Then True Wisdom Bodhisattva, relying on the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the ten directions and spoke in verse.
I would rather suffer in the hells
And get to hear the Buddhas’ names,
Than enjoy boundless happiness
And not hear the Buddhas’ names.
For countless eons in the past,
I suffered misery and woe,
And drifted aimlessly in birth and death
Due to not having heard the Buddhas’ names.
Undeluded by dharmas,
One realizes absolute reality.
To separate from all compounded phenomena
Is called unsurpassed enlightenment.
Not compounded in the present,
Nor in the past or future,
All dharmas are devoid of characteristics:
Such is the true substance of the Buddha.
If in this way one contemplates
The meaning of all dharmas—so deep, profound—
Then one can see all Buddhas and
The true appearance of the Dharma body.
Seeing what is true as true,
Seeing what is not true as not true:
Such ultimate understanding
Is the reason for the name of Buddha.
The Buddhadharma cannot be realized:
Understanding this is called realizing the Dharma.
All Buddhas cultivate in this way.
Not a single dharma exists.
Know that the one brings about the many,
And the many brings about the one.
Dharmas are not based upon anything,
But arise from a combination of factors.
There is no creator or creation.
Things arise from thought and karma.
How do we know this to be true?
There is no other explanation.
All dharmas dwell nowhere
And have no fixed location.
The Buddhas dwell within this state,
Ultimately steadfast and unmoving.
Then Unsurpassed Wisdom Bodhisattva, relying on the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the ten directions and spoke in verse.
Unsurpassed Mahasattva
Is far removed from sentient beings’ thoughts.
There are none who excel him;
Hence, he is titled Unsurpassed.
The state attained by all Buddhas
Is gained without effort or discrimination.
The coarse aspects do not exist,
And neither do the subtle.
The states of the Buddhas’ practice
Transcend the realm of fate.
Proper Enlightenment is apart from fate:
This is the Buddhas’ genuine Dharma.
The Thus Come One’s light illumines all,
Dispelling gloom and darkness.
Yet, this light neither shines
Nor does not shine.
Toward the Dharma, be unattached,
Free of thought and undefiled.
Dwelling nowhere, having no location,
The Dharma nature is unimpeded.
In all that is, there is no duality,
Nor is there a single thing.
The greatly wise of keen discernment
Abide at ease within this truth.
Within nonexistence there is no duality,
Nor is there the absence of duality.
The Three Realms are entirely empty:
This is the Buddhas’ understanding.
Ordinary people, confused and unenlightened,
By the Buddha’s guidance, come to dwell in Proper Dharma.
Yet, the Dharma itself dwells nowhere.
One who thus awakens thereby sees oneself.
There is no body, yet a body is spoken of.
There is no arising, yet arising is manifested.
The absence of a body and of seeing
Is the Buddhas’ unsurpassed body.
True Wisdom has described
The Buddhas’ wonderful Dharma nature.
One who hears this Dharma
Will attain the pure, clear eye.
Then Solid Wisdom Bodhisattva, relying on the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the ten directions and spoke in verse.
How magnificent is the radiance
Of the valiant, unsurpassed lord.
In order to benefit the deluded masses,
He appears in the world.
The Buddha, with a heart of great compassion,
Universally observes all sentient beings.
He sees them in the Triple Realm,
Suffering in samsara’s wheel.
The Sage of Proper, Equal Enlightenment alone
Is perfect in virtue, a venerated guide and teacher.
None of the beings in all the heavens
Can be a savior and protector like him.
If sages like the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas
Did not appear within the world,
Not a single sentient being
Would gain happiness and peace.
The Thus Come Ones of Proper, Equal Enlightenment
And the multitudes of worthy sages
Show themselves within the world,
Giving happiness to sentient beings.
If one wishes to behold the Thus Come Ones
In order to gain wondrous benefit,
And one hears the Buddhas’ names and evinces faith,
One will be a tower for the world.
We wish to see the World Honored Ones
So as to gain great benefit.
Those who hear this wonderful Dharma
Shall all attain the Buddha Path.
In the past all these Bodhisattvas,
By the Buddhas’ awesome spiritual power,
Attained the pure, clear wisdom eye
And understood the Buddhas’ state.
Now we see Nishyanda,
And our pure faith has redoubled.
The Buddhas’ boundless wisdom
Can never be completely expressed.
Superior Wisdom and the other Bodhisattvas
And I, Solid Wisdom,
Through countless millions of eons
Could never fully express it either.
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