Chapter 8

8.1The Blessed One then entered the invisible ornament absorption. After the Thus-Gone One entered that absorption, multicolored light radiated from the Blessed One’s mouth and illuminated buddha realms of the ten directions inundated with the five impurities as numerous as all the grains of sand in the Ganges. As the hearers and beings who followed the vehicle of the hearers in those places were touched by that light, they experienced blissful feelings in their bodies. When the monks who did not experience such joy because they had entered the absorption of the third concentration level scanned the four directions, they saw that the blessed Śākyamuni was half a league away from them and saw all the ornaments that adorned Mount Gandhamādana just as they were described before. They saw Mount Gandhamādana in its natural state, in which it is made of the seven precious substances, and saw that it was filled with bodhisattvas. Through the power of the Blessed One, they departed for the place where the blessed Śākyamuni was residing and assembled before the Blessed One as soon as they were given the opportunity. The hearers and beings following the vehicle of the hearers also departed for the place where the blessed Śākyamuni was residing and assembled before Śākyamuni to listen to the Dharma.

8.2Some followers of the vehicle of the great hearers were holding their own assembly in the town of Kuru where they were dwelling in a state of repose. After they perceived that light and had been sated by the joy and happiness of being detached from material things, [F.168.b] all of them awoke at the same time and saw the Blessed One residing at Mount Gandhamādana. They saw that he was surrounded and attended by assemblies of bodhisattvas and hearers, saw the great array, and understood perfectly. “Look, venerable monks,” they said, “right now the Thus-Gone One is residing on Mount Gandhamādana surrounded by a great array and those great assemblies. We should leave and go to where the Blessed One is residing so that we can listen to the Dharma!” All the great hearers of this Sahā buddha realm, as well as all the other hearers and followers of the vehicle of the hearers, then assembled before the Blessed One to listen to the Dharma. Immeasurable, countless, infinite hearers, and immeasurable, countless, infinite beings following the vehicle of the hearers, were assembled before the Blessed One to listen to the Dharma.

8.3The Blessed One then addressed Venerable Subhūti, saying, “Subhūti, this circumstance is known as ripening and complete ripening. Subhūti, to what extent is there complete ripening?”

8.4Subhūti replied, “Blessed One, if your fully ripened characteristics were present, not a single being would enter nirvāṇa, since the Thus-Gone One’s fully ripened characteristics are a treasury as vast as space. Why not? It would frighten all of those beings and since they would be afraid, not a single one among them would give rise to the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Each one of the immeasurable characteristics of a thus-gone one and their fully ripened characteristics are without form and devoid of characteristics. All of their insubstantial bodies are free from characteristics. All of the qualities of the Buddha are like space, formless, and each of them is not established. Everything up to the qualities of a buddha is established in consciousness. The qualities of a buddha are fully ripened, since everything up to the fully ripened qualities of a buddha is not established in the mind element, and the eye element is not established in the qualities of a buddha. [F.169.a] Since there is nothing established in the form element, tactile sensation is not established in anything up to the fully ripened qualities of a buddha. Since the earth element is not established in anything, and since wind is not established in anything up to the fully ripened qualities of a buddha, the realm of a buddha is fully ripened. Since the desire realm is not established in anything and the form realm is not established in anything, up to the fully ripened qualities of a buddha, the qualities of a buddha are fully ripened. The qualities of a buddha are fully ripened by not relying on self and other, on pride, on mental engagement, on permanence, or on annihilation. The qualities of a buddha are fully ripened by not relying on enumerative lists and marks. Why? Since the Blessed One lacks characteristics, all of the qualities that the Blessed One has mentioned are free from characteristics and are the domain of the mode of emptiness.”

8.5The Blessed One then said, “Excellent Subhūti, excellent! Just as you have said, the accomplishment of the thus-gone ones’ ripening is without characteristics. Furthermore, there is clinging to the thus-gone one as a being, clinging to a life force, clinging to a soul, and clinging to a person. Furthermore, Subhūti, there are the characteristics related to clinging to the thus-gone one as a being up to the characteristics related to clinging to a person. But these are not the highly exalted state of the thus-gone ones, the hearers, and the solitary buddhas. They have gained mastery over wisdom. Subhūti, after a bodhisattva gives rise to the mind set on awakening for the first time, the bodhisattva expresses the conception of the characteristics of fully ripening the roots of virtue and the characteristics of detachment. Why? Because, Subhūti, they have a perception of the characteristics of a bodhisattva, and they have a perception that clings to elaborations about this. Due to that perception that clings to elaborations, there is a perception of pride and a perception of impermanence. They have the perception of wanting all beings to be happy, [F.169.b] and the perception they have of wishing for happiness will not give rise to great love and great compassion. Subhūti, those bodhisattvas will not conceive of or think about great love and great compassion. By dedicating them to liberation, one is also free of not giving rise to roots of virtue. Therefore, Subhūti, one should proclaim that the roots of virtue are dedicated to liberation in a way that does not contradict the purity of the three fields and the six perfections.

8.6“Just as there are no thoughts or concepts in space, bodhisattvas claim to have abandoned all thoughts and concepts. For example, Subhūti, the king of medicines called waxing moon cures all sicknesses and diseases, and it does so without thinking. It cures all our diseases without thinking about the one who has the illness. The medicine heals this body of ours without conceiving of or thinking about reciprocation and it pacifies all diseases. Subhūti, that is how even bodhisattvas at the lowest stage should practice the six perfections. When they cultivate all manner of generosity and insight, they do not conceive of or grasp at entities. As a result, they do not think about complete ripening. They do not rely upon or conduct themselves according to forms, and they do not rely upon or conduct themselves according to anything up to consciousness. Since they do not rely upon or conduct themselves according to forms, they do not rely upon and do not conduct themselves according to anything up to tactile sensations. They do not cling to names, and they do not cling to anything up to persons. They practice the six perfections knowing that the entirety of the three realms is without object, unstable, and lowly. When bodhisattvas have no thoughts and no concepts, they have an immeasurable amount of insight that is just like space. They will abandon the afflictions in all three realms and swiftly awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. [F.170.a]

8.7“Therefore, Subhūti, those who wish for the path of liberation should not do anything from practicing virtue based on the perception of a being up to practicing virtue based on the perception of a person. They should not practice virtue based on the perception of the aggregates, or the perception of the elements, or of the sense fields. They should not practice virtue based on the perception of possession and ownership. They should not practice virtue based on the perception of the desire realm, the perception of the form realm, or the perception of the formless realm. Why? Because, Subhūti, the characteristics of beings, space, liberation, and ripening are said to lack a self, and what is referred to as nirvāṇa is inseparably and completely empty.”

8.8When the Blessed One had delivered this instruction, 92,000,000,000,000 hearers and beings who follow the vehicle of the hearers gave rise to the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening and each reached the level of nonregression.

8.9The Blessed One then said to Venerable Subhūti, “Subhūti, all phenomena are understood to be just like the perception of conditions. Those who perceive worldly beings with the insight that arises based on the gathering of concordant conditions will transcend the ocean of existence and the mass of darkness will be cleared away just as new moons bring an end to dark lunar phases. Light is conditioned by the moon, perceptions are conditioned by light, formations are conditioned by perceptions, and consciousnesses are conditioned by formations. At that point a mass of suffering has arisen. Space is not understood to be light. Space is not light. Perceptions are not perceived in the absence of light. Perception is not understood to be light. When light ceases, perceptions cease. When perceptions cease, formations cease, and at that point the great mass of suffering will also cease.”

8.10At that moment when the Blessed One had delivered these instructions, [F.170.b] eight trillion beings following the vehicle of the hearers gave rise to the mind set on the vehicle of the solitary buddhas. They attained the free from dust absorption and reached the level of not regressing from the vehicle of the solitary buddhas.

8.11The Blessed One then asked Venerable Subhūti, “Subhūti, when one speaks of ‘the Dharma of mendicants,’ what is the meaning of those words?”

Subhūti replied, “Blessed One, the Dharma of mendicants refers to the three trainings. Blessed One, that is the Dharma of mendicants.”

8.12The Blessed One continued, “Thus it is, Subhūti! The trainings of higher discipline, mind, and insight are referred to as the Dharma of mendicants. What is the training of higher discipline? Being bound by a mendicant’s vows of individual liberation, excelling in the domain of conduct, fearing the slightest wrongdoing, and training in the correct conduct‍—these terms for training, Subhūti, are known as the training in higher discipline. The training of higher mind consists of everything from abiding in the four abodes of Brahmā up to having a loving intention that satiates the entire world. The extensive explanations on this are known as the training of higher mind. What is the training of higher insight? This refers to the four noble truths. What are those four truths? They are the noble truths of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the noble truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering. What is the noble truth of suffering? It is the suffering of birth, the suffering of old age, the suffering of sickness, the suffering of death, the suffering of encountering something one dislikes, the suffering of being separated from what one does like, and the suffering of not getting what one wants. In short, it is the suffering associated with the aggregates that are the basis of grasping. This is referred to as the truth of suffering. [F.171.a] What is the origin of suffering? Those who possess strong desire will experience those different types of suffering. What is the cessation of suffering? It is said to be the abandonment of each and every manifestation of strong desire, the absence of origination, the absence of destruction, the freedom from desires, and complete peace. What is the noble truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering? This refers to the branches of the noble path: correct view, correct thought, correct speech, correct action, correct livelihood, correct effort, correct mindfulness, and correct absorption. Those are known as the eight true topics.

8.13“In the recent past, the thus-gone ones, the worthy, perfect buddhas, have explained that these four noble truths are such that they are the correct offering for the hearers and as the correct offering, too, of the Thus-Gone One. For that reason, some of the thus-gone ones, the worthy, perfect buddhas who currently reside in, thrive in, and care for the immeasurable, countless buddha realms of the ten directions also explain this Dharma to beings living in buddha realms inundated with the five impurities. The four noble truths that those thus-gone ones explain as a Dharma that is the correct offering for hearers takes the same form. As in the recent past, the thus-gone ones, the worthy, perfect buddhas, will also explain the four noble truths as the correct offering for hearers and the Dharma of the thus-gone ones, the worthy, perfect buddhas, in the future. The teachings of all the thus-gone ones, the worthy, perfect buddhas of the past, present, and future, are words of truth.” [F.171.b]

8.14As the Blessed One delivered this instruction on the higher training of insight, including the four noble truths, countless and immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of beings following the vehicle of the hearers reached the level of not arising. Some understood the summit, some understood acceptance, and some understood the highest worldly dharmas. Some attained the fruition of the stream enterers, some attained the fruition of the once-returners, some attained the fruition of the non-returners, and some attained the fruition of the worthy ones who are free from all afflictions.

8.15This was the eighth chapter of the Great Vehicle sūtra entitled “The Acceptance That Tames Beings with Light Rays That Travel through Space.”