The Ten Patiences

Chapter Twenty-Nine

 

 

Sutra:

Everything in all worlds
And 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.

The Buddhas, with great compassion,
Liberate and transform sentient beings.
Such liberation is also like a conjured effect.
By their transformative power, the Buddhas explain the Dharma.

Knowing that all mundane things are conjured effects,
The Bodhisattva does not discriminate among them.
The various distinctions among conjured events
Result from differences in karma.

Cultivating the practices of bodhi,
He adorns the treasury of conjured effects.
With infinite good deeds he adorns it,
Just as karma creates the world.

Commentary:

The Bodhisattva contemplates how everything in all worlds / And the karma and retribution without measure created by sentient beings are equally like conjured effects, / Dwelling ultimately in quiescence. 

All Buddhas in the three periods of time—past Buddhas, present Buddhas, and future Buddhas—resemble conjured effects in every way. Buddhas also resemble conjured effects, and thus, you should not become attached to them. To be attached to the Buddhas is equivalent to adding a head on top of the head you already have—you will fail to attain true liberation. Cultivating the Bodhisattva’s myriad practices based on their past great vows, / They transform into Thus Come Ones. Completing and perfecting their practices is how the Buddhas become Buddhas.

The Buddhas, with great compassion, / Liberate, teach and transform sentient beings. Such teaching and liberation is also like a conjured effect. The Buddhas are working within an illusory realm. By their transformative power, the Buddhas explain the Dharma to all sentient beings.

Knowing that all mundane things are illusions and conjured effects—empty, unreal, and unable to provide ultimate happiness, the Bodhisattva does not discriminate among them. He does not discriminate among these false dharmas. The various distinctions among conjured events / Result from differences in karma. Sentient beings create karma in their delusion and undergo different retributions.

Cultivating the practices of bodhi, the dharmas leading to enlightenment, he adorns the treasury of conjured effects. / With infinite, boundless good deeds he adorns it, / Just as karma creates the world. The world is manifested through sentient beings’ delusion, creation of karma, and undergoing of retributions.

Why haven’t we sentient beings attained Buddhahood yet? Everything we do is just a little bit off. If we weren’t off by that little bit, we would have become Buddhas long ago. In everything we do, we are one step behind, so we can never catch up. We always miss our opportunity. Even if we bring forth the resolve for bodhi and cultivate the Bodhi Path, we have all kinds of attachments. Originally we were right on track, but then we got ourselves into trouble, so we were off by that little bit. If we could apply ourselves on that little bit, we would certainly become Buddhas soon. Sutra:

Sutra:

The dharma of conjured effects is beyond discrimination,
And does not differentiate among dharmas.
Both of these are quiescent,
As are the Bodhisattva’s practices. 

The sea of conjured effects is understood with wisdom;
The nature of conjured effects imprints all worlds.
Conjured effects neither come into being nor cease to be;
The same is true of wisdom.

Commentary:

The dharma of conjured effects is beyond discrimination, / And does not differentiate among dharmas. Why are there no discriminations? The next line says very clearly:Both of these [i.e., all dharmas and the nature of conjured effects]are quiescent; they do not exist. As are the Bodhisattva’s practices. The Bodhisattva acts without effort and is not attached to any of his practices. 

The sea of conjured effects is understood only by someone with wisdom; / The nature of conjured effects imprints all worlds. / Conjured effects neither come into being nor cease to be; / The same is true of wisdom. Conjured effects are neither produced nor destroyed, since they do not exist to begin with. Wisdom, too, is unproduced and undestroyed; it is originally that way.

Sutra:

II.A.x. Verses in praise of Patience in Perceiving All as the Void

With the Tenth Patience he sagaciously observes
Sentient beings and all dharmas:
How quiescent their essential nature is,
Like the void, belonging nowhere. 

Attaining to this void-like wisdom,
He leaves all attachments behind forever.
Like the void, empty of everything,
He is unimpeded throughout the worlds.

Patience in Perceiving All as the Void that he achieves—
Its power, like the void, is inexhaustible.
States of being resemble empty space,
Yet he discriminates not as to emptiness.

Commentary:

With the Tenth Patience, Patience in Perceiving All as the Void, he sagaciously observes / Sentient beings and all dharmas; / How quiescent and impermanent their essential nature is, / Like the void, belonging nowhere. The void has no location. If it had a location, it would not be the void.

Attaining to this void-like wisdom, / He leaves all discriminations and attachments behind forever. / Like the void, empty of everything, / He is unimpeded throughout the worlds. Since the Bodhisattva is empty, nothing can obstruct him. 

Patience in Perceiving All as the Void that he achieves— / Its power, like the void, is inexhaustible. The power of this patience is as infinite as space. States of being resemble empty space, / Yet he discriminates not as to emptiness. Since he is like the void, what is there to discriminate in the void? If it could be discriminated, it would not be the void. 

Sutra:

The void has no essential nature.
It is not subject to annihilation,
And is absent of various discriminations.
The power of wisdom is also like this.

Without a beginning, the void
Has neither a middle nor an end;
Equally unfathomable in its expanse
Is the Bodhisattva’s wisdom. 

With that he contemplates the nature of all dharmas:
How everything is like the void,
Neither coming into being nor ceasing to be.
That is the Bodhisattva’s attainment.

While abiding in the dharma of emptiness,
He still expounds for sentient beings,
Subduing all the demons
Through the expedients of this patience. 

Worldly characteristics, however different,
Are all empty of characteristics.
Entering that which is uncharacterized,
He regards all characteristics as equal.

Commentary:

The void has no real substance and no essential nature. The void is sunyata

(emptiness), and sunyata is the void. It is not subject to annihilation. Though the void is empty and has nothing in it, it is not a dharma subject to annihilation. And yet it is absent of various discriminations. / The power of wisdom is also like this. Wisdom is basically invisible, yet it cannot be annihilated.  

Without a beginning, the void / Has neither a middle nor an end; / Equally unfathomable in its expanse / Is the Bodhisattva’s wisdom. The Bodhisattva’s wisdom is as immeasurable as empty space.

With that he contemplates the nature of all dharmas: / How everything is like the void, / Neither coming into being nor ceasing to be. / That is the Bodhisattva’s attainment. The wisdom attained by the Bodhisattva is likewise unproduced and undestroyed.

While abiding in the dharma of emptiness, in the Patience in Perceiving All as the Void, he still expediently expounds the Dharma for sentient beings, / Subduing all the celestial demons and externalists through the expedients of this patience.

Worldly characteristics, however different, / Are all empty of characteristics. Once you understand, you see that all attributes are empty and without substance. Entering that which is uncharacterized, attaining the Dharma of the uncharacterized, he regards all characteristics as equal.Once you understand the uncharacterized, you realize that there is nothing it fails to characterize. As it is said, “The characteristic of reality is uncharacterized, yet there is nothing it fails to characterize.” It is the same as empty space.

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