Ten Kinds of Dwelling Place, Ten Kinds of Place of Conduct
Ten kinds of dwelling place move through the four immeasurables — loving-kindness, compassion, joy, equanimity — before continuing into emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. Ten kinds of place of conduct then follow with a striking inclusion: ordinary conversation and amusement with sentient beings named as a legitimate place of conduct, used to teach beings and lead them away from it.
Ordinary Conversation as a Place of Practice
The seventh place of conduct stands out from the rest of this list: rather than a lofty state like samādhi or the site of awakening, it names mingling in ordinary conversation and amusement with sentient beings as a legitimate place of bodhisattva conduct — not indulged in for its own sake, but taken up precisely so that beings can be taught and led permanently away from it.
佛子！菩薩摩訶薩有十種所住處。何等為十？所謂；以大慈為所住處，於一切眾生心平等故；以大悲為所住處，不輕未學故；以大喜為所住處，離一切憂惱故；以大捨為所住處，於有為、無為平等故；以一切波羅蜜為所住處，菩提心為首故；以一切空為所住處，善巧觀察故；以無相為所住處，不出正位故；以無願為所住處，觀察受生故；以念慧為所住處，忍法成滿故；以一切法平等為所住處，得授記別故。是為十。若諸菩薩安住此法，則得如來無上無礙所住處。
"Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva has ten kinds of dwelling place. What are these ten? Namely: dwelling in great loving-kindness, because their mind is equal toward every sentient being; dwelling in great compassion, because they never look down on those who have not yet learned; dwelling in great joy, because they are free of every sorrow and distress; dwelling in great equanimity, because they are equal toward the conditioned and the unconditioned; dwelling in every pāramitā, because the mind of awakening comes first; dwelling in every emptiness, because they skillfully observe it; dwelling in signlessness, because they never depart from the right position; dwelling in wishlessness, because they observe the taking of birth; dwelling in mindfulness and wisdom, because the dharma of acceptance is brought to complete fulfillment; and dwelling in the equality of every dharma, because they attain the distinct prediction of awakening. These are the ten. If bodhisattvas abide within this dharma, they attain the tathāgata's own unsurpassed, unobstructed dwelling place.
「佛子！菩薩摩訶薩有十種所行處。何等為十？所謂：以正念為所行處，滿足念處故；以諸趣為所行處，正覺法趣故；以智慧為所行處，得佛歡喜故；以波羅蜜為所行處，滿足一切智智故；以四攝為所行處，教化眾生故；以生死為所行處，積集善根故；以與一切眾生雜談戲為所行處，隨應教化令永離故；以神通為所行處，知一切眾生諸根境界故；以善巧方便為所行處，般若波羅蜜相應故；以道場為所行處，成一切智而不斷菩薩行故。是為十。若諸菩薩安住此法，則得如來無上大智慧所行處。
Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva has ten kinds of place of conduct. What are these ten? Namely: taking right mindfulness as their place of conduct, because it fulfills the foundations of mindfulness; taking every destiny as their place of conduct, because they rightly awaken to the destination of the dharma; taking wisdom as their place of conduct, because it brings the buddha's own joy; taking the pāramitās as their place of conduct, because it fulfills all-knowing wisdom itself; taking the four means of attraction as their place of conduct, because it teaches and transforms sentient beings; taking birth and death as their place of conduct, because it accumulates roots of goodness; taking mingling in every kind of conversation and amusement with sentient beings as their place of conduct, because it teaches them in accordance with what is fitting, causing them to leave it forever behind; taking spiritual penetration as their place of conduct, because it knows the domain of every sentient being's own faculties; taking skillful means as their place of conduct, because it accords with the perfection of wisdom; and taking the site of awakening as their place of conduct, because it accomplishes all-knowing wisdom without ever interrupting bodhisattva practice. These are the ten. If bodhisattvas abide within this dharma, they attain the tathāgata's own unsurpassed, great place of conduct of wisdom.
以與一切眾生雜談戲為所行處，隨應教化令永離故 — taking mingling in every kind of conversation and amusement with sentient beings as their place of conduct, because it teaches them in accordance with what is fitting, causing them to leave it forever behind. This entry does not treat idle talk and amusement as something to avoid; it names participation in it directly as a place of bodhisattva conduct, justified entirely by the teaching that eventually leads beings permanently away from it.
Part 766 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-eight, 離世間品, in fascicle fifty-seven. Part 767 opens ten kinds of observation, beginning with observing every karmic deed and seeing even its most subtle detail in full.