Propagating the Dharma, and Cultivation
Two chapters turn the treatise from what has been sought back outward, toward how it is taught and how it is lived. Propagating the Dharma opens on a puzzle worth sitting with — the Buddha's own realization cannot be expressed, and yet he teaches constantly, "his compassion flowing like a python's inhaling breath" — and works outward through what accomplished teaching consists in: sixty distinct kinds of voice, the words and syllables that carry them, four modes for how a single teaching can mean differently depending on who hears it, and eight obstructions the Mahāyāna remedies in the sūtras' own quoted words. Cultivation then turns inward, tracing five stages from first understanding to a bodhisattva's actual practice on the grounds, four wheels of circumstance that support diligence, and three warnings — against retrogressing to a lesser vehicle, against fearing emptiness, and against mistaking a bodhisattva's love for beings as a fault — before closing on nine everyday similes for what skillful practice actually looks like.
Where This Fascicle Picks Up
Fascicle 5 closed the long chapter on seeking with the ten discriminations and the Prajñāpāramitā's own remedies for them. This fascicle assumes the Dharma has now been sought and found, and asks what follows: teaching it to others, despite the fact that what has been realized cannot itself be put into words, and then actually living it — cultivating in accordance with what has been taught, from a beginner's first grasp of its meaning through to a bodhisattva's practice on the grounds themselves.
Classical text is set in the left-hand column, our English in the right. See also this site's note on translation method.
1. Against Stinginess with the Dharma
釋曰：已說求法，次應以法為人演說。
偈曰：
難得復不堅， 愍苦恒喜施，
況以法利世， 增長亦無盡。
釋曰：此偈先遮法慳。難得復不堅者，謂身命財。愍苦恒喜施者，菩薩尚能於一切時捨此三種不堅之法施諸苦厄眾生，由慈悲故。況以法利世增長亦無盡者，何況大法得之不難而生慳悋？是故菩薩應以此法廣利世間。何以故？法得增長亦無盡故。已遮法慳，次說利益。
偈曰：
自證不可說， 引物說法性，
法身寂滅口， 悲流如蟒吸。
釋曰：自證不可說引物說法性者，世尊不說自所證法，由不可說故。為引接眾生，復以方便而說法性。問：云何方便：答：法身寂滅口悲流如蟒吸。諸佛以法性為身、寂滅為口，極廣清淨，離二障故。以大慈悲流出教網引接眾生，譬如大蟒張口吐涎吸引諸物。一切諸佛身口悲同引接亦爾，大悲無盡，由畢竟故。
偈曰：
彼修得果故， 修說非無義，
但聞及不聞， 修說則無理。
釋曰：彼修得果故修說非無義者，諸佛以方便說自所證引接世間，由能行者修力自在而得果故，是故彼修及佛所說得非無義。但聞及不聞修說則無理者，若但聞法得見真義，彼修則無利益。若不聞法得入於修，彼說則無利益。已說說法利益，次說說法差別。
The exposition: seeking the Dharma having been explained, next one should expound the Dharma for others.
What is hard to obtain and yet not lasting —
pitying suffering, one constantly delights to give it away;
how much more the Dharma that benefits the world,
which only grows, and is never exhausted.
The exposition: this verse first wards off stinginess with the Dharma. What is hard to obtain and yet not lasting refers to the body, life, and wealth. The bodhisattva is able, at all times, to give away these three unlasting things to suffering beings, out of compassion. How much less, then, should he be stingy with the great Dharma, which is not even hard to obtain? For this reason the bodhisattva should broadly benefit the world with this Dharma, since the Dharma, once given, only grows and is never exhausted. Stinginess with the Dharma having thus been warded off, next its benefit is explained.
What he himself has realized cannot be expressed;
to draw beings in, he teaches the nature of things;
the Dharma-body is his mouth, and quiescence,
and his compassion flows like a python's inhaling breath.
The exposition: the Bhagavat does not teach what he himself has realized, since it cannot be expressed; to draw beings in, he teaches the nature of things instead, by skillful means. Question: what is this skillful means? Answer: the buddhas take the nature of things as their body and quiescence as their mouth, vast and pure in the extreme, free of the two obstructions. With great compassion they pour forth the net of their teaching to draw beings in, as a great python opens its mouth and exhales its breath to draw in every creature. All buddhas draw beings in together in just this way, their great compassion inexhaustible, since it is carried to the very end.
Because that cultivation attains a fruit,
cultivation and teaching are not without meaning;
but hearing alone, or cultivation without any hearing,
would make cultivation and teaching without reason.
The exposition: the buddhas, by skillful means, teach what they themselves have realized to draw the world in, and because one who practices attains the fruit through the mastery of his own cultivation, both that cultivation and the Buddha's teaching are not without meaning. But if hearing the Dharma alone could bring one to see the true meaning, cultivation would be without benefit; and if entering cultivation were possible without hearing the Dharma at all, teaching would be without benefit. The benefit of teaching the Dharma having been explained, next the distinctions within teaching are explained.
The python simile is unusually vivid for this treatise, and it is worth sitting with the specific mechanics it describes rather than reading past it as generic imagery. A python does not chase its prey; it opens its mouth and exhales, and creatures are drawn toward it by that very breath. The simile is doing careful work against a real worry the preceding lines raise: if the Buddha's own realization is genuinely inexpressible, how can teaching about it accomplish anything at all? The answer is that the teaching does not need to convey the realization directly — it only needs to draw beings toward the place where they can realize it themselves, the way breath draws a creature toward the mouth without the mouth doing any of the creature's own moving.
但聞及不聞，修說則無理 states a symmetry easy to read past: hearing without cultivation is as useless as cultivation without any hearing at all. This closes off two opposite errors a reader might otherwise fall into after the treatise's earlier chapters — treating study alone as sufficient because ultimate reality is finally beyond words anyway, or treating meditation alone as sufficient because words can never capture it. The treatise insists both are needed, and states this as a matter of "reason," 理, not merely tradition.
2. Two Kinds of Teaching, and Its Fourfold Accomplishment
偈曰：
阿含說證說， 謂口謂通力，
通力謂相好， 餘色及虛空。
釋曰：諸菩薩說法有二種差別。一者阿含說，謂以口力而說；二者證說，謂以通力而說。通力說復有多種，或相好說、或樹林說、或樂器說、或空中說。已說說法差別，次說說法成就。
偈曰：
無畏及斷疑， 令信亦顯實，
如此諸菩薩， 說成就應知。
釋曰：諸菩薩說法成就，由四種義：一者無畏、二者斷疑、三者令信、四者顯實，如《梵天王問經》說。菩薩四法具足，則能開於廣大法施。何等為四？一者攝治妙法、二者自慧明淨、三者作善丈夫業、四者顯示染淨。此中第一多聞故得無畏；第二大慧故能斷疑；第三不依名利故令他信受；第四由通達世諦第一義諦故，能顯二種真實，謂染相真實、淨相真實。
偈曰：
美語及離醉， 無退無不盡，
種種及相應， 令解非求利，
及以遍教授， 復次成就說。
釋曰：美語者，他瞋罵時不惡報故。離醉者，醉有二種：一他稱讚時醉；二自成就時醉，謂家色財等成就生愛喜故。離者，如此二醉於心滅故。無退者，不懈怠故。無不盡者，離於法慳一切說故。種種者，不重說故。相應者，不違現比量故。令解者，字句可解故。非求利者，不為財利令彼信故。遍教授者，被三乘故。已說說法成就，次說語成就。
偈曰：
不細及調和， 善巧亦明了，
應機亦離求， 分量與無盡。
釋曰：不細者，遍徒眾故。調和者，悅可意故。善巧者，開示字句分明故。明了者，令易解故。應機者，隨宜說故。離求者，不依名利說故。分量者，樂聞無厭故。無盡者，不可窮故。已說語成就，次說字成就。
Scriptural teaching, and teaching through realization —
the one by the power of speech, the other by the power of supernormal ability;
the power of supernormal ability is through the excellent marks,
and through other forms, and through the sky.
The exposition: bodhisattvas teach the Dharma in two distinct ways: scriptural teaching, by the power of speech; and teaching through realization, by the power of supernormal ability, which is further of many kinds — through the excellent marks, through trees and forests, through musical instruments, or through the sky. The distinctions within teaching having been explained, next its accomplishment is explained.
Fearlessness, and cutting off doubt,
inspiring faith, and displaying the real —
bodhisattvas' teaching
should be known as accomplished by these.
The exposition: bodhisattvas' teaching is accomplished through four things: fearlessness, cutting off doubt, inspiring faith, and displaying the real, as taught in the Sūtra of Brahmā's Questions. A bodhisattva complete in four dharmas is able to open the vast gift of the Dharma: gathering and mastering the wondrous Dharma; his own wisdom being bright and pure; performing the deeds of a good, great man; and displaying defilement and purity. Of these, the first, through extensive learning, attains fearlessness; the second, through great wisdom, cuts off doubt; the third, not relying on fame or gain, inspires faith in others; and the fourth, through penetrating the conventional and ultimate truths, displays the two realities — of the defiled mark, and of the pure mark.
Pleasant speech, and freedom from intoxication;
without retrogression, and without exhaustion;
variety, and correspondence;
bringing understanding, and seeking no gain;
and universal instruction —
by these, teaching is further accomplished.
The exposition: pleasant speech means not returning evil when others rage and revile him. Freedom from intoxication: intoxication is of two kinds — when praised by others, and at one's own accomplishments, such as delight arising from the success of family, appearance, or wealth — freedom means both are extinguished in the mind. Without retrogression means without laziness. Without exhaustion means being free of stinginess, teaching all of it. Variety means not repeating the same teaching. Correspondence means not conflicting with direct perception and inference. Bringing understanding means the words can be understood. Seeking no gain means not causing faith for the sake of wealth. Universal instruction means covering all three vehicles. Teaching's accomplishment having been explained, next word-accomplishment is explained.
Not delicate, and harmonious;
skillful, and clear;
suited to capacity, and free of seeking gain;
proportioned, and inexhaustible.
The exposition: not delicate means reaching the whole assembly. Harmonious means pleasing to the mind. Skillful means opening up words and phrases with clarity. Clear means making them easy to understand. Suited to capacity means teaching according to what is fitting. Free of seeking gain means not teaching in reliance on fame or profit. Proportioned means one delights to hear it without tiring. Inexhaustible means it cannot be exhausted. Word-accomplishment having been explained, next syllable-accomplishment is explained.
離醉, freedom from intoxication, names something more specific than ordinary humility, and the treatise's own gloss is worth taking seriously: it distinguishes intoxication at another's praise from intoxication at one's own success, treating them as two separate hazards rather than one. A teacher might guard carefully against the first — not letting flattery go to his head — while remaining entirely unguarded against the second, quietly proud of his own family, appearance, or accomplishments without anyone else's praise involved at all. Naming both, and requiring freedom from both, closes a gap a purely social account of humility would miss.
3. Word- and Syllable-Accomplishment
偈曰：
舉名及釋義， 隨乘亦柔軟，
易解而應機， 出離隨順故。
釋曰：舉名者，相應諸字句，不違驗故。釋義者，釋言諸字句，不違理故。隨乘者，隨乘諸字句，不違三乘故。柔軟者，離難諸字句，不違於聲故。易解者，聚集諸字句，得義易故。應機者，應物諸字句，逗機宜故。出離者，不在諸字句，向涅槃故。隨順者，正行諸字句，隨順八支聖道故。
偈曰：
菩薩字成就， 如前義應知，
聲有六十種， 是說如來事。
釋曰：如來有六十種不可思議音聲，如《佛祕密經》中說：寂靜慧！如來具足六十種聲語，所謂潤澤、柔軟、可意、意樂、清淨，如是廣說。
Citing the name, and explaining the meaning;
according with the vehicle, and gentle;
easy to understand, and suited to capacity;
leading to renunciation, and in accord.
The exposition: citing the name is syllables that correspond, not conflicting with what is verified. Explaining the meaning is syllables that clarify, not conflicting with reason. According with the vehicle is syllables not conflicting with the three vehicles. Gentle is syllables free of difficulty, not conflicting with the sound. Easy to understand is syllables gathered together, whose meaning is easily grasped. Suited to capacity is syllables that meet a being's capacity. Leading to renunciation is syllables that do not dwell on themselves, tending toward nirvāṇa. And in accord is syllables of right conduct, in accord with the eightfold noble path.
The bodhisattva's syllable-accomplishment
should be known as this meaning stated before;
the voice has sixty kinds,
and these describe the Tathāgata's own work.
The exposition: the Tathāgata has sixty kinds of inconceivable voice, as taught in the Sūtra of the Buddha's Secrets: "Praśāntamati! The Tathāgata is complete in sixty kinds of voice and speech — namely, moist, gentle, agreeable, delightful, pure" — and so on, taught at length.
4. The Sixty Kinds of the Tathāgata's Voice
此中潤澤聲者，眾生善根能持攝故。柔軟聲者，現前聞法得樂觸故。可意聲者，由善義故。意樂聲者，由善字故。清淨聲者，無上出世後得故。無垢聲者，諸惑習氣不相應故。明亮聲者，字句易解故。善力聲者，具足功德，破諸外道惡邪見故。樂聞聲者，信順出離故。不絕聲者，一切外道無能斷故。調伏聲者，貪等煩惱能對治故。無刺聲者，制戒樂方便故。不澁聲者，令犯戒人得正出故。善調聲者，教化教授故。悅耳聲者，亂心對治故。身倚聲者，能引三摩提故。心了聲者，能引毘鉢舍那故。心喜聲者，善斷疑故。喜樂生聲者，決定拔邪故。無熱惱聲者，信受不悔故。能持智聲者，成就聞因，智依止故。能持解聲者，成就思因，智依止故。不隱覆聲者，不慳法而說故。可愛聲者，令得自利果故。渴仰聲者，已得果人深願樂故。教勅聲者，不思議法正說故。令解聲者，思議法正說故。相應聲者，不違驗故。有益聲者，如其所應教示導故。離重聲者，不虛說故。師子聲者，怖外道故。象聲者，振大故。雷聲者，深遠故。龍聲者，令信受故。緊那羅聲者，歌音美故。迦陵頻伽聲者，韻清亮故。梵聲者，出遠去故。命命鳥聲者，初得吉祥，一切事成故。天王聲者，無敢違故。天鼓聲者，破魔初故。離慢聲者，讚毀不高故。入一切聲者，入毘伽羅論一切種相故。離不正聲者，憶不忘故。應時聲者，教化事一切時起故。無羞聲者，不依利養故。不怖聲者，離慚羞故。歡喜聲者，聞無厭故。隨捨聲者，一切明處善巧入故。善友聲者，一切眾生利成就故。常流聲者，相續不斷故。嚴飾聲者，種種顯現故。滿足聲者，一音無量聲說法故。眾生根喜聲者，一語無量義顯現故。不毀呰聲者，如所立義信順故。不增減聲者，應時量說故。不躁急聲者，不疾疾說故。遍一切聲者，遠近徒眾同依止故。一切種成就聲者，世間法義皆譬喻令解故。已說字成就，次說說法大。
Here: the moist voice, able to hold and gather sentient beings' wholesome roots. The gentle voice, in that hearing the Dharma directly one obtains a pleasant sensation. The agreeable voice, having a good meaning. The delightful voice, having good words. The pure voice, the unsurpassed, subsequently attained transcendent wisdom. The stainless voice, not joined with the habituated tendencies of the afflictions. The bright voice, whose words are easy to understand. The powerful voice, complete in merit, breaking the evil, wrong views of outsiders. The voice delighted to hear, inspiring faith and according with renunciation. The unceasing voice, which no outsider can cut off. The taming voice, able to remedy craving and the other afflictions. The thornless voice, the skillful means of delighting in the precepts established. The unharsh voice, causing one who has broken the precepts to attain rightful release. The well-tuned voice, teaching and instructing. The voice pleasing to the ear, remedying a distracted mind. The voice of bodily ease, able to draw forth concentration. The mind-clarifying voice, able to draw forth insight. The mind-delighting voice, well cutting off doubt. The voice giving rise to joy and delight, certainly uprooting error. The voice without vexation, accepted with faith and without regret. The voice able to uphold wisdom, accomplishing the cause of hearing, the support of wisdom. The voice able to uphold understanding, accomplishing the cause of reflection, the support of wisdom. The voice that conceals nothing, taught without stinginess for the Dharma. The lovable voice, causing one to attain the fruit of self-benefit. The voice longed for, deeply wished for by one who has already attained the fruit. The instructive voice, rightly teaching the inconceivable Dharma. The voice that brings understanding, rightly teaching the conceivable Dharma. The corresponding voice, not conflicting with what is verified. The beneficial voice, teaching and guiding according to what is fitting. The voice free of repetition, not teaching in vain. The lion's voice, striking fear into outsiders. The elephant's voice, resounding greatly. The thunder's voice, profound and far-reaching. The dragon's voice, causing faith and acceptance. The kiṃnara's voice, beautiful in song. The kalaviṅka's voice, clear and resonant in tone. Brahmā's voice, carrying far. The jīvaṃjīvaka bird's voice, auspicious from the start, accomplishing every task. The voice of the king of gods, which none dare oppose. The celestial drum's voice, the first to break the māras. The voice free of conceit, not exalted whether praised or blamed. The voice entering everything, entering every aspect of grammatical treatises. The voice free of the incorrect, remembered and not forgotten. The timely voice, the work of teaching arising at all times. The voice without shame, not relying on gain and support. The fearless voice, free of timidity and embarrassment. The joyful voice, never tiring to hear. The voice of according relinquishment, skillfully entering every field of knowledge. The good friend's voice, accomplishing the benefit of all sentient beings. The ever-flowing voice, continuing without interruption. The adorned voice, manifesting in various ways. The fulfilling voice, teaching the Dharma with one sound as measureless sounds. The voice delighting beings' faculties, one word manifesting measureless meanings. The voice free of disparagement, according with faith in the meaning it establishes. The voice neither adding nor subtracting, teaching in due measure and season. The unhurried voice, not teaching in haste. The all-pervading voice, the support equally of the assembly, far and near. And the voice accomplished in every mode, bringing understanding to all worldly Dharma and meaning through similes. Syllable-accomplishment having been explained, next the greatness of teaching is explained.
The sixty qualities fall into a small number of recognizable families once sorted, even though the source presents them as one unbroken list: qualities of comfort and pleasure (moist, gentle, agreeable, pleasing to the ear); qualities of intellectual clarity (bright, easy to understand, entering everything); qualities of authority and command (the lion's, elephant's, thunder's, and celestial king's voices); qualities of endurance (unceasing, ever-flowing, inexhaustible); and qualities of exact calibration to the listener (suited to capacity, neither adding nor subtracting, timely). Reading the list as an unstructured inventory misses that it is really several different virtues of speech — warmth, precision, authority, persistence, and responsiveness — each given roughly a dozen near-synonymous names, which is itself informative about which qualities this tradition considered most important to distinguish finely.
不增減聲, the voice that neither adds nor subtracts, glossed as 應時量說, teaching in due measure and season, sits inside this list as a quiet corrective to the sheer scale of the catalogue surrounding it. A list this exhaustive could suggest that more elaboration is always better; this one item insists that correct teaching also knows when to stop, giving exactly what the moment calls for and no more — a discipline the list itself, in its own sixty-fold length, does not obviously practice, which may be less a contradiction than a reminder that a catalogue of ideals and an instance of ideal speech are different genres.
5. The Greatness of Teaching, and the Purity of the Three Wheels
偈曰：
開演及施設， 建立并總舉，
別說與斷疑， 略廣皆令解。
釋曰：開演者，謂言說也。施設者，謂諸句也。建立者，謂善相應也。如是分別開示，如其次第總舉別說，斷疑使義淺近易解，令聽受者於所說法得決定故。略者一說，彼利根人速得解故。廣者重說，彼鈍根人遲得解故。
偈曰：
說者及所說、 受者三輪淨，
復離八種過， 說者淨應知。
釋曰：說者及所說受者三輪淨者，何等三輪？一是說者，謂諸佛菩薩。二是所說，謂總說名字等諸種。三是受者，謂前略說得解人、廣說得解人。復離八種過說者淨應知者，說者清淨，應知復離八種過失。問：何者八耶？
偈曰：
懈怠及不解， 拒請不開義，
及以不斷疑， 斷疑不堅固，
厭退及有悋， 如是八種過，
諸佛無彼體， 故成無上說。
釋曰：八種過者，一懈怠；二不解義；三拒請、四不開義；五不斷疑；六斷疑不決定；七心有厭退，不一切時說故；八有悋，不盡開示故。一切諸佛如是八過悉皆遠離，是故得成無上說法。已說說法大，次說義成就。
Opening and expounding, and provisional designation;
establishing, and stating in summary;
explaining separately, and cutting off doubt;
brief, and extensive — both bring understanding.
The exposition: opening and expounding refers to speech itself. Provisional designation refers to the various phrases. Establishing refers to their skillful correspondence. Distinguishing and displaying them in order — stating them in summary, then explaining them separately, then cutting off doubt — makes the meaning accessible, bringing the hearer to certainty. Brief means teaching it once, so a person of sharp faculties swiftly understands. Extensive means teaching it repeatedly, so a person of dull faculties, understanding more slowly, comes to understand as well.
The teacher, and what is taught,
and the receiver — the three wheels are pure;
further free of eight kinds of fault —
know the teacher's own purity.
The exposition: what are the three wheels? The teacher — the buddhas and bodhisattvas. What is taught — the names and other categories, taught in summary. And the receiver — those who understand from the brief teaching, and from the extensive teaching. The teacher's purity should further be known as free of eight kinds of fault. Question: what are these eight?
Laziness, and not understanding;
refusing a request, and not opening up the meaning;
and not cutting off doubt,
and cutting off doubt without firmness;
weariness and retrogression, and stinginess —
these eight kinds of fault
have no substance in the buddhas,
and so their teaching is unsurpassed.
The exposition: the eight faults are: laziness; not understanding the meaning; refusing a request; not opening up the meaning; not cutting off doubt; cutting off doubt without certainty; a mind of weariness and retrogression, not teaching at all times; and stinginess, not opening it up fully. Every buddha is entirely free of these eight faults, and so their teaching becomes unsurpassed. The greatness of teaching having been explained, next meaning-accomplishment is explained.
The three wheels of pure teaching — teacher, what is taught, and receiver — apply the same "three wheels" analytic the treatise has used elsewhere for giving and for cultivation (most recently at the very close of this fascicle's second chapter, where cultivator, what is cultivated, and correct cultivation must all be seen as non-discriminated for practice to be pure). Applying the identical three-part structure to teaching suggests the treatise treats teaching itself as a form of giving — the gift of the Dharma rather than of wealth — subject to the same requirement that none of the three participants be grasped as substantially separate from the others for the act to be fully pure.
6. Meaning-Accomplishment, the Four Brahma-Conducts, and the Four Modes and Intents of Teaching
偈曰：
此法隨時善， 生信喜覺因，
義正及語巧， 能開四梵行。
釋曰：此法隨時善生信喜覺因者，隨時善謂初中後善。如其次第，聞思修時為信因故、為喜因故、為覺因故。為覺因者，定心觀察此法道理，得如實智故。義正及語巧能開四梵行者，義正謂善義及妙義，與世諦第一義諦相應故。語巧謂易受及易解，由文顯義現故。由此故能開示四種梵行。問：何者四耶？
偈曰：
不共他相應， 具斷三界惑，
自性及無垢， 是行為四種。
釋曰：四梵行者，一者獨、二者滿、三者清、四者白。不共他相應者是獨義，由此行不共外道同行故。具斷三界惑者是滿義，由此行具斷三界煩惱故。自性者是清義，由此行是無漏自性淨故。無垢者是白義，由此行在漏盡身種類得無垢淨故。已說說法義成就，次說說法節。
偈曰：
所謂令入節， 相節對治節，
及以祕密節， 是名為四節。
釋曰：諸佛說法不離四節，一者令入節、二者相節、三者對治節、四者祕密節。問：此四節依何義？
偈曰：
聲聞及自性， 斷過亦語深，
次第依四義， 說節有四種。
釋曰：令入節者，應知教諸聲聞入於法義令得不怖，說色等是有故。相節者，應知於分別等三種自性，無體無起自性清淨，說一切法故。對治節者，應知依斷諸過對治八種障故。如大乘中說：受持二偈得爾所功德。皆為對治故說。此對治後當解。祕密節者，應知依諸深語，由迴語方得義故。如大乘經偈說：不堅堅固解，善住於顛倒，為煩惱所惱，速得大菩提。此節中不堅堅固解者，不堅謂諸眾生其心不亂，於此不亂作堅固解，此解最勝能得菩提。亂者心馳堅著，不能至得菩提故。此是第一句義。善住於顛倒者，顛倒謂常樂我淨執。若人能於顛倒中解無常無樂無我無淨善住不退，即能速得菩提，不爾不得故。此是第二句義。為煩惱所惱者，長時勤修難行苦行，由極疲倦能得菩提，不爾不得故。此是第三句義。已說說法節，次說說法意。
This Dharma is good at every time,
the cause of faith, of joy, and of realization;
its meaning is correct, and its speech skillful,
able to open the four brahma-conducts.
The exposition: good at every time means good at the beginning, middle, and end. In order, hearing, reflection, and cultivation are the cause of faith, of joy, and of realization. The cause of realization means that, with a concentrated mind, one contemplates this Dharma's principle and attains wisdom as it really is. Correct meaning is good and wondrous meaning, corresponding to the conventional and ultimate truths; skillful speech is that which is easily received and understood, its wording making the meaning clearly manifest. By these, the four brahma-conducts can be opened up. Question: what are these four?
Not joined in common with others;
fully cutting off the afflictions of the three realms;
own-nature, and stainlessness —
these conducts are of four kinds.
The exposition: the four brahma-conducts are: solitary, full, clear, and white. Not joined in common with others is solitary, this conduct not being shared with outsiders' practice. Fully cutting off the afflictions of the three realms is full. Own-nature is clear, this conduct being pure in its uncontaminated own-nature. And stainlessness is white, this conduct attaining stainless purity within the kind of body whose contaminants are exhausted. Meaning-accomplishment having been explained, next the modes of teaching are explained.
Namely, the mode of leading in,
the mode of characteristics, the mode of remedy,
and the mode of the secret —
these are called the four modes.
The exposition: the buddhas' teaching never departs from four modes: leading in, characteristics, remedy, and the secret. Question: on what meaning do these four modes rest?
The śrāvakas, and own-nature;
cutting off fault, and profound speech —
in this order, resting on these four meanings,
the modes are taught as four kinds.
The exposition: the mode of leading in teaches śrāvakas to enter the meaning of the Dharma without fear, teaching that form and the rest exist. The mode of characteristics teaches, with regard to the discriminated and the other two natures, that they are without substance, without arising, and pure in own-nature. The mode of remedy rests on cutting off faults, remedying eight kinds of obstruction — as the Mahāyāna teaches, that upholding two verses obtains such-and-such merit, all taught for the sake of a remedy, explained below. The mode of the secret rests on profound sayings, whose meaning is obtained only by reversing their apparent sense — as a Mahāyāna sūtra verse teaches: "What is not firm, a firm understanding; dwelling well in distortion; vexed by the afflictions — one swiftly attains great enlightenment." Here, "what is not firm, a firm understanding" means: "not firm" refers to sentient beings whose minds are undistracted, and forming a firm understanding with regard to this undistractedness is the supreme understanding able to attain enlightenment — one whose mind is distracted and clings firmly is unable to reach enlightenment. This is the first line's meaning. "Dwelling well in distortion" means: distortion is the clinging to permanence, pleasure, self, and purity; if one is able, within distortion, to understand impermanence, the absence of pleasure, selflessness, and impurity, dwelling well in this without retrogression, one swiftly attains enlightenment — otherwise not. This is the second line's meaning. "Vexed by the afflictions" means: cultivating diligently through difficult and painful practices, one attains enlightenment through this utmost weariness — otherwise not. This is the third line's meaning. The modes of teaching having been explained, next its intents are explained.
偈曰：
平等及別義， 別時及別欲，
依此四種意， 諸佛說應知。
釋曰：諸佛說法不離四意，一平等意、二別義意、三別時意、四別欲意。平等意者，如佛說：往昔毘婆尸佛即我身是。由法身無差別故，如是等說，是名平等意。別義意者，如佛說：一切諸法無自性故、無生故。如是等說，是名別義意。別時意者，如佛說：若人願見阿彌陀佛，一切皆得往生。此由別時得生故如是說，如是等說，是名別時意。別欲意者，彼人有如是善根，如來或時讚歎或時毀呰，由得少善根便為足故。如是等說，是名別欲意。已說說法意，次說受持大乘功德。
Equality, and distinct meaning;
a distinct time, and a distinct wish —
resting on these four kinds of intent,
the buddhas' teaching should be understood.
The exposition: the buddhas' teaching never departs from four intents: equality, distinct meaning, a distinct time, and a distinct wish. Equality of intent is as the Buddha said, "The ancient Buddha Vipaśyin was myself" — since the Dharma-body is without difference. Distinct meaning of intent is as the Buddha said, "All things are without own-nature, and without arising." A distinct time of intent is as the Buddha said, "Whoever wishes to see Amitābha Buddha will all attain rebirth there" — said because rebirth is attained only at a distinct, later time. A distinct wish of intent is: that person has such-and-such wholesome roots, and the Tathāgata, at one time praising and at another time faulting the same thing, does so because that person, having obtained a small wholesome root, might be satisfied with too little. The intents of teaching having been explained, next the merit of upholding the Mahāyāna is explained.
祕密節, the mode of the secret, is the most methodologically interesting of the four, since it states outright that some scriptural statements mean their opposite: 由迴語方得義故, their meaning is obtained only by reversing their apparent sense. The verse chosen to illustrate it — praising "what is not firm" and "dwelling in distortion" — would be straightforwardly heretical if read at face value, and the treatise's own commentary spends three full lines unpacking exactly how each clause inverts into orthodoxy. This is a striking admission for a treatise that elsewhere insists on precision of language: it acknowledges that at least one class of scriptural statement cannot be trusted on its surface at all, and requires a specific interpretive key — supplied here — to be read correctly.
別時意, the intent of a distinct time, applied here to the promise of rebirth in Amitābha's land, is worth flagging as a genuinely consequential piece of doctrine for East Asian Pure Land Buddhism, where this very passage became a touchstone in later debate over how literally to take the sūtras' promise of rebirth through faith alone. This treatise's own gloss is deliberately narrow: the statement is true, but its fulfillment belongs to a different, later time than the moment of the vow itself — it is not being explained away as false, only as temporally deferred, and this treatise offers no further commentary on how long that deferral might be or what else it might require.
7. Eight Obstructions the Mahāyāna Remedies, and Ten Merits of Upholding It
偈曰：
輕佛及輕法， 懈怠少知足，
貪行及慢行， 悔行不定等，
如是八種障， 大乘說對治，
如是諸障斷， 是人入正法。
釋曰：此二偈顯示大乘斷障功德。障有八種：一者輕佛障、二者輕法障、三者懈怠障、四者少知足障、五者貪行障、六者慢行障、七者悔行障、八者不定障。為對治輕佛障故，大乘經說：往昔毘婆尸佛即我身是。為對治輕法障故，大乘經說：於無量恒河沙佛所修行大乘乃得生解。為對治懈怠障故，大乘經說：若有眾生願生安樂國土，一切當得往生；稱念無垢月光佛名，決定當得作佛。為對治少知足障故，大乘經說：有處讚歎檀等行、有處毀呰檀等行。為對治貪行障故，大乘經說：諸佛國土極妙樂事。為對治慢行障故，大乘經說：或有佛土最勝成就。為對治悔行障故，大乘經說：或有眾生於佛菩薩起不饒益事得生善道。為對治不定障故，大乘經說：諸佛授記聲聞當得作佛，及說一乘。是名受持大乘得離八障。
偈曰：
若文及若義， 二偈勤受持，
功德數有十， 是名勝慧者。
善種得圓滿， 死時歡喜勝，
受生隨所欲， 念生智亦成。
生生恒值佛， 聞法得信慧，
遠離於二障， 速成無上道。
釋曰：此三偈顯示受持大乘集得功德。此功德有十種：一者成就一切善根種子圓滿依止、二者臨命終時得無上喜悅、三者於一切處得隨願受生、四者於一切生處得自性念生智、五者所生之處恒得值佛、六者恒在佛邊聞大乘法、七者成就增上信根、八者成就增上慧根、九者得遠離惑智二障、十者速得成就無上菩提。若人於一切大乘經典，若文若義乃至一句，正勤受持，則得如是十種功德。此中應知，於現在世得初二種功德，於未來世得餘八種功德，漸漸增勝。已說持法功德，次說說法功德。
偈曰：
慧善及不退， 大悲名稱遠，
巧便說諸法， 如日朗世間。
釋曰：若諸菩薩具足五因，名善說法。一者不倒說，由慧善故。二者恒時說，由不退故。三者離求說，由大悲故。四者令信說，由名稱遠故。五者隨機說，由巧便故。由此五因能善說法，導引眾生多生恭敬，譬如日出照朗世間。弘法品究竟。
Slighting the Buddha, and slighting the Dharma;
laziness, and being easily satisfied;
conduct driven by craving, and by conceit;
conduct of regret, and of uncertainty —
these eight kinds of obstruction
the Mahāyāna teaches the remedy for;
once these obstructions are cut off,
that person enters the true Dharma.
The exposition: these two verses display the merit of the Mahāyāna's cutting off obstruction, of eight kinds: slighting the Buddha, slighting the Dharma, laziness, being easily satisfied, conduct of craving, of conceit, of regret, and of uncertainty. To remedy slighting the Buddha: "The ancient Buddha Vipaśyin was myself." To remedy slighting the Dharma: "Only after cultivating the Mahāyāna in the presence of buddhas as numerous as the sands of measureless Ganges rivers does understanding arise." To remedy laziness: "Whatever beings wish to be born in the land of bliss will all attain rebirth there; reciting the name of the Stainless Moonlight Buddha, one will certainly become a buddha." To remedy being easily satisfied: in one place the sūtras praise the practice of generosity and the rest, and in another place fault that same practice. To remedy craving: the sūtras teach the utterly wondrous joys of the buddha-lands. To remedy conceit: the sūtras teach that there are buddha-lands of the most supreme accomplishment. To remedy regret: the sūtras teach that some beings, even after committing an unbeneficial act against a buddha or bodhisattva, attain birth in a good realm. To remedy uncertainty: the sūtras teach that the buddhas predict śrāvakas will become buddhas, and teach the One Vehicle. This is how upholding the Mahāyāna brings freedom from these eight obstructions.
Whether the text or the meaning,
diligently upholding even two verses —
its merits number ten,
and this is called one of surpassing wisdom.
One's wholesome seeds are brought to fulfillment;
at death, one's joy is supreme;
one takes birth according to one's wish;
and the wisdom that recalls past births is also accomplished.
Life after life, one constantly meets a buddha;
hearing the Dharma, one attains faith and wisdom;
far removed from the two obstructions,
one swiftly accomplishes the unsurpassed path.
The exposition: these three verses display the merit gathered by upholding the Mahāyāna, of ten kinds: accomplishing the fulfilled support that is the seed of every wholesome root; attaining unsurpassed joy at death; attaining birth according to one's wish, wherever one goes; attaining, in every place of birth, the innate wisdom that recalls one's births; constantly meeting a buddha in whatever place one is born; constantly hearing the Mahāyāna Dharma at a buddha's side; accomplishing the superior root of faith; of wisdom; attaining freedom from the afflictive and cognitive obstructions; and swiftly accomplishing unsurpassed enlightenment. If a person, with regard to any Mahāyāna sūtra, rightly and diligently upholds even a single line of its text or meaning, he attains these ten merits — the first two in the present life, the remaining eight in future lives, gradually increasing in excellence. The merit of upholding the Dharma having been explained, next the merit of teaching it is explained.
Skillful wisdom, and non-retrogression,
great compassion, and far-reaching renown,
skillful means in teaching the various dharmas —
like the sun brightening the world.
The exposition: a bodhisattva complete in five causes is called one who teaches the Dharma well: teaching without distortion, through skillful wisdom; teaching constantly, through non-retrogression; teaching free of seeking gain, through great compassion; teaching so as to inspire faith, through far-reaching renown; and teaching according to capacity, through skillful means. By these five causes he teaches the Dharma well, guiding sentient beings to give rise to great reverence, like the sun rising to brighten the world. The chapter on propagating the Dharma is complete.
少知足障, the obstruction of being easily satisfied, gets a remedy unlike any of the other seven: rather than a single reassuring statement, the sūtras are said to praise generosity in one place and fault it in another. Every other obstruction on this list is answered by a teaching that resolves a doubt in one direction; this one is answered by the sūtras' own apparent inconsistency, which turns out to be the point rather than a problem — a practitioner who is too easily satisfied with his own generosity needs to encounter the fault-finding passage precisely when the praising one would let him rest. The remedy for complacency cannot itself be a single, settled reassurance, since a single reassurance is exactly what complacency would settle into.
8. Five Stages of Cultivation in Accordance, and the Four Wheels of Non-Heedlessness
釋曰：已說菩薩弘法，次說菩薩隨法修行。此中隨修，有知義、有知法、有隨法、有同得、有隨行，今當次第顯示。
偈曰：
於二知無我， 於三離邪正，
菩薩如是解， 是名知義人。
釋曰：此偈明菩薩知義。於二知無我者，謂於人法二種而知無我，由知能取所取無有體故。於三離邪正者，三謂三種三昧，即空、無相、無願。由空三昧知無有體，解分別性故。由無相無願三昧知無自體，由解依他真實性故。離邪正者，此三三昧引出世智故不邪，是世間故不正。菩薩如是解是名知義人者，菩薩若知人法二種無我，能知三種三昧離邪離正，如此則名知義。
偈曰：
如是知義已， 知法猶如栰，
聞法不應喜， 捨法名知法。
釋曰：此偈明菩薩知法。初學菩薩得知義已，次應知法。謂能知修多羅等經法，猶如栰喻，不得但聞而生歡喜。何以故？是法應捨，譬如栰故。是名知法。
偈曰：
凡夫有二智， 即通二無我，
為成彼智故， 如說隨法行。
釋曰：此偈明菩薩隨法。凡夫有二智者，謂知義智、知法智。即通二無我者，由此二智故，亦能通達人法二種無我。為成彼智故如說隨法行者，菩薩為成就彼二種智，應如所說法隨順修行。是名隨法。
偈曰：
成就彼智時， 出世間無上，
凡住初地者， 所得皆同得。
釋曰：此偈明菩薩同得。成就彼智時出世間無上者，由彼智體最勝故。初地，謂歡喜地。一切住歡喜地菩薩所得功德，彼初入地人亦皆同得故。
偈曰：
見道所滅惑， 應知一切盡，
隨次修餘地， 為斷智障故。
應知諸地中， 無分別建立，
次第無間起， 如是說隨行。
釋曰：此二偈明菩薩隨行。此中見道所滅煩惱，入初地時一切悉盡，是故修習餘地但為斷於智障。然於諸地各有二智：一無分別智、二地建立智。菩薩若在正觀，於剎那剎那得爾所法而不分別，是名無分別智。菩薩出觀後，分別觀中所得法如是如是分數，是名地建立智。如此二智不得並起及間餘法起，恒無間行，是名菩薩隨行。菩薩能如是隨行，有四種不放逸輪：一者勝土輪、二者善人輪、三者自正輪、四者先福輪。如此四輪，今當次第說。
The exposition: the bodhisattva's propagation of the Dharma having been explained, next the bodhisattva's cultivation in accordance with the Dharma is explained. Within this cultivation, there is knowing the meaning, knowing the Dharma, according with the Dharma, attaining together, and according in practice — these shall now be displayed in order.
Knowing selflessness with regard to the two;
free of both the wrong and the merely right with regard to the three —
the bodhisattva who understands in this way
is called one who knows the meaning.
The exposition: this verse clarifies knowing the meaning. Knowing selflessness with regard to the two is knowing the selflessness of both persons and things, by knowing that the grasper and the grasped have no substance. Free of the wrong and the merely right with regard to the three: the three are the absorptions of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. Through emptiness one knows the absence of substance, understanding the discriminated nature; through signlessness and wishlessness one knows the absence of self-nature, understanding the dependent and the true nature. These three draw forth transcendent wisdom, and so are not wrong — yet they remain worldly, and so are not merely right either. A bodhisattva who knows the selflessness of both persons and things, and knows these three absorptions as free of both the wrong and the merely right, is thereby called one who knows the meaning.
Having thus known the meaning,
one knows the Dharma to be like a raft;
one should not delight merely in hearing it —
relinquishing the Dharma is called knowing the Dharma.
The exposition: this verse clarifies knowing the Dharma. A beginning bodhisattva, having known the meaning, should next know the Dharma — knowing the sūtras and other teachings to be like the simile of the raft, not merely delighting in having heard them. Why? Because this Dharma is to be relinquished, just as a raft is. This is called knowing the Dharma.
An ordinary person has two kinds of wisdom,
which already penetrate the twofold selflessness;
in order to accomplish that wisdom,
one practices in accordance with the Dharma as it is taught.
The exposition: this verse clarifies according with the Dharma. An ordinary person has two kinds of wisdom — of knowing the meaning, and of knowing the Dharma — by which he also penetrates the twofold selflessness of persons and things. In order to accomplish that wisdom, the bodhisattva practices in accordance with the Dharma as it has been taught. This is called according with the Dharma.
At the time that wisdom is accomplished,
it is transcendent and unsurpassed;
whoever abides on the first ground
attains equally what all others attain there.
The exposition: this verse clarifies attaining together. At the time that wisdom is accomplished, it is transcendent and unsurpassed, since the substance of that wisdom is supreme. The first ground is the ground of joy. Every bodhisattva abiding there attains equally the merit that any bodhisattva newly entering that ground attains.
The afflictions cut off by the path of seeing
should be known as entirely exhausted;
cultivating the remaining grounds in due order
is for the sake of cutting off the cognitive obstruction.
Know that, within all the grounds,
non-discriminating wisdom and the wisdom that establishes the ground
arise one after another without interval —
this is called according in practice.
The exposition: these two verses clarify according in practice. The afflictions cut off by the path of seeing are entirely exhausted upon entering the first ground; therefore, cultivating the remaining grounds is only for cutting off the cognitive obstruction. Within all the grounds there are two kinds of wisdom: non-discriminating wisdom, and the wisdom that establishes the ground. In right contemplation, moment by moment, the bodhisattva attains this much of the Dharma without discrimination — this is non-discriminating wisdom. After emerging from contemplation, he discriminates, in a discriminating mode of observation, the Dharma attained, in such and such gradations — this is the wisdom that establishes the ground. These two cannot arise simultaneously, nor can any other dharma arise between them; they proceed constantly, without interval — this is according in practice. A bodhisattva able to practice thus has four wheels of non-heedlessness: a superior land, good persons, one's own rightness, and prior merit. These four wheels shall now be explained in order.
偈曰：
易求及善護， 善地亦善伴，
善寂此勝土， 菩薩則往生。
釋曰：此偈明勝土輪。土勝有五因緣：一者易求，謂四事供身不難得故。二者善護，謂國王如法，惡人盜賊不得住故。三者善地，處所調和無疫癘故。四者善伴，謂同戒同見為伴侶故。五者善寂，謂晝日無喧夜絕聲故。
偈曰：
多聞及見諦， 巧說亦憐愍，
不退此丈夫， 菩薩勝依止。
釋曰：此偈明善人輪。善人亦具五因緣：一者多聞，成就阿含故。二者見諦，得聖果故。三者巧說，能分別法故。四者憐愍，不貪利故。五者不退，無疲倦故。
偈曰：
善緣及善聚， 善修及善說，
善出此五種， 是名自正勝。
釋曰：此偈明自正輪。自正亦具五因緣：一者善緣，妙法為緣故。二者善聚，福智具足故。三者善修，止觀諸相應時修故。四者善說，無求利故。五者善出，所有上法恭敬修故。
偈曰：
可樂及無難， 無病與寂靜，
觀察此五種， 宿植善根故。
釋曰：此偈明先福輪。先福亦具五因緣：一者可樂、二者無難、三者無病、四者三昧、五者智慧。第一事由住勝土為因，第二事由值善人為因，後三事由自正成就為因。已說四種不放逸輪，次說煩惱出煩惱。
Easily provided for, and well protected;
a good land, and good companions;
and well quieted — such is a superior land,
and the bodhisattva takes birth there.
The exposition: this verse clarifies the wheel of a superior land, whose excellence has five causes: easily provided for, the four requisites for the body not being hard to obtain; well protected, the king ruling according to the Dharma, so evil persons and thieves cannot dwell there; a good land, its climate temperate and free of epidemics; good companions, having as companions those of like precepts and views; and well quieted, without clamor by day and silent at night.
Extensive learning, and having seen the truths;
skillful teaching, and compassion;
and never retrogressing — this great man
is the bodhisattva's superior support.
The exposition: this verse clarifies the wheel of good persons, likewise with five causes: extensive learning, accomplishing the scriptures; having seen the truths, attaining the noble fruit; skillful teaching, able to distinguish the Dharma; compassion, not craving gain; and non-retrogression, being without weariness.
A good object, and a good accumulation;
good cultivation, and good speech;
and good emergence — these five
are called the excellence of one's own rightness.
The exposition: this verse clarifies the wheel of one's own rightness, likewise with five causes: a good object, taking the wondrous Dharma as one's object; a good accumulation, complete in merit and wisdom; good cultivation, at the proper time; good speech, without seeking gain; and good emergence, reverently cultivating whatever superior dharmas one possesses.
Pleasant, and free of difficulty;
free of illness, and quiescence;
observing these five kinds,
one knows they come from wholesome roots planted long ago.
The exposition: this verse clarifies the wheel of prior merit, likewise with five causes: pleasant, free of difficulty, free of illness, concentration, and wisdom. The first comes from abiding in a superior land as its cause; the second, from meeting good persons; and the last three, from the accomplishment of one's own rightness. The four wheels of non-heedlessness having been explained, next affliction overcoming affliction is explained.
知義, knowing the meaning, and 知法, knowing the Dharma, are distinguished by an object each is directed at — the first toward what the teaching points to, the second toward the teaching itself — and the raft simile arrives exactly where it needs to for the distinction to matter. A practitioner who confuses the two risks treating the raft as the far shore: delighting in having heard the teaching, mistaking that delight for the very understanding the teaching was meant to produce. 捨法名知法, relinquishing the Dharma is called knowing the Dharma, only makes sense once knowing the meaning has already been secured first — this is not an instruction to relinquish teachings before understanding them, but to stop clinging to them once their work is done.
The four wheels of non-heedlessness are worth reading as a deliberate corrective to any purely internalist account of spiritual progress. Two of the four — a superior land and good persons — are external circumstances entirely outside the practitioner's own control at the moment of practice, and the treatise gives them equal billing with the two internal wheels, one's own rightness and prior merit. Even the fourth wheel, prior merit, is explicitly derived from the first two as much as from the third: the text traces pleasantness back to having lived in a good land, and freedom from difficulty back to having met good persons. On this treatise's own accounting, circumstance is not a distraction from cultivation; a genuinely non-heedless bodhisattva pays attention to where and with whom he practices, not only to how.
9. Affliction Overcoming Affliction, and Warding Off the Lesser-Vehicle Mind
偈曰：
遠離於法界， 無別有貪法，
是故諸佛說， 貪出貪餘爾。
釋曰：如佛先說，我不說有異貪之法能出於貪，瞋癡亦爾。由離法界則別無體故，是故貪等法性得貪等名。此說貪等法性能出貪等，此義是經旨趣。
偈曰：
由離法性外， 無別有諸法，
是故如是說， 煩惱即菩提。
釋曰：如經中說，無明與菩提同一。此謂無明法性施設菩提名，此義是經旨趣。
偈曰：
於貪起正思， 於貪得解脫，
故說貪出貪， 瞋癡出亦爾。
釋曰：若人於貪起正思觀察，如是知已於貪即得解脫。故說以貪出離於貪，出離瞋癡亦復如是。已說煩惱出煩惱，次說遠離二乘心。
偈曰：
菩薩處地獄， 為物不辭苦；
捨有發小心， 此苦則為劇。
釋曰：菩薩慈悲為諸眾生入大地獄，不辭大苦。若滅三有功德起小乘心，菩薩以此為苦最為深重。問：此義云何？
偈曰：
雖恒處地獄， 不障大菩提；
若起自利心， 是大菩提障。
釋曰：菩薩雖為眾生長時入大地獄，不以為苦。何以故？於廣淨菩提不為障故。若起異乘樂涅槃心，即為大苦。何以故？於大乘樂住而為障故。此偈顯前偈義應知。已說遮二乘心，次說遮怖畏心。
Apart from the dharma-realm,
there is no separate dharma of craving;
for this reason the buddhas teach
that craving overcomes craving, and likewise the rest.
The exposition: as the Buddha taught, "I do not teach that there is a dharma other than craving able to overcome craving" — and the same for hatred and delusion. Since, apart from the dharma-realm, there is no separate substance, the nature of the dharma of craving and the rest is what receives the name "craving" and the rest. This teaches that the very nature of craving is what overcomes craving — this is the sūtra's intent.
Since, apart from the nature of things,
there are no separate dharmas whatsoever,
for this reason it is taught
that the afflictions are themselves enlightenment.
The exposition: as the sūtra teaches, ignorance and enlightenment are one and the same — it is the very nature of ignorance upon which the name "enlightenment" is provisionally established. This is the sūtra's intent.
Giving rise to right reflection with regard to craving,
one attains liberation from craving;
hence it is said that craving overcomes craving,
and likewise the overcoming of hatred and delusion.
The exposition: if a person gives rise to right reflection with regard to craving, having thus known it, he attains liberation from craving right there. Hence craving is said to bring release from craving, and the release from hatred and delusion is just the same. Affliction overcoming affliction having been explained, next warding off the mind of the two lesser vehicles is explained.
The bodhisattva dwelling in hell,
for the sake of beings, does not refuse the suffering;
forsaking existence and arousing the lesser mind —
this suffering is far more severe.
The exposition: out of compassion, the bodhisattva enters the great hells for beings' sake, not refusing the suffering there. But should he extinguish the merit of the three realms of existence and give rise to the mind of the Lesser Vehicle, the bodhisattva regards this as the most severe suffering of all. Question: what is the meaning of this?
Though he constantly dwells in hell,
this does not obstruct great enlightenment;
but should he give rise to a mind of self-benefit alone,
this is what obstructs great enlightenment.
The exposition: although the bodhisattva enters the great hells for a long time for beings' sake, he does not regard this as suffering, since it is no obstruction to vast, pure enlightenment. But should he give rise to a mind belonging to a different vehicle that delights in nirvāṇa, this is truly great suffering, since it obstructs his blissful abiding in the Mahāyāna. Warding off the mind of the two lesser vehicles having been explained, next warding off the mind of fear is explained.
貪出貪, craving overcomes craving, rests on an argument that is easy to state and easy to misuse, so the treatise's own restriction on it is worth isolating: the mechanism is 於貪起正思, giving rise to right reflection with regard to craving — not simply acting on craving and hoping it exhausts itself. Read without that qualifier, the doctrine could license almost anything; read with it, the claim is much narrower and stranger: that examining craving with correct attention, rather than suppressing it or indulging it, is itself what dissolves it, since there is no separate substance called "craving" standing apart from the dharma-realm for the examination to fail to reach.
The comparison between a bodhisattva's endless time in hell and the single mind-moment of arousing the wish for personal nirvāṇa is this treatise's sharpest statement yet of how it ranks suffering against attitude. Hell is explicitly not counted as an obstruction to enlightenment at all — 不障大菩提 — while a single retreat into self-benefit is named the actual obstruction, 大菩提障. The measure of harm here is not how much a being suffers, but what direction the mind is oriented in while suffering occurs; this reframes every earlier passage in the treatise about the bodhisattva's willingness to enter hell, making clear that willingness was never really about tolerance for pain, but about keeping the aim intact regardless of what the pain is.
10. Warding Off Fear: Four Similes, and the Amala-Consciousness
偈曰：
無體及可得， 此事猶如幻，
性淨與無垢， 此事則如空。
釋曰：無體及可得此事猶如幻者，一切諸法無有自性，故曰無體。而復見有相貌顯現，故曰可得。諸凡夫人於此二處互生怖畏，此不應爾。何以故？幻相似故。譬如幻等實無有體而顯現可見，諸法無體可得亦爾，是故於此二處不應怖畏。性淨與無垢此事則如空者，法界本來清淨，故曰性淨。後時離塵清淨，故曰無垢。諸凡夫人於此二處互生怖畏，此不應爾。何以故？空相似故。譬如虛空本性清淨，後時亦說離塵清淨。法界性淨及以無垢亦復如是，是故於此二處不應怖畏。復次更有似畫譬喻，能遮前二怖畏。
偈曰：
譬如工畫師， 畫平起凹凸，
如是虛分別， 於無見能所。
釋曰：譬如善巧畫師能畫平壁起凹凸相，實無高下而見高下。不真分別亦復如是，於平等法界無二相處而常見有能所二相，是故不應怖畏。此中復有似水譬喻，能遮後二怖畏。
偈曰：
譬如清水濁， 穢除還本清，
自心淨亦爾， 唯離客塵故。
釋曰：譬如清水，垢來則濁；後時若清，唯除垢耳。清非外來，本性清故。心方便淨亦復如是，心性本淨客塵故染，後時清淨除客塵耳，淨非外來本性淨故。是故不應怖畏。
偈曰：
已說心性淨， 而為客塵染，
不離心真如， 別有心性淨。
釋曰：譬如水性自清而為客垢所濁，如是心性自淨而為客塵所染，此義已成。由是義故，不離心之真如別有異心，謂依他相說為自性清淨。此中應知，說心真如名之為心，即說此心為自性清淨，此心即是阿摩羅識。已遮怖畏，次遮貪罪。
Absence of substance, and yet being found —
this matter is like an illusion;
purity of nature, and freedom from taint —
this matter is like space.
The exposition: all things are without own-nature, hence "without substance"; and yet marks and appearances are seen to manifest, hence "can be found." Ordinary people give rise to fear with regard to both of these — this should not be. Why? Because they resemble an illusion: as an illusion truly has no substance and yet appears visibly, so too all things, without substance, can nonetheless be found — one should not fear either. Purity of nature, and freedom from taint, this matter is like space means: the dharma-realm is originally pure, hence "purity of nature"; and later becomes pure through freedom from defilement, hence "freedom from taint." Ordinary people give rise to fear with regard to both of these too — this should not be. Why? Because they resemble space: just as empty space is pure in its own nature, and is also later said to become pure through freedom from defilement, so too the dharma-realm's purity of nature and its freedom from taint are the same — one should not fear either. There is, further, a simile resembling a painting, able to ward off the first two fears.
It is like a skilled painter,
who paints a flat wall so it seems to rise and dip;
just so, false discrimination,
sees a grasper and grasped where there are none.
The exposition: it is like a skilled painter, able to paint a flat wall so it seems to rise and dip, though there is really no height or depth, and yet height and depth are seen. False discrimination is just the same: within the equal dharma-realm, where there is no place of duality, one constantly sees the two marks of grasper and grasped. For this reason, one should not fear. There is, further, a simile resembling water, able to ward off the latter two fears.
It is like clear water made turbid —
once the filth is removed, it returns to its original clarity;
the mind's own purity is just the same —
it is only ever free of adventitious dust.
The exposition: it is like clear water, which becomes turbid when defilement comes to it, and, if later made clear again, is only ever the removal of that defilement — the clarity does not come from outside, since it was originally pure in its own nature. The mind's purity by skillful means is just the same: the mind's nature is originally pure, and becomes tainted only through adventitious dust; its later purification is only the removal of that dust — the purity does not come from outside, since it was originally pure. For this reason, one should not fear.
It has thus been said that the mind's nature is pure,
and yet is tainted by adventitious dust;
apart from the suchness of the mind,
there is no separate purity of the mind's nature.
The exposition: as water is pure by nature and yet is muddied by adventitious defilement, so the mind is pure by nature and yet is tainted by adventitious dust — this point has now been established. For this reason, apart from the suchness of the mind, there is no separate, different mind — that is, it is with reference to the dependent mark that this is spoken of as self-nature purity. Here it should be understood that when the suchness of the mind is spoken of as "mind," this mind is being called self-nature purity, and this mind is itself the amala-consciousness. Fear having thus been warded off, next the fault of craving is warded off.
The four similes are paired by exactly which fear each pair addresses, and the pairing is worth making explicit since the source states it only implicitly through sequence. The illusion simile answers the fear that things, being without substance, must therefore be nothing at all — while the space simile answers the fear that purity, once described as needing to be freed from taint, must therefore not have been pure to begin with. The painting simile then reinforces the first pair by explaining the mechanism of the illusion — how a flat surface comes to look like it has depth — while the water simile reinforces the second pair by explaining the mechanism of purification — how a clarity that was never actually lost can nonetheless need active clearing. Four similes, but really two arguments, each argued twice from a different angle.
阿摩羅識, the amala-consciousness, appears here for the only time in this treatise, and the definition given is exact enough to be worth stating precisely: it is not a ninth consciousness added alongside the ālayavijñāna and the others, but a name for the mind's suchness itself, considered as the dependent nature's own self-nature purity — 依他相說為自性清淨. Later Yogācāra systematizers, working from passages like this one, would develop the amala-consciousness into a more fully worked-out ninth consciousness distinct from the eighth; this treatise's own usage is narrower and more restrained, identifying it simply with what "mind" means when the word points at suchness rather than at the defiled, ordinary flow of mental events.
11. The Bodhisattva's Love Is Not Greed
偈曰：
菩薩念眾生， 愛之徹骨髓，
恒時欲利益， 猶如一子故。
釋曰：諸菩薩愛諸眾生，此名為貪。餘如偈說。
偈曰：
由利群生意， 起貪不得罪，
瞋則與彼違， 恒欲損他故。
釋曰：若謂菩薩愛諸眾生起貪名罪者，此義不然。何以故？此貪恒作利益眾生因故。
偈曰：
如鴿於自子， 普覆生極愛，
如是有悲人， 於生愛亦爾。
釋曰：譬如鴿鳥多貪，愛念諸子最得增上。如是菩薩多悲，愛諸眾生增上亦爾。
偈曰：
慈與瞋心違， 息苦苦心反，
利則違無利， 無畏違畏心。
釋曰：菩薩於諸眾生，由得慈心故，與瞋心相違；由得息苦心故，與作苦心相違；由得利益心故，與無利心相違；由得無畏心故，與作畏心相違。是故菩薩起如是貪，不得名罪。已遮貪罪，次說修行差別。
The bodhisattva is mindful of sentient beings,
loving them to the very marrow of his bones,
constantly wishing to benefit them,
as though each were his only child.
The exposition: bodhisattvas' love for sentient beings — this is what is called craving. The rest is as the verse states.
Since it arises from the intent to benefit the multitude of beings,
this craving incurs no fault;
hatred, by contrast, is opposed to this,
constantly wishing to harm others.
The exposition: if one supposes that the bodhisattva's love for beings, arising as craving, is a fault, this does not follow. Why? Because this craving is constantly the cause of benefiting sentient beings.
As a dove broods over its own young,
covering them, giving rise to the utmost love,
so too one who has compassion,
loves sentient beings in just this way.
The exposition: it is like a dove, whose craving is great, its love and care for its young reaching the utmost degree; the bodhisattva's compassion is just the same, his love for beings reaching the same degree.
Loving-kindness is opposed to a mind of hatred;
the wish to end suffering is the reverse of a mind that causes it;
benefit is opposed to what is unbeneficial;
and fearlessness is opposed to a mind that instills fear.
The exposition: toward sentient beings, the bodhisattva, having attained a mind of loving-kindness, is opposed to a mind of hatred; having attained a mind that wishes to end suffering, is opposed to a mind that causes suffering; having attained a mind that benefits, is opposed to a mind that brings no benefit; and having attained a mind of fearlessness, is opposed to a mind that instills fear. For this reason, the craving that arises in the bodhisattva cannot be called a fault. The fault of craving having thus been warded off, next the distinctions within practice are explained.
The dove simile is a deliberately unflattering choice, and its unflattering quality is the point rather than an oversight. This treatise could have reached for a more dignified image of parental care; instead it names a bird proverbial in Indian literature for its intensity of attachment, 多貪, greatly craving, and applies that exact intensity, unreduced, to the bodhisattva's compassion. The argument is not that the bodhisattva's love is a gentler, purified version of craving that merely resembles it; it is that craving's full intensity is retained and redirected, with only its object and direction changed. What makes it blameless is not that it has been diluted, but that 由利群生意, it arises from the intent to benefit the multitude of beings, rather than from self-interest.
The four-part list of oppositions that closes this section — loving-kindness against hatred, the wish to end suffering against the wish to cause it, benefit against harm, fearlessness against instilling fear — reads as a direct, symmetrical rebuttal built to answer a specific accusation: that anything called "attachment" must belong to the same family as its cousins, hatred and harm. The treatise instead sorts these as opposites, not siblings, item by item, so that no ambiguity is left about which side of each pair the bodhisattva's love actually falls on.
12. Nine Similes for Skillful Practice, and the Purity of the Three Wheels
偈曰：
善行於生死， 如病服苦藥；
善行於眾生， 如醫近病者；
善行於自心， 如調未成奴；
善行於欲塵， 如商善販賣；
善行於三業， 如人善浣衣；
善行不惱他， 如父於愛子；
善行於修習， 如鑽火不息；
善行於三昧， 如財與信人；
善行於般若， 如幻師知幻。
是名諸菩薩， 善行諸境界。
釋曰：諸菩薩修行有九種差別。一者善行生死，譬如病人服苦澁藥，但為差病不生貪染。菩薩亦爾，親近生死但為思惟策勵，非為染著。二者善行眾生，譬如良醫親近病者，菩薩亦爾，由大悲故不捨煩惱病苦眾生。三者善行自心，譬如有智之主善能調伏未成就奴，菩薩亦爾，善能調伏未調伏心。四者善行欲塵，譬如商人善於販賣，菩薩亦爾，於檀等諸度增長資財。五者善行三業，譬如善浣衣師能除穢垢，菩薩亦爾，修治三業能令清淨。六者善行不惱眾生，譬如慈父愛於小兒雖穢不惡，菩薩亦爾，眾生加損未甞瞋惱。七者善行修習，譬如鑽火未熱不息，菩薩亦爾，修習善法曾無間心。八者善行三昧，譬如出財得保信人日日滋益，菩薩亦爾，修習諸定不亂不味功德增長。九者善行般若，譬如幻師知幻非實，菩薩亦爾，於所觀法得不顛倒。是名菩薩修行差別。已說修行差別，次說三輪清淨。
偈曰：
常勤大精進， 熟二令清淨，
淨覺無分別， 漸漸得菩提。
釋曰：常勤大精進熟二令清淨者，菩薩以大精進力勤行自他二利，是故眾生及自並得成熟，是名清淨。淨覺無分別漸漸得菩提者，淨覺謂法無我智，此智不分別三輪，謂修者、所修、正修，故得清淨。由此淨故，漸漸得成無上菩提。隨修品究竟。
Skillful conduct amid saṃsāra is like a sick person taking bitter medicine;
skillful conduct toward sentient beings is like a physician drawing near the ill;
skillful conduct toward one's own mind is like taming an untrained servant;
skillful conduct amid the dust of desire is like a merchant skilled in trade;
skillful conduct in the three deeds is like one skilled in washing clothes;
skillful conduct in not vexing others is like a father toward his beloved child;
skillful conduct in cultivation is like drilling for fire without pause;
skillful conduct in absorption is like entrusting wealth to a reliable person;
skillful conduct in wisdom is like a magician who knows his illusion for what it is.
These are called the bodhisattvas'
skillful conduct amid every domain.
The exposition: bodhisattvas' practice has nine distinctions. First, skillful conduct amid saṃsāra: like a sick person taking bitter medicine only to cure the illness, without craving arising; the bodhisattva draws near to saṃsāra only for reflection and exertion, not out of attachment. Second, skillful conduct toward sentient beings: like a good physician drawing near the ill; the bodhisattva, out of great compassion, does not forsake beings afflicted with the illness of the afflictions. Third, skillful conduct toward one's own mind: like a wise master taming an untrained servant; the bodhisattva skillfully tames his own untamed mind. Fourth, skillful conduct amid the dust of desire: like a merchant skilled in trade; the bodhisattva increases his resources through generosity and the other perfections. Fifth, skillful conduct in the three deeds: like a skilled washer removing filth from clothing; the bodhisattva cultivates and purifies his deeds of body, speech, and mind. Sixth, skillful conduct in not vexing sentient beings: like a loving father who, though his small child is filthy, does not find him repulsive; the bodhisattva never gives rise to anger even when beings harm him. Seventh, skillful conduct in cultivation: like drilling for fire, not stopping before it grows hot; the bodhisattva cultivates wholesome dharmas with a mind that never pauses. Eighth, skillful conduct in absorption: like entrusting wealth to a reliable person, which grows day by day; the bodhisattva cultivates the absorptions without distraction, his merit increasing. Ninth, skillful conduct in wisdom: like a magician who knows his illusion is not real; the bodhisattva is undistorted with regard to the dharmas he contemplates. These are the distinctions within the bodhisattva's practice. The distinctions within practice having been explained, next the purity of the three wheels is explained.
Constantly and diligently applying great effort,
one matures both and brings them to purity;
with pure, non-discriminating awareness,
one gradually attains enlightenment.
The exposition: the bodhisattva, through the power of great diligence, diligently carries out the twofold benefit of self and other, and thereby both sentient beings and himself are brought to maturity — this is called purity. Pure awareness is the wisdom of the selflessness of things, and this wisdom does not discriminate the three wheels — the cultivator, what is cultivated, and the correct cultivation — and so attains purity. Through this purity, one gradually comes to accomplish unsurpassed enlightenment. The chapter on cultivation in accordance with the Dharma is complete.
The nine similes are drawn almost entirely from ordinary, secular life — a sick person, a physician, a servant, a merchant, a laundryman, a father, someone drilling for fire, someone investing money — and only the last, the magician, is a stock figure from Buddhist philosophical vocabulary elsewhere in this treatise. This asymmetry is worth noting: eight of nine similes for a bodhisattva's practice come from the ordinary business of staying alive and getting along with people, and only the ninth, for wisdom specifically, requires the specialized image this treatise has used throughout its chapters on reality. The nine as a set argue, by their sheer ordinariness, that a bodhisattva's skill looks less like esoteric technique and more like competence at everyday tasks, redirected — trading, laundering, disciplining a servant — with only the final item, seeing through illusion, belonging to a register beyond ordinary skill.
The fascicle's closing verse returns, for the last time, to the same three-wheel purity this fascicle applied earlier to teaching and, before that in the wider treatise, to giving: cultivator, what is cultivated, and correct cultivation, none grasped as substantially separate from the others. Ending both chapters of this fascicle on the identical formula — teaching purified of its three wheels in the chapter on propagation, practice purified of its three wheels in the chapter on cultivation — is itself a quiet argument that these two activities, outwardly so different, rest on exactly the same non-discriminating wisdom underneath.
Fascicle 6 Complete
Two chapters, turning outward to teaching and then inward to practice. Propagating the Dharma opened on the paradox of teaching what cannot be said, worked through sixty kinds of voice, the words and syllables that carry them, four modes for how the same teaching can mean differently to different hearers, four intents behind everything the Buddha says, and eight obstructions the Mahāyāna remedies in the sūtras' own words, closing on ten merits for upholding even a single line of Mahāyāna scripture. Cultivation then traced five stages from a beginner's first grasp of meaning to a bodhisattva's actual practice across the grounds, four wheels of circumstance — land, companions, one's own rightness, and prior merit — that support diligence, affliction overcoming itself through right reflection, why hell is no obstruction to enlightenment while a single retreat into self-benefit is, four similes warding off the fear that emptiness and purity might not be real, the amala-consciousness as mind's own suchness, why the bodhisattva's fierce love for beings is not the fault of craving, and nine everyday similes for what skillful practice actually looks like. Fascicle 7 opens three chapters at once — 教授品十五, 業伴品十六, and the first part of 度攝品十七 — continuing the treatise's turn toward the bodhisattva's concrete, moment-to-moment conduct.
Continue to Fascicle 7 — Instruction, Karmic Companionship, and Gathering Beings →