A House Given Away, A Household Kept
Having given away his wife and children, the bodhisattva now gives away the house that held them — knowing, the passage says, that "a household is easily destroyed," he wearies of it entirely and wishes only to go forth. Yet the ten dedication-vows that follow split into two distinct paths: some sentient beings are wished the foremost happiness of leaving household life behind entirely, while others are wished a household life in which the mind remains wholly unattached, abiding in the ground of buddhahood while still appearing to live an ordinary domestic life.
Two Paths, One Same Freedom
Where the earlier gifts of wife and children pointed toward renunciation as the single clear direction, this dedication opens a second possibility: a being can remain "in the very ground of household life" and still "abide in the ground of buddhahood" — teaching, guiding, and expounding wisdom without ever formally leaving. Going forth and staying home are treated here not as opposite outcomes but as two equally valid expressions of the same underlying freedom from attachment.
「佛子！菩薩摩訶薩莊嚴舍宅及諸資具，隨有乞求，一切施與，行布施法；於家無著，遠離一切居家覺觀，厭惡家業、資生之具，不貪不味，心無繫著；知家易壞，心恒厭捨，都於其中無所愛樂；但欲出家修菩薩行，以諸佛法而自莊嚴；一切悉捨，心無中悔，常為諸佛之所讚歎；舍宅、財物，隨處所有，悉以惠施，心無戀著；見有乞求，心生喜慶。菩薩爾時，以此善根如是迴向，所謂：『願一切眾生捨離妻子，成就出家第一之樂；願一切眾生解脫家縛，入於非家，諸佛法中修行梵行；願一切眾生捨離慳垢，樂一切施，心無退轉；願一切眾生永離家法，少欲知足，無所藏積；願一切眾生出世俗家，住如來家；願一切眾生得無礙法，滅除一切障礙之道；願一切眾生離家屬愛，雖現居家，心無所著；願一切眾生善能化誘，不離家法，說佛智慧；願一切眾生身現在家，心常隨順佛智而住；願一切眾生在居家地，住於佛地，普令無量無邊眾生發歡喜心。』是為菩薩摩訶薩布施舍宅時善根迴向，為令眾生成就菩薩種種行願神通智故。
"Child of the Buddha! The bodhisattva mahāsattva adorns his own house and every household good, and whenever there is anyone who begs for them, he gives them all away entirely, practicing the dharma of giving; toward his household, he holds no attachment, forever leaving behind every thought and reflection bound up with household life, disdaining household affairs and every means of livelihood, neither coveting nor savoring them, his mind free of any bond; knowing that a household is easily destroyed, his mind forever wearies of it and relinquishes it, taking no delight in it at all; he wishes only to go forth and cultivate a bodhisattva's own practice, adorning himself with the Dharma of every buddha; he relinquishes everything entirely, his mind never regretting midway, forever praised by every buddha; his house and every possession, whatever he has in any place, he gives away entirely with kindness, his mind free of longing attachment; whenever he sees someone begging, his mind gives rise to joy and celebration. The bodhisattva then, with this wholesome root, dedicates it in this way, namely: 'May all sentient beings relinquish wife and children, accomplishing the foremost happiness of going forth; may all sentient beings be liberated from the bond of household life, entering the homeless state, cultivating pure conduct within the Dharma of every buddha; may all sentient beings relinquish the defilement of stinginess, delighting in every kind of giving, their minds never regressing; may all sentient beings forever leave behind the dharma of household life, having few desires and being content with what they have, storing up and hoarding nothing at all; may all sentient beings leave the household of worldly convention, and abide within the household of the Tathāgata; may all sentient beings obtain the unobstructed dharma, extinguishing every obstructing path; may all sentient beings leave behind fondness for household kin, and though they still appear to dwell within a household, their minds remain unattached to anything; may all sentient beings be well able to teach and guide others without ever leaving the dharma of household life, expounding the Buddha's own wisdom; may all sentient beings, their bodies still appearing within a household, have their minds forever abide in accordance with the Buddha's own wisdom; may all sentient beings, while in the very ground of household life, abide in the ground of buddhahood, universally causing immeasurable, boundless sentient beings to give rise to a mind of joy.' This is the bodhisattva mahāsattva's dedication of wholesome roots when giving away his house; it is so that sentient beings may accomplish every kind of practice, vow, spiritual power, and wisdom of a bodhisattva.
"Be well able to teach and guide others without ever leaving the dharma of household life" reads almost as a quiet correction to the assumption that renunciation is the only serious path: someone who stays within an ordinary household can still expound the Buddha's own wisdom to others, so long as the mind inside that household has already let go of everything the earlier vows describe leaving behind.
Part 321 Complete
This closes the section on giving away one's house (施舍宅) within the sixth dedication. Chapter 25 continues in Part 322 as the bodhisattva mahāsattva gives away his own gardens, groves, and every place of pleasure and delight, vowing to become a compassionate father and a compassionate mother to every sentient being.