The Ten Grounds Named
The buddhas of the ten directions touch Vajragarbha Bodhisattva's own crown with their right hands, and he rises from samādhi to address the whole assembly — naming, for the first time in this chapter, all ten bodhisattva grounds by name, from Pramuditā, the Ground of Joy, to Dharmameghā, the Ground of the Dharma-Cloud, taught by every buddha throughout the three times, in every buddha-land without a single exception.
Gifts of Body, Speech, and Mind
Before touching his crown, the buddhas of the ten directions grant Vajragarbha ten further gifts — an unrivaled body, unobstructed eloquence, wisdom that never forgets — each one explained by a matching reason: his own original vow, his purified mind, his wheel of wisdom, sealed by the very wisdom of the dharma-realm.
爾時，十方諸佛與金剛藏菩薩無能映奪身，與無礙樂說辯，與善分別清淨智，與善憶念不忘力，與善決定明了慧，與至一切處開悟智，與成道自在力，與如來無所畏，與一切智人觀察分別諸法門辯才智，與一切如來上妙身、語、意具足莊嚴。何以故？得此三昧法如是故，本願所起故，善淨深心故，善淨智輪故，善積集助道故，善修治所作故，念其無量法器故，知其清淨信解故，得無錯謬總持故，法界智印善印故。爾時，十方諸佛各伸右手摩金剛藏菩薩頂。
Then the buddhas of the ten directions granted Vajragarbha Bodhisattva a body no one could outshine, granted him unobstructed and delightful eloquence, granted him wisdom skillfully discriminating and pure, granted him the power of skillful mindfulness that never forgets, granted him wisdom skillfully resolute and clear, granted him wisdom that awakens wherever it reaches, granted him the sovereign power of accomplishing the path, granted him the fearlessness of a Tathāgata, granted him the eloquent wisdom of one who is omniscient, contemplating and discriminating every gate of the Dharma, and granted him every Tathāgata's own supreme, wondrous body, speech, and mind, fully adorned. Why is this? Because he has attained the very Dharma of this samādhi in this way; because it arose from his own original vow; because his profound mind is well purified; because his wheel of wisdom is well purified; because he has well accumulated what assists the path; because he has well cultivated and perfected what he has undertaken; because he is mindful of the immeasurable vessels of the Dharma; because he knows their pure faith and understanding; because he has attained dhāraṇī free of error; and because he has been well sealed with the wisdom-seal of the dharma-realm. Then the buddhas of the ten directions each extended their right hand and touched the crown of Vajragarbha Bodhisattva's own head.
Every gift the buddhas grant is matched, clause for clause, with a reason drawn from Vajragarbha's own prior cultivation — nothing here is bestowed arbitrarily. The empowerment reads less like a gift given to someone unprepared and more like a recognition finally catching up with a preparation that had already been complete.
Ten Grounds, Named for the First Time
Rising from samādhi, Vajragarbha addresses the whole assembly and names, one by one, all ten grounds of a bodhisattva's own wisdom — the very teaching every buddha throughout the three times has taught, is teaching, and will teach, in every buddha-land without a single exception.
摩頂已，金剛藏菩薩從三昧起，普告一切菩薩眾言：「諸佛子！諸菩薩願善決定，無雜不可見，廣大如法界，究竟如虛空，盡未來際遍一切佛剎，救護一切眾生，為一切諸佛所護，入過去、未來、現在諸佛智地。佛子！何等為菩薩摩訶薩智地？佛子！菩薩摩訶薩智地有十種，過去、未來、現在諸佛，已說、當說、今說；我亦如是說。何等為十？一者歡喜地，二者離垢地，三者發光地，四者焰慧地，五者難勝地，六者現前地，七者遠行地，八者不動地，九者善慧地，十者法雲地。佛子！此菩薩十地，三世諸佛已說、當說、今說。佛子！我不見有諸佛國土，其中如來不說此十地者。何以故？此是菩薩摩訶薩向菩提最上道，亦是清淨法光明門，所謂：分別演說菩薩諸地。佛子！此處不可思議，所謂諸菩薩隨證智。
Having touched his crown, Vajragarbha Bodhisattva rose from samādhi and universally addressed the whole assembly of bodhisattvas, saying: "Children of the Buddha! Every bodhisattva's own vow is well resolute, unmixed, and invisible, vast as the dharma-realm, ultimate as empty space, extending to the very end of future time throughout every buddha-land, rescuing and protecting every sentient being, protected by every buddha, entering the ground of wisdom of every buddha, past, future, and present. Child of the Buddha! What is a bodhisattva mahāsattva's own ground of wisdom? Child of the Buddha! A bodhisattva mahāsattva's own ground of wisdom is of ten kinds — every buddha of the past has already taught it, every buddha of the future will teach it, and every buddha of the present now teaches it; I too shall teach it in just this way. What are the ten? The first is Pramuditā, the Ground of Joy; the second is Vimalā, the Ground Free of Defilement; the third is Prabhākarī, the Luminous Ground; the fourth is Arciṣmatī, the Blazing Ground; the fifth is Sudurjayā, the Ground Difficult to Conquer; the sixth is Abhimukhī, the Ground of Direct Presence; the seventh is Dūraṅgamā, the Far-Reaching Ground; the eighth is Acalā, the Immovable Ground; the ninth is Sādhumatī, the Ground of Excellent Wisdom; and the tenth is Dharmameghā, the Ground of the Dharma-Cloud. Child of the Buddha! These ten bodhisattva grounds, every buddha throughout the three times has already taught, will teach, and now teaches. Child of the Buddha! I have never seen any buddha-land in which the Tathāgata does not teach these ten grounds. Why is this? Because this is a bodhisattva mahāsattva's own most supreme path toward enlightenment, and also the gate of the pure Dharma's own light — namely, the discriminating exposition of every bodhisattva ground. Child of the Buddha! This place is inconceivable — namely, the wisdom every bodhisattva realizes according to their own attainment.
"I have never seen any buddha-land in which the Tathāgata does not teach these ten grounds" is a remarkable claim of universality for a teaching not yet explained at all — the ten grounds are named here only as a bare list of ten Sanskrit terms, with not a single quality of any of them yet described. Their importance is established before their content is; the naming itself is treated as momentous enough to warrant this claim on its own.
Part 399 Complete
This continues the opening of the Ten Grounds chapter. Chapter 26 continues in Part 400 as Vajragarbha Bodhisattva, having named all ten grounds, falls silent — and the assembly of bodhisattvas, eager to hear what each ground actually contains, turns to ask why he has not yet begun to explain them.