Becoming the Eye Through Which All Beings See
The true-suchness similes continue: suchness pervades every time; so does this dedication. Suchness remains pure while never leaving the world; so does this dedication. And then, among the twenty comparisons in this Part, one of the most striking images in the whole series — just as true suchness becomes the very eye through which every dharma is seen, so too does the dedication of wholesome roots become the eye through which every sentient being sees.
Pure While Abiding in the World
"It abides within the world while its very essence remains pure" captures something this whole dedication has circled around since Part 343: not escape from the world, but a purity that survives full immersion in it. The similes that follow extend the same logic — profundity without display, tranquility that still moves through everything, an eye that lets others see rather than merely seeing for itself.
譬如真如，遍一切時；善根迴向亦復如是，遍一切時。譬如真如，性常清淨；善根迴向亦復如是，住於世間而體清淨。譬如真如，於法無礙；善根迴向亦復如是，周行一切而無所礙。譬如真如，為眾法眼；善根迴向亦復如是，能為一切眾生作眼。譬如真如，性無勞倦；善根迴向亦復如是，修行一切菩薩諸行恒無勞倦。譬如真如，體性甚深；善根迴向亦復如是，其性甚深。譬如真如，無有一物；善根迴向亦復如是，了知其性無有一物。譬如真如，性非出現；善根迴向亦復如是，其體微妙，難可得見。譬如真如，離眾垢翳；善根迴向亦復如是，慧眼清淨，離諸癡翳。譬如真如，性無與等；善根迴向亦復如是，成就一切諸菩薩行最上無等。譬如真如，體性寂靜；善根迴向亦復如是，善能隨順寂靜之法。譬如真如，無有根本；善根迴向亦復如是，能入一切無根本法。譬如真如，體性無邊；善根迴向亦復如是，淨諸眾生，其數無邊。譬如真如，體性無著；善根迴向亦復如是，畢竟遠離一切諸著。譬如真如，無有障礙；善根迴向亦復如是，除滅一切世間障礙。譬如真如，非世所行；善根迴向亦復如是，非諸世間之所能行。譬如真如，體性無住；善根迴向亦復如是，一切生死皆非所住。譬如真如，性無所作；善根迴向亦復如是，一切所作悉皆捨離。譬如真如，體性安住；善根迴向亦復如是，安住真實。譬如真如，與一切法而共相應；善根迴向亦復如是，與諸菩薩聽聞修習而共相應。
Just as true suchness pervades every time, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it pervades every time. Just as true suchness's nature is forever pure, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it abides within the world while its very essence remains pure. Just as true suchness is unobstructed regarding any dharma, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it moves through everything without any obstruction. Just as true suchness becomes the eye for every dharma, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it is able to become the eye for every sentient being. Just as true suchness's nature is never wearied, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: cultivating every bodhisattva practice, it is forever without weariness. Just as true suchness's very essence is profound, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: its own nature is profound. Just as true suchness is not a single thing, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it clearly knows its own nature to be not a single thing. Just as true suchness's nature does not manifest itself, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: its very essence is subtle and wondrous, difficult to behold. Just as true suchness leaves behind every defiling cloud, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: its eye of wisdom is pure, leaving behind every clouding delusion. Just as true suchness's nature has nothing equal to it, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it accomplishes every bodhisattva practice, foremost and without equal. Just as true suchness's very essence is tranquil, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it is skillfully able to accord with the dharma of tranquility. Just as true suchness has no root or basis, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it is able to enter every dharma that has no root or basis. Just as true suchness's very essence is boundless, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it purifies sentient beings whose number is boundless. Just as true suchness's very essence is unattached, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it ultimately leaves behind every attachment. Just as true suchness has no obstruction, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it extinguishes every worldly obstruction. Just as true suchness is not something the world can traverse, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it is not something any world is able to traverse. Just as true suchness's very essence does not abide anywhere, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it abides nowhere within birth and death at all. Just as true suchness's nature does nothing at all, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it entirely relinquishes everything done. Just as true suchness's very essence abides securely, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it abides securely in the true and real. Just as true suchness corresponds together with every dharma, so too is this dedication of wholesome roots: it corresponds together with every bodhisattva's own listening and practice.
"It is able to become the eye for every sentient being" reframes what a dedication actually does: not merely redirecting merit toward others, but becoming a faculty of perception that others can see through — an image that recurs across this sūtra whenever it wants to describe wisdom's most intimate form of generosity.
Part 349 Complete
This continues the eighth dedication's series of true-suchness similes. Chapter 25 continues in Part 350 as the comparisons turn toward equality within every dharma and a manifestation of great spiritual power throughout the ten directions, achieving true and complete enlightenment.