Ten Minds, and Buddhas Displayed Throughout the Dharma-Realm
The laywoman Unmoving completes her account: the buddha Excellent Arm taught her ten minds beneath that ancient night sky, and across eons as numerous as motes of dust in Jambudvīpa, she held every one of them without a single lapse — not even a passing thought of desire, anger, or doubt. She then enters ten thousand samādhis at once, and the Dharma-realm shakes in six ways as buddhas display their entire careers, world after world, from the Tuṣita heaven to final nirvāṇa. This closes the ninth teacher of the Ten Practices.
Ten Minds, and Eons Without a Single Lapse
「善男子！時，彼如來知我心念而告我言：『汝應發不可壞心，除滅煩惱；發勝妙心，不著一切有；發不懈怠心，隨順深入方便之法；發忍辱心，調伏眾生諸惡心海；發離癡心，遠離一切諸生死趣；發無厭心，見一切佛心無厭倦；發無知足心，悉飲一切諸佛法雲；發寂靜心，以一切佛方便，隨順世間；發守護心，護持一切諸佛法輪；發分別心，隨其所應，演說法寶，皆令歡喜。』善男子！
我於爾時，從彼如來聞此法教，清淨法門，求一切智，如來十力，所言不虛，光明莊嚴，清淨法身，相好莊嚴，如來眷屬，嚴淨佛剎，如來威儀，如來壽命；我發是心時，一切煩惱、聲聞、緣覺，金剛諸山所不能壞。善男子！我發此心已，於閻浮提微塵等劫，不生欲想，何況其事？於爾所劫，自於眷屬不生瞋心，何況餘人？於爾所劫，不生我見心，況我所心？於爾所劫，不生愚癡心，不生無記心，乃至胎中常起正念，何況餘時？於爾所劫，乃至夢中見一切佛，況十眼觀？於爾所劫，聞持一切諸佛法雲，未曾忘失一句，乃至世間語言尚不忘失，況如來語？於爾所劫，悉飲一切諸佛法海，乃至世法亦分別知，出生一切方便諸三昧門，心無虛妄；於爾所劫，受持一切諸佛法輪，於法輪中不失一法，乃至無有二智，除化眾生；於爾所劫，見一切佛海及諸化佛，於彼佛所，滿足大願；於爾所劫，於一切菩薩海所，具足出生清淨菩薩行海；於爾所劫，若有眾生得見我者，皆發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，乃至不生一念二乘之心；於爾所劫，於一切佛法，乃至一句一味，不生疑惑，無有二想，無虛妄想，無種種想，無染著想，無好醜想，無愛恚想。善男子！我初發心來，常見諸佛菩薩及善知識，聞佛大願，修菩薩行，諸波羅蜜智慧，諸地無盡法藏；普入無量無邊一切世界，分別無量眾生界；不離清淨智慧光明，除滅一切眾生煩惱；長養發起眾生善根，隨其所應，悉能顯現；未曾捨離微妙音聲，其有聞者，皆悉歡喜。
"Good son, at that time this tathāgata, knowing what was in my mind, spoke to me, saying: 'You should raise a mind that cannot be destroyed, to extinguish every affliction; raise a mind of supreme sublimity, unattached to any existence at all; raise a mind never indolent, according with and entering deeply into the Dharma of skillful means; raise a mind of patience, taming and subduing the whole ocean of sentient beings' own evil minds; raise a mind free of folly, departing far from every destiny of birth and death; raise a mind never wearying, beholding every buddha with a mind that never tires; raise a mind never satisfied with what it knows, drinking in every cloud of every buddha's own Dharma entirely; raise a mind of tranquility, according with the world through every buddha's own skillful means; raise a mind that guards and protects, upholding every buddha's own Dharma-wheel; and raise a mind of discernment, expounding the treasure of the Dharma according to what is fitting, causing everyone to rejoice.' Good son,
at that time, having heard this teaching of the Dharma from that tathāgata, I sought the pure Dharma-gate, sought omniscience, the Tathāgata's own ten powers, whose every word is never false, the adornment of light, the pure Dharma-body, the adornment of excellent marks, the Tathāgata's own retinue, the pure adornment of buddha-lands, the Tathāgata's own dignified bearing, and the Tathāgata's own lifespan; and, at the very moment I raised this mind, every affliction, every śrāvaka, and every pratyekabuddha, and even the mountains of vajra themselves, could not destroy it. Good son, having raised this mind, throughout eons as numerous as motes of dust in Jambudvīpa, I never once gave rise to a thought of desire — how much less to the deed itself? Throughout that many eons, I never once gave rise to a mind of anger even toward my own retinue — how much less toward anyone else? Throughout that many eons, I never once gave rise to a mind that holds to a self — how much less one that holds to what is 'mine'? Throughout that many eons, I never once gave rise to a mind of folly, nor a mind of moral indifference, holding right mindfulness constantly even within the womb — how much more so at every other time? Throughout that many eons, I beheld every buddha even within dreams — how much more so through the ten eyes of direct sight? Throughout that many eons, I heard and upheld every cloud of every buddha's own Dharma, never once forgetting even a single phrase — even ordinary worldly speech I never forgot, how much less the Tathāgata's own words? Throughout that many eons, I drank in the whole ocean of every buddha's own Dharma entirely, discerning and knowing even worldly matters as well, giving rise to every gate of skillful-means samādhi, my mind never false; throughout that many eons, I upheld every buddha's own Dharma-wheel, never losing a single dharma within that Dharma-wheel, until there was no longer even a duality of wisdom, except in transforming sentient beings; throughout that many eons, I beheld the whole ocean of every buddha and every transformation-buddha, and at the presence of those buddhas fulfilled the great vow completely; throughout that many eons, at the presence of the whole ocean of every bodhisattva, I gave rise fully to the whole ocean of the bodhisattva's own pure practice; throughout that many eons, whatever sentient being came to behold me raised the mind of unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening, never once giving rise to so much as a single thought bound for the two lesser vehicles; throughout that many eons, toward every buddha-dharma, even a single phrase or a single flavor of it, I never gave rise to doubt, never to a thought of duality, never to a false thought, never to a thought of multiplicity, never to a thought of attachment, never to a thought that discriminates beauty from ugliness, and never to a thought of desire or hatred. Good son, from the time I first raised this mind, I have constantly beheld every buddha, bodhisattva, and good spiritual friend, heard the buddhas' own great vows, cultivated the bodhisattva's own practice, the wisdom of every perfection, and the inexhaustible Dharma-treasury of every ground; universally entering boundless, limitless worlds, discerning the boundless realm of sentient beings; never departing from the light of pure wisdom, I have extinguished every sentient being's own affliction; nurturing and rousing sentient beings' own roots of goodness, I am able to manifest entirely according to what is fitting; and never once have I departed from a sublime, subtle voice, which whoever hears it rejoices in entirely.
Fazang reads this whole extended answer as unfolding in six stages: first, citing her past encounter with the buddha as the cause for raising the mind — seeing him first, then giving rise to the resolve; second, this buddha teaching her the ten minds so as to make that resolve indestructible; third, hearing the Dharma and raising the mind in order to seek the buddha's own fruit; fourth, revealing how this mind, once firm, departed from every obstacle; fifth, revealing the benefit she brings to others; and sixth, concluding with a summary of both her own practice and her benefit to others, fulfilled together. The long list of eon-spanning negations — never once a thought of desire, of anger, of self, of doubt — is not decoration on this reading; it is the fourth stage made concrete, the literal, itemized proof of the very "indestructibility" her Dharma-gate is named for. Each "how much less" clause does real work: if not even a stray thought arose across countless eons, then far less could any actual deed.
Ten Thousand Samādhis, and the Eight Aspects of a Buddha's Career
善男子！我入此無壞法門，觀察一切法平等陀羅尼，顯現無量自在神變，汝欲見不？」
「唯然，欲見！」
爾時，不動優婆夷入萬三昧門，正念觀察，所謂：專求莊嚴正法心無疲厭三昧門，離癡莊嚴三昧門，十力三昧門，佛無盡藏三昧門。
住如是等三昧門時，十不可說佛剎微塵等世界六種震動，淨如瑠璃；一一世界中，各見百億如來，一一如來，大眾圍遶，放大光明，普照十方；或現兜率天，或現於一切世界，以妙音聲轉淨法輪，乃至示現大般涅槃。
時，優婆夷從三昧起，告善財言：「善男子！汝見此不？」
「唯然，已見。」
「善男子！我唯成就此無壞法門，為一切眾生說微妙法，皆令歡喜。諸大菩薩遊行十方無有障礙；如金翅鳥王，悉得眾生大海源底，若見眾生有菩提因，從生死海而撮取之，安置菩提；譬如商人入大寶洲，專求如來十力大寶，遊生死海，教化眾生除滅煩惱；如明淨日，消竭愛水，開敷一切眾生蓮華；譬如疾風遊行十方，摧滅一切眾生邪見煩惱樹枝；譬如大地，長養一切眾生善根；如轉輪王，以四攝法攝取眾生。我當云何能知、能說彼功德行？善男子！於此南方，有一國土名不可稱，城名知足，有出家外道名曰隨順一切眾生，汝詣彼問云何菩薩學菩薩行、修菩薩道。」
時，善財童子頭面禮足，遶無數匝，辭退南行。
"Good son, I have entered this Dharma-gate of the Indestructible, contemplating the dhāraṇī of the equanimity of every dharma, manifesting boundless, sovereign spiritual transformation — do you wish to see it?"
"Indeed, I wish to see it!"
At that time the laywoman Unmoving entered ten thousand gates of samādhi, rightly contemplating them — namely, the gate of the samādhi of single-mindedly seeking the adornment of true Dharma without any weariness, the gate of the samādhi of the adornment free of folly, the gate of the samādhi of the ten powers, and the gate of the samādhi of the Buddha's own inexhaustible treasury.
While abiding in gates of samādhi such as these, worlds as numerous as motes of dust in ten buddha-lands beyond telling shook in six ways, becoming pure as lapis lazuli; and within every single one of these worlds, a hundred million tathāgatas were beheld, each one surrounded by a great assembly, releasing great light, universally illumining the ten directions — some manifesting within the Tuṣita heaven, some manifesting throughout every world, turning the pure Dharma-wheel with a sublime voice, even manifesting entry into great parinirvāṇa.
At that time this laywoman rose from samādhi, and said to Sudhana: "Good son, have you seen this?"
"Indeed, I have seen it."
"Good son, I have accomplished only this Dharma-gate of the Indestructible, expounding the sublime, subtle Dharma for every sentient being, causing them all to rejoice. The great bodhisattvas travel throughout the ten directions without any obstruction; like the king of golden-winged garuḍa birds, they reach entirely the very source and bottom of the great ocean of sentient beings, and, whenever they see a sentient being with the cause for bodhi within them, pluck them out from the ocean of birth and death and set them securely upon bodhi; like a merchant entering a great island of treasure, single-mindedly seeking the great treasure of the Tathāgata's own ten powers, they travel the ocean of birth and death, teaching and transforming sentient beings, extinguishing their affliction; like the bright, pure sun, they exhaust and dry up the water of craving, opening every sentient being's own lotus into bloom; like a swift wind traveling throughout the ten directions, they break apart every sentient being's own branch of wrong view and affliction; like the great earth, they nurture every sentient being's own root of goodness; like a wheel-turning king, they gather in sentient beings through the four means of attraction. How could I possibly know, how could I possibly speak of, such merit and practice as this? Good son, to the south of here there is a land, named Beyond Naming; its city is named Contentment; there is a renunciant of another path there, named According with Every Sentient Being. Go to him and ask how a bodhisattva learns the bodhisattva's own practice, cultivates the bodhisattva path."
At that time Sudhana the Boy bowed his head at her feet, circled her countless times, and, taking his leave, journeyed on to the south.
Fazang reads the demonstration itself in four movements: first, stating the Dharma-gate as a whole; second, Sudhana's own wish to see it; third, entering samādhi to display it; fourth, rising from samādhi to confirm what was shown and conclude her own portion. On the third movement, he names precisely what the shaking worlds reveal: 六種動世界，八相如來周于法界 — "the worlds move in six ways, and tathāgatas display the eight aspects throughout the whole Dharma-realm" — the traditional eight aspects of a buddha's complete career (descent from Tuṣita, entering the womb, birth, renunciation, subduing māra, awakening, turning the Dharma-wheel, and final nirvāṇa), which the sutra's own text traces in miniature: "some manifesting within the Tuṣita heaven... turning the pure Dharma-wheel... even manifesting entry into great parinirvāṇa." Fazang closes this teacher with a final threefold structure: an overall deferral to the scope of what remains beyond her; the simile of the golden-winged garuḍa king and the others that follow it, praising the depth of the great bodhisattvas by comparison; and the closing admission that this, too, lies beyond her own portion. With this, he marks the ninth of the Ten Practices complete — one teacher remains before this whole stage of the pilgrimage gives way to the next.
Part 40 Complete
This closes Parts 39–40 together, and with them the laywoman Unmoving, ninth teacher of the Ten Practices: her palace light granting five hundred samādhis at a touch, her account of ten minds a buddha once taught her and the eons in which not one of them ever lapsed, and a final demonstration in which ten thousand samādhis shake the Dharma-realm and display a buddha's entire career, world after world. Sudhana is sent onward, to the land Beyond Naming, the city Contentment, and the renunciant of another path named According with Every Sentient Being — the tenth and final teacher of the Ten Practices.
Continue to Part 41 — According with Every Sentient Being, and the Ten Practices Complete →