Arousing the Mind, the Twofold Benefit, Reality, Supernormal Power, and Maturing Beings
Five chapters carry the bodhisattva from the lineage described in fascicle 1 into active practice. The chapter on arousing the mind gives its four greatnesses, its four grounds of difference, an eleven-part anatomy running from root to culmination, and twenty-two similes for what the aroused mind is like — earth, gold, fire, ocean, a wish-fulfilling gem. The chapter on the twofold benefit argues that self and other, once seen truly, are without difference, and then argues in the next breath that benefiting others is still supreme. The chapter on reality states the fivefold character of the ultimate — neither existent nor non-existent, neither identical nor different — and maps the five stages by which a practitioner comes to see it directly. The chapter on supernormal power catalogues six kinds of knowledge and what equips them. And the chapter on maturing beings gives nine factors of self-maturation, each analyzed into cause, substance, and function, before turning outward to how the six perfections mature others across this life and the next.
Where This Fascicle Picks Up
Fascicle 1 established that the Mahāyāna is the Buddha's word, that its refuge is foremost, and that the bodhisattva lineage is a real and observable distinction among beings — closing on the uncomfortable admission that some beings do not yet have it. This fascicle assumes the lineage is present and asks what it does: how the mind of enlightenment is aroused from it, how that arousing plays out as conduct that benefits self and other without distinction between them, what reality actually is once it is seen without distortion, what supernormal power a bodhisattva develops along the way, and how a bodhisattva matures both himself and the beings around him.
Classical text is set in the left-hand column, our English in the right. See also this site's note on translation method.
1. Arousing the Mind: Its Marks, and Its Differences by Ground
釋曰：如是已分別菩薩種性，次分別菩薩發菩提心相。
偈曰：
勇猛及方便， 利益及出離，
四大三功德， 二義故心起。
釋曰：菩薩發心，有四種大：一勇猛大，謂弘誓精進甚深難作，長時隨順故。二方便大，謂被弘誓鉀已，恒時方便勤精進故。三利益大，謂一切時作自他利故。四出離大，謂為求無上菩提故。復次此四種大，顯示三種功德。第一第二大顯示作丈夫所作功德，第三大顯示作大義功德，第四大顯示受果功德。此三功德以二義為緣，所謂無上菩提及一切眾生，由此思故發菩提心。已說發心相，次說發心差別。
偈曰：
信行與淨依， 報得及無障，
發心依諸地， 差別有四種。
釋曰：菩薩發心，依諸地有四種差別：一信行發心，謂信行地。二淨依發心，謂前七地。三報得發心，謂後三地。四無障發心，謂如來地。已說差別，次當廣釋。問：如此發心，以何為根？何所依止？何所信？何所緣？何所乘？何所住？何等障難？何等功德？何等自性？何所出離？何處究竟？
The exposition: the bodhisattva lineage having thus been distinguished, next the mark of the bodhisattva's arousing the mind of enlightenment is distinguished.
Valor, and skillful means,
benefit, and renunciation —
four greatnesses, three merits,
and two objects: by these the mind arises.
The exposition: the bodhisattva's arousing of the mind has four greatnesses: first, the greatness of valor, in that his vast vow and diligence are exceedingly profound and difficult to accomplish, and he follows through with them over a long time. Second, the greatness of skillful means, in that having donned the armor of his vast vow, he constantly and diligently applies skillful means. Third, the greatness of benefit, in that at all times he acts for the benefit of both himself and others. Fourth, the greatness of renunciation, in that he seeks unsurpassed enlightenment. Furthermore, these four greatnesses display three merits: the first and second display the merit of doing what a great man does; the third displays the merit of accomplishing great significance; and the fourth displays the merit of receiving the fruit. These three merits take two objects as their condition — unsurpassed enlightenment, and all sentient beings — and it is by reflecting on these that the mind of enlightenment is aroused. The mark of arousing the mind having been stated, next the distinctions within it are explained.
By faith and practice, and by the pure support,
by the ripened attainment, and by the unobstructed —
arousing the mind, in dependence on the grounds,
has four kinds of distinction.
The exposition: the bodhisattva's arousing of the mind, in dependence on the grounds, has four distinctions: first, arousing the mind by faith and practice, which is the ground of faith and practice; second, by the pure support, which is the first seven grounds; third, by the ripened attainment, which is the last three grounds; and fourth, without obstruction, which is the ground of the Tathāgata. The distinctions having been stated, they shall now be explained at length. Question: as for this arousing of the mind — what is its root? What is its support? What does it have faith in? What does it take as its object? What vehicle does it ride? Where does it abide? What is its obstacle and difficulty? What is its merit? What is its own-nature? What is its renunciation? Where does it culminate?
偈曰：
大悲與利物， 大法將種智，
勝欲亦大護， 受障及增善，
福智與修度， 及以地地滿，
初根至後竟， 隨次解應知。
釋曰：菩薩發心以大悲為根。以利物為依止。以大乘法為所信。以種智為所緣，為求彼故。以勝欲為所乘，欲無上乘故。以大護為所住，住菩薩戒故。以受障為難，起異乘心故。以增善為功德。以福智為自性。以習諸度為出離。以地滿為究竟，由地地勤方便與彼彼相應故。如此已廣分別，次說受世俗發心。
Great compassion, and benefiting beings;
the great Dharma, and omniscience;
supreme aspiration, and great protection;
receiving obstruction, and increasing good;
merit and wisdom, and cultivating the perfections;
and the fulfillment ground by ground —
from the first, the root, to the last, the culmination,
in this order they should be understood.
The exposition: the bodhisattva's arousing of the mind has great compassion as its root; benefiting beings as its support; the Mahāyāna Dharma as what it has faith in; omniscience as its object, since it is sought for its sake; supreme aspiration as its vehicle, since it aspires to the unsurpassed vehicle; great protection as its abode, in that it abides in the bodhisattva precepts; receiving obstruction as its difficulty, in that a mind for a different vehicle may arise; increasing good as its merit; merit and wisdom as its own-nature; the cultivation of the perfections as its renunciation; and the fulfillment ground by ground as its culmination, since it diligently applies skillful means and corresponds to each ground in turn. This having now been distinguished at length, next receiving the conventional arousing of the mind is explained.
大悲為根 — great compassion as the root of arousing the mind — is worth pausing on, since much of this treatise's Yogācāra apparatus elsewhere gives wisdom pride of place. Here the eleven-fold anatomy runs from compassion at the root through omniscience as the object sought and finally to the ground-by-ground fulfillment as culmination — wisdom appears in the sequence, but as what is aimed at and cultivated, not as what starts the process. The treatise's own ordering suggests that for a Mahāyāna text organized around the bodhisattva rather than the arhat, the motivating cause has to be something that already includes other beings within it, and only compassion does that from the very first moment.
The four grounds of difference (信行, 淨依, 報得, 無障) quietly compress the entire bodhisattva path into four stages: the ground of faith and practice before the path of seeing, the first seven grounds where the support is "pure" but not yet effortless, the last three grounds where enlightenment's fruits begin to ripen of themselves, and the stage of a buddha where nothing obstructs it further. The treatise will spend the rest of this fascicle, and much of the fascicles that follow, filling in what happens at each of these stages — this verse is the outline the later material is hung on.
2. Conventional and Ultimate Arousing, and Twenty-Two Similes
偈曰：
友力及因力， 根力亦聞力，
四力總二發， 不堅及以堅。
釋曰：若從他說得覺而發心，是名受世俗發心。此發心由四力：一者友力發心，或得善知識隨順故。二者因力發心，或過去曾發心為性故。三者根力發心，或過去曾行諸善根所圓滿故。四者聞力發心，或處處說法時無量眾生發菩提心故。又習善根者，或現在如法常聞受持等故。復次彼四力發心，總為二種：一者不堅發，謂友力發心故。二者堅發，謂因等三力發心故。已說世俗發心，次說第一義發心。
偈曰：
親近正遍知， 善集福智聚，
於法無分別， 最上真智生。
釋曰：第一義發心，顯有三種勝：一教授勝，親近正遍知故。二隨順勝，善集福智聚故。三得果勝，生無分別智故。此發心名歡喜地，由歡喜勝故。問：此勝以何為因？
偈曰：
諸法及眾生， 所作及佛體，
於此四平等， 故得歡喜勝。
釋曰：四平等者，一法平等，由通達法無我故。二眾生平等，由至得自他平等故。三所作平等，由令他盡苦如自盡苦故。四佛體平等，由法界與我無別決定能通達故。已說勝因，次說勝差別。
The power of a friend, and the power of cause,
the power of roots, and the power of hearing —
these four powers, in total, are two kinds of arousing:
the unsteady, and the steady.
The exposition: if one arouses the mind upon gaining understanding through another's teaching, this is called receiving the conventional arousing of the mind. This arousing comes from four powers: first, by the power of a friend, in that one has gained the support of a good spiritual friend; second, by the power of cause, in that one has, in a former life, already made this one's nature by arousing the mind; third, by the power of roots, in that one has, in a former life, already brought various wholesome roots to fulfillment; and fourth, by the power of hearing, in that, wherever the Dharma is taught, measureless sentient beings arouse the mind of enlightenment — and also in that one who has cultivated wholesome roots presently hears, upholds, and practices in accordance with the Dharma continually. These four powers of arousing the mind fall, in total, into two kinds: the unsteady arousing, by the power of a friend; and the steady arousing, by the other three powers of cause, of roots, and of hearing. The conventional arousing of the mind having been stated, next the ultimate arousing of the mind is explained.
Drawing near to the perfectly awakened one,
well gathering the accumulations of merit and wisdom,
and being without discrimination toward things —
the supreme, true wisdom is born.
The exposition: the ultimate arousing of the mind displays three excellences: first, the excellence of instruction, in drawing near to the perfectly awakened one; second, the excellence of accordance, in having well gathered the accumulations of merit and wisdom; and third, the excellence of the fruit attained, in that non-discriminating wisdom is born. This arousing of the mind is called the ground of joy, by reason of the excellence of joy. Question: what is the cause of this excellence?
Things, and sentient beings,
what is to be done, and the substance of buddhahood —
by equality with respect to these four,
the excellence of joy is attained.
The exposition: the four equalities are: first, the equality of things, in penetrating the selflessness of things; second, the equality of sentient beings, in attaining the equality of self and other; third, the equality of what is to be done, in bringing about the extinguishing of others' suffering just as one's own; and fourth, the equality of the substance of buddhahood, in penetrating, with certainty, that the dharma-realm and oneself are not different. The cause of the excellence having been stated, next the distinctions within it are explained.
偈曰：
生位及願位， 亦猛亦淨依，
餘巧及餘出， 六勝復如是。
釋曰：第一義發心，復有六勝：一生位勝、二願位勝、三勇猛勝、四淨依勝、五餘巧勝、六餘出勝。問：此六云何勝？
偈曰：
生勝由四義， 願大有十種，
勇猛恒不退， 淨依二利生，
巧便進餘地， 出離善思惟，
如此六道理， 次第成六勝。
釋曰：生勝由四義者，一種子勝，信大乘法為種子故。二生母勝，般若波羅蜜為生母故。三胎藏勝，大禪定樂為胎藏故。四乳母勝，大悲長養為乳母故。願大有十種者，十大願如《十地經》說，發此願勝故。勇猛恒不退者，能行難行永不退故。淨依二利生者，一知自近菩提、二知利他方便故。巧便進餘地者，得趣上地方便故。出離善思惟者，思惟住諸地中所建立法故。問：云何思惟？答：如所建立分齊分別知故，以是分別亦知無分別故。已說發心，次說譬喻顯此發心。
The stage of birth, and the stage of the vow,
and valor, and the pure support,
further skill, and further renunciation —
the six excellences are just these.
The exposition: the ultimate arousing of the mind further has six excellences: the excellence of the stage of birth, of the stage of the vow, of valor, of the pure support, of further skill, and of further renunciation. Question: in what way are these six excellent?
Birth is excellent through four meanings;
the vow is great, of ten kinds;
valor never turns back;
the pure support gives rise to the twofold benefit;
skill advances to the further grounds;
renunciation is well reflected upon —
these six principles, in this order,
accomplish the six excellences.
The exposition: birth is excellent through four meanings — the excellence of the seed, in that faith in the Mahāyāna Dharma is its seed; of the birth-mother, in that the perfection of wisdom is its birth-mother; of the womb, in that the bliss of great meditative concentration is its womb; and of the wet-nurse, in that the nourishing power of great compassion is its wet-nurse. The vow is great, of ten kinds means: the ten great vows, as taught in the Sūtra of the Ten Grounds, are excellent because this vow is aroused. Valor never turns back means one is able to practice the difficult practices and never turn back. The pure support gives rise to the twofold benefit means: knowing that one is oneself near to enlightenment, and knowing the skillful means for benefiting others. Skill advances to the further grounds means attaining the skillful means for proceeding to the higher grounds. Renunciation is well reflected upon means reflecting on the things established within the stage of each ground. Question: how does one reflect? Answer: since one discriminates and knows the boundaries as they have been established, and by this very discrimination one also knows the absence of discrimination. Arousing the mind having been stated, next similes are given to display this arousing of the mind.
Of the four powers behind the conventional arousing of the mind, only 友力, the power of a friend, is called unsteady; the other three — cause, roots, and hearing — are all steady, and all three, on inspection, are really the same power under different names: something planted in a previous life ripening now. The asymmetry is a quiet piece of realism about spiritual friendship. A good teacher can trigger the arousing of the mind, but the treatise does not credit the trigger with the same durability as what was already latent — a friend can occasion the moment, but cannot supply what was not already there to be occasioned.
The four equalities that explain why the ultimate arousing of the mind is called "the ground of joy" are built as a chain, each depending on the one before: equality of things (there is no self anywhere), which grounds equality of self and other (if neither has a self, there is nothing left to unequally favor), which grounds equality of what is to be done (another's suffering is exactly as real, and as worth ending, as one's own), which finally grounds equality with the substance of buddhahood itself. Joy, on this reading, is not a separate reward tacked onto the realization — it is what naturally follows once the last of the four barriers between self and everything else has genuinely fallen.
3. Twenty-Two Similes for the Aroused Mind
偈曰：
如地如淨金， 如月如增火，
如藏如寶篋， 如海如金剛，
如山如藥王， 如友如如意，
如日如美樂， 如王如庫倉，
如道如車乘， 如泉如喜聲，
如流亦如雲， 發心譬如是。
釋曰：如此發心，與諸譬喻何義相似？答：譬如大地，最初發心亦如是，一切佛法能生持故。譬如淨金，依相應發心亦如是，利益安樂不退壞故。譬如新月，勤相應發心亦如是，一切善法漸漸增故。譬如增火，極依相應發心亦如是，益薪火熾積行依極故。譬如大藏，檀波羅蜜相應發心亦如是，以財周給亦無盡故。譬如寶篋，尸波羅蜜相應發心亦如是，功德法寶從彼生故。譬如大海，羼提波羅蜜相應發心亦如是，諸來違逆心不動故。譬如金剛，毘梨耶波羅蜜相應發心亦如是，勇猛堅牢不可壞故。譬如山王，禪波羅蜜相應發心亦如是，物無能動以不亂故。譬如藥王，般若波羅蜜相應發心亦如是，惑智二病此能破故。譬如善友，無量相應發心亦如是，一切時中不捨眾生故。譬如如意珠，神通相應發心亦如是，隨所欲現能成就故。譬如盛日，攝相應發心亦如是，如日熟穀成熟眾生故。譬如美樂，辯相應發心亦如是，說法教化攝眾生故。譬如國王，量相應發心亦如是，能為正道不壞因故。譬如倉庫，聚相應發心亦如是，福智法財之所聚故。譬如王路，覺分相應發心亦如是，大聖先行，餘隨行故。譬如車乘，止觀相應發心亦如是，二輪具足安樂去故。譬如涌泉，總持相應發心亦如是，聞者雖多，法無盡故。譬如喜聲，法印相應發心亦如是，求解脫者所樂聞故。譬如河流，自性相應發心亦如是，無生忍道自然而流不作意故。譬如大雲能成世界，方便相應發心亦如是，示現八相成道化眾生故。如此等及二十二譬譬彼發心，如《聖者無盡慧經》廣說應知。
Like the earth, like pure gold,
like the new moon, like a growing fire,
like a great treasury, like a jeweled casket,
like the ocean, like a diamond,
like the king of mountains, like the king of medicines,
like a good friend, like a wish-fulfilling gem,
like the sun, like beautiful music,
like a king, like a storehouse,
like a road, like a chariot,
like a spring, like a joyful sound,
like a river, and like a cloud —
arousing the mind is like all of these.
The exposition: in what sense does this arousing of the mind resemble these similes? Answer: it is like the great earth — the very first arousing of the mind is like this, since it is able to give rise to and sustain all buddha-dharmas. It is like pure gold — arousing the mind joined with resolve is like this, since its benefit and ease do not turn back or decay. It is like the new moon — arousing the mind joined with diligence is like this, since all wholesome things gradually increase. It is like a growing fire — arousing the mind joined with utmost reliance is like this, since, as fuel is added, its blaze grows and its accumulated practice relies on this utmost degree. It is like a great treasury — arousing the mind joined with the perfection of generosity is like this, since it supplies wealth all around without exhaustion. It is like a jeweled casket — joined with the perfection of morality, since the jeweled Dharma of merit is born from it. It is like the great ocean — joined with the perfection of patience, since it is unmoved by whatever comes in opposition. It is like a diamond — joined with the perfection of diligence, since it is valiant, firm, and cannot be destroyed. It is like the king of mountains — joined with the perfection of meditative concentration, since nothing can move it, being undisturbed. It is like the king of medicines — joined with the perfection of wisdom, since it is able to cure the two illnesses of affliction and of obstruction. It is like a good friend — joined with the immeasurables, since it never abandons sentient beings at any time. It is like a wish-fulfilling gem — joined with the supernormal powers, since it is able to accomplish whatever is wished for as it appears. It is like the blazing sun — joined with gathering beings, since, as the sun ripens the grain, it matures sentient beings. It is like beautiful music — joined with eloquence, since by teaching the Dharma it gathers in beings through instruction. It is like a king — joined with due measure, since it is the indestructible cause of the right path. It is like a storehouse — joined with accumulation, since it is where the wealth of the Dharma, merit and wisdom, is gathered. It is like a royal road — joined with the factors of enlightenment, since the great sage goes first and the rest follow after. It is like a chariot — joined with calm abiding and insight, since, its two wheels complete, it travels at ease. It is like a gushing spring — joined with the mnemonic formulas, since, however many hear it, the Dharma is never exhausted. It is like a joyful sound — joined with the seal of the Dharma, since those who seek liberation delight to hear it. It is like a flowing river — joined with its own-nature, since the path of the forbearance of non-arising flows on of itself, without deliberate effort. It is like a great cloud able to bring a world-system into being — joined with skillful means, since it displays the eight aspects of accomplishing the path in order to transform sentient beings. These, along with the rest, are the twenty-two similes for this arousing of the mind, as is taught at length in the Sūtra of the Noble One's Inexhaustible Wisdom, and should be so understood.
The treatise is explicit that this list is a citation, not its own invention — 如《聖者無盡慧經》廣說應知 — and the twenty-two similes read differently once that is kept in mind. They are not a poetic flourish appended to the philosophical content; they are themselves the content, a mnemonic system for holding the entire bodhisattva path — the six perfections, the immeasurables, the supernormal powers, calm abiding and insight, the mnemonic formulas, the eight aspects of a buddha's life — in twenty-two concrete images. A practitioner who has memorized "diamond is diligence, ocean is patience, king of mountains is meditative concentration" has, in effect, memorized the path's structure without needing the abstract vocabulary at all.
Several similes reward a second look at exactly what they are similes for. The wish-fulfilling gem is not generosity, as intuition might suggest, but the supernormal powers — the point being not that it gives things away, but that it produces whatever is wished for on demand. And the great cloud, last of the twenty-two, is matched to skillful means specifically because of the eight aspects of a buddha's life (descent, conception, birth, renunciation, awakening, teaching, and so on) that it enables — a cloud that "brings a world-system into being" is doing something structural, not merely beneficial, which is exactly what skillful means is asked to do among the perfections.
4. Why One Should Not Fear Suffering, and Should Not Retrogress
已說發心譬喻，次說不發心過失。
偈曰：
思利及得方， 解義亦證實，
如是四時樂， 趣寂則便捨。
釋曰：菩薩有四種樂。一思利樂，謂思惟利益他時。二得方樂，謂至得巧方便時。三解義樂，謂解了大乘意時。四證實樂，謂證人法無我時。若人棄捨眾生趣向寂滅，應知是人不得菩薩如是四樂。已呵不發心，發心者應讚歎。
偈曰：
最初發大心， 善護無邊惡，
善增悲增故， 樂喜苦亦喜。
釋曰：若菩薩初發大菩提心，爾時依無邊眾生，即得善護不作諸惡，為此故是人遠離退墮惡道畏。復次由有善及增故於樂常喜，由有悲及增故於苦常喜，為此故是人遠離退失善道畏。已讚發心，次說因此發心得不作護。
偈曰：
愛他過自愛， 忘己利眾生，
不為自憎他， 豈作不善業？
釋曰：若略示彼義，菩薩愛他過於自愛，由此故忘自身命而利於他，不為自利而損於彼，由此故能於眾生絕諸惡業。已說得不作護，次說得不退心。
The similes for arousing the mind having been stated, next the fault of not arousing the mind is explained.
Reflecting on benefit, and attaining the method,
understanding the meaning, and realizing the real —
these are the four occasions of joy;
one who heads toward quiescence forsakes them.
The exposition: the bodhisattva has four kinds of joy: the joy of reflecting on benefit, at the time of reflecting on benefiting others; of attaining the method, at the time of attaining skillful means; of understanding the meaning, at the time of understanding the intent of the Mahāyāna; and of realizing the real, at the time of realizing the selflessness of persons and of things. If a person forsakes sentient beings and heads toward quiescence, one should know that this person does not obtain these four joys of the bodhisattva. Not arousing the mind having thus been faulted, one who arouses the mind should be praised.
From the very first arousing of the great mind,
one is well guarded from boundless evil;
because the good increases and compassion increases,
one rejoices in joy, and rejoices even in suffering.
The exposition: if a bodhisattva first arouses the great mind of enlightenment, then, in dependence on boundless sentient beings, he is at that very time well guarded and does not commit evil — for this reason he is far removed from the fear of falling into an evil destiny. Furthermore, because the good is present and increasing, he constantly rejoices in joy; and because compassion is present and increasing, he constantly rejoices even in suffering — for this reason he is far removed from the fear of falling away from the good path. Arousing the mind having thus been praised, next it is explained that by this arousing of the mind one obtains the guard against wrongdoing.
Loving others more than loving oneself,
forgetting oneself in order to benefit beings,
not, for one's own sake, holding others in contempt —
how could one commit an unwholesome act?
The exposition: to state this meaning briefly, the bodhisattva loves others more than he loves himself, and because of this he forgets his own body and life in order to benefit others, and does not harm others for his own benefit — and because of this he is able to cut off entirely every evil act toward sentient beings. Having obtained the guard against wrongdoing, next it is explained that one obtains the mind that does not turn back.
偈曰：
觀法如知幻， 觀生如入苑，
若成若不成， 惑苦皆無怖。
釋曰：菩薩觀一切諸法如似知幻，若成就時於煩惱不生怖。菩薩觀自生處如入園苑，若不成就時於苦惱亦不生怖。若如是者，更有何意而退菩提心耶？復次偈曰：
自嚴及自食， 園地與戲喜，
如是有四事， 悲者非餘乘。
釋曰：菩薩以自功德而為自嚴、以利他歡喜而為自食、以作意生處而為園地、以神通變化而為戲喜，如此四事，唯菩薩有，於二乘無。菩薩既有此四事，云何當退菩提心？已說不退心，次遮畏苦心。
偈曰：
極勤利眾生， 大悲為性故，
無間如樂處， 豈怖諸有苦？
釋曰：菩薩以大悲為體，是故極勤利他，雖入阿鼻地獄，如遊樂處。菩薩如是，於餘苦中豈生怖畏，因此怖畏而退心耶？
偈曰：
大悲恒在意， 他苦為自苦，
自然作所作， 待勸深慚羞。
釋曰：諸菩薩大悲闍梨常在心中，若見眾生受苦即自生苦，由此道理自然作所應作；若待善友勸發，深生極重慚羞。
偈曰：
荷負眾生擔， 懈怠醜非勝，
為解自他縛， 精進應百倍。
釋曰：菩薩發心荷負眾生重擔，若去賒緩此是醜事，非為第一端正眾生。菩薩應思：若自若他有種種急縛，謂惑業生；為解此縛，應須百倍精進，過彼聲聞作所應作。發心品究竟。
Observing things as one knows an illusion,
observing birth as entering a pleasure-garden —
whether one succeeds or does not succeed,
one has no fear, whether of affliction or of suffering.
The exposition: the bodhisattva observes all things as one who knows an illusion for what it is; when he succeeds, he does not fear the afflictions. He observes his own place of birth as one entering a pleasure-garden; when he does not succeed, he does not fear suffering either. If this is so, what further reason could there be to turn back from the mind of enlightenment? Furthermore:
Self-adornment, and self-nourishment,
a pleasure-garden, and delighted play —
these four things belong only
to the compassionate one, not to the other vehicles.
The exposition: the bodhisattva takes his own merit as his self-adornment; the joy of benefiting others as his self-nourishment; the place of birth he takes on by his own intention as his pleasure-garden; and his supernormal transformations as his delighted play. These four things belong to the bodhisattva alone, and are absent in the two lesser vehicles. Since the bodhisattva already has these four things, how could he turn back from the mind of enlightenment? The mind that does not turn back having been stated, next the mind that fears suffering is warded off.
Diligently exerting himself to the utmost to benefit sentient beings,
since great compassion is his very nature,
the Avīci hell is to him like a place of pleasure —
how then would he fear the sufferings of the realms of existence?
The exposition: the bodhisattva has great compassion as his substance, and therefore, exerting himself to the utmost to benefit others, even were he to enter the Avīci hell, it would be to him as visiting a place of pleasure. Since the bodhisattva is like this, how could he fear lesser sufferings, and, because of that fear, turn back his mind?
Great compassion is constantly in his mind;
the suffering of others is his own suffering;
he naturally does what is to be done,
and feels deep shame should he need to be urged.
The exposition: for bodhisattvas, great compassion, their preceptor, is constantly present in their mind; when they see sentient beings undergoing suffering, suffering arises in themselves as well, and by this principle they naturally do what should be done; and should they need a good friend to urge them on, they feel the deepest and gravest shame.
Bearing the burden of sentient beings,
to be lax and slow is shameful, not excellent;
to release the bonds of both self and other,
one's diligence should be a hundredfold.
The exposition: the bodhisattva, having aroused the mind, bears the heavy burden of sentient beings; if he proceeds slowly and lax, this is a shameful thing, not the finest conduct toward beings. The bodhisattva should reflect: whether in himself or in others, there are various urgent bonds — affliction, karma, and birth; in order to release these bonds, he must apply a hundredfold diligence, exceeding what the śrāvakas do in doing what should be done. The chapter on arousing the mind is complete.
無間如樂處 — the Avīci hell, to the bodhisattva, is like a place of pleasure — is the most extreme claim in this section, and it is worth reading precisely rather than loosely. The claim is not that suffering has stopped hurting; it is that the bodhisattva's compassion is strong enough that entering the worst possible place to help beings there produces no hesitation, no dread that would slow him down — the psychological register of "going there" collapses toward the register of "going somewhere pleasant" because the will to go is undivided. It is a claim about the absence of internal resistance, not a claim that suffering has become painless.
The passage builds three successive lines of defense against retrogression — the four unique joys unavailable to the lesser vehicles, illusion-like non-attachment to outcomes, and finally the sheer momentum of compassion that treats hell as no obstacle — and each is strictly stronger than the last. It reads as though the treatise anticipated that a reader might grant the first argument and still feel afraid, grant the second and still hesitate, and is not willing to stop arguing until fear itself has been addressed directly and by name, in 遮畏苦心, warding off the mind that fears suffering.
5. The Twofold Benefit: No Difference Between Self and Other, and Thirteen Ways of Benefiting Others
釋曰：已說發心，次說依此發心隨順修行自他利行。
偈曰：
大依及大行， 大果次第說，
大取及大忍， 大義三事成。
釋曰：大依者，依止大菩提而發心故。大行者，為利自他而發行故。大果者，令得無上菩提故。如其次第。大取者，發心時攝一切眾生故。大忍者，發行時忍一切大苦故。大義者，得果時廣利一切眾生業成就故。已說次第，次說自他無差別。
偈曰：
他自心平等， 愛則於彼勝，
如是有勝相， 二利何差別？
釋曰：菩薩得他自心平等，或由信得，謂世俗發心時；或由智得，謂第一義發心時。菩薩雖有此心，然愛他身則勝自身。於他既有如此勝想，則不復分別何者為自利、何者為他利，俱無別故。已說無差別，次說他利勝。
偈曰：
於世無怨業， 利彼恒自苦，
悲性自然起， 是故利他勝。
釋曰：菩薩於諸世間久絕怨業，是故恒為成就他利自身受諸勤苦，由大悲為體自然起故。由此道理則利他為勝。問：如是利他，云何隨順？
The exposition: arousing the mind having been stated, next the conduct that benefits both self and other, practiced in accordance with this arousing of the mind, is explained.
The great support, and the great practice,
and the great fruit are stated in order;
the great taking-in, and the great forbearance,
and the great significance accomplish these three things.
The exposition: the great support means that one arouses the mind in reliance on great enlightenment. The great practice means giving rise to conduct for the sake of benefiting self and other. The great fruit means causing unsurpassed enlightenment to be attained. In this order: the great taking-in means that at the time of arousing the mind, one gathers in all sentient beings; the great forbearance means that at the time of giving rise to conduct, one bears all great suffering; and the great significance means that at the time of attaining the fruit, the act of broadly benefiting all sentient beings is accomplished. The order having been stated, next the absence of any difference between self and other is explained.
The mind is equal toward self and other,
yet in love, the other still prevails —
given this surpassing mark,
what difference is there between the two benefits?
The exposition: the bodhisattva attains the equality of the mind toward self and other, whether by faith, at the time of the conventional arousing of the mind, or by wisdom, at the time of the ultimate arousing of the mind. Although the bodhisattva has this mind, still his love for the other's body prevails over his love for his own. Since he already holds this surpassing regard for the other, he no longer discriminates which is the benefit of self and which the benefit of other, since the two are without difference. The absence of difference having been stated, next the supremacy of benefiting others is explained.
Toward the world he holds no karma of enmity;
benefiting others, he constantly bears suffering himself;
compassion, being his nature, arises of itself —
for this reason, benefiting others is supreme.
The exposition: the bodhisattva has long since cut off any karma of enmity toward any being in the world, and therefore he constantly undergoes diligent suffering himself in order to accomplish the benefit of others, since this arises of itself, great compassion being his very substance. By this reasoning, benefiting others is supreme. Question: as for this benefiting of others, how is it carried out in accordance with beings?
偈曰：
善說令歸向， 令入亦令調，
令成亦令住， 令覺令解脫，
集德及生家， 得記并受職，
至成如來智， 以是利群生。
釋曰：三種眾生，謂住下中上性。菩薩如其所住而攝取之，以十三種隨順利益。一者善說，由隨教及記心故。二者令歸向，由神通力故。三者令入，由向已能令信受正教故。四者令調，由入已斷其疑故。五者令成，由成熟善根故。六者令住，由教授令心住故。七者令覺，由得智慧故。八者令解脫，由得神通等諸勝功德故。九者集德，由遍集福智故。十者生家，由生佛家故。十一者得記，由八地受記故。十二者受職，由十地受職故。十三者得如來智，由入佛地故。問：如此隨順，云何成立？
偈曰：
不倒及不高， 無著亦通達，
能忍及調順， 遠去亦無盡，
應知此八義， 成就彼十三。
釋曰：不倒者，若人已住於性，菩薩隨機而為說法不妄授故。不高者，彼歸向時，不恃神通而自高故。無著者，彼入正法時，不染眾生故。通達者，斷彼疑網故。能忍者，善成熟彼故。調順者，隨順教授，非不調教授故。遠去者，隨順生家等，非不遠去，令他能作故。無盡者，菩薩利益眾生，一切時願無盡故。是名成就應知。
Teaching well, and causing them to turn toward it;
causing them to enter, and causing them to be tamed;
causing them to mature, and causing them to abide;
causing them to awaken, and causing them to be liberated;
gathering merit, and being born into the family;
receiving the prediction, and receiving investiture;
and arriving at the wisdom of the Tathāgata —
by these, the multitude of beings is benefited.
The exposition: there are three kinds of sentient beings, dwelling in the inferior, middling, and superior natures. The bodhisattva gathers them in according to where they dwell, through thirteen kinds of beneficial accordance: teaching well, by according with instruction and reading the mind aright; causing them to turn toward it, by the power of supernormal ability; causing them to enter, by causing them, once turned toward it, to have faith in and accept the right teaching; causing them to be tamed, by cutting off their doubt once entered; causing them to mature, by bringing their wholesome roots to maturity; causing them to abide, by instruction that settles the mind; causing them to awaken, by their attaining wisdom; causing them to be liberated, by their attaining the supernormal powers and other surpassing merits; gathering merit, by their comprehensively gathering merit and wisdom; being born into the family, by their being born into the family of the Buddha; receiving the prediction, at the eighth ground; receiving investiture, at the tenth ground; and attaining the wisdom of the Tathāgata, by entering the ground of buddhahood. Question: how is this beneficial accordance established?
Not erring, and not exalting oneself;
non-attachment, and thorough penetration;
capacity for forbearance, and being tamed and compliant;
going far, and being inexhaustible —
these eight meanings should be known
to accomplish those thirteen.
The exposition: not erring means that when a person already dwells in a given nature, the bodhisattva teaches according to that person's capacity, and does not teach wrongly. Not exalting oneself means that, when that person turns toward it, the bodhisattva does not rely on his supernormal power to exalt himself. Non-attachment means that, when that person enters the right teaching, the bodhisattva is not tainted by that being. Thorough penetration means cutting off that being's net of doubt. Capacity for forbearance means skillfully bringing that being to maturity. Being tamed and compliant means teaching in accordance, not without taming. Going far means according with such things as being born into the family, and, rather than not going far, enabling others to be able to do so as well. Being inexhaustible means that the bodhisattva's vow to benefit sentient beings is, at all times, inexhaustible. This should be known as the accomplishing of the thirteen.
The verse asks a real question and the treatise does not pretend it has an easy answer: if self and other are equal, 二利何差別 — what difference is there between the two benefits? The resolution turns on a distinction between two kinds of equality that could easily be run together. The bodhisattva's mind toward self and other is equal in the sense that matters for ethics — neither is discriminated against in what is owed to it — and yet 愛則於彼勝, in the specific matter of love, the other still prevails. Equality of standing does not require equality of preference; a parent can hold this exact asymmetry toward a child without contradiction, loving the child more while owing the child nothing less than is owed to anyone. The treatise's own answer to why this still counts as "no difference" is that the asymmetry runs in a direction that dissolves the self-interest the distinction was meant to track in the first place.
The thirteen accordances and the eight conditions that establish them map, respectively, onto a process (what happens to the being being benefited, stage by stage, ending at buddhahood) and onto a discipline (what the bodhisattva himself must avoid doing while carrying it out — not erring, not exalting himself, not clinging). Read side by side, the eight read as a check on the thirteen: it would be entirely possible to walk someone through all thirteen stages while quietly congratulating oneself at each one, and the eight conditions exist specifically to rule that out.
6. Grades of Beings, Dedication, and the Four Kinds of Greatness
問：此隨順云何勝差別？
偈曰：
習欲大可畏， 有愛動而倒，
樂滅斷煩惱， 大悲求佛法。
釋曰：習欲者，謂欲界人。大可畏者，身心苦多及向惡趣故。有愛者，謂色無色界人。動而倒者，彼樂無常故動、行苦故倒。樂滅者，謂自利人。斷煩惱者，由煩惱所持則苦不斷，為離苦故自斷煩惱而求寂滅。大悲者，謂利他人。求佛法者，此人常求一切佛法，擬利一切眾生故。
偈曰：
世間求自樂， 不樂恒極苦；
菩薩勤樂他， 二利成上樂。
釋曰：世間愚癡常求自樂而不得樂，反得極苦。菩薩不爾，常勤樂他而二利成就，更得第一大涅槃樂。此是菩薩勝隨順差別。已說利他隨順，次以此行迴向眾生。
偈曰：
異根於異處， 異作有異行，
凡是諸所作， 迴以利眾生。
釋曰：菩薩迴向，隨眼等諸根行、種種處、作種種威儀業行利益眾生。凡是諸行，若事相應及以相似，彼皆迴向一切眾生。如《行清淨經》中廣說。已說迴向心，次遮不忍心。
Question: what are the surpassing distinctions within this accordance?
Habituated to desire, greatly to be feared;
craving existence, agitated and inverted;
delighting in cessation, cutting off the afflictions;
and great compassion, seeking the buddha-dharmas.
The exposition: habituated to desire refers to beings of the desire realm. Greatly to be feared means that their bodily and mental suffering is abundant, and they tend toward evil destinies. Craving existence refers to beings of the form and formless realms. Agitated and inverted means that they are agitated because they delight in what is impermanent, and inverted because of the suffering inherent in conditioned existence. Delighting in cessation refers to those who benefit themselves alone. Cutting off the afflictions means that, since suffering does not cease so long as one is held by the afflictions, in order to be free of suffering one cuts them off oneself and seeks quiescence. Great compassion refers to those who benefit others. Seeking the buddha-dharmas means that this person constantly seeks all the buddha-dharmas, intending to benefit all sentient beings.
The world seeks its own pleasure,
and finding no pleasure, is constantly in extreme suffering;
the bodhisattva diligently brings pleasure to others,
and the twofold benefit accomplishes the supreme pleasure.
The exposition: worldly beings, deluded, constantly seek their own pleasure and fail to attain it, obtaining instead extreme suffering. The bodhisattva is not like this: constantly and diligently he brings pleasure to others, and the twofold benefit is accomplished, and he further attains the foremost, great bliss of nirvāṇa. This is the bodhisattva's surpassing distinction of accordance. Benefiting others in accordance with beings having been stated, next this conduct is dedicated to sentient beings.
Through different faculties, in different places,
in different acts, with different conduct —
whatever, in every case, he does,
he dedicates it all to benefiting sentient beings.
The exposition: in his dedication, the bodhisattva, acting through the eye and the other faculties, in every kind of place, performing every kind of act of deportment and conduct, benefits sentient beings. Whatever conduct there is, whether it directly corresponds to this purpose or merely resembles it, he dedicates it all to all sentient beings, as is taught at length in the Sūtra of Pure Conduct. The mind of dedication having been stated, next the mind that cannot forbear is warded off.
偈曰：
眾生不自在， 常作諸惡業，
忍彼增悲故， 無惱亦無違。
釋曰：眾生為煩惱所惱心不自在，是故作諸惡業。菩薩智慧於彼常起大忍、增長大悲，是故於彼不起惱心，亦不欲作不隨順事。已遮不忍心，次顯隨順大。
偈曰：
勝出與寂靜， 功德及利物，
次第依四義， 說大有四種。
釋曰：諸菩薩有四種隨順大。一者勝出大，於三有五趣中而勝出故。如《般若波羅蜜經》說：須菩提！若色有法非無法者，是摩訶衍不能勝出一切世間天人阿修羅故。二者寂靜大，隨向無住處涅槃故。三者功德大，福智二聚增長故。四者利物大，常依大悲不捨眾生故。二利品究竟。
Sentient beings, lacking mastery of themselves,
constantly commit various evil deeds;
forbearing them, one's compassion only increases —
there is no vexation, and no opposition.
The exposition: sentient beings, vexed by the afflictions, lack mastery of their own minds, and so they commit various evil deeds. The bodhisattva's wisdom, toward them, constantly gives rise to great forbearance, and his great compassion only increases; therefore he does not give rise to a mind of vexation toward them, nor does he wish to act in a way that fails to accord with them. The mind that cannot forbear having thus been warded off, next the greatness of this accordance is displayed.
Surpassing, and quiescence,
merit, and benefiting beings —
in this order, by these four meanings,
four kinds of greatness are taught.
The exposition: bodhisattvas have four kinds of greatness in this accordance: first, the greatness of surpassing, in that they surpass the three realms of existence and the five destinies — as the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says: "Subhūti! If form were a really existent thing and not a non-existent thing, this Mahāyāna would not be able to surpass all the world of gods, humans, and asuras." Second, the greatness of quiescence, in that they head toward non-abiding nirvāṇa. Third, the greatness of merit, in that their twofold accumulation of merit and wisdom increases. And fourth, the greatness of benefiting beings, in that, constantly relying on great compassion, they do not forsake sentient beings. The chapter on the twofold benefit is complete.
The four grades of beings — bound to desire, bound to subtler existence, seeking only their own cessation, and moved by great compassion — form a single ascending scale rather than four unrelated types, and it is worth noticing that the third grade, 樂滅斷煩惱, is described without hostility even though it names the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha paths this treatise elsewhere argues are inferior to the Mahāyāna. The fault named here is narrower than wrongness: such practitioners have correctly diagnosed that affliction causes suffering and correctly acted to end it in themselves; what distinguishes the fourth grade is only that its diagnosis and its remedy both extend to everyone else as well.
The citation from the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra is one of the few places in this fascicle where the treatise quotes an outside scripture by name rather than simply stating its own doctrine, and the logic of the quotation is worth following closely: it argues from the Mahāyāna's capacity to surpass the whole of saṃsāra back to a claim about the ultimate status of form — if form were truly, substantially existent, nothing could surpass the domain it structures. The argument runs from soteriological fact (this teaching does surpass everything) to metaphysical conclusion (therefore nothing in that domain is truly, substantially existent), rather than the more familiar direction of starting from emptiness and deriving liberation from it.
7. The Character of Ultimate Reality, and Refuting the View of Self
釋曰：已說隨順修行，次說第一義相。
偈曰：
非有亦非無， 非如亦非異，
非生亦非滅， 非增亦非減，
非淨非不淨， 此五無二相，
是名第一義， 行者應當知。
釋曰：無二義是第一義，五種示現。非有者，分別、依他二相無故。非無者，真實相有故。非如者，分別、依他二相無，一實體故。非異者，彼二種如無異體故。非生非滅者，無為故。非增非減者，淨染二分起時滅時，法界正如是住故。非淨者，自性無染，不須淨故。非不淨者，客塵去故。如是五種無二相，是第一義相應知。已說第一義，次遮於彼起顛倒。
偈曰：
我見非見我， 無相非無緣，
異二無我故， 解脫唯迷盡。
釋曰：我見非見我者，無我相故。何以故？由我相但是分別故。非無緣者，煩惱習氣所起，緣五受陰故。異二無我故者，二謂我見及五受陰，亦非異此二種而有我相，如是我見但是迷謬，實無我相可得故。解脫唯迷盡者，若緣自身起解脫，亦唯迷盡，無別有我名解脫者故。已遮妄見，次訶顛倒。
The exposition: the conduct practiced in accordance with beings having been stated, next the character of ultimate reality is explained.
Neither existent nor non-existent,
neither identical nor different,
neither arising nor ceasing,
neither increasing nor decreasing,
neither pure nor impure —
these five non-dual characteristics
are called ultimate reality;
the practitioner should know this.
The exposition: the sense of the non-dual is ultimate reality, shown here in five ways. Neither existent means that the two marks of the discriminated and the dependent are absent. Neither non-existent means that the true mark exists. Neither identical means that, since the two marks of the discriminated and the dependent are absent from it, it is one real substance apart from them. Neither different means that these two, as suchness, have no substance different from it. Neither arising nor ceasing means that it is unconditioned. Neither increasing nor decreasing means that, when the portion that is pure or the portion that is defiled arises or ceases, the dharma-realm abides throughout exactly as it is. Neither pure means that its own-nature is without taint, and so has no need to be purified. Nor impure means that adventitious dust has departed from it. These five non-dual characteristics should be known as the character of ultimate reality. Ultimate reality having been stated, next the arising of a distorted view with regard to it is warded off.
The view of self does not see a self;
it is without a mark, yet not without a condition;
apart from these two there is no self —
liberation is only the exhaustion of delusion.
The exposition: the view of self does not see a self means that the mark of a self is absent, since the mark of a self is nothing but discrimination. Not without a condition means that it arises from the habituated tendency of the afflictions, taking the five appropriated aggregates as its condition. Apart from these two there is no self means: the two are the view of self and the five appropriated aggregates, and apart from these two there is no mark of a self to be found either — the view of self is nothing but delusion, and no mark of a self can really be obtained at all. Liberation is only the exhaustion of delusion means: if liberation arises with reference to one's own person, it too is only the exhaustion of delusion, and there is no separate self called "the one who is liberated." The false view having been warded off, next the distortion is reproached.
偈曰：
云何依我見， 不見苦自性？
迷苦及苦者， 法性與無性。
釋曰：云何依我見不見苦自性者，咄哉！世間云何依止我見起種種迷，不能了達諸行是苦自性而常隨逐邪？迷苦及苦者、法性與無性者，苦謂受彼苦觸。苦者謂苦不斷，非我與苦相應，名為苦者。迷苦謂不解苦自性。迷苦者謂不解無我。法性者唯法，由人無我故。無性者非法，由法無我故。
偈曰：
云何緣起體， 現見生異見？
闇故不見有， 亦復不有見。
釋曰：云何緣起體現見生異見者，咄哉！世間云何現見諸行各從緣起，而依此體橫生異見，謂眼等諸根體非緣起。邪闇故不見有亦復不有見者，由無明故，緣起之法是有而不見有，我體不有而復有見。問：若爾，云何得涅槃？
偈曰：
生死與涅槃， 無二無少異，
善住無我故， 生盡得涅槃。
釋曰：生死、涅槃無有二，乃至無有少異。何以故？無我平等故。若人善住無我而修善業，則生死便盡而得涅槃。如是已遮顛倒，次應說彼對治。
How is it that, in dependence on the view of self,
one fails to see suffering's own nature?
Delusion about suffering, and about the sufferer,
the nature of things, and the absence of nature.
The exposition: "how is it that, in dependence on the view of self, one fails to see suffering's own nature" means: alas! how is it that the world, relying on the view of self, gives rise to manifold delusion, unable to penetrate that the formations are themselves of the nature of suffering, and constantly follows after this error? "Delusion about suffering and about the sufferer; the nature of things, and the absence of nature" means: suffering refers to undergoing that painful contact. The sufferer refers to suffering's not ceasing — it is not that a self joined with suffering is what is called "the sufferer." Delusion about suffering means not understanding suffering's own nature. Delusion about the sufferer means not understanding selflessness. The nature of things means seeing only dharmas, since persons are without self. The absence of nature means that dharmas too are without self.
How is it that, when the substance of dependent origination
is directly perceived, a different view is born?
Owing to darkness, one does not see what exists,
and one also sees what does not exist.
The exposition: "how is it that, when the substance of dependent origination is directly perceived, a different view is born" means: alas! how is it that the world directly perceives that all the formations each arise from conditions, and yet, in dependence on this very substance, wrongly gives rise to a different view — namely, that the substance of the eye and the other faculties is not dependently arisen? "Owing to darkness, one does not see what exists, and one also sees what does not exist" means: owing to ignorance, the dharma of dependent origination, though it exists, is not seen to exist, while the substance of a self, though it does not exist, is nevertheless seen to exist. Question: if this is so, how does one attain nirvāṇa?
Saṃsāra and nirvāṇa
are non-dual, without the slightest difference;
by dwelling well in selflessness,
birth is exhausted and nirvāṇa is attained.
The exposition: saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are not two, and have not even the slightest difference. Why? Because they are equal in selflessness. If a person dwells well in selflessness and cultivates wholesome action, then saṃsāra comes to an end and nirvāṇa is attained. The distortion having thus been warded off, next its antidote shall be explained.
The fivefold "neither X nor Y" of this chapter is easy to mistake for the Madhyamaka tetralemma, but its logic is different, and the difference matters. Nāgārjuna's fourfold negation clears away every possible predicate to leave nothing standing. Here, each "neither" is explained in terms of the three natures rather than as a blanket refusal of predication: neither existent nor non-existent because the imagined and dependent natures are absent while the true mark is present; neither identical nor different because of how the perfectly accomplished nature relates to the other two. This is Yogācāra's own route to non-duality, arrived at through the architecture already built in fascicle 1's chapter on the lineage, not an import from a rival school's method.
迷苦及迷苦者 draws a distinction easy to collapse: not understanding suffering's own nature, and not understanding that there is no sufferer, are named as two separate delusions rather than one. A meditator could plausibly grasp the first — that all conditioned experience is inherently unsatisfactory — while still quietly assuming there is someone to whom this unsatisfactoriness happens. The treatise's own gloss on 苦者, "the sufferer," is unusually precise: it is not a self bound up with suffering, but simply suffering's own failure to cease. Naming both delusions separately blocks a reader from thinking the first insight already implies the second.
8. The Five Stages of Realizing Ultimate Reality
偈曰：
福智無邊際， 生長悉圓滿，
思法決定已， 通達義類性。
釋曰：此偈顯第一集大聚位。福智無邊際者，由差別無數及時節無邊故。生長悉圓滿者，菩薩集此大聚到彼岸故。思法決定已者，依止定心而思惟故。通達義類性者，解所思諸法義類悉以意言為自性故。
偈曰：
已知義類性， 善住唯心光，
現見法界故， 解脫於二相。
釋曰：此偈顯第二通達分位。由解一切諸義唯是意言為性，則了一切諸義悉是心光，菩薩爾時名善住唯識。從彼後現見法界，了達所有二相，即解脫能執所執。
偈曰：
心外無有物， 物無心亦無，
以解二無故， 善住真法界。
釋曰：此偈顯第三見道位，如彼現見法界故。解心外無有所取物，所取物無故，亦無能取心。由離所取能取二相故，應知善住法界自性。
Merit and wisdom, without bound or limit,
grow and are brought to complete fulfillment;
having settled one's reflection on the Dharma,
one penetrates the nature of its categories of meaning.
The exposition: this verse displays the first stage, that of gathering the great accumulation. Merit and wisdom, without bound or limit means that their distinctions are innumerable and their duration is boundless. Grow and are brought to complete fulfillment means that the bodhisattva, gathering this great accumulation, reaches its far shore. Having settled one's reflection on the Dharma means reflecting in reliance on a concentrated mind. One penetrates the nature of its categories of meaning means understanding that the categories of meaning of the things reflected upon all have mental discourse as their own-nature.
Having known the nature of these categories of meaning,
one dwells well in the light of mind alone;
because one then directly sees the dharma-realm,
one is liberated from the two marks.
The exposition: this verse displays the second stage, that of penetration. By understanding that all things whatsoever have mental discourse alone as their nature, one comes to understand that all things whatsoever are entirely the light of mind, and at that time the bodhisattva is called one who dwells well in Consciousness-Only. From that point on, he directly sees the dharma-realm, thoroughly penetrates the two marks that exist, and is thereby liberated from the grasped and the grasper.
Outside the mind there is no thing;
with no thing, the mind too is absent;
by understanding that both are absent,
one dwells well in the true dharma-realm.
The exposition: this verse displays the third stage, the path of seeing, since it is at this point that one directly sees the dharma-realm. One understands that outside the mind there is no grasped object; and since there is no grasped object, there is also no grasping mind. Because one is free of the two marks of the grasped and the grasper, one should understand that one dwells well in the own-nature of the dharma-realm.
偈曰：
無分別智力， 恒平等遍行，
為壞過聚體， 如藥能除毒。
釋曰：此偈顯第四修道位。菩薩入第一義智轉依已，以無分別智恒平等行及遍處行。何以故？為壞依止依他性熏習稠林過聚相故。問：此智力云何？答：譬如阿伽陀大藥，能除一切眾毒，彼力如此。
偈曰：
緣佛善成法， 心根安法界，
解念唯分別， 速窮功德海。
釋曰：此偈顯第五究竟位。緣佛善成法者，諸菩薩於佛善成立一切妙法中作總聚緣故。問：云何總聚緣？答：心根安法界，此明入第一義智故。由此慧安住法界，是故此心名根。問：此後復云何？答：解念唯分別。謂此後起觀，如前觀事，處處念轉，解知諸念唯是分別，非實有故。問：如此知已得進何位？答：速窮功德海。謂如是知已，佛果功德海能速窮彼岸故。真實品究竟。
The power of non-discriminating wisdom
constantly operates equally and pervasively,
in order to destroy the substance of the mass of faults,
like a medicine able to remove poison.
The exposition: this verse displays the fourth stage, the path of cultivation. Once the bodhisattva has entered the wisdom of ultimate reality and undergone the transformation of the basis, he constantly operates with non-discriminating wisdom, equally and pervasively everywhere. Why? In order to destroy the mark of the mass of faults that is the thicket of habituation resting on the dependent nature. Question: what is this power of wisdom like? Answer: it is like the great agada medicine, able to remove every kind of poison — its power is just like that.
Taking as object the Buddha's well-accomplished dharmas,
with mind rooted, settled in the dharma-realm,
understanding that thought is only discrimination,
one swiftly exhausts the ocean of merit.
The exposition: this verse displays the fifth stage, the stage of culmination. Taking as object the Buddha's well-accomplished dharmas means that bodhisattvas take as their comprehensive object all the wondrous dharmas well established in the Buddha. Question: what is this comprehensive object? Answer: with mind rooted, settled in the dharma-realm — this makes clear that one has entered the wisdom of ultimate reality. Because this wisdom abides settled in the dharma-realm, this mind is therefore called the root. Question: what follows after this? Answer: understanding that thought is only discrimination — that is, having arisen from this contemplation, as in the contemplation before, thought turns from point to point, and one understands and knows that all thoughts are only discrimination, and are not really existent. Question: having understood this, to what stage does one then advance? Answer: one swiftly exhausts the ocean of merit — that is, having understood in this way, one is able swiftly to reach the far shore of the ocean of merit that is the fruit of buddhahood. The chapter on reality is complete.
The five stages named here — gathering the great accumulation, penetration, the path of seeing, the path of cultivation, and culmination — are this treatise's own statement of the classical five-path scheme (資糧, 加行, 見道, 修道, 究竟) that structures the entire Yogācāra account of the path elsewhere on this site, most systematically in the Cheng Weishi Lun. What is worth noticing here is how compressed the middle transition is: the shift from the second stage's 善住唯識, dwelling well in the recognition that everything is mind, to the third stage's actual path of seeing, is stated as though it followed automatically — 從彼後現見法界, "from that point on, he directly sees the dharma-realm" — with no further practice named in between. Other treatises in this corpus spend far more space on exactly what closes that gap; this one states the destination and leaves the mechanics for elsewhere.
心外無有物，物無心亦無 is the sharpest formula in the whole passage, and it resists a common misreading. It is not simply "nothing exists outside the mind, therefore only mind exists" — that would leave the mind standing as the one remaining substantial thing. The verse's second half withdraws that too: once there is no object, there is equally no grasping mind, since a mind without anything to grasp is not the kind of thing this treatise is willing to call existent either. Both terms of the subject-object pair are dissolved together, which is exactly what 解脫於二相, liberation from the two marks, requires — a philosophy that stopped at "everything is mind" would still be trapped inside one of the two marks it claims to be free of.
9. Supernormal Power: Six Knowledges, Their Cultivation, Fruit, and Equipment
釋曰：說真實義已，次顯菩薩神通相。
偈曰：
起滅及言音， 心行亦先住，
向彼令出離， 六智自在通。
釋曰：起滅者，謂生死智境，知諸眾生生死故。言音者，謂天耳智境，隨彼所起言語悉聞知故。心行者，謂他心智境，能知他人心行差別故。先住者，謂宿命智境，知彼先住善惡所集故。向彼者，謂如意智境，隨彼處處往教化故。出離者，謂漏盡智境，知彼眾生出離應不應故。如此六智，於諸世界六義差別遍知無礙勇猛自在，是名菩薩神通自性。已說自性，次說修習。
偈曰：
第四極淨禪， 無分別智攝，
如所立方便， 依此淨諸通。
釋曰：如所依禪、如所攝智、如所立方便，菩薩作意修習，則得最上神通。已說修通，次說得果。
偈曰：
三住住無比， 所住善供養，
令彼得清淨， 是說神通果。
釋曰：神通有三種果。一勝住果，此住有三種：一聖住、二梵住、三天住，所得無比無上故。二善供養果，隨所住處，世間眾生大供養故。三令他清淨果，能令供養者得清淨故。問：神通有六種業，一自業、二他業、三光業、四戲業、五化業、六淨業，此云何？
The exposition: the meaning of ultimate reality having been explained, next the mark of the bodhisattva's supernormal power is displayed.
Arising and ceasing, and speech and sound,
mental conduct, and former abodes,
going toward beings and bringing them to release —
these are the mastery of the six kinds of knowing power.
The exposition: arising and ceasing refers to the domain of the knowledge of death and rebirth, knowing the death and rebirth of all sentient beings. Speech and sound refers to the domain of the knowledge of the divine ear, hearing and knowing every word spoken by beings, wherever it arises. Mental conduct refers to the domain of the knowledge of others' minds, being able to know the distinct mental conduct of other persons. Former abodes refers to the domain of the knowledge of former lives, knowing the good and evil that beings have accumulated in their former abodes. Going toward beings refers to the domain of the knowledge that acts as one wishes, going wherever beings are to teach and transform them. Bringing them to release refers to the domain of the knowledge of the exhaustion of contaminants, knowing whether or not a given being is ready for release. With these six kinds of knowledge, one has unobstructed, valiant, and self-mastering knowledge, throughout every world, of these six distinct matters — this is called the own-nature of the bodhisattva's supernormal power. The own-nature having been stated, next its cultivation is explained.
The fourth, utterly pure meditative absorption,
gathered in by non-discriminating wisdom,
and skillful means as they have been established —
in reliance on these, the supernormal powers are purified.
The exposition: relying on the meditative absorption as described, gathered in by the wisdom as described, and applying the skillful means as established, the bodhisattva attentively cultivates them and thereby attains the supreme supernormal powers. The cultivation of the powers having been stated, next their fruit is explained.
Abiding in the three abidings, unequaled abidings;
wherever one abides, one is well venerated with offerings;
and one causes those beings to attain purity —
these are called the fruits of the supernormal powers.
The exposition: the supernormal powers have three kinds of fruit: first, the fruit of the surpassing abidings — this abiding is of three kinds, the noble abiding, the Brahmā-abiding, and the divine abiding, since what is thereby attained is unequaled and unsurpassed. Second, the fruit of being well venerated with offerings, in that, wherever one abides, the beings of the world make great offerings. Third, the fruit of causing others to attain purity, in that one is able to cause those who make offerings to attain purity. Question: the supernormal powers have six kinds of function — of self, of others, of radiance, of playful display, of transformation, and of purification — what are these?
偈曰：
世生成壞事， 見彼猶如幻，
種種他所欲， 自在隨意成。
釋曰：此偈上半顯示自業，見諸世界及諸眾生若成若壞猶如幻故。下半顯示他業，謂動地放光等事，隨他所欲自在現故。十種自在，如《十地經》說。
偈曰：
神光照惡趣， 令信生善道，
威力震天宮， 動殿令魔怖。
釋曰：此偈顯示光業。光業二種：一救苦、二怖魔。上半偈明救苦，謂下照惡道眾生，令發信心得生善道故。下半偈明怖魔，謂上照天宮動魔宮殿，令魔驚怖故。
偈曰：
遊戲諸三昧， 僧中最第一，
恒現三種化， 以是利眾生。
釋曰：此偈上半顯示戲業，於佛眾中遊戲諸定最得自在。下半顯示化業，化有三種：一業化，工巧業處自在化故；二隨化，隨他所欲自在化故；三上化，住兜率天等勝上化故。以是三化，恒為利益。
偈曰：
智力普自在， 剎土隨欲現，
無佛令聞佛， 懸擲有佛境。
釋曰：此偈顯示淨業。淨業二種：一淨剎土、二淨眾生。上半偈明淨剎土，由智自在隨彼所欲能現水精琉璃等清淨世界故。下半偈明淨眾生，於無佛世界能令聞佛起淨信心生有佛處故。已說業用，次說相應。
偈曰：
成熟眾生力， 諸佛所稱譽，
發語無不信， 如是說相應。
釋曰：神通相應有三種。一成生相應，譬如鳥翅初得成就。二稱譽相應，常得諸佛之所讚歎。三信受相應，凡所言說人皆信受。已說相應，次說住神通具。
偈曰：
六智及三明， 八解八勝處，
十遍諸三昧， 勇猛資神通。
釋曰：菩薩住神通具，有六種差別：一、六智；二、三明；三、八解脫；四、八勝處；五、十遍入；六、諸三昧。如是六義，是分別神通具差別。已說住神通具，次說神通大。
偈曰：
能安不自在， 常勤於利物，
行有無怖畏， 勇猛如師子。
釋曰：菩薩神通有三種大。一自在大，眾生由煩惱故不得自在，菩薩智力能自在安置故。二歡樂大，由常勤利益眾生一向樂故。三無畏大，行三有中得極勇猛如師子故。神通品究竟。
The arising, formation, and dissolution of worlds —
one sees these just as an illusion;
whatever others may wish for, of every kind,
one accomplishes freely, according to their wish.
The exposition: the first half of this verse displays the function of self, in that one sees all worlds and all sentient beings, whether being formed or destroyed, as though an illusion. The second half displays the function of others, in that such things as shaking the earth and emitting light are freely manifested according to what others wish, as the ten kinds of mastery are taught in the Sūtra of the Ten Grounds.
Divine light illumines the evil destinies,
bringing beings to faith and to birth in a good realm;
its power shakes the heavenly palaces,
stirring their halls and striking fear into the māras.
The exposition: this verse displays the function of radiance, which is of two kinds: rescuing from suffering, and striking fear into the māras. The first half clarifies rescuing from suffering, shining downward on beings of the evil destinies and causing them to give rise to faith and attain birth in a good realm. The second half clarifies striking fear into the māras, shining upward on the heavenly palaces, shaking the māras' halls and causing the māras to be struck with fear.
Playing freely amid the various absorptions,
foremost of all within the assembly,
one constantly manifests three kinds of transformation,
and by these one benefits sentient beings.
The exposition: the first half of this verse displays the function of playful display, playing freely amid the various absorptions with the utmost mastery within the assembly of the Buddha. The second half displays the function of transformation, of three kinds: transformation into skilled craft, transforming freely in the domains of skilled craft; transformation according to others, transforming freely according to what others wish; and transformation into the higher, transforming into a superior manifestation such as dwelling in Tuṣita heaven. By these three transformations, one constantly acts for the benefit of beings.
The power of wisdom is universally masterful;
one manifests buddha-lands according to one's wish;
where there is no buddha, one causes the Buddha to be heard of;
and one flings beings far, into a realm where a buddha is.
The exposition: this verse displays the function of purification, of two kinds: purifying buddha-lands, and purifying sentient beings. The first half clarifies purifying buddha-lands, manifesting, according to what beings wish, pure worlds of crystal, lapis lazuli, and the like. The second half clarifies purifying sentient beings, causing beings in a world without a buddha to hear of the Buddha, give rise to a pure mind of faith, and be born in a place where there is a buddha. The functions having been stated, next their correspondences are explained.
The power to mature sentient beings,
being praised by all the buddhas,
and speaking so that all have faith in what is said —
these are called the correspondences.
The exposition: the correspondences of the supernormal powers are of three kinds: the correspondence of maturing beings, like a bird's wings when first brought to completion; the correspondence of being praised, constantly receiving the praise of all the buddhas; and the correspondence of being believed, in that whatever one says, people all have faith in and accept. The correspondences having been stated, next the equipment for abiding in the supernormal powers is explained.
The six kinds of knowledge, and the three insights;
the eight liberations, the eight masteries;
the ten totalities, and the various absorptions —
these valiantly provision the supernormal powers.
The exposition: the bodhisattva's equipment for abiding in the supernormal powers has six distinctions: the six kinds of knowledge; the three insights; the eight liberations; the eight masteries; the ten totalities; and the various absorptions. These six aspects are the distinctions of the equipment for the supernormal powers. The equipment having been stated, next the greatness of the supernormal powers is explained.
Able to settle those who lack mastery of themselves;
constantly diligent in benefiting beings;
moving through the realms of existence without fear,
valiant as a lion.
The exposition: the bodhisattva's supernormal power has three kinds of greatness: the greatness of mastery, in that, whereas sentient beings, owing to the afflictions, lack mastery of themselves, the bodhisattva's power of wisdom is able to settle them in mastery; the greatness of joy, in that he is constantly diligent in benefiting sentient beings and is single-mindedly joyful in it; and the greatness of fearlessness, in that, moving through the three realms of existence, he attains the utmost valor, like a lion. The chapter on supernormal power is complete.
The six functions of supernormal power (自, 他, 光, 戲, 化, 淨) are organized around a single distinction that recurs across every treatise in this site's Yogācāra corpus: what a bodhisattva does that touches only his own experience, and what he does that acts on others. The function of self is the seeing of worlds as illusion — an internal cognitive achievement with no external effect at all — while every one of the other five functions is defined entirely by its effect on someone else: light that terrifies māras, play that models absorption for the assembly, transformation that meets three different registers of need, and purification that operates on lands and on the beings within them. The taxonomy makes visible something the earlier chapters argued for directly: even the treatise's account of what looks like private meditative accomplishment is only one item on a much longer list, the rest of which is entirely outward-facing.
The equipment for the powers — six knowledges, three insights, eight liberations, eight masteries, ten totalities, and the various absorptions — is this treatise's own compressed citation of the classical meditative curriculum found at length in the Treatise on the Stages of Yogic Practice, most fully at fascicle 12, where the liberations, masteries, and totalities are explained one by one as a graded sequence: the liberations first loosen a practitioner's grip on the object, the masteries then let him dominate it at will, and the totalities extend that mastery until the chosen object — earth, water, the color blue — fills the entire field of experience. This treatise does not repeat that explanation; it assumes the reader already has it, and simply names the set as furniture a bodhisattva needs before the supernormal powers proper can function.
10. Self-Maturation: The Nine Factors, Each with Its Cause, Substance, and Function
釋曰：已說諸菩薩神通。諸菩薩云何自成熟？
偈曰：
欲信捨悲忍， 念力堅支具，
應知自成熟， 此九皆上品。
釋曰：菩薩有九種自成熟。一者欲成熟，由悕求大法故。二者信成熟，由淨心說者故。三者捨成熟，由滅離煩惱故。四者悲成熟，由憐愍眾生故。五者忍成熟，由能行難行故。六者念成熟，由一切受持故。七者力成熟，由皆能通達故。八者堅成熟，由惡魔外道不能奪故。九者支成熟，由善分圓滿故。如此九種窮最上位，是名成熟相。此九成熟，一一有因、有體、有業，今當說。
偈曰：
近友聞亦思， 勝勇勝究竟，
攝法及受法， 說欲成熟相。
釋曰：親近善友、聽聞正法、如法思惟，此三能起大欲，是名欲因。上大精進一切不思議處究竟無疑，是名欲體。於大乘法有災橫處則能守護，菩薩所說信心領受，是名欲業。
偈曰：
如來福智聚， 淨心不可壞，
速受定智果， 說信成熟相。
釋曰：婆伽婆如是廣說，是名信因。得不壞淨，是名信體。得定智果，是名信業。
偈曰：
善護於六根， 離惡起對治，
樂修諸善法， 說捨成熟相。
釋曰：以念倚等善護六根，是名捨因。離不善覺起無間道，是名捨體。一切善法恒樂修習，是名捨業。
偈曰：
見諸眾生苦， 哀憐離小心，
受身世間勝， 說悲成熟相。
釋曰：菩薩見眾生苦，是名悲因。起極憐愍，遠離小乘心，是名悲體。得一切世間勝諸地不退，是名悲業。
偈曰：
持性數修習， 極苦能安忍，
善根恒樂進， 說忍成熟相。
釋曰：持耐忍謂名門，數習成性，是名忍因。能受極風寒等苦，是名忍體。隨勝生處恒修善法，是名忍業。
The exposition: the bodhisattvas' supernormal power having been explained, how do bodhisattvas mature themselves?
Aspiration, faith, relinquishment, compassion, patience,
mindfulness, power, steadfastness, and completeness of factors —
these nine should be known as self-maturation,
each of the highest grade.
The exposition: the bodhisattva has nine kinds of self-maturation: the maturation of aspiration, longing for the great Dharma; of faith, in that his mind has pure trust in the teacher; of relinquishment, extinguishing and departing from the afflictions; of compassion, having pity on sentient beings; of patience, being able to carry out difficult practices; of mindfulness, upholding everything he has received; of power, being able to penetrate everything thoroughly; of steadfastness, in that evil māras and outsiders are unable to sway him; and of the completeness of factors, in that his good portion is brought to fulfillment. These nine, carried through to the highest degree, are called the mark of maturation. Each has a cause, a substance, and a function, which shall now be explained.
Drawing near to a friend, hearing, and reflecting;
surpassing valor, surpassing culmination;
gathering in the Dharma, and receiving the Dharma —
these describe the mark of the maturation of aspiration.
The exposition: drawing near to a good friend, hearing the true Dharma, and reflecting in accordance with it — these three give rise to great aspiration, and are called the cause of aspiration. Supreme diligence, reaching the culmination without doubt in every inconceivable domain, is called the substance of aspiration. Guarding the Mahāyāna Dharma wherever it meets calamity, and receiving with faith what the bodhisattva teaches, are called the function of aspiration.
The Tathāgata's accumulation of merit and wisdom;
a pure mind that cannot be destroyed;
swiftly receiving the fruit of concentration and wisdom —
these describe the mark of the maturation of faith.
The exposition: the Bhagavat's teaching it at such length is called the cause of faith. Attaining an indestructible purity is called the substance of faith. Attaining the fruit of concentration and wisdom is called the function of faith.
Well guarding the six sense-faculties,
departing from evil and giving rise to its antidote,
delighting in cultivating all wholesome things —
these describe the mark of the maturation of relinquishment.
The exposition: well guarding the six sense-faculties by mindfulness and its supports is called the cause of relinquishment. Departing from unwholesome thoughts and giving rise to the uninterrupted path is called the substance of relinquishment. Constantly delighting in cultivating all wholesome things is called the function of relinquishment.
Seeing the suffering of sentient beings,
grieving for them and departing from the lesser mind,
taking on a body supreme in the world —
these describe the mark of the maturation of compassion.
The exposition: the bodhisattva's seeing the suffering of sentient beings is called the cause of compassion. Giving rise to the utmost pity, far removed from the mind of the Lesser Vehicle, is called the substance of compassion. Attaining, throughout the world, the supreme grounds without retrogression is called the function of compassion.
Upholding one's nature, cultivating it repeatedly;
able to calmly bear the utmost suffering;
constantly delighting in advancing one's wholesome roots —
these describe the mark of the maturation of patience.
The exposition: upholding and enduring what is called the gateway of patience, repeatedly cultivated until it becomes one's nature, is called the cause of patience. Being able to bear the utmost suffering, such as wind and cold, is called the substance of patience. Constantly cultivating wholesome things according to one's superior place of birth is called the function of patience.
偈曰：
報淨善隨順， 極入善惡說，
能起大般若， 說念成熟相。
釋曰：得清淨器，是名念因。隨所聞說善惡二義，聞思修已深了不忘，是名念體。能生出世般若，是名念業。
偈曰：
二聚界圓滿， 果起依最上，
世間得第一， 說力成熟相。
釋曰：福智二聚種子充滿，是名力因。能得最上依止，是名力體。世間第一隨意成熟，是名力業。
偈曰：
深觀妙法理， 諸魔不可奪，
能與異部過， 說堅成熟相。
釋曰：妙法道理作心觀察，是名堅因。惡魔波旬不能障礙，是名堅體。能與他部而作過失，是名堅業。
偈曰：
所有善根聚， 依勤能發起，
離惡及修善， 說支成熟相。
釋曰：彼成熟善根聚，是名支因。依此因能發起上精進，是名支體。離諸不善樂修勝善，是名支業。
偈曰：
如此九種物， 自熟亦熟他，
增善增法身， 如世極親者。
釋曰：欲等九物能自成熟亦成熟他，常增長一切善根及增長法身。由此二種增故，如似世間第一親者。已說菩薩自得成熟，次說菩薩成熟眾生。
A pure ripening, and skillful accordance;
thoroughly entering into what is spoken, good or ill;
being able to give rise to great wisdom —
these describe the mark of the maturation of mindfulness.
The exposition: attaining a pure vessel is called the cause of mindfulness. Deeply understanding and never forgetting, through hearing, reflection, and cultivation, whatever is spoken of, whether its sense is good or ill, is called the substance of mindfulness. Being able to give rise to transcendent wisdom is called the function of mindfulness.
The elements of the twofold accumulation brought to fulfillment;
the fruit arising as the supreme support;
attaining the foremost place in the world —
these describe the mark of the maturation of power.
The exposition: the seeds of the twofold accumulation of merit and wisdom being full and complete is called the cause of power. Being able to attain the supreme support is called the substance of power. Maturing, as one wishes, into the foremost place in the world is called the function of power.
Deeply contemplating the principle of the wondrous Dharma;
unable to be seized by any māra;
able to fault the doctrines of other schools —
these describe the mark of the maturation of steadfastness.
The exposition: applying the mind to contemplate the principle of the wondrous Dharma is called the cause of steadfastness. The evil māra Pāpīyas being unable to obstruct him is called the substance of steadfastness. Being able to fault the doctrines of other schools is called the function of steadfastness.
Whatever accumulation of wholesome roots there is,
arising in dependence on diligence;
departing from evil and cultivating the good —
these describe the mark of the maturation of the completeness of factors.
The exposition: that accumulation of matured wholesome roots is called the cause of the completeness of factors. Being able, in reliance on this cause, to give rise to supreme diligence is called its substance. Departing from every unwholesome thing and delighting in cultivating the supreme good is called its function.
These nine things
mature oneself and also mature others;
they increase what is wholesome and increase the Dharma-body,
like one's own closest kin in the world.
The exposition: these nine things — aspiration and the rest — are able to mature oneself and also to mature others, constantly increasing every wholesome root and increasing the Dharma-body. Because of these two kinds of increase, they are like one's very closest kin in the world. The bodhisattva's own attainment of maturation having been explained, next the bodhisattva's maturing of sentient beings is explained.
The cause-substance-function template (因/體/業) applied nine times running is a formal device worth naming, since the treatise otherwise varies its analytical structures from chapter to chapter. Running the same three questions against nine different factors makes each entry directly comparable to the others — one can ask, of any of the nine, what produces it, what it consists in once produced, and what it does once formed — and the repetition itself becomes a kind of argument: maturation, whatever its content, always has this same three-part anatomy, cause preceding substance preceding function.
Two of the nine reward comparison. Patience's cause is described as 數習成性, repeated practice becoming nature — an acquired trait built by habituation, the same vocabulary this treatise's fascicle 1 used for how the seeds of the ālayavijñāna are formed. Steadfastness, by contrast, is defined almost entirely negatively, by what fails to move it: 惡魔波旬不能障礙, the évil māra cannot obstruct it. One maturation is described from the inside, as something built; the other is described from the outside, as something that survives attack. Read together they suggest the nine are not all the same kind of achievement — some are cultivated, and some are simply what remains once cultivation has held under pressure.
11. Maturing Others: Eight Kinds, the Argument from Self-Love, and the Six Perfections Applied
偈曰：
癰熟則堪治， 食熟則堪噉；
眾生熟亦爾， 二分捨用故。
釋曰：二分者，一障分、二治分。障熟須捨，如癰熟須潰；治熟須用，如食熟須噉，是名成熟依止。已說成熟依止，次說成熟差別。
偈曰：
捨普勝隨善， 得常漸為八，
如此諸成熟， 是說差別種。
釋曰：成熟他相有八種。一者捨成熟，令滅煩惱故。二者普成熟，化以三乘故。三者勝成熟，過外道法故。四者隨成熟，應機說故。五者善成熟，心恭敬故。六者得成熟，令不倒解故。七者常成熟，令永不退故。八者漸成熟，令次第增長故。已說成熟差別，次說成熟心勝。
偈曰：
利子及利親， 利己三利勝，
菩薩利一切， 過彼勝無比。
釋曰：譬如世人安樂自子、安樂自親、安樂自身，此心最勝。菩薩普欲成熟一切眾生，過彼三心不可為比。是故菩薩成熟眾生，其心最勝。問：此勝云何成立？
偈曰：
世間不自愛， 何況能愛他？
菩薩自愛捨， 但為愛他故。
釋曰：世人雖欲自愛，尚不能自安利處，況能愛他安他利處。菩薩不爾，捨於自愛但為愛他，是故成熟眾生勝過於彼。問：用此心勝云何成熟？
When a boil has ripened, it can be lanced;
when food has been cooked, it can be eaten;
the maturing of sentient beings is just the same —
two portions, one to be discarded and one to be made use of.
The exposition: the two portions are the portion of obstruction, and the portion of remedy. The portion of obstruction, once ripe, must be discarded, as a boil, once ripe, must be lanced; the portion of remedy, once ripe, must be made use of, as food, once cooked, must be eaten. This is called the support of maturation. The support of maturation having been explained, next the distinctions within maturation are explained.
Relinquishing, universal, surpassing, according;
good, attaining, constant, and gradual — these are eight;
these several kinds of maturation
are the distinctions that are taught.
The exposition: the marks of maturing others are of eight kinds: relinquishing maturation, causing the extinguishing of the afflictions; universal maturation, transforming beings by means of the three vehicles; surpassing maturation, surpassing the teachings of outsiders; according maturation, teaching according to a being's capacity; good maturation, making the mind reverent; attaining maturation, causing beings to understand without distortion; constant maturation, causing beings never to retrogress; and gradual maturation, causing beings to increase step by step. The distinctions within maturation having been explained, next the supremacy of the mind that matures is explained.
Benefiting one's child, benefiting one's kin,
and benefiting oneself — these three benefits, though excellent,
the bodhisattva's benefiting of all beings
surpasses, incomparably.
The exposition: it is as when a worldly person brings ease and joy to his own child, to his own kin, and to himself — this mind is considered supreme among worldly minds. The bodhisattva universally wishes to mature all sentient beings, surpassing those three minds beyond any comparison. For this reason, the bodhisattva's mind in maturing sentient beings is supreme. Question: how is this supremacy established?
The world does not even love itself —
how much less could it love another?
The bodhisattva relinquishes love of self,
for the sake of loving others alone.
The exposition: although worldly people wish to love themselves, they are still unable to settle themselves in what truly benefits them — how much less could they love others and settle others in what benefits them. The bodhisattva is not like this: he relinquishes love of self for the sake of loving others alone, and therefore his maturing of sentient beings surpasses that of worldly people. Question: using this supreme mind, how does he bring about maturation?
偈曰：
身財一切捨， 平等及無厭，
所乏令充足， 安立於善根。
釋曰：此偈顯示檀波羅蜜成熟眾生。檀有三種：一資生檀，內外身財一切捨故。二平等檀，於諸施田離高下故。三無厭檀，勇猛恒施不疲倦故。以是三檀二世隨攝，於現在世皆令充足，於未來世安立善根。
偈曰：
常與性及滿， 自樂不放逸，
引入於戒足， 二果常無盡。
釋曰：此偈顯示尸波羅蜜成熟眾生。菩薩有五種尸羅：一者常尸羅，生生常有故。二者自性尸羅，無功用心住真實體故。三者圓滿尸羅，十善業道皆具足故，如《十地經》說。四者自樂尸羅，恒自愛樂故。五者不放逸尸羅，念念無犯故。以是五種尸羅二世隨攝，於現在世安立戒品，於未來世令依報二果功德無絕。
偈曰：
不益得益想， 極忍解方便，
令彼起隨順， 及種諸善根。
釋曰：此偈顯示羼提波羅蜜成熟眾生。若他以不饒益事來向菩薩，菩薩於彼得饒益解起極忍辱。何以故？由彼隨順令我忍波羅蜜得增長故。亦以是忍二世隨攝，於現在世令起歸向，於未來世令種善根。
偈曰：
久劫行上勤， 利物心無退，
令生一念善， 況欲善無量。
釋曰：此偈顯示毘梨耶波羅蜜成熟眾生。菩薩於億百千劫行最上精進，為成熟無邊眾生心無退轉。以是精進二世隨攝，於現在世但令得生一念善心，況於未來令無量善根皆得增益。
偈曰：
得上自在禪， 離染及見慢，
現在令歸向， 未來善法增。
釋曰：此偈顯示禪波羅蜜成熟眾生。菩薩所得禪定，遠離愛見慢等故，自在最上。以是禪定二世隨攝，於現在世令歸向第一妙法，於未來世令增長一切善根。
偈曰：
知真及知意， 能斷一切疑，
於法令恭敬， 自他功德滿。
釋曰：此偈顯示般若波羅蜜成熟眾生。知真者，解法不顛倒故。知意者，了達眾生心行，斷彼疑故。以是般若二世隨攝，於現在世令向大法深生恭敬，於未來世令彼自身功德及他身功德皆得圓滿。
偈曰：
善趣及三乘， 大悲有三品，
盡於未來際， 如是熟眾生。
釋曰：此偈顯示大成熟相有三種。一者位大，謂窮四位安立善道及以三乘。二者品大，悲極三品，下者信行地、中者初地至七地、上者八九十地。三者時大，時節無邊盡未來際。菩薩如是利益眾生，是名大成熟相。成熟品究竟。
Giving up body and wealth entirely;
equally, and without weariness;
filling what is lacking to the full;
and establishing beings in wholesome roots.
The exposition: this verse displays how the perfection of generosity matures sentient beings. Generosity is of three kinds: sustaining generosity, giving up entirely one's inner and outer body and wealth; equal generosity, being free of high and low regard among the various fields of giving; and untiring generosity, giving constantly and valiantly without weariness. By these three, both this life and future lives are drawn in: in the present life, beings are all brought to fullness, and in future lives, they are established in wholesome roots.
Constancy, own-nature, and fullness;
self-delight, and heedfulness;
leading beings into the feet of moral discipline —
its two fruits are forever inexhaustible.
The exposition: this verse displays how the perfection of morality matures sentient beings. The bodhisattva has five kinds of moral discipline: constant moral discipline, present life after life; moral discipline of own-nature, abiding without exertion of mind in a real substance; complete moral discipline, in that the ten wholesome courses of action are entirely fulfilled, as taught in the Sūtra of the Ten Grounds; self-delighting moral discipline, in that one constantly delights in it oneself; and heedful moral discipline, committing no transgression, thought after thought. By these five, both this life and future lives are drawn in: in the present life, the category of moral discipline is established, and in future lives, the merit of its two dependent fruits is never severed.
Regarding what is not beneficial as beneficial;
patiently forbearing it, with an understanding of skillful means;
causing that being to give rise to accordance,
and to plant various wholesome roots.
The exposition: this verse displays how the perfection of patience matures sentient beings. If another comes toward the bodhisattva with something unbeneficial, the bodhisattva, with regard to that person, forms the understanding that it is beneficial, and gives rise to the utmost patient forbearance. Why? Because it is by according with that person that his perfection of patience is caused to increase. By this patience too, both this life and future lives are drawn in: in the present life, that being is caused to turn toward him, and in future lives, that being is caused to plant wholesome roots.
Practicing supreme diligence for eons on end,
with a mind never turning back from benefiting beings;
causing even a single moment of goodness to arise —
how much more, wishing goodness without measure.
The exposition: this verse displays how the perfection of diligence matures sentient beings. The bodhisattva, over hundreds of thousands of millions of eons, practices the utmost diligence, his mind never turning back from maturing boundless sentient beings. By this diligence, both this life and future lives are drawn in: in the present life, he causes even a single moment of a wholesome mind to arise in a being — how much more, then, does he cause immeasurable wholesome roots to increase for that being in future lives.
Attaining the supreme, masterful meditative absorption,
free of attachment, wrong view, and conceit;
in the present, causing beings to turn toward it,
and in the future, causing their wholesome dharmas to increase.
The exposition: this verse displays how the perfection of meditative concentration matures sentient beings. The concentration attained by the bodhisattva, far removed from attachment, wrong view, conceit, and the like, is masterful in the highest degree. By this concentration, both this life and future lives are drawn in: in the present life, beings are caused to turn toward the foremost, wondrous Dharma, and in future lives, all their wholesome roots are caused to increase.
Knowing the true, and knowing others' intent,
able to cut off every doubt;
causing reverence toward the Dharma,
the merit of both self and other is brought to fullness.
The exposition: this verse displays how the perfection of wisdom matures sentient beings. Knowing the true means understanding things without distortion. Knowing others' intent means thoroughly penetrating the mental conduct of sentient beings and cutting off their doubt. By this wisdom, both this life and future lives are drawn in: in the present life, beings are caused to give rise to deep reverence toward the great Dharma, and in future lives, both their own merit and the merit of others are brought to fulfillment.
Good destinies, and the three vehicles;
great compassion of three grades;
to the very limit of the future —
thus are sentient beings matured.
The exposition: this verse displays that the mark of great maturation is of three kinds: the greatness of stage, reaching through the four stages, establishing beings in a good path and in the three vehicles; the greatness of grade, compassion carried to its utmost through three grades — the lowest being the ground of faith and practice, the middle being the first ground through the seventh, and the highest being the eighth, ninth, and tenth grounds; and the greatness of duration, its span boundless, extending to the very limit of the future. The bodhisattva benefits sentient beings in this way — this is called the mark of great maturation. The chapter on maturing beings is complete.
世間不自愛，何況能愛他 is a genuinely striking piece of moral psychology to find stated this bluntly: ordinary people, on the treatise's own account, do not really succeed even at loving themselves — they cannot settle themselves in what actually benefits them, 尚不能自安利處 — so their capacity to love others is built on a foundation that was never solid to begin with. The bodhisattva's relinquishing of self-love is not offered as a further sacrifice added on top of an already-secure self-regard; it is offered as the only way to build a love of others that is not compromised from the start by the same confusion that made ordinary self-love unreliable.
Each of the six perfections, applied to maturing others, is analyzed by the same 現在/未來 structure — a benefit realized now, and a benefit planted for later — which quietly answers a question a skeptical reader might have carried since the opening chapters of fascicle 1: does benefiting others actually help them in any way that isn't purely long-term and abstract? The pattern insists otherwise every single time. Generosity fills present need before it plants future roots; patience earns present goodwill before it plants a future seed; even diligence, applied to a being who manages only a single moment of a wholesome mind, credits that moment as a real, present gain, not merely as a down payment on something later. The treatise closes its account of maturing others, and this fascicle, on the claim that the two timeframes are never separated — nothing here is only for later.
Fascicle 2 Complete
Five chapters, carrying the lineage of fascicle 1 into motion. Arousing the mind is given its four greatnesses, its four grounds, an eleven-part anatomy, and twenty-two similes, before the chapter turns to why fear of suffering and retrogression are both unwarranted for a mind this constituted. The twofold benefit resolves the tension between self and other being equal yet other-benefit being called supreme, then works out thirteen ways that benefit reaches beings at every stage up to buddhahood. Reality is given its fivefold non-dual character and its five stages of realization, from the first gathering of merit and wisdom to the ocean of a buddha's own qualities. Supernormal power is anatomized into six knowledges, three fruits, six functions, three correspondences, and the classical meditative equipment that provisions it all. And maturing beings closes the fascicle in two directions at once — nine factors that mature the bodhisattva himself, each with its own cause, substance, and function, and six perfections that mature everyone else, each yielding a benefit now and a seed for later. Fascicle 3 takes up the chapter on enlightenment itself (菩提品), the treatise's longest single chapter and, by its own preface, its most subtle.
Continue to Fascicle 3 — Enlightenment →