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Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 |
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The Ten Grounds
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sutra:
He in one thought knows the three periods of time,
Yet he has no discriminations;
Their various times which are not the same,
He employs to appear within the world.To speak in summary, he seeks all Buddhas’
Supreme merit and virtue, each and all;
He brings forth the thought vast and great,
Whose measure equals realms of empty space.With compassion foremost, and wisdom principle,
And expedients along with interactives,
His mind of faith and understanding pure,
He has the Thus Come One’s limitless powers.Unobstructed wisdom then appears,
Enlightened of himself, not due to others.
Identically endowed as the Thus Come Ones,
He brings forth this thought most supreme.The disciple of the Buddha who first brings forth,
The wonderfully precious thought such as this,
Then transcends the commoner’s position,
Entering the Buddhas’ place of practice.Commentary:
He in one thought knows the three periods of time, the past, the present, and the future. Yet he has no discriminations. He uses wisdom to know them, not the discriminations of consciousness. He knows their various times which are not the same. All of the times within the three periods of time are not identical. He employs them to appear within the world.
To speak in summary, he seeks all Buddhas’ unsurpassed Way, their supreme merit and virtue, each and all.He brings forth the thought vast and great, whose measure equals realms of empty space. He brings forth the thought for Bodhi, which is as vast as empty space.
With compassion foremost, and wisdom principle, and expedients along with interactives; his mind of faith and understanding is pure. He makes great compassion of foremost importance and relies on wisdom as his principal necessity. He practices all clever and expedient dharmas, along with all mutually interactive dharmas. He is able to have a pure mind of faith and understanding. He has the Thus Come One’s limitless powers. He obtains the limitless powers of spiritual penetrations of a Buddha.
Unobstructed wisdom then appears, he has obtained unobstructed wisdom.
Enlightened of himself, not due to others. He himself obtains the hundreds of thousands of millions of samadhis, and they are not bestowed upon him by anyone else. Identically endowed as the Thus Come Ones, those powers of spiritual penetrations – that unobstructed wisdom – are the same as those of the Buddha. He brings forth this thought most supreme, this thought for Bodhi.
The disciple of the Buddha who first brings forth the wonderfully precious thought such as this, then transcends the commoner’s position, entering the Buddhas’ place of practice. The disciple’s initial thought for Bodhi is as solid as vajra. He is no longer the same as an ordinary person. He enters upon the Way traveled by the Buddhas.
Sutra:
He is born within the Thus Come One’s household,
And his lineage has no flaws;
He is the same as the Buddha,
And is certain to accomplish unsurpassed Bodhi.Upon producing thoughts such as those,
He immediately comes to enter the First Ground;
His resolve and inclinations are immovable,
Being like the great kind of mountains.He has much happiness, much liking,
And much pure faith, as well;
He has courageous vigor to the utmost,
Along with much elation and rejoicing.He is quite free from contention,
From troubling and harming, and from hatred;
He knows shame, respect, and rectitude,
And well protects and guards his faculties.He seeks all the multitudes of wisdom,
Of the one incomparable in the world:
‘This place is one I should achieve,
Mindful, giving rise to happiness.’Commentary:
He is born within the Thus Come One’s household. The Bodhisattva who has certified to the First Ground, the Ground of Happiness, has already been born in the household of the Thus Come One, and his lineage has no flaws. His lineage, his descent, is entirely honorable and lofty. It is not despicable and has nothing reprehensible about it. It is not at all lowly or poverty stricken. He is the same as the Buddha. He is just like the Buddha, and is certain to accomplish unsurpassed Bodhi. It is for sure that he will become a Budha in the future.
Upon producing thoughts such as those, he immediately comes to enter the First Ground. As soon as he has brought forth the thoughts of great kindness and compassion, and the thoughts of great joy and renunciation, he then can enter the Ground of Happiness. His resolve and inclinations are immovable. His resolutions and what he likes cannot be moved by anyone at all. That is, if you want to cultivate the Bodhisattva Way, no one will be able to break up your cultivation, being like the great kind of mountains. He is just like Mount Sumeru.
He has much happiness, much liking. When he certifies to the First Ground, the Ground of Happiness, he has much happiness and much liking for all living beings, and much pure faith, as well. He also cultivates the dharma of pure faith and understanding. He has courageous vigor to the utmost. He also has ultimately great, courageous vigor, along with much elation and rejoicing. His happiness is full of enthusiastic delight and rejoicing. He is quite free from contention. The Bodhisattva who has certified to this position has no contention. He doesn’t strive or fight with anyone. He is also free from troubling and harming, and from hatred. He has not the slightest wish to trouble or harm others, and not the least bit of hate for other people.
He knows shame, respect, and rectitude. He knows how to repent and reform, has reverence and respect, and rectitude of mind. Incapable of being evasive, shifty, or devious, his mind is straight and upright, and well protects and guards his faculties. He is good at guarding and protecting all his faculties. His eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind all follow them. He seeks all the multitudes of wisdom of the one incomparable in the world. He seeks all the wisdoms of the Buddha, to whom no one can compare. ‘This place is one I should achieve,mindful, giving rise to happiness.’ I should certify to all the wisdoms of the Buddha. I am mindful of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha – the Triple Jewel – and mindful of all living beings, and give rise to great joy.
Sutra:
Upon initially entering the First Ground,
He immediately transcends the five-fold fears:
Not staying alive, dying, bad reputation,
Evil destinies and the assembly’s awesome virtue.He attaches neither to self,
Nor to what pertains to a self;
All of these disciples of the Buddha,
Leave all fearfulness far behind.Always practicing great kindness and pity,
He constantly has faith as well as reverence;
He is replete with merit and virtue of repentance,
Night and day increasing wholesome Dharmas.He delights in Dharma’s true and actual benefits,
And does not love the reception of desires;
He reflects upon the Dharmas he as heard,
Far free form the practice of grasping.He has no greed for benefits or offerings,
And he only delights in Buddha’s Bodhi;
With one mind he seeks the Buddha’s wisdom,
Concentration undivided with no other thought.Commentary:
Upon initially entering the First Ground, he immediately transcends the five-fold fears. When the Bodhisattva certifies to the Ground of Happiness, he then leave the Five Kinds of Fears far behind: not staying alive, dying, bad reputation, evil destinies and the assembly’s awesome virtue. In full, the list reads:
Why does he leave these five kinds of fears far behind? It is because he attaches neither to self,nor to what pertains to a self. He has no attachment to a self, and with no self what is there to fear? What belongs to a self is gone, too. You who are studying the Buddhadharm are afraid of this and afraid of that. Why are you afraid? It is because you are unable to be without a self. You are greedily attached to “me” and greedily attached to “mine.” But, if you had no self, and if what belonged to self were empty, then what could there be to fear? All of these disciples of the Buddhaleave all fearfulness far behind.
- fear of not staying alive,
- fear of a bad reputation,
- fear of death,
- fear of the evil destinies,
- Fear of the awesome virtue of the Great Assembly.
He is always practicing great kindness and pity. He always practices great kindness and great compassion and pities and remembers all living beings. He constantly has faith as well as reverence. He always has genuine, pure faith in and reverence and respect for the Triple Jewel.
He is replete with merit and virtue of repentance. He is endowed with all the merit and virtue of repentance and reform, night and day increasing wholesome Dharmas. He delights in Dharma’s true and actual benefits and does not love the reception of desires. He does not love the five objects of desire. He reflects upon the Dharmas he as heard. He is always pondering and contemplating the Buddhadharmas he has heard, far free form the practice of grasping. He leaves grasping and attaching behavior far behind.
He has no greed for benefits or offerings. He is not greedy for fame or profit, and he only delights in Buddha’s Bodhi. The only thing he delights in is the Buddha’s wonderful Dharma of Bodhi. With one mind he seeks the Buddha’s wisdom; he is single-minded in his quest for the wisdom of a Buddha alone, concentration undivided with no other thought. Intent and concentrated, he does not have two kinds of thoughts; he only has the thought of seeking the Buddha’s wisdom.
Sutra:
He cultivates all of the Paramitas,
Far separates from flattery and deceit;
As is spoken, so, too, does he practice,
And is secured in true and actual speech.He does not defile the Buddha’s household,
Nor abandon Bodhisattva precepts;
Taking no delight in worldly matters,
Constantly he benefits the world.He cultivates the good without fatigue,
His quest intensifying for the way supreme;
Such, then, is his liking for the Dharma,
That merit and virtue interact with meanings.He constantly gives rise to a great vow-mind,
Vowing that all Buddhas he will see,
Protect and hold all Buddhas’ Dharmas,
And gather in the great immortal’s way.Always bringing forth such vows as these,
He cultivates the practices supreme,
Matures and ripens all the flocks of beings,
Adorns and purifies all Buddhas’ lands.Commentary:
He cultivates all of the Paramitas. The Bodhisattva concentrates his mind and seeks the wisdom of a Buddha. If one wishes to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha, one must cultivate the Six Crossings-over, or the Ten Crossings-over – the Paramitas. One must also be far separates from flattery and deceit. One must leave flattery and obsequiousness far behind, along with all falsity and deceit. As is spoken, so, too, does he practice. One must rely upon the Dharma spoken by the Buddha to cultivate. And he is secured in true and actual speech. And at all times you should cultivate the dharmas of true speech, actual speech, never engaging in false speech.
He does not defile the Buddha’s household. It is essential to cultivate the Dharma-doors spoken by the Buddha very, very well, and protect the Dharma jewels spoken by the Buddha, never defiling the household of all Buddhas. That is, one must not make a bad impression for Buddhism by influencing people to have doubts. To start with, people may want to believe in the Buddha, but if you do not cultivate well, as soon as they see you they lose their faith. You can’t let that happen, nor abandon Bodhisattva precepts. He at all times protects the ten heavy and forty-eight light precepts cultivated by Bodhisattva, taking no delight in worldly matters. He has no greedy attachment for worldly dharmas. That means he ahs no liking for the world’s wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep – matters concerned with the five objects of desire. Constantly he benefits the world. It is his constant wish to benefit the living beings of the world.
He cultivates the good without fatigue. In practicing giving and doing wholesome deeds, there never comes a time when he feels he’s had enough, his quest intensifying for the way supreme. He is more vigorous each day, daily becoming more courageous in his search for the unsurpassed, most supreme fruit of the Way. Such, then, is his liking for the Dharma, that merit and virtue interact with meanings.
He constantly gives rise to a great vow-mind. He is constantly bringing forth a great mind of vows and resolutions, vowing that all Buddhas he will see. He constantly makes the vow that he will see all the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three periods of time, and protect and hold all Buddhas’ Dharmas. He vows to protect and maintain all dharmas spoken by the Buddhas, and gather in the great immortal’s way, that is, the Buddha Way.
Always bringing forth such vows as these, he cultivates the practices supreme, matures and ripens all the flocks of beings. He brings all the flocks of beings to maturity, causing all living beings to become ripened and in the future to become Buddha. He adorns and purifies all Buddhas’ lands. He adorns and purifies the countries of all of the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three periods of time.
In studying the Buddhadharma and listening to Sutras, it is not the case that after one has listened to the Sutra that is all there is to it. It is necessary to base oneself upon the teachings and cultivate. If you listen and then fail to put what you have heard into actual practice, then that is equivalent to talking about food and counting other people’s money.
You can talk all you want about how good this or that food is to eat, and about what a fine flavor it has, however, if you never get around to eating it, you still will not actually know what it tastes like. Day after day, in the bank you may count out money to others, counting out as much as a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, or even ten million. Yet, when the bank closes, you yourself haven’t a penny – noen of it is yours. Therefore, when we hear the Buddhadharma, we must put the Dharma into practice.
If the Bodhisattva cultivates the Six Paramitas and the ten thousand practices, should we be unable to cultivate so many, we should at least cultivate three Paramitas, two Paramitas, or one Paramita. We should cultivate either giving, or holding precepts, or patience, or vigor, or dhyana-samadhi, or Prajna, or expedients, or making vows, or using one’s own strength to do all kinds of good deeds, or using one’s own wisdom to perform various kinds of fine acts. For it to count, one must at all times and very actually practice. If you do not put it into practice, no mater how much you hear, it will be useless.
Sutra:
All of the Buddhas’ kshetra lands,
Disciples of the Buddha fully fill,
Impartial, of one single, even mind,
Nothing that they do is done in vain.They, on the tip of every single hair,
At one time, accomplish right enlightenment.
Vows like those of theirs, which are so great,
Are limitless, and they have no bounds:‘Empty space, along with living beings,
The Dharma Realm, together with Nirvana.
Appearances of Buddhas in the world,
Buddha’s wisdom and his states of mind,What the wisdom of Thus Come Ones enters,
And the exhaustion of the turnings three
If all of those should have an end
Then all of my vows would have an end.But, as all of those can have no end
So, too, are my vows just that way.’
Having thus made vows as great as those,
Their minds become compliant and subdued.Commentary:
All of the Buddhas’ kshetra lands, disciples of the Buddha fully fill. There is not just one world; there are limitless and boundlessly many worlds. All the Buddhalands are also limitless and boundless. Disciples of the Buddha fill up all of the worlds, all of the Buddha kshetras. Impartial, of one single, even mind,
Nothing that they do is done in vain. These disciples of the Buddha are all the Bodhisattvas. Everything those Bodhisattvas cultivate is impartial and equal, and they all with one even mind benefit living beings. All of what they do and cultivate is not done in vain. It is impossible for them to do something that does not result in the slightest bit of merit and virtue. In whatever they do, there is certain to be some merit and virtue present.
They, on the tip of every single hair,at one time, accomplish right enlightenment. Those Bodhisattvas make the vow that on the tip of every single hair they will cultivate and will become Buddhas at one and the same time. On a single hairtip, all Buddhas become Budhas, and on all hairtips, too, all Buddhas simultaneously become Buddhas.
Vows like those of theirs, which are so great, are limitless, and they have no bounds. The vows such as those that they make are inconceivably great vows. There is no way you could measure the extent of those kinds of vows, nor do they have any bounds. ‘Empty space, along with living beings, empty space and living beings are both infinite. The Dharma Realm, together with Nirvana. The Dharma realm and Nirvana are infinite, as well – but, suppose they could come to and end.
Appearances of Buddhas in the world, Buddha’s wisdom and his states of mind,what the wisdom of Thus Come Ones enters. The kinds of states into which the wisdom of a Buddha is able to enter, and the exhaustion of the turnings three’ – should the realm of living beings come to an end, the realm of empty space come to an end, and the realm of the Dharma Realm come to an end, then the vows made by the Bodhisattva would come to an end. If the Dharma Realm, the realm of empty space, along with the Buddha’s realm – all of those --- have no time when they come to an end, then the vows of the Bodhisattva will have no exhaustion or end. That means that if all that was listed above should come to an end, then the vows made by the Bodhisattva would be over and done with. Should they have no end, then the Bodhisattva’s vows will also never end.
If all of those should have an end, then all of my vows would have an end. All the previously described – empty space, living beings, afflictions, the realm of Buddhas, and the Dharma Realm – if all of those have a time when they come to an end, then my vows will disappear. If it turns out not to be that way, but, as all of those can have no end,so, too, are my vows just that way.’ My vows too, can never come to an end. Having thus made vows as great as those,
Their minds become compliant and subdued. Having in that way made such inconceivable, vast, great, limitless, boundless, inexhaustible, and infinite kinds of vows, their minds are at all times supple and compliant, constantly tamed and subdued. Become the minds of Bodhisattvas have no greed, hatred, or stupidity within them; as a result they are always compliant and subdued.