Eleven Reasons to Give Away a Capital
A beggar comes asking for the bodhisattva's own royal capital — its magnificent walls, and every toll levied at its gates and passes — and it is given away entirely, without the least reluctance. Before the dedication begins, eleven distinct reasons are named for the gift, from seeking omniscience to cultivating every bodhisattva's own vow. Ten vows follow, each preferring a forest dwelling, tranquil and unmoved, over any royal capital or town at all.
A Capital Traded for a Forest
The direction of this dedication is unmistakable: every vow moves away from the city and toward the wilderness, away from royal splendor and toward tranquility. Having just given away the very seat of his own power, the bodhisattva does not wish for a grander capital in return — he wishes for sentient beings to forever cease relying on any capital or town at all, delighting instead in a forest dwelling that offers nothing to rule.
「佛子！菩薩摩訶薩見有人來乞王京都、嚴麗大城及以關防所有輸稅，盡皆施與，心無吝惜；專向菩提發大誓願，住於大慈，行於大悲，志意歡悅，利益眾生；以廣大智解了深法，安住諸佛平等法性；發心為求一切智故，於自在法起深樂故，於自在智求證得故，淨修一切諸功德故，住於堅固廣大智故，廣集一切諸善根故，修行一切佛法願故，自然覺悟大智法故，安住菩提心無退故，修習一切菩薩行願、一切種智盡究竟故，而行布施。以此善根如是迴向，所謂：『願一切眾生悉能嚴淨無量剎土，奉施諸佛以為住處；願一切眾生常樂居止阿蘭若處，寂靜不動；願一切眾生永不依止王都聚落，心樂寂靜，永得究竟；願一切眾生永不樂著一切世間，於世語言常樂遠離；願一切眾生得離貪心，施諸所有，心無中悔；願一切眾生得出離心，捨諸家業；願一切眾生得無吝心，常行惠施；願一切眾生得不著心，離居家法；願一切眾生得離眾苦，除滅一切災橫怖畏；願一切眾生嚴淨十方一切世界，奉施諸佛。』是為菩薩摩訶薩布施王都善根迴向，為令眾生悉能嚴淨諸佛剎故。
"Child of the Buddha! The bodhisattva mahāsattva sees someone come begging for his own royal capital, its magnificent great city, and every toll levied at its gates and passes, and gives it all away entirely, his mind never begrudging; single-mindedly turning toward bodhi, he gives rise to a great vow, abides in great loving-kindness, practices great compassion, his intention joyful, benefiting sentient beings; with vast and expansive wisdom he understands the profound Dharma, abiding securely in the equal Dharma-nature of every buddha; he practices this giving for the sake of seeking omniscience, for the sake of giving rise to profound joy in the dharma of mastery, for the sake of seeking to realize the wisdom of mastery, for the sake of purely cultivating every merit, for the sake of abiding in firm and vast wisdom, for the sake of widely gathering every wholesome root, for the sake of cultivating the vow of every buddha-dharma, for the sake of naturally awakening to the dharma of great wisdom, for the sake of abiding securely in the bodhi-mind without ever regressing, and for the sake of cultivating every bodhisattva's own practice and vow, and the wisdom of all modes, to its very ultimate end. With this wholesome root, he dedicates it in this way, namely: 'May all sentient beings be entirely able to adorn and purify immeasurable buddha-lands, offering them to every buddha as a dwelling place; may all sentient beings forever delight in dwelling within a forest dwelling, tranquil and unmoved; may all sentient beings forever cease to rely upon any royal capital or town, their minds delighting in tranquility, forever reaching the ultimate end; may all sentient beings forever cease to delight in and cling to anything worldly, forever delighting in remaining far from worldly speech; may all sentient beings obtain a mind free of craving, giving away everything they possess, their minds never regretting midway; may all sentient beings obtain a mind of renunciation, relinquishing every household affair; may all sentient beings obtain a mind free of stinginess, forever practicing kind giving; may all sentient beings obtain a mind free of attachment, leaving behind the dharma of household life; may all sentient beings obtain freedom from every suffering, eliminating every calamity, injury, and terror entirely; may all sentient beings adorn and purify every world in the ten directions, offering them to every buddha.' This is the bodhisattva mahāsattva's dedication of wholesome roots when giving away his royal capital; it is so that sentient beings may all be entirely able to adorn and purify every buddha-land.
The dedication's final vow returns, almost in mirror image, to what was just given away: "may all sentient beings adorn and purify every world in the ten directions, offering them to every buddha." A single capital, relinquished to one beggar, is dedicated toward every world becoming an offering — the smallest possible gift and the largest possible one, joined by the same underlying gesture of letting go.
Part 317 Complete
This closes the section on giving away the royal capital (施王都) within the sixth dedication. Chapter 25 continues in Part 318 as the bodhisattva mahāsattva gives away his own palace women, hundreds of thousands of koṭis of nayutas of them, beautiful and accomplished, without a single thought of attachment toward any one of them.