things and attain omniscience. However, Su­bhūti, it is because sentient beings do not know that all things are empty that great bodhisattva beings do undertake training with respect to all things and attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment, and that, after attaining buddhahood, they establish the sacred doctrine and teach the sacred doctrine to sentient beings.

32.6“Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings should consider such matters at the outset by training in the bodhisattva path, thinking, ‘There is nothing but fixation. There is nothing at all that can be apprehended in terms of inherent existence. Since at this point I do not apprehend anything at all, having considered the inherent existence of all things, [F.368.b] why should I be fixated on phenomena?’

32.7“Su­bhūti, when great bodhisattva beings at present consider the inherent existence of phenomena, they do not become fixated on anything at all, whether it be the six transcendent perfections, or the thirty-seven aspects of enlightenment, or the fruit of having entered the stream, the fruit of being tied to one more rebirth, the fruit of no longer being subject to rebirth, arhatship, individual enlightenment, or unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment. If you ask why, it is because they see that all things are empty of inherent existence, and emptiness does not become fixated on emptiness. Since they do not apprehend even emptiness, how could they possibly be fixated on emptiness! So it is, Su­bhūti, that great bodhisattva beings abide without fixation on anything.

32.8“After undertaking and maintaining this training, they examine the conduct of all sentient beings. When the things in which those beings are engaged are examined, they are [seen to] be grasping at that which does not exist. Having seen those sentient beings engaging in grasping at that which does not exist, they further reflect, ‘These sentient beings will easily be freed from grasping at that which does not exist!’ Then, while maintaining the six transcendent perfections, through skill in means they turn sentient beings away from grasping at that which does not exist, and, having turned them away, encourage them toward the six attributes [of the transcendent perfections], instructing them as follows: ‘O sentient beings! You should dispense generosity and you will not be without resources! You should not make assumptions on account of these resources. They lack even the slightest essence! [F.369.a]

32.9“‘Similarly, you should maintain ethical discipline! You should practice tolerance! Similarly, you should undertake perseverance! Similarly, you should be absorbed in the meditative concentrations. Similarly, you should cultivate wisdom! But do not make assumptions on account of these [transcendent perfections]! They lack even the slightest essence!

32.10“‘Similarly, you should abide in the fruit of having entered the stream, but you should not make assumptions on account of that! Similarly, you should abide in [the other fruits], up to and including arhatship, but you should not make assumptions on their account! Similarly, you should abide in individual enlightenment! Similarly, you should abide in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment! Similarly, you should abide in all the attributes of the buddhas, but you should not make assumptions on their account! They lack even the slightest essence!’

32.11“Teaching and instructing those sentient beings accordingly, the bodhisattvas continue to practice the path of enlightenment, and they do not become fixated on anything at all. If you ask why, it is because, owing to the emptiness of essential nature, they have no fixation on anything since all things lack any essential nature by which they would become fixated, upon which they would become fixated, or which would become fixated. Consequently, great bodhisattva beings practice the path of perfect enlightenment, but do not abide in anything at all. Indeed they abide in a non-abiding manner. They practice the transcendent perfection of generosity but they do not abide therein. Similarly, they practice the transcendent perfection of ethical discipline, the transcendent perfection of tolerance, the transcendent perfection of perseverance, the transcendent perfection of meditative concentration, and the transcendent perfection of wisdom, but they do not abide therein. They become absorbed in the first meditative concentration, but they do not abide therein. [F.369.b] If you ask why, it is because [the first] meditative concentration is empty of its essential nature, while those who become absorbed in it are also empty, and the aspects [of it] through which they [become absorbed] are also empty. The same applies to [all the other meditative concentrations], up to and including the fourth meditative concentration.

32.12“Similarly, they also become absorbed in loving kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity, but they do not abide therein. Similarly, they become absorbed in the four formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, and the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, but they do not abide therein. Similarly, they attain the fruit of having entered the stream, but they do not abide therein. They attain [all the other fruits], up to and including arhatship, but they do not abide therein. Similarly, they attain individual enlightenment, but they do not abide therein. If you ask why, there are two reasons: those fruits are without essential nature, and they themselves are not satisfied merely by abiding therein. Indeed, they think, ‘I should not attain the fruit of entering the stream, and should avoid abiding in it. Similarly, I should not abide in [the other fruits], up to and including the level of the pratyekabuddhas!’ If you ask why, it is because they also think, ‘I will undoubtedly attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment. Those attributes [of the lower fruits] are indeed subsumed within it!’

32.13“So it is that great bodhisattva beings, from the time when they first begin to set their mind on enlightenment, never develop any thoughts whatsoever apart from the mind of unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment. From the first [bodhisattva] level up to the tenth [bodhisattva] level it is the same‍—they exclusively maintain the mind of unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment. Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings who, without distraction, advance courageously through body, speech, and mind as appropriate are at all times accompanied by the mind set on enlightenment. [F.370.a] Abiding in this mind set on enlightenment, they are undistracted on the path of enlightenment.”

32.14Then the venerable Su­bhūti asked the Blessed One, “Reverend Lord! If all things are non-arising, then, Reverend Lord, how will enlightenment be attained by a path that is cultivated?”

The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti! It will not!”

32.15“Then is enlightenment attained by means of a path that is not cultivated?”

The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti! It is not!”

32.16“Well then, is enlightenment attained by means of a path that is neither cultivated nor not cultivated?”

The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti! It is not!”

32.17“Reverend Lord! By what, then, will enlightenment be attained?”

The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti! Enlightenment will not be attained by means of the path, nor will it be attained by means of that which is not the path. If you ask why, Su­bhūti, it is because enlightenment itself is the path and the path itself is enlightenment.”

32.18“Reverend Lord! If enlightenment itself is the path and the path itself is enlightenment, then great bodhisattva beings would themselves have attained enlightenment, so why would the tathāgatas, arhats, genuinely perfect buddhas demonstrate the ten powers, and [the other fruitional attributes], up to and including the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas?”

The Blessed One replied to the venerable Su­bhūti as follows: “Su­bhūti, do you think that the buddhas attain enlightenment?”

32.19“No, Reverend Lord! If one were to ask why, it is because the lord buddhas are themselves enlightenment, and enlightenment is itself the buddhas.”

The Blessed One replied, [F.370.b] “Su­bhūti, you have just asked whether the bodhisattvas have themselves not attained enlightenment since enlightenment itself is the path and the path itself is enlightenment. Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings, after perfecting the six transcendent perfections, and similarly, after perfecting the thirty-seven aspects of enlightenment, and similarly the ten powers of the tathāgatas, the four assurances, the four kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, will attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment by means of wisdom that is instantaneously endowed with the adamantine meditative stability. And in the period after they have attained buddhahood, those bodhisattvas will be revealed as tathāgatas, who have mastered all phenomena.”

32.20Then the venerable Su­bhūti asked the Blessed One, “Reverend Lord! How do great bodhisattva beings refine the buddhafields?”

The Blessed One replied to the venerable Su­bhūti as follows: “Su­bhūti, from the time when they first begin to set their mind on enlightenment, and until their final rebirth, great bodhisattva beings purify the negativity of others, including their negativity of body, their negativity of speech, and their negativity of mind.”

32.21“Reverend Lord! What constitutes the negativity of body which great bodhisattva beings might have? What constitutes their negativity of speech, and what constitutes their negativity of mind?”

The Blessed One replied, “The killing of living creatures, the stealing of what is not given, and sexual misconduct due to desire constitute the negativity of body. Lying, slander, verbal abuse, and irresponsible chatter constitute the negativity of speech. Covetousness, malice, and wrong views constitute the negativity of mind. [F.371.a] [B33]

32.22“Moreover, Su­bhūti, any aggregate of ethical discipline that is impure is [classified] as negativity of body and negativity of speech. Any thought of miserliness, any thought of degenerate morality, any thought of agitation, any thought of indolence, any thought of non-composure, and any thought of stupidity are [classed as] negativity of mind. Moreover, Su­bhūti, any thought without the four applications of mindfulness, and similarly, any thought without the four correct exertions, the four supports for miraculous ability, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, and the three gateways to liberation is, for great bodhisattva beings, [classified] as negativity of body, negativity of speech, and negativity of mind.

32.23“Moreover, Su­bhūti, any longing for the fruit of entering the stream, and similarly, any longing [for the other fruits], up to and including arhatship, or up to and including individual enlightenment, is, for great bodhisattva beings, [classified] as negativity of body, negativity of speech, and negativity of mind.

32.24“Moreover, Su­bhūti, any notion of physical forms, and similarly, any notion of feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness, and likewise, any notion of the eyes, and any notion of the ears, nose, tongue, body, and mental faculty, and any notion of sights, sounds, odors, tastes, tangibles, and mental phenomena, is, for great bodhisattva beings, [classified] as negativity of body, negativity of speech, [F.371.b] and negativity of mind.

32.25“Moreover, Su­bhūti, any notion of the sensory element of the eyes, [and so forth]; any notion of the sensory element of mental consciousness, [and so forth]; any notion of the world system of desire, any notion of the world system of form, any notion of the world system of formlessness, any notion of men, any notion of women, any notion of boys, any notion of girls, any notion of virtuous phenomena, any notion of non-virtuous phenomena, any notion of specified phenomena, any notion of unspecified phenomena, any notion of contaminated phenomena, any notion of uncontaminated phenomena, any notion of mundane phenomena, any notion of supramundane phenomena, any notion of conditioned phenomena, and any notion of unconditioned phenomena is, for great bodhisattva beings, [classed] as negativity of body, negativity of speech, and negativity of mind.

32.26“Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom have abandoned all these aspects of negativity. They dispense generosity to those who need it. That is to say, they give food to those who need food, they give drink to those who need drink, they give transportation to those who need transport, and they give [other gifts], including all human necessities whatsoever, to those who wish for [any other gifts] whatsoever, up to and including all human resources. Furthermore, they also encourage others to acquire generosity, inducing and establishing them therein. Having concentrated all these roots of virtue, and after making common cause with all sentient beings, with an attitude of confidence , they then dedicate them so that the buddhafields might be refined. [F.372.a]

32.27“Moreover, Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings fill the world systems of the great trichiliocosm with the seven precious things and present these as an offering to the three precious jewels. Having made this offering, they dedicate it with a joyful attitude, saying, ‘Through these, my roots of virtue, may this buddhafield be fashioned of the seven precious things!’

32.28“Moreover, Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings make offerings to the reliquary stūpas of the tathāgatas with divine and human music. Having made these offerings, they then dedicate these roots of virtue, making common cause with all sentient beings, saying, ‘Through these, my roots of virtue, may the sound of divine music always arise in this buddhafield!’

32.29“Moreover, Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings, by filling the world systems of the great trichiliocosm with divine perfume, constantly make offerings to the tathāgatas and the reliquary stūpas of the tathāgatas. Having made these offerings, they then dedicate these roots of virtue, making common cause with all sentient beings, saying, ‘Through these, my roots of virtue, may the fragrance of divine perfume always arise in this buddhafield!’

32.30“Moreover, Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings make offerings of food with a hundred flavors to the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, and pratyekabuddhas, as well as to the reliquary stūpas of the tathāgatas, and the śrāvakas of the tathāgatas, and having made these offerings, they dedicate them, saying, ‘Through these, my roots of virtue, may I attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment in this buddhafield, and may all sentient beings possess divine foods with a hundred flavors!’ [F.372.b]

32.31“Moreover, Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings make offerings of divine and human unguents to the tathāgatas of the world systems in the great trichiliocosm, as well as to the reliquary stūpas of the tathāgatas, and to bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and the śrāvakas of the tathāgatas, and having made these offerings, they dedicate them, saying, ‘Through these, my roots of virtue, may I attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment in this buddhafield, and may all sentient beings possess divine unguents!’

32.32“Moreover, Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings, through the good intentions that arise in their minds, make offerings of the desirable attributes of the five senses to the tathāgatas, great bodhisattva beings, the pratyekabuddhas, and the śrāvakas of the tathāgatas, and having made these offerings, they dedicate them, saying, ‘Through these, my roots of virtue, may I attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment in this buddha field, and, through the good intentions that arise in my mind, may there be present the pleasant, desirable attributes of the five senses which all sentient beings possess!’

32.33“Moreover, Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom think, ‘I should become absorbed in the first meditative concentration. I should encourage all sentient beings, also, to assume the first meditative concentration, inducing them and establishing them therein. In the same vein, I should become absorbed in [the other meditative concentrations] up to and including the fourth meditative concentration, [F.373.a] inducing all sentient beings and establishing them in the fourth meditative concentration [and the rest]. In the same vein, I should induce them and establish them in the four immeasurable aspirations, the four formless absorptions, and so forth. Similarly, I should cultivate the thirty-seven aspects of enlightenment. I should also induce all sentient beings and establish them in the thirty-seven aspects of enlightenment. In that buddhafield where I will have attained manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment, all sentient beings should not in any way lack the four meditative concentrations. They should not lack the four immeasurable aspirations, the four formless absorptions, or the thirty-seven aspects of enlightenment!’

32.34“Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom will refine the buddhafields accordingly. By engaging in this enlightenment, all their wishes will be fulfilled. They themselves will possess all virtuous attributes, and they will encourage others also to assume all these virtuous attributes, inducing them and establishing them therein. They will reveal their own noble forms to those sentient beings, and also explain the reasons for [the emergence of] their [noble forms].

32.35“When sentient beings see [these forms] they will long to have them, and they will exclusively engage in conduct that is the cause of [obtaining] such [forms]. Acquiring the power of merit, those sentient beings will themselves eventually actualize such noble forms. All of those sentient beings whom [the bodhisattvas] have brought to maturity will be born alongside them in those buddhafields.”

32.36“The sounds of emptiness, signlessness, and aspirationlessness that emerge [F.373.b] will either be generated as internal sounds through velar, labial, dental, lingual, and palatal articulation, and so forth, or else the sounds of emptiness, signlessness and aspirationless will be stirred by the external sounds of the wind, indicating how phenomena are essentially non-arising, that all things are empty of all things, that they are signless because they are empty, and that, being signless, they are aspirationless.

32.37“Day and night such teachings of the sacred doctrine will emerge, whether those sentient beings are standing, sitting, lying down, or walking. Apart from that, in those buddhafields that have not yet been refined; where the three inferior realms are conceived; where there are erroneous views; where there are desire, hatred, and delusion; where there are śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; where the hallmarks of suffering, impermanence, emptiness, and non-self are conceived; and similarly, where egotism, possessiveness, acquisition, latent impulses, ensnarement, and their fruits are conceived‍—in such buddhafields, those bodhisattvas will attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment, and after attaining enlightenment they will be praised by all the lord buddhas who reside in the world systems of the ten directions.

32.38“All sentient beings who hear the name of this tathāgata will themselves certainly attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment. When this tathāgata teaches the sacred doctrine, no sentient beings will hesitate, wondering whether this doctrine is in fact the doctrine. If you ask why, [F.374.a] Su­bhūti, it is because those sentient beings will know that with respect to the real nature of phenomena, there is nothing at all that exists. Su­bhūti, it is in this way that great bodhisattva beings refine the buddhafields.

32.39“Moreover, Su­bhūti, when those sentient beings who do not possess the roots of virtue and who have not developed the roots of virtue under [the guidance of] the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and śrāvakas, and who have been mishandled by evil associates, hear the sacred doctrine, they will be discouraged by whatever aspects of their mistaken views‍—the view of self or the nihilistic view‍—prevail. That is to say, they abide in the two extremes of eternalism and nihilism, and so forth. They themselves are gripped by the misapprehension that all things exist, and they introduce others to this misapprehension.

32.40“They harbor the notion that those who are not genuinely perfect buddhas are genuinely perfect buddhas, and they harbor the notion that those who are genuinely perfect buddhas are not genuinely perfect buddhas. They profess that which is not the doctrine to be the doctrine, and they abandon the sacred doctrine. Having abandoned the sacred doctrine, after they have passed away, they will fall into inferior realms, and be reborn in the hells. Thereupon, great bodhisattva beings will travel to those abodes of the hells in order to assist those sentient beings. Freed from their [former] negative views, those beings will then pass away from the hells and be reborn equal in fortune to human beings. Those who are born as such will be established in the stable community that is intent on genuine reality. In any event, they will not fall into inferior realms and at the same time will be reborn in this buddhafield. In such ways will they be established. [F.374.b]

32.41“Su­bhūti, in any event, once sentient beings have been reborn in these buddhafields, great bodhisattva beings will continue to refine the buddhafields, until all those sentient beings are no longer consumed with doubt concerning mundane, supramundane, contaminated, uncontaminated, conditioned, unconditioned, or any other phenomena, and until they definitively attain unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment.”

32.42Then the venerable Su­bhūti asked the Blessed One, “Reverend Lord! Will great bodhisattva beings be stable in the community that is intent on genuine reality? Will they be stable in the community of the śrāvakas, or will they be stable in the community of pratyekabuddhas? Reverend Lord! In which community will they be stable?”

The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings will not be stable in the community of śrāvakas. They will not be stable in the community of pratyekabuddhas, but, Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings will be stable in the community of the genuinely perfect buddhas.”

32.43“Reverend Lord! Are those great bodhisattva beings who have first begun to set their mind on enlightenment said to be stable, or are those [ irreversible bodhisattvas ] in their final rebirth stable?”

The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti, those great bodhisattva beings who have first begun to set their mind on enlightenment are indeed stable. Those [bodhisattvas] who are irreversible and those in their final rebirth are also stable.”

32.44“Reverend Lord! Will great bodhisattva beings who are stable in their intent on genuine reality be reborn among the denizens of the hells?” [F.375.a]

The Blessed One replied to the venerable Su­bhūti as follows: “Su­bhūti, do you think that one who is on the eighth [level], one who has entered the stream, one who is tied to one more rebirth, one who is no longer subject to rebirth, one who has attained arhatship, or individual enlightenment, will be reborn in the inferior realms?”

No, Reverend Lord!”

32.45The Blessed One replied, “Similarly, Su­bhūti, it is impossible that great bodhisattva beings who, from the time when they first begin to set their mind on enlightenment, practice the transcendent perfection of generosity, and similarly maintain ethical discipline, practice tolerance, undertake perseverance with respect to [the acquisition of] virtuous attributes, become absorbed in the meditative concentrations, cultivate wisdom, and have abandoned all non-virtuous attributes, and remain firm, should be reborn in the inferior realms or be reborn among long-lived gods! It is impossible that they should be reborn among frontier tribesmen who do not engage in virtuous acts, or among barbarous human beings, or to be reborn among households or frontier tribesmen who maintain wrong views, where the four assemblies‍—that is to say, the assembly of fully ordained monks, the assembly of fully ordained nuns, the assembly of laymen, and the assembly of laywomen‍—are not found! It is impossible for them to be reborn in places where the word ‘Buddha,’ the word ‘Dharma,’ and the word ‘Saṅgha’ are unheard, or where the words ‘inaction’ and ‘wrong view’ are heard! Su­bhūti, it is impossible that great bodhisattva beings, who have first begun to set their mind on enlightenment, after entering upon the unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment with higher aspiration, should adopt the ways of the ten non-virtuous actions!”

32.46Then the venerable Su­bhūti asked the Blessed One, [F.375.b] “Reverend Lord! If great bodhisattva beings are endowed with many roots of virtue, why are they reborn in the animal realms, and why does the Tathā­gata disclose his own past lives in the presence of the four assemblies? Where did those roots of virtue go?”

The Blessed One replied to the venerable Su­bhūti as follows: “Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings do not assume a body that will be reborn in the animal realms due to non-virtuous past actions, but they assume a corporeal form by which they might be causally effective in order to benefit sentient beings. Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings are endowed with skill in means whereby they may take birth in the animal realms, and mingle with assassins. Do śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas have this skill in means, which would enable them also to bring those [creatures] and themselves to maturity in the unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment, and make those assassins cease from causing further harm? For these reasons, Su­bhūti, great bodhisattva beings who are seized by great compassion, bring great compassion to its fulfilment. Even though they are born in the animal realms, for the sake of sentient beings, you should know that they are untainted by the defects of taking birth in the animal realms.”

32.47Then the venerable Su­bhūti asked the Blessed One, “Reverend Lord! Maintaining which virtuous attributes do great bodhisattva beings acquire corporeal forms that take birth in the animal realms?”

The Blessed One replied, [F.376.a] “Su­bhūti, if you ask what are the attributes to be perfected by great bodhisattva beings, Su­bhūti, the unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment is the perfection of all virtuous attributes. Therefore, Su­bhūti, there is no virtuous attribute at all which should not be perfected by great bodhisattva beings, commencing exclusively from the time when they first begin to set their mind on enlightenment until they are seated at the Focal Point of Enlightenment. It is impossible for them to attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment, while any of these are unperfected. So it is, Su­bhūti, that, from the time when they first begin to set their mind on enlightenment until they are seated at the Focal Point of Enlightenment, great bodhisattva beings should train in the perfection of all virtuous attributes. When they have trained therein, they will attain omniscience. They will abandon all afflicted mental states, and all involuntary reincarnation through propensities.”

32.48Then the venerable Su­bhūti asked the Blessed One, “Reverend Lord! How are great bodhisattva beings, starting from those who possess all positive attributes and continuing as far as those who possess sublime gnosis, born in the inferior realms?”

The Blessed One replied to the venerable Su­bhūti as follows: “Su­bhūti, do you think that the tathāgatas are sublime and without contaminants?”

32.49“Yes, Reverend Lord, it is so! Reverend Su­gata, it is so! The tathāgatas are sublime and they are without contaminants.”

The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti, do you think that the tathāgatas may emanate an animal body that takes birth among the animal realms, and having emanated [that form], [F.376.b] then engage in buddha activities?”

32.50“Yes, Reverend Lord, they may do so!”

The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti, do you think that the tathāgatas are creatures of the animal realms?”

“No, Reverend Lord!”

32.51The Blessed One replied, “Similarly, Su­bhūti, even great bodhisattva beings who possess the uncontaminated pristine cognition of the sublime path may, in order to bring sentient beings to maturity, assume at will such corporeal forms by which they might bring to maturity any kind of sentient beings among the five classes of living beings. Su­bhūti, do you think, for example, that an arhat can emanate as an arhat whose contaminants have ceased, and having emanated [that form] then induce it to undertake the activities of an arhat, whereupon it would bring joy to the four assemblies through these activities?”

“Yes, Reverend Lord, it is so!”

32.52The Blessed One replied, “Similarly, Su­bhūti, even great bodhisattva beings who possess sublime, uncontaminated gnosis may assume such corporeal forms by which they might act on behalf of sentient beings. Those who have assumed such forms do not at all experience sufferings, and they are untainted also by the corresponding defects.

32.53“Su­bhūti, do you think that when an illusionist or the skilled apprentice of an illusionist conjures the form of an elephant in the presence of a crowd of simple folk, or when he conjures the form of a horse or the form of a bull, or when he conjures other forms of living creatures‍—do you think, Su­bhūti, that those forms conjured by the illusionist or the skilled apprentice of an illusionist actually turn into an elephant, or that they turn into a horse, bull, or another living creature?” [F.377.a]

“No, Reverend Lord!”

32.54The Blessed One replied, “Similarly, Su­bhūti, even though great bodhisattva beings who possess sublime, uncontaminated gnosis may reveal such corporeal forms at will, acting on behalf of sentient beings, they are indeed untainted by the feelings that they possess.”

32.55Then the venerable Su­bhūti asked the Blessed One, “Reverend Lord! Since great bodhisattva beings, who possess sublime, uncontaminated gnosis, and who may assume this or that corporeal form by which they are capable of acting on behalf of sentient beings, are greatly skilled in means, Reverend Lord, in which [pure] attributes do great bodhisattva beings abide when they then employ such skill in means?”

The Blessed One replied, “Su­bhūti, they abide in the transcendent perfection of wisdom when they employ such skillful means. Through this skill in means, though they may traverse all the world systems in the ten directions, numerous as the sands of the River Ganges, and then act on behalf of those sentient beings, they do not hanker for them. If you ask why, it is because they do not apprehend anything at all by which or for which they would hanker. If you ask why, Su­bhūti, it is because all things are empty of their essential nature, emptiness does not hanker, and there is no one who hankers for emptiness. If you ask why, it is because emptiness does not apprehend emptiness. This, Su­bhūti, is the emptiness of non-apprehension. Abiding therein, great bodhisattva beings [F.377.b] will attain manifestly perfect buddhahood in unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment.”

32.56When this doctrinal sūtra comprising the chapters on the transcendent perfection of wisdom was revealed, the mighty earth shook, shook more intensely, and shook with utmost intensity, in six ways. It trembled, trembled more intensely, and trembled with utmost intensity. When the eastern direction was high, the western direction was low. When the western direction was high, the eastern direction was low. When the southern direction was high, the northern direction was low. When the northern direction was high, the southern direction was low. When the centre was high, the periphery was low. When the periphery was high, the centre was low.

32.57Many hundred billion trillion gods caused their divine cymbals to reverberate through the firmament above. Ten million gods caused a cascade of divine flowers‍—blue lotuses, night lotuses, and white lotuses‍—to fall. The blind found their sight. The deaf found their hearing. The insane found their mindfulness. The distracted found their absorption. The sound of a trillion cymbals indeed resounded without having been played. Many marvelous phenomena such as these occurred in the world. Gods and humans, numerous as the particles of the buddhafields, developed the mind set on unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment. Sentient beings, numerous as the particles of Jambu­dvīpa, comprehended the sacred doctrine, that is to say, the immaculate, pure, and untainted eye of the sacred doctrine , with respect to all things. Bodhisattvas, as numerous as the sands of the River Ganges, accepted that phenomena are non-arising. Many sentient beings attained the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇīs, and the [bodhisattva] levels. An innumerable, countless number of sentient beings passed away from the three inferior realms and were reborn among the gods and humans.

32.58The entire assembly also beheld throughout the ten directions, numerous as the sands of the River Ganges, the Lord Buddha who taught this doctrinal sūtra on the chapters of the transcendent perfection of wisdom, [F.378.a] which had been requested by the fully ordained monks Śāradvatī­putra and Su­bhūti, in its entirety, without omitting or adding any words and syllables.

32.59This is the second promulgation of the doctrinal wheel by the lord buddhas in the world, which was comprehended in all buddhafields by an astonishing, innumerable, countless, inconceivable, and incomparable number of sentient beings.

Such were the words that arose in the presence of the maṇḍalas of the assembly, throughout all these buddhafields!

32.60This completes the thirty-second chapter from “The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines,” entitled “The Attainment of Manifest Enlightenment.”