Tranquil Sound, and Nine Minds
Within the same buddha-assembly as the teacher before her, Sudhana arrives at the night-deva Tranquil Sound, fifth teacher of the Ten Grounds. Asked what her Dharma-gate does, she names nine minds that purify the ocean of every sentient being, then answers thirty-three distinct kinds of affliction with the Dharma — the first fourteen gates mapped directly onto the ten perfections.
An Approach, Four Questions, and Nine Minds
爾時，善財童子往詣寂靜音夜天所，頭面禮足，遶無數匝，恭敬合掌，於一面住，白言：「天神！我已先發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，我依善知識學菩薩行，入菩薩行，入菩薩行地，住菩薩行住；唯願天神，為我解說。」
爾時，夜天告善財言：「善哉！善哉！善男子！乃能依善知識求菩薩道。善男子！我成就菩薩無量歡喜莊嚴法門。」
白言：「天神！此法門者，為何所作？境界云何？何等方便？為何等行？」
答言：「善男子！我能清淨一切眾生心海；除滅塵垢，不斷清淨莊嚴之心；得不退境界堅固之心、不可動心；決定了知功德寶山，莊嚴無染著心；常現前護一切眾生心；見一切佛諸菩薩海無厭足心；清淨菩薩正直力心；普照一切智慧海心。
At that time Sudhana the Boy went to the place of the night-deva Tranquil Sound, reverently bowed his head at her feet, circled her countless times, respectfully joined his palms, and stood to one side, saying: "O deva! I have already raised the mind of unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening; I rely upon the good friend to learn the bodhisattva's own practice, to enter the bodhisattva's own practice, to enter the bodhisattva's own ground of practice, to abide in the bodhisattva's own abiding of practice; may the deva, out of compassion, expound this for me."
At that time the night-deva said to Sudhana: "Excellent, excellent, good son! You are able to rely upon the good friend to seek the bodhisattva's own path. Good son, I have accomplished the bodhisattva's own Dharma-gate of the Adornment of Boundless Joy."
Sudhana said: "O deva! What does this Dharma-gate do? What is its state? What skillful means does it employ? And to what practice does it belong?"
She answered: "Good son, I am able to purify the ocean of every sentient being's own mind — the mind that extinguishes dust and defilement, its pure adornment never broken; the mind that attains the firm state of never retreating, the mind that cannot be moved; the mind that decisively knows the mountain of jeweled merit, its adornment unstained by attachment; the mind that constantly appears before beings to protect every sentient being; the mind that beholds the ocean of every buddha and bodhisattva, never wearied; the mind of the bodhisattva's own upright power, made pure; and the mind that universally illumines the whole ocean of wisdom.
Fazang opens this teacher exactly as he closed the last: 第五難勝地知識中，初舉法勸修中，同佛證如，故在道場。亦與前地同證真如，故云去我不遠。五地禪增，故名寂靜音 — "within the good friend of the fifth ground, the Ground of Difficulties Overcome: first, raising the Dharma to urge cultivation — she realizes suchness the same as the buddha, hence 'within this bodhimaṇḍa'; she also realizes suchness the same as the previous ground, hence 'not far from me.' The fifth ground's own increase in meditative concentration is why she is named Tranquil Sound." He then gives her whole teaching a seven-part outline: 一顯法名體、二辨法業用、三明所觀法境界、四善巧方便、五得法所由、六根深淺、七結名歸己 — "first, revealing the Dharma-gate's name and essence; second, distinguishing its function; third, showing the state it contemplates; fourth, its skillful means; fifth, the cause that produced it; sixth, how deep its root runs; seventh, concluding by returning the name to herself." Of the name itself: 無量歡喜莊嚴法門者，一以莊嚴法化無量眾生令歡喜故也、二見佛因果莊嚴之法生無量歡喜故也...即以悲智適悅為性 — "'the Dharma-gate of the Adornment of Boundless Joy': one sense is that the adorned Dharma transforms boundless beings and causes them joy; a second is that seeing the buddha's own cause-and-fruit adornment of the Dharma gives rise to boundless joy... its very nature is the contentment of compassion and wisdom together." He records its Sanskrit-derived name as well: 天竺本名起廣愛樂心剎那速疾莊嚴菩薩解脫 — "in the Indian original, the Bodhisattva Liberation of the Arising of a Vast Mind of Love and Joy, Swift and Sudden in Its Adornment."
Sudhana's four-part question — what this Dharma-gate does, its state, its skillful means, its cause — structures everything through Part 79: Fazang notes this repeats a question asked once before, long enough ago that Sudhana must ask it again in full. Of the nine minds just given, he counts them precisely: 初中，先十心，欠一。初一總...八心別辨可知 — "within this, first come ten minds, lacking one: the first is general... the remaining eight are distinguished individually, and may be understood accordingly." Nine minds are named, framed under a nominal count of ten — the "general" first mind, purifying the whole ocean of mind, followed by eight particular ones.
Thirty-Three Gates of Relief, Matched to the Ten Perfections
「善男子！我為眾生滅除憂惱，無量眾苦，令其永離諸惡色、聲、香、味、觸、意法，除滅眾生愛別離苦、怨憎會苦，及餘一切諸惡因緣，壞敗大苦，住生死苦，生老病死，憂悲惱苦，令得如來無上快樂。一切城邑聚落眾生，我悉救護，令得安樂，廣為說法，教令漸求一切種智。若見眾生在家宮殿，心樂著者，為彼說法，令知諸法真實之性；若見眾生與父母兄弟歡娛讌集，為彼說法，令與諸佛菩薩共會；若見眾生妻子歡會，為彼說法，令竭生死愛欲之海，具足大悲，等觀一切；若見眾生處王宮殿，為彼說法，悉令逮得賢聖快樂；若見眾生著境界者，為彼說法，令得如來甚深境界；若見眾生起瞋恚者，為彼說法，令得如來羼提波羅蜜；為懈怠者，演說正法，令得菩薩清淨毘梨耶波羅蜜；為亂心者，演說正法，令得如來禪波羅蜜；為邪癡者，演說正法，令得般若波羅蜜；為著三界者，演說正法，令出三有；為樂小法者，演說正法，令其滿足菩提大願；為自安者，演說正法，令具大願，饒益一切；為心劣者，演說正法，令得菩薩力波羅蜜；為無智者，演說正法，令得菩薩智波羅蜜；為無色者，演說正法，令得如來清淨色身；為危脆身者，演說正法，令得無上清淨法身；為惡色者，演說正法，令得如來清淨妙色；為苦惱者，演說正法，令得如來無上快樂；為貧窮者，演說正法，令得菩薩諸清淨藏；為園觀者，演說正法，令一向求諸佛妙法；為在路者，演說正法，令得一切智道；為聚落者，演說正法，令出三界；為國土者，演說正法，令過聲聞、緣覺及菩薩地，住如來地；為在城郭者，演說正法，令入法王城，普照一切；為在隅者，演說正法，令得三世平等智慧；為在方者，演說正法，令一切智，常現在前，觀一切法；為貪欲多者，演說正法，令觀不淨，滅生死愛；為瞋恚多者，演說正法，令得究竟大慈之海；為愚癡多者，演說正法，令得智慧，觀諸法海；為等分者，演說正法，令其分別諸勝願海，離生死樂，滅生死苦，顯佛正法，不著五陰，常行妙法；為懈怠者，演說正法，令得莊嚴勝道；為憍慢者，演說正法，令觀一切諸法平等；為諂曲者，演說正法，令得菩薩清淨直心。善男子！我以如是等無量法施，攝取眾生，滅惡道苦，處天人樂，永離三界，具諸功德種種方便而化度之，歡喜無量。」
"Good son, for the sake of sentient beings I extinguish sorrow and vexation, and every kind of boundless suffering, causing them to forever depart from every evil form, sound, fragrance, flavor, touch, and mental object; I extinguish sentient beings' suffering of separation from the beloved, suffering of union with the hated, and every other evil cause and condition, and the great suffering of ruin, dwelling in the suffering of birth-and-death — birth, old age, sickness, and death, and the suffering of sorrow, grief, and vexation — causing them to attain the Tathāgata's own unsurpassed happiness. Every sentient being of every walled city, town, and village, I rescue and protect entirely, causing them to attain peace and happiness, broadly expounding the Dharma for them, teaching them to gradually seek every kind of wisdom.
"If I see sentient beings attached in mind to their household palace, I expound the Dharma for them, causing them to know the true nature of every dharma; if I see sentient beings joyfully gathered with parents, brothers, and sisters, I expound the Dharma for them, causing them to gather together with every buddha and bodhisattva; if I see sentient beings joyfully gathered with spouse and children, I expound the Dharma for them, causing them to exhaust the ocean of craving and desire of birth-and-death, fully endowed with great compassion, equally contemplating all; if I see sentient beings dwelling in a royal palace, I expound the Dharma for them, causing them all to attain the happiness of the sages and worthies; if I see sentient beings attached to sense-objects, I expound the Dharma for them, causing them to attain the Tathāgata's own profound state; if I see sentient beings giving rise to anger, I expound the Dharma for them, causing them to attain the Tathāgata's own perfection of patience.
"For those who are indolent, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the bodhisattva's own pure perfection of diligence; for those whose minds are disordered, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the Tathāgata's own perfection of meditation; for those who are deviant and foolish, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the perfection of wisdom; for those attached to the three realms, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to emerge from the three states of existence; for those who delight in the lesser Dharma, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to fulfill the great vow of bodhi; for those who are self-satisfied, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to be endowed with the great vow, bringing benefit to all; for those of inferior mind, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the bodhisattva's own perfection of power; for those without wisdom, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the bodhisattva's own perfection of wisdom-gnosis.
"For those without form, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the Tathāgata's own pure form-body; for those whose bodies are frail and perishable, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the unsurpassed, pure Dharma-body; for those of evil form, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the Tathāgata's own pure and sublime form; for those in suffering and affliction, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the Tathāgata's own unsurpassed happiness; for those in poverty, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the bodhisattva's own every pure treasury.
"For those in gardens and parks, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to single-mindedly seek every buddha's own sublime Dharma; for those upon the road, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the path of every wisdom; for those in villages, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to emerge from the three realms; for those in a land or country, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to pass beyond the ground of the śrāvaka, the pratyekabuddha, and even the bodhisattva, and abide in the Tathāgata's own ground; for those within city walls, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to enter the city of the Dharma-king, universally illumining all; for those in a corner, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the equal wisdom of the three times; for those in a direction, I expound the true Dharma, causing every wisdom to constantly appear before them, contemplating every dharma.
"For those of much greed and desire, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to contemplate impurity, extinguishing the craving of birth-and-death; for those of much anger, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the ocean of ultimate great loving-kindness; for those of much folly, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain wisdom, contemplating the ocean of every dharma; for those of every affliction in equal measure, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to discern the ocean of every supreme vow, departing from the happiness of birth-and-death, extinguishing the suffering of birth-and-death, revealing the buddha's own true Dharma, unattached to the five aggregates, constantly practicing the sublime Dharma; for those who are indolent, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the adornment of the supreme path; for those who are arrogant, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to contemplate the equality of every dharma; for those who are flattering and crooked, I expound the true Dharma, causing them to attain the bodhisattva's own pure, upright mind.
"Good son, with boundless gifts of the Dharma such as these, I gather in sentient beings, extinguishing the suffering of the evil destinies, dwelling in the happiness of gods and humans, forever departing from the three realms, endowed with every merit and every kind of skillful means, and thereby transform and deliver them, rejoicing without measure."
Fazang counts and classifies this list precisely: 二善男子我為眾生下滅障成德中二：初總明拔苦與樂。二若見眾生在家下別顯滅障成德，於中有三十三種，分五：初十四門分十度，化十四種眾生 — "second, beginning with 'good son, for the sake of sentient beings,' removing obstacles and accomplishing virtue, in two parts: first, a general statement of relieving suffering and giving joy; second, beginning with 'if I see sentient beings at home,' particularly revealing the removal of obstacles and accomplishment of virtue — within this there are thirty-three kinds, divided into five groups: the first fourteen gates distribute the ten perfections, transforming fourteen kinds of sentient beings." He maps the first fourteen directly onto the ten pāramitās — giving and precepts sharing five gates, the vow-perfection split across two (the mind that does not seek a great fruit, and the mind that relinquishes transforming beings), then patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom each given their own gate by name. The remaining nineteen gates fall into four further groups: 二為無色者下三門，化厭色樂無色眾生；三為苦惱者下二門，化有苦眾生；四為園觀者下七門，化著處眾生；五為貪欲多下七門，化惑障眾生 — "second, beginning with 'for those without form,' three gates, transforming beings weary of form who delight in formlessness; third, beginning with 'for those in suffering,' two gates, transforming beings who suffer; fourth, beginning with 'for those in gardens and parks,' seven gates, transforming beings attached to place; fifth, beginning with 'for those of much greed,' seven gates, transforming beings obstructed by affliction." Fourteen, three, two, seven, and seven — thirty-three in total, every one translated here in full.
What stands out reading this list end to end is its total refusal to rank sentient beings by circumstance. A being at home with family, a being obstructed by folly, a being merely standing in a corner or facing a direction — each receives an equally specific, equally tailored teaching. The text does not distinguish the worthy recipient from the unworthy one; it distinguishes only the shape of the affliction, and answers that shape exactly.
Part 77 In Progress
Sudhana has arrived at the fifth teacher of the Ten Grounds and heard her first answer in full — nine minds that purify the ocean of every sentient being's own mind, and thirty-three gates of relief matched to the ten perfections and every circumstance a being might be found in. Part 78 turns to her second answer: the state this Dharma-gate contemplates, in the bodhisattva and in the buddha both.
Continue to Part 78 →