留化品第二
爾時最勝菩薩前白佛言：「云何菩薩於二住地而具足行，必果所願無有中錯？」佛告最勝：「菩薩於二地中常當思惟，念淨其戒識其重恩，勤行忍辱謙恭卑下，常懷喜悅先笑後言，行大慈悲孝順師長，篤信三寶崇習妙慧，無生染著計有常存。夫計常者，謂生死業解有道常，常道非尊，尊出非常乃謂為尊。尊既無尊，何言道尊？是故最勝，菩薩了道亦無尊卑亦無相像，虛空猶常言有形質，真道號字不可覩見；其心坦然無所縛著，所修德業不離諸佛，無能中道而得斷絕。一切諸惡悉盡無餘，其心永定不可動轉，志如金剛亦無伴侶，皆知一切諸法之本，已除眾垢消滅闇冥，其法晃曜靡不照明，心懷質直亦無諛諂，性行平等無彼此意，發心已來常懷鮮潔，由本淨故得去諸垢，沐浴清淵蕩除眾穢，其信堅固無所遺捨，施意廣大無有邊崖，心若虛空亦無窮盡，含受下劣將養使度。所以然者，其慧純淑無所罣礙，心之所規無所不容，大慈無窮不盡之藏，得識辯才常懷羞恥，堅固之行心不可沮，覺道之力無所不入，辯才過眾無不渴仰，得諸總持亦不忘失，初不演說不急之事，於百千定終不狐疑，聞善惡法不懷憂喜，不自貢高復不自下，進趣安詳不失威儀，十二行本曉知五陰六衰所起，復以苦習盡道分別十二緣起，癡行生死靡不貫達。觀察五根具滿思念，不復往來生死穢著，乃以八十四智消滅諸漏，誓留化身一劫教授。如我今身必當入於無餘泥洹，不永滅度亦復留化，在賢明土將無數眾，前後圍繞說微妙法。
「最勝當知，賢明去此北方度十三億恒河沙等諸佛剎土，彼有世界名不動轉，有佛號照意如來、至真、等正覺，現在說法，不動轉界，亦無聲聞緣覺之名，純諸登位大乘行人，布施戒忍精進禪定，以神通慧而自娛樂，無極之智纏絡其身，隨時分別章句深妙，慈悲喜護等如虛空，觀前眾生知其志性，為雨甘露無極法味，其服食者無瞋恨結，行三三昧空無想願，拔濟生死立無為岸，降魔塵勞懷害之毒。彼佛神足感動變化，周旋往反無量佛土，彼受訓者，不知是化謂為真佛。過去恒沙諸佛世尊，皆留化佛，接緣眾生使獲無為，是故如來隱形適化不可思議。方將來佛慈氏等輩，亦各有化如來之像開導眾生。我雖滅度，彼化佛身亦不滅度。是故最勝，化亦無化佛亦無佛，解知空寂，亦不二三若干之相。二地菩薩，常當修習幻化之法，觀了慧地誠信之地，見地薄地終成之地，緣覺聲聞所居之地，雖療其疾不取其證，假使最勝二住菩薩，欲取聲聞緣覺證者甚無有難。譬如有人手執華鬘及明月珠，仰擲虛空未墮地頃，於其中間斷結除垢諸漏永滅，無生老死憂患之苦，但為菩薩雖知斷結終不取證。所以然者，未察眾生上中下意，堅固其心永處究竟，興無蓋雲擊慧雷聲，降甘露藥宣真諦寶，不斷三業，意念鮮潔如水清徹，恒用禁戒而自莊嚴，復以眾德修飾形相，奉遵上妙賢聖覺道，至後胎分一生補處，覺現諸佛所造本業，覺意總持悉無處所，先念興意嚴淨道場，隨時進止行安般念，在眾強志御無所畏，心便勇健而得自在，發心願成甚可愛敬，為諸眾生說喜樂法，其心特尊與眾超異。若能執持空無之相，外道奇術無奈之何，聲聞緣覺常所宗敬。」
Eminent One, you should know this: The wise one travels north from here, passing through thirteen billion Ganges River's sands of Buddha lands. There exists a world called "Immovable." In that world, there is a Buddha named Illuminated Intention, the Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One. He is presently expounding the Dharma. In the world of Immovable, there is no mention of Hearers or Solitary Realizers; it is purely composed of great-vehicle practitioners who have attained the stages. These practitioners engage in generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence, and meditation, delighting in spiritual powers and wisdom. Boundless wisdom adorns their bodies. They skillfully analyze the profound and subtle meaning of texts. Their kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity are as vast as the sky. They observe the minds of sentient beings before them, knowing their dispositions, and rain upon them the supreme Dharma-nectar of the unconditioned. Those who partake of this nectar no longer harbor resentment or attachments. They cultivate the three liberations: emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. They rescue beings from birth and death, establishing them on the shore of the unconditioned, subduing the harmful poisons of Mara's defilements.
The spiritual powers, manifestations, and transformations of that Buddha travel back and forth throughout countless Buddha-lands. Those who receive his instruction do not realize that this is a transformation, believing instead that they see the true Buddha. All the Tathagatas of the past, as countless as the sands of the Ganges, have left behind transformation-Buddhas to connect with beings and help them attain the unconditioned. Therefore, the Tathagata's formless adaptations are inconceivable. Future Buddhas like Maitreya also each have transformation-Buddha images to guide beings. Although I, Shakyamuni, will enter nirvana, these transformation-Buddha bodies will not enter nirvana. Therefore, O Eminent One, transformations are not really transformations, and Buddhas are not really Buddhas. Understand that they are all empty and tranquil, not dual or plural, not bearing any marks.
A bodhisattva at the second stage should constantly cultivate the art of illusion and transformation. They clearly see the ground of wisdom, the ground of faith, the ground of insight, the ground of thinning attachments, and the ground of ultimate accomplishment—the grounds where Hearers and Solitary Realizers dwell. Although they cure the afflictions of beings, they do not themselves attain these stages as their own realization.
Let me tell you, O Eminent One, if a second-stage bodhisattva wanted to attain the realization of a Hearer or Solitary Realizer, it would not be difficult at all. For example, imagine someone holding a flower garland and a bright moon pearl, tossing them into the air. Before they fall back to the ground, that person could cut off all entanglements, eliminate all impurities, and extinguish all outflows. They would no longer suffer birth, aging, sickness, or death. But although a bodhisattva knows how to cut off entanglements, they never actually take that attainment. Why is that? Because they have not yet fully discerned the minds of sentient beings—whether they are superior, average, or inferior. They strengthen their own resolve, dwelling permanently in the ultimate state. They raise the cloud of immeasurable compassion, strike the thunder of wisdom, rain the medicine of liberation, and proclaim the treasure of true reality. They never interrupt their three kinds of pure actions (body, speech, and mind). Their thoughts are fresh and pure, like clear water. They continuously adorn themselves with moral precepts, and also decorate their form with virtue. They follow the supreme, noble, and enlightened path of the sages, and eventually reach the final stage where only one more birth is needed before full Buddhahood. They awaken to the original karma created by all Buddhas. Their mindfulness and retention of the Dharma are without location. They first bring forth the aspiration to purify the place of enlightenment, advancing and retreating according to the occasion, practicing mindfulness of breathing. Amidst the crowd, they remain confident and fearless. Their mind becomes courageous and free. Their aspiration is to fulfill the admirable and lovable goal: to teach the Dharma of joy and bliss to all beings. Their mind is uniquely noble, far surpassing others. If they can thus uphold the mark of emptiness and non-substantiality, then no heretic's supernatural power can harm them, and they will always be respected and esteemed by Hearers and Solitary Realizers.
是時世尊復告最勝：「二地菩薩達知本無遠離身行，去口殃禍除意亂念，消滅三穢、抑制三災、閹塞五弊，推尋十二癡行之本，上下五結散在三界，以漸除却無令增多。思惟十一苦惱之瘡，捨諸四大耽著之病，分別諸物惡露之法，當避家業息諸習俗，斷其愛欲瞋恚貪垢，淨刈根本不使流馳。常念思惟計無我想，堅立四信，住四意止，成四意斷，稱說五根，布現五力無缺減志，曉知七覺諸寶之藏，修行八正賢聖之道，八大人念初不廢捨。如是，最勝！二地菩薩，執心調意不若干念，解知悉空而無真實，乃得上位受菩薩記，不動勞行亦不離行，學於上智。雖有尊貴意不貢高，觀知諸法，一法不二不計三想，亦復不興無益之想，不有限際有無之想，了想無處不住無處，惟正覺淨諸佛亦淨，善御於心正住不邪，等一善惡審知俱空，空不疑礙，亦復不見有爭無爭、有觀無觀。本無為一亦不見一，知一除一不住於一，復不從一而起眾想，等習勝意。無習有際，不見有際有勝有負，不聽心散越內外法，善防御識定而不轉。雖在三有不著於三，深察諸性了知無根，知無根者所謂淨地。二住菩薩，自整其心觀諸法本悉同無常，常無所入不見出生，無善不善好惡之名、利衰毀譽稱譏苦樂。調正心意無有憂慼，在所入處開示大藏，入大法海念求七慧，煎熬三愛善制四流，修六重法成果證行。如是，最勝！菩薩大士具諸法已，知無形貌而不可見，是謂習學淨於二地。」
At that time, the World-Honored One further addressed Most Excellent One: "Bodhisattvas at the second stage understand that all things are fundamentally without inherent existence. They distance themselves from physical misdeeds, avoid verbal wrongdoings, and eliminate mental distractions. They remove the three impurities, suppress the three calamities, and block the five flaws. They investigate the twelve causes of ignorance that arise from delusion, and the five fetters that bind beings in the three realms. They gradually eliminate these without allowing them to increase, and contemplate the eleven wounds of affliction. They let go of the attachment to the four elements that causes disease, discern the impurity of all conditioned things, and abandon worldly concerns and habitual tendencies. They cut off desire, anger, and clinging; purify the root of the mind so it does not run wild; and constantly reflect on non-self.
They firmly establish the four types of faith, abide in the four foundations of mindfulness, perfect the four right efforts, proclaim the five spiritual faculties, and manifest the five powers without deficiency. They understand the seven awakening factors as treasures and cultivate the eightfold noble path. The eight great mindfulness practices are never abandoned.
Thus, Most Excellent One, bodhisattvas at the second stage purify their minds and harmonize their thoughts without distraction. They understand that all phenomena are empty and without true reality. Only then can they ascend to a higher level and receive the prediction of enlightenment. They neither cling to diligent practice nor abandon it, and they study supreme wisdom. Though they hold a noble status, they are not arrogant. They observe all phenomena without duality, without entertaining the three types of concepts, nor do they generate useless thoughts, or thoughts of limitation or existence. They understand that thought has no fixed location and do not abide in any place. The pure enlightenment and the pure nature of all Buddhas are the same. They skillfully govern their minds, abiding rightly without deviation. They see good and evil as equal, truly knowing both are empty—emptiness without doubt or obstruction. They do not perceive conflict or non-conflict, contemplation or non-contemplation. Originally, non-action is one, yet they do not see it as one. They know oneness and eliminate it without dwelling in it, nor do they generate various thoughts based on oneness. They cultivate superior mindfulness equally, without attaching to mundane states or seeing superiority or inferiority. They do not allow the mind to wander into internal or external phenomena, defending consciousness and stabilizing it without turning.
Though they exist in the three realms of existence, they are not attached to them. They deeply examine all natures and understand that they are rootless. Understanding rootlessness is what is called the pure ground. Bodhisattvas at the second stage regulate their minds and observe that the nature of all phenomena is impermanent. They constantly abide in non-attachment without seeing arising. There is no name for good or bad, no concept of gain or loss, no praise or blame, no honor or disgrace, no pleasure or pain. They tame their minds without worry or sorrow. Wherever they enter, they reveal the great treasury, enter the great ocean of Dharma, and seek the seven kinds of wisdom. They burn away the three affections of craving, skillfully control the four streams of existence, and cultivate the six heavy practices to achieve the fruit of realization.
Thus, Most Excellent One! The great bodhisattva who has perfected all dharmas knows there is no form to them and they cannot be seen. This is called the study and purification of the second stage."