Wielded Only by Nārāyaṇa's Own Strength
The vajra similes continue: vajra cannot be recognized by one without skill or technique — the mind of bodhi is likewise, unrecognized by sentient beings without wisdom. Vajra cannot be dissolved by anything at all — the mind of bodhi is likewise, unable to be exhausted by any dharma. A vajra weapon cannot be wielded by any sentient being at all, not even by a Mahānāga, save through Nārāyaṇa's own strength — the mind of bodhi is likewise, unable to be upheld by the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, save by a bodhisattva-mahāsattva. A vajra weapon penetrates everything without obstruction, a feat no other weapon can accomplish — the mind of bodhi is likewise, observing the three times and teaching and transforming sentient beings, enduring boundless suffering across an asaṃkhyeya of kalpas, a feat the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha are unable to match. Vajra cannot be held by anything except vajra ground itself — the mind of bodhi is likewise, bringing forth the merit of the bodhisattva's own vowed practice, a merit the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha cannot uphold, save one whose upright mind is set upon all-wisdom.
Five Vajra Similes: Recognition, Endurance, and the Sole Wielder
「譬如金剛，無智術者所不能識。菩提之心亦復如是，無智眾生所不能識。
「譬如金剛，無能消滅。菩提之心亦復如是，一切諸法不能消盡。
「譬如金剛器仗，一切眾生，乃至摩訶那伽，不能執持，除那羅延力。菩提之心亦復如是，聲聞、緣覺不能受持，除諸菩薩摩訶薩。
「譬如金剛器仗，無不鑒徹，非餘器仗之所能為。菩提之心亦復如是，觀察三世，教化眾生，阿僧祇劫受無量苦，聲聞、緣覺所不能及。
「譬如金剛，餘不能持，除金剛地。菩提之心亦復如是，出生菩薩行願功德，聲聞、緣覺所不能持，除薩婆若正直心者。
"It is like vajra, which cannot be recognized by one without skill or technique. The mind of bodhi is likewise: it is unrecognized by sentient beings without wisdom.
"It is like vajra, which nothing at all is able to dissolve. The mind of bodhi is likewise: no dharma at all is able to exhaust it.
"It is like a vajra weapon, which no sentient being at all, not even a Mahānāga, is able to wield, save through Nārāyaṇa's own strength. The mind of bodhi is likewise: the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha is unable to uphold it, save a bodhisattva-mahāsattva.
"It is like a vajra weapon, which penetrates everything without obstruction, a feat that no other weapon at all is able to accomplish. The mind of bodhi is likewise: observing the three times and teaching and transforming sentient beings, enduring boundless suffering across an asaṃkhyeya of kalpas, a feat the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha are unable to match.
"It is like vajra, which nothing else is able to hold, save vajra ground itself. The mind of bodhi is likewise: it brings forth the merit of the bodhisattva's own vowed practice, a merit the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha cannot uphold, save one whose upright mind is set upon all-wisdom."
Nārāyaṇa reappears here for the third time across both catalogues (following his own arrow in earlier similes), now as the sole possessor of strength adequate to wield vajra as a weapon at all — Fazang reads this recurrence, together with the parallel claim that vajra can rest only upon "vajra ground itself," as forming a matched pair of similes about compatibility of scale: vajra requires an equally adamant wielder and an equally adamant foundation, exactly as bodhicitta requires a bodhisattva's own capacity to wield it and an upright mind set on all-wisdom to sustain it, rather than functioning independently of the one who holds it.
Part 383 Complete
Five more vajra similes are now given in full. Part 384 continues with water held in a vajra vessel that never depletes, and vajra's power to hold up the great earth itself without letting it fall.
Continue to Part 384 →