The Ten Patiences

Chapter Twenty-Nine

 

 

Sutra:

Accomplishing the pure mind
Brings thorough understanding and great joy.
Knowing that dharmas arise from conditions,
He cultivates with diligent zeal. 

Impartially contemplating all dharmas,
He comes to know their inherent nature.
Not opposing the treasury of Buddhadharma,
He awakens universally to all dharmas.

Constantly fortifying his resolve with joy,
He thereby purifies and adorns the Buddhas' bodhi;
Immovable as Mount Sumeru,
He single-mindedly quests for Right Enlightenment.

Commentary:

Accomplishing the pure mind—how can this be done? By cultivating the Six Paramitas and Myriad Practices of the Bodhisattva Path. The Six Paramitas are giving, morality, patience, vigor, dhyana concentration, and wisdom. The Myriad Practices includes all dharma (i.e., methods of practice leading to enlightenment) that benefit other sentient beings. By cultivating the Six Paramitas and Myriad Practices, you can perfect the purity of the mind, and that brings thorough understanding and great joy. When your mind clearly understands and fathoms everything, you feel great joy. This great happiness stems from thorough understanding. Knowing that all dharmas arise from causes and conditions, one understands that they are empty. However, one should not be attached to emptiness. Rather, one should cultivate with diligent zeal. Zeal implies a lack of fear and trepidation. It also implies vigor and perseverance. One cannot be zealous one day and slack off the next. One must be diligent and zealous minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, month after month, and year after year. Diligent is the opposite of lazy. And you should not be lazy with respect to what? Cultivation. 

Impartially contemplating the reality underlying all dharmas, / He comes to know their inherent nature. / Not opposing the treasury of Buddhadharma, / He awakens universally to all dharmas. The Bodhisattva perfects the dharma of thoroughly understanding all dharmas.

Constantly fortifying his resolve with joy, so he is always happy and determined, he thereby purifies and adorns the Buddhas’ path of bodhi. Immovable and steady as Mount Sumeru, / he cultivates the Bodhisattva Path and single-mindedly quests for the Unsurpassed, Proper, Equal and Right Enlightenment. The Bodhisattva cultivates this unsurpassed dharma in order to realize Buddhahood.  

Sutra:

With vigorous resolve,
He cultivates the path of Samadhi.
Through measureless eons of diligent practice,
He never retreats or falters. 

The Dharma the Bodhisattva enters
Is what is practiced by the Buddhas.
Comprehending this principle,
His mind never grows weary or lax. 

As the Peerless One taught,
He regards all dharmas impartially.
Bearing everything equally with patience,
He is able to achieve the wisdom of impartiality.  

Following what the Buddhas taught,
He accomplishes the dharma of patience.
Understanding the dharmas in accord with Thusness,
He does not differentiate among them.

Commentary:

With a courageous and vigorous resolve, / He cultivates the path of Samadhi, the path of proper concentration and proper reception. Through measureless eons of diligent practice up to the present moment, he never retreats or falters along the path to the Unsurpassed, Proper, Equal and Right Enlightenment. 

The Dharma the Bodhisattva enters / Is what is practiced by the Buddhas. The dharma gateways entered by the Bodhisattva are precisely the Buddha’s work. Comprehending this principle, this dharma, his mind never grows weary or lax. He would never doze off during a sutra lecture. The reason you would feel tired and doze off is that you don’t realize the importance of seeking the Dharma. If you understood how important it is to seek the Dharma, you would not be affected by drowsiness or laziness.  

As the Peerless One, the Buddha, taught, / He regards all dharmas impartially. The Buddha taught all sentient beings to view all dharmas as equal. Bearing everything equally with patience, / He is able to achieve wisdom of impartiality. The Buddha also taught us the patience of bearing everything equally. Once we can bear what we deem unbearable, we can attain the wisdom of impartiality. 

Following what the Buddhas taught, following the principles of their teaching, he accomplishes the dharma of patience. / Understanding the dharmas in accord with Thusness. There is but one Thusness, not two. When one is Thus, all are Thus. When all are Thus, nothing is not Thus. Thusness implies that you are at ease with everything and everything is just right. When one understands Thusness, nothing is artificial or forced. He differentiates not among them. Within the dharma of Thusness, there are basically no distinctions.

II.A.iii. Verses in praise of Patience with the State of Mind in which No Mental Objects Arise

Sutra:

In the Heaven of the Thirty-three,
All the celestial princes
Share a single vessel of food--
Yet every prince’s food tastes different. 

The various foods that are eaten
Do not come from the ten directions.
According to the karma of their cultivation,
These foods naturally appear in the vessel.

A similar thing happens to Bodhisattvas
As they contemplate all dharmas,
Which arise from causes and conditions
Yet do not come into being or cease to be.

Commentary:

In the Heaven of the Thirty-three, Trayastrimsa Heaven, all the celestial princes / Share a single vessel of food. They eat from the same dish or plate, yet every prince’s food tastes different. In what way is the food different? For those who like sweet food, the food tastes sweet. For those fond of sour food, the food tastes sour. For those who prefer bitter food, the food has a bitter taste. For those who like hot, spicy food, the food tastes hot and spicy. The food has whatever flavor the celestial being prefers. It is not like in the human world, where we have to season our food. If we season it well, the food can be delicious. If we season it poorly, it doesn’t taste so good. Celestial beings don’t have to season their food; their food naturally suits their individual tastes. 

The various foods that are eaten / Do not come from the worlds of the ten directions. / According to the karma of their cultivation, / These foods naturally appear in the vessel. As a reward for the good karma they created, the celestial beings get to enjoy fine food.

A similar thing happens to Bodhisattvas / As they contemplate all dharmas, / Which arise from causes and conditions / Yet do not come into being or cease to be. Since there is no coming into being, there is no ceasing to be. This teaching is very natural, not at all forced.

Sutra:

Since they do not cease to be, they have no end.
Since they have no end, they are free of defilement.
Thus, regarding the ever-changing worldly dharmas,
The Bodhisattva knows them to be beyond change.  

Without change, there is no location.
Without a location, there is quiescence.
With his mind undefiled by attachments,
He vows to liberate all sentient beings.

Concentrating on the Buddhadharma,
He is never distracted or moved.
With a heart of compassionate vows,
He acts expediently in the world.

Commentary:

Since all dharmas are not produced, they do not perish. Since they do not cease to be, they have no end. If they are never destroyed, how could they have an end? Since they have no end, they are free of defilement. / Thus, regarding the ever-changing worldly dharmas that are subject to formation, dwelling, decay, and emptiness, the Bodhisattva knows them to be beyond change. The Bodhisattva understands that they are unreal. Being unreal, how could they change? 

Without change, there is no location. / Without a location, there is only quiescence. / With his mind undefiled by attachments, / He vows to liberate all sentient beings. Within that quiescence, the Bodhisattva’s mind is free from defilements and attachments. The Bodhisattva’s only intention is to liberate sentient beings from suffering so they can attain happiness, and to help them end birth and death.

Concentrating on the Buddhadharma, / Never is he distracted or moved. The Bodhisattva cherishes the Buddhadharma. The Buddhadharma is neither produced nor destroyed, neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing. Thus, it neither scatters nor moves. With a heart of greatly compassionate vows, / He acts expediently in the world. With a heart of great compassion, the Bodhisattva uses expedient means to teach and transform all sentient beings in the world, so that they may leave suffering and attain happiness.  

Sutra:

Diligent in his quest for the Ten Powers,
He abides in the world but does not dwell.
Neither going nor coming,
He expediently and skillfully expounds the Dharma.

This patience is supreme.
Understanding that dharmas are endless,
He enters the true Dharma Realm
Without actually entering anything.

Commentary:

Why does the Bodhisattva cultivate the Bodhisattva Path with such vigor? It is because he is diligent in his quest for the Ten Powers of the Buddhas. He abides in the world but does not dwell. He is both of this world and not of this world. At this level of his cultivation, the Bodhisattva attains the state of neither going nor coming. He expediently and skillfully expounds the Dharma. All the Dharma he speaks is expediently aimed at liberating sentient beings. 

This Paramita of patience is supreme. / Understanding that dharmas are endless, / He enters the true Dharma Realm. The Bodhisattva understands that dharmas are infinite, and he certifies to the principle of the true Dharma Realm without actually entering anything. In actuality, there is no certification and no entry.

Sutra:

The Bodhisattva dwelling in this patience
Universally sees all Thus Come Ones
Simultaneously bestowing a prediction upon him.
This is called being offered a position by the Buddhas. 

Comprehending that dharmas in the three periods of time
Are characterized by stillness and purity,
He is able to transform sentient beings
And set them in a wholesome path.

Commentary:

The Bodhisattva dwelling in this patience, in the state of Patience with the State of Mind in which No Mental Objects Arise, universally sees all Thus Come Ones / Simultaneously bestowing a prediction upon him. All Buddhas throughout the ten directions bestow a prediction upon the Bodhisattva at the same time. This is called being offered a position by the Buddhas. This is a position in which one works for the Buddhas. 

Comprehending that dharmas in the three periods of time—past, present, and future—are characterized by stillness and purity, / He is able to transform sentient beings in all places and at all times / And set them in a wholesome path. He enables them to dwell in a good path.

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