The Brahmā Net Sutra (梵網經)

Brahma's Net Sutra Preface

Monk Sengzhao Composed

The Brahmā's Net Sutra is the profound source of all phenomena and the essential meaning of all scriptures. It is the true model by which the Great Sage opens up reality for beings, and the correct path for practitioners to ascend the stages of the Way. Thus, although the expedient teachings of the Tathāgata are immeasurable, their essential intent and direction are all guided by this discourse.

The ruler of Qin, possessing discerning wisdom that penetrated the center of the circle and a spirit focused beyond the realm of multiplicity, though his majestic influence extended throughout the four seas, his mind was moistened by thoughts of emptiness and mystery. Though his virtue subdued the eight directions, his contemplations rested calmly beyond the dust of the world. Therefore, in the third year of the Hongshi era, as the pure wind blew from the east, he commanded the Indian Dharma Master Kumārajīva, together with three thousand learned monastic scholars, at the Thatched Hut Temple in Chang'an, to hold the Sanskrit texts in hand and orally translate and explain over fifty works.

Among them was the Brahmā's Net Sutra in one hundred twenty volumes and sixty-one chapters. Its tenth chapter, "The Bodhisattva's Mind-Ground," specifically clarifies the stages of the Bodhisattva's practice. At that time, Dao Rong, Dao Ying, and three hundred others received the Bodhisattva Precepts, each reciting this chapter as the foundation of their mind. Teacher and disciples, united in meaning, reverently transcribed this single chapter into eighty-one copies to circulate in the world. This was done so that those who aspire to Bodhi might trace these steps to awaken to the principle, hoping that future generations might hear it together.

Brahma Net Sutra: Chapter 10, Part 1 - The Chapter on the Bodhisattva Precepts of the Mind Ground Spoken

Translated by Kumārajīva, Tripitaka Master of Kucha, Later Qin Dynasty

At that time, Shakyamuni Buddha, in the palace of the Mahābrahma Heaven King within the Fourth Dhyāna Realm, together with immeasurable Brahma Heaven Kings and countless, unspeakable multitudes of bodhisattvas, was expounding the chapter on the Mind-Ground Dharma Gate as taught by Vairocana Buddha of the Lotus Pedestal Treasury World. Then, from Shakyamuni’s body radiated a light of wisdom, illuminating from this heavenly palace all the way to the Lotus Pedestal Treasury World. In all those worlds, all sentient beings looked upon one another with joy and delight, yet none could discern the cause or condition of this radiant light. They all gave rise to doubt, and the innumerable heavenly beings likewise gave rise to doubt.

At that moment, in the assembly, the Bodhisattva of Mystic Penetration and Flower Light King arose from the Samadhi of Great Adornment and Flower Radiance. By the Buddha's spiritual power, he emitted a light of diamond-like white cloud color, illuminating all worlds. All the bodhisattvas from these worlds gathered together and, with one mind but different voices, asked: "What is the nature of this light?"

Then Shakyamuni Buddha lifted up the entire assembly of this world and returned with them to the Lotus Treasury World, to the palace of a hundred million trillion purple-vajra-colored lights. There they saw Vairocana Buddha seated upon a throne of a hundred million lotuses, radiating brilliant light.

Shakyamuni Buddha and the entire assembly at once bowed in reverence at the feet of Vairocana Buddha. Shakyamuni Buddha then asked: "For what reason and by what cause do all beings in this world, on the earth and in the sky, attain the ten stages of the bodhisattva path? And what is the nature of the Buddha-fruit they shall achieve?"

Thus, in the Chapter on the Original Nature of Suchness and Buddha-Nature, he broadly inquired about the seeds of all bodhisattvas.

At that moment, the Buddha Vairocana was filled with great joy. He manifested the luminous essence of the void, the fundamental source of the eternal Dharma-body of Buddhahood, and entered into samadhi. Then he addressed the great assembly, saying:

"Listen carefully, all you sons of the Buddha, and reflect well upon this practice. For countless eons, I have cultivated the mind-ground as the cause. Initially transcending the ordinary state, I attained perfect enlightenment and was named Vairocana. I abide in the Lotus Treasury World Ocean. This lotus platform is surrounded by a thousand petals, each petal a world, making a thousand worlds. I manifest as a thousand Shakyamuni Buddhas, each presiding over one of these thousand worlds.

Then, within a single petal world, there are billions of Mount Sumerus, billions of suns and moons, billions of four-continent worlds, billions of Jambudvīpa continents, and billions of Bodhisattva Shakyamunis seated beneath billions of Bodhi trees. Each one teaches the Bodhisattva mind-ground practice as you have inquired about. The other nine hundred and ninety-nine Shakyamuni Buddhas likewise each manifest billions of Shakyamuni forms.

The thousand Buddhas upon the lotus petals are my manifested bodies. The billions of Shakyamuni Buddhas are the manifested bodies of the thousand Shakyamunis. I am the original source, called the Buddha Vairocana."

At that time, seated upon the lotus throne, the Buddha Vairocana gave a comprehensive reply to the thousand Śākyamuni Buddhas and the hundreds of millions of Śākyamuni Buddhas concerning the chapter on the Dharma of the Mind-Ground:

"All Buddhas should know that within the Firm Faith Patience, there are ten Resolute Minds directed toward the fruit: 1. The mind of renunciation, 2. The mind of precepts, 3. The mind of patience, 4. The mind of diligence, 5. The mind of concentration, 6. The mind of wisdom, 7. The mind of vow, 8. The mind of protection, 9. The mind of joy, 10. The mind of summit.

All Buddhas should know that from these ten Resolute Minds, one enters the Firm Dharma Patience, where there are ten Cultivating Minds directed toward the fruit: 1. The mind of loving-kindness, 2. The mind of compassion, 3. The mind of sympathetic joy, 4. The mind of equanimity, 5. The mind of generosity, 6. The mind of kind speech, 7. The mind of benefiting others, 8. The mind of harmony, 9. The mind of concentration, 10. The mind of wisdom.

All Buddhas should know that from these ten Cultivating Minds, one enters the Firm Practice Patience, where there are ten Diamond Minds directed toward the fruit: 1. The mind of faith, 2. The mind of mindfulness, 3. The mind of dedication, 4. The mind of penetrating understanding, 5. The mind of straightforwardness, 6. The mind of non-retrogression, 7. The mind of the Great Vehicle, 8. The mind of signlessness, 9. The mind of wisdom, 10. The mind of indestructibility.

All Buddhas should know that from these ten Diamond Minds, one enters the Firm Sage Patience, where there are ten Stages directed toward the fruit: 1. The stage of the equality of essential nature, 2. The stage of the wholesome wisdom of essential nature, 3. The stage of the radiance of essential nature, 4. The stage of the luminous knowledge of essential nature, 5. The stage of the illuminating wisdom of essential nature, 6. The stage of the floral radiance of essential nature, 7. The stage of the fulfillment of essential nature, 8. The stage of the Buddha's roar of essential nature, 9. The stage of the floral adornment of essential nature, 10. The stage of entering the Buddha realm of essential nature.

These forty Dharma gates are the fundamental roots through which I, formerly as a Bodhisattva, cultivated and entered the fruit of Buddhahood. In this way, all sentient beings who enter the Resolute Minds, Cultivating Minds, Diamond Minds, and Ten Stages will assuredly realize the fruit—the unconditioned, signless, great perfection, abiding eternally, endowed with the Ten Powers and the Eighteen Unshared Qualities, fulfilling both the Dharma Body and the Wisdom Body."

At that moment, in the Lotus Treasury World, on the radiant great light seat of Vairocana Buddha, were thousands of buddhas upon lotus flowers, hundreds of millions of buddhas, and all the buddhas of every world. Among those seated was a bodhisattva named King of Flower Light, the Great Wisdom and Illumination Bodhisattva. He rose from his seat and addressed Vairocana Buddha, saying:

"World-Honored Buddha! You have briefly outlined the names and characteristics of the Ten Stages of Aspiration, the Ten Stages of Cultivation, the Ten Stages of the Diamond-like Mind, and the Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva Path. Yet the meaning within each one remains unclear. We earnestly beseech you to explain them, to reveal the wondrous and ultimate treasure of the diamond storehouse—the gate to all wisdom."

This inquiry has already been made clear in the Hundred Contemplations Chapter of the Tathāgata.

At that time, Vairocana Buddha said: "Listen carefully, all Buddhas! You previously asked about the meaning. In the practice of dedication, a disciple of the Buddha, with a heart of relinquishment, gives up everything. They relinquish kingdoms, cities, fields, houses, gold, silver, precious pearls, sons, daughters, their own body, and all conditioned things—everything is relinquished, unconditioned and without characteristics. The notions of self, others, knowledge, and views are merely provisional combinations. The belief in a creator or a self is an illusion; the twelve links of dependent origination have no coming together, no dispersion, and no experiencer. The twelve sense fields, the eighteen elements, and the five aggregates—all are a single combined appearance, without the characteristics of self or what belongs to self. All phenomena are provisionally formed. Whether internal or external phenomena, there is neither clinging nor rejecting. At that moment, the bodhisattva is called 'as if provisionally,' observing what appears before them. With a heart of relinquishment, they enter the samadhi of emptiness."

"If you are a disciple of the Buddha! The mind of precepts is not non-precepts, and there is no one who receives them. The ten virtuous precepts have no teacher to expound them. Deceit, theft, and even wrong views have no source. Compassion, kindness, purity, honesty, truthfulness, right view, generosity, and joy—these are the essence of the ten precepts. They restrain the eight perversions, transcend all natures, and are pure in the one path."

If you are a disciple of the Buddha, the mind of patience possesses the wisdom-nature of signlessness. It is the patience of emptiness in all emptiness, the patience in all places, known as the patience of the unborn action, and the patience that is realized in all places, like the patience of suffering. Each and every one of the immeasurable actions is called patience: no receiving, no striking, no knives, no staffs, no anger in the mind—all are just as they are. There is not a single truth or a single sign, nor is there signlessness; there is existence and nonexistence of signs. It is not the mind-sign, nor the condition of unconditioned signs. Whether standing, dwelling, moving, or resting, whether self, others, bondage, or liberation—all dharmas are just as they are. The sign of patience cannot be grasped.

If you are a disciple of the Buddha, one who advances in practice: In all four dignified postures, at all times, practice subduing the empty, the provisional, and the conditioned, and realize the nature of reality. Ascend the mountain of non-arising, and see that all that exists and does not exist is as it is—neither existing nor not existing.

All phenomena—the green, yellow, red, and white of the earth—enter into this realization. Even the wisdom nature of the Three Jewels, all faith and progress on the path, emptiness, non-arising, non-action, and non-wisdom—all are included.

From emptiness, arise and enter the worldly truth, yet there is no duality. Continue with an empty mind, penetrating the advancing stages of wholesome roots.

If you are a disciple of the Buddha, know that a settled mind is tranquil and without form. When one who is without form enters the inner emptiness, encountering sentient beings with the mind of the Way, they see neither conditions nor the absence of form, and abide in a samadhi of boundless conduct and boundless mind.

All beings, whether ordinary or sage, enter this samadhi without exception, for all things correspond in their essential nature, and it is through the power of concentration that this is realized.

The notions of "I," "person," "doer," and "experiencer"— all these binding views obscure our true nature and become causes of obstruction. When the mind is scattered, stirred by winds of thought, tranquility is lost, and emptiness itself becomes empty; the eight inverted views arise without basis.

By relying on calm wisdom and contemplation, one sees that all conditioned things vanish moment by moment, and that the karmic fruits and sinful nature experienced throughout the three realms are all extinguished through concentration, from which all goodness arises.

"If you are a child of the Buddha, the mind of wisdom is not without cause. Knowing its essence is called the mind, which discerns all phenomena. The one who masters provisional names is in harmony with the Way, taking the fruit as the cause, entering the sage and abandoning the ordinary, extinguishing transgressions and generating blessings—all binding and liberation are functions of this essential nature. All views of permanence, bliss, self, and purity arise from afflictions, because the nature of wisdom is obscured. With wisdom as the guide, cultivate the ineffable contemplation of wisdom and enter the single truth of the Middle Way. The ignorance that obstructs wisdom is without form, without coming, without cause, without transgression, and without the eight inversions. The wisdom of no birth and no extinction shines with radiant light, delighting in emptiness and skillfully transforming through spiritual powers, for the function of wisdom arises from the nature of intelligence."

O disciples of the Buddha! The mind of aspiration is the great seeking, the all-encompassing seeking, for it takes the fruit as the cause. When aspiration connects with aspiration, and the mind links in continuity, across a hundred kalpas, one attains Buddhahood. Through the seeking that eradicates offenses, one reaches the mind of non-arising, and with the single aspiration of emptiness as the object of contemplation, one enters samadhi and shines with clarity. Because of this seeking mind, one is liberated from countless fetters of views; because of this seeking mind, countless wondrous practices are accomplished. The boundless virtues of enlightenment all have seeking as their foundation. From the initial arising of the seeking mind, through the cultivation of the path in between, to the fulfillment of practice—when the aspiration is complete, the fruit of Buddhahood is realized. Contemplate the Middle Way of the single truth: neither illuminated nor bound, neither submerged nor extinguished. The arising of views is not yet the liberation of wisdom. This is the very nature of aspiration, the source of all practices.

If you are a disciple of the Buddha, to protect the mind means to protect the Three Jewels and to safeguard all virtuous actions and merits. It ensures that the eight perverted views and evil heresies of non-Buddhist paths do not disturb genuine faith, eradicating the fetters of self and views, and realizing the unborn nature. By illuminating and penetrating the two truths, one sees the mind as it truly manifests.

To protect the root is to protect the formless, to guard emptiness, non-action, and non-form. With the wisdom of the mind, one enters the unborn, where the path of emptiness and the path of wisdom both shine brightly. This bright light protects the contemplation that enters emptiness, recognizing the illusory nature of all conditioned phenomena. These illusions arise as if they were nothing, and since their nature is like emptiness, their coming together and falling apart cannot truly be protected. The contemplation of phenomena is also like this.

O disciples of the Buddha! The heart of joy is this: When you see others attain happiness, always give rise to delight.

And toward all phenomena—provisional, empty, illuminated, and tranquil— do not enter into conditioned existence, nor abide in lifeless stillness.

Great joy is without attachment, yet it receives and transforms, manifests through dharma and is seen.

Profound and provisional, the nature of dharma is contemplated equally with a single mind, thought after thought, action after action.

Through learning widely of all the Buddha’s deeds and virtues, through the joy-wisdom free of marks, thought after thought arises in stillness and illumination, and the joyful mind connects with all dharmas.

If you are a child of the Buddha, the mind at the crown is the highest wisdom of a person. It extinguishes the views of selflessness, the wheel of doubt, and all anger—just as the crown is observed as a lotus, and the lotus is observed as the crown. Within the Dharma realm, cause and effect are like a single, supreme path, as lofty as the crown. Like the crown of a person, it is not the sixty-two views of self or body. The five aggregates arise and cease; the self as master moves, bends, and stretches—yet there is no doer, no receiver, no action, nothing that can be grasped or bound. At this time, the person enters inner emptiness, encounters beings with the mind of the Way, sees neither conditions nor non-conditions, abides in the crown samadhi, the stillness of cessation, and sets forth toward the path.

The nature is real; the views of self and person are constant. The eight inversions arise, yet the condition of the non-dual Dharma gate is not received. The fruits of the eight difficulties and illusions are ultimately not accepted. There is only one being—going, coming, sitting, standing—cultivating to extinguish offenses, eliminating the ten evils, giving rise to the ten goods, entering the path as a true person with true wisdom and true practice. The bodhisattva’s penetrating insight appears before them; they do not receive the fruits of the six paths, and will never regress from the seed of Buddhahood. Life after life, they enter the family of the Buddha, never departing from right faith. This is explained extensively in the “Light of the Ten Heavens” chapter.

The Buddha Vairocana said: "O Thousand Buddhas! You previously asked about nurturing the ten minds. For a bodhisattva, the mind of compassion means constantly practicing compassion, which gives rise to the causes of joy. In the wisdom of selflessness, one joyfully aligns with contemplation, entering into the Dharma. Within the great phenomena of feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness, form, and so forth, there is no birth, no abiding, no cessation—like an illusion, like a transformation. Suchness is non-dual. Therefore, all cultivation perfects the Dharma-wheel. Transforming and benefiting all beings, it can give rise to correct faith, not through demonic teachings. It can also enable all beings to attain the fruit of compassionate joy—neither real nor the fruit of good or evil—understanding the samadhi of emptiness as the nature of reality."

O disciples of the Buddha! The mind of compassion is grounded in the emptiness and formlessness of compassion itself. Through compassion, one walks the path, extinguishing all one's own suffering, and giving rise to wisdom amid the boundless suffering of all beings. Because one does not rely on conditions that lead to killing, does not rely on methods that cause harm, and does not cling to a sense of self, one constantly refrains from killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, and does not cause distress to a single being.

One who awakens the mind of enlightenment sees all phenomena as they truly are—empty of inherent existence. From this nature and conduct, the wisdom of the path arises. Toward the six kinds of relatives, the six kinds of adversaries, and all beings of the three categories, one bestows the wisdom of supreme joy. Even amid the most adverse conditions of the nine grades, one attains joy.

When the fruit of emptiness manifests, one sees oneself and all other beings as equal. From this single joy arises great compassion.

O disciples of the Buddha! What is the mind of joy? It is the mind that delights in the unborn nature of reality. The essence of all beings, their forms, the path, and wisdom—all are empty. The joyful mind does not cling to notions of "I" or "mine." It transcends the arising and ceasing of past, present, and future, seeing that causes and effects have no fixed gathering. All conditioned existence is understood through the contemplation of emptiness, and this practice is perfected. Rejoice equally for all beings. Arising from emptiness, enter the path. Abandon harmful companions; seek wise teachers who show you the true way. Lead all beings into the family of the Dharma. In the Dharma, constantly give rise to joy and enter the stages of realization. Further, enable all these beings to embrace right faith, discard wrong views, and turn away from the sufferings of the six realms—this is true joy.

"If you are a disciple of the Buddha, cultivate a mind of letting go. Always nurture a heart of release. In the unconditioned, signless, and empty dharma, be like empty space. Whether facing good or evil, views or no-views, sin or merit—shine the light of equality upon them all. Recognize that there is no self, no possession, no distinction between oneself and others, for their inherent nature cannot be grasped. This is the great letting go. Even your own body, flesh, hands, feet, children, spouse, cities, and kingdoms—see them all as illusions, like flowing water or the flame of a lamp. Let go of everything, yet without giving rise to a mind of attachment. Always practice this release."

O disciples of the Buddha! Those who practice generosity should extend a giving heart to all beings—through acts of body, speech, and mind, through material offerings and teachings of the Dharma. Guide all beings to see that their inner body, outer body, country, city, men, women, fields, and homes are all just as they are—empty in nature, even to the point of not clinging to material possessions. Neither the receiver nor the giver exists as an inner or outer entity—there is no coming together, no separation. Practice generosity without attachment, in accordance with truth, and let all appearances manifest freely before you.

"If you are a child of the Buddha, cultivate the heart of kind speech. Enter the Samadhi of Loving Words that embodies the true nature, speaking the Dharma and its meaning according to the ultimate truth. All truthful speech conforms to the one speech, harmonizing the minds of all beings without anger or contention. With the wisdom that all phenomena are empty and unconditioned, constantly give rise to a loving heart, acting in accordance with the Buddha’s intention, and also in harmony with all others. Use the speech of the holy Dharma to teach all beings, always practicing with a sincere heart to arouse wholesome roots."

If you are a disciple of the Buddha, with a mind of benefiting others, when you act with this intention, use the wisdom of reality to broadly practice the path of wisdom. Gather all teachings that illuminate like flames, and accumulate the seven treasures of contemplation and practice. For the sake of benefiting others, you may even give up your own body and life, entering the samadhi of benefiting others. Through all your actions, speech, and thoughts, you can stir the great world. In everything you do, you help others enter the seeds of the Dharma, the seeds of emptiness, and the seeds of the path, so they may gain benefit and joy. You manifest in the six realms of existence, yet you are not troubled by the boundless sufferings found there. Your sole purpose is to benefit others for their sake.

O disciples of the Buddha! Those who are of one heart— They share the wisdom of the Way-nature, which is empty like space. In the birthless Dharma, they share the wisdom of no-self, which is born from that emptiness. They share the source-realm of non-dual emptiness.

All phenomena are as they are— Ever arising, ever abiding, ever ceasing. Worldly phenomena continue in an unbroken stream, measureless, Yet they can manifest limitless forms, bodies, colors, minds, and actions, Entering all six realms of existence, sharing in all affairs.

Empty, they share in birthlessness; Selfless, they share in no-thingness. Thus they divide their bodies and scatter their forms, Entering the samādhi of shared Dharma.

If you are a disciple of the Buddha! The one who empties the mind—furthermore, from a mind of concentration, contemplates wisdom and realizes emptiness, with the mind and mental states quieting their objects. In the realm of my self, the realm of phenomena, the realm of consciousness, and the realm of form, there is no movement or change. Because of going against and following, emerging and submerging, one constantly enters the hundred samādhis and the ten stages of meditation. With a single thought of wisdom, one sees thus: all self and others, whether internal or external, the seeds of sentient beings—there is no coming together or scattering, no gathering, formation, arising, or activity that can be attained.

O children of the Buddha! The mind of wisdom is the mind that sees with insight, observing all false views, entanglements, afflictions, and fetters. These have no fixed nature, for they are empty and identical in the acceptance of patience. They are not the five aggregates, not the eighteen realms, not the twelve sense bases, not sentient beings, not a single self, not cause and effect, not the phenomena of past, present, or future. The nature of wisdom gives rise to light—a single flame shining brightly, illuminating emptiness without attachment. Through skillful means, this wisdom nourishes and cultivates the mind. This mind enters the path of emptiness, giving rise to the mind of non-arising. The superior methods of the Ocean-Bright King Chapter have already explained the mind’s hundred gates of clarity.

Vairocana Buddha said: "Thousand Buddhas! You previously spoke of the ten minds of the diamond seed. O Buddha's child! The mind of faith: all practices take faith as their leader; it is the root of all virtues. It does not give rise to the mind of heretical views. All views are attachments, knots of existence that create karma; they certainly cannot enter the empty, unconditioned dharma. The three characteristics are non-existent; there is no non-arising, no arising and no abiding, abiding is without cessation, cessation is without existence—all dharmas are empty. The wisdom of worldly truth and ultimate truth completely extinguishes and empties all distinctions. Form is empty; the subtle mind is empty. The subtle mind and the mind itself are empty; therefore, faith itself is quiescent and extinguished, without substance, nature, combination, or reliance. Yet, the master is the self, the person, the name, the function. The provisional self of the three realms, the self that obtains nothing, the characteristic of accumulation—thus it is called the mind of faith without characteristics."

O disciples of the Buddha! Regarding the mind of recollection: one practices recollection. Constantly be mindful of the six recollections, even to the point of constantly practicing the supreme truth of ultimate meaning—empty, without attachment, without liberation. The characteristics of arising, abiding, and ceasing are unmoving, not coming or going. Yet regarding all actions and the one who receives them, merge them into a single unified reality and dedicate them into the wisdom of the Dharma realm. Wisdom multiplies wisdom; each multiplication enters stillness. Flames are impermanent; light is without birth; without birth, nothing arises. Transform through the empty path: changing what came before, turning what follows; transformation upon transformation, change upon change—all transformations occur simultaneously, abiding together. Flames share a single nature; birth and cessation are one moment. What has changed, what has not yet changed, and the very act of changing—all are equally received in this way.

O disciples of the Buddha! The mind of dedication is the ultimate truth of emptiness. Through the wisdom of emptiness regarding true phenomena, one illuminates the reality of existence. The continuity of karmic paths within the conditioned arising of causes and conditions is called the truth of reality. The provisional designations of all phenomena—such as self, person, and master—are called worldly truth. Regarding these two truths of existence, deeply enter into emptiness, where there is no coming or going. Like an illusion, one receives the fruits of karma yet does not truly receive them. Thus, with a profoundly deep mind, one attains liberation.

If you are a disciple of the Buddha, to realize the illumination of the mind is to endure and accord with the true nature of all things. In this nature, there is neither bondage nor liberation, nor any obstruction. You will attain understanding of the Dharma, of its meaning, of its expressions, and of teaching others. The causes and effects of the three periods of time, as well as the roots and conduct of sentient beings, are just as they are—neither conjoined nor dispersed. There is no real function, no function, and no nominal function. Function functions in the emptiness of all things. Emptiness empties and illuminates emptiness, realizing emptiness—this is called penetrating and attaining the emptiness of all dharmas. Emptiness is emptiness, just as it is, and characteristics cannot be grasped.

O disciples of the Buddha! The straightforward mind is one that illuminates directly. It perceives the conditioned self and enters the wisdom of non-arising. In the emptiness of ignorance and self, within the emptiness of emptiness, the principle-mind abides in existence and non-existence, yet does not destroy the seed of the Way.

Through the single contemplation of the unconditioned Middle Path, it teaches and transforms all beings in the ten directions, turning all beings toward the emptiness of all-wisdom.

True nature, true nature, true practice in emptiness— the lord of the three realms binds, yet it remains unbound.

"If a bodhisattva possesses an unwavering mind, they will not fall into the ordinary realms of sentient beings. They will not give rise to mixed and prolonged nurturing of various mistaken views, nor will they generate habitual causes that resemble notions of 'self' and 'others.' Though they engage in the activities of the three realms, they abide in emptiness without dwelling or regressing. Liberated within the supreme Middle Way, they act in unity and thus do not retreat from practice. Since the fundamental reality is non-dual, they do not entertain thoughts of regression. From emptiness arises contemplative wisdom, continuously abiding in suchness. Riding the vehicle of the mind, they enter non-duality, constantly giving rise to the mind of emptiness—a single path, a single purity. This is the unwavering path, the single illumination."

"If you are a disciple of the Buddha, and you have awakened to the One Great Vehicle Mind, you realize that all phenomena are empty. Therefore, all practices of the mind are called the One Vehicle. Riding on the wisdom of emptiness, you travel on this vehicle of wisdom. The mind naturally flows, functions, and carries all beings across the three rivers: the river of the three realms, the river of bondage, and the river of birth and death. The practitioner sits upon this vehicle, using it to carry and transport, with the wisdom mind entering the ocean of Buddhahood. Thus, if all beings have not yet attained the wisdom of emptiness and cannot freely use it, they are not called the Great Vehicle. They are merely said to ride across the sea of suffering.

If you are a disciple of the Buddha, the mind of no-marks is liberation from deluded thoughts. It illuminates the perfection of wisdom without duality. All karmic bonds and the dharmas of the three times are as they truly are, a single truth. Practicing within the emptiness of non-arising, one knows for oneself that one will attain Buddhahood. All Buddhas are our teachers; all sages and saints are our fellow students. All are the same in the emptiness of non-arising. Therefore, it is called the mind of no-marks.

If you are a disciple of the Buddha, with a mind of wisdom that is just as it is, there is no accumulation or reception of birth within the boundless Dharma realms. Though birth after birth gives rise to afflictions, they do not bind you.

All Dharma gates, all paths walked by the wise, all methods observed by the sages— all are just like this.

All the skillful means of the Buddha’s teachings, I gather them all within my mind.

The theories of non-Buddhist paths, their misguided meditative attainments and efforts, their illusory transformations and demonic words that imitate the Buddha’s teachings— I discern them all and place them within the two truths: neither one nor two, without aggregates, sense bases, or elements.

This is the light of wisdom, a radiance that illuminates the nature and enters into all phenomena.

If you are a child of the Buddha, the one whose mind remains unshaken enters the wisdom of the sacred ground, draws near to the stage of liberation, and attains the true gate of the Way, clearly awakening the mind of Enlightenment. Subduing afflictions and aligning with emptiness, the eight kinds of demons cannot disturb you. All sages touch your crown, and all Buddhas encourage your awakening. You enter the Crown-Touching Samadhi, emitting bodily light that illuminates the Buddha-lands of the ten directions. You enter the Buddha’s majestic spirit, appearing and disappearing freely, moving the great thousandfold world, with a mind no different from the ground of equality—yet this is not the Middle Way of knowing the truth.

Through the power of this samadhi, within the light you see Buddhas in immeasurable lands, manifesting to teach the Dharma. At that moment, you attain the Crown Samadhi, ascend to the ground of empty space equality, and fully master the Dharma-gates, fulfilling the holy practices. Mind after mind practices emptiness; within the wisdom of emptiness, the Middle Way shines without characteristics. All appearances cease, and you attain the Vajra Samadhi Gate, entering all practice gates, entering the ground of empty space equality—as extensively explained in the Buddha Flower Sutra.

The Buddha Vairocana said: "Thousand Buddhas! You asked earlier about the meaning of the Ten Grounds. If a bodhisattva-disciple enters the Ground of Equality-Wisdom Nature, with the true Dharma transforming all practices, the light of flowers fully manifests, using the Four Heavenly Fruits Vehicle to adapt and transform, teaching without fixed methods, with spiritual powers, the Ten Powers, the Ten Epithets, and the Eighteen Unique Dharmas, abiding in the Buddha's Pure Land. With immeasurable great vows, eloquence and fearlessness, all doctrines and all practices I fully enter. Born from the Buddha's family, seated in the Buddha's nature ground, ultimately not receiving the causes and effects of ordinary beings with all obstacles, experiencing great joy and delight. From one Buddha-land entering immeasurable Buddha-lands, from one kalpa entering immeasurable kalpas, turning the unspeakable Dharma into the speakable Dharma, and illuminating all dharmas, seeing all dharmas in both favorable and adverse conditions, constantly abiding in the Two Truths yet within the Supreme Meaning. With one wisdom knowing the sequence of the Ten Grounds, demonstrating each matter to sentient beings, yet constantly maintaining the Middle Way in every thought. With one wisdom knowing all the various grades of Buddha-lands and the Dharma spoken by Buddhas, yet body and mind remain unchanged. With one wisdom knowing the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination and the ten evil natures, yet constantly abiding in the wholesome path. With one wisdom perceiving the two characteristics of existence and non-existence. With one wisdom knowing entry into the ten meditative practices and the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment, yet manifesting all forms and bodies in the six realms. With one wisdom knowing all forms and colors in the ten directions, distinctly understanding their arising and entering into karmic retribution of form, yet in every thought being unbound, with light illuminating all. Therefore, the faith-patience of non-arising and emptiness-wisdom constantly appear before one. From the First Ground, Second Ground, up to the Buddha-realm, all Dharma-doors in between are practiced simultaneously. Briefly presenting the ocean-treasury of practices and vows of the Ground of Equality, like a single drop from the ocean or the tip of a hair."

If you are a disciple of the Buddha! The Bodhisattva, with the nature of wise compassion, is pure and clear in understanding all wholesome roots, which are compassion, loving-kindness, sympathetic joy, equanimity, and wisdom. The foundation of all virtuous qualities begins with the initial contemplation entering the wisdom of great emptiness through skillful means and the path of wisdom. In this, one sees that all sentient beings are inseparable from the truth of suffering, as all possess consciousness. Consciousness arises from conditions such as the torments of the three lower realms, the suffering of weapons and beatings, and all afflictions—this is called the truth of suffering.

The three characteristics of suffering are as follows: First, as the body initially perceives, consciousness arises from the two conditions of the body being struck by weapons or beatings and the physical form aggregate—this is the condition for the suffering of conditioned existence. Next, the mind perceives, based on the perception of the body, the experience of weapons, beatings, bodily wounds, swelling, and other phenomena—this is the condition for the suffering of suffering, which is intense and thus called the suffering of suffering. Then, the perception of feeling and conditioned existence arises from two minds, based on the perception of suffering generated from the deterioration of the body and the physical form aggregate—this is called the condition for the suffering of decay. Thus, these three perceptions sequentially give rise to three states of mind, which constitute the suffering of suffering.

All sentient beings with consciousness, upon seeing these three sufferings, give rise to countless causes and conditions of distress. In response to this, I enter the samadhi of the teaching path, manifesting all forms of bodies within the six realms, and with ten kinds of eloquence, expound the Dharma gates. These are: the consciousness of suffering, the conditions of suffering, and the full array of conditions such as weapons and beatings. The consciousness of suffering arises from the body’s wounds, swelling, rupture, and decay, whether internally or externally, whether fully or partially present. When consciousness arises from these two conditions, it engages in actions, experiences, and contact—this is called the consciousness of suffering. When the mind, due to these two conditions, engages with form, and through contact experiences affliction, distress, and torment, this is the suffering of suffering. When consciousness initially arises in the sense faculties, perceiving conditions, this is called the perception of suffering. When the mind engages, experiences, and perceives contact through consciousness, before experiencing torment, this is called the suffering of conditioned existence. When pressure gives rise to perception like sparks from flint, with the body and mind arising and ceasing moment by moment, the body disintegrates, transforms, and changes, and consciousness enters the condition of decay—when the mind gathers and scatters, experiences hardship and distress, and clings to subsequent conditions with attachment and unwillingness to let go—this is the suffering of decay.

All truths of suffering in the three realms are further contemplated: ignorance gives rise to countless minds engaging in all actions, with continuity, connection, habitual causes, and accumulated causes—this is called the truth of the origin. Right view, liberation, the wisdom of emptiness, and the path of wisdom in the mind are called the truth of the path. The exhaustion of karmic results and causes, the pure illumination of the inherent nature, and the wondrous wisdom of serene extinction constitute the one truth. When the quality of wisdom is fully perfected, it is called the root. All wisdom nature arises from emptiness and enters contemplation—this is the first wholesome root.

The second contemplation is letting go of all attachments, practicing the emptiness of equanimity and relinquishment, and contemplating all phenomena without conditions. With a single thought of emptiness, I observe that all lands in the ten directions are the soil I used in past lives, all the waters of the great oceans are the water I used in the past, all the fires of the kalpas are the fire I used in past lives, and all the wind wheels are the air I used in the past. Now, I enter this land, with the Dharma body fully perfected, relinquishing my past body, and ultimately not accepting the impure physical body composed of the four elements and subject to division—this is the perfection of the quality of relinquishment.

The third contemplation is toward all sentient beings to be transformed, bestowing upon them the joys of humans and gods, the joys of the ten stages, the joy of freedom from the ten evils and fears, the joy of attaining the samadhi of wondrous flowers, and even the joy of Buddhahood. Such contemplation perfects the quality of loving-kindness. At that time, the Bodhisattva abides in this stage, free from delusion, greed, and anger, enters the wisdom of the one truth of equality, which is the foundation of all practices, roams all Buddha worlds, and manifests infinite Dharma bodies. As described in the chapter on the heavenly flowers of all sentient beings.

"If you are a child of the Buddha! The luminous nature of the Bodhisattva's ground, through the wisdom of samadhi, understands all the Dharma gates of the Buddhas throughout the three times, and the twelve categories of teachings: repetition, prediction, direct discourse, verses, spontaneous teaching, precepts, parables, the Buddha's realm, past events, direct exposition, marvels, and dialogues—this is the essence of the Dharma, called the ultimate truth. Within these categories of teachings, it explains that all conditioned phenomena arise in parts, first entering the womb of consciousness, the four great elements growing into form and mind, called the six abodes. From the sense faculties arises true awareness; not yet distinguishing pleasure and pain is called contact-consciousness. Further, awareness of pleasure and pain is called the three feelings. Continuously clinging to these feelings without end gives rise to desire, self-view, attachment to precepts, good and evil existence. The beginning of consciousness is called birth; the end of consciousness is called death. These ten categories are the suffering of the present. Contemplating cause, condition, and effect is the practice of the middle way. I have long been free from this, thus it has no inherent nature. Entering the luminous spiritual powers, the mastery of eloquence, with mind and mental activities empty, yet manifesting throughout the ten directions in Buddha-lands, transforming over hundreds and thousands of eons, nurturing spiritual powers within these lands, paying reverence before the Buddhas and receiving their teachings. Further manifesting the bodies of the six realms, speaking immeasurable teachings in a single voice, so that beings each hear according to their own minds the Dharma they desire. The sound of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self—this one truth—manifests differently according to the lands, transforming bodies and minds accordingly. In this wondrous flower luminous ground, even a hair-tip's worth is briefly revealed, as explained in the teachings and contemplated in the Dharma gates of the thousand samadhis."

If you are a disciple of the Buddha, a Bodhisattva in the stage of the nature-ground, then within the true and the worldly, there is neither cessation nor permanence. Birth, abiding, and extinction occur simultaneously; one lifetime, one moment, one existence—each manifests differently due to diverse conditions. Within causes and conditions, the Middle Way is neither one nor two, neither good nor evil, neither ordinary nor Buddha. The Buddha realm and the ordinary realm are each called worldly truth. The wisdom of the Path observes neither one nor two; it is the profound principle of samadhi, which is spoken of as the initial awakening of the Buddha-mind—the causes of samadhi: faith-awakening, contemplation-awakening, stillness-awakening, superior-awakening, mindfulness-awakening, wisdom-awakening, insight-awakening, ease-awakening, joy-awakening, and equanimity-awakening. These are the skillful means of each stage, each mind entering the fruit of samadhi. One who abides in samadhi sees the Dharma blazing, practicing emptiness. If thought arises in samadhi, one enters the samadhi of the birth of mind, giving rise to loving accord with the Path. The Dharma transforms and gives birth, called the patience of Dharma-joy, abiding patience, realization patience, and the patience of serene extinction. Therefore, all Buddhas, entering the samadhi of radiant light, manifest countless Buddhas who touch the crown of the head with their hands and preach with a single voice, arousing hundreds of thousands without leaving samadhi. They abide in the taste of samadhi, delight in samadhi, cling to samadhi, and dwell in samadhi for one kalpa or a thousand kalpas. They see Buddhas on lotus thrones expounding hundreds of Dharma-gates, and they make offerings and listen to the Dharma, abiding in samadhi for one kalpa. At that time, the Buddhas touch the crown of the head in the light, arousing the stages of samadhi, revealing signs of progress and direction. They do not sink, do not retreat, do not fall, do not abide, but reach the supreme patience of the crown samadhi, eternally exhausting all without remainder. Then they enter all Buddha-lands, cultivating immeasurable virtues. Every practice shines with light, entering skillful means, transforming and teaching all beings, enabling them to see the Buddha-nature of permanence, bliss, self, and purity. Such a person, abiding in this stage, practices transformative Dharma-gates, gradually deepening the wondrous flower of insight-wisdom, entering the Middle Way of the nature-ground. All Dharma-gate stages are fulfilled, like a diamond. The path of sun and moon has already illuminated this meaning.

If you are a disciple of the Buddha, a Bodhisattva, your wisdom illuminates the fundamental nature of reality. There are ten powers born from the Dharma that give rise to all virtuous practices and meritorious deeds.

First, the power of discerning the places where good and evil karma lead. Second, the power of understanding the intelligence behind good and evil actions. Third, the power of knowing all desires, aspirations, and the karmic results of rebirth in the six realms. Fourth, the power of distinguishing the different natures within the six realms. Fifth, the power of recognizing each individual’s distinct roots of good and evil. Sixth, the power of discerning wrong concentration, right concentration, and undetermined concentration. Seventh, the power of understanding all causes and effects, the vehicle of cause, the vehicle of result, and the path leading to the ultimate fruit. Eighth, the power of the divine eye, knowing all phenomena and seeing all states of rebirth. Ninth, the power of knowing past lives across countless eons. Tenth, the power of liberation, extinguishing all afflictions and ignorance in every existence.

These are the ten powers of wisdom. They allow you to know your own cultivation and its results, as well as the causes and effects of all beings, distinguishing them clearly in body, speech, and mind.

With these powers, you can transform impure lands into pure ones, and turn suffering realms into lands of bliss. You can change good into evil, and evil into good. You can make form into non-form, and non-form into form. You can turn male into female, and female into male. You can make the six realms appear as non-realms, and non-realms appear as the six realms. You can even transform earth, water, fire, and wind into what they are not.

At such a time, with great skillful means, you manifest inconceivable wonders for all beings—things that ordinary beings cannot perceive, even in the slightest movement.

Such a person possesses great wisdom, gradually advancing step by step in understanding. Their light becomes boundless, immeasurable, and indescribable, revealing countless Dharma gates right before them.

If, O sons of the Buddha, a Bodhisattva dwells on the Ground of the Radiant Flower of the Intrinsic Nature, they are able, throughout all worlds, to use the ten categories of penetrative, enlightened wisdom to manifest all kinds of transformations for the sake of all beings.

- With the enlightened wisdom of the divine eye, they know all forms, as subtle as atoms, in the lands of the three times. They distinguish how these subtle atoms make up the bodies of beings in the six paths, and they know every subtle atom and every coarse form within each body. - With the enlightened wisdom of the divine ear, they know the sounds of suffering and joy among beings in the six paths throughout the ten directions and three times—sounds that are not quite sounds, and the sounds of all phenomena. - With the enlightened wisdom of the divine body, they know all forms, what is form and what is not form, and forms that are neither male nor female. In a single thought, they can appear throughout the lands of the ten directions and three times, in measureless bodies as subtle as atoms in lands both great and small. - With the enlightened wisdom of the divine mind, they know the actions that arise in the minds of beings of the three times, and all the thoughts of suffering, joy, good, and evil in the minds of all beings in the six paths throughout the ten directions. - With the enlightened wisdom of the divine human realm, they know the past lives, sufferings, joys, and lifespans of all beings in the lands of the ten directions and three times, and they know how their lives continue for hundreds of kalpas. - With the enlightened wisdom of divine liberation, they know the liberation of beings throughout the ten directions and three times, and how they have cut off afflictions—whether many or few—from the first ground to the tenth, extinguishing them completely. - With the enlightened wisdom of divine concentration, they know the minds of beings in the lands of the ten directions and three times—whether they are in concentration, not in concentration, or beyond both—and the methods for entering concentration, as well as all the hundred thousand samadhis they attain. - With the enlightened wisdom of divine awakening, they know which beings have already become buddhas and which have not, down to the minds of beings in the six paths, and they also know the teachings spoken in the minds of all buddhas throughout the ten directions. - With the enlightened wisdom of divine recollection, they know the lifespans of all beings across hundreds of kalpas, thousands of kalpas, and kalpas of all sizes, understanding how long each life lasts. - With the enlightened wisdom of divine vows, they know the ten grounds of worthy sages among all beings, the thirty minds, and all the practices and vows of each stage—whether seeking suffering or joy, what is Dharma or what is not. They perfectly possess all the ten vows and the hundreds of thousands of great vows.

On this ground, with these ten kinds of penetrative, enlightened wisdom, a person manifests boundless distinctions of body, mind, and speech for the sake of beings. Their virtue is so vast that it could not be fully described even in hundreds of thousands of kalpas.

Thus, the Śākyamuni has only briefly opened this teaching on the qualities of penetrative wisdom, as explained in the discourse on the twelve links of dependent origination.

"O sons of the Buddha! When a Bodhisattva has fulfilled the nature of the Bodhisattva Ground, and enters into this Dharma with the wisdom of the eighteen types of sages—which the lower grounds do not share—then they are free from bodily outflows, free from verbal faults, and free from wandering thoughts. They transcend the eight worldly dharmas, let go of all dharmas, and abide constantly in samadhi. They perfect the six qualities of this ground, and from this wisdom, give rise to the six sufficient wisdoms. The bonds and habits of the three realms are forever abandoned, so they fulfill desire. All merits and all Dharma doors are fully sought, so they fulfill diligent resolve. All dharmic events, all kalpic events, and all sentient beings' events are known in a single moment with one mind, so they fulfill mindfulness. The appearance of the two truths and the dharmas of the six realms of beings are known, so they fulfill wisdom. They know those who have set out on the ten paths and even all Buddhas are without bonds or habits, so they fulfill liberation. Seeing that all beings—including others, themselves, their disciples—are without outflows and free from afflictive habits, they know others' bodies with wisdom and fulfill liberation. This person, entering the six fulfilled wisdoms, then gives rise to wisdom; their body follows the mind and actions of beings in the six realms, and their speech expounds countless Dharma doors, to reveal them to all beings. Following the mind and actions of all beings, they constantly abide in samadhi; yet the ten directions' great earth trembles, and the sky transforms into flowers, so they can influence sentient beings' minds and actions. With the great light fulfilled, they see the Buddhas who have appeared in kalpas of the past, revealing them to all beings' minds. With unattached wisdom, they see all Buddhas in all lands of the ten directions in the present, and all sentient beings' minds and their actions. With spiritual power wisdom, they see all Buddhas appearing in all kalpas of the future and all beings receiving the Path and listening to the Dharma from those Buddhas. Abiding in these eighteen types of sages, one-pointed in heart and samadhi, they contemplate that all dust-like forms of the three realms are their own body, and that all beings are their parents. Now, entering this ground, they have entered into all merits, all divine lights, all Dharmas practiced by Buddhas, and even all Dharma doors of the eighth and ninth grounds. Therefore, in all Buddha lands, they manifest as Buddhas, achieve enlightenment, turn the Dharma wheel, demonstrate entry into nirvana, and transform and teach in all lands, whether past, future, or present.

Disciples of the Buddha! A bodhisattva who attains the level of the Buddha's Lion's Roar Nature enters the samadhi of the Dharma King's throne. Their wisdom is equal to that of the Buddha because of this Lion's Roar Samadhi. The ten kinds of great illuminating concentrations constantly manifest before them, and the samadhi of Flower-Light-Sound enters their mind.

As for their wisdom of emptiness: it includes the wisdom-gate of internal emptiness, the wisdom-gate of external emptiness, the wisdom-gate of conditioned emptiness, the wisdom-gate of unconditioned emptiness, the wisdom-gate of intrinsic-nature emptiness, the wisdom-gate of beginningless emptiness, the wisdom-gate of ultimate-meaning emptiness, the wisdom-gate of emptiness-of-emptiness, the wisdom-gate of emptiness-of-emptiness-again, and the wisdom-gate of emptiness-of-emptiness-yet-again. These ten gates of emptiness are unknown to those on lower stages.

In the stage of Universal Emptiness Equality, it is ineffable and inconceivable. With the wisdom of spiritual power and penetration, they use a single moment of awareness to know all phenomena, each distinct and separate, and yet they enter countless Buddha lands. Before each Buddha, they receive and accept the teaching, then turn the wheel of the teaching to liberate all beings. With the medicine of the Dharma, they heal all beings, acting as a great Dharma master, a great guide. They destroy the four demons, and their Dharma body transforms and re-transforms, entering the realm of Buddhas, counted among the Buddhas. They dwell within the count of the ninth and tenth stages.

Nourishing and maturing the Dharma body, they possess hundreds of thousands of gateways to retention, hundreds of thousands of gateways to samadhi, hundreds of thousands of gateways to indestructibility, hundreds of thousands of gateways to spiritual powers, hundreds of thousands of gateways to liberation. In these hundreds of thousands of gateways to universal emptiness equality, they are perfectly free, acting in a single moment, all at once.

They speak of eons as no-eons, and no-eons as eons. They speak of the non-path as the path, and the path as the non-path. They speak of non-six-realm beings as six-realm beings, and six-realm beings as non-six-realm beings. They speak of non-Buddha as Buddha, and Buddha as non-Buddha. And yet they enter and exit the samadhi of the Buddhas' essential nature, reflecting in reverse, forward, and backward—reflecting on the before, the after, the cause, the effect, emptiness, existence, and the illumination of the ultimate Middle Way truth. This wisdom is realized only by the eighth stage; those on lower stages cannot attain it.

It is not moving, not arriving, not emerging, not entering, not born, not destroyed. The teachings and gateways of this stage are immeasurable, inconceivable, beyond all telling. Now we have merely opened up a brief glimpse into a hundred-thousandth part of a hair's tip of this stage. It has already been clarified in the chapter on Arhats.

If a bodhisattva dwells in the Flower Adornment Essential Nature Ground, they embody the majestic deportment of a buddha and the effortless mastery of the Tathagata's Samadhi of Sovereign Freedom, entering and emerging from meditation at any time. In the billion suns and moons and the billion four-continent worlds throughout the ten directions, they simultaneously attain Buddhahood, turn the wheel of the Dharma, and even enter final nirvana. All these buddha activities, in a single mind, at a single moment, they manifest to all beings. Their physical forms, adorned with the thirty-two marks and eighty auspicious features, appear freely, their nature as vast and empty as space itself.

They possess immeasurable great compassion, their radiant marks magnificent and sublime—neither celestial nor human nor within the six realms of existence. Yet they constantly walk within those very six realms, manifesting countless bodies, countless voices, and countless minds, teaching countless Dharma doors. They can transform the realm of demons into the realm of buddhas, and the realm of buddhas into the realm of demons. They turn all views into the Buddha's view, and the Buddha's view into all views. They let buddha-nature enter the nature of beings, and the nature of beings enter buddha-nature.

On this ground, light shines upon light, wisdom illuminates wisdom, and radiance blazes upon radiance. This ground embodies fearlessness, immeasurable qualities, the ten powers, the eighteen unique qualities of a buddha, liberation, nirvana, and the unconditioned—all as one undivided path of purity.

With this ground, they regard all beings as their parents and brothers, teaching them throughout countless eons until they attain the fruits of the path. They also manifest in all lands, appearing to all beings as a father or mother, while demons and heretics also regard them as their own father or mother.

Dwelling in this ground, from the very beginning of birth-and-death up to the indestructible essence of vajra wisdom, they manifest such things in a single moment of thought, and in this way enter countless realms of beings. These immeasurable wonders are briefly described here—it is like speaking of merely one drop from the vast ocean.

"O sons of the Buddha! When a bodhisattva enters the realm of the Buddha's essential nature, their great wisdom is empty—empty of emptiness, and then empty again, like the nature of space itself. Their impartial wisdom possesses the Tathagata-nature, complete with the ten virtuous qualities. Emptiness shares a single essence, the nature is unconditioned; the spirit is empty and the essence is one, the dharma is the same as the nature of reality—therefore they are called the Tathagata (Thus-Come One). They accord with the Four Noble Truths and the Two Truths, exhausting the cycle of birth and death. Nourishing the Dharma-body without duality—therefore they are called the Arhat (Worthy of Offerings). They pervade all worlds and all affairs, with true wisdom and the wisdom of holy liberation, knowing all phenomena, whether existent or non-existent, and the capacities of all beings—therefore they are called the Samyaksambuddha (Perfectly Enlightened One). Their practice is clear and bright, and the fruit of Buddhahood is fully realized—therefore they are called the Vidyacarana-sampanna (Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct). They have gone well to the three times' Dharma, the Dharma is the same as that of former Buddhas and departed Buddhas. Departing well, arriving well—therefore they are called the Sugata (Well-Gone One). Such a person practices these supreme virtues, enters the world to teach and transform beings, liberating them from all fetters—therefore they are called the Lokavidu (World-Knower). This person, above all phenomena, enters the Buddha's majestic power, with a form and demeanor like a great being on the Buddha's path, bringing liberation to the world—therefore they are called the Anuttara (Unsurpassed One). They tame and guide all beings—therefore they are called the Purusadamyasarathi (Tamer of People). Teaching and transforming all beings among gods and humans, so that they receive and inquire into the Dharma—therefore they are called the Sastadevamanusyanam (Teacher of Gods and Humans). The wondrous essence is non-dual, the Buddha-nature is profound and enlightened, eternally and fully complete. All beings bow to and revere this—therefore they are called the Buddha-Bhagavan (Blessed One). All people receive and follow their teachings—therefore this is called the Buddha-ground. This is the ground into which all sages enter—therefore it is called the Realm of the Buddha-ground. At that time, seated on a jeweled lotus, all were delighted and received prophecies. The Buddha, with his Dharma-hand, touched their crowns. Together, they saw and studied, and the bodhisattvas spoke in unison, praising without duality. Additionally, in hundreds of billions of worlds, all Buddhas and all bodhisattvas gathered like clouds, requesting the turning of the inconceivable Wheel of Dharma—the Dharma gate of the Akasagarbha (Space Treasury) guidance and transformation. This ground possesses inconceivably wondrous Dharma-gates, wondrous insights, samadhi gates, and dharanis, which cannot be known by the minds and consciousness of lower-stage ordinary beings—only the measureless bodies, minds, and speech of the Buddhas can exhaust their source. As taught in the chapter on the Light-sound Heaven, the ten fearlessnesses are identical with the Buddha's path.