Buddha's Ten Stages Sutra (佛說十地經)

Buddha Speaks the Ten Grounds Sutra, Volume 3

Translated by the Tang Dynasty Tripiṭaka Master Śīladharma from Khotan at Longxing Temple in Beiting

Chapter 3: The Ground of Radiant Light

Then, the Vajradhara Bodhisattva declared to the assembly of bodhisattvas: "Good children, if a bodhisattva has thoroughly purified their aspiration and intention in the second ground, and wishes to enter the third ground of a bodhisattva, they must do so through ten types of heartfelt intention. What are the ten? Namely: intention through a pure heart, intention through a settled heart, intention through a world-weary heart, intention through a desire-free heart, intention through an unwavering heart, intention through a steadfast heart, intention through an ardent heart, intention through a courageous heart, intention through a sublime heart, and intention through a vast heart. With these ten heartfelt intentions, the bodhisattva enters the third ground.

"Good children, when a bodhisattva abides in this third ground, they observe all conditioned activities and see them as impermanent, painful, impure, and unreliable. They see that everything inevitably decays, does not last long, arises and ceases in an instant—the past does not come, the future does not go, and the present does not stay. While thus correctly observing all activities without distortion, they also see that the body has no savior and no refuge; it is linked to worry, lamentation, and affliction; bound by attachment and aversion; filled with much suffering and distress, never accumulating in stillness. With the blazing fires of greed, hatred, and delusion burning fiercely alongside all kinds of ailments, they see this. After seeing it, they cause their mind to advance from all activities towards the wisdom seal of the Tathagata.

"This bodhisattva sees the Tathagata's wisdom as inconceivable, incomparable, immeasurable, hard to attain, undefiled, disaster-free, and affliction-free, leading to the city of fearlessness without retreat, able to rescue sentient beings from countless sufferings. Having thus seen the limitless benefits of the Tathagata's wisdom and the countless disasters of all conditioned activities, they then develop ten types of heartfelt intention toward sentient beings. What are the ten? Namely: the heartfelt intention of seeing them as lonely and without support; the heartfelt intention of seeing them as perpetually impoverished; the heartfelt intention of seeing them as burned by the blazing fires of greed, hatred, and delusion; the heartfelt intention of seeing them as imprisoned in existence; the heartfelt intention of seeing them as constantly covered by the dense forest of afflictions; the heartfelt intention of seeing them as unable to discern; the heartfelt intention of seeing them as lacking aspiration for wholesome teachings; the heartfelt intention of seeing them as lost to the Buddha's Dharma; the heartfelt intention of seeing them as drifting with the stream of rebirth; and the heartfelt intention of seeing them as having lost the path to liberation."

"Having thus seen the multitude of calamities in the realm of sentient beings, this bodhisattva generates great effort, thinking: 'I should rescue these sentient beings, should free them, should purify them, should pull them out, should cause them to enter, should settle them, should delight them, should make them rejoice, should tame them, and should lead them to peace.' In this way, the bodhisattva deeply wearies of all conditioned activities, develops a compassionate heart toward sentient beings, sees the great benefit in the Buddha's sublime wisdom, and takes the Tathagata's wisdom as their foundation. To rescue sentient beings, they diligently cultivate practice, thinking: 'These sentient beings have fallen into suffering and affliction. By what path can I rescue them and lead them to abide in ultimate peace and liberation?' Then this bodhisattva reflects: 'This is not separate from the state of unobstructed wisdom and liberation. This unobstructed wisdom and liberation is not separate from the true realization of all phenomena. This true realization of all phenomena is not separate from the wisdom of no-action and no-birth. This radiant wisdom is not separate from the skillful discernment and subtle observation of meditative absorption. And this meditative absorption and skillful discernment are not separate from the skillful mastery of extensive learning.'"

"With this discerning wisdom, this bodhisattva dedicates themselves solely to seeking the true Dharma, striving day and night to learn it without ever tiring, playing with it, delighting in it, relying on it, cherishing it, abiding in it, needing it, making it their refuge, returning to it, following it, and practicing it. While thus diligently cultivating to attain the Buddha's Dharma, there is not a single object, resource, or form of wealth they cannot give up, and they never think of it as a hardship. The only rarity they perceive is finding a teacher who can explain the Dharma. For the sake of the Dharma, they do not cling to any external object; they cannot refrain from giving up any internal attachment. They vow to serve any teacher who can instruct them, setting aside pride and excessive pride, humbly accepting and practicing. There is no physical hardship they will not endure. If they hear even a single verse of the Buddha's Dharma, they burst with joy, greater than receiving a heap of precious jewels filling a universe of a thousand worlds. Hearing one verse of well-taught Dharma brings them more joy than achieving the status of a universal monarch. Hearing previously unheard Dharma spoken by the Buddha that leads to perfect enlightenment and purifies the bodhisattva's practice brings them more joy than attaining the most exalted positions of Brahma or Indra for a hundred thousand ages."

"Suppose someone tells them: 'I have a single phrase of the Buddha's teaching that leads to perfect enlightenment and purifies the bodhisattva's practice. If you are willing to throw yourself into an intensely blazing pit of fire and endure great suffering, I will teach it to you.' Upon hearing this, the bodhisattva reflects: 'For the sake of a single phrase of the Buddha's teaching that leads to perfect enlightenment and purifies the bodhisattva's practice, even if the fire pit were the size of a universe of a thousand worlds filled with flames, I would throw myself into it from the Brahma heavens—how much more a small fire pit? Moreover, we who seek the Buddha's Dharma should be willing to endure long periods in the worst hells and dangerous states of great suffering—how could we not endure such minor human hardships?'"

"Having thus generated such effort to seek the true Dharma, the bodhisattva then inwardly examines it according to what they have heard. After hearing the true Dharma, they dwell alone in a quiet place, resolving within themselves: 'It is only through proper practice and following the Dharma with Dharma that one can truly be said to accord with the Buddha's teaching—not merely through eloquent speech that one becomes pure.'"

"When this bodhisattva abides in the 'Radiant Ground,' to cultivate this practice of following Dharma with Dharma, they detach from sensual desires and unwholesome states; with applied and sustained thought, born of seclusion, filled with joy and ease, they enter and fully abide in the first meditative absorption. With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, inner tranquility and one-pointedness arise; without applied or sustained thought, born of concentration, filled with joy and ease, they enter and fully abide in the second meditative absorption. With dispassion toward joy, they abide in equanimity, mindful and aware, experiencing bodily ease—where the noble ones declare that one abides in equanimity and mindfulness, experiencing physical ease—they enter and fully abide in the third meditative absorption. With the abandonment of pleasure and pain, as well as the earlier disappearance of joy and sorrow, they abide in neither-pain-nor-pleasure, with pure equanimity and mindfulness—fully entering and abiding in the fourth meditative absorption."

"Furthermore, this bodhisattva, having transcended all perceptions of form, having eliminated perceptions of resistance, and through not attending to diverse perceptions, knows 'space is infinite' and enters and fully abides in the sphere of infinite space. Having completely transcended the sphere of infinite space, knowing 'consciousness is infinite,' they enter and fully abide in the sphere of infinite consciousness. Having completely transcended the sphere of infinite consciousness, knowing 'there is nothing,' they enter and fully abide in the sphere of nothingness. Having completely transcended the sphere of nothingness, knowing 'neither-perception-nor-non-perception,' they enter and fully abide in the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. However, all these are only undertaken to follow the Dharma with Dharma, not for the sake of attachment or dwelling in meditative bliss."

Furthermore, the bodhisattva cultivates a mind of loving-kindness that is vast, non-dual, immeasurable, free from hatred, free from resentment, without obstacles, and without affliction. This mind extends everywhere to the limits of reality, reaching the entirety of space itself. In all worlds, loving-kindness universally covers every realm, fully and perfectly established.

Cultivating a mind of compassion and a mind of sympathetic joy follows the same practice. Cultivating a mind of equanimity is also vast, non-dual, immeasurable, free from hatred, free from resentment, without obstacles, and without affliction. This mind extends everywhere to the limits of reality, reaching the entirety of space itself. In all worlds, equanimity universally covers every realm, fully and perfectly established.

Furthermore, the bodhisattva experiences countless miraculous powers—shaking the earth; manifesting one body as many bodies and many bodies as one; appearing or disappearing with swiftness and without obstruction; passing through walls and mountains as if through space; traveling through the sky in a meditation posture like a bird; emerging from and entering the earth as if entering water; walking on water as if on land; emitting smoke and flames from the body like a great fire; producing streams of water from the body like a great cloud. With such great spiritual power and majesty, the bodhisattva can even touch and stroke the sun and moon with their hand, and freely move through the universe up to the Brahma heavens.

With the divine ear faculty, pure and surpassing ordinary human perception, the bodhisattva hears all sounds of both humans and gods—near and far, even the sounds of mosquitoes, gadflies, and dung beetles.

With the mind-reading faculty, the bodhisattva knows the minds of other beings as they truly are. For example, they truly know when a mind has desire, when it is free from desire; when a mind has anger, when it is free from anger; when a mind has ignorance, when it is free from ignorance; when a mind is defiled, when it is undefiled; when the mind is narrow or vast, immeasurable, collected or scattered; when it is concentrated or has emerged from concentration; when it is already liberated or not yet liberated; when it is mindful or unmindful; when the mind is coarse or subtle—all are known as they truly are. In this way, the bodhisattva, with the mind-reading faculty, understands the thoughts of other beings and other individuals.

With the faculty of past-life recollection, the bodhisattva remembers countless past lives—their own and others’. They recall one lifetime, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, up to a hundred, many hundreds, many thousands, many hundreds of thousands of lives. They recall eons of formation, destruction, and the combination of formation and destruction—countless eons. They recall hundreds of eons, thousands of eons, hundreds of thousands of eons, millions of eons, hundreds of millions of eons, thousands of millions of eons, hundreds of thousands of millions of eons, up to countless hundreds of thousands of billions of eons. They recall: “In a past life, I was in such a place, with such a name, such a clan, such an appearance, such food, such a lifespan, such a duration, such joys and sufferings.” They remember passing away from that place and being born here, and passing away from here and being born there—with such appearance, such speech—whether in brief or in detail, all past lives are recalled.

With the divine eye faculty, pure and surpassing ordinary human perception, the bodhisattva sees beings at the moment of death and rebirth—beautiful or ugly, in good or bad realms, low or high, all according to their karma. They know beings as they truly are: those who have accomplished harmful actions of body, speech, and mind, who slander noble beings, and who hold wrong views—due to the consequences of their wrong views, they are reborn in miserable realms after death, in states of suffering.

Conversely, beings who have accomplished beneficial actions of body, speech, and mind, who praise noble beings, and who hold right views—due to the consequences of their right views, they are reborn in good realms after death, in heavenly states of happiness. In this way, the bodhisattva, with the divine eye pure and surpassing human perception, sees the appearance and understands the speech of beings at death and rebirth—beautiful or ugly, in good or bad realms, low or high, all according to their karma, knowing beings as they truly are.

Yet this bodhisattva, while mastering these states of meditation, liberation, concentration, and absorption, does not take rebirth due to the power of those states. Instead, if they see that a particular place can quickly help them perfect the factors leading to awakening, they consciously choose to be reborn there through the power of their aspiration.

Furthermore, the bodhisattva sees that all phenomena are neither fixed nor destroyed, but arise through dependent conditions. Because of this, all bonds of desire diminish in this bodhisattva; all bonds of form, all bonds of existence, and all bonds of ignorance also diminish. The bonds of views have already been severed.

Dwelling on this Ground of Radiance, the bodhisattva—through countless eons, countless hundreds of eons, countless thousands of eons, countless hundreds of thousands of eons, countless hundreds of thousands of *nayutas* of eons, countless *kotis* of eons, countless hundreds of *kotis* of eons, countless thousands of *kotis* of eons, countless hundreds of thousands of *kotis* of eons, countless hundreds of thousands of *kotis* of *nayutas* of eons—breaks corrupt attachment, breaks corrupt aversion, and breaks corrupt ignorance, because these are not accumulated. All of their virtuous roots become even brighter and purer.

Good sons, just as refined gold, when skillfully worked by a master goldsmith and cleansed of all impurities, loses none of its weight; similarly, a bodhisattva dwelling on this Ground of Radiance—through countless hundreds of eons, even countless hundreds of thousands of *kotis* of *nayutas* of eons—breaks corrupt attachment, breaks corrupt aversion, and breaks corrupt ignorance, because these are not accumulated. All of their virtuous roots become even brighter and purer.

Moreover, this bodhisattva becomes more patient, with a gentle and clear state of mind. Their mind becomes joyful, free from anger, stable, unclouded, without arrogance or inferiority, without hoping for favorable treatment from others, without expecting rewards, without deception, and without entanglements—all of these states become clear and pure.

Among the four means of embracing others, this bodhisattva emphasizes beneficial actions. Among the ten perfections, the perfection of patience becomes predominant, while the other perfections are practiced to the best of their ability and effort, not neglected.