The Bodhisattva realizes that mundane dharmas
Are all like dreams.
Neither somewhere nor nowhere,
Essentially, they are eternally quiescent.
There are no distinctions among dharmas.
Like dreams, they are not beyond the mind.
In all worlds in the three periods of time,
Everything is just that way.
Dreams in essence neither arise nor perish;
They have no direction or location.
The Three Realms are all this way;
One who sees this attains liberation of mind.
Dreams are neither of the world
Nor apart from the world.
When such duality is no longer delineated,
One enters the ground of patience.
In a dream one may see
An array of varied images.
Everything in the world is also thus—
Not any different from a dream.
He who dwells in dream-like Samadhi
Knows that everything mundane is like a dream,
And yet not the same as one, nor different;
Neither of one sort, nor many.
Sentient beings’ karmic deeds in all lands
May be defiled or pure.
The Bodhisattva understands them exactly as they are,
Equivalent to dreams in every way.
The Bodhisattva understands that his practices
And the great vows he makes
Are all like dreams, and in that way
No different from the mundane.
Knowing the world to be empty and still,
He does not destroy worldly dharmas,
For they are like images in a dream,
Varying in size and color.
This is called Patience in Perceiving All as Dreams.
Through this, the Bodhisattva understands worldly dharmas.
He soon achieves unobstructed wisdom
And saves vast flocks of beings.
Cultivating practices such as these,
The Bodhisattva attains broad understanding.
He skillfully perceives the nature of dharmas,
With no attachment to dharmas in his mind.
In each and every world,
All the various sounds
Are neither inside nor outside.
He knows that they are all like echoes.
Just as in listening to echoes,
One’s mind does not discriminate among them,
When the Bodhisattva hears sounds,
His mind is the same way.
He reverently beholds all Thus Come Ones
And listens to the sounds of the Dharma they speak.
Measureless sutras are proclaimed.
He listens, yet remains unattached.
Just as echoes have no origin,
Sounds heard are the same way.
Yet within the sounds, Dharma can be discerned,
Without any mistake or contradiction.
He thoroughly understands all sounds,
Yet does not discriminate among them.
Knowing that all sounds are empty and still,
He sends forth pure, clear sounds everywhere.
Knowing that Dharma is not a matter of language,
He skillfully enters the wordless realm,
And yet can use speech to reveal things,
Much as an echo resonates through the land.
Comprehending the path of language,
Endowed with perception of sound,
He realizes that sounds are essentially void.
Yet he speaks the language of the world.
He reveals how all the sounds in the world
Are both the same and different.
His sound pervades all places,
Enlightening the multitudes of beings.
The Bodhisattva who acquires this Patience
Transforms the world with pure sounds.
He expediently speaks about the three periods of time,
But has no attachment to time.
Wishing to benefit the world,
He single-mindedly seeks after bodhi.
Constantly entering the Dharma nature,
He entertains no discrimination.
He observes that all things in the world
Are quiescent and devoid of an intrinsic nature.
Yet he constantly benefits beings,
Cultivating with an unwavering resolve.
He neither dwells in the world
Nor separates himself from the world.
Relying on nothing in the world,
He is nowhere dependent.
He comprehends the nature of the mundane,
Yet is undefiled by and unattached to it.
Without relying upon the world,
He transforms and liberates those in the world.
He completely knows the intrinsic nature
Of all the dharmas in the world.
He understands that dharmas are nondual,
Yet to nonduality he attaches not.
His mind neither leaves the mundane
Nor dwells in the mundane.
It is not beyond the mundane
That he cultivates All-Wisdom.
Like a reflection in water,
Neither inside nor outside,
The Bodhisattva in quest of bodhi,
Understands that the world is not the world.
He neither dwells in nor transcends the mundane,
For the mundane is beyond words.
He is neither within nor without,
Appearing in the world like a reflection.
Entering this profound meaning,
He leaves defilement and gains total clarity.
Yet he does not forsake his original vow
To be wisdom’s lamp shining on all.
The world has no boundaries,
Yet his wisdom infuses it to capacity.
He transforms flocks of beings everywhere,
Enabling them to cast out all attachments.
Contemplating the profound Dharma,
He benefits the multitudes of beings,
Leading them to enter wisdom
And cultivate every path to enlightenment.
The Bodhisattva observes all dharmas,
Realizing that they are all like conjured effects.
Yet he undertakes practices resembling conjured effects,
Never forsaking them to the very end.
In accord with the nature of conjured effects,
He cultivates the Bodhi Path.
All dharmas resemble conjured effects.
So do the Bodhisattva’s practices.
Everything in all worlds
nd karma without measure
Are equally like conjured effects,
Dwelling ultimately in quiescence.
All Buddhas in the three periods of time
Resemble conjured effects in every way.
Cultivating myriad practices based on their vows,
They transform into Thus Come Ones.
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