The Rākṣasī Wife, and the Water With a Thousand Names

"Good son, how does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding within this Mahāparinirvāṇa of the Great Vehicle, contemplate the noble truth of the origin of suffering? Good son, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva observes that this truth of origination is itself the cause and condition of the five aggregates — namely, that what is called 'origin' is nothing other than craving turned back toward existence. Craving is of two kinds: craving for one's own body, and craving for what one requires. It is, further, of two kinds: fixing the mind and pursuing single-mindedly what one has not yet obtained among the five desires, and, having obtained it, clinging to it with settled attachment. It is, further, of three kinds: craving for the realm of desire, craving for the realm of form, and craving for the formless realm. It is, further, of three kinds: craving as the cause and condition of karma, craving as the cause and condition of affliction, and craving as the cause and condition of suffering. For one who has left the household life, craving is of four kinds — what are these four? Craving for robes, for food and drink, for bedding, and for medicine. It is, further, of five kinds: craving and clinging to the five aggregates, and, following whatever one requires, every manner of craving and attachment, distinguished and reckoned without limit or bound. Good son, craving is of two kinds: wholesome craving, and unwholesome craving. Unwholesome craving is sought only by the foolish. Wholesome craving is what every bodhisattva seeks. Wholesome craving is, further, of two kinds: unwholesome and wholesome — seeking the two lesser vehicles is called unwholesome, while seeking the Great Vehicle is called wholesome. Good son, the craving of an ordinary person is called 'origination,' and is not called 'truth.' The craving of a bodhisattva is called the 'real truth,' and is not called 'origination.' Why is this? Because he takes on birth for the sake of saving beings, and does not take on birth on account of craving."

The bodhisattva Kāśyapa said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, in other scriptures the World-Honored One has taught beings that karma is their cause and condition, or, at other times, taught that it is pride, or the six kinds of contact, or ignorance that serves as the cause and condition for the five aggregates in their full intensity — by what meaning, then, does the teaching on the Four Noble Truths now say that craving alone is the cause of the five aggregates?"

The Buddha praised the bodhisattva Kāśyapa: "Excellent, excellent, good son! Just as you have said — none of these other causes and conditions is untrue, yet the five aggregates require craving above all as their cause. Good son, it is like a great king who, when he goes out on royal progress, is followed everywhere by his ministers and retinue; craving is just the same — wherever craving goes, these very fetters follow along with it. It is like a greasy garment: wherever dust touches it, the dust clings and stays. Craving is just the same: wherever it attaches, the fetters of karma likewise remain fixed there. Furthermore, good son, it is like damp ground, which alone is able to sprout a shoot; craving is just the same, able to sprout every shoot of karma and affliction. Good son, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding within this Mahāparinirvāṇa of the Great Vehicle, contemplating this craving deeply, finds it to be of nine kinds altogether: like a debt not yet fully repaid; like a rākṣasī wife; like a fine flower's stem, coiled about by a poisonous snake; like food unsuited to one, forced down all the same; like a harlot; like a māluta seed; like proud flesh within a wound; like a fierce gale; and like a comet.

"What is meant by 'like a debt not yet fully repaid'? Good son, it is like a poor man who owes another his money — though he is on the verge of finishing his repayment, because some remainder is still unpaid, he remains bound in prison and cannot gain his release. The śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha are just the same: because some residual scent of craving's habitual imprint still remains in them, they are unable to attain unsurpassed, complete awakening. Good son, this is called 'like a debt not yet fully repaid.' Good son, what is meant by 'like a rākṣasī wife'? Good son, it is like a man who takes a rākṣasī demoness as his wife: whatever children this rākṣasī bears, she devours them as soon as they are born, and, once she has devoured every child, she devours her own husband as well. Good son, the rākṣasī of craving is just the same: whatever wholesome-root children beings bring forth, she devours them as fast as they are born; and once every wholesome child is devoured, she then devours the beings themselves, casting them down into hell, among the animals, or among the hungry ghosts — the bodhisattva alone excepted. This is called 'like a rākṣasī wife.' Good son, what is meant by 'like a fine flower's stem, coiled about by a poisonous snake'? It is like a man who, by nature, loves fine flowers, and, not seeing the danger of a poisonous snake coiled about the flower's stem, reaches out at once to seize it — and, having seized it, is bitten by the snake, and, once bitten, dies. Every ordinary being is just the same: craving the flower of the five desires, and not seeing the danger of this poisonous snake of craving, he reaches out and takes it, and is at once stung by the poison of craving, and, upon death, falls into the three evil destinies — the bodhisattva alone excepted. This is called 'like a fine flower's stem, coiled about by a poisonous snake.' Good son, what is meant by 'food unsuited to one, forced down all the same'? It is like a man who, though this food does not agree with him, forces it down all the same, and, having eaten it, suffers pain in the belly, and dies of dysentery. The food of craving is just the same: beings throughout the five destinies force it down and cling to it, and, through this very cause and condition, fall into the three evil destinies — the bodhisattva alone excepted. This is called 'food unsuited to one, forced down all the same.'

"Good son, what is meant by 'the harlot'? It is like a foolish man who consorts with a harlot, while she, skilled in every manner of flattery and false intimacy, seizes every last coin of his money, and, once his money is exhausted, drives him away. The harlot of craving is just the same: the foolish man, lacking wisdom, consorts with her, and this woman of craving seizes every one of his wholesome dharmas, and, once his wholesome dharmas are exhausted, drives him out to fall into the three evil destinies — the bodhisattva alone excepted. This is called 'the harlot.' Good son, what is meant by 'the māluta seed'? It is like the seed of the māluta vine: once a bird has eaten it, the seed falls to the ground within its droppings, or is carried by the wind, and, coming to rest beneath a nyagrodha tree, at once takes root and grows, coiling about and binding fast the nyagrodha tree, so that it can no longer grow, until at last it withers and dies. The māluta seed of craving is just the same: it coils about and binds fast every wholesome dharma an ordinary person possesses, so that it can no longer grow, until at last it withers away entirely, and, once withered away, upon death he falls into the three evil destinies — the bodhisattva alone excepted. This is called 'the māluta seed.' Good son, what is meant by 'proud flesh within a wound'? It is like a man with a long-standing wound, in which proud flesh has grown: he must diligently apply his mind to treating it, and must never give rise to a mind of neglect — for should he give rise to such neglect, the proud flesh within the wound will grow further, and infection will arise again, and, through this very cause and condition, he will die. The wound of the five aggregates in the foolish, ordinary person is just the same: craving grows within it as proud flesh, and he must diligently apply his mind to treating and removing this craving — for should he fail to treat it, upon death he will fall at once into the three evil destinies — the bodhisattva alone excepted. This is called 'proud flesh within a wound.' Good son, what is meant by 'a fierce gale'? It is like a fierce gale, able to level mountains and shift great peaks, uprooting even the deepest-set roots. The fierce, great gale of craving is just the same: giving rise to malice even toward one's own parents, it is able to uproot the deep-set root of unsurpassed bodhi in one as great in wisdom as Śāriputra himself — the bodhisattva alone excepted. This is called 'a fierce gale.' Good son, what is meant by 'a comet'? It is like a comet appearing over the world, bringing famine, sickness, wasting, and goiter, and every kind of suffering, upon all its people. The comet of craving is just the same: it is able to sever the very seed of every wholesome root, leaving the ordinary person destitute and starving, giving rise in him to the sickness of affliction, so that he wanders on through birth and death, undergoing suffering of every kind — the bodhisattva alone excepted. This is called 'a comet.' Good son, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding within this Mahāparinirvāṇa of the Great Vehicle, contemplating the fetter of craving, finds it to be of these nine kinds.

"Good son, it is for this very reason that every ordinary person has suffering but no truth of it; the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha have both suffering and the truth of suffering, but no reality beneath it; the bodhisattva, understanding suffering, sees no suffering at all, and it is for this very reason that, having no suffering, he has this very reality. Every ordinary person has origination but no truth of it; the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha have both origination and the truth of origination; the bodhisattva, understanding origination, sees no origination at all, and it is for this very reason that, having no origination, he has this very real truth. The śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha have cessation, but it is not real; the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has cessation and has the real truth of it. The śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha have the path, but it is not real; the bodhisattva-mahāsattva has the path and has the real truth of it.

"Good son, how does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding within this Mahāparinirvāṇa of the Great Vehicle, see cessation, and see the truth of cessation? It is the severing and elimination of every affliction: once affliction is severed, this is called permanence; once the fire of affliction is extinguished, this is called still extinction, and, affliction extinguished, one thereby attains bliss; because every buddha and bodhisattva seeks this cause and condition, it is called purity; because one no longer takes on any of the twenty-five states of existence, it is called transcending the world, and, by transcending the world, it is called the permanent self. With regard to form, sound, scent, taste, touch, male, female, arising, abiding, ceasing, suffering, bliss, and neither suffering nor bliss — grasping at none of these marks — it is therefore called the ultimate, still-extinct real truth. Good son, the bodhisattva, abiding thus within this Mahāparinirvāṇa of the Great Vehicle, contemplates the noble truth of cessation.

"Good son, how does the bodhisattva-mahāsattva, abiding within this Mahāparinirvāṇa of the Great Vehicle, contemplate the noble truth of the path? Good son, it is like a lamp within darkness, by which one comes to see things both coarse and subtle. The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is just the same: abiding within this Mahāparinirvāṇa of the Great Vehicle, he sees, by means of the eightfold noble path, every dharma without exception — namely, permanence and impermanence, the conditioned and the unconditioned, sentient being and non-being, thing and non-thing, suffering and bliss, self and no-self, purity and impurity, affliction and non-affliction, karma and non-karma, real and unreal, vehicle and non-vehicle, knowledge and non-knowledge, substance and non-substance, quality and non-quality, view and non-view, form and formlessness, path and non-path, understanding and non-understanding. Good son, the bodhisattva, abiding thus within this Mahāparinirvāṇa of the Great Vehicle, contemplates the noble truth of the path."

The bodhisattva Kāśyapa said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, if the eightfold noble path alone is the noble truth of the path, the meaning does not fit together. Why is this? At times the Tathāgata has taught that faith itself is the path, able to carry one across every outflow. At times he has taught that heedfulness is the path — since every buddha, every world-honored one, attains unsurpassed, complete awakening precisely through heedfulness, and this, too, is a dharma that aids the bodhisattva's path. At times he has taught that diligent effort is the path, as he told Ānanda: 'Should anyone be able diligently to cultivate effort, he will thereby attain unsurpassed, complete awakening.' At times he has taught the foundation of mindfulness that contemplates the body, saying that should anyone fix his mind and diligently cultivate this foundation of mindfulness, he will thereby attain unsurpassed, complete awakening. At times he has taught that right concentration is the path, as he told the venerable Mahākāśyapa: 'Right concentration alone is truly the path — it is not that what lacks right concentration is also the path; only by entering right concentration is one able to contemplate the arising and ceasing of the five aggregates — it is not that one can contemplate this without entering concentration at all.' At times he has taught a single dharma which, should anyone cultivate it, is able to purify beings, extinguish every sorrow and distress, and attain the true Dharma — namely, the samādhi of mindfulness of the Buddha. At times, again, he has taught that cultivating the notion of impermanence is called the path, as he told the monks: 'Whoever is able extensively to cultivate the notion of impermanence is able to attain unsurpassed, complete awakening.' At times he has taught that sitting alone in empty, quiet forest dwelling and contemplating is able swiftly to bring about unsurpassed, complete awakening. At times he has taught that expounding the Dharma for others is called the path — for, once one has heard the Dharma, the net of doubt is at once severed, and, this net of doubt severed, one then attains unsurpassed, complete awakening. At times he has taught that upholding the precepts is the path, as he told Ānanda: 'Should anyone diligently uphold the restraining precepts, this person will thereby cross over the great suffering of birth and death.' At times he has taught that drawing near to good friends is called the path, as he told Ānanda: 'Should anyone draw near to a good and wise friend, he will thereby be furnished with pure precepts; should any being be able to draw near to me, he will thereby give rise to the mind of unsurpassed, complete awakening.' At times he has taught that cultivating loving-kindness is the path — one who cultivates and learns loving-kindness severs every affliction and attains the unshakable place. At times he has taught that wisdom is the path, as the Buddha once told the bhikṣuṇī Mahāprajāpatī: 'Sister, it is just as with every śrāvaka: with the very blade of wisdom, one is able to sever every stream and every outflow and affliction.' At times the Tathāgata has taught that giving is the path, as the Buddha once told King Prasenajit: 'Great King, you should know that, in ages past, I practiced giving and charity extensively, and it is through this very cause and condition that I have today attained unsurpassed, complete awakening.' World-Honored One, if the eightfold noble path alone is the truth of the path, are not scriptures such as these, then, false? And if those scriptures are not false, then for what reason do they fail to name the eightfold path as the noble truth of the path? And if they fail to name it, then why did the Tathāgata, in ages past, make such an error? And yet I know for certain that every buddha, every tathāgata, has, for a very long time now, been entirely free of error."

At that time, the World-Honored One praised the bodhisattva Kāśyapa: "Excellent, excellent, good son! You now wish to know every secret held within the Great Vehicle's own subtle and wondrous scriptures, and this is why you ask this question. Good son, every one of these scriptures is included within the truth of the path. Good son, as I have taught it: wherever there is faith in the path, this very faith in the path is itself the root of faith, and is itself a dharma able to assist the path of bodhi — this is why I say there is no error in it at all. Good son, the Tathāgata, skillfully knowing immeasurable skillful means, wishing to transform beings, therefore teaches in these many different ways. Good son, it is like a skilled physician who, knowing the various origins of the various illnesses of beings, compounds medicine to suit what each patient suffers, together with what each medicine forbids — water alone, of every substance, falling under no such prohibition. He may prescribe water infused with ginger, or with licorice, or with asarum, or with dark rock-sugar, or with āmalaka, or with nimba, or with pāṭala, or plain cold water, or plain hot water, or grape-water, or pomegranate-water. Good son, this skilled physician, well knowing the various afflictions of beings, forbids many things among his medicines, yet never forbids water. The Tathāgata is just the same: skillfully knowing expedient means, with regard to a single dharma-mark, he distinguishes it and expounds it at length, according to each being, in many different names and marks; and these beings, each receiving what is taught to him, and, having received it, cultivating it, thereby remove and sever their afflictions — just as the sick person, following the skilled physician's instruction, is thereby cured of what afflicts him.

"Furthermore, good son, it is like a man, skilled in many languages, standing amid a great assembly — this assembly, pressed by heat and thirst, cries out together: 'I wish to drink water! I wish to drink water!' This man, at once bringing them clear, cool water, calls it by its name according to each group's own tongue — calling it, in turn, pānīya, or udaka, or salila, or sāra, or vāri, or nectar, or simply cow's milk — expounding it to the assembly under these countless names for water. Good son, the Tathāgata is just the same: with a single noble path, he expounds it to the various śrāvakas in many different ways, from the faculty of faith through to the eightfold noble path.

"Furthermore, good son, it is like a goldsmith who, from a single kind of gold, fashions at will every manner of ornament — clasps and chains, bracelets and armlets, earrings and pendants, a crown fit for a god, an armband — and though these differ from one another in this way, none of them ever departs from the gold itself. Good son, the Tathāgata is just the same: with a single buddha-path, he distinguishes it in many different ways, according to each being, and teaches it accordingly. At times he teaches it as a single kind — namely, that every buddha has this one path, without a second. At times he teaches it as two kinds — namely, concentration and wisdom. At times he teaches it as three kinds — namely, view, discernment, and wisdom. At times he teaches it as four kinds — namely, the path of seeing, the path of cultivation, the path beyond further training, and the path of buddhahood. At times he teaches it as five kinds — namely, the path of one who follows through faith, the path of one who follows through the Dharma, the path of liberation through faith, the path of one who has reached the view, and the path of one who has attained bodily realization. At times he teaches it as six kinds — namely, the path of stream-entry, of once-returning, of non-returning, of arhatship, of pratyekabuddhahood, and of buddhahood. At times he teaches it as seven kinds — namely, the awakening-factors of mindfulness, investigation of dharmas, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity. At times he teaches it as eight kinds — namely, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. At times he teaches it as nine kinds — namely, the eightfold noble path together with faith. At times he teaches it as ten kinds — namely, the ten powers. At times he teaches it as eleven kinds — namely, the ten powers together with great loving-kindness. At times he teaches it as twelve kinds — namely, the ten powers, great loving-kindness, and great compassion. At times he teaches it as thirteen kinds — namely, the ten powers, great loving-kindness, great compassion, and the samādhi of mindfulness of the Buddha. At times he teaches it as sixteen kinds — namely, the ten powers, great loving-kindness, great compassion, the samādhi of mindfulness of the Buddha, and the three foundations of right mindfulness attained by a buddha. At times he teaches it as twenty paths — namely, the ten powers, the four kinds of fearlessness, great loving-kindness, great compassion, the samādhi of mindfulness of the Buddha, and the three foundations of right mindfulness. Good son, this path is one single essence — it is only that the Tathāgata, in ages past, distinguished it in many different ways for the sake of beings.

"Furthermore, good son, it is like a single fire, which, according to what feeds it, takes on many different names — a wood-fire, a grass-fire, a chaff-fire, a bran-fire, a fire of cattle- or horse-dung. Good son, the path of buddhahood is just the same: one, without a second, yet distinguished in many different ways for the sake of beings. Furthermore, good son, it is like a single consciousness, distinguished and spoken of as six: when it reaches the eye, it is called eye-consciousness, and so forth up through mind-consciousness, just the same. Good son, the path is just the same: one, without a second, yet the Tathāgata, in order to transform the various beings, distinguishes it in many different ways. Furthermore, good son, it is like a single object: what the eye sees is called form; what the ear hears is called sound; what the nose smells is called scent; what the tongue tastes is called flavor; what the body senses is called touch. Good son, the path is just the same: one, without a second, yet the Tathāgata, wishing to transform beings, distinguishes it in many different ways. Good son, it is for this very reason that the eightfold noble path is named the noble truth of the path. Good son, these Four Noble Truths are taught by every buddha, every world-honored one, in this same sequence, and it is through this very cause and condition that immeasurable beings attain liberation from birth and death."

The bodhisattva Kāśyapa said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, once, in ages past, the Buddha was dwelling on the bank of the Gaṅgā River, within the śiṃśapā grove, and the Tathāgata, taking up a handful of that tree's leaves, said to the monks: 'Are there more leaves here in my hand, or more leaves on every tree and plant across the whole earth?' The monks said: 'World-Honored One, the leaves on every tree and plant across the whole earth are beyond number and reckoning — what the Tathāgata holds in his hand is too few even to mention.' 'Monks, all the dharmas I have fully realized are like the trees and plants that grow across the whole earth; what I have proclaimed for the sake of beings is like this handful of leaves.' The World-Honored One then spoke these words: 'Of all the immeasurable dharmas the Tathāgata has fully realized, whatever falls within the Four Noble Truths I have already taught; were there anything that did not fall within them, there would have to be a fifth truth.'"

At that time, the Buddha praised the bodhisattva Kāśyapa: "Excellent, excellent, good son! What you now ask is able to bring benefit, peace, and happiness to immeasurable beings. Good son, every dharma of this kind is already gathered within the Four Noble Truths."

The bodhisattva Kāśyapa said further: "If dharmas of this kind already lie within the Four Truths, why does the Tathāgata proclaim that he has not taught them?"

The Buddha said: "Good son, though they do indeed lie within the Four Truths, this still cannot be called having taught them. Why is this? Good son, knowing the Four Noble Truths involves two kinds of wisdom: the middling, and the superior. The middling is the wisdom of the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha; the superior is the wisdom of every buddha and bodhisattva. Good son, knowing that the aggregates are suffering is called middling wisdom; distinguishing the aggregates as bearing immeasurable marks, every one of them suffering — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Good son, meanings of this kind I have, in the end, never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing the sense-fields, called 'gateways,' also called 'suffering,' is called middling wisdom; distinguishing the sense-fields as bearing immeasurable marks, every one of them suffering — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing the elements, called 'divisions,' also called 'natures,' also called 'suffering,' is called middling wisdom; distinguishing the elements as bearing immeasurable marks, every one of them suffering — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing the mark of form's own decay is called middling wisdom; distinguishing form as bearing immeasurable marks, every one of them suffering — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing the mark of feeling's own sensation is called middling wisdom; distinguishing feeling as bearing immeasurable marks of sensation — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing the mark of perception's own grasping is called middling wisdom; distinguishing this perception as bearing immeasurable marks of grasping — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing the mark of volitional formations' own activity is called middling wisdom; distinguishing these formations as bearing immeasurable marks of activity — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing the mark of consciousness's own distinguishing is called middling wisdom; distinguishing this consciousness as bearing immeasurable marks of knowing — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing that the cause and condition of craving is able to give rise to the five aggregates is called middling wisdom; knowing that a single person's craving arises in immeasurable, boundless ways — something no śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha is able to know — and being able to know every kind of craving that arises in every being, this is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing the extinguishing of affliction is called middling wisdom; distinguishing affliction as beyond number and reckoning, and its extinguishing likewise beyond number and reckoning — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing the mark of the path, able to remove affliction, is called middling wisdom; distinguishing the marks of the path as immeasurable and boundless, and the afflictions it removes likewise immeasurable and boundless — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, knowing worldly truth is called middling wisdom; distinguishing worldly truth as immeasurable, boundless, beyond number and reckoning — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures. Good son, that every conditioned thing is impermanent, that every dharma is without self, and that nirvāṇa is still extinction — this is the ultimate truth, and knowing it is called middling wisdom; knowing this ultimate truth as immeasurable, boundless, beyond number and reckoning — this is not known by any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha, and is called superior wisdom. Meanings of this kind, too, I have never taught within those other scriptures."

At that time, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva Mañjuśrī said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, what is the meaning of what is taught as worldly truth and ultimate truth? World-Honored One, does worldly truth exist within the ultimate truth? Does the ultimate truth exist within worldly truth? If it does, then this is a single truth; and if it does not, is the Tathāgata's teaching not then false?"

"Good son, worldly truth is itself the ultimate truth."

"World-Honored One, if this is so, then there is no such thing as two truths."

The Buddha said: "Good son, there is a skillful means, according with beings, by which two truths are spoken of. Good son, when speech is followed, there are two kinds: worldly dharmas, and dharmas transcending the world. Good son, what a person who has transcended the world knows is called the ultimate truth; what a worldly person knows is called worldly truth. Good son, when the five aggregates come together, and one is called by some given name — an ordinary being, following whatever he is called, this is called worldly truth; understanding that the aggregates hold no such given name, and that, apart from the aggregates too, there is no such given name, and one who has transcended the world, knowing this according to its true nature and mark, this is called the ultimate truth. Furthermore, good son, there are dharmas that have both a name and a reality, and there are dharmas that have a name but no reality. Good son, what has a name but no reality is itself worldly truth; what has both a name and a reality is the ultimate truth. Good son: self, being, life, knowledge and views, one who is reared, a man, an agent, an experiencer, the shimmer of heat, a gandharva city, a tortoise's hair, a rabbit's horn, a wheel of whirling fire, and the aggregates, sense-fields, and elements — these are called worldly truth; suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path are called the ultimate truth.

"Good son, worldly dharmas are of five kinds: the worldliness of names, the worldliness of phrases, the worldliness of bonds, the worldliness of conventions, and the worldliness of attachment. Good son, what is the worldliness of names? Man and woman, vessel and garment, cart and house — things of this kind are called the worldliness of names. What is the worldliness of phrases? Four phrases making a verse — verses of this kind are called the worldliness of phrases. What is the worldliness of bonds? Rolling together, tying, binding fast, and joining the palms — these are called the worldliness of bonds. What is the worldliness of convention? Such things as striking a gong, gathering the saṅgha, sounding the drum, the watch of the precepts, blowing the conch, and knowing the proper time — these are called the worldliness of convention. What is the worldliness of attachment? It is like seeing, from far off, a person clad in dyed robes, and giving rise to a fixed notion, saying, 'This is a śramaṇa, and not a brahmin'; or seeing someone with a knotted cord slung across his body, and thereupon thinking, 'This is a brahmin, and not a śramaṇa' — this is called the worldliness of attachment. Good son, these are called the five kinds of worldly dharmas. Good son, should any being, with regard to these five kinds of worldly dharmas, hold a mind free of inversion, and know them exactly as they truly are, this is called the ultimate truth.

"Furthermore, good son, whatever is burned, or cut, or dies, or is destroyed — this is called worldly truth; the absence of burning, cutting, dying, or destruction is called the ultimate truth. Furthermore, good son, the eight marks of suffering are called worldly truth; the absence of birth, of old age, of illness, of death, of separation from what one loves, of union with what one hates, of not obtaining what one seeks, and of the five aggregates in their full intensity — this is called the ultimate truth. Furthermore, good son, it is like a single person capable of many things: when he runs, he is called a runner; when he reaps a harvest, he is called a reaper; when he prepares food, he is called a cook; when he works timber, he is called a carpenter; when he forges gold and silver, he is called a goldsmith or silversmith — one and the same person bearing many names in this way. Dharmas, too, are just the same: in reality one, yet bearing many names. Arising through the coming together of one's father and mother is called worldly truth; arising through the coming together of the twelve links of dependent origination is called the ultimate truth."

The bodhisattva-mahāsattva Mañjuśrī said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, what is the meaning of what is called the real truth?"

The Buddha said: "Good son, what is called the real truth is named the true dharma. Good son, whatever dharma is not true is not called the real truth. Good son, the real truth is free of every inversion; only what is free of inversion is called the real truth. Good son, the real truth is free of falsehood; whatever contains falsehood is not called the real truth. Good son, the real truth is named the Great Vehicle; whatever is not the Great Vehicle is not called the real truth. Good son, the real truth is what the Buddha has spoken, and not what Māra has spoken; whatever is spoken by Māra and not by the Buddha is not called the real truth. Good son, the real truth is a single path, pure and undefiled, without a second. Good son, having permanence, having bliss, having self, and having purity — this, then, is called the meaning of the real truth."

Mañjuśrī said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, if what is truly real is taken as the real truth, then the dharma that is truly real is itself the Tathāgata, empty space, and buddha-nature. If this is so, then the Tathāgata, empty space, and buddha-nature are without any difference at all."

The Buddha told Mañjuśrī: "There is suffering, its truth, and its reality; there is origination, its truth, and its reality; there is cessation, its truth, and its reality; there is the path, its truth, and its reality. Good son, the Tathāgata is neither suffering nor its truth, yet is its reality; empty space is neither suffering nor its truth, yet is its reality; buddha-nature is neither suffering nor its truth, yet is its reality. Mañjuśrī, what is called suffering bears the mark of impermanence, and the mark of what can be severed — this is the real truth of it. The nature of the Tathāgata is neither suffering, nor impermanent, nor bears the mark of what can be severed — it is, for this very reason, reality; empty space and buddha-nature are just the same. Furthermore, good son, what is called origination is able to bring the five aggregates together into being, and is likewise called suffering, likewise called impermanent, and bears the mark of what can be severed — this is the real truth of it. Good son, the Tathāgata is not of the nature of origination, is not the cause of the aggregates, does not bear the mark of what can be severed — it is, for this very reason, reality; empty space and buddha-nature are just the same. Good son, what is called cessation is named the extinguishing of affliction, and is both permanent and impermanent: what the two lesser vehicles attain is called impermanent, while what every buddha attains is called permanent, and is also called a dharma realized — this is the real truth of it. Good son, the nature of the Tathāgata is not called cessation, but is able to extinguish affliction; it is neither permanent nor impermanent, is not called something realized, but abides forever, unchanging — it is, for this very reason, reality; empty space and buddha-nature are just the same. Good son, the path is able to sever affliction, and is both permanent and impermanent, a dharma that can be cultivated — this is called the real truth of it. The Tathāgata is not the path, yet is able to sever affliction; he is neither permanent nor impermanent, nor a dharma that can be cultivated, but abides forever, unchanging — it is, for this very reason, reality; empty space and buddha-nature are just the same.

"Furthermore, good son, what is truly real is itself the Tathāgata, and the Tathāgata is itself what is truly real. What is truly real is itself empty space, and empty space is itself what is truly real. What is truly real is itself buddha-nature, and buddha-nature is itself what is truly real. Mañjuśrī, there is suffering, the cause of suffering, the ending of suffering, and the counter-agent to suffering; the Tathāgata is neither suffering nor, indeed, this counter-agent — he is, for this very reason, reality, and is not called a truth; empty space and buddha-nature are just the same. Suffering is conditioned, is subject to outflow, and is without bliss; the Tathāgata is neither conditioned nor subject to outflow, but is tranquil and at ease — he is reality, and not a truth."

Mañjuśrī said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, as the Buddha has taught, what is free of inversion is called the real truth. If this is so, then do the four truths themselves contain the four inversions? If they do, how can it be said that what is free of inversion is called the real truth, and that whatever is inverted is not called real?"

The Buddha told Mañjuśrī: "Every inversion is subsumed within the truth of suffering — as when any being holds an inverted mind, this is called inversion. Good son, it is like a person who does not accept the instruction of his parents and elders, or who, having accepted it, is unable to act in accordance with it and practice it — a person of this kind is called inverted, and this inversion is nothing other than suffering — it is not that it is not suffering, but exactly suffering itself."

Mañjuśrī said: "As the Buddha has taught, what is free of falsehood is itself the real truth; if this is so, one should know that falsehood, then, is not the real truth."

The Buddha said: "Good son, every falsehood is subsumed within the truth of suffering — as when a being deceives another, and, through this very cause and condition, falls into hell, among the animals, or among the hungry ghosts; a dharma of this kind is called falsehood, and this falsehood is nothing other than suffering — it is not that it is not suffering, but exactly suffering itself. The śrāvaka, the pratyekabuddha, and every buddha, every world-honored one, keep far from it and do not engage in it, and it is for this reason that it is called falsehood. Falsehood of this kind is severed and eliminated by every buddha and by the two lesser vehicles, and it is for this reason that it is called the real truth."

Mañjuśrī said: "As the Buddha has taught, if the Great Vehicle is the real truth, one should know that the vehicles of the śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha are, then, not real."

The Buddha said: "Mañjuśrī, those two vehicles are both real and unreal. The śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha sever every affliction, and this is called real. Yet they are impermanent, do not abide, and are subject to change — this is called unreal."

Mañjuśrī said: "As the Buddha has taught, if what the Buddha teaches is called real, one should know that what Māra teaches is, then, unreal. World-Honored One, is what Māra teaches subsumed within the noble truths, or not?"

The Buddha said: "Mañjuśrī, what Māra teaches is subsumed within two of the truths, namely suffering and its origin. Whatever is entirely without Dharma, without discipline, and is unable to bring any benefit to anyone — though taught the whole day through, no one thereby ever sees suffering, severs its origin, realizes cessation, or cultivates the path — this is called falsehood; falsehood of this kind is called the teaching of Māra."

Mañjuśrī said: "As the Buddha has taught, the one path is pure, without a second. Yet the followers of every other tenet likewise say: 'I, too, have one path, pure, without a second.' If this one path is said to be the real truth, how does it differ from what these other tenets hold? And if there is no difference, one should not say that this one path alone is pure."

The Buddha said: "Good son, the followers of these other tenets have the truths of suffering and of origination, but lack the truths of cessation and of the path. Amid what is not cessation, they give rise to the notion of cessation; amid what is not the path, they give rise to the notion of the path; amid what is not a true result, they give rise to the notion of a result; amid what is not a true cause, they give rise to the notion of a cause. It is for this very reason that they do not have this one path, pure, without a second."

Mañjuśrī said: "As the Buddha has taught, having permanence, having self, having bliss, and having purity is the true meaning — then the followers of other tenets, too, should have this real truth, and the Buddha's own Dharma should have none. Why is this? The followers of other tenets, too, say this: 'Conditioned phenomena are permanent. How do we know this is so? Because the fruit of every action, pleasant or unpleasant, is never lost in the receiving of it — what is pleasant is called the fruit of the ten wholesome deeds, and what is unpleasant is called the fruit of the ten unwholesome deeds. Were conditioned phenomena entirely impermanent, and the one who performed the deed already extinguished, who, then, would be left to receive its fruit? It is for this very reason that conditioned phenomena are permanent — the very fact that killing carries a consequence proves this permanence.' World-Honored One, were it said that conditioned phenomena are entirely impermanent, then both the killer and the one killed would alike be impermanent — and if impermanent, who then receives the punishment of hell? If it is said that there is certainly someone in hell who receives this punishment, one should know that conditioned phenomena are, in reality, not impermanent at all. World-Honored One, fixing the mind and holding something in single-minded recollection is likewise called permanence — for what is held in mind for ten years, even for a hundred years, is still not forgotten, and this, therefore, is permanence. Were it impermanent, who would recall, who would remember, what was originally seen? It is through this very cause and condition that no conditioned phenomenon is impermanent at all. World-Honored One, every act of remembering is likewise called permanence — a person who has previously seen the hand, foot, head, or neck of another, upon seeing it again later, at once recognizes it once more; were it impermanent, the original notion should already have perished. World-Honored One, every task one performs, cultivated over a long time — whether from one's very first learning, or after three years, or after five years, one thereby comes to know it well — and this, therefore, is called permanence. World-Honored One, as with the method of counting: from one to two, from two to three, up to a hundred, up to a thousand — were it impermanent, the first 'one' should already have perished, and, the first 'one' having perished, how could one ever reach 'two'? Thus this constant 'one' never becomes two on its own account — it is precisely because the 'one' does not perish that one is able to reach 'two,' and on up to a hundred, to a thousand, and this, therefore, is permanence. World-Honored One, as with the practice of reciting scripture: reciting one āgama, one goes on to a second āgama, and on to a third, a fourth — were this impermanent, whatever one recited would never reach a fourth at all; it is because reciting itself is a cause and condition of increase that this, therefore, is called permanence. World-Honored One, a vessel, a garment, a cart; a man's debt owed; the very shape of the great earth; mountains, rivers, and forests; medicinal trees, plants, and leaves; the curing of a being's own sickness — every one of these, too, is permanent, in just the same way. World-Honored One, every follower of another tenet says this alike: 'Conditioned phenomena are permanent, and, being permanent, this is itself the real truth.'

"World-Honored One, there are also followers of other tenets who say there is bliss. How do they know this? Because whoever receives it certainly obtains a pleasant result. World-Honored One, whoever receives bliss certainly attains it — namely, the great lord Brahmā, Maheśvara, Śakra, Viṣṇu, and every human and divine being — and it is for this reason that they say there is certainly bliss. World-Honored One, there are followers of other tenets who further say there is bliss, because it is able to give rise, in beings, to longing and seeking — the hungry seek food, the thirsty seek drink, the cold seek warmth, the hot seek coolness, the weary seek rest, the sick seek a cure, the desirous seek beauty — and were there no bliss, for what reason would they seek it at all? Because there is such seeking, one thereby knows there is bliss. World-Honored One, there are followers of other tenets who further say this: giving is able to obtain bliss. Worldly people who delight in giving to śramaṇas and brahmins, to the poor and the destitute, offering clothing, food and drink, bedding and medicine, elephants, horses, and carriages, powdered and ointment incense, flowers, houses, lamps and their light, and every such gift, do so for the sake of receiving a pleasant result in a future life — and one should therefore know that bliss certainly exists. World-Honored One, there are followers of other tenets who further say this: through cause and condition, one should know that bliss exists — for whoever receives bliss does so through a cause and condition, and this is called a pleasant contact. Were there no bliss, how could there be such a cause and condition? Just as, since there is no such thing as a rabbit's horn, there is no cause and condition for it — since there is a cause and condition for bliss, one thereby knows that bliss exists. World-Honored One, there are followers of other tenets who further say this: because of the higher, the middling, and the lower, one should know that bliss exists — the lower recipient of bliss is Śakra, the middling recipient is the great lord Brahmā, the highest recipient is Maheśvara. Because there is this higher, middling, and lower, one should know that bliss exists.

"World-Honored One, there are followers of other tenets who further say there is purity. Why is this? Were there no purity, desire should never arise; and since desire does arise, one should know that purity exists. They further say this: gold, silver, and every precious treasure, lapis lazuli and crystal, coral shell and agate, coral and pearl, jade and mother-of-pearl, flowing springs and bathing pools, food, drink, and clothing, flowers and incense, powdered and ointment incense, and the light of lamp and candle — things of this kind are all pure dharmas. Furthermore, there is purity, namely the five aggregates themselves, which are precisely a pure vessel holding pure things — namely humans and gods, the various sages, arhats, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and every buddha — and it is for this reason that they are called pure.

"World-Honored One, there are followers of other tenets who further say there is a self, because there is something seen that is able to act as an agent. It is like a man who enters a potter's house: though he does not see the potter's own body, seeing the wheel and the cord, he knows for certain that this must be a potter's house. The self is just the same: once the eye has seen a form, one knows for certain that a self exists. Were there no self, who would be able to see form, hear sound, and, likewise, smell, taste, and touch, or cognize a mental object? Furthermore, there is a self — how does one know this? One knows it through its marks. What are these marks? Breathing, blinking, a lifespan that directs the mind, the receiving of every suffering and pleasure, craving, and anger — marks of this kind are all marks of the self, and one should therefore know for certain that a self exists. Furthermore, there is a self, because it is able to distinguish flavor — a person eating fruit, upon tasting it, knows its flavor, and one should therefore know for certain that a self exists. Furthermore, there is a self — how does one know this? Because it takes hold and performs actions. Taking hold of a sickle, one is able to reap; taking hold of an axe, one is able to chop; taking hold of a jar, one holds water in it; taking hold of a cart, one is able to drive it — actions of this kind are all performed by the self's own grasping, and one should know for certain that a self exists. Furthermore, there is a self — how does one know this? At the very moment of birth, an infant already desires to be suckled, riding upon a habit formed in a former life, and one should therefore know for certain that a self exists. Furthermore, there is a self — how does one know this? Because coming together brings benefit to other beings. It is like a jar, a garment, a cart, a field or dwelling, mountains, forests, and trees, elephants, horses, cattle, and sheep — things of this kind, when they come together, thereby bring benefit. This inner assembly of the five aggregates is just the same: because the eye and the other faculties come together, this brings benefit to the self, and one should therefore know for certain that a self exists. Furthermore, there is a self — how does one know this? Because there is such a thing as obstruction. Since there is a thing, there is an obstruction it presents; were there no such thing, there would be no such obstruction — and since there is such an obstruction, one thereby knows a self exists, and one should therefore know for certain that a self exists. Furthermore, there is a self — how does one know this? Because of companionship and its absence. A relation and a stranger are not companions to one another; the true Dharma and heterodox teaching, likewise, are not companions; wisdom and its absence, likewise, are not companions; the śramaṇa and the non-śramaṇa, the brahmin and the non-brahmin, a son and a non-son, day and non-day, night and non-night, self and non-self — dharmas of this kind are companion or non-companion to one another, and one should therefore know for certain that a self exists. World-Honored One, the followers of other tenets, through explanations of every kind, hold that there is permanence, bliss, self, and purity, and one should know that permanence, bliss, self, and purity certainly exist. World-Honored One, it is for this very reason that the followers of other tenets, too, are entitled to say that they possess the real truth."