The Coronation, and the Sevenfold Greatness of Wisdom

Sūtra: Thus, son of the Buddha! At that time the buddhas released, from between their brows, the radiance of the mark of the white curl-tuft, named "empowering all wisdom," together with a retinue of asaṃkhyeya further radiances, illuminating every world throughout the ten directions without exception, circling around every world ten times over, manifesting the buddhas' own great spiritual power, and calling forth boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of buddhas. Every buddha-land throughout the ten directions shook in six ways; every suffering and affliction of the evil destinies was extinguished; every palace of every māra was hidden from view and appeared no more; the places where every buddha attained enlightenment were displayed, and the spiritually empowered, adorned events of every buddha's great assembly were displayed; the farthest reaches of the entire dharma-realm and every realm of space were illumined; and, having passed through every world, the light returned and converged, circling entirely around above the great assembly of every bodhisattva, displaying its own great spiritual power and adorned radiance. This radiance entered the crown of that great bodhisattva's own head, and every radiance of its retinue entered the lotus-thrones of the retinue's own bodhisattvas. When the radiance upon the bodhisattva's own crown entered into this bodhisattva's own body, each and every one of these bodhisattvas attained ten times a hundred thousand samādhis such as he had never before attained. When every one of these radiances, all at once, entered that bodhisattva's own crown, that bodhisattva was called one who has attained investiture, entering the buddhas' own state, endowed with the buddhas' own ten powers, numbered among the buddhas. Son of the Buddha! It is like the eldest son of a Wheel-Turning Sage King, born of the queen-jewel, endowed with every mark of kingship. The Wheel-Turning Sage King seats his son upon a throne of Jambūnada gold, set atop the white elephant-jewel; above him a jeweled net, a jeweled canopy, banners, flowers, and a jeweled standard are raised, adorned in every manner; and, with his own hand holding a golden vessel of fragrant water drawn from the four great oceans, he pours it upon his son's own crown, which is called the ceremony of anointment, thereby entering the number of anointed kṣatriya kings — and, being thereby endowed with the turning of the ten wholesome paths, he attains the name of a Wheel-Turning Sage King. Just so, son of the Buddha! That bodhisattva, having received investiture from every tathāgata, is called one who has attained the investiture of wisdom, endowed with the ten powers, numbered among the buddhas. Son of the Buddha! This is called the ground of a bodhisattva's own Mahāyāna investiture. For the sake of this investiture, the bodhisattva undergoes boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of difficult and painful practices. This bodhisattva, having attained this investiture, his boundless merit and wisdom become ever more increased, and he is called one who dwells securely in the bodhisattva's own Dharmameghā, the Ground of the Dharma-Cloud.

Commentary: As for according with the investiture attained, the radiance of every tathāgata and that bodhisattva mutually come to know each other, gathering him in equally — as the sūtra says, "thus, son of the Buddha! At that time the buddhas released, from between their brows, the radiance of the mark of the white curl-tuft, named empowering all wisdom," and so on. How is the investiture attained like that of the eldest son of a Wheel-Turning Sage King? As the sūtra says, "it is like the eldest son of a Wheel-Turning Sage King," and so on. When this bodhisattva attains investiture in this way, he is called one who dwells well within this ground — as the sūtra says, "this bodhisattva, having attained this investiture, his boundless merit and wisdom become ever more increased, and he is called one who dwells securely in the bodhisattva's own Dharmameghā, the Ground of the Dharma-Cloud." In this way, the division of attaining the reception of investiture has now been explained.

Commentary: What, then, is the division of entering the great consummation? The division of entering the great consummation is of five kinds: first, the greatness of wisdom; second, the greatness of liberation; third, the greatness of samādhi; fourth, the greatness of dhāraṇī; and fifth, the greatness of spiritual power. This matter should be understood as distinguished in dependence on five kinds of meaning: first, in dependence on the meaning of the true wisdom of correct enlightenment; second, in dependence on the meaning of the mind's own mastery; third, in dependence on the meaning that, the moment the thought is set forth, every matter is accomplished; fourth, in dependence on the meaning of according, throughout every world, with benefiting sentient beings; and fifth, in dependence on the meaning of being capable of delivering sentient beings. What, then, is accomplishing wisdom?

Sūtra: Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva, dwelling within this bodhisattva's Dharmameghā, the Ground of the Dharma-Cloud, truly knows the accumulation of the desire realm, the accumulation of the form realm, and the accumulation of the formless realm. He truly knows the accumulation of the realm of sentient beings, the accumulation of the realm of consciousness, the accumulation of the realm of the conditioned, the accumulation of the realm of the unconditioned, the accumulation of the realm of space, and the accumulation of the dharma-realm; he truly knows the accumulation of the realm of nirvāṇa. He truly knows the accumulation of the realm of every affliction born of wrong views, the accumulation of the formation and dissolution of worlds, the accumulation of the practice of śrāvakas, the accumulation of the practice of pratyekabuddhas, the accumulation of the practice of bodhisattvas, the accumulation of every buddha's powers, fearlessnesses, and unshared buddha-dharmas, form-body, and dharma-body, the accumulation of the wisdom of all modes, the wisdom of omniscience, and the accumulation of attaining enlightenment, turning the wheel of the Dharma, and manifesting final nirvāṇa — briefly stated, all the way to truly knowing the distinct accumulation of the wisdom that enters every dharma and accomplishes it. This bodhisattva, through wisdom such as this, thoroughly penetrates supreme wisdom, and truly knows the transformation of sentient beings' own karma, the transformation of affliction, the transformation of views and their action, the transformation of worlds, the transformation of the dharma-realm, the transformation of śrāvakas, the transformation of pratyekabuddhas, the transformation of bodhisattvas, and the transformation of tathāgatas; he truly knows every transformation, whether accompanied by discrimination or free of discrimination. This bodhisattva truly knows the sustaining power of the buddhas, the sustaining power of the Dharma, the sustaining power of the saṅgha, the sustaining power of karma, the sustaining power of affliction, the sustaining power of time, the sustaining power of vow, the sustaining power of offering, the sustaining power of practice, and the sustaining power of eons; he truly knows the sustaining power of wisdom. This bodhisattva truly knows every subtle wisdom of entry possessed by the buddhas — namely, the subtle wisdom of entry into conduct, the subtle wisdom of entry into descent, the subtle wisdom of entry into the womb, the subtle wisdom of entry into birth, the subtle wisdom of entry into vigorous exertion, the subtle wisdom of entry into renunciation, the subtle wisdom of entry into attaining enlightenment, the subtle wisdom of entry into turning the wheel of the Dharma, the subtle wisdom of entry into sustaining the lifespan, and the subtle wisdom of entry into manifesting final nirvāṇa; he truly knows the subtle wisdom of entry into the Dharma's own long abiding. This bodhisattva truly knows every secret possessed by the buddhas — namely, the secret of bodily secrecy, verbal secrecy, and mental secrecy; the secret of deliberating over the timely and the untimely; the secret of bestowing prophecy upon bodhisattvas; the secret of gathering in and subduing sentient beings; the secret of the manifold vehicles; the secret of the distinctions among every faculty and practice; and the secret of every true action performed in faith; he truly knows the secret of practice attaining enlightenment. This bodhisattva truly knows every wisdom of entering eons possessed by the buddhas — namely, one eon entering an asaṃkhyeya of eons, and an asaṃkhyeya of eons entering one eon; a countable number of eons entering an uncountable number of eons, and an uncountable number of eons entering a countable number of eons; an eon of a single thought-moment entering boundless eons, and boundless eons entering an eon of a single thought-moment; an eon entering what is not an eon, and what is not an eon entering an eon; an eon with a buddha entering an eon without a buddha, an eon without a buddha entering an eon with a buddha, an eon with a buddha entering an eon with a buddha, and an eon without a buddha entering an eon without a buddha; a past or future eon entering the present eon, the present eon entering a past or future eon, a future or past eon entering the present eon, and the present eon entering a future or past eon; a long eon entering a short eon, a short eon entering a long eon, a short eon entering a short eon, and a long eon entering a long eon; he truly knows every mark of every eon mutually entering every other. This bodhisattva truly knows every wisdom of entry possessed by the buddhas — namely, the wisdom of entering the path of ordinary beings, the wisdom of entering the fine motes of dust, the wisdom of entering the enlightenment of the body of buddha-lands, the wisdom of entering the enlightenment of sentient beings' own body and mind, the wisdom of entering enlightenment according with every place, the wisdom of entering the manifestation of disordered practice, the wisdom of entering the manifestation of practice in accordance, the wisdom of entering the manifestation of practice in contrariety, the wisdom of entering the conceivable and the inconceivable, the wisdom of entering the manifestation of the practice of the worldly and the supramundane, and the wisdom of entering the wisdom of śrāvakas, the wisdom of pratyekabuddhas, and the wisdom of bodhisattvas; he truly knows the wisdom of the tathāgatas' own wisdom-practice. Son of the Buddha! The buddhas' own wisdom is, in this way, vast, boundless, and limitless — and a bodhisattva, dwelling in this ground, is thereby able to attain entry into wisdom such as this.

Commentary: Here, the greatness of wisdom should further be understood as of seven kinds: first, the greatness of the wisdom of accumulation; second, the greatness of the wisdom of responsive transformation; third, the greatness of the wisdom of empowerment; fourth, the greatness of the wisdom of subtle entry; fifth, the greatness of the wisdom of secrecy; sixth, the greatness of the wisdom of entering eons; and seventh, the greatness of the wisdom of entering the path. Here, the first should be understood in dependence on the power capable of severing doubt; the second, in dependence on the power that arises from that very body; the third, in dependence on the power that, in just this way and just that way, turns and continues; the fourth, since it is made through the undivided wisdom that well accumulates that responsive transformation and empowerment; the fifth, in dependence on protecting sentient beings whose faculties are not yet ripened, so that they are not startled; the sixth, in dependence on the empowerment of the sustaining of the lifespan, releasing the mind's own mastery; and the seventh is spoken in dependence on the intention of the antidote. Here, the wisdom of accumulation should be understood as the wisdom of the accumulation of cause and condition. This, further, according with whatever portion is defiled, or pure, or ceased; according with whatever place among the three realms; according with whatever sentient beings; according with whatever defiled or pure mind and the rest; and according with whatever conditioned dharma or unconditioned dharma, whether unknown or known. According with whatever place, such as space and the rest; according with whatever dharma is spoken, whether correct or incorrect; according with whatever is realized or not realized — namely, as for nirvāṇa, according with whatever wrong view causes the fault whereby the remaining outsiders and the rest are unable to realize it. According with whatever dissolution or formation of the vessel-world, and according with whatever of the three vehicles — its accumulation and distinctions should be understood accordingly. As the sūtra says, "Son of the Buddha! This bodhisattva, dwelling within this bodhisattva's Dharmameghā, the Ground of the Dharma-Cloud, truly knows the accumulation of the desire realm," all the way to "truly knowing the distinct accumulation of the wisdom that enters every dharma and accomplishes it." Here, the wisdom of responsive transformation should be understood as the distinctions of sentient beings' own responsive transformation and the rest — as the sūtra says, "this bodhisattva, through wisdom such as this, thoroughly penetrates supreme wisdom," all the way to "he truly knows every transformation, whether accompanied by discrimination or free of discrimination." Here, the transformation of afflictions' own views and their action means that responsive transformation manifests the defiled action of afflictions' own views. The transformation of the dharma-realm means the practice of the Dharma spoken — since that responsive transformation, whether accompanied by discrimination or free of discrimination, is truly known in every case. Here, the wisdom of empowerment is as the sūtra says, "this bodhisattva truly knows the sustaining power of the buddhas," all the way to "he truly knows the sustaining power of wisdom" — it should be understood just as the sūtra states. Here, the sustaining power of wisdom means the wisdom of omniscience, since this wisdom is able to accomplish every task.

The wisdom of subtle entry is as the sūtra says, "this bodhisattva truly knows every subtle wisdom of entry possessed by the buddhas," all the way to "he truly knows the subtle wisdom of entry into the Dharma's own long abiding" — it should be understood just as the sūtra states. Here, "vigorous exertion" should be understood as manifesting the taking of seven steps and the like. Here, the wisdom of secrecy is as the sūtra says, "this bodhisattva truly knows every secret possessed by the buddhas," all the way to "he truly knows the secret of practice attaining enlightenment" — it should be understood just as the sūtra states. Here, the wisdom of entering eons means entering eons — as the sūtra says, "this bodhisattva truly knows every wisdom of entering eons possessed by the buddhas — namely, one eon entering an asaṃkhyeya of eons," all the way to "he truly knows every mark of every eon mutually entering every other" — it should be understood just as the sūtra states. Here, "entering" means that, through equal liberation, every eon mutually enters every other, one after another. Here, the wisdom of entering the path is in dependence on the ground of ordinary beings, in dependence on one whose conduct is bound by conceit, in dependence on one who, through faith, seeks birth in the heavens, and in dependence on one given to discursive reflection — as the sūtra says, "this bodhisattva truly knows every wisdom of entry possessed by the buddhas — namely, the wisdom of entering the path of ordinary beings," all the way to "he is thereby able to attain entry into wisdom such as this." In this way, the sevenfold greatness of wisdom has now been explained. What, then, is the greatness of liberation?