Ratnāvalī (寶行王正論)

[Stanza 1] Free from all obstacles, adorned with perfect virtue, I bow to the All-Knowing Wise One, the true friend of all beings.

[Stanza 2] The true Dharma is decisively good. For the king who loves the Dharma, I shall now explain the Dharma as it flows into worthy vessels.

[Stanza 3] First, I will explain the causes of happiness; later, I will explain the path to liberation. For beings, there is first worldly happiness, and afterwards, liberation.

[Stanza 4] The path of goodness is called happiness; liberation is the end of all defilements. In brief, these two have just two roots: faith and wisdom.

[Stanza 5] With faith, you can uphold the Dharma; with wisdom, you understand it as it truly is. Between the two, wisdom is supreme, but faith is needed first to start the journey.

[Stanza 6] One who, even when faced with ignorance, desire, anger, or fear, does not abandon the Dharma, Should be known as a person of faith, a worthy vessel for happiness and goodness.

[Stanza 7] One who has thoroughly examined and purified their actions of body, speech, and mind, And constantly works for the benefit of self and others, is called a wise person.

[Stanza 8] Taking life, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, Harsh words, idle chatter, greed, anger, and wrong views— These are called the ten unwholesome actions. The opposite of these is the ten wholesome actions.

[Stanza 9] Abstain from alcohol, maintain a pure livelihood, do not be coercive, give with a generous heart, And make offerings to those worthy of respect. This is the Dharma in brief.

[Stanza 10] If one merely practices asceticism (self-mortification), they will never develop wholesome qualities, Because they lack wisdom and compassion. If one only does harsh practices, They cannot stop harming others or give them relief and benefit.

[Stanza 11] Giving, ethical discipline, and mental cultivation—these are the bright, broad highway of the true Dharma. If you abandon this and follow wrong paths, torturing yourself like an ox under punishment, You will wander in the vast desert of *samsara*, with no food or shade, Or you will be devoured by wolves, traveling a very long road.

[Stanza 12] Killing leads to a short life; causing harm leads to many illnesses. Stealing leads to poverty; invading others' territory leads to many enemies. Lying leads to slander; divisive speech leads to the loss of loved ones. Harsh speech leads to hearing unpleasant things; idle chatter leads to others' hatred and jealousy. Greed destroys what you seek; anger leads to fear and terror. Wrong views lead to stubborn and mistaken beliefs; drinking alcohol leads to a confused mind. Not giving leads to poverty; wrong livelihood leads to being cheated. Lack of respect leads to a lowly birth; jealousy leads to a lack of dignity. Constant hatred leads to an ugly appearance; not asking questions leads to stupidity.

[Stanza 13] These results are experienced in the human realm, but only after first suffering in the lower realms. This is the karmic result of actions like killing. Along with non-greed etc., These actions are called the causes of wholesome habits.

[Stanza 14] Unwholesome practices and all suffering arise from wrong views. All the happiness of the good paths arises from wholesome actions. Therefore, always abstain from all evil and constantly practice all good.

[Stanza 15] Understand that these two paths are defined by the actions of body, speech, and mind. The first path (ethics) frees you from the four lower realms (hell, hungry ghosts, animals, titans). The second path (the path of goodness) leads to the wealth and happiness of humans and gods. By practicing the meditations of the form and formless realms, you attain the bliss of a Brahma god, and so on.

[Stanza 16] Thus, in brief, these are the causes of happiness and the results of happiness.

[Stanza 17] Next, I will explain the Dharma of liberation, which is subtle, profound, and difficult to see. When ordinary people without the "ears" of the mind hear it, they are filled with fear.

[Stanza 18] "At death, 'I' will not continue to exist; in the future, there will be no 'mine'." When ordinary people think of this, they are terrified, but the wise person's fear is ended forever.

[Stanza 19] The worldly "I"-view arises from attachment to things as "mine." The Buddha, Having realized the ultimate path, teaches this out of compassion for others.

[Stanza 20] The ideas of "I" and "mine" are both actually illusory. By seeing the truth of reality, these two attachments will never arise again.

[Stanza 21] The attachment to a self arises from the aggregates (*skandhas*). The self is empty of inherent existence. If the seed is not real, how can the sprout and so on be real?

[Stanza 22] If you see that the aggregates are not real, then the "I"-view does not arise. When the "I"-view is completely destroyed, the aggregates will no longer be produced.

[Stanza 23] It is like a person looking into a clean mirror and seeing the reflection of their own face. This reflection can be seen, but it is not ultimately real at all.

[Stanza 24] The "I"-view is the same. It appears based on the aggregates. If you examine it truthfully, it is not found to exist, just like the reflection of a face in a mirror.

[Stanza 25] If a person does not hold a mirror, they do not see their own reflection. In the same way, if you analyze the aggregates, the "I"-view will not exist.

[Stanza 26] When the Venerable Ananda heard this teaching, he immediately gained the pure Dharma-eye, And he constantly taught this to others.

[Stanza 27] As long as the attachment to the aggregates exists, the "I"-view will always remain. Because the "I"-view exists, karma and continued existence in *samsara* will always continue.

[Stanza 28] The wheel of *samsara* has three parts (ignorance, karma, rebirth). It spins without a beginning, middle, or end. It is like a whirling fire-brand—the appearance of each part depends on the other.

[Stanza 29] Because the self cannot be found from itself, from another, from both, or across the three times (past, present, future), When this "I"-view is extinguished, then the effects of karma and future births also cease.

[Stanza 30] By seeing cause and effect, their arising and their cessation in this way, One no longer clings to the existence or non-existence of the world.

[Stanza 31] When unwise people hear this Dharma that can end all suffering, They become terrified of that which holds no terror, due to their lack of wisdom.

[Stanza 32] In Nirvana, there is no "self" or "things belonging to the self." Why are you afraid? The reality I have explained is completely empty of inherent self. How can this make you afraid?

[Stanza 33] If you accept this teaching of liberation, which is without self or aggregates, And you let go of the self and the aggregates, why would you not be happy?

[Stanza 34] Since [Nirvana] is not even "existence," how could it be "non-existence"? The Buddha said that when all clinging to "existence" and "non-existence" is thoroughly abandoned, that is called Nirvana.

[Stanza 35] In short, wrong view is the denial of the law of cause and effect. This brings an accumulation of great demerit and is the heaviest cause of rebirth in the lower realms.

[Stanza 36] In short, right view is having faith in the law of cause and effect. This brings an accumulation of great merit and is the highest cause of rebirth in the good realms.

[Stanza 37] Through wisdom, the calm state free from "existence" and "non-existence" transcends both merit and demerit. Therefore, the Buddha called the state beyond both good and bad paths "liberation."

[Stanza 38] Because a wise person sees that arising has a cause, they abandon the view that nothing exists. Because they see that cessation has a cause, they abandon the view that everything truly exists.

[Stanza 39] First, we see that both "existence" and "non-existence" arise together. In reality, neither is the true cause. This is because these are merely conventional names with no ultimate basis, and because arising itself is not ultimately real.

[Stanza 40] It is like saying, "If this exists, that exists," like the relationship between "long" and "short." Or, "Because this arises, that arises," like a lamp and its light.

[Stanza 41] A thing that was long does not later become short; this is impossible because it is not in their nature. Since light does not truly "arise" from a lamp, the lamp itself is not ultimately real.

[Stanza 42] If one sees the arising of cause and effect in this way and does not cling to non-existence, Having already accepted the worldly truth, they understand it arises from a deluded mind.

[Stanza 43] Because one sees that cessation is not unreal, they directly realize Suchness (true reality). Therefore, they do not cling to existence, and, free from both extremes, they are liberated.

[Stanza 44] Form is seen from a distance, but appears clearest when near. If a mirage were truly water, why can't we see it up close?

[Stanza 45] If you are far from true wisdom, you see the world as real. When you realize reality, you do not see it as such, for it is without characteristics, like a mirage.

[Stanza 46] Just as a mirage looks like water, but is not real water or a real thing, In the same way, the aggregates look like a "person," but are not a person or a real entity.

[Stanza 47] One who mistakes a mirage for water and goes to drink it, Or one who clings to it as water—such a person is foolish.

[Stanza 48] The world is like a mirage. If you cling to it as truly existent or truly non-existent, This is ignorance. Due to this delusion, there is no liberation.

[Stanza 49] Clinging to non-existence leads to the lower realms. Clinging to existence leads to the good realms. But if you can know it as it truly is, you are free from both extremes and attain liberation.

[Stanza 50] Those who are wise, having chosen the true meaning, do not delight in clinging to "existence" or "non-existence." If you say that one "falls into the view of non-existence [by rejecting existence]," why not say they "fall into the view of existence [by rejecting non-existence]"?

[Stanza 51] If someone says, "By refuting existence, one is logically forced to accept non-existence," Then, by the same logic, since non-existence is also refuted, why isn't one forced to accept existence?

[Stanza 52] The ultimate nature is beyond words and mental activity; it is realized through enlightenment. If someone says that state "falls into non-existence," why doesn't it equally "fall into existence"?

[Stanza 53] The followers of Samkhya, Vaisheshika, and the Nigranthas teach about a self (person) and the aggregates. Ask them, according to their own systems: if reality is beyond "existence" and "non-existence," It is an ineffable truth. Why? Because it transcends the duality of existence and non-existence.

[Stanza 54] You should understand the profound, deathless nectar of the Buddha's true teaching. It is like the dawn: there is no "coming" or "going," nor does it stay for even a single moment. If reality transcends the three times, in which time can it be said to truly exist?

[Stanza 55] The past has gone, the future has not yet come, and the present does not actually stay. If the world goes through birth, abiding, and death, how can these words be true?

[Stanza 56] If something is constantly changing, what phenomenon is not impermanent, ceasing in every moment? If things did not cease in every moment, how could change exist?

[Stanza 57] If you say that things cease in every moment, and that they have parts or are whole, Since your theory doesn't match direct experience, neither of these ideas is logical.

[Stanza 58] If a thought-moment ceases completely, how can there be an "old" object? If something were permanent and did not cease moment by moment, how could there be an "old" object (which, by definition, has changed)?

[Stanza 59] A single moment (*kshana*) has a beginning, middle, and end (a past, present, and future aspect). Because a moment has these three parts, it also has no permanent, static core.

[Stanza 60] Since this "single moment" thus has three parts (its own past, present, future), As we analyze those parts, we find they themselves have three parts, and so on, ad infinitum. Therefore, these parts do not establish themselves or each other.

[Stanza 61] If a moment is real, it must have parts. But if it is without parts, what is it? If something is neither one nor many, what can it possibly be? Apart from "existence," is there any "non-existence" at all (that can be a real opponent)?

[Stanza 62] If you claim a thing comes into existence and then goes out of existence due to cessation or its antidote, For that "non-existence" and its "antidote," what is the basis for their existence or non-existence in the first place?

[Stanza 63] Therefore, neither the world nor Nirvana can be established as truly existent based on these arguments. When asked about the "end" of the world, the Buddha remained silent.

[Stanza 64] The Blessed One is all-knowing. Therefore, the wise recognize the Buddha. Because this teaching is so profound, it is not spoken to an unworthy audience.

[Stanza 65] This Dharma of liberation, so profound and free from all attachments, Is called by the Buddhas, the all-knowing, "the unbased and ungrounded."

[Stanza 66] This Dharma is without attachment or basis. It transcends both extremes of "existence" and "non-existence." Worldly people, attached to a basis for experience, are terrified and lost due to their ignorance.

[Stanza 67] They destroy themselves and others, terrified by this state without any basis. O King! I pray that your mind remains steady. Do not be destroyed by this fear. So that you may attain the indestructible, I shall now speak the truth.

[Stanza 68] By relying on the non-mistaken Middle Way, free from the two extremes of "existence" and "non-existence," This state, which transcends both merit and demerit, makes this profound truth clear.

[Stanza 69] This teaching is not meant for those who cling to a self and who are terrified of emptiness. We must speak of a being as a mere combination of the four great elements, space, and consciousness.

[Stanza 70] If a being is nothing but a combination of these parts, separate from them, how can we cling to it as a real "person"? Just as the six elements do not constitute a real person, and because they are a collection, they are empty and not real.

[Stanza 71] Similarly, each single element is not a real self. Thus, since everything is a collection, nothing is real.

[Stanza 72] The aggregates are not the self, nor do they belong to the self. Apart from the aggregates, the self is not made manifest. It is not that the self and the aggregates are mixed like fire and wood. On what basis then can the self arise from the aggregates?

[Stanza 73] The element of earth is not the other three elements (water, fire, wind), and the other three are not found within earth. The earth element is not found within the other three either. When separated from each other, none of them can be established.

[Stanza 74] The elements of earth, water, fire, and wind do not possess their own, separate, inherent nature. When one is separated from the other three, it cannot be established. And the three, separated from the one, also cannot be established.

[Stanza 75] If the one and the three, and the three and the one, cannot be established when separated from each other, And they cannot be established individually on their own, then what can we say about their relationship when they are separate?

[Stanza 76] If the elements could be established individually on their own, then why is there no fire existing separately from fuel? The same logic applies to the nature of motion in wind, the solidity of earth, and the cohesion of water. They cannot exist independently.

[Stanza 77] If fire has no inherent nature on its own, how can the other three elements be established as truly distinct entities? If the three elements arise from causes and conditions, how can they contradict and be established as truly separate?

[Stanza 78] If each element exists on its own, how can they be said to depend on each other for existence (a relationship of mutual dependence)? If they cannot be established on their own, how can they be established as existing in relation to each other?

[Stanza 79] If you say they are not separate from each other, and therefore each element exists on its own, If they are not mixed, they are not truly together. If they are mixed, they cannot be independent.

[Stanza 80] Since the elements cannot be established individually, how can they have their own, unique characteristics? Each one seems to exist only because the others are not present. Their characteristics, therefore, are merely conventional names.

[Stanza 81] The analysis for form, sound, smell, taste, and touch is the same as for the elements. The same analysis applies to the eye, visible form, consciousness of the eye, and ignorance—as well as their function, arising, and cessation.

[Stanza 82] The agent, the action, and the object; numbers, combinations, causes, and effects; time; Long and short, names and concepts, and even non-conceptual states—all must be analyzed in the same way.

[Stanza 83] Earth, water, wind, and fire—the long and the short, the small and the great— Wholesome and unwholesome actions, speech, consciousness, and wisdom—all of these completely cease in the ultimate wisdom.

[Stanza 84] In the sphere of infinite consciousness, which is formless and all-pervading, All these elements, such as earth and water, are completely ceased.

[Stanza 85] In this signless wisdom, all notions of long and short, wholesome and unwholesome actions, Name and form, and all the aggregates, are thus completely extinguished without remainder.

[Stanza 86] Just as these worldly phenomena are initially present due to ignorance, along with consciousness, When wisdom arises regarding that consciousness, these phenomena all come to an end.

[Stanza 87] These worldly phenomena are like the fuel for the fire of consciousness. When the light of reality arises, the fuel of the world and consciousness is burned up entirely.

[Stanza 88] Due to ignorance, we first perceive a difference between "existence" and "non-existence." Later, by discerning the true nature of reality, If we cannot find "existence" anywhere, how can we ever find "non-existence"?

[Stanza 89] Space is formed by the absence of form, so it is just a conventional name. If the elements are absent, what remains to be called "form"? So form is also just a name.

[Stanza 90] Feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness