From Heavenly Palaces to Hell Itself
The compassion driving these gateways of teaching is named as equal — equal compassion, equal vow, equal wisdom, equal skillful means — and that equality is proven not in words but in destination: the same bodhisattvas travel just as readily to hell as to the palace of Brahmā himself.
Seven Ways to Be Reached
No single doorway is assumed to work for every being: some are tamed by sight, some by sound, some merely by memory, and some by nothing more than a single ray of light — seven distinct openings named here, each sufficient on its own.
所謂：或往天宮，或往龍宮，或往夜叉、乾闥婆、阿脩羅、迦樓羅、緊那羅、摩睺羅伽宮，或往梵王宮，或往人王宮，或往閻羅王宮，或往畜生、餓鬼、地獄之所住處，以平等大悲、平等大願、平等智慧、平等方便攝諸眾生。或有見已而調伏者，或有聞已而調伏者，或有憶念而調伏者，或聞音聲而調伏者，或聞名號而調伏者，或見圓光而調伏者，或見光網而調伏者；隨諸眾生心之所樂，皆詣其所令其獲益。
Namely: they go, in some cases, to the palaces of devas; in other cases, to the palaces of nāgas; in other cases, to the palaces of yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas; in other cases, to the palace of Brahmā the king; in other cases, to the palace of human kings; in other cases, to the palace of Yama the king; and in other cases, to the very abodes of animals, hungry ghosts, and hell — gathering in every sentient being through equal great compassion, equal great vows, equal wisdom, and equal skillful means. Some beings are tamed simply by seeing them; some are tamed simply by hearing of them; some are tamed simply by remembering them; some are tamed by hearing their own voice; some are tamed by hearing their own name; some are tamed by seeing their own perfect halo of light; and some are tamed by seeing their own net of light. According to what each sentient being's own mind delights in, they go to that very place, causing that being to gain benefit.
或往畜生、餓鬼、地獄之所住處，以平等大悲、平等大願、平等智慧、平等方便攝諸眾生 — they go to the very abodes of animals, hungry ghosts, and hell, gathering in every sentient being through equal great compassion. This is the same equality named earlier in this fascicle's own closing vow, to endure every hell rather than be parted from the Buddha — here it is enacted directly, the bodhisattvas themselves traveling to hell not as punishment endured, but as compassion extended without exception.
Part 885 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-nine, 入法界品, in fascicle sixty-one. Part 886 turns to a further catalog of the specific settings in which these bodhisattvas manifest — adorned palaces, ordinary streets, and the very homes of sentient beings themselves.