The Ten Abodes Begin, Resolve and the Ground
Having just been empowered by a thousand buddhas bearing his own name, Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva now teaches what he has been entrusted with: the bodhisattva's Ten Abodes, each a distinct stage of the path, named all at once and then unfolded one by one. This Part covers the first two in full — the Abode of the Initial Resolve, where the awakening-mind is first born, and the Abode of Cultivating the Ground, where compassion toward every living being takes root.
The Ten Abodes, Named
Dharma Wisdom Bodhisattva opens by declaring the bodhisattva's own abode as vast as the Dharma-realm itself, then names all ten abodes at once before teaching each in turn.
「佛子！菩薩住處廣大，與法界虛空等。佛子！菩薩住三世諸佛家，彼菩薩住，我今當說。諸佛子！菩薩住有十種，過去、未來、現在諸佛，已說、當說、今說。何者為十？所謂：初發心住、治地住、修行住、生貴住、具足方便住、正心住、不退住、童真住、王子住、灌頂住。是名菩薩十住，去、來、現在諸佛所說。
"Son of the Buddha! The bodhisattva's own abode is vast and expansive, equal to the Dharma-realm and to empty space itself. Son of the Buddha! The bodhisattva abides within the very household of the buddhas of the three periods of time; that abiding of the bodhisattva, I shall now proclaim. Sons of the Buddha! The bodhisattva's abodes are of ten kinds, which the buddhas of the past, the future, and the present have already spoken of, shall speak of, and now speak of. What are these ten? Namely: the Abode of the Initial Resolve, the Abode of Cultivating the Ground, the Abode of Cultivating Practice, the Abode of Noble Birth, the Abode of Fully Endowed Skillful Means, the Abode of the Rectified Mind, the Abode of Non-Regression, the Abode of Youthful Innocence, the Abode of the Dharma-Prince, and the Abode of Consecration. These are called the bodhisattva's Ten Abodes, spoken of by the buddhas of the past, the future, and the present.
The First Abode: The Initial Resolve
The awakening-mind is born from encountering the Buddha directly — his form, his powers, a prophecy overheard, a teaching on suffering — and grows from ten kinds of wisdom that are otherwise hard to obtain, cultivated further through ten practices meant to deepen the bodhisattva's own understanding without depending on another's instruction.
「佛子！云何為菩薩發心住？此菩薩見佛世尊形貌端嚴，色相圓滿，人所樂見，難可值遇，有大威力；或見神足；或聞記別；或聽教誡；或見眾生受諸劇苦；或聞如來廣大佛法，發菩提心，求一切智。此菩薩緣十種難得法而發於心。何者為十？所謂：是處非處智、善惡業報智、諸根勝劣智、種種解差別智、種種界差別智、一切至處道智、諸禪解脫三昧智、宿命無礙智、天眼無礙智、三世漏普盡智。是為十。佛子！此菩薩應勸學十法。何者為十？所謂：勤供養佛、樂住生死、主導世間令除惡業、以勝妙法常行教誨、歎無上法、學佛功德、生諸佛前恒蒙攝受、方便演說寂靜三昧、讚歎遠離生死輪迴、為苦眾生作歸依處。何以故？欲令菩薩於佛法中心轉增廣；有所聞法，即自開解，不由他教故。
"Son of the Buddha! What is meant by the bodhisattva's Abode of the Initial Resolve? This bodhisattva, seeing the Buddha, the World-Honored One, whose bodily form is upright and dignified, whose bodily marks are perfectly complete, whom people delight to behold, whom it is difficult to encounter, and who possesses great awesome power — or seeing his own miraculous powers of movement; or hearing a prophecy of future buddhahood given to another; or hearing his own admonishing instruction; or seeing living beings undergo every kind of extreme suffering; or hearing the Tathāgata's own vast and great Dharma — gives rise to the mind of bodhi, seeking omniscience. This bodhisattva gives rise to that very resolve on the basis of ten kinds of hard-to-obtain dharmas. What are these ten? Namely: the wisdom of what is and is not the case; the wisdom of the recompense of wholesome and unwholesome karma; the wisdom of the superiority and inferiority of every faculty; the wisdom of the manifold distinctions of understanding; the wisdom of the manifold distinctions of the realms; the wisdom of the path that leads to every destination; the wisdom of every meditative absorption, liberation, and samādhi; the unobstructed wisdom of past lives; the unobstructed wisdom of the heavenly eye; and the wisdom of the complete exhaustion of every defilement across the three periods of time. These are the ten. Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva should be urged to study ten further dharmas. What are these ten? Namely: diligently making offering to the buddhas; delighting to dwell within birth-and-death; guiding the world so as to remove unwholesome karma; forever instructing others with the supremely excellent Dharma; praising the unsurpassed Dharma; studying the Buddha's own merit; being born before every buddha and forever received and embraced by them; skillfully proclaiming tranquil samādhi; extolling the leaving-behind of the cycle of birth-and-death; and becoming a refuge for suffering living beings. Why is this? It is in order to cause the bodhisattva's own mind, within the Buddha's own Dharma, to turn ever more expansive; so that, whatever Dharma he hears, he opens and understands it entirely of himself, and not by means of another's teaching.
The Second Abode: Cultivating the Ground
Ten kinds of mind toward every living being — benefit, great compassion, peace, pity, guardianship — form the ground this abode cultivates, deepened further through ten disciplines of speech, learning, and settled composure.
「佛子！云何為菩薩治地住？此菩薩於諸眾生發十種心。何者為十？所謂：利益心、大悲心、安樂心、安住心、憐愍心、攝受心、守護心、同己心、師心、導師心。是為十。佛子！此菩薩應勸學十法。何者為十？所謂：誦習多聞、虛閑寂靜、近善知識、發言和悅、語必知時、心無怯怖、了達於義、如法修行、遠離愚迷、安住不動。何以故？欲令菩薩於諸眾生增長大悲；有所聞法，即自開解，不由他教故。」
"Son of the Buddha! What is meant by the bodhisattva's Abode of Cultivating the Ground? This bodhisattva gives rise to ten kinds of mind toward every living being. What are these ten? Namely: a mind of benefiting them; a mind of great compassion; a mind of bringing them peace and happiness; a mind of settling them; a mind of pity for them; a mind of gathering them in; a mind of guarding and protecting them; a mind that treats them as one's own self; a mind of being their teacher; and a mind of being their guide. These are the ten. Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva should be urged to study ten further dharmas. What are these ten? Namely: reciting and studying with great learning; being empty, at leisure, and tranquil; drawing near to good and wise friends; speaking words that are gentle and pleasing; speaking always with a knowledge of the proper time; a mind free of timidity and fear; thoroughly understanding meaning; practicing in accordance with the Dharma; staying far removed from foolishness and confusion; and abiding settled and unmoving. Why is this? It is in order to cause the bodhisattva to increase and grow great compassion toward every living being; so that, whatever Dharma he hears, he opens and understands it entirely of himself, and not by means of another's teaching."
Each of the Ten Abodes will follow this same threefold structure: what the abode consists in (ten qualities or kinds of mind), what further practice deepens it (ten more items to study), and a closing rationale — always the same one, "so that, whatever Dharma he hears, he opens and understands it entirely of himself, and not by means of another's teaching." That closing formula is worth noting from the very start: the goal at every stage is not simply accumulating more instruction, but reaching a point where further teaching becomes almost unnecessary, because understanding has become self-generating.
Part 74 Complete
This closes Part 74. Chapter 15's teaching of the Ten Abodes continues in Part 75 with the third and fourth abodes — Cultivating Practice and Noble Birth.