Eighty-Four Shared Dharmas
Simply by contemplating the night-deva in silence, Sudhana attains eighty-four "shared dharmas" — qualities equal in number to motes of dust in every buddha-land, each one named, and each one given its own single-clause cause: right mindfulness, great wisdom, fearlessness, the lion's roar, and on through every faculty a bodhisattva at the highest stage of practice holds in common with the whole of reality.
Eighty-Four Shared Dharmas
爾時，善財一心觀察彼夜天已，得世界微塵等菩薩共法；所謂：正念共法，念十方三世一切佛故；大慧共法，分別了知一切法海故；諸趣共法，一切佛法輪不可壞故；覺悟共法，智如虛空，普照三世一切方便海故；諸根共法，以明淨慧，普照眾生一切根海故；淨心共法，修菩薩道，得一切智無礙功德莊嚴故；境界共法，明淨智慧照佛境故；隨順方便共法，究竟一切智方便海，普照一切故；知義共法，知一切法真實性故；法無畏共法，壞散一切諸怨敵故；清淨色身共法，隨其所應現淨身故；諸力共法，於薩婆若不退轉故；無畏共法，淨正直心如虛空故；精進共法，於一切劫，行菩薩行不退轉故；辯才共法，明淨智慧，深入諸法，照一切故；無比共法，一切眾生無能勝故；語言共法，於大眾中，說淨妙法無所畏故；妙聲共法，能師子吼，出微妙聲，滿一切法海故；淨音共法，一切眾生悉樂聞故；淨德共法，令一切眾生悉清淨故；智地共法，於一切佛受法輪故；梵行共法，安住一切佛境界故；大慈共法，於念念中，普覆一切眾生海故；大悲共法，雨甘露法，救一切眾生故；身業共法，於一切眾生隨所作故；口業共法，分別一切語言法故；意業共法，立一切眾生薩婆若心故；莊嚴共法，嚴淨一切諸佛剎故；詣一切佛共法，見一切佛出興世故；勸請共法，請諸如來轉法輪故；供養共法，供養一切諸如來故；教化共法，度脫一切諸眾生故；光明共法，照一切法故；三昧共法，於一切眾生心海得不動故；充滿共法，諸菩薩等自在神力滿諸佛剎故；菩薩法門共法，出生菩薩自在力故；眷屬共法，樂與菩薩共同止故；深入共法，分別一切諸世界故；了心共法，廣淨佛剎故；隨順共法，入一切佛世界海故；充滿方便共法，分別了知一切世界故；無上共法，普現一切諸佛剎故；不退共法，遊行十方無障礙故；除滅一切愚癡共法，得一切佛圓滿智故；不生共法，與一切佛為眷屬故；滿一切佛剎網共法，恭敬供養一切佛故；決定智共法，分別了知諸法海故；如說修行共法，順入一切諸法門故；專求共法，欲求一切諸淨法故；清淨共法，諸佛功德莊嚴身、口、意故；淨意共法，於一切法智滿淨故；勇猛共法，究竟一切事滿善根故；淨行共法，滿足一切菩薩行故；無礙共法，分別了知諸法相故；方便共法，具足自在智法門故；淨入共法，隨其所應現境界故；菩薩門共法，修行一切諸佛法故；護持共法，一切諸佛所護持故；離生共法，次第逮得菩薩地故；安住共法，安住一切菩薩住故；演說共法，了知諸佛授記法故；禪定共法，於一念中，悉入一切諸三昧故；三昧起共法，一切佛事種種相故；淨念共法，知一切念故；菩薩行共法，盡未來劫，行菩薩行不斷絕故；淨信共法，歡喜增長佛智慧故；長養共法，除滅一切諸障礙故；不退智共法，與一切佛智慧等故；受生共法，隨時應化一切眾生故；住共法，住一切智故；境界共法，法界境界故；無著共法，心不染著一切有故；善知法相共法，等心觀察一切法故；容受共法，於己身內，受持一切諸佛法故；通明共法，分別了知一切世間故；神力共法，以少方便，遊行一切佛剎海故；陀羅尼共法，普照一切陀羅尼海故；持一切佛法輪共法，悉能受持一切修多羅法故；深入共法，解一切法如虛空故；淨光共法，普照一切諸世界故；明淨共法，隨其所應現眾生故；震動共法，動諸佛剎，為諸眾生現自在故；不虛共法，見聞念者，悉不虛故；聖道共法，滿一切願十力智故。得如是等佛剎微塵等菩薩共法。
At that time Sudhana, having single-mindedly contemplated this night-deva, attained shared dharmas of the bodhisattva equal in number to motes of dust in every buddha-land — namely: the shared dharma of right mindfulness, for it holds in mind every buddha of the ten directions and three times; the shared dharma of great wisdom, for it discerns and knows the whole ocean of every dharma; the shared dharma of every destiny, for every buddha's own Dharma-wheel cannot be destroyed; the shared dharma of awakening, for its wisdom, like space itself, universally illumines the whole ocean of skillful means of the three times; the shared dharma of every faculty, for with bright, pure wisdom it universally illumines the whole ocean of every sentient being's own faculties; the shared dharma of a pure mind, for it cultivates the bodhisattva's own path, attaining the unobstructed, adorned merit of every wisdom; the shared dharma of state, for its bright, pure wisdom illumines the buddha's own state; the shared dharma of according with skillful means, for it reaches the very end of the whole ocean of skillful means of every wisdom, universally illumining all; the shared dharma of knowing meaning, for it knows the true nature of every dharma; the shared dharma of fearlessness in the Dharma, for it breaks apart and scatters every enemy and foe;
the shared dharma of a pure form-body, for it manifests a pure body according to what is fitting; the shared dharma of every power, for it never retreats in all-wisdom; the shared dharma of fearlessness, for its pure, upright mind is like space itself; the shared dharma of diligence, for throughout every kalpa it practices the bodhisattva's own practice without ever retreating; the shared dharma of eloquence, for its bright, pure wisdom enters deeply into every dharma, illumining all; the shared dharma of the incomparable, for no sentient being is able to surpass it; the shared dharma of speech, for within the great assembly it expounds the pure, sublime Dharma without any fear; the shared dharma of the sublime voice, for it is able to roar the lion's roar, sending forth a subtle, sublime sound that fills the whole ocean of every dharma; the shared dharma of pure sound, for every sentient being delights entirely in hearing it; the shared dharma of pure virtue, for it causes every sentient being to become entirely pure;
the shared dharma of the ground of wisdom, for it receives the Dharma-wheel at the presence of every buddha; the shared dharma of pure conduct, for it abides securely in every buddha's own state; the shared dharma of great loving-kindness, for within every single thought-moment it universally covers the whole ocean of every sentient being; the shared dharma of great compassion, for it rains down the ambrosial Dharma, rescuing every sentient being; the shared dharma of bodily karma, for it acts according to what is fitting for every sentient being; the shared dharma of verbal karma, for it discerns and knows every dharma of language; the shared dharma of mental karma, for it establishes every sentient being in the mind of all-wisdom; the shared dharma of adornment, for it adorns and purifies every buddha-land; the shared dharma of going to every buddha, for it beholds every buddha arising in the world; the shared dharma of exhortation, for it requests every tathāgata to turn the Dharma-wheel;
the shared dharma of offering, for it makes offering to every tathāgata; the shared dharma of teaching and transformation, for it delivers every sentient being; the shared dharma of light, for it illumines every dharma; the shared dharma of samādhi, for it attains an unmoving state within the whole ocean of every sentient being's own mind; the shared dharma of filling entirely, for every bodhisattva's own sovereign spiritual power fills every buddha-land; the shared dharma of the bodhisattva's own Dharma-gate, for it gives rise to the bodhisattva's own sovereign power; the shared dharma of retinue, for it delights in dwelling together with every bodhisattva; the shared dharma of entering deeply, for it discerns every world; the shared dharma of understanding the mind, for it broadly purifies every buddha-land; the shared dharma of according with, for it enters the whole ocean of every buddha's own world;
the shared dharma of filling every skillful means, for it discerns and knows every world; the shared dharma of the unsurpassed, for it universally manifests in every buddha-land; the shared dharma of non-retreat, for it ranges through the ten directions without any obstruction; the shared dharma of extinguishing every folly, for it attains every buddha's own perfect wisdom; the shared dharma of non-arising, for it becomes the retinue of every buddha; the shared dharma of filling the whole net of every buddha-land, for it reverently makes offering to every buddha; the shared dharma of decisive wisdom, for it discerns and knows the whole ocean of every dharma; the shared dharma of practicing as taught, for it enters in accord with every Dharma-gate; the shared dharma of single-minded seeking, for it wishes to seek every pure dharma; the shared dharma of purity, for every buddha's own merit adorns body, speech, and mind;
the shared dharma of a pure mind, for its wisdom of every dharma is fulfilled and pure; the shared dharma of valor, for it reaches the very end of every matter, fulfilling every root of goodness; the shared dharma of pure practice, for it fully satisfies every bodhisattva's own practice; the shared dharma of the unobstructed, for it discerns and knows the mark of every dharma; the shared dharma of skillful means, for it is fully endowed with the sovereign Dharma-gate of wisdom; the shared dharma of pure entry, for it manifests a state according to what is fitting; the shared dharma of the bodhisattva's own gate, for it cultivates every buddha-dharma; the shared dharma of guarding and upholding, for it is guarded and upheld by every buddha; the shared dharma of departing from birth, for it attains the bodhisattva's own grounds in sequence; the shared dharma of abiding securely, for it abides securely in every bodhisattva's own abode;
the shared dharma of expounding, for it understands every buddha's own dharma of bestowing predictions; the shared dharma of meditative concentration, for within a single thought-moment it enters every samādhi entirely; the shared dharma of rising from samādhi, for it takes on every manifold mark of every buddha's own deed; the shared dharma of pure mindfulness, for it knows every thought; the shared dharma of the bodhisattva's own practice, for, to the very end of future kalpas, it practices the bodhisattva's own practice without ever ceasing; the shared dharma of pure faith, for its joy increases the buddha's own wisdom; the shared dharma of nurturing, for it extinguishes every obstruction; the shared dharma of unretreating wisdom, for it is equal to every buddha's own wisdom; the shared dharma of taking rebirth, for it transforms every sentient being according to the time; the shared dharma of abiding, for it abides in every wisdom;
the shared dharma of state, for its state is the Dharma-realm itself; the shared dharma of non-attachment, for its mind is stained by attachment to no existence at all; the shared dharma of well knowing the marks of dharmas, for it contemplates every dharma with an equal mind; the shared dharma of receiving and containing, for it upholds every buddha-dharma within its own very body; the shared dharma of transcendent illumination, for it discerns and knows every world; the shared dharma of spiritual power, for with the least skillful means it ranges through the whole ocean of every buddha-land; the shared dharma of dhāraṇī, for it universally illumines the whole ocean of every dhāraṇī; the shared dharma of upholding every buddha's own Dharma-wheel, for it is able to uphold every dharma of every sūtra entirely; the shared dharma of entering deeply, for it understands every dharma as like unto space itself; the shared dharma of pure light, for it universally illumines every world;
the shared dharma of brightness and purity, for it manifests before sentient beings according to what is fitting; the shared dharma of shaking, for it shakes every buddha-land, manifesting sovereign power for the sake of every sentient being; the shared dharma of never being in vain, for whoever sees it, hears it, or thinks of it, none of this is ever in vain; and the shared dharma of the sagely path, for it fulfills every vow and the wisdom of the ten powers. She attained shared dharmas such as these, equal in number to motes of dust in every buddha-land.
Fazang counts this list precisely, and offers a definition of what makes a dharma "shared" in the first place, quoting Master Yan directly: 二所謂下別列八十四種，一一中皆初標名、後釋義，竝如文可知...衍法師云：菩薩共法，通論有四：一人法無二，與一切法界共；二因果無二，與一切諸佛共；三自他無二，與一切菩薩共；四染淨無二，與一切眾生共 — "second, beginning with 'namely,' eighty-four kinds are particularly listed; each and every one first states its own name, then explains its own meaning, as may be understood directly from the text... Master Yan says: broadly speaking, the bodhisattva's own shared dharmas fall into four kinds: first, self and dharma are non-dual, shared with the whole Dharma-realm; second, cause and fruit are non-dual, shared with every buddha; third, self and other are non-dual, shared with every bodhisattva; fourth, defilement and purity are non-dual, shared with every sentient being." Eighty-four is the exact count this translation preserves, name for name, cause for cause — and the very idea of "sharing" that structures it is itself fourfold: what this teacher holds is not a private attainment but something already held, in common, with reality itself, every buddha, every bodhisattva, and every being still caught in affliction.
Fazang adds one further gloss worth carrying forward: 身得塵數等，是總舉。若約自分，是極位菩薩共所得故，名為共法；若約勝進，同諸如來共所得法，故云共法 — "her body attaining a number as vast as motes of dust is a general statement; taken in terms of her own portion, this is what is commonly attained by bodhisattvas at the very highest stage, hence 'shared dharma'; taken in terms of supreme advancement, it is the dharma commonly attained together with every tathāgata, hence also 'shared dharma.'" The same word, 共, does double duty — shared among bodhisattvas at this teacher's own rank, and shared, at the very same time, with buddhahood itself.
Part 105 In Progress
Eighty-four shared dharmas have now been named in full — qualities this teacher holds in common with the Dharma-realm, with every buddha, with every bodhisattva, and with every sentient being at once. Part 106 turns to what this attainment produces in Sudhana directly: a boundless, upright mind, and his own hymn of ten stanzas in praise of her.
Continue to Part 106 →