Like the Great Earth, Receiving All
Vajra Banner Bodhisattva opens his closing verse on the first dedication, gathering its prose exposition into gatha form. The bodhisattva's practice is compared to the great earth that universally receives all, and the verse builds toward its most extreme image yet — dwelling in hell throughout inconceivable kalpas without any weariness, seeking none of the five senses' pleasures, but only the unsurpassed and most supreme wisdom.
Receiving All, Like the Great Earth
The verse's central simile arrives early: the bodhisattva, diligently cultivating practice for the sake of every being, is compared to the great earth itself, universally receiving all without discrimination. From there the verse moves through the six pāramitās — giving, moral discipline, patience, diligence, meditative absorption, wisdom — before arriving at the vow this dedication has already made in prose: to dwell in hell throughout inconceivable kalpas, never seeking any sensory pleasure, but only the most supreme wisdom.
「不思議劫修行道，精進堅固心無礙，
為欲饒益群生類，常求諸佛功德法。
調御世間無等人，修治其意甚明潔，
發心普救諸含識，彼能善入迴向藏。
勇猛精進力具足，智慧聰達意清淨，
普救一切諸群生，其心堪忍不傾動。
心善安住無與等，意常清淨大歡悅，
如是為物勤修行，譬如大地普容受。
不為自身求快樂，但欲救護諸眾生，
如是發起大悲心，疾得入於無礙地。
十方一切諸世界，所有眾生皆攝受，
為救彼故善住心，如是修學諸迴向。
"Throughout inconceivable kalpas, cultivating the path; diligent and firm, their mind unobstructed; wishing to benefit every kind of living being, they forever seek the meritorious Dharma of every buddha. The one who tames the world, unequaled by any; their mind cultivated and refined, utterly bright and pure; giving rise to the resolve to universally rescue every sentient being — that one is able to skillfully enter the treasury of dedication. Valiant and diligent, their power fully complete; their wisdom keen and penetrating, their mind pure; universally rescuing every kind of living being, their mind able to endure, never wavering. Their mind well settled, unequaled by any; their intention forever pure, greatly joyful; diligently cultivating practice for the sake of all beings in just this way, just like the great earth universally receiving all. Not seeking pleasure for their own self, but wishing only to rescue and protect every living being; giving rise to a mind of great compassion in just this way, they swiftly come to enter the unobstructed ground. Throughout every world in the ten directions, they gather in and receive every living being there; for the sake of rescuing them, their mind well established, they cultivate and study every dedication in just this way.
修行布施大欣悅，護持淨戒無所犯，
勇猛精進心不動，迴向如來一切智。
其心廣大無邊際，忍力安住不傾動，
禪定甚深恒照了，智慧微妙難思議。
十方一切世界中，具足修治清淨行，
如是功德皆迴向，為欲安樂諸含識。
大士勤修諸善業，無量無邊不可數，
如是悉以益眾生，令住難思無上智。
普為一切眾生故，不思議劫處地獄，
如是曾無厭退心，勇猛決定常迴向。
不求色聲香與味，亦不希求諸妙觸，
但為救度諸群生，常求無上最勝智。
Cultivating and practicing giving with great joy; upholding and protecting pure moral discipline without any transgression; valiant and diligent, their mind unmoving, they dedicate it toward the Tathāgata's own all-knowing wisdom. Their mind vast and expansive without any boundary; the power of patience well established, never wavering; their meditative absorption profound, forever illuminating with clarity; their wisdom subtle and wondrous, difficult to conceive of. Throughout every world in the ten directions, fully cultivating and refining pure conduct; dedicating every such merit in just this way, wishing for the peace and happiness of every sentient being. The great being diligently cultivates every wholesome karmic deed, immeasurable, boundless, and beyond counting; dedicating all of it entirely to benefit living beings in just this way, causing them to abide in the inconceivable, unsurpassed wisdom. Universally for the sake of every living being, they dwell in hell throughout inconceivable kalpas; never once giving rise to a weary or regressing mind in just this way, valiant and resolute, forever dedicating. They do not seek form, sound, fragrance, or flavor, nor do they hope for any wondrous touch; but only for the sake of rescuing and liberating every kind of living being, they forever seek the unsurpassed and most supreme wisdom.
The great-earth simile and the vow to dwell in hell are, on reflection, the same claim made twice at different scales — the earth receives every kind of seed, root, and burden without discrimination, and the bodhisattva's vow to enter hell is simply that same undiscriminating reception extended to the worst possible circumstance a being could occupy. Nothing in the verse suggests the bodhisattva finds this vow remarkable; it follows, matter-of-factly, from having already resolved to be like the earth.
Part 222 Complete
This closes Part 222. Chapter 25 continues in Part 223 as the verse continues, describing wisdom pure like empty space and the bodhisattva's mind that removes every poison from the heart while seeking nothing but the liberation of every living being.