A Vast Scripture Hidden in a Mote of Dust
A single scripture, its scale matched exactly to the entire great trichiliocosm, recording every mountain, ocean, and heavenly palace within it in equal measure, is shown resting whole inside a single mote of dust — and inside every mote of dust besides. A clear-sighted person breaks the dust open to release it, and the tathāgata is revealed doing the very same for every sentient being, each of whom already holds the tathāgata's own complete wisdom, sealed away only by their own false thought.
Breaking Open a Single Mote of Dust
A scripture equal in scale to the entire universe, recording every part of it in matching measure, sits folded whole inside one mote of dust and every other mote besides — and a single act of breaking that dust open becomes the tathāgata's own teaching, freeing a wisdom that was never actually missing, only unrecognized.
「復次，佛子！如來智慧無處不至。何以故？無一眾生而不具有如來智慧，但以妄想顛倒執著而不證得；若離妄想，一切智、自然智、無礙智則得現前。佛子！譬如有大經卷，量等三千大千世界，書寫三千大千世界中事，一切皆盡。所謂：書寫大鐵圍山中事，量等大鐵圍山；書寫大地中事，量等大地；書寫中千世界中事，量等中千世界；書寫小千世界中事，量等小千世界；如是，若四天下，若大海，若須彌山，若地天宮殿，若欲界空居天宮殿，若色界宮殿，若無色界宮殿，一一書寫，其量悉等。此大經卷雖復量等大千世界，而全住在一微塵中；如一微塵，一切微塵皆亦如是。時，有一人智慧明達，具足成就清淨天眼，見此經卷在微塵內，於諸眾生無少利益，即作是念：『我當以精進力，破彼微塵，出此經卷，令得饒益一切眾生。』作是念已，即起方便，破彼微塵，出此大經，令諸眾生普得饒益。如於一塵，一切微塵應知悉然。
"Furthermore, Sons of the Buddha! There is nowhere the tathāgata's wisdom fails to reach. Why is this? There is not a single sentient being who does not fully possess the tathāgata's own wisdom; it is only through false thought, inversion, and attachment that they fail to realize it. If they depart from false thought, then all-knowing wisdom, spontaneous wisdom, and unobstructed wisdom would at once appear before them. Sons of the Buddha! It is like there being a great scripture, its scale equal to the great trichiliocosm, which records everything within the great trichiliocosm, leaving nothing whatsoever unrecorded — namely, recording everything within the great encircling mountains, its scale equal to the great encircling mountains; recording everything within the great earth, its scale equal to the great earth; recording everything within a middling thousand-world system, its scale equal to that middling thousand-world system; recording everything within a small thousand-world system, its scale equal to that small thousand-world system; and likewise for the four continents, for the great ocean, for Sumeru, for the earth-gods' palaces, for the palaces of the desire realm's sky-dwelling gods, for the palaces of the form realm, and for the palaces of the formless realm, each one recorded with its scale in every case exactly matching. Although this great scripture is equal in scale to the great trichiliocosm, it dwells entirely within a single mote of dust; and just as with this one mote of dust, so it is with every mote of dust as well. At that time, there was a person of clear and penetrating wisdom, fully accomplished in the pure heavenly eye, who saw this scripture within the mote of dust bringing not the slightest benefit to any sentient being, and at once thought: 'I should, through the power of diligence, break open that mote of dust and bring forth this scripture, so that it may benefit every sentient being.' Having thought this, he at once took up a skillful means, broke open that mote of dust, and brought forth this great scripture, so that every sentient being universally obtained its benefit. Just as with this one mote of dust, you should know it to be likewise so with every mote of dust.
佛子！如來智慧亦復如是，無量無礙，普能利益一切眾生，具足在於眾生身中；但諸凡愚妄想執著，不知不覺，不得利益。爾時，如來以無障礙清淨智眼，普觀法界一切眾生而作是言：『奇哉！奇哉！此諸眾生云何具有如來智慧，愚癡迷惑，不知不見？我當教以聖道，令其永離妄想執著，自於身中得見如來廣大智慧與佛無異。』即教彼眾生修習聖道，令離妄想；離妄想已，證得如來無量智慧，利益安樂一切眾生。佛子！是為如來心第十相，諸菩薩摩訶薩應如是知。
Sons of the Buddha! The tathāgata's own wisdom is likewise just the same: measureless and unobstructed, universally able to benefit every sentient being, fully present within every sentient being's own body; it is only that every ordinary, foolish being, through false thought and attachment, neither knows nor perceives it, and so fails to obtain its benefit. At that time, the tathāgata, with the pure eye of unobstructed wisdom, universally observed every sentient being throughout the dharma-realm, and declared: 'How extraordinary! How extraordinary! How is it that these sentient beings, though fully possessing the tathāgata's own wisdom, remain ignorant and deluded, neither knowing nor seeing it? I should teach them the noble path, causing them to forever depart from false thought and attachment, so that within their very own bodies they may come to see the tathāgata's own vast wisdom, no different at all from a buddha's own.' He then taught those sentient beings to cultivate the noble path, causing them to depart from false thought; having departed from false thought, they realized the tathāgata's own measureless wisdom, benefiting and bringing ease to every sentient being. Sons of the Buddha! This is the tenth mark of the tathāgata's mind — bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should know it thus.
無一眾生而不具有如來智慧，但以妄想顛倒執著而不證得 — there is not a single sentient being who does not fully possess the tathāgata's own wisdom; it is only through false thought, inversion, and attachment that they fail to realize it. This closing mark of the entire section on the tathāgata's mind states its central claim before the parable even begins, so that the mote of dust and its hidden scripture arrive already as an illustration rather than a mystery to be solved — the point was given first, and the image exists only to make it vivid: what is broken open was never absent, only unopened.
Part 666 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-seven, 如來出現品, in fascicle fifty-one. Part 667 continues with Samantabhadra's closing summary of the entire teaching on the tathāgata's mind, and his verse recap beginning with the claim that a buddha's own wisdom depends on nothing at all, just as space depends on nothing.