Neither Transformation Nor Non-Transformation
Light Banner Bodhisattva speaks the chapter's fourth verse, describing how a single buddha-body universally manifests as every buddha the way a single mind gives rise to every kind of mind — entirely spontaneous, the Tathāgata never once thinking "I am making a body such as this." The verse closes on a careful formula: the Buddha's body is neither a transformation nor a non-transformation, displaying a transformed form within a dharma that has no transformation at all.
One Body, Every Buddha, No Discrimination
The verse's governing image is drawn from the mind itself: just as the power of a single mind gives rise to every kind of mind, so too does a single buddha-body universally manifest as every buddha. This manifestation is entirely without deliberation — the Tathāgata never thinks or says "I am making a body such as this," and the Dharma-realm, though without any difference or anything to rely upon, still manifests immeasurable bodies within the world.
「人間及天上，一切諸世界，
普見於如來，清淨妙色身。
譬如一心力，能生種種心，
如是一佛身，普現一切佛。
菩提無二法，亦復無諸相，
而於二法中，現相莊嚴身。
了法性空寂，如幻而生起，
所行無有盡，導師如是現。
三世一切佛，法身悉清淨，
隨其所應化，普現妙色身。
如來不念言，我作如是身，
自然而示現，未甞起分別。
法界無差別，亦無所依止，
而於世間中，示現無量身。
"In the human realm and in the heavens above, throughout every world, all universally behold the Tathāgata's pure and wondrous form-body. Just as the power of a single mind is able to give rise to every kind of mind, so too does a single buddha-body universally manifest as every buddha. Bodhi has no duality of dharmas, and likewise has no marks at all, and yet, within these dual dharmas, marks appear that adorn the body. Understanding that the nature of dharmas is empty and quiescent, arising like an illusion, his conduct has no end at all — the Guiding Teacher manifests in just this way.
Every buddha of the three periods of time has a Dharma-body entirely pure, and according to whoever is to be transformed, universally manifests a wondrous form-body. The Tathāgata never thinks or says, "I am making a body such as this"; he manifests spontaneously of his own accord, never once giving rise to discrimination. The Dharma-realm has no difference at all, and likewise has nothing to rely upon, and yet, within the world, it manifests immeasurable bodies.
佛身非變化，亦復非非化，
於無化法中，示有變化形。
正覺不可量，法界虛空等，
深廣無涯底，言語道悉絕。
如來善通達，一切處行道，
法界眾國土，所往皆無礙。」
The Buddha's body is not a transformation, and likewise is not a non-transformation either; within a dharma that has no transformation at all, he displays a transformed form. The truly awakened one cannot be measured at all, equal to the Dharma-realm and to empty space; profound and vast without any boundary or floor, the path of language is entirely cut off. The Tathāgata skillfully penetrates through, walking the path in every single place; throughout the Dharma-realm's every land, wherever he goes is entirely unobstructed."
"The Buddha's body is not a transformation, and likewise is not a non-transformation either" is a formula this sūtra returns to often — a double negation meant to block both extremes at once, so that neither "the Buddha's manifestations are mere illusion" nor "the Buddha literally exerts effort to appear" survives as an adequate description. The verse's own image for this, a single mind giving rise to every kind of mind, suggests the manifestation is neither willed nor accidental, but as natural to the Tathāgata's own nature as thought is to a mind.
Part 201 Complete
This closes Part 201. Chapter 24 continues in Part 202 with Wisdom Banner Bodhisattva's own verse.