Chapter 1: King Ravana's Request

This is what I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was residing in the city of Lanka on the summit of Malaya Mountain by the great sea, together with a great assembly of bhikkhus and a great assembly of bodhisattvas. These great bodhisattvas had all thoroughly comprehended the five dharmas, the three natures, and the selflessness of all consciousness. They were skilled in understanding that all realms are manifestations of one's own mind. They played in immeasurable samadhis, supernatural powers, and various spiritual strengths. According to the minds of sentient beings, they manifested in various forms to skillfully guide and tame them. All the Buddhas had placed their hands upon their heads in empowerment. They had come to this assembly from various Buddha-lands, with the great bodhisattva Mahamati as their foremost leader.

At that time, the World-Honored One was teaching the Dharma in the palace of the Dragon King of the sea. After seven days, he emerged from the great ocean, where countless Brahma gods, Indra, protector deities, heavenly beings, dragons, and others respectfully welcomed the Buddha. Then, the Tathagata raised his eyes and saw the great city of Lanka on Mount Malaya. He smiled and said, "In the past, all Tathagatas, the Worthy Ones, the Rightly Enlightened Ones, have all taught in this city the Dharma of the sacred wisdom they attained through realization—not the speculative and erroneous views of non-Buddhist paths, nor the practice realms of the two vehicles. Now, I too shall expound this Dharma for King Ravana."

At that moment, the yaksha king Ravana, empowered by the Buddha's spiritual might, heard the Buddha's words from afar. Knowing that the Tathagata had emerged from the dragon palace, surrounded by Brahma gods, Indra, protector deities, heavenly beings, and dragons, and seeing the ocean waves and the assembly, he perceived the winds of the conditioned realm stirring the waves of consciousness within the ocean of the storehouse consciousness. Filled with joy, he proclaimed loudly in his city, "I shall go to the Buddha and invite him to enter this city, so that I, along with heavenly beings and humans, may attain great benefit for a long time to come."

Having spoken thus, he and his retinue rode on a palace of flowers to where the World-Honored One was. Upon arrival, he descended from the palace, circumambulated the Buddha three times to the right, and offered music and various performances in worship. The musical instruments they held were made of great blue indra gems, inlaid with lapis lazuli and other precious stones, wrapped in priceless fine cloth. Their sounds were exquisite, harmonizing in rhythm, and amidst them, they recited verses in praise of the Buddha:

At that time, King Ravana of Lanka, having praised the Buddha with the sound of the Dutaka, then spoke these verses in song:

At that moment, the World-Honored One, having heard these words, then said to him: "Yaksha King! In past ages, all the great guides, moved by compassion for you, accepted your earnest invitation and went to the Jewel Mountain to teach the Dharma they themselves had realized. The Buddhas of the future will do likewise. This is the dwelling place of those who practice profound contemplation and dwell in the joy of the present Dharma. Out of compassion for you, I and the Bodhisattvas accept your invitation." Having spoken these words, he remained in silence.

At that time, King Rāvaṇa offered the magnificent flower palace he rode in as an offering to the Buddha. The Buddha sat upon it, with the king and the bodhisattvas leading the way before and following behind. Countless celestial maidens sang hymns of praise, making offerings to the Buddha as they proceeded toward that city. Upon arriving at the city, King Rāvaṇa and his retinue again made various exquisite offerings. Among the yakṣas, young boys and girls offered jeweled nets to the Buddha, while King Rāvaṇa presented precious necklaces to adorn the Buddha and the bodhisattvas. Then, the World-Honored One and the bodhisattvas, having received these offerings, each briefly explained the profound Dharma of their own realized state.

At that time, King Rāvaṇa and his retinue made further offerings to the bodhisattva Mahāmati and earnestly requested of him:

At that moment, the World-Honored One, through his spiritual power, manifested countless jeweled mountains within that mountain range, each adorned with billions of heavenly treasures. On every mountain, a Buddha appeared; before every Buddha stood King Ravana with his assembly. All the lands of the ten directions were revealed within them; in every land, a Tathagata was present; before every Buddha, King Ravana and his retinue gathered. The magnificent city of Lanka and the Asoka Garden were each adorned in the same splendid manner. In every place, the Bodhisattva Mahamati arose to inquire, and the Buddha expounded the realm of self-realized wisdom. After proclaiming this sutra with hundreds of thousands of wondrous voices, the Buddha and all the bodhisattvas vanished into the sky and were seen no more.

King Ravana found himself alone in his palace, pondering deeply: "Who was that just now? Who heard what was said? What did I see? Who was it that saw? The Buddha, the magnificent city, the jeweled mountains and forests—where have all these things gone now? Was it a dream? An illusion? Like a mirage in the desert? A trick of the eyes? A shimmer of heat haze? Like dreaming of a stone woman giving birth, or seeing a wheel of fire spun from smoke and flame?"

He reflected further: "All phenomena are like this—merely creations of the mind’s discriminations. Ordinary people, confused and deluded, fail to understand this. There is no one who sees, and nothing seen; no one who speaks, and nothing spoken. To see the Buddha or hear the Dharma is all discrimination. As with what I saw just now—I did not truly see the Buddha. Only when discrimination ceases can one truly see."

At that moment, the King of Lanka was instantly awakened. He transcended all defilements, realized that only his own mind exists, and abided in non-discrimination. Due to the power of the wholesome roots he had planted in the past, he attained true insight into all phenomena, not relying on others for enlightenment. He was able to skillfully observe with his own wisdom, forever abandoning all speculative and erroneous views. Dwelling in great practice, he became a teacher for practitioners, manifesting various forms and skillfully mastering expedient means. He clearly understood the progressive stages of the grounds and always delighted in transcending the mind, mental faculty, and consciousness, severing the continuity of the threefold perception and abandoning the attachments of external paths. Through inner self-awakening, he entered the Tathagata-garbha and proceeded toward the Buddha-ground.

From the empty sky and within the palace, voices resounded, saying: "Excellent, great king! As you have learned, all practitioners should learn thus, should see thus. All Tathagatas should be seen thus; all phenomena, if seen otherwise, lead to the view of annihilation. You should forever transcend the mind, mental faculty, and consciousness. Diligently observe all phenomena, cultivate inner practice, and do not cling to external views. Do not fall into the paths of the two vehicles or externalists, their doctrines, perceived realms, or the meditative states they seek. You should not delight in idle debate and laughter, nor should you give rise to Vedic views or cling to royal power and sovereignty. Nor should you abide in the six meditative absorptions and the like. If you can practice thus, you are a true practitioner, able to refute others' arguments, destroy wrong views, abandon all self-view attachments, transform the dependent consciousness with sublime wisdom, cultivate the Bodhisattva Mahayana path, and enter the Tathagata's self-realized ground. You should diligently cultivate thus, purifying the Dharma you have attained. Skillfully cultivate samadhi and samapatti, without clinging to the realms of the two vehicles or externalists as superior bliss, as ordinary practitioners mistakenly distinguish. Externalists cling to a self, perceiving a self-nature and real characteristics, thus giving rise to attachment. The two vehicles perceive ignorance conditioning formations, engaging in deluded discrimination within the nature of emptiness.

King of Lanka! This Dharma is supreme, the great vehicle path that enables one to accomplish self-realized sagely wisdom and receive sublime rebirths among all existences. King of Lanka! This great vehicle practice dispels the obscuration of ignorance, extinguishes the waves of consciousness, and does not fall into the erroneous practices of externalists. King of Lanka! Externalist practitioners cling to a self, creating various heterodox theories, unable to expound the meaning of transcending clinging views and the nature of consciousness. Excellent, King of Lanka! You first saw the Buddha and contemplated this meaning. Such contemplation is indeed seeing the Buddha."

At that moment, King Rāvaṇa thought again: "May I once more have the honor of beholding the Tathāgata. The World-Honored One, in his state of perfect observation and freedom, transcends all external paths. He can expound the realm of self-realized sage wisdom, surpassing all that is done through provisional manifestations. Abiding in the Tathāgata's samādhi and immersed in meditative bliss, he is therefore called the Great Master of Contemplation. He is also named the Great Compassionate One, who burns away the fuel of afflictions and discriminations until nothing remains. Surrounded by the assembly of Buddha’s children, he enters universally into the hearts of all sentient beings, pervades all places, possesses all wisdom, and eternally transcends all phenomena of discrimination. I now wish to behold again the Tathāgata’s great spiritual power. Through this vision, may what has not yet been attained be attained, what has been attained not regress, and may I dwell in the bliss of samādhi, free from all discriminations, growing and fulfilling the wisdom-ground of the Tathāgata."

At that moment, the World-Honored One, knowing that the King of Laṅkā was about to attain the realization of the patient endurance of the unborn Dharma, manifested his true form out of compassion, restoring all transformed phenomena to their original state. Then the Ten-Headed King beheld what he had seen before: countless mountain citadels adorned with jewels, each containing a Tathāgata, the Perfectly Enlightened One, adorned with the thirty-two marks. He saw himself appearing before every Buddha, surrounded by Mahāmati yakṣas, expounding the Dharma of self-realized wisdom; and he also saw the buddha-lands of the ten directions, all appearing without distinction.

At that moment, the World-Honored One gazed upon the entire assembly—not with ordinary eyes, but with the eye of wisdom. Like a lion king shaking its mane and turning its gaze, he smiled joyfully.

From every pore on his brow, thighs, sides, waist, neck, shoulders, and arms—even from the sacred marks upon his body—there streamed forth immeasurable rays of wondrous colored light. Like a rainbow trailing brilliance, like the sun unfurling its radiance, like the blazing flames at the end of an age.

In the sky above, the Brahma gods, Indra, and the Four Heavenly Kings saw from afar the Tathāgata seated upon the summit of Mount Lanka as upon Mount Sumeru, smiling joyfully.

Then all the bodhisattvas and heavenly beings wondered: "The World-Honored One is sovereign over all dharma. Why does he smile so joyfully? His body emits light, yet he remains unmoving, abiding in the realm of self-realization, immersed in samādhi-bliss. Like a lion king, he turns his gaze all around, observing Rāvaṇa and contemplating the true nature of reality."

At that time, the great bodhisattva Mahamati, having first accepted the invitation of King Ravana, also understood the minds of the assembly of bodhisattvas. He observed that all future beings would become attached to words and language, grasping at meanings based on speech and falling into confusion, clinging to the paths of the two vehicles and external teachings. He thought to himself, "The World-Honored One has already transcended the realm of consciousness. Why then does he laugh joyfully?" To resolve this doubt, he asked the Buddha.

The Buddha then said: "Excellent, Mahamati! Excellent, Mahamati! You look upon the world with compassion for all beings, seeing them bound by wrong views across past, present, and future, and you ask me in order to help them awaken. Wise people ask such questions for the benefit of themselves and others.

Mahamati, this King of Lanka once asked all the Buddhas of the past about these two principles, and now he wishes to ask as well—and so will those in the future. The distinctions between these two principles cannot be fathomed by any of the two vehicles or by any non-Buddhist schools."

At that moment, the Tathagata, knowing that King Lanka wished to ask about this meaning, addressed him, saying: "King Lanka! Since you wish to question me, you should ask quickly. I will explain and clarify for you, fulfilling your wish and bringing you joy. You will be able to contemplate with wisdom, free from all discriminations, skillfully understand the stages of practice, cultivate antidotes, realize the true meaning, enter the bliss of samadhi, be embraced by all Tathagatas, abide in the joy of shamatha, transcend the faults of samadhi found among the two vehicles, and dwell in the unmoving, skillful wisdom of the Dharma Cloud Bodhisattva stage. You will truly know the selflessness of all phenomena. Then, in the great jeweled lotus palace, you will be anointed with the water of samadhi. Countless lotuses will appear surrounding you, with innumerable bodhisattvas dwelling among them, gazing upon one another and the assembly—such a realm is inconceivable. King Lanka! If you arise in a single skillful means and abide in the practice stage, and further give rise to countless skillful means, you will certainly attain the inconceivable matters described above, assume the Tathagata’s position, and manifest in forms according to beings’ needs. What you shall attain is something never before seen by any of the two vehicles, nor by outsiders, Brahma gods, Indra, or other celestial beings."

At that moment, the King of Lanka, having received the Buddha's permission, rose from his seat atop the pure, radiant, lotus-like jeweled mountain peak, surrounded by his retinue of celestial maidens. He manifested immeasurable flowers of various colors, along with powdered incense, fragrant ointments, banners, canopies, crowns, pendants, necklaces, and other exquisite adornments never before seen or heard of in the world. He further manifested all manner of musical instruments from the desire realm, surpassing those of gods, dragons, and celestial musicians—indeed, surpassing all that exists in the world. He also manifested musical instruments once seen in the buddha-lands of the ten directions, and created a great jeweled net that covered all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. He further displayed exquisite garments and raised banners as offerings.

Having done all this, he ascended into the sky to the height of seven tala trees. In the sky, he showered down clouds of various offerings and played music, descending from the air to sit atop the second sunlit, lightning-illuminated, lotus-like jeweled mountain peak. With joy and reverence, he spoke thus:

"I now wish to ask the Tathagata about two principles. These two principles I have asked of past Tathagatas, Arhats, Fully Enlightened Ones, and those World-Honored Ones have already explained them to me. Today, I also wish to inquire about these principles. May the Tathagata kindly expound them for me. O World-Honored One! The Tathagata of transformations speaks of these two principles, not the fundamental Buddha. The fundamental Buddha speaks of the blissful state of samadhi, not of the activities of false discrimination. Excellent, O World-Honored One, sovereign over the Dharma! I beseech you, out of compassion, to expound these two principles. All sons of the Buddha delight in hearing them."

At that time, the World-Honored One said to the king, "You may ask, and I will explain it to you." Then the yaksha king adorned himself with various jeweled crowns, necklaces, and ornaments, and spoke thus: "The Tathagata has often said, 'Even the Dharma should be relinquished, let alone non-Dharma.' How can one relinquish these two kinds of dharma? What is Dharma, and what is non-Dharma? If Dharma should be relinquished, how can there be two? Having two leads to falling into the realm of discrimination—existence and non-existence, reality and unreality. All such distinctions are conceptual and fail to realize the undifferentiated nature of the Alaya consciousness. Like a hair-tuft floating before the eyes, it is not the realm of pure wisdom. The nature of reality is thus—how can it be relinquished?"

At that time, the Buddha said to King Lanka, "King Lanka, do you not see that things like jars are impermanent and subject to decay? Ordinary people mistakenly create distinctions about them. Why do you not now understand in this way the characteristics that differentiate the Dharma from what is not the Dharma? These are distinctions made by ordinary people, not the insight of true realization. Ordinary people are trapped in all kinds of appearances, unlike those who have attained realization.

King Lanka, just as when a palace or garden burns, one sees various flames—the nature of fire is one, yet the light and flames emitted differ in length, size, and appearance due to the fuel. Why do you not now understand in this way the characteristics that differentiate the Dharma from what is not the Dharma?

King Lanka, just as from a single seed sprout stems, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits in countless variations, so it is with external phenomena; internal phenomena are likewise. That is, with ignorance as the condition, arise the aggregates, sense realms, and sense bases—all phenomena. Within the three realms, beings undergo rebirth in various destinies, experiencing suffering and pleasure, beauty and ugliness, speech and silence, action and stillness, each with its own distinctions. Moreover, although the nature of consciousness is one, it manifests as higher, middling, and lower, as defiled or pure, good or evil, in all sorts of variations according to the objects it encounters.

King Lanka, it is not only the aforementioned phenomena that exhibit differences. Even practitioners, while cultivating contemplation, perceive distinctions in what their own wisdom discerns. How much more, then, should there not be various distinctions between the Dharma and what is not the Dharma?

King Lanka, you should understand that all characteristics differentiating the Dharma from what is not the Dharma are merely distinctions created by the conceptual mind."

"King of Lanka, what is the Dharma? It refers to the teachings of the two vehicles and various external paths, which falsely differentiate and claim that phenomena such as 'existence' are the causes of all things. Such teachings should be abandoned and left behind; one should not cling to distinctions or grasp at appearances within them. By realizing the nature of one's own mind, there is no attachment. Objects like vases, which ordinary people grasp at, are fundamentally without substance. Practitioners who observe with insight and see reality as it is are called those who abandon all phenomena.

King of Lanka, what is non-Dharma? It refers to the absence of inherent nature and characteristics in all phenomena, forever free from distinctions. For one who sees reality as it is, whether something exists or does not exist, such states do not arise. This is called abandoning non-Dharma. There is also another kind of non-Dharma, such as the horns of a rabbit or the child of a stone woman—these have no nature or characteristics and cannot be distinguished. They are merely names spoken according to worldly conventions, not like vases that can be grasped. Since they are not objects of consciousness, such distinctions should also be abandoned. This is called abandoning both Dharma and non-Dharma.

King of Lanka, what you asked earlier, I have now explained."

"King of Lanka! You say: 'I have already asked this meaning of the Buddhas of the past, and those Buddhas have already explained it to me.' King of Lanka! You speak of the past as mere conceptualization, and the future is likewise; I am also the same as them. King of Lanka! Those teachings of the Buddhas all transcend conceptualization, having gone beyond all conceptual play and debate. They are not like form and appearance, which can only be verified by wisdom. They are expounded for the sake of enabling beings to attain peace and happiness. It is with non-appearance wisdom that one is called a Tathagata. Therefore, the Tathagata takes wisdom as the essence; because the body is wisdom, it cannot be conceptualized. It cannot be conceptualized by what is conceptualized, nor can it be conceptualized by the notions of self, person, sentient being, or life span. Why can it not be conceptualized? Because consciousness arises dependent on objects, grasping at forms and appearances. Therefore, it is apart from that which conceptualizes and apart from that which is conceptualized. King of Lanka! It is like painted figures on a wall—they have no awareness. Sentient beings in the world are all like this: without karma, without retribution. All dharmas are likewise: without hearing, without speaking. King of Lanka! Sentient beings in the world are like illusions; ordinary people and non-Buddhists cannot comprehend this. King of Lanka! To see in this way is called right view. Any other view is called conceptual view; because of conceptualizing, one grasps at duality."

"King of Lanka, it is like when a person sees their reflection in water or a mirror, observes their shadow under a lamp or the moon, or hears their echo in a valley, and then gives rise to discrimination and becomes attached to these appearances. This is exactly the same. The concepts of 'Dharma' and 'non-Dharma' are merely products of discrimination. Because of this discrimination, one cannot let go, and instead only further nourishes all delusions, failing to attain tranquility.

Tranquility means abiding in single-minded concentration. This single-minded concentration is the supreme samadhi, from which arises the self-realized wisdom of the saints, with the Tathagatagarbha as its realm."