A Jewel That Fulfills Every Vow
Diligence Banner Bodhisattva speaks the chapter's seventh verse, arguing that the Buddha's body is neither within nor without, manifest only through spiritual power, and appearing differently to each living being according to karma accumulated across former lives. The verse closes with two similes in sequence: beholding the Buddha, like every dharma's arising, must always rely upon a multitude of wholesome karmic deeds, and the Dharma of every buddha, like a wish-fulfilling jewel, entirely satisfies every vow.
Neither Within Nor Without
The verse's opening claim — that the Buddha's body is not within, and likewise not without either, manifest solely through spiritual power — sets up its account of why the Buddha appears differently to different beings: not because the Buddha himself varies, but because each living being's own accumulated karma shapes what is seen. The chain of similes that follows — the self difficult to conceive of, a buddha-land inconceivable yet visibly adorned, every dharma dependent on conditions — all converge on a single practical point, made explicit in the verse's closing lines: beholding the Buddha at all requires a multitude of wholesome karmic deeds.
「一切諸導師，身同義亦然，
普於十方剎，隨應種種現。
汝觀牟尼尊，所作甚奇特，
充滿於法界，一切悉無餘。
佛身不在內，亦復不在外，
神力故顯現，導師法如是。
隨諸眾生類，先世所集業，
如是種種身，示現各不同。
諸佛身如是，無量不可數，
唯除大覺尊，無有能思議。
如以我難思，心業莫能取，
佛難思亦爾，非心業所現。
如剎不可思，而見淨莊嚴，
佛難思亦爾，妙相無不現。
"Every Guiding Teacher is the same in body, and likewise the same in meaning; universally throughout the lands of the ten directions, he manifests in every kind of way according to what is fitting. Behold the Muni, the Honored One — what he accomplishes is truly extraordinary; filling the Dharma-realm entirely, leaving nothing at all remaining. The Buddha's body is not within, and likewise is not without either; it is through spiritual power that he is displayed — the Guiding Teacher's own Dharma is just like this. According to every kind of living being, and the karma they have accumulated in former lives, he manifests bodies of every kind in just this way, each one different from the rest.
The bodies of every buddha are just like this, immeasurable and beyond counting; only the great awakened Honored One himself — no one else is able to conceive of them. Just as the self is difficult to conceive of, and the mind's own activity is unable to grasp it, so too is the Buddha difficult to conceive of — he is not manifested by the mind's own activity. Just as a buddha-land is inconceivable, and yet its pure adornment can be beheld, so too is the Buddha inconceivable — and yet there is no wondrous mark that fails to appear.
譬如一切法，眾緣故生起，
見佛亦復然，必假眾善業。
譬如隨意珠，能滿眾生心，
諸佛法如是，悉滿一切願。
無量國土中，導師興於世，
隨其願力故，普應於十方。」
Just as every dharma arises because of a multitude of conditions, so too is beholding the Buddha — it must always rely upon a multitude of wholesome karmic deeds. Just as a wish-fulfilling jewel is able to satisfy the mind of every living being, so too is the Dharma of every buddha — it entirely fulfills every vow. Throughout immeasurable lands, the Guiding Teacher arises in the world; it is through the power of his own vow that he universally responds throughout the ten directions."
"Beholding the Buddha... must always rely upon a multitude of wholesome karmic deeds" answers a question the preceding verses have been circling without stating outright: if the Buddha's body has no location, is neither within nor without, and is inconceivable even to the self that seeks him, what makes it possible for anyone to behold him at all? The verse's answer is not a metaphysical resolution but a practical one — wholesome karma is the condition under which what is otherwise inconceivable becomes visible.
Part 204 Complete
This closes Part 204. Chapter 24 continues in Part 205 with Stainless Banner Bodhisattva's own verse.