The Seventh Ground Complete
This bodhisattva's countless bodily, verbal, and mental actions, performed free of any fixed characteristic, culminate in his attainment of "profound remoteness, free of activity" — and a second exchange between Vimuktacandra and Vajragarbha asks from which ground onward a bodhisattva can enter the absorption of cessation, answering that he pursues the very practice of ultimate reality yet does not realize it, since he does not abandon existence. His arising of great skillful means then manifests his own body at the world's very gateway through eight named modes of practice, before the ground's closing fruit shows a bodhisattva who sees countless buddhas and becomes a king of Paranirmita-vaśavartin Heaven, and the treatise itself explains why this ground is named Dūraṅgamā through the simile of gold adorned with every jewel and, above all, the light of the sun — surpassing the previous ground's moonlight, and able to dry up every sentient being's own mire of affliction — before the treatise turns, at last, to Acalā, the Immovable Ground.
Countless Actions Free of Any Characteristic, and Profound Remoteness Free of Activity
經曰：是菩薩住此第七菩薩遠行地中，無量身業無相行、無量口業無相行、無量意業無相行，是菩薩善清淨行故，得無生法忍光明。
解脫月菩薩言：佛子！菩薩住菩薩初地，有無量身業、無量口業、無量意業，已過一切聲聞辟支佛行成。金剛藏菩薩言：佛子！觀大法故過，非是自智行力。此第七菩薩地，得自智行力觀故，一切聲聞辟支佛所不能壞。佛子！譬如王子生在王家，具足王相勝一切臣眾，以豪尊力故，非自智行力故。若身長大，自具智力所作事成，過一切臣眾。如是佛子！菩薩初發心時，已勝一切聲聞辟支佛，以深心大故。今住此第七菩薩地中，自智行住故，過一切聲聞辟支佛事。
論曰：無量三業無相行者，入定遠離相是。無量聲聞緣覺，亦有淨業遠離相，非無量相，不能利益一切眾生故。復次此無量勝餘下地事故。善清淨行者，修方便行滿足故。無生法忍光明者，相現前故。王子喻者，此地中勝過示現，修方便行滿足故。自智行住者，方便行盡念觀住故。如經「佛子！譬如王子生在王家乃至自智行住故，過一切聲聞辟支佛事」故。無量身等勝業已說。非但多無量神力，亦無量示勝義故。
經曰：諸佛子！是菩薩住此第七菩薩遠行地，得甚深遠離無行，身口意業轉求勝行而不捨離。
論曰：甚深者，遠入故。遠離者，彼障滅故。無行者，彼餘出世間世間地不能行故。身口意業轉求勝行而不捨離者，聲聞辟支佛雖離彼相，業不如是，得少為足不求上行故。如是雙行果過二乘地已說。云何得勝行？
Sūtra: This bodhisattva, dwelling within this Seventh Ground, the bodhisattva's Dūraṅgamā, [performs] countless bodily actions free of any characteristic, countless verbal actions free of any characteristic, and countless mental actions free of any characteristic. This bodhisattva, his practice well purified, attains the light of the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas.
Vimuktacandra said: Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling in the bodhisattva's First Ground already has countless bodily actions, countless verbal actions, and countless mental actions, and has already surpassed the accomplished practice of every śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha. Vajragarbha said: Son of the Buddha! He surpasses them there through contemplating the great Dharma, not through the power of his own wisdom and practice. This Seventh Ground of the bodhisattva, having attained the power of contemplation belonging to his own wisdom and practice, [is such that] no śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha is able to destroy it. Son of the Buddha! It is like a prince born into a royal house, complete with every royal mark, surpassing every minister and the multitude — through the power of noble rank, not through the power of his own wisdom and practice. But once he has grown to full stature, accomplishing every task through his own complete power of wisdom, he surpasses every minister and the multitude. Just so, son of the Buddha! At the very moment a bodhisattva first sets forth the [bodhi-]mind, he has already surpassed every śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha, through the greatness of his deep mind. Now, dwelling within this Seventh Ground of the bodhisattva, through the abiding power of his own wisdom and practice, he surpasses the very deeds of every śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha.
Commentary: "Countless actions of the three kinds, free of any characteristic" means dwelling in concentration, far removed from any [fixed] mark. Countless śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, too, have pure actions far removed from marks, yet these are not countless marks [in the same sense], since they are unable to benefit every sentient being. Furthermore, this "countless" surpasses the corresponding matter of every lower ground. "Well purified practice" means that the cultivation of skillful, expedient practice is fulfilled. "The light of the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas" means that this very mark now stands directly present. As for the simile of the prince: it makes manifest the excellence surpassing [what came before] within this ground, since the cultivation of skillful, expedient practice is fulfilled. "Abiding through the power of his own wisdom and practice" means that skillful, expedient practice, in the exhaustion of mindful contemplation, abides — as the sūtra says, from "Son of the Buddha! It is like a prince born into a royal house" all the way to "abiding through the power of his own wisdom and practice, he surpasses the very deeds of every śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha." The supreme karmic activity of countless bodily [actions] and the rest has now been explained. This "countless" is not merely a multitude of countless spiritual powers, but also makes manifest, in countless ways, its own supreme meaning.
Sūtra: Sons of the Buddha! This bodhisattva, dwelling in this Seventh Ground, the bodhisattva's Dūraṅgamā, attains profound remoteness, free of activity, and yet, in his bodily, verbal, and mental actions, ever more seeks out surpassing practice, without abandoning it.
Commentary: "Profound" means entered so far. "Remote" means that every hindrance there has been extinguished. "Free of activity" means that it is what the remaining supramundane and mundane grounds are unable to practice. "In bodily, verbal, and mental actions, ever more seeking out surpassing practice without abandoning it" means that, although the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha are also free of that [same fixed] mark, their own actions are not like this, since, content with the little they have attained, they do not seek out any higher practice. In this way, the fruit of the twofold practice surpassing the ground of the two vehicles has now been explained. What, then, is the attainment of surpassing practice?
On the prince simile, Fazang catches a subtlety in exactly what kind of "surpassing" is being claimed here, since the First Ground's own commentary already declared a bodhisattva superior to every śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha at the very moment he first sets forth the bodhi-mind. His resolution: 以四五六地寄二乘位，此地出彼，故說為過；理實已前非不過也 — "the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grounds are provisionally likened to the stage of the two vehicles, and this ground now emerges beyond that likeness; this is why it is spoken of here as 'surpassing' — in truth, [the bodhisattva] was never anything but surpassing them, even before this." The prince has not become royal for the first time; he has simply stopped needing his father's throne to prove it.
On "profound remoteness, free of activity," Fazang parses the two terms as pointing in a single direction rather than naming two separate qualities: 甚深者，遠入故者，能上入也。遠離者，彼障滅者，離前障也 — "'profound' means entered so far, in that he is able to enter upward; 'remote' means that every hindrance there has been extinguished, in that he has left every previous hindrance behind." And on why the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha, who are also said to be free of any fixed mark, still fall short of this: 二乘雖亦離相，業用不如菩薩，以少為足不上求故 — "though the two vehicles, too, are free of any [fixed] mark, the function of their actions is not like the bodhisattva's, since, content with the little they have attained, they do not seek out anything higher."
Vimuktacandra's Second Question: Entering Cessation, and the Eight Modes of Surpassing Practice
經曰：解脫月菩薩言：佛子！菩薩從何地來，能入寂滅定？金剛藏菩薩言：佛子！菩薩從第六地來，能入寂滅定，今住第七菩薩地，於念念中能入寂滅定而不證寂滅定，是菩薩畢竟成就不可思議身口意業。佛子！是諸菩薩行實際行而不證寂滅定。佛子！譬如有人乘大船舫入於大海，善知行船、善知水相，不為大海水難所害。如是佛子！菩薩住此第七菩薩地中，乘諸波羅蜜船、行實際行而不證寂滅定。
論曰：行實際行而不證寂滅定，以不捨有故。如經「金剛藏菩薩言：佛子！菩薩摩訶薩從第六地來，能入寂滅定，乃至而不證寂滅定」故。如是三摩跋提勝行已說。次說發起勝行。
經曰：菩薩如是通達三昧智力修行，起大方便智力故，現身世間門深心涅槃，雖眷屬圍遶而心常遠離，以願力受生三界而不為世間所染。心常寂滅，以方便力而還熾然，雖然不燒。隨順佛智，轉聲聞辟支佛地。通達諸佛境界藏，現魔境界。過四魔道，現行魔境界。
現諸外道行，而深心不捨佛濟。通達一切世間事，心常在出世間道法。所有莊嚴之事，勝諸天、龍、夜叉、乾闥婆、阿修羅、迦樓羅、緊那羅、摩睺羅伽、人非人、四天王、釋提桓因、梵天王而不捨樂法念。
論曰：發起殊勝行者，有八種行共對治攝：一、起功德行隨順世間門，如經「菩薩如是通達三昧智力修行，起大方便智力故，現身世間門深心涅槃」故。二、上首攝餘行，如經「雖眷屬圍遶而心常遠離」故。三、願取有行，如經「以願力受生三界，而不為世間所染」故。四、家不斷行，遠離貪欲隨煩惱使而示貪欲行事，如經「心常寂滅，以方便力而還熾然，雖然不燒」故。五、入行，如經「隨順佛智，轉聲聞辟支佛地」故。六、資生行，飲食睡夢等魔境界故，如經「通達諸佛境界藏，現魔境界」故。七、退行，示老病死此三魔境界故，如經「過四魔道，現行魔境界」故。八、轉行，有三種轉：一、見貪轉，如經「現諸外道行而深心不捨佛濟」故。
二、障礙轉，如經「通達一切世間事而心常在出世間道法」故。
三、貪轉，天龍等尊重心攝取，轉彼貪心故，如經「所有莊嚴之事勝諸天龍乃至而不捨樂法念」故。
Sūtra: Vimuktacandra said: Son of the Buddha! From which ground onward is a bodhisattva able to enter the absorption of cessation? Vajragarbha said: Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva, from the Sixth Ground onward, is able to enter the absorption of cessation. Now, dwelling in this Seventh Ground of the bodhisattva, in thought after thought he is able to enter the absorption of cessation, and yet he does not realize the absorption of cessation. This bodhisattva ultimately accomplishes inconceivable bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Son of the Buddha! These bodhisattvas pursue the very practice of ultimate reality, and yet do not realize the absorption of cessation. Son of the Buddha! It is like a person who, boarding a great ship, sets out upon the great ocean, well knowing how to sail the ship, well knowing the marks of the water, and is not harmed by any calamity of the great ocean's own waters. Just so, son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva, dwelling within this Seventh Ground of the bodhisattva, boards the ship of every perfection, pursues the very practice of ultimate reality, and yet does not realize the absorption of cessation.
Commentary: "Pursuing the very practice of ultimate reality, and yet not realizing the absorption of cessation" is because he does not abandon [conditioned] existence. As the sūtra says, from "Vajragarbha said: Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva, from the Sixth Ground onward, is able to enter the absorption of cessation," all the way to "and yet does not realize the absorption of cessation." In this way, the excellent practice of absorption has now been explained. Next, the arising of surpassing practice will be explained.
Sūtra: A bodhisattva, having in this way thoroughly penetrated the power of samādhi-wisdom and cultivated his practice, gives rise to the power of great skillful means, and manifests his own body at the very gateway of the world, his deep mind [set upon] nirvāṇa. Though surrounded by his own retinue, his mind is constantly far removed [from it]; through the power of vow he takes birth within the three realms, and yet is not tainted by the world. His mind constantly quiescent, through the power of skillful means he yet blazes forth once more, and though blazing, is not burned. According with the buddhas' own wisdom, he turns past the ground of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha. Thoroughly penetrating the treasury of every buddha's own realm, he manifests the realm of māra. Surpassing the way of the four māras, he manifests the practice of the realm of māra.
He manifests the practices of every non-Buddhist path, and yet, in his deep mind, does not abandon the buddhas' own salvation. Thoroughly penetrating every worldly matter, his mind constantly abides in the supramundane path and its Dharma. Every adornment he possesses surpasses that of every god, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva, asura, garuḍa, kiṃnara, mahoraga, human and non-human being, the Four Heavenly Kings, Śakra, and Brahmā, and yet he does not abandon mindfulness of the joy of the Dharma.
Commentary: "The arising of surpassing practice" has eight kinds of practice, jointly comprised as antidote. First, the practice of giving rise to merit, according with the world's own gateway — as the sūtra says, "A bodhisattva, having in this way thoroughly penetrated the power of samādhi-wisdom and cultivated his practice, gives rise to the power of great skillful means, and manifests his own body at the very gateway of the world, his deep mind [set upon] nirvāṇa." Second, the practice of being foremost, gathering in every other practice — as the sūtra says, "Though surrounded by his own retinue, his mind is constantly far removed [from it]." Third, the practice of taking up existence through the power of vow — as the sūtra says, "Through the power of vow he takes birth within the three realms, and yet is not tainted by the world." Fourth, the practice of not severing his household — being far removed from craving and desire, and from the underlying tendencies of affliction, and yet manifesting the very deeds of craving and desire — as the sūtra says, "His mind constantly quiescent, through the power of skillful means he yet blazes forth once more, and though blazing, is not burned." Fifth, the practice of entering — as the sūtra says, "According with the buddhas' own wisdom, he turns past the ground of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha." Sixth, the practice of the requisites of life — since food and drink, sleep and dream, and the like are the realm of māra — as the sūtra says, "Thoroughly penetrating the treasury of every buddha's own realm, he manifests the realm of māra." Seventh, the practice of decline — manifesting old age, sickness, and death, these three being the realm of māra — as the sūtra says, "Surpassing the way of the four māras, he manifests the practice of the realm of māra." Eighth, the practice of turning, of which there are three kinds: first, the turning of views and craving — as the sūtra says, "He manifests the practices of every non-Buddhist path, and yet, in his deep mind, does not abandon the buddhas' own salvation."
Second, the turning of hindrance — as the sūtra says, "Thoroughly penetrating every worldly matter, his mind constantly abides in the supramundane path and its Dharma."
Third, the turning of craving — through the reverent mind with which the gods and nāgas and the rest gather around him, he turns their very craving-mind — as the sūtra says, "Every adornment he possesses surpasses that of every god and nāga," all the way to "and yet he does not abandon mindfulness of the joy of the Dharma."
Fazang treats the "得而不證" (attaining, yet not realizing) of this second Vimuktacandra exchange as the doctrinal hinge of the entire passage, naming the whole excellent practice it describes 三摩拔提勝行，謂在空不住故 — "the excellent practice of absorption, namely, dwelling within emptiness and yet not coming to rest there." His own gloss on the treatise's answer distinguishes what is proven from what is proven superior: 從六地等，明得法分齊；今此地等，辨勝過劣 — "'from the Sixth Ground onward' establishes the scope of what is attained; 'now, dwelling in this ground' distinguishes what surpasses from what falls short." And on why not realizing cessation is no deficiency: 以不捨眾生即寂起用，故云成就不思身等 — "it is precisely because he does not abandon sentient beings that, right within quiescence itself, he gives rise to active function; this is why the sūtra speaks of him 'accomplishing' inconceivable bodily [action] and the rest." Not entering cessation, on this reading, is not a failure to arrive but the positive content of the bodhisattva's own accomplishment.
On the eight named modes of "arising surpassing practice," Fazang explains why the treatise calls them jointly "共對治攝" — comprised together as antidote: 謂此八行皆共所治俱而不污 — "these eight practices are, every one of them, present together with what they counteract, and yet remain unstained by it." The fourth practice, "not severing his household," makes this concrete against an obvious objection: if the bodhisattva is truly unstained by the world, should he not simply avoid ordinary domestic life? Fazang answers on the treatise's behalf: 示有妻子，名家不斷，在此熾然而不為燒 — "he shows himself having a wife and children; this is called 'not severing his household' — he stands right within this very blaze, and yet is not burned by it." The seventh practice works the same way with mortality itself: 示有衰退，老病死三是魔所行 — "he shows decline, since old age, sickness, and death, these three, are properly what belongs to māra's own domain" — the bodhisattva does not skip past these marks of an ordinary life, but inhabits them without their usual grip.
Seeing Countless Buddhas, and Gold and Sunlight — "Dūraṅgamā" Explained
經曰：菩薩成就如是智慧，住此菩薩遠行地已，多見諸佛，以大神通力、大願力故。見多百佛、多千佛、多百千佛、多百千那由他佛、多億佛、多百億佛、多千億佛、多百千億佛、多百千億那由他佛，以大神通力、大願力故。是菩薩見諸佛時，以上心深心供養恭敬尊重讚歎，衣服飲食臥具湯藥一切供具悉以奉施，以諸菩薩上妙樂具供養眾僧，以此善根皆願迴向阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。於諸佛所生上恭敬，專心聽法聞已受持，聞受持已得如實三昧智慧光明，隨順修行行已憶持，守護諸佛正法，一切聲聞辟支佛智慧問難所不能壞。是菩薩復能利益眾生，故法忍轉淨。是菩薩住此菩薩遠行地中，於無量劫彼諸善根轉勝明淨調柔成就，復轉盡成就，無量百劫、無量千劫、無量百千劫、無量百千那由他劫、無量億劫、無量百億劫、無量千億劫、無量百千億劫、無量百千億那由他劫，彼諸善根轉勝明淨調柔成就，復轉盡成就。佛子！譬如本真金，以一切眾寶具足莊嚴，光色轉勝明淨，餘莊嚴具所不能及。如是佛子！菩薩住此第七菩薩遠行地中，彼諸善根從方便智起轉勝明淨，一切聲聞辟支佛所不能壞。佛子！譬如日光，一切星宿月光所不能壞，閻浮提內所有泥水悉能乾竭。如是佛子！菩薩住此第七菩薩遠行地中，彼諸善根，一切聲聞辟支佛所不能壞，又能乾竭一切眾生煩惱淤泥。是菩薩十波羅蜜中方便波羅蜜增上，餘波羅蜜非不修習，隨力隨分。諸佛子！是名略說菩薩第七菩薩遠行地。若菩薩住此地中，多作他化自在天王，所作自在善令眾生發生正智，亦令眾生渡煩惱海。所作善業布施愛語利益同事是諸福德，皆不離念佛、念法、念僧、念菩薩、念菩薩行、念波羅蜜、念十地、念不壞力、念無畏、念不共佛法，乃至不離念一切種一切智智。常生是心：我當於一切眾生中，為首為勝為大、為妙為微妙、為上為無上、為導為將、為師為尊，乃至為一切智智依止者。復從是念發精進行，以精進力故，於一念間得百千億那由他三昧，見百千億那由他佛、知百千億那由他佛神力、能動百千億那由他佛世界、能入百千億那由他佛世界、能照百千億那由他佛世界、能化百千億那由他佛世界眾生、能住壽百千億那由他劫、能知過去未來世各百千億那由他劫事、能善入百千億那由他法門、能變身為百千億那由他，於一一身能示百千億那由他菩薩以為眷屬。若以願力自在勝上，菩薩願力過於此數。示種種神通，或身、或光明、或神通、或眼、或境界、或音聲、或行、或莊嚴、或加、或信、或業。是諸神通，乃至無量百千萬億那由他劫不可數知。
論曰：守護諸佛正法者，於三千大千世界中得為大師故、修方便行滿足故。彼守護上首故、利益眾生故，法忍轉顯。此地釋名應知。如經「是菩薩復能利益眾生故、法忍轉淨故、修行功用盡至故，名為遠行地，一切眾寶具足莊嚴」。真金喻者，示現一切菩提分法方便行功用滿足故，此地中諸善根轉勝明淨示現。如經「譬如本真金，乃至一切聲聞辟支佛所不能壞」故。日光喻者，如前地說，此地勝故，如經「佛子！譬如日光乃至又能乾竭一切眾生煩惱淤泥」故。餘如前說。
Sūtra: A bodhisattva, having accomplished wisdom such as this, dwelling in this Seventh Ground, the bodhisattva's Dūraṅgamā, sees many buddhas. Through great spiritual power and the power of his great vows, he sees hundreds of buddhas, thousands of buddhas, hundreds of thousands of buddhas, hundreds of thousands of niyutas of buddhas, koṭis of buddhas, hundreds of koṭis of buddhas, thousands of koṭis of buddhas, hundreds of thousands of koṭis of buddhas, and hundreds of thousands of koṭis of niyutas of buddhas — through great spiritual power and the power of his great vows. When this bodhisattva sees these buddhas, with a supreme, deep mind he makes offerings to them, reveres, honors, and praises them, presenting robes, food and drink, bedding, and medicine, every requisite entirely as offerings; and, with the supreme and sublime objects of delight belonging to the bodhisattvas, he makes offerings to the entire monastic assembly, dedicating this root of goodness, wishing for unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment. Toward the buddhas he gives rise to a supreme mind of reverence, single-mindedly listening to the Dharma; having heard it, he upholds it; having heard and upheld it, he attains the light of wisdom of the samādhi of suchness, practicing in accordance with it, and, having practiced it, holds it in memory, guarding and upholding the buddhas' own true Dharma, which no wisdom-challenge from any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha is able to destroy. This bodhisattva, further able to benefit sentient beings, his forbearance of the Dharma thereby turns ever more pure. This bodhisattva, dwelling within this Seventh Ground, the bodhisattva's Dūraṅgamā, throughout boundless eons these roots of goodness of his become ever more excellent, radiant, pure, gentled, and accomplished, and turn, moreover, toward ultimate accomplishment; throughout boundless hundreds of eons, boundless thousands of eons, boundless hundreds of thousands of eons, boundless hundreds of thousands of niyutas of eons, boundless koṭis of eons, boundless hundreds of koṭis of eons, boundless thousands of koṭis of eons, boundless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of eons, and boundless hundreds of thousands of koṭis of niyutas of eons, these roots of goodness of his become ever more excellent, radiant, pure, gentled, and accomplished, and turn, moreover, toward ultimate accomplishment. Son of the Buddha! It is like genuine gold that, adorned complete with every kind of jewel, becomes ever more excellent in its radiant color, and pure, surpassing what any other kind of adornment is able to reach. Just so, son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva, dwelling within this Seventh Ground, the bodhisattva's Dūraṅgamā, these roots of goodness of his, arising from skillful, expedient wisdom, become ever more excellent and radiant, pure, in a way that no śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha is able to destroy. Son of the Buddha! It is like the light of the sun, which no constellation or moonlight is able to destroy, and which is able to dry up entirely every mire of water within Jambudvīpa. Just so, son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva, dwelling within this Seventh Ground, the bodhisattva's Dūraṅgamā, these roots of goodness of his — no śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha is able to destroy them, and, moreover, they are able to dry up every sentient being's own mire of affliction. Among this bodhisattva's ten perfections, the perfection of skillful means now excels — the other perfections he does not fail to cultivate, but in accordance with his own strength and portion. Sons of the Buddha! This is what is briefly called a bodhisattva's Seventh Ground, the bodhisattva's Dūraṅgamā. Should a bodhisattva dwell in this ground, he often becomes a king of Paranirmita-vaśavartin Heaven, self-mastering in all that he does, skillfully causing sentient beings to give rise to correct wisdom, and also causing sentient beings to cross over the ocean of affliction. The wholesome deeds he performs — giving, kind speech, beneficial action, and cooperative work — every one of these merits is never apart from mindfulness of the buddhas, mindfulness of the Dharma, mindfulness of the monastic assembly, mindfulness of every bodhisattva, mindfulness of the bodhisattva's own practice, mindfulness of every perfection, mindfulness of the ten grounds, mindfulness of unbreakable power, mindfulness of fearlessness, mindfulness of the unshared buddha-dharmas, all the way to never apart from mindfulness of being complete in the wisdom of all modes, the wisdom of omniscience. He constantly gives rise to this thought: among all sentient beings, I shall be foremost, I shall be supreme, I shall be great, I shall be sublime, I shall be exceedingly sublime, I shall be highest, I shall be unsurpassed, I shall be a guide, I shall be a leader, I shall be a teacher, I shall be one held in honor, all the way to being the very support of the wisdom of omniscience. Further, from this thought he sets forth diligent exertion. Through the power of this diligence, within a single thought-moment he attains a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of samādhis, sees a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of buddhas, knows the spiritual power of a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of buddhas, is able to shake a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of buddha-worlds, is able to enter a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of buddha-worlds, is able to illumine a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of buddha-worlds, is able to transform the sentient beings of a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of buddha-worlds, is able to dwell in life for a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of eons, is able to know the affairs of a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of eons each in the past and the future, is able to enter skillfully into a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of Dharma-gates, and is able to transform his own body into a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas [of bodies], manifesting, within each and every one of those bodies, a hundred thousand koṭis of niyutas of bodhisattvas as its own retinue. Should he, through the power of vow, be self-mastering and supreme, a bodhisattva's power of vow manifests beyond even this number, manifesting all manner of spiritual power — whether of body, or of radiance, or of spiritual power itself, or of the eye, or of the object-realm, or of voice, or of activity, or of adornment, or of empowerment, or of faith, or of karmic function — every one of these spiritual powers, throughout boundless hundreds of thousands of myriad koṭis of niyutas of eons, beyond all counting or knowing.
Commentary: "Guarding and upholding the buddhas' own true Dharma" means that, within a great trichiliocosm, he attains the status of a great teacher, and the cultivation of skillful, expedient practice is now fulfilled. Since he guards and upholds as its foremost, and benefits sentient beings, the forbearance of the Dharma turns ever more manifest. This is where this ground's own name should be understood — as the sūtra says, "This bodhisattva, further able to benefit sentient beings, the forbearance of the Dharma turns ever more pure, the exertion of his cultivated practice reaching its own ultimate arrival — this is called Dūraṅgamā, the Far-Reaching Ground, adorned complete with every kind of jewel." As for the simile of genuine gold: it makes manifest that the skillful, expedient practice belonging to every factor of enlightenment has its own exertion now fulfilled, and within this ground these roots of goodness of his are manifest as ever more excellent and radiant, pure — as the sūtra says, from "It is like genuine gold" all the way to "no śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha is able to destroy them." As for the simile of the light of the sun: as explained at the previous ground, this ground surpasses it — as the sūtra says, from "Son of the Buddha! It is like the light of the sun" all the way to "and, moreover, they are able to dry up every sentient being's own mire of affliction." The rest is as already explained before.
On the closing gold simile — now adorned with every kind of jewel, rather than merely polished as at the previous ground — Fazang reads the added jewels as making a specific claim about completion: 眾寶嚴金者，示現一切菩提分法方便行，功用滿足故也 — "genuine gold adorned with every kind of jewel makes manifest that the skillful, expedient practice belonging to every factor of enlightenment has its own exertion now fulfilled." A single polished surface would show refinement; jewelry laid over it shows that nothing further remains to be added.
On why this ground takes sunlight, rather than moonlight, as its own closing simile, Fazang traces a pattern running across consecutive grounds: 前地取月光勝月輪，今取日光，不取輪義同前地月，故指彼也。此地勝者，日勝月故 — "the previous ground took up the simile of moonlight surpassing the moon's own disk; this ground now takes up sunlight — not the sun's disk, its meaning paralleling the previous ground's moon, which is why it points back to that. What makes this ground surpass the one before is simply that the sun surpasses the moon." Each ground's closing simile, on this reading, is built to outshine the one immediately before it — the treatise using each ground's own image to mark, quite literally, how much brighter this stage of the path has become.
Part 35 Complete — Dūraṅgamā, the Far-Reaching Ground, Now Entirely Translated
This closes Part 35, and with it the entire Seventh Ground: Dūraṅgamā, the Far-Reaching Ground. Parts 33 through 35 — the ten surpassing practices, Vimuktacandra and Vajragarbha's first dialogue on why a bodhisattva at this ground does not simply enter final cessation, the bodhisattva's countless actions free of any characteristic and his attainment of "profound remoteness, free of activity," a second Vimuktacandra dialogue on entering the absorption of cessation, the arising of great skillful means through eight named modes of practice, and now the seeing of countless buddhas and the gold-and-sunlight etymology of this ground's own name — have now translated the whole of fascicle nine of this twelve-fascicle treatise. Part 36 turns to Acalā, the Immovable Ground — the Eighth Ground — where Fazang's 華嚴經探玄記 continues as this collection's reading-note source.
Continue to Part 36 — Acalā, the Immovable Ground →