Gathering Beings, Continued
The second half of the treatise's chapter on the perfections analyzes each of the six into own-nature, cause, fruit, function, correspondence, and class — generosity's five kinds of field, patience's three kinds, wisdom's three registers of discernment — before showing that each remedies its own set of seven attachments, that each carries the same four merits of vastness, freedom from seeking, supremacy, and inexhaustibility, and the same eight unsurpassed qualities. Generosity and diligence each receive further, uncommon treatment: the beggar's three joys reversed and exceeded by the bodhisattva's own, and diligence traced through six distinct classes down to the specific attachments it must overcome. The fascicle closes the whole chapter with the four means of gathering beings — giving, kind speech, beneficial conduct, and shared benefit — worked out in the same exhaustive detail.
Where This Fascicle Picks Up
Fascicle 7 established why the perfections number exactly six, in what order, and on what five supports they are cultivated. This fascicle continues that same chapter without a break — the source marks it only 度攝品之二, "the perfections and gathering beings, part two" — and works through each perfection's own sixfold analysis, their shared merits, and finally the four means by which a bodhisattva actually gathers other 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. Six Meanings of Each Perfection: Generosity, Morality
釋曰：已說修習六波羅蜜，次說六波羅蜜差別。六波羅蜜差別各有六義：一者自性、二者因、三者果、四者業、五者相應、六者品類。
偈曰：
施彼及共思， 二成亦二攝，
具住不慳故， 法財無畏三。
釋曰：此偈明檀波羅蜜六義。施彼者，是施自性，由以己物施諸受者故。共思者，是施因，由無貪善根與思俱生故。二成者，是施果，由財成就及身成就故。言身成就者，具攝命等五事，如《五事經》中說：施食得五事，一者得命、二者得色、三者得力、四者得樂、五者得辯。二攝者是施業，由自他二攝滿足及大菩提滿足故。具住不慳故者，是施相應，由具足住不慳人心中故。法財無畏三者，是施品類。品類有三：一者法施、二者財施、三者無畏施故。如是六義，智者應知應習。
偈曰：
六支滅有邊， 善道及持等，
福聚具足故， 二得為二種。
釋曰：此偈明尸波羅蜜六義。六支者，是戒自性，由住具戒乃至受學諸學足故。滅有邊者，是戒因，滅是涅槃，為求涅槃度諸有邊受行戒故。善道者，是戒果，善道及不悔等次第五心住，因戒得故。持等者，是戒業。戒有三能：一者能持，由能任持一切功德如大地故。二者能靜，由能止息一切煩惱火熱故。三者無畏，由能不起一切怖憎等諸罪緣起，豈畏起諸罪故。福聚具足故者，是戒相應，由一切時身口意業皆行善行故。二得為二種者，是戒品類。二得，謂受得及法得。受得者，攝波羅提木叉護。法得者，攝禪護及無流護故。
The exposition: the cultivation of the six perfections having been explained, next their distinctions are explained. Each has six meanings: own-nature, cause, fruit, function, correspondence, and class.
Giving to another, and joined with intention;
twofold accomplishment, and twofold gathering;
abiding fully, free of stinginess;
the Dharma, wealth, and fearlessness — three kinds.
The exposition: this verse clarifies the six meanings of generosity. Giving to another is its own-nature. Joined with intention is its cause, the wholesome root of non-attachment arising together with intention. Twofold accomplishment is its fruit, of wealth and of the body — the body's accomplishment being complete in five matters, as the Sūtra of the Five Matters teaches: giving food obtains life, form, strength, ease, and eloquence. Twofold gathering is its function, fulfilling the gathering of both self and other, and the fulfillment of great enlightenment. Abiding fully, free of stinginess is its correspondence. And the Dharma, wealth, and fearlessness — three kinds is its class: the gift of the Dharma, of wealth, and of fearlessness.
Six branches, and the limit of ending existence;
the good destinies, and upholding and the rest;
the fullness of the accumulation of merit;
and two attainments, of two kinds.
The exposition: this verse clarifies the six meanings of morality. Six branches is its own-nature, abiding fully in the branches of training. The limit of ending existence is its cause: cessation is nirvāṇa, and one practices morality to cross beyond the limit of existence in seeking it. The good destinies are its fruit, morality bringing about, in order, five states of mind beginning with freedom from regret. Upholding and the rest is its function — morality upholds every merit as the great earth does, stills the heat of every affliction, and gives fearlessness, since no cause for dread or hatred leading to wrongdoing arises. The fullness of the accumulation of merit is its correspondence, every deed of body, speech, and mind being wholesome. And two attainments, of two kinds is its class: attainment through reception, comprising the guarding of the prātimokṣa, and attainment through the Dharma, comprising the guarding of absorption and of the uncontaminated.
2. Six Meanings Continued: Patience, Diligence
偈曰：
不報耐智性， 大悲及法依，
五德并二利， 具勝彼三種。
釋曰：此偈明羼提波羅蜜六義。不報耐智性者，是忍自性。一不報、二耐、三智，此三次第是三忍自性。不報者是他毀忍自性，耐者是安苦忍自性，智者是觀法忍自性。大悲及法依者，是忍因，一大悲為因、二法依為因。法依者，謂受戒及多聞故。五德者，是忍果，如經中說忍得五種果：一得少憎愱、二得不壞他意、三得喜樂、四得臨終不悔、五得身壞生天。二利者，是忍業，由三忍故能作自利利他二種業。如經偈說：作彼二義，自利利他，若知他瞋，於彼自息。具勝者，是忍相應，忍難行故名最勝，具足最勝名相應。如經中說：忍最上，難行故。彼三種者，是忍品類。彼人有三品，一他毀忍、二安苦忍、三觀法忍故。
偈曰：
於善於正勇， 有信有欲故，
念增及對治， 具德彼七種。
釋曰：此偈明毘梨耶波羅蜜六義。於善於正勇者，是精進自性，遮餘業中勇猛故言善，除外道解脫中勇猛故言正。有信有欲故者，是精進因，由信及求精進得起故。念增者，是精進果，念定等功德復由精進起故。對治者，是精進業，如經中說：起精進者能得樂住，不雜諸惡不善法故。具德者，是精進相應，由具無貪等功德故。彼七種者，是精進品類，彼人有七品精進：一學戒精進、二學定精進、三學慧精進、四身精進、五心精進、六無間精進、七尊重精進。
Not retaliating, enduring, and wisdom as own-nature;
great compassion, and reliance on the Dharma, as cause;
five merits, and the twofold benefit, as function;
possessing supremacy — of three kinds.
The exposition: this verse clarifies the six meanings of patience. Not retaliating, enduring, and wisdom is its own-nature — not retaliating toward another's abuse, enduring hardship, and the wisdom of contemplating the Dharma. Great compassion, and reliance on the Dharma — receiving the precepts and extensive learning — is its cause. Five merits is its fruit: little hatred, not disturbing others' minds, joy, freedom from regret at death, and birth in a heaven at the body's dissolution. The twofold benefit is its function, accomplishing both self-benefit and benefiting others — as a sūtra verse teaches, "accomplishing both these aims: knowing another's anger, one's own anger is thereby stilled." Possessing supremacy is its correspondence, patience being supreme because difficult to practice. And of three kinds is its class: patience toward another's abuse, toward hardship, and in contemplating the Dharma.
Valor in the good, and valor in what is correct;
having faith, and having aspiration;
increase of mindfulness, and remedy;
possessing merit — of seven kinds.
The exposition: this verse clarifies the six meanings of diligence. Valor in the good, and valor in what is correct is its own-nature — good because it wards off valor applied to unwholesome deeds, correct because it excludes valor applied to outsiders' liberation. Having faith, and having aspiration is its cause. Increase of mindfulness is its fruit, the merits of mindfulness and concentration further arising through it. Remedy is its function, as the sūtra teaches: one who arises with diligence attains a blissful abiding, unmixed with any unwholesome dharma. Possessing merit is its correspondence, being complete with non-attachment and the rest. And of seven kinds is its class: diligence in training in morality, in concentration, in wisdom, of the body, of the mind, uninterrupted, and reverent.
Patience's three-part own-nature — not retaliating, enduring, and wisdom — is easy to read as three synonyms for the same forbearing disposition, but the treatise's own gloss keeps them pointed at three distinct provocations: not retaliating answers what another person does to you; enduring answers what circumstance does to you, unmediated by any other person's will; and the third, patience in contemplating the Dharma, answers something harder still — the difficulty of a teaching itself, which is neither an injury nor a hardship but a demand on comprehension. Grouping all three under one name, "patience," obscures that the third kind has no injuring party and no physical hardship at all; it is patience with truth itself, which can be as taxing to bear as an insult or a wound.
3. Six Meanings Continued: Meditation, Wisdom; and Their Grouping
偈曰：
心住及念進， 樂生亦通住，
諸法之上首， 彼種三復三。
釋曰：此偈明禪波羅蜜六義。心住者，是定自性，由心住內故。念進者，是定因，有念故於緣不忘，依進故禪定得起。樂生者是定果，離退方便、離果不虛故。通住者，是定業，通謂五通，住謂三住：聖住、天住、梵住，禪定能令五通及三住皆得自在住故。諸法之上首者，是定相應，如經中說：三摩提者諸法上首故。彼種三復三者，是定品類，彼人有二種三品：一者有覺有觀、無覺有觀、無覺無觀三品故；二者喜俱、樂俱、捨俱三品故。
偈曰：
正擇與定持， 善脫及命說，
諸法之上首， 彼亦有三種。
釋曰：此偈明般若波羅蜜六義。正擇者，是慧自性，由離邪業及世間所識業，正擇出世間法故。定持者，是慧因，由定持慧，如實解法故。善脫者，是慧果，謂於染污得善解脫。何以故？由世間、出世間、大出世間正擇故。命說者，是慧業，由慧命及善說慧命者以彼無上正擇為命故。善說者，正說正法故。諸法之上首者，是慧相應，如經中說：般若者一切法中上故。彼亦有三種者，是慧品類，彼人有世間、出世間、大出世間三品正擇故。已說六波羅蜜差別，次說六波羅蜜攝行。
偈曰：
一切白淨法， 應知亂定俱，
六度總三雙， 是類皆悉攝。
釋曰：一切白淨法者，謂檀等諸行法。應知彼行法總攝有三種：一者亂、二者定、三者俱。彼亂者，以前二波羅蜜攝施戒不定故。定者，以後二波羅蜜攝禪及實慧定故。俱者，以中二波羅蜜攝忍及精進定不定故。已說六波羅蜜攝行，次說六波羅蜜治障。
Mind abiding, and mindfulness with diligence;
the arising of bliss, and mastery of the abidings;
foremost among all things;
that class, threefold and threefold again.
The exposition: this verse clarifies the six meanings of meditative concentration. Mind abiding is its own-nature. Mindfulness with diligence is its cause — mindfulness keeping the object from being forgotten, diligence causing concentration to arise. The arising of bliss is its fruit. Mastery of the abidings is its function: mastery over the five supernormal powers, and the noble, divine, and Brahmā abidings. Foremost among all things is its correspondence, as the sūtra teaches: absorption is foremost among all things. And threefold and threefold again is its class: with both examination and analysis, with analysis alone, and with neither; and joined with joy, with bliss, and with equanimity.
Right discernment, and being upheld by concentration;
good liberation, and life and its teaching;
foremost among all things;
it too is of three kinds.
The exposition: this verse clarifies the six meanings of wisdom. Right discernment is its own-nature, discerning the transcendent Dharma correctly. Being upheld by concentration is its cause. Good liberation is its fruit, being well liberated from defilement through worldly, transcendent, and greatly transcendent right discernment. Life and its teaching is its function — the life of wisdom, and one who well teaches it. Foremost among all things is its correspondence, as the sūtra teaches: wisdom is foremost among all things. And it too is of three kinds is its class: worldly, transcendent, and greatly transcendent right discernment. The distinctions within the six perfections having been explained, next the practices they include are explained.
Every white, pure dharma
should be known as scattered, settled, or both;
the six perfections, gathered as three pairs,
comprise every such class entirely.
The exposition: generosity and the other practices, gathered together, are of three kinds: scattered — the first two, generosity and morality; settled — the last two, meditative concentration and wisdom; and both — the middle two, patience and diligence, both settled and not settled. The practices the six perfections include having been explained, next remedying their obstructions is explained.
The threefold grouping of the perfections into scattered, settled, and both is worth reading against the earlier ordering by cause, value, and difficulty from the previous fascicle, since the two schemes cut the same six items along a different axis. The causal ordering explained why generosity must come before wisdom; this grouping instead explains what kind of mental ground each perfection is practiced on — generosity and morality, being oriented toward objects and people outside any fixed concentration, are classed as scattered even though they are supremely wholesome, while meditative concentration and wisdom presuppose a settled mind by definition. Patience and diligence sit in the middle because both can be exercised either amid ordinary, scattered activity or within settled concentration, and the treatise credits them with belonging genuinely to both registers rather than forcing them into one or the other.
4. Remedying Seven Attachments
偈曰：
檀離七著故， 不著說七種，
應知餘五度， 障治七皆然。
釋曰：檀離七著故不著說七種者，彼檀著有七種：一資財著、二慢緩著、三偏執著、四報恩著、五果報著、六障礙著、七散亂著。此中障礙著者，謂檀所對治貪隨眠不斷故。散亂著者，散亂有二種：一下意散亂，求小乘故；二分別散亂，分別三輪故。由菩薩行檀時遠離此七著故，說七不著。應知餘五度障治七皆然者，應知戒等五波羅蜜亦各有七著，離七著故亦各說七不著。此中有差別者，翻檀波羅蜜離資財著，即是戒等五波羅蜜離第一著，所謂戒離破戒著、忍離瞋恚著、精進離懈怠著、禪定離亂心著、智慧離愚癡著。戒等離障礙著者，彼障隨眠皆斷除故。戒等離分別著者，隨其三輪不分別故。已說六波羅蜜治障，次說六波羅蜜功德。此中先說利他功德。
Since generosity departs from seven attachments,
freedom from attachment is taught as seven kinds;
know that the remaining five perfections
likewise remedy seven, each the same.
The exposition: generosity's seven attachments are: to resources, to laxity, to bias, to repayment, to reward, to obstruction, and to distraction. Attachment to obstruction means the latent tendency of craving that generosity remedies is not yet cut off. Attachment to distraction is of two kinds: distraction toward an inferior intent, seeking the Lesser Vehicle, and distraction through discrimination, discriminating the three wheels. Since the bodhisattva, in practicing generosity, departs from these seven, freedom from seven is taught. Morality and the other four perfections should each be understood to have their own seven attachments, and freedom from seven is likewise taught for each. The distinction is that, in place of attachment to resources, the corresponding first attachment is: morality departs from attachment to breaking the precepts; patience, from attachment to hatred; diligence, from attachment to laziness; meditative concentration, from attachment to a distracted mind; and wisdom, from attachment to delusion. They depart from attachment to obstruction in that their corresponding latent tendencies are cut off, and from attachment to discrimination in that they do not discriminate their own three wheels. Remedying the six perfections' obstructions having been explained, next their merit is explained — first, the merit of benefiting others.
The two kinds of attachment to distraction that close generosity's list of seven are worth distinguishing carefully, since they name opposite failures rather than variations on one theme. 下意散亂, distraction toward an inferior intent, is the failure of aiming too low — giving well, but with the Lesser Vehicle's narrower goal in mind. 分別散亂, distraction through discrimination, is the failure of the giving act itself still discriminating giver, gift, and recipient as separate, substantial things, even when the goal aimed at is correctly the Mahāyāna's. A bodhisattva could in principle correct one without correcting the other — aim at the right goal while still discriminating the three wheels, or discriminate nothing while quietly still wanting only his own liberation — which is presumably why the treatise lists them as two attachments rather than folding them into one.
5. Six Verses on Benefiting Others, and Their Fourfold Summary
偈曰：
恒時捨身命， 離求愍他故，
因施建菩提， 智攝施無盡。
釋曰：此偈顯示檀波羅蜜利他功德。恒時捨身命者，謂諸菩薩一切時施自身命與一切求者故。離求愍他故者，不求報恩及以愛果，由大悲為因故。因施建菩提者，因是施已建立一切眾生於三乘菩提故。智攝施無盡者，此施由無分別智所攝，乃至無餘涅槃其福無盡，無窮利益一切眾生故。
偈曰：
恒時守禁勤， 離戒及善趣，
因戒建菩提， 智攝戒無盡。
釋曰：此偈顯示尸波羅蜜利他功德。恒時守禁勤者，菩薩有三聚戒：一律儀戒、二攝善法戒、三攝眾生戒。初戒以禁防為體，後二戒以勤勇為體，諸菩薩一切時恒守護故。離戒及善趣者，謂不著得戒及不求愛果故。
偈曰：
恒時耐他毀， 離求畏無能，
因忍建菩提， 智攝忍無盡。
釋曰：此偈顯示羼提波羅蜜利他功德。恒時耐他毀者，諸菩薩於一切時，若一切眾生以一切極惱事來毀菩薩，菩薩悉能忍受故。離求畏無能者，不求報恩、不求善趣、不為怖畏、不為無能故。
偈曰：
恒時誓勤作， 殺賊為無上，
因進建菩提， 智攝進無盡。
釋曰：此偈顯示毘梨耶波羅蜜利他功德。恒時誓勤作者，諸菩薩無比修精進有二自性：一弘誓為自性、二勤方便為自性。殺賊為無上者，菩薩修精進但為殺自他煩惱賊，為得無上菩提故。
偈曰：
恒時習諸定， 捨禪下處生，
因定建菩提， 智攝定無盡。
釋曰：此偈顯示禪波羅蜜利他功德。恒時習諸定者，諸菩薩攝無邊三摩提而修習故。捨禪下處生者，棄捨無上禪樂住，來就下劣處受生。何以故？由大悲故。
偈曰：
恒了真餘境， 佛斷尚不著，
因智建菩提， 悲攝智無盡。
釋曰：此偈顯示般若波羅蜜利他功德。恒了真餘境者，了真謂第一義諦平等相，人法二無我智故。餘境謂無邊，名相等差別故。佛斷尚不著者，佛斷謂涅槃，諸菩薩修般若尚不著佛涅槃，何況求生死。此中前五波羅蜜以無分別智攝故，乃至無餘涅槃功德無盡。般若波羅蜜以大悲攝故，恒不捨眾生功德無盡。六偈別說利他功德已，次以一偈總說前義。
偈曰：
廣大及無求， 最勝與無盡，
當知一一度， 四德悉皆同。
釋曰：四功德者，一廣大功德、二無求功德、三最勝功德、四無盡功德。前六偈第一句顯廣大功德，利多眾生故；第二句顯無求功德；第三句顯最勝功德；第四句顯無盡功德。復次六波羅蜜復有清淨功德。
Constantly giving up body and life;
free of seeking, out of pity for others;
through this giving, establishing them in enlightenment;
gathered by wisdom, this giving is inexhaustible.
The exposition: this verse displays how generosity benefits others. The bodhisattva, at all times, gives his own body and life to all who seek them, seeking neither repayment nor a pleasant result, great compassion being the cause. Through this giving, all sentient beings are established in the enlightenment of the three vehicles. And this giving, gathered by non-discriminating wisdom, has merit inexhaustible even unto nirvāṇa without remainder.
Constantly, diligently upholding the precepts;
free of attachment to the precepts and to a good destiny;
through this morality, establishing them in enlightenment;
gathered by wisdom, this morality is inexhaustible.
The exposition: this verse displays how morality benefits others. The bodhisattva has three gatherings of morality — restraint, gathering wholesome dharmas, and gathering sentient beings — the first having restraint as its substance, the last two having diligent valor, constantly upheld at all times, without clinging to the attainment of the precepts or seeking a pleasant result.
Constantly enduring others' abuse;
free of seeking, of fear, and of incapacity;
through this patience, establishing them in enlightenment;
gathered by wisdom, this patience is inexhaustible.
The exposition: this verse displays how patience benefits others. At all times, however sentient beings come with the most vexing abuse, the bodhisattva bears it all, not motivated by seeking repayment, a good destiny, fear, or incapacity.
Constantly vowing to act with diligence;
slaying the thief-like foe, for the sake of the unsurpassed;
through this diligence, establishing them in enlightenment;
gathered by wisdom, this diligence is inexhaustible.
The exposition: this verse displays how diligence benefits others. The bodhisattva's unequaled diligence has two own-natures — the vast vow, and diligent skillful means — cultivated only to slay the thief that is affliction, in himself and others, for the sake of unsurpassed enlightenment.
Constantly cultivating the various absorptions;
relinquishing meditative bliss, taking birth in lowly places;
through this concentration, establishing them in enlightenment;
gathered by wisdom, this concentration is inexhaustible.
The exposition: this verse displays how meditative concentration benefits others. The bodhisattva gathers and cultivates the boundless absorptions, yet forsakes the unsurpassed bliss of dwelling in them to take birth in a lowly place instead, out of great compassion.
Constantly understanding the true and its remaining domain;
not even attached to the Buddha's own cessation;
through this wisdom, establishing them in enlightenment;
gathered by compassion, this wisdom is inexhaustible.
The exposition: this verse displays how wisdom benefits others. Constantly understanding the true is the wisdom of the twofold selflessness that sees the equal mark of the ultimate truth; its remaining domain is what is boundless — the distinctions of name and mark. Not even attached to the Buddha's own cessation: the bodhisattva, cultivating wisdom, is not even attached to a buddha's nirvāṇa, how much less does he seek saṃsāra. Here, the first five perfections, gathered by non-discriminating wisdom, are inexhaustible even unto nirvāṇa without remainder; wisdom itself, gathered by great compassion, is inexhaustible in that it never forsakes sentient beings. These six verses having separately explained the merit of benefiting others, one verse now summarizes the preceding meaning.
Vastness, and freedom from seeking;
supremacy, and inexhaustibility —
know that each and every perfection
shares all four merits alike.
The exposition: the four merits are vastness, freedom from seeking, supremacy, and inexhaustibility. In each of the six verses above, the first line displays vastness, benefiting many beings; the second, freedom from seeking; the third, supremacy; and the fourth, inexhaustibility. Furthermore, the six perfections also have the merit of purity.
The final line of each of these six verses names the specific wisdom or compassion that gathers each perfection's merit, and it is worth noticing that five of the six name non-discriminating wisdom while only the sixth, wisdom itself, names great compassion instead. This is not an oversight but a structural necessity: wisdom cannot be its own gathering agent in the way the other five perfections can be gathered by wisdom external to them, so the treatise reaches instead for compassion — the one thing capable of keeping wisdom itself inexhaustibly engaged with sentient beings rather than settling, once perfected, into a private and complete realization that would need nothing further from the world.
6. Six Verses on Purifying Merit
偈曰：
得見及遂願， 并求合三喜，
菩薩喜相翻， 彼退悲極故。
釋曰：此偈顯示檀波羅蜜清淨功德。彼乞求者於菩薩生三喜：一得見時生喜、二遂願時生喜、三求見求遂時生喜。由不見不遂時不生喜故，菩薩一切時於乞求者翻彼三喜亦生三喜：一得見彼時生喜、二遂彼願時生喜、三求見求遂彼時生喜。此中應知，彼求者三喜不如菩薩三喜。何以故？菩薩大悲具足故。
偈曰：
自身財眷屬， 由悲恒喜施，
彼三遠離行， 何因不禁守？
釋曰：此下顯示尸波羅蜜清淨功德。此偈明遠離身三惡行。菩薩於自身自財自眷屬中，由大悲故尚恒歡喜好施於他，況於他身他財他眷屬中三種遠離行而不禁守耶？
偈曰：
不顧及平等， 無畏亦普施，
悲極有何因， 惱他而妄語？
釋曰：此偈明遠離妄語惡行。凡起妄語有四因緣：一為自利，戀身命故。二為利他，利所愛故。三為怖畏，懼王法故。四為求財，有所須故。菩薩則不爾。一者不顧，不戀身命故。二者平等，他身與自得等心故。三者無畏，離五怖故。四者普施，以一切物施一切故。菩薩悲愍恒深，復有何因而起妄語？
偈曰：
平等利益作， 大悲懼他苦，
亦勤成熟生， 極遠三語過。
釋曰：此偈明遠離餘三語惡行。菩薩於一切眾生恒作平等利益，豈欲壞他眷屬而作兩舌？菩薩大悲恒欲拔除一切眾生之苦，於他苦中極生怖懼，豈欲為苦於他而作惡口？菩薩恒行正勤，恒欲成熟一切眾生，豈欲不成熟他而作綺語？是故菩薩能極遠離此三語過。
偈曰：
普施及有悲， 極善緣起法，
何因不能耐， 意地三煩惱？
釋曰：此偈明遠離意三惡行。菩薩由普施一切物故離貪煩惱，由大悲故離瞋煩惱，由極善緣起法故離邪見煩惱。如是等破戒對治差別，是菩薩戒清淨功德。
Seeing him, and having their wish fulfilled,
and the seeking itself — these three kinds of joy combine;
the bodhisattva's own joy is the reverse of theirs,
his compassion carried to the utmost.
The exposition: this verse displays the purifying merit of generosity. Those who come to beg give rise to three joys toward the bodhisattva: at seeing him, at having their wish fulfilled, and in the very seeking and fulfilling. The bodhisattva, reversing these, gives rise to his own three: joy at seeing them, at fulfilling their wish, and in the seeking and fulfilling itself — and his three joys exceed theirs, since his great compassion is complete.
His own body, wealth, and companions —
out of compassion, he constantly delights to give them away;
how, then, could he fail to guard
against the three deeds he thereby departs from?
The exposition: what follows displays the purifying merit of morality. This verse clarifies departing from the three unwholesome bodily deeds. The bodhisattva, out of compassion, constantly delights to give away his own body, wealth, and companions — how much more, then, would he guard against these same three deeds regarding another's?
Without regard for himself, and equal-minded;
fearless, and giving universally —
with compassion carried to this extreme, what reason could there be
to vex another with a lie?
The exposition: this verse clarifies departing from false speech. Four causes generally give rise to it: for one's own benefit, to benefit one favored, out of fear, or for the sake of wealth. The bodhisattva is without regard for himself, equal-minded toward others, fearless, and gives universally — with compassion this deep, what reason could remain for false speech?
Acting for the equal benefit of all;
with great compassion, dreading others' suffering;
and diligently maturing sentient beings —
he is utterly removed from the three remaining faults of speech.
The exposition: this verse clarifies departing from the remaining three unwholesome deeds of speech. Acting always for the equal benefit of all beings, how could he wish to divide another's companions through divisive speech? Dreading others' suffering with great compassion, how could he wish to cause suffering through harsh speech? Constantly wishing to mature all beings, how could he wish to leave another unmatured through idle speech?
Giving universally, and having compassion;
and being utterly skilled in the Dharma of dependent origination —
for what reason could he fail to bear
the three afflictions at the level of mind?
The exposition: this verse clarifies departing from the three unwholesome deeds of mind. Giving all things universally, the bodhisattva is free of craving; through great compassion, free of hatred; and through skill in dependent origination, free of wrong view. These distinct remedies against breaking the precepts are the bodhisattva's purifying merit of morality.
偈曰：
損者得益想， 苦事喜想生，
菩薩既如是， 忍誰何所忍？
釋曰：此偈顯示羼提波羅蜜清淨功德。損者得益想者，菩薩於彼不饒益者得饒益想，應須忍辱。何以故？為成忍辱因故。苦事喜想生者，菩薩於受苦事中更生喜想。何以故？成就利他因故。菩薩既無不饒益想起處及苦想起處，於誰邊起忍？於何事起忍？
偈曰：
菩薩他想斷， 愛他過自愛，
於他難行事， 精進即無難。
釋曰：此偈顯示毘梨耶波羅蜜清淨功德。菩薩為他難行精進而得不難。何以故？他想斷故，及一切時生於他愛過自愛故。菩薩如是為他精進，豈復難行？是故精進清淨。
偈曰：
少樂二自樂， 著退盡癡故，
是說三人禪， 菩薩禪翻彼。
釋曰：此偈顯示禪波羅蜜清淨功德。少樂者，謂世間禪。二自樂者，謂聲聞禪及緣覺禪。著者，若世間禪著自見、若二乘禪著涅槃。退者，謂世間禪。盡者，謂二乘禪，無餘涅槃時盡故。癡者，彼三人禪如其所應，有染癡無染癡故。菩薩禪翻彼者，謂翻彼三人禪。何以故？多樂、自樂、他樂故，不著、不退、無盡、無癡故。是謂禪定清淨功德。
偈曰：
暗觸及二燈， 如是三人智，
譬如日光照， 菩薩智無比。
釋曰：此偈顯示般若波羅蜜清淨功德。譬如暗中以手觸物，凡夫人智亦如是。何以故？得少境故、不明了故、不恒定故。譬如二燈室中照物，聲聞人智及緣覺智亦如是。何以故？得少境故、漸明了故、未極淨故。譬如日光照物，菩薩智亦如是。何以故？得遍滿故、以明了故、極清淨故，如是無比。是謂菩薩般若清淨功德。復次六波羅蜜復有八種無上功德。
Toward one who harms him, the notion of benefit arises;
toward what is painful, the notion of joy arises;
the bodhisattva being thus —
toward whom does he bear patience, and what is there to bear?
The exposition: this verse displays the purifying merit of patience. The bodhisattva forms the notion of benefit toward one who harms him — since this becomes the cause of patience — and the notion of joy amid what causes him suffering — since it accomplishes the cause of benefiting others. Since he has no occasion for the notion of harm or of suffering to arise at all, toward whom, and toward what, does patience even arise?
The bodhisattva's notion of another is cut off;
he loves another more than he loves himself;
toward what is difficult to do for another,
his diligence encounters no difficulty at all.
The exposition: this verse displays the purifying merit of diligence. What is difficult on another's behalf becomes without difficulty for the bodhisattva, since his notion of another is cut off, and his love for another constantly exceeds his love for himself. Applying diligence for another in this way — how could it be difficult? For this reason, diligence is pure.
Little bliss, and the self-directed bliss of the two;
attachment, retrogression, exhaustion, and delusion —
such is said of the meditation of these three;
the bodhisattva's meditation is the reverse of theirs.
The exposition: this verse displays the purifying merit of meditative concentration. Little bliss is worldly meditation; the self-directed bliss of the two is that of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. Attachment: worldly meditation clings to a view of self, the two vehicles' meditation clings to nirvāṇa. Retrogression belongs to worldly meditation; exhaustion, to the two vehicles', ending at nirvāṇa without remainder; and delusion, tainted or untainted as fitting to each. The bodhisattva's meditation is the reverse of all three — bringing abundant bliss for himself and others, without attachment, without retrogression, inexhaustible, and without delusion.
Touching in darkness, and the light of two lamps —
such is the wisdom of these three kinds of persons;
like the light of the sun shining,
the bodhisattva's wisdom is beyond compare.
The exposition: this verse displays the purifying merit of wisdom. It is like touching an object with the hand in darkness — an ordinary person's wisdom is just the same, grasping little, unclear, and inconstant. It is like two lamps illuminating a room — the wisdom of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas is just the same, grasping a little more, gradually clear, but not yet utterly pure. It is like the light of the sun — the bodhisattva's wisdom is just the same, all-pervading, clear, utterly pure, and thus beyond compare. Furthermore, the six perfections also have eight kinds of unsurpassed merit.
忍誰何所忍, "toward whom does he bear patience, and what is there to bear?", is the sharpest line in this section, and it dissolves patience from the inside rather than praising it from the outside. Every earlier account of patience in this treatise described a real forbearance genuinely exercised against real provocation. Here, once the notion of harm and the notion of suffering have both been replaced by their opposites — benefit and joy — there is strictly nothing left to be patient about; the question is not rhetorical praise but a literal report that the category no longer applies. This is the purifying merit specifically: not a more heroic patience, but the eventual disappearance of any occasion for patience to be needed at all.
The three-tiered simile for wisdom — touching in darkness, two lamps, and full sunlight — measures progress along exactly the same three dimensions each time: how much of the domain is grasped, how clear the grasping is, and how constant it remains. This consistency of measure across all three tiers is what makes the comparison rigorous rather than merely evocative; an ordinary person's touch in darkness and a buddha's sunlight are not being compared as two different kinds of thing, but placed on one continuous scale where every stage differs from its neighbor only in degree, not in kind — the same three variables, all the way from complete darkness to complete illumination.
7. Eight Unsurpassed Merits
偈曰：
依類緣迴向， 因智田依止，
如是八種勝， 無上義應知。
釋曰：八無上者，一依、二類、三緣、四迴向、五因、六智、七田、八依止。問：此八於六度云何得無上？答：檀依者，以依菩薩故。檀類者，此有三種：一物施，以捨自身命故；二無畏施，以救濟惡道生死畏故；三法施，以說大乘法故。檀緣者，以大悲為緣起故。檀迴向者，以求大菩提故。檀因者，以先世施業熏習種子為因故。檀智者，以無分別智觀察三輪，不分別施者受者財物故。檀田者，田有五人：一求人、二苦人、三無依人、四惡行人、五具德人，應知此中以具德勝人為無上。檀依止者，由三種依止故，一依止信向、二依止思惟、三依止三昧。依止信向者，如分別修中信思惟所說。依止思惟者，如分別修中味思惟、隨喜思惟、希望思惟所說。依止三昧者，謂依金剛藏等定，如勢力依止修中所說。如是依等無上故，檀得無上。如檀八無上，戒等五波羅蜜八無上應知亦爾。此中戒品類無上者，謂菩薩戒。忍品類無上者，謂來殺菩薩者卑下劣弱。精進品類無上者，謂修諸波羅蜜所對治斷。禪品類無上者，謂菩薩三摩提。智品類無上者，謂緣如如境。戒等由勝田無上者，謂大乘法。餘六無上如檀中說。復次檀及精進復有不共差別功德。問：檀差別云何？
Basis, class, condition, dedication;
cause, wisdom, field, and support —
these eight kinds of supremacy
should be known as the meaning of the unsurpassed.
The exposition: the eight unsurpassed qualities are: basis, class, condition, dedication, cause, wisdom, field, and support. Question: how do these eight make the six perfections unsurpassed? Answer: generosity's basis is unsurpassed, resting on the bodhisattva. Its class is unsurpassed, of three kinds — giving of material things, giving up body and life; of fearlessness, rescuing beings from the dread of evil destinies and of saṃsāra; and of the Dharma, teaching the Mahāyāna. Its condition is unsurpassed, great compassion its arising condition. Its dedication is unsurpassed, seeking great enlightenment. Its cause is unsurpassed, the seed habituated by former acts of giving. Its wisdom is unsurpassed, non-discriminating wisdom observing the three wheels without discriminating giver, receiver, or gift. Its field is unsurpassed: the field has five kinds of persons — one who seeks, one who suffers, one without support, one of evil conduct, and one complete in merit — and giving to the one complete in merit is unsurpassed among these. And its support is unsurpassed, through three supports: faith and turning toward it, reflection, and absorption, resting on such absorptions as the vajra-treasury. Since these are thus unsurpassed, generosity is unsurpassed. Morality and the other five perfections should be understood to have their own eight unsurpassed qualities in just the same way. Here, morality's class is unsurpassed as the bodhisattva precepts; patience's, in that those who come to kill the bodhisattva are themselves lowly and weak; diligence's, as the cutting off of what is remedied in cultivating the perfections; meditative concentration's, as the bodhisattva's own absorption; and wisdom's, as taking suchness itself as object. Morality and the rest are unsurpassed through their supreme field, the Mahāyāna Dharma; the remaining six are as stated for generosity. Furthermore, generosity and diligence have further, uncommon distinctions of merit. Question: what are generosity's distinctions?
The field of giving, ranked from one who merely seeks to one complete in merit, is a genuinely counterintuitive ranking worth stating plainly: this treatise does not identify the most meritorious gift with the neediest recipient, as a purely compassion-centered ethics might, but with the most virtuous one. This sits in some tension with the treatise's repeated insistence elsewhere that the bodhisattva gives to all beings equally, without discrimination — and the tension is only partly resolved by noting that this ranking concerns which gift is unsurpassed in merit, not which gift the bodhisattva is more willing to make. The bodhisattva still gives to the one who seeks, the one who suffers, and the one without support exactly as readily; the field-ranking is a separate fact about where merit concentrates, not a guide to whom compassion should reach first.
8. Special Differentiations of Generosity and Diligence
偈曰：
施一令得樂， 多劫自受苦，
尚捨為愛深， 何況利翻彼？
釋曰：若諸菩薩施一眾生令其得樂，自身多劫受貧窮苦尚施無悋，由愛深故。愛深者，謂悲差別。何況施一眾生令其得樂，自身多劫獲大福利也。
偈曰：
乞者隨所欲， 菩薩一切捨，
彼求為身故， 利彼百種施。
釋曰：此偈上半總說，謂隨彼所求菩薩悉捨。下半解釋，謂彼乞者為自利故一切欲得，菩薩為利他故百種悉捨。
偈曰：
捨身尚不苦， 何況餘財物？
出世喜得故， 起苦是無上。
釋曰：菩薩捨身時，由心故不生苦。此心顯示菩薩出世間。何以故？得歡喜故。問：此喜從何得？答：從起苦得。是故起苦是菩薩無上，是故菩薩在出世間上。
偈曰：
乞者一切得， 得喜非大喜；
菩薩一切捨， 喜彼喜大故。
釋曰：乞者所須菩薩皆施，乞者得喜，此喜非是大喜。問：何故？答：由菩薩一切皆捨，喜彼得財，此喜為大，奪彼喜故。
偈曰：
乞者一切得， 有財非見富；
菩薩一切捨， 無財見大富。
釋曰：此偈顯菩薩財無盡差別。
偈曰：
乞者一切得， 非大饒益想；
菩薩一切捨， 得大饒益想。
釋曰：此顯菩薩大悲差別。
偈曰：
乞者自在取， 如取路傍果；
菩薩能大捨， 餘人無是事。
釋曰：此顯菩薩無著差別。問：說檀不共功德差別已，精進不共功德差別復云何？
Giving to but a single being, bringing him joy,
while himself undergoing suffering for many eons —
he still gives, so deep is his love;
how much more when the benefit is reversed?
The exposition: if a bodhisattva, giving to a single being to bring him joy, would himself undergo the suffering of poverty for many eons and still give without stinginess, this is because his love is so deep — deep love being the distinction of his compassion. How much more so, then, when giving to a single being brings that being joy, and the bodhisattva himself obtains great merit for many eons besides.
Whatever the beggar wishes for,
the bodhisattva gives up entirely;
that one seeks for his own sake,
while this one gives a hundredfold, for the other's benefit.
The exposition: the first half states this in summary; the second explains it — the beggar wishes to obtain everything for his own benefit, while the bodhisattva gives everything up a hundredfold, for the benefit of others.
Giving up even his own body is not suffering to him —
how much less any other wealth or possession?
Because his joy comes from the transcendent,
arousing suffering in himself is itself unsurpassed.
The exposition: when the bodhisattva gives up his body, no suffering arises in him, owing to his state of mind, which displays that he is transcendent, since joy arises for him. Question: where does this joy come from? Answer: from the very arising of what would be suffering. For this reason, the arising of suffering is itself the bodhisattva's unsurpassed quality, and for this reason he stands above the transcendent.
The beggar obtains everything,
and his joy at obtaining it is not the great joy;
the bodhisattva gives everything up,
and his joy at the beggar's joy is the greater.
The exposition: the bodhisattva gives the beggar everything he needs, and the beggar's resulting joy is not the great joy. Question: why? Answer: because the bodhisattva's own joy, at the beggar's obtaining the wealth, is the greater one, surpassing the beggar's.
The beggar obtains everything,
and, having wealth, is not thereby seen as rich;
the bodhisattva gives everything up,
and, having no wealth, is seen as greatly rich.
The exposition: this verse displays the distinction of the bodhisattva's inexhaustible wealth.
The beggar obtains everything,
yet does not form the notion of great benefit;
the bodhisattva gives everything up,
and forms the notion of great benefit.
The exposition: this displays the distinction of the bodhisattva's great compassion.
The beggar takes freely,
as one takes fruit growing by the roadside;
the bodhisattva is able to give greatly —
no one else does such a thing.
The exposition: this displays the distinction of the bodhisattva's non-attachment. Question: generosity's uncommon distinctions of merit having been explained, what are diligence's?
偈曰：
勝因依業種， 對治等異故，
如是六種義， 精進有差別。
釋曰：精進有六種差別，一勝差別、二因差別、三依止差別、四業差別、五種差別、六對治差別。此偈總舉，餘偈別釋。
偈曰：
白法進為上， 進亦是勝因，
及得諸善法， 進則為依止。
釋曰：此偈說精進勝差別、因差別、依止差別。白法進為上者，說最勝差別，由於一切善法中說精進為最勝故。進亦是勝因者，說因差別，由說精進是無上因故。及得諸善法進則為依止者，說依止差別，由依止精進得一切善法故。
偈曰：
現樂與世法， 出世及資財，
動靜及解脫， 菩提七為業。
釋曰：此偈說精進業差別。此業差別有七種：一得現法樂住；二得世間法；三得出世間法；四得資財；五得動靜，動靜者，由是世間不究竟故；六得解脫，解脫者，由斷身見故；七得菩提，菩提者，由大菩提故。
偈曰：
增減及增上， 捨障亦入真，
轉依與大利， 六說精進種。
釋曰：此偈說精進種差別。種差別有六種：一增減精進，謂四正勤。二惡法減，二善法增故。二增上精進，謂五根，由於解脫法為增上義故。三捨障精進，謂五力，由彼障礙不能礙故。四入真精進，謂七覺分，由見道建立故。五轉依精進，謂八聖道分，由修道是究竟轉依因故。六大利精進，謂六波羅蜜，由自利利他故。
偈曰：
種復有五異， 弘誓將發行，
無下及不動， 第五說無厭。
釋曰：五異者，一弘誓精進，謂欲發起行故。二發行精進，謂現行諸善故。三無下精進，謂得大果下體無故。四不動精進，謂寒熱等苦不能動故。五無厭精進，謂不以少得為足故。此五種，如經中所說，有弘誓精進、有現起精進、有勇猛精進、有堅固精進、有不捨佛道精進。於諸善法中，如其次第應知。
偈曰：
三種下中上， 由依三乘爾，
亦二下上覺， 利有小大故。
釋曰：彼精進依人差別，復說三種及二種。三種者，依三乘行人差別，如其次第，下、中、上精進故。問：何因復二種？答：下、上覺故。下覺者，依二乘行人。上覺者，依大乘行人。如其次第，說於小利及大利故。何以故？為自利故、為他利故。
偈曰：
財著煩惱著， 厭著知足著，
四著不能退， 對治分四種。
釋曰：此偈說精進對治差別。由對治四著有四不退，說四種對治差別。問：此云何？答：檀等諸行由四著為礙故而不得行。一者財著，於財極悋故。二者煩惱著，於財起染故。三者厭著，於檀等行有退屈故。四者知足著，於少施等喜滿足故。行精進者對治如此四著，能得不退故，說四種對治差別。已說六波羅蜜功德，次說六波羅蜜互顯。
Supremacy, cause, support, function, class,
and remedy, each distinct —
by these six meanings,
diligence has its distinctions.
The exposition: diligence has six distinctions — of supremacy, cause, support, function, class, and remedy.
Among white dharmas, diligence is supreme;
diligence is also the cause of supremacy;
and, to attain every wholesome dharma,
diligence is their support.
The exposition: this verse explains its distinctions of supremacy, cause, and support — supreme among all wholesome dharmas, the cause of that supremacy, and the support in reliance on which every wholesome dharma is attained.
Present bliss, and worldly dharmas;
the transcendent, and resources;
motion and stillness, and liberation;
and enlightenment — seven as its function.
The exposition: this verse explains its distinctions of function, of seven kinds: attaining a blissful abiding in this life; worldly dharmas; transcendent dharmas; resources; motion and stillness, since these belong to the incomplete, worldly stage; liberation, through cutting off the view of a substantial body; and enlightenment, through great enlightenment.
Increase and decrease, and superiority;
relinquishing obstruction, and entering the true;
the transformation of the basis, and great benefit —
these six describe the classes of diligence.
The exposition: this verse explains its distinctions of class, of six kinds: increase-and-decrease diligence, the four right exertions; superior diligence, the five faculties; obstruction-relinquishing diligence, the five powers; true-entering diligence, the seven factors of enlightenment; transformation-of-the-basis diligence, the eightfold path; and great-benefit diligence, the six perfections.
This class further has five distinctions:
the vast vow, and setting out in practice;
freedom from inferiority, and being unmoved;
and fifth, being without satiety.
The exposition: the five are: the diligence of the vast vow, wishing to set practice in motion; of setting out, actually carrying out wholesome deeds; free of inferiority, since no inferior substance prevents the great fruit; unmoved, unmoved by cold, heat, and other hardships; and without satiety, never satisfied with a small attainment.
Three kinds — inferior, middling, and superior —
according to reliance on the three vehicles;
and two more — the lesser and the greater awakening —
according to whether the benefit is small or great.
The exposition: diligence, distinguished by person, is further taught as three kinds and two. The three correspond to practitioners of the three vehicles. Question: why also two? Answer: the lesser awakening, belonging to practitioners of the two vehicles, and the greater, to the Mahāyāna — corresponding to a small benefit and a great one, for self-benefit and for benefiting others respectively.
Attachment to wealth, and attachment to the afflictions;
attachment to weariness, and attachment to satisfaction —
freedom from retrogression through these four attachments
is divided into four kinds of remedy.
The exposition: this verse explains diligence's distinctions of remedy. Generosity and the other practices are obstructed by four attachments: to wealth, being stingy with it; to the afflictions, giving rise to taint toward it; to weariness, shrinking back from practice; and to satisfaction, being content with a small act of giving. Diligence remedies these four and thereby attains non-retrogression. The merit of the six perfections having been explained, next their mutual display is explained.
The seven verses reversing the beggar's experience against the bodhisattva's own are built on a consistent rhetorical device worth naming: each takes something true and unremarkable about the recipient of a gift, and shows that the identical description, applied to the giver, becomes something far more extraordinary. The beggar obtains wealth and is joyful — ordinary. The bodhisattva, having given everything away, is described as "seeing great wealth" precisely in having none — this is not merely joy at another's joy, but a genuine inversion of what wealth itself is taken to consist in. The device works seven times because generosity offers seven distinct angles from which the giver's state can outstrip the receiver's: joy, freedom from suffering, magnitude of benefit, extent of wealth, depth of benefit felt, and finally effortlessness of the act itself.
The six classes of diligence, mapped one-to-one onto the classical thirty-seven factors of enlightenment's seven categories (minus the four foundations of mindfulness, which the text leaves unassigned here), quietly reframe that entire scheme as, at bottom, a taxonomy of diligence wearing different names at different stages — the four right exertions are diligence balancing increase and decrease, the five faculties are diligence becoming superior, and so on up through the eightfold path as the diligence that finally transforms the basis. Read this way, the whole classical path structure this treatise cited wholesale back in fascicle 4 is, from the angle taken here, one perfection's internal unfolding rather than an independent inventory of separate practices.
9. Mutual Inclusion of the Six Perfections, and the Four Means of Gathering Beings: Nature and Function
偈曰：
相攝及差別， 依法亦為因，
六度互相成， 一切種分別。
釋曰：六波羅蜜相成自有四義，一相攝、二差別、三依法、四為因。相攝者，無畏施攝戒、忍二度，由此二度能與無畏故。法施攝定、智二度，由此二度能與法故。俱施攝精進一度，由此一度能行二施故。問：戒攝幾種？答：攝善法戒，一切檀等皆攝。如是忍等互攝，如其所應作。差別者，檀等六種即為六施，謂施施、戒施乃至般若施，於他相續建立檀等故。依法者，所有諸經所有檀等諸義顯示，所有檀等諸義所有諸經顯示，處處相攝應知。為因者，謂檀為戒等因。何以故？不顧財者能行戒等故。戒亦施等因。何以故？比丘受護者能捨一切所有受故。住戒者，能具足忍等故，又受攝善法戒為檀等故。如是忍等互為因，如其所應作。如是說六波羅蜜義已，次說四攝行。
偈曰：
布施將愛語， 利行并同利，
施平及彼說， 建立亦自行。
釋曰：四攝者，一布施攝、二愛語攝、三利行攝、四同利攝。施平者，即布施攝。彼說者，謂愛語攝，說彼波羅蜜義故。建立者，謂利行攝，建立眾生於波羅蜜中故。自行者，謂同利攝，建立他已，自亦如是行故。問：何故說此四攝體？答：此說攝他諸方便。
偈曰：
攝他四方便， 即是四攝性，
隨攝亦攝取， 正轉及隨轉。
釋曰：布施者，是隨攝方便，由財施隨他身起攝故。愛語者，是攝取方便，由無知疑惑者令受義故。利行者，是正轉方便，由此行諸善轉故。同利者，是隨轉方便，菩薩自如說行，眾生知已先未行善亦隨行故。問：四攝業云何？
偈曰：
令器及令信， 令行亦令解，
如是作四事， 次第四攝業。
釋曰：布施者，能令於法成器，由隨順於財則堪受法故。愛語者，能令於法起信，由教法義彼疑斷故。利行者，能令於法起行，由如法依行故。同利者，能令彼得解脫，由行淨長時得饒益故。是為四攝業。問：世尊亦說二攝，此云何？
Mutual inclusion, and distinction;
resting on the Dharma, and being a cause —
the six perfections mutually accomplish one another,
distinguished in every mode.
The exposition: the six perfections mutually accomplish one another through four meanings: mutual inclusion, distinction, resting on the Dharma, and being a cause. Mutual inclusion: the gift of fearlessness includes morality and patience, since these are able to bestow fearlessness; the gift of the Dharma includes concentration and wisdom, since these bestow the Dharma; and the combined gift includes diligence alone, able to carry out both kinds of giving. Question: how many does morality include? Answer: the morality of gathering wholesome dharmas includes generosity and all the rest; patience and the others mutually include one another likewise. Distinction: the six perfections are each themselves given sixfold — the giving of giving, the giving of morality, and so on — establishing generosity and the rest within another's continuum. Resting on the Dharma: every meaning of the perfections displayed in the sūtras, and every sūtra that displays their meaning, mutually include each other everywhere. Being a cause: generosity is the cause of morality and the rest, since one unattached to wealth is able to practice them; morality is likewise their cause, since a monk who upholds the precepts is able to give up everything he receives, and one who abides in morality is able to be complete in patience and the rest. Patience and the others are mutually causes of one another in just the same way. The meaning of the six perfections having thus been explained, next the four means of gathering beings are explained.
Giving, together with kind speech;
beneficial conduct, and shared benefit;
equal giving, and teaching it;
establishing others, and practicing it oneself.
The exposition: the four means of gathering are giving, kind speech, beneficial conduct, and shared benefit. Equal giving is the means of giving. Teaching it is the means of kind speech, teaching the meaning of the perfections. Establishing others is the means of beneficial conduct, establishing sentient beings within the perfections. And practicing it oneself is the means of shared benefit, having established others, then practicing it himself in just the same way. Question: why is the substance of these four means stated? Answer: to state the skillful means of gathering others.
The four skillful means of gathering others
are the very own-nature of the four means:
according gathering, and drawing in;
rightly turning, and turning along.
The exposition: giving is according gathering, gathering in accordance with another's body through the gift of wealth. Kind speech is drawing in, causing those who are ignorant and doubting to accept the meaning. Beneficial conduct is rightly turning, causing every wholesome thing to turn through this conduct. And shared benefit is turning along, the bodhisattva himself practicing as he teaches, so that sentient beings, seeing this, come to practice along with him. Question: what is the function of the four means?
Causing them to become a vessel, and causing faith;
causing them to practice, and causing understanding —
accomplishing these four things, in order,
are the functions of the four means.
The exposition: giving makes one a vessel for the Dharma, since one won over through wealth becomes fit to receive it. Kind speech gives rise to faith, cutting off doubt by teaching the meaning. Beneficial conduct gives rise to practice, acting in reliance on the Dharma as it is. And shared benefit brings beings to liberation, pure conduct over a long time bringing benefit. These are the functions of the four means. Question: the Bhagavat also teaches two means of gathering — what are these?
The four skillful means of gathering others — according gathering, drawing in, rightly turning, and turning along — trace a sequence of decreasing distance between the bodhisattva and the being he gathers, and it is worth reading the sequence as a single relationship deepening rather than four alternative techniques. Giving first establishes contact from outside, matching what the other person's body already needs. Kind speech then moves inward, addressing the other's doubt directly. Beneficial conduct moves further still, actually changing what the other does. And shared benefit collapses the remaining distance entirely: the bodhisattva no longer acts upon the other person at all, but simply practices alongside them, so that the other's own observation of a life already being lived does the remaining work.
10. The Four Means, Continued: Twofold Grouping, Grades, and Closing Summary
偈曰：
四體說二攝， 財攝及法攝；
財一法有三， 次第攝四攝。
釋曰：此四攝體，世尊餘處說為二攝，謂財攝、法攝。即以二攝攝於四攝，財攝攝初一攝，法攝攝後三攝。問：云何攝後三？答：法有三種，一所緣法、二所行法、三所淨法，如其次第攝後三攝應知。
偈曰：
下中上差別， 如是四攝種，
倍無及倍有， 亦純合三益。
釋曰：四攝種差別有三，謂下、中、上，由諸菩薩攝三乘人差別故。由此三種差別，次第復有三益：一倍無益、二倍有益、三純有益。倍無益者，謂解行地菩薩攝。倍有益者，謂入大地菩薩攝。純有益者，謂八地已上菩薩攝，由彼決定能令眾生成就故。
偈曰：
菩薩欲攝眾， 依此四方便，
大利及易成， 得讚三益故。
釋曰：若諸菩薩欲攝徒眾者，一切皆須依此四攝以為方便。何以故？由一切大利得成就故、由是樂易方便故、由得諸佛稱揚故。
偈曰：
四攝於三世， 恒時攝眾生，
成就眾生道， 非餘唯四攝。
釋曰：此四攝於三世中已攝當攝現攝一切眾生，是故此四攝是成熟眾生道。非餘諸道，餘道無體故。別說六度四攝已，次以一偈總結前義。
偈曰：
不著及寂靜， 能耐將意勇，
不動并離相， 亦攝攝眾生。
釋曰：此偈上三句結六度義，下一句結四攝義，偈義如前解。菩薩以此六行行此四攝，顯示六波羅蜜，成就自利利他。四攝成就亦爾，是故如其次第，先說六度，後說四攝。度攝品究竟。
The substance of the four is taught as two means:
the gathering of wealth, and the gathering of the Dharma;
wealth is one, the Dharma three,
gathering the four means in order.
The exposition: the Bhagavat elsewhere teaches these four as two means — the gathering of wealth, and of the Dharma — the gathering of wealth gathering the first of the four, and the gathering of the Dharma gathering the last three, since the Dharma is of three kinds: the Dharma taken as object, practiced, and purified.
The distinctions of inferior, middling, and superior —
such are the classes of the four means;
doubly without benefit, and doubly with it,
and purely so — together, three kinds of benefit.
The exposition: the classes of the four means have three distinctions — inferior, middling, and superior — according to the bodhisattva's gathering of practitioners of the three vehicles, and these bring, in order, three further kinds of benefit: doubly without benefit, belonging to a bodhisattva at the stage of practice through resolve; doubly with benefit, to one who has entered the great grounds; and purely with benefit, to one from the eighth ground onward, who is able, with certainty, to bring sentient beings to accomplishment.
Should the bodhisattva wish to gather an assembly,
he must rely on these four skillful means,
for the sake of three benefits: great benefit,
ease of accomplishment, and the buddhas' praise.
The exposition: any bodhisattva who wishes to gather an assembly must rely entirely on these four means, since through them every great benefit is accomplished, since this is an easy and pleasant skillful means, and since it earns the buddhas' praise.
The four means, throughout the three times,
constantly gather sentient beings;
the path that matures sentient beings
is none other than these four means alone.
The exposition: these four means, throughout the three times, have gathered, will gather, and now gather all sentient beings; therefore they are the path that matures sentient beings — no other path does so, since no other path has this substance. The six perfections and the four means having been explained separately, one verse now summarizes the whole.
Non-attachment, and quiescence;
capacity to endure, together with valor of mind;
being unmoved, and being free of marks;
and gathering — these gather sentient beings.
The exposition: the first three lines of this verse summarize the six perfections, and the last line the four means. The bodhisattva, by these six practices, carries out these four means, displaying the six perfections and accomplishing the twofold benefit of self and other; the accomplishment of the four means is likewise so. For this reason, in this order, the six perfections are explained first, and the four means afterward. The chapter on the perfections and gathering beings is complete.
倍無益, doubly without benefit, is a startling name for the earliest and most sincere stage of gathering beings, and the treatise's own logic for it is worth spelling out rather than passing over: a bodhisattva at the stage of practice through resolve, before the grounds proper, gathers others through the four means without yet having the certain power to guarantee either his own progress or theirs — so both the gathering bodhisattva and the beings he gathers stand to gain nothing for certain, hence "doubly without benefit." This is not a criticism of the beginner's sincerity; it is a plain acknowledgment that sincerity and certainty are different things, and that only from the eighth ground onward does the same four-fold practice become "purely beneficial," 純有益, guaranteed to land.
The final summary verse's asymmetry — three lines for the six perfections, one line for the four means — is itself a piece of information about how this treatise weighs the two halves of the chapter it closes. The six perfections needed three compressed lines even in summary because they carry six centuries' worth, so to speak, of internal distinctions built up across two full fascicles; the four means, treated in far less space throughout, are compressed into a single word, 攝, "gathering." This is not a claim that gathering beings matters less — the entire second half of this fascicle argued the opposite — but a reflection of how much more structural machinery the perfections required to establish, machinery the four means could then simply rest upon.
Fascicle 8 Complete
The chapter on the perfections and gathering beings closes here, having run through fascicles 7 and 8 as the treatise's most exhaustive single-chapter treatment. This fascicle alone worked through each perfection's own sixfold analysis, the seven attachments each remedies, twelve verses distinguishing the merit of benefiting others from the merit of purity, eight qualities that make each perfection unsurpassed, the uncommon distinctions of generosity — seven verses reversing the beggar's own experience against the bodhisattva's — and of diligence, mapped onto the entire classical thirty-seven factors of enlightenment as that scheme's own unfolding, and finally the four means of gathering beings, worked out through their nature, function, twofold grouping, and three grades of benefit. Fascicle 9 opens two new chapters — 供養品十八, on venerating the Buddha, and 親近品十九, on drawing near to a spiritual friend — returning the treatise to devotional and relational territory after two fascicles of the most systematic analysis it undertakes anywhere.
Continue to Fascicle 9 — Veneration, Drawing Near, and the Brahmā-Abidings →