The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom
in Eighteen Thousand Lines - 301
Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā
– Chapter 01 - Everything teaches the Perfection of Wisdom –
Source: https://read.84000.co/translation/toh10.html
More Analysis of Mahayana Sutras : https://www.gilehtblog.com/2022/07/toc-400.html
[Back to Résumés of chapters 1-41]
01. INTRODUCTION – This perfection of wisdom is taught in all the world systems – by Reality as it is everywhere, at any time.
(i.e. Résumé: This perfection of wisdom is taught in all the world systems in the great billionfold world system. Why? Because it is a teaching of the inconceivable unique all-pervading timeless unborn unconditioned unchanging unceasing pristine true nature & dynamic of Reality as it is everywhere anytime. And realising this is the solution to all types of suffering everywhere anytime. It is 'Reality as it is' teaching its own true nature & dynamic to all sentient beings.
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A. A large gathering of 12,000 monks; 500 nuns; a great many laymen and laywomen; an unbounded, infinite number of bodhisattvas; and gods … With a description of the qualities of bodhisattvas.
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B. Miracle-like performances to demonstrate the perfection of Wisdom & the Bodhicitta goal:
Out of compassion, for the sake of all beings, a Buddha illuminates all the world systems in the great billionfold world system, spreading nirmanakayas to teach this very perfection of wisdom, the six perfections, the inconceivable true nature of Reality as it is here & now, the inconceivable Union of the Two Truths free from all extremes & middle [U2T] …; and to teach how to act more and more in accord with it.
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C. In all the world systems in the great billionfold world system, in as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River in each of the ten directions (everywhere, anytime), there are embodied tathāgatas (nirmanakayas / manifestations / appearances), spontaneously compassionately (interdependently) teaching Dharma – teaching without teaching this perfection of wisdom, these six perfections…, the inconceivable true nature & dynamic of Reality as it is here & now, the inconceivable Union of the Two Truths free from all extremes & middle [U2T] … without any attachment / fixation / absolutes; and teaching without teaching how to act without acting more and more in accord with it, without any attachment / fixation / absolutes.
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D. Self-recognition: It is like the Ground / 'Reality as it is' trying to teach its own 'inconceivable true nature & dynamic as it is' to all sentient beings / its manifestations. It is like 'Reality as it is' trying to recognise 'its own true nature & dynamic as it is' through its inseparable manifestations / appearances.)
[A. A large gathering]
[Homage] We prostrate to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Lord dwelt at Rājagṛha on Gṛdhrākūṭa Hill together with
great community of monks, numbering 12 five thousand monks, all worthy ones with the exception of one single person — that is, venerable Ānanda — with outflows dried up, without afflictions, fully controlled, with their minds well freed and their wisdom well freed, thoroughbreds, great bull elephants, with their work done, their task accomplished, with their burden laid down, with their own goal accomplished, with the fetters that bound them to existence broken, with their hearts well freed by perfect understanding, in perfect 13 control of their whole mind;
with nuns numbering five hundred — Yaśodharā, Mahāprajāpatī, and so on —
and with a great many laymen and laywomen, all of them with a vision of the Dharma;
and with an unbounded, infinite number of bodhisattva great beings, all of whom had acquired the dhāraṇīs, were dwellers in emptiness, their range the signless, and
who had not fashioned any wishes,
had acquired forbearance for the sameness of all dharmas,
had acquired the dhāraṇī of non-attachment,
with imperishable clairvoyant knowledges, and
with speech worth listening to;
who were not hypocrites, not fawners, without thoughts of reputation and gain;
who were Dharma teachers without thought of compensation, with perfect forbearance for the deep dharmas,
who had obtained the fearlessnesses, and
who had transcended all the works of Māra,
who had cut the continuum of karmic obscuration,
were skillful in expounding the analysis of investigations into phenomena,
with the prayer that is a vow made during an asaṃkhyeya of eons really fully carried out, with smiling countenances, forward in addressing others, without a frown on their faces, skillful in communicating with others in chanted verse, without feelings of depression, without losing the confidence giving a readiness to speak, and endowed with fearlessness when surpassing endless assemblies;
who were skilled in going forth during an ananta of one hundred million eons,
understanding phenomena to be like an illusion, a mirage, a reflection of the moon in water, a dream, an echo, an apparition, a reflection in the mirror, and a magical creation;
who were skillful in comprehending the thoughts, conduct, and beliefs of all beings and subtle knowledge, with unobstructed thoughts, and endowed with extreme patience;
who were skilled in causing entry into reality just as it is, having appropriated all the endless arrays of the buddhafields through prayer and setting out, with the meditative stabilization recollecting buddhas in an infinite number of world systems constantly and always activated;
who were skillful in soliciting innumerable buddhas;
who were skillful in eliminating the various views, propensities, obsessions, and defilements; and
who were skillful in accomplishing a hundred thousand feats through meditative concentration.
That is, he was together with the bodhisattva great beings Bhadrapāla, Ratnākara, Ratnagarbha, 14 Ratnadatta, Susārthavaha, Varuṇadeva, Guhyagupta, Indradatta, Uttaramatin, Viśeṣamatin, Vardhamānamatin, Anantamati, Amoghadarśin, Anāvaraṇamatin, Susaṃprasthita, Suvikrāntavikrāmin, Anantavīrya, Nityodyukta, Nityaprayukta, Anikṣiptadhura, Sūryagarbha, Anupamamatin, and Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, Mārabalapramardin, Vajramatin, Ratnamudrāhasta, Nityotkṣiptahasta, Mahākaruṇācinta, Mahāvyūha, Vyūharāja, and Merukūṭa, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, and many hundreds of thousands of one hundred million billion other bodhisattvas as well.
[B. Out of compassion, for the sake of all beings, a Buddha illuminates all the world systems in the great billionfold world system, spreading nirmanakayas to teach this very perfection of wisdom, the six perfections, the inconceivable true nature of Reality as it is here & now, and how to act more and more in accord with it …]
[0. In this Sahā world system – in details –:] Thereupon the Lord, having himself arranged the lion throne, sat down with his legs crossed, holding his body erect, intent on fixing mindfulness, and entered into the meditative stabilization, samādhirāja by name, in which all meditative stabilizations are put, included, encompassed, and come to meet.
Then the Lord, mindful and self-possessed, emerged from this meditative stabilization and surveyed with his divine eye all world systems.
Having done so, he beamed with his whole body.
From the wheels with a thousand spokes on the soles of his feet issued sixty sixty-one hundred thousand one hundred million billion rays, from the ten toes of his feet issued sixty sixty-one hundred thousand one hundred million billion rays, and similarly from his ankles, legs, knees, thighs, hips, and navel, from his two sides, and from the śrivatsa mark of a great person in his heart issued sixty sixty-one hundred thousand one hundred million billion rays.
From his ten fingers issued sixty sixty-one hundred thousand one hundred million billion rays.
Similarly, from his two forearms, two shoulders, neck, four eyeteeth, all forty teeth, two nostrils, ears, and eyes, ūrṇā, the uṣṇīṣa on the top of his head, and from the opening of his mouth issued sixty sixty-one hundred thousand one hundred million billion rays.
All these sixty sixty-one hundred thousand one hundred million billion rays pervaded the world systems in their entirety with a great illumination and lit them up.
This great illumination from the light rays spread out through as many world systems in the eastern direction as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River.
Similarly, this great illumination from the light rays spread out through each of as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the south, west, and north, in the intermediate directions to the northeast, southeast, southwest, northwest, below and above, and lit them up.
And all the beings who saw that light, who were touched by the illumination of those light rays,
became irreversible from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
Thereupon all the Lord's hair pores became radiant.
From each of the hair pores sixty sixty-one hundred thousand one hundred million billion rays issued forth,
and these rays pervaded all the world systems in the great billionfold world system with a great illumination.
This great illumination from the light rays spread out through as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the east, pervading them with a great illumination and lighting them up.
Similarly, this illumination from the light rays spread out through each of as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the south, west, and north, in the intermediate directions to the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, below and above, and lit them up.
And all the beings who saw that light, who were touched by the illumination of those light rays,
became irreversible from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
Then the Lord, with the light from the natural splendor of a tathāgata, pervaded the great billionfold world system with a great illumination. He pervaded as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the east with this great illumination,
and he similarly pervaded each of as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the south, west, and north, in the intermediate directions to the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, below and above, with this great illumination.
And all the beings who saw that light, who were touched by the illumination of those light rays,
became irreversible from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
Thereupon the Lord extended his tongue and with it covered the great billionfold world system in its entirety.
Having pervaded the great billionfold world system with his tongue, he smiled,
and from his tongue again many hundred thousand one hundred million billion variously colored rays issued forth,
and on all the light rays stood lotuses made of manifold precious stones, shining like gold, each with a thousand petals, variegated, beautiful, captivating, brilliant, fragrant, and soft, all completely like the kācalindika, pleasing to the touch.
[Tongue ==> Rays ==> Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]__
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On the lotuses, furthermore, were
many embodied tathāgatas, teaching Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.
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They went to as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the east
and taught Dharma — this very teaching of Dharma associated with the perfection of wisdom
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and similarly, [they went] to each of as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā
River to the south, west, and north, in the intermediate directions to the northeast, southeast,
southwest, and northwest, below and above, and taught Dharma
— this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.
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And all the beings who listened to that Dharma became irreversible from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
Then the Lord, seated on that very lion throne, entered into the meditative stabilization called siṃhavikrīḍita.
He enacted such a performance with his miraculous power that his performance of miraculous power shook the great billionfold world system in six ways: it shook, shook greatly, and shook violently; it quaked, quaked greatly, and quaked violently; it stirred, stirred greatly, and stirred violently; it became disturbed, greatly disturbed, and violently disturbed; it roared, roared greatly, and roared violently; and it resounded, resounded greatly, and resounded violently. At the edges it rose up and it sank down in the middle; in the middle it rose up and at the edges sank down. It became soft and oily, producing benefit and ease for all beings.
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Thereupon, at that moment, minute, and second, in the great billionfold world system the continuums of the hells and the animal world, and the world of Yama, were all cut.
And all the places that preclude a perfect human birth disappeared.
All those beings were reborn among humans, and also among the Cāturmahārājika, Trāyastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, and Paranirmitavaśavartin gods.
Thereupon, in their great joy and rejoicing these humans and gods recalled their former lives, and having recalled them approached the Lord, bowed to his feet with their heads, cupped their palms together in a gesture of prayerful supplication, and bowed forward.
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And so too in each of the ten directions, in as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the east, to the south, west, and north, in the intermediate directions, and below and above, the continuums of the hells, animal worlds, and the worlds of Yama in as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River were all cut too.
And all the places precluding a perfect human birth disappeared.
All those beings were reborn among humans and the gods.
Thereupon these humans and gods recalled their former lives.
In their great joy and rejoicing they then approached the buddhas in their respective buddhafields,
bowed to their feet with their heads, and with palms together in a gesture of prayerful supplication bowed forward.
Then, in the great billionfold world system, the beings who were born blind saw forms with their eyes, the deaf heard sounds with their ears, the insane regained their senses, those with distracted thoughts became one-pointed in their thoughts, the naked found clothes, the poor found wealth, the hungry found food, the thirsty found drink, the sick were healed, the sense faculties of those with damaged sense faculties were repaired, and the physically exhausted became no longer exhausted.
Those who had not given up unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, and unwholesome livelihood, gave up their unwholesome habits.
All beings considered every being in the same way as they considered their mother, father, brother, and sister, and as they considered their friends, kinsmen, and blood relatives. And they were endowed with the ten wholesome actions and became celibate, pure, free from the stain of immorality and free from all unwholesome conceptualization.
And at that time all beings, possessed of all happiness, acquired the ease a monk feels when absorbed in the third concentration.
And at that very time they were endowed with such knowledge that they knew, "Good is charity! Good is self-discipline! Good is restraint! Good it is to observe celibacy! Good is non-violence toward living creatures!"
And at that time the lord buddhas in other buddhafields cried out cries of delight: "Ah! It is amazing these beings are thus endowed with such knowledge that knows, 'Good is charity! Good is self-discipline! Good is restraint! Good it is to observe celibacy! Good is non-violence toward living creatures!' "
Thereupon the Lord, seated on this very lion throne, stood out towering over the great billionfold world system with Sumeru, the encircling mountain ranges, the abodes of the gods, Indra, Brahmā, Vaśavartin, Śuddhāvāsa, and the classes of gods and asuras,15 shining forth, gleaming, dazzling, and shedding light with his light, color, brilliance, and glory in the same way as, for example, a strong sun or the disk of a full moon in a clear sky.
So too the Lord stood out towering over as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the east with his light, color, brilliance, and glory.
Similarly the Lord stood out towering over as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the south, west, and north, in the intermediate directions, and below and above — in each of the ten directions — shining forth, gleaming, dazzling, and shedding light with his light, color, brilliance, and glory in the same way as, for example, Sumeru, the king of mountains, stands out towering over all mountains, shining forth, gleaming, dazzling, and shedding light; or in the same way as, for example, the disk of the moon towers over all the stars, shining forth, gleaming, dazzling, and shedding light; or in the same way as, for example, the disk of the sun stands out towering over all other lights, shining forth, gleaming, dazzling, and shedding light.
So too the Lord stands out towering over world systems in the ten directions with their gods, Indras, Brahmās, Śuddhāvāsas, and the classes of gods and humans, shining forth, gleaming, dazzling, and shedding light with his light, color, brilliance, and glory.
Thereupon the Lord exhibited an ordinary bodily form, like that of beings in the great billionfold world system.
Then in the great billionfold world system all the gods, from the gods of the Śuddhāvāsa class down to the Brahmakāyika, Paranirmitavaśavartin, Nirmāṇarati, Tuṣita, Yāma, Trāyastriṃśa, and Cāturmahārājika gods saw the body of the Tathāgata you can never see enough.
Feeling contented, pleased, delighted, joyful, and joyous, with such mental happiness they took celestial flowers, celestial garlands, celestial incense, celestial creams, celestial powders, and celestial perfumes; celestial blue lotuses, lotuses, red lotuses, white lotuses, nalina lilies and saugandhaka lilies; celestial flowers, nāgavṛkṣa flowers, and tamāla leaves; and celestial robes, celestial jewelry, celestial parasols, flags, and banners and approached the Lord.
Those humans to be trained, in the form of recipients seated in the great billionfold world system, saw the body of the Tathāgata you can never see enough, took land and water flowers and approached the body of the Tathāgata you can never see enough.
Both gods and humans then strewed near, strewed in front, and strewed all around 16 the body of the Tathāgata these celestial flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, creams, powders, robes, parasols, flags, banners, and land and water flowers.
By the sustaining power of the Lord all this rain of flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, creams, powders, robes, parasols, flags, banners, and land and water flowers that was strewed down on the Lord stayed there like a second story made of flowers and so on, with the dimensions of the great billionfold world system, in the sky right above the Lord's head.
And from this second story tassels made of celestial flowers and silk were suspended, hanging there, hanging right there, and these tassels made of celestial flowers and silk made the great billionfold world system look very beautiful.
And the brightly shining golden color of the Lord streaming forth in the ten directions pervaded and lit up as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River in each direction.
This thought then occurred to each of the gods and humans in all the Jambudvīpa world systems in the great billionfold world system: "The Tathāgata is seated in front of us teaching the Dharma."
Similarly, this thought occurred to the gods in the Godānīyas to the west, Videhas to the east, and Kurus to the north,
to the Cāturmahārājika gods up to the Akaniṣṭha gods,
and similarly to all the gods and humans in a thousandfold [four-continent] world system, in a millionfold world system, or in a great billionfold world system: "The Tathāgata is seated in front of us teaching the Dharma."
Thereupon the Lord, seated on this very lion throne, smiled once again.
Through the illumination from that smile the great billionfold world system was lit up, and all the beings seated in the great billionfold world system saw the Lord Buddha, together with his śrāvaka saṅgha, in as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the east.
And all those beings seated in as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the east saw the Lord Śākyamuni, together with his community of monks, in this Sahā world system.
Similarly, the beings included in this Sahā world system saw the Lord Buddha, together with his śrāvaka saṅgha, in as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the south, west, and north, in the intermediate directions to the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, below and above.
And all those beings seated in as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River as well saw this Sahā world system and the Lord Śākyamuni, together with his community of monks.
[C. THE SAME REALITY IN THE TEN DIRECTIONS – In all the world systems in the great billionfold world system, in as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River in each of the ten directions (everywhere, anytime), there are embodied tathāgatas (nirmanakayas), spontaneously compassionately teaching Dharma – teaching this perfection of wisdom, these six perfections, the inconceivable true nature & dynamic of Reality as it is here & now, the inconceivable Union of the Two Truths free from all extremes & middle [U2T] …]
[1. In the East:]
In the east, beyond as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River, at the very limit of these world systems, there is a world system called Ratnāvatī.
In it the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Ratnākara now dwells and maintains himself.
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He teaches to the bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom.
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Then, in that world system a bodhisattva, a great being, called Samantaraśmi saw this great illumination, this great shaking of the earth, and the body of the Lord you can never see enough, and he approached the lord Ratnākara, the tathāgata, and inquired of the tathāgata Ratnākara, "What is the cause, O Lord, what is the reason for this great illumination having manifested in the world, and for this great shaking of the earth, and for the presence of the body of the Tathāgata you can never see enough?"
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The lord Ratnākara replied to the bodhisattva Samantaraśmi, "There is, child of a good family, beyond as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River in the western direction, a world system called Sahā.
There the tathāgata Śākyamuni now dwells and maintains himself, also teaching the Dharma to the bodhisattvas.
This sort of thing is his power."
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Then the bodhisattva Samantaraśmi said to the tathāgata Ratnākara, "I will go to that Sahā world system to see, salute, and honor that tathāgata Śākyamuni, and to see those bodhisattva great beings, for the most part in the form of the young, who have acquired the dhāraṇīs and detailed and thorough knowledges and acquired mastery over all the meditative stabilizations and absorptions."
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The Lord replied, "Go then, child of a good family, since you feel that now is the right time."
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Thereupon the tathāgata Ratnākara gave the bodhisattva Samantaraśmi a thousand lotuses made of manifold jewels, each with a thousand petals shining like gold, saying, "Child of a good family, strew these lotuses over the tathāgata Śākyamuni. Be on your best behavior 17 in that buddhafield. And why? Because the bodhisattvas born in that Sahā world system are difficult to approach."
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Thereupon the bodhisattva Samantaraśmi received from the tathāgata Ratnākara the lotuses made of manifold jewels, each with a thousand petals shining like gold. Surrounded by, and at the head of, many hundred thousand one hundred million billion bodhisattvas, householders and renunciates, young men and women, he disappeared together with them from that buddhafield and, having respected, revered, honored, and worshiped as many lords as there are dwelling and maintaining themselves in the east with flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, creams, powders, robes, parasols, flags, and banners, arrived there in the Sahā world through that bodhisattva's great wonder-working and that bodhisattva's great power. He approached the tathāgata Śākyamuni, went up to him, bowed to the Lord's feet with his head, and stood to one side. The bodhisattva Samantaraśmi then addressed the Lord, the tathāgata Śākyamuni: "The lord Ratnākara inquires about the Lord's health, hopes that the Lord is well and free from sickness, alert and buoyant, eating well, strong, and comfortable. The lord Ratnākara has also dispatched these lotuses for the Lord."
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The lord tathāgata Śākyamuni accepted the lotuses and threw them back to the lord buddhas in as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the east.
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Those lotuses spread throughout those world systems,
and on them were seated buddha bodies.
[Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]
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In those buddhafields they taught Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.
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And the beings who heard that Dharma became certain to reach unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
Thereupon those bodhisattvas, the householders and renunciates, young men and women, each one by virtue of his or her own wholesome roots, respected, revered, honored, and worshiped the lord Śākyamuni and sat down on one side.
[2. In the South:]
Then in the south, beyond as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River, at the very limit of these world systems, there is a world system called Sarvaśokāpagata.
In it the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Aśokaśrī now dwells and maintains himself.
Then, in that world system a bodhisattva, a great being, called Vigatāśoka … and so on.
Connect to the previous, at length, up to and sat down on one side.
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[There the Buddha teaches to the bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom.
_____________________________________________________________________
[Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]
_______________________________________________________________
… In those buddhafields they taught Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.]
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[3.1. In the West:]
Then in the west there is a world system called Upaśānta.
In it the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Ratnārcis now dwells and maintains himself.
Then, in that world system a bodhisattva, a great being, called Cāritramati …
and so on, at length, up to and sat down on one side.
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[There the Buddha teaches to the bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom.
_____________________________________________________________________
[Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]
_______________________________________________________________
… In those buddhafields they taught Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.]
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[4. In the North:]
Then in the north there is a world system called Jayā.
In it the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Jayendra now dwells and maintains himself.
Then, in that world system a bodhisattva, a great being, called Jayadatta …
and so on, at length, up to and sat down on one side.
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[There the Buddha teaches to the bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom.
_____________________________________________________________________
[Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]
_______________________________________________________________
… In those buddhafields they taught Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.]
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[5. In the North-East:]
Then in the intermediate northeast direction there is a world system called Samādhyalaṃkṛtā.
In it the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Samādhihastyuttaraśrī now dwells and maintains himself.
Then, in that world system a bodhisattva, a great being, called Vijayavikrāmin …
and so on, at length, up to and sat down on one side.
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[There the Buddha teaches to the bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom.
_____________________________________________________________________
[Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]
_______________________________________________________________
… In those buddhafields they taught Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.]
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[6.1. In the South-East:]
Then in the intermediate southeast direction there is a world system called
Bodhimaṇḍalālaṃkārasurucitā.
In it the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Padmottaraśrī now dwells and maintains himself.
Then, in that world system a bodhisattva, a great being, called Padmahasta …
and so on, at length, up to and sat down on one side.
_____________________________________________________________________
[There the Buddha teaches to the bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom.
_____________________________________________________________________
[Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]
_______________________________________________________________
… In those buddhafields they taught Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.]
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[7.1. In the South-West:]
Then in the intermediate southwest direction there is a world system called Vigatarajasaṃcayā.
In it the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāsottaraśrī now dwells and maintains himself.
Then, in that world system a bodhisattva, a great being, called Sūryapratibhāsa …
and so on, at length, up to and sat down on one side.
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[There the Buddha teaches to the bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom.
_____________________________________________________________________
[Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]
_______________________________________________________________
… In those buddhafields they taught Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.]
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[8. In the North-West:]
Then in the intermediate northwest direction there is a world system called Vaśībhūtā.
In it the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Ekachattra now dwells and maintains himself.
Then, in that world system a bodhisattva, a great being, called Ratnottama …
and so on, at length, up to and sat down on one side.
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[There the Buddha teaches to the bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom.
_____________________________________________________________________
[Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]
_______________________________________________________________
… In those buddhafields they taught Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.]
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[9. In the direction Bellow:]
Then in the direction below there is a world system called Padmā.
In it the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Padmaśrī now dwells and maintains himself.
Then, in that world system a bodhisattva, a great being, called Padmottama …
and so on, at length, up to and sat down on one side.
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[There the Buddha teaches to the bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom.
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[Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]
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… In those buddhafields they taught Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.]
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[10. In the direction Above:]
Then in the direction above, beyond as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River, at the very limit of these world systems, there is a world system called Nandā.
In it the tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete buddha Nandaśrī now dwells and maintains himself.
-
Then, in that world system a bodhisattva, a great being, called Nandadatta, saw this great illumination, this great shaking of the earth, and the body of the Lord you can never see enough, and he approached the lord Nandaśrī, the tathāgata, and inquired of the tathāgata Nandaśrī, "What is the cause, O Lord, what is the reason for this great illumination being manifested in the world, and for this great shaking of the earth, and for the presence of the body of the Tathāgata you can never see enough?"
-
The lord Nandaśrī replied to the bodhisattva Nandadatta, "There is, O child of a good family, beyond as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River in the direction below a world system called Sahā. There the tathāgata arhat, perfectly complete buddha Śākyamuni now dwells and maintains himself, also teaching the Dharma to the bodhisattvas. This sort of thing is his power."
-
Then the bodhisattva Nandadatta said to the tathāgata Nandaśrī, "I will go to that Sahā world system to see, salute, and honor that tathāgata Śākyamuni, and to see those bodhisattva great beings, for the most part in the form of the young, who have acquired the dhāraṇīs and detailed and thorough knowledges and have acquired mastery over all the meditative stabilizations and absorptions."
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The Lord replied, "Go then, child of a good family, since you feel that now is the right time."
-
Thereupon the tathāgata Nandaśrī gave the bodhisattva Nandadatta a thousand lotuses made of manifold jewels, each with a thousand petals shining like gold, saying, "These lotuses, child of a good family, strew over the tathāgata Śākyamuni. Be on your best behavior in that buddhafield. And why? Because the bodhisattvas born in that Sahā world system are difficult to approach."
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Thereupon the bodhisattva Nandadatta received from the tathāgata Nandaśrī the lotuses made of manifold jewels, each with a thousand petals shining like gold. Surrounded by and at the head of many hundred thousand one hundred million billion bodhisattvas, householders and renunciates, and young men and women, he disappeared together with them from that buddhafield, and, having respected, revered, honored, and worshiped as many lords as there are dwelling and maintaining themselves in the direction above with flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, creams, powders, robes, parasols, flags, and banners, arrived there in the Sahā world through that bodhisattva's great wonder-working and that bodhisattva's great power. He approached the tathāgata Śākyamuni, went up to him, bowed to the Lord's feet with his head, and stood to one side. The bodhisattva Nandadatta then addressed the lord, the tathāgata Śākyamuni: "The lord Nandaśrī inquires about the Lord's health, hopes that the Lord is well and free from sickness, alert and buoyant, eating well, strong, and comfortable. The lord Nandaśrī has also dispatched these lotuses for the Lord."
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The lord tathāgata Śākyamuni accepted the lotuses and threw them back to the lords, the buddhas in as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River in the direction above.
-
Those lotuses spread throughout those world systems, and on them were seated buddha bodies.
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In those buddhafields they demonstrated Dharma —_
this very demonstration of Dharma associated with the perfection of wisdom.
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And the beings who heard that Dharma became irreversible from unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
-
_____________________________________________________________________
[There the Buddha teaches to the bodhisattvas this very perfection of wisdom.
_____________________________________________________________________
[Lotuses ==> Embodied-tathāgatas ==> Perfection of wisdom & Six perfections…]
_________________________________________________________
… In those buddhafields they taught Dharma —
this very teaching of Dharma associated with the six perfections.]
__________________________________________________________
-
Thereupon those bodhisattvas, the householders and renunciates, young men and women, each one by virtue of his or her own wholesome roots respected, revered, honored, and worshiped the lord Śākyamuni and sat down on one side.
Thereupon, at that moment, minute, and second, the great billionfold world system became constituted of jewels, filled with various blossoms, hung with clusters of silk streamers, made fragrant with incense pots, and beautified with wish-fulfilling trees whose stem-tips bend down with ornaments and fruit, and with flower trees, fruit trees, fragrance trees, flower-garland trees, and powder trees, just like Padmavatī, the buddhafield of the tathāgata Samantakusuma where Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta lives, as well as the god Susthitamati, and others who are magnificent bodhisattva great beings.
This was the first chapter, "Introduction," of "The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines."
Access to other chapters on the Blog:
(Work in progress. Empty files means they are not done yet.)
Chapter 0 – Introduction to the Sutra
Chapter 1 – Introduction / the Assembly
Chapter 2 – Production of the Thought
Chapter 3 – Designation
Chapter 4 – Equal to the Unequal
Chapter 5 – Tongue
Chapter 6 – Subhūti
Chapter 7 – Entry into flawlessness
Chapter 8 – The Religious Mendicant Śreṇika
Chapter 9 – Causal Signs
Chapter 10 – Illusion-like
Chapter 11 – Embarrassment
Chapter 12 – Elimination of Views
Chapter 13 – The Six Perfections
Chapter 14 – Neither Bound nor Freed
Chapter 15 – Meditative Stabilization
Chapter 16 – Dhāraṇī Gateway
Chapter 17 – Level Purification
Chapter 18 – The Exposition of Going Forth in the Great Vehicle
Chapter 19 – Surpassing
Chapter 20 – Not Two
Chapter 21 – Subhūti
Chapter 22 – Śatakratu
Chapter 23 – Hard to Understand
Chapter 24 – Unlimited
Chapter 25 – Second Śatakratu
Chapter 26 – Getting Old
Chapter 27 – Reliquary
Chapter 28 – Declaration of the Good Qualities of the Thought of Awakening
Chapter 29 – Different Tīrthika Religious Mendicants
Chapter 30 – The Benefits of Taking Up and Adoration
Chapter 31 – Physical Remains
Chapter 32 – The Superiority of Merit
Chapter 33 – Dedication
Chapter 34 – Perfect Praise of the Quality of Accomplishment
Chapter 35 – Hells
Chapter 36 – Teaching The Purity of all Dharmas
Chapter 37 – Nobody
Chapter 38 – Cannot Be Apprehended
Chapter 39 – The Northern Region
Chapter 40 – The Work of Māra
Chapter 41 – Not Complete Because of Māra
Chapter 42 – Revealing the World
Chapter 43 – Inconceivable
Chapter 44 – Made Up
Chapter 45 – A Boat
Chapter 46 – Teaching the Intrinsic Nature of All Dharmas
Chapter 47 – Taming Greed
Chapter 48 – A Presentation of the Bodhisattvas' Training
Chapter 49 – Irreversibility
Chapter 50 – Teaching the Signs of Irreversibility
Chapter 51 – Skillful means
Chapter 52 – Completion of the Means
Chapter 53 – The Prophecy about Gaṅgadevī
Chapter 54 – Teaching the Cultivation of Skillful Means
Chapter 55 – Teaching the Stopping of Thought Construction [in absolute terms]
Chapter 56 – Equal Training
Chapter 57 – Practice
Chapter 58 – Exposition of the Absence of Thought Construction [in absolute terms]
Chapter 59 – Non-attachment
Chapter 60 – Entrusting
Chapter 61 – Inexhaustible
Chapter 62 – Leaping Above Absorption
Chapter 63 – Many Inquiries about the Two Dharmas
Chapter 64 – Perfectly Displayed
Chapter 65 – Worshiping, Serving, and Attending on Spiritual Friends as Skillful Means
Chapter 66 – A Demonstration of Skillful Means
Chapter 67 – Morality
Chapter 68 – Growing and Flourishing
Chapter 69 – An Explanation of Meditation on The Path
Chapter 70 – An Explanation of Serial Action, Training, and Practice
Chapter 71 – The True Nature of Dharmas That Cannot Be Apprehended
Chapter 72 – Teaching the Absence of Marks
Chapter 73 – Exposition of the Major Marks and Minor Signs and the Completion of Letters
Chapter 74 – Exposition of the Sameness of Dharmas
Chapter 75 – Exposition of Non-complication –
Chapter 76 – The Armor for Bringing Beings to Maturity
Chapter 77 – Teaching the Purification of a Buddhafield
Chapter 78 – Teaching the Skillful Means for the Purification of a Buddhafield
Chapter 79 – Teaching the Non Existence of an Intrinsic Nature
Chapter 80 – Teaching that there is No Defilement or Purification
Chapter 81 – Yogic Practice of the Ultimate
Chapter 82 – The Unchanging True Nature of Dharmas
Chapter 83 – Categorization of a Bodhisattva's Training
Chapter 84 – Collection
Chapter 85 – Sadāprarudita
Chapter 86 – Dharmodgata
Chapter 87 – Entrusting
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