Groundless, Yet Everything Rests Upon It
Four wind-wheels hold up the water that holds up the earth, resting finally on empty space, which itself rests on nothing at all — a chain the tathāgata's own four wind-wheels of great wisdom repeat exactly, tracing great compassion back through skillful means and the tathāgata's own appearance to an unobstructed wisdom-light with no support of its own; the tenth mark then matches a world's differing benefits to a tathāgata's own differing gifts.
A Chain With Nothing at the Bottom
The physical world rests on a chain of supports that ends in nothing supporting anything; the tathāgata's own compassion is shown resting on exactly such a chain, before the tenth mark closes this run of similes by matching a world's differing gifts to a tathāgata's own.
「復次，佛子！如依虛空起四風輪，能持水輪。何等為四？一名：安住，二名：常住，三名：究竟，四名：堅固。此四風輪能持水輪，水輪能持大地令不散壞。是故說：地輪依水輪，水輪依風輪，風輪依虛空，虛空無所依。雖無所依，能令三千大千世界而得安住。佛子！如來出現亦復如是，依無礙慧光明起佛四種大智風輪，能持一切眾生善根。何等為四？所謂：普攝眾生皆令歡喜大智風輪，建立正法令諸眾生皆生愛樂大智風輪，守護一切眾生善根大智風輪，具一切方便通達無漏界大智風輪。是為四。佛子！諸佛世尊，大慈救護一切眾生，大悲度脫一切眾生，大慈大悲普遍饒益。然大慈大悲依大方便善巧，大方便善巧依如來出現，如來出現依無礙慧光明，無礙慧光明無有所依。佛子！是為如來、應、正等覺出現第九相，菩薩摩訶薩應如是知。
"Furthermore, Sons of the Buddha! It is like how, resting upon empty space, four wind-wheels arise that are able to support the water-wheel. What are these four? The first is named Dwelling Securely; the second is named Constantly Abiding; the third is named Ultimate; the fourth is named Firm. These four wind-wheels are able to support the water-wheel, and the water-wheel is able to support the great earth, keeping it from scattering and falling apart. This is why it is said: the earth-wheel rests upon the water-wheel, the water-wheel rests upon the wind-wheel, the wind-wheel rests upon empty space, and empty space rests upon nothing at all. Although it rests upon nothing, it is nonetheless able to cause the great trichiliocosm to dwell securely. Sons of the Buddha! The tathāgata's appearance is likewise just the same: resting upon the light of unobstructed wisdom, four kinds of wind-wheels of the buddha's own great wisdom arise, able to support the wholesome root of every sentient being. What are these four? They are: the wind-wheel of great wisdom that universally embraces sentient beings and causes them all to rejoice; the wind-wheel of great wisdom that establishes the true dharma and causes every sentient being to give rise to fondness and delight for it; the wind-wheel of great wisdom that guards and protects the wholesome root of every sentient being; and the wind-wheel of great wisdom that is endowed with every skillful means and penetrates the undefiled realm. This is the four. Sons of the Buddha! Every buddha, every world-honored one, rescues and protects every sentient being through great loving-kindness, and delivers every sentient being through great compassion, this great loving-kindness and great compassion benefiting all universally. Yet this great loving-kindness and great compassion rests upon great skillful means, great skillful means rests upon the tathāgata's own appearance, the tathāgata's own appearance rests upon the light of unobstructed wisdom, and the light of unobstructed wisdom rests upon nothing at all. Sons of the Buddha! This is the ninth mark of the appearance of the tathāgata, the worthy one, the perfectly and fully awakened one — a bodhisattva-mahāsattva should know it thus.
「復次，佛子！譬如三千大千世界既成就已，饒益無量種種眾生。所謂：水族眾生得水饒益，陸地眾生得地饒益，宮殿眾生得宮殿饒益，虛空眾生得虛空饒益。如來出現亦復如是，種種饒益無量眾生。所謂：見佛生歡喜者，得歡喜益；住淨戒者，得淨戒益；住諸禪定及無量者，得聖出世大神通益；住法門光明者，得因果不壞益；住無所有光明者，得一切法不壞益。是故說言：『如來出現，饒益一切無量眾生。』佛子！是為如來、應、正等覺出現第十相，菩薩摩訶薩應如是知。
"Furthermore, Sons of the Buddha! It is like how, once the great trichiliocosm has already been formed, it benefits measureless and manifold sentient beings: beings of the water receive the benefit of water, beings of the land receive the benefit of land, beings of the palaces receive the benefit of palaces, and beings of empty space receive the benefit of empty space. The tathāgata's appearance is likewise just the same, benefiting measureless sentient beings in every manner: those who rejoice upon seeing the buddha receive the benefit of joy; those who dwell in pure precepts receive the benefit of pure precepts; those who dwell in every dhyāna and every immeasurable state receive the benefit of the great, transmundane, noble spiritual powers; those who dwell in the light of the dharma-gates receive the benefit of unbroken cause and effect; and those who dwell in the light of no possession at all receive the benefit of every dharma being unbroken. For this reason it is said: 'The tathāgata's appearance benefits every measureless sentient being.' Sons of the Buddha! This is the tenth mark of the appearance of the tathāgata, the worthy one, the perfectly and fully awakened one — a bodhisattva-mahāsattva should know it thus.
虛空無所依。雖無所依，能令三千大千世界而得安住 — empty space rests upon nothing at all. Although it rests upon nothing, it is nonetheless able to cause the great trichiliocosm to dwell securely. The ninth mark's chain of supports — earth on water, water on wind, wind on space — terminates deliberately in groundlessness rather than in some ultimate foundation, and the tathāgata's own compassion is shown resting on an identical chain, ending in an unobstructed wisdom-light that likewise rests on nothing: security, in both cases, does not require a final resting place.
Part 644 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-seven, 如來出現品, in fascicle fifty. Part 645 continues with Samantabhadra's own summary of what it means to truly know the tathāgata's appearance, and his verse restatement of the entire teaching so far.