Thrones, Houses, and Places of Abode
The litany of gifts turns from what is worn or smelled to what is sat and dwelt upon. Thrones and seats are dedicated toward ten named seats, from the throne of the heavenly ones to the lion's throne on which the Tathāgata himself reclines; houses toward abiding within a pure buddha-land free of any attachment to a dwelling place; and places of abode toward ten distinct forms of reliance — on the Tathāgata, on great wisdom, on a good spiritual friend, and ultimately on the bodhisattva path itself.
A Seat, a House, a Reliance
Each of these three gifts moves from something concrete toward something the concrete object can never quite deliver on its own — a throne toward a state of mind unshaken by anything, a house toward the understanding that no dwelling place can ultimately be possessed, a place of abode toward reliance not on any location at all but on qualities: wisdom, a good spiritual friend, loving-kindness, compassion, the six perfections. The passage's own logic is that a gift of shelter, given rightly, teaches the giver and the wished-for recipient alike that no shelter is truly needed once these deeper reliances are in place.
「佛子！菩薩摩訶薩施床座時，以諸善根如是迴向，所謂：『願一切眾生得諸天床座，證大智慧；願一切眾生得賢聖床座，捨凡夫意，住菩提心；願一切眾生得安樂床座，永離一切生死苦惱；願一切眾生得究竟床座，得見諸佛自在神通；願一切眾生得平等床座，恒普熏修一切善法；願一切眾生得最勝床座，具清淨業，世無與等；願一切眾生得安隱床座，證真實法，具足究竟；願一切眾生得清淨床座，修習如來淨智境界；願一切眾生得安住床座，得善知識常隨覆護；願一切眾生得師子床座，常如如來右脇而臥。』是為菩薩摩訶薩施床座時善根迴向，為令眾生修習正念、善護諸根故。
"Child of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva mahāsattva gives thrones and seats, they dedicate every wholesome root in just this way: 'May every living being attain the throne of the heavenly ones, realizing great wisdom; may every living being attain the throne of the worthy and the noble, relinquishing the mind of an ordinary being and abiding in the mind of bodhi; may every living being attain the throne of peace and bliss, forever leaving behind every suffering and affliction of birth-and-death; may every living being attain the ultimate throne, attaining the sight of every buddha's own sovereign spiritual power; may every living being attain the equal throne, forever universally permeated in the cultivation of every wholesome dharma; may every living being attain the most supreme throne, endowed with pure karma unequaled by the world; may every living being attain the peaceful and secure throne, realizing the true and real Dharma, fully endowed and complete; may every living being attain the pure throne, cultivating and practicing the Tathāgata's own realm of pure wisdom; may every living being attain the abiding throne, forever accompanied and sheltered by a good spiritual friend; may every living being attain the lion's throne, forever reclining on their right side just as the Tathāgata does.' This is the bodhisattva mahāsattva's dedication of the wholesome root when giving thrones and seats; it is done so that every living being cultivates right mindfulness and skillfully guards every faculty.
「佛子！菩薩摩訶薩施房舍時，以諸善根如是迴向，所謂：『願一切眾生皆得安住清淨佛剎，精勤修習一切功德；安住甚深三昧境界，捨離一切住處執著；了諸住處皆無所有，離諸世間住一切智；攝取一切諸佛所住，住究竟道安樂住處；恒住第一清淨善根，終不捨離佛無上住。』是為菩薩摩訶薩施房舍時善根迴向；為欲利益一切眾生，隨其所應，思惟救護故。
Child of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva mahāsattva gives houses, they dedicate every wholesome root in just this way: "May every living being entirely attain abiding within a pure buddha-land, diligently cultivating and practicing every merit; abiding within the state of the most profound samādhi, relinquishing every attachment to any dwelling place; understanding that every dwelling place possesses nothing at all, leaving every worldly thing behind and abiding in all-knowing wisdom; gathering in every dwelling of every buddha, abiding within the peaceful and blissful dwelling-place of the ultimate path; forever abiding in the foremost pure wholesome root, never once relinquishing or leaving behind the Buddha's own unsurpassed abiding." This is the bodhisattva mahāsattva's dedication of the wholesome root when giving houses; it is done so as to benefit every living being, contemplating and protecting them according to whatever is fitting for each.
「佛子！菩薩摩訶薩施住處時，以諸善根如是迴向，所謂：『願一切眾生常獲善利，其心安樂；願一切眾生依如來住，依大智住，依善知識住，依尊勝住，依善行住，依大慈住，依大悲住，依六波羅蜜住，依大菩提心住，依一切菩薩道住。』是為菩薩摩訶薩施住處時善根迴向，為令一切福德清淨故，究竟清淨故，智清淨故，道清淨故，法清淨故，戒清淨故，志樂清淨故，信解清淨故，願清淨故，一切神通功德清淨故。
Child of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva mahāsattva gives places of abode, they dedicate every wholesome root in just this way: "May every living being forever gain wholesome benefit, their mind peaceful and blissful; may every living being abide relying on the Tathāgata, abide relying on great wisdom, abide relying on a good spiritual friend, abide relying on what is most venerable, abide relying on wholesome conduct, abide relying on great loving-kindness, abide relying on great compassion, abide relying on the six perfections, abide relying on the great mind of bodhi, and abide relying on every bodhisattva path." This is the bodhisattva mahāsattva's dedication of the wholesome root when giving places of abode; it is done so that every merit becomes pure, the ultimate becomes pure, wisdom becomes pure, the path becomes pure, the Dharma becomes pure, discipline becomes pure, aspiration and delight become pure, faith and understanding become pure, vows become pure, and every spiritual merit becomes pure.
"Understanding that every dwelling place possesses nothing at all" sits at the exact center of the house-dedication, and it explains why the very next wish can speak of "gathering in every dwelling of every buddha" without contradiction — once a dwelling is understood to possess nothing fixed, gathering in every buddha's own dwelling is not accumulation but simply not being anywhere that excludes anywhere else.
Part 266 Complete
This closes Part 266. Chapter 25 continues in Part 267 as the litany of specific gifts continues with lamps and candles, each again paired with its own distinct dedication.