The Ten Birthplaces of a Bodhisattva
Sudhana said: "Great sage, what are the birthplaces of a bodhisattva?" Maitreya answered: "Good man, a bodhisattva has ten birthplaces. What are the ten? The mind of bodhi is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the bodhisattva's own family; an upright mind is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of a good friend; abiding in every ground is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of every pāramitā; giving rise to great vows is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the bodhisattva's own practice; great compassion is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the four means of gathering beings; true contemplation of the Dharma is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the pāramitā of wisdom; the Great Vehicle is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the pāramitā of skillful means; teaching and transforming sentient beings is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of bodhi itself; wisdom and skillful means are a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas; and according with every dharma is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the buddhas of the three times."
From the Mind of Bodhi to the Family of the Buddhas of the Three Times
善財白言：「大聖！何等為菩薩生處？」
答言：「善男子！菩薩有十種生處，何等為十？所謂：菩提心，是菩薩生處，生菩薩家故；正直心，是菩薩生處，生善知識家故；安住諸地，是菩薩生處，生諸波羅蜜家故；出生大願，是菩薩生處，生菩薩行家故；大悲，是菩薩生處，生四攝家故；真實觀法，是菩薩生處，生般若波羅蜜家故；摩訶衍，是菩薩生處，生方便波羅蜜家故；教化眾生，是菩薩生處，生菩提家故；智慧方便，是菩薩生處，生無生法忍家故；隨順諸法，是菩薩生處，生三世諸佛家故。
Sudhana said: "Great sage, what are the birthplaces of a bodhisattva?"
Maitreya answered: "Good man, a bodhisattva has ten birthplaces. What are the ten? The mind of bodhi is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the bodhisattva's own family; an upright mind is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of a good friend; abiding in every ground is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of every pāramitā; giving rise to great vows is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the bodhisattva's own practice; great compassion is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the four means of gathering beings; true contemplation of the Dharma is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the pāramitā of wisdom; the Great Vehicle is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the pāramitā of skillful means; teaching and transforming sentient beings is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of bodhi itself; wisdom and skillful means are a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas; and according with every dharma is a bodhisattva's own birthplace, for it is born into the family of the buddhas of the three times."
This catalogue of ten birthplaces returns the whole episode to the very first item of the great "mind of bodhi" catalogue given many parts earlier — "the mind of bodhi is the seed of every buddha" — but reframes the entire path now as a sequence of successive births rather than a single seed's growth, each stage of practice named as its own distinct birth into its own distinct spiritual family. Fazang reads the culminating tenth birthplace, "according with every dharma... born into the family of the buddhas of the three times," as the natural completion of this progression: the bodhisattva path is presented here as a series of ten increasingly encompassing rebirths, from the initial family of bodhisattvas themselves to final incorporation into the lineage of every buddha across past, present, and future alike.
Part 406 Complete
The ten birthplaces of a bodhisattva are now given in full. Part 407 turns to an even richer catalogue: Maitreya's description of the bodhisattva's own entire spiritual family — wisdom as mother, skillful means as father, and every pāramitā in its own household role.
Continue to Part 407 →