A Sound with Nothing to It at All

Furthermore, this bodhisattva-mahāsattva cannot be confused or disturbed by any kind of sound at all. Namely: loud and towering sounds, coarse and turbid sounds, sounds that terrify people utterly, pleasing sounds, displeasing sounds, sounds that disturb and disorder the ear-consciousness, and sounds that undermine and destroy the six faculties. This bodhisattva, hearing immeasurable, countless good and bad sounds such as these, even were they to fill asaṃkhyeya worlds entirely, has never once, for even a single thought, had their mind become distracted. Namely: right mindfulness is not disturbed, the object of concentration is not disturbed, samādhi is not disturbed, entering the most profound Dharma is not disturbed, practicing the conduct of bodhi is not disturbed, giving rise to the mind of bodhi is not disturbed, holding every buddha in mind is not disturbed, contemplating the true Dharma is not disturbed, the wisdom that transforms living beings is not disturbed, the wisdom that purifies living beings is not disturbed, and resolutely understanding the most profound meaning is not disturbed. Because they do no evil karma, they have no obstruction of evil karma; because they give rise to no affliction, they have no obstruction of affliction; because they never treat the Dharma lightly, they have no obstruction of dharma; because they never slander the true Dharma, they have no obstruction of recompense. Son of the Buddha, sounds such as those spoken of above, each and every one filling asaṃkhyeya worlds, continuing through immeasurable, countless kalpas without ever once ceasing, are entirely able to destroy and disturb every faculty of a living being's own body and mind — and yet are unable to destroy this bodhisattva's own mind.

The bodhisattva, entering into samādhi, abiding within the noble Dharma, reflects upon and contemplates every kind of sound, skillfully knowing the marks of a sound's arising, abiding, and ceasing, and skillfully knowing the very nature of a sound's arising, abiding, and ceasing. Having heard in this way, they give rise to no greed, arouse no anger, and never lose their mindfulness; skillfully grasping its own mark, and yet never staining themselves with attachment to it; knowing that every sound has nothing to it at all, truly cannot be found, has no maker, and has no original limit either, being equal to the Dharma-realm itself, without any distinction at all. The bodhisattva, having accomplished such tranquil conduct of body, speech, and mind as this, arrives at all-knowing wisdom, forever never turning back; skillfully entering every gate of meditative absorption, knowing that every samādhi shares one and the same essential nature, understanding that every dharma has no boundary at all, attaining the true wisdom of every dharma, attaining the most profound samādhi that is free of sound, attaining asaṃkhyeya gates of samādhi, and increasing an immeasurable, vast and expansive mind of compassion.

At that time, the bodhisattva, in a single thought, attains countless hundreds of thousands of samādhis; hearing such sounds as these, their mind is never confused or disturbed, and their samādhi, gradually, becomes even more expansive. They reflect in this way: 'I shall cause every living being to abide settled within an unsurpassed, pure mindfulness, to attain never turning back in all-knowing wisdom, and to accomplish, in the end, nirvāṇa without remainder.' This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's own fifth practice, the practice free of delusion and confusion.