The Buddha's Merit
Fascicle 11 closed 覺分品第二十一 on the sense of shame. This fascicle is the whole of 功德品第二十二 in a single sitting — one uninterrupted chapter, and the treatise's longest. It opens with what is genuinely rare in bodhisattva conduct and what stops being rare at advanced stages, works through equal-mindedness across the six perfections, and then builds an extended catalogue of how a bodhisattva benefits beings, modeled in turn on a mother, a father, a good friend, a companion, a sturdy servant, a preceptor, and a master. Predictions of future buddhahood, certainties, obligations, true versus counterfeit virtue, and the removal of beings' six hindrances follow before the chapter turns philosophical again — four kinds of conventional establishment, four kinds of true knowledge covering bondage and liberation, the seven great meanings of the Mahāyāna — and closes with nine separate "gates," each recataloguing the six perfections and the bodhisattva's vow under a different lens, then sixteen names and several groupings of what "awakening" itself means for one who bears them.
Where This Fascicle Picks Up
Fascicle 11 closed 覺分品第二十一 with a chapter-summarizing verse on shame. This fascicle is 功德品第二十二 in its entirety — the source marks no internal break, and Prabhākaramitra's translation runs it as a single fascicle from beginning to end. The chapter has no single organizing thread; it moves rapidly across dozens of short, self-contained catalogues — rare and non-rare conduct, seven kinds of benefit, predictions of buddhahood, conventional versus true knowledge, and finally nine independent "gates" that each redescribe the same six perfections from a different angle entirely.
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 Kinds of Rare Conduct, and Four Rare Fruits
釋曰：已說菩薩諸覺分，次說菩薩諸功德。偈曰：
捨身及勝位， 忍下亦長勤，
不味不分別， 六行說希有。
釋曰：此偈顯示行希有。檀行者，若能施自身命則為希有，餘非希有。戒行者，若能棄捨勝位慕道出家則為希有，餘非希有。忍行者，若能不顧身命忍於下劣眾生則為希有，餘非希有。精進行者，若能長時正勤乃至窮生死際而不斷絕則為希有，餘非希有。禪行者，若能於勝定樂而不噉味不彼受生則為希有，餘非希有。慧行者，若能起無分別智則為希有，餘非希有。若聲聞人分別四諦而有厭離，菩薩則不爾。是名六種行希有。偈曰：
生在如來家， 得記并受職，
及以得菩提， 四果說希有。
釋曰：此偈顯示果希有。菩薩有四種果：一者入初地時生如來家，是須陀洹果。二者於第八地中而得授記，是斯陀含果。三者於第十地中而得受職，是阿那含果。四者佛地，是阿羅漢果。前三是學果，第四是無學果。已說菩薩希有，次說菩薩非希有。
The exposition: the bodhisattva's factors of enlightenment having been explained, the bodhisattva's merits are next explained.
Giving up body, and giving up a superior position;
bearing with the inferior, and prolonged diligence;
not savoring, and not discriminating —
these six conducts are taught as rare.
The exposition: this verse displays what is rare in conduct. As to the conduct of generosity: if one is able to give up one's own body and life, this is rare — nothing less is. As to the conduct of morality: if one is able to renounce a superior position, aspiring to the path, and go forth from household life, this is rare — nothing less is. As to the conduct of patience: if one is able, disregarding body and life, to bear with beings of inferior standing, this is rare — nothing less is. As to the conduct of diligence: if one is able to persevere in correct effort over a long span of time, even to the very end of birth-and-death, without ever breaking off, this is rare — nothing less is. As to the conduct of meditative concentration: if one is able, amid the bliss of superior concentration, neither to savor it nor to be reborn through it, this is rare — nothing less is. As to the conduct of wisdom: if one is able to give rise to non-discriminating wisdom, this is rare — nothing less is. Where a śrāvaka discerns the four truths and thereby comes to weariness and withdrawal, the bodhisattva does not do so. These are the six kinds of rare conduct.
Being born into the Tathāgata's own family;
receiving the prediction, and receiving the consecration;
and attaining enlightenment —
these four fruits are taught as rare.
The exposition: this verse displays what is rare in fruit. The bodhisattva has four kinds of fruit: first, being born into the Tathāgata's own family upon entering the first ground — this is the fruit of stream-entry. Second, receiving the prediction on the eighth ground — this is the fruit of once-returning. Third, receiving the consecration on the tenth ground — this is the fruit of non-returning. Fourth, the buddha ground — this is the fruit of arhatship. The first three are fruits still in training; the fourth is the fruit beyond training. The bodhisattva's rare qualities having been explained, the bodhisattva's non-rare qualities are next explained.
Mapping the bodhisattva's four fruits onto the śrāvaka path's own four fruits — stream-entry, once-returning, non-returning, arhatship — is a deliberate provocation rather than a casual borrowing: it takes the very framework that measures progress on the "lesser" path and insists the bodhisattva path has its own exact structural counterpart, attained at entirely different, vastly later milestones (the first ground, the eighth, the tenth, buddhahood itself). The claim is not that the two paths are equivalent in difficulty or scope, but that whatever made the śrāvaka's four fruits worth naming as a sequence — genuine, staged, irreversible progress — is equally present here, just relabeled onto a far longer road.
2. What Is No Longer Rare; Equal-Mindedness Toward Beings
偈曰：
離欲與得悲， 勝修及平等，
依此修諸度， 是行非希有。
釋曰：若菩薩已得離欲而行布施非為希有，不染於物，物易捨故。若菩薩已得大悲而持戒、忍辱非為希有。若菩薩已得勝修，謂第八地，由無功用無分別故，行後三度非為希有。若菩薩已得自他平等心行一切諸度亦非希有，由利他時即如自利，無有退屈心故。已說菩薩非希有，次說菩薩平等心。偈曰：
菩薩愛眾生， 不同生五愛，
自身與眷屬、 子友及諸親。
釋曰：此偈顯示菩薩於諸眾生得平等心。眾生有五種愛心不得平等：一愛自身、二愛眷屬、三愛兒子、四愛朋友、五愛諸親。由此五愛不得平等亦非畢竟，如人或時亦行自害。菩薩愛眾生心則平等，由不捨不退故。
Free of desire, and having attained compassion;
supreme cultivation, and equanimity —
resting on these, cultivating the perfections
is conduct no longer rare.
The exposition: if the bodhisattva has already attained freedom from desire, his practicing generosity is no longer rare, since, untainted by objects, objects are easily given up. If the bodhisattva has already attained great compassion, his upholding morality and practicing patience are no longer rare. If the bodhisattva has already attained supreme cultivation — namely, the eighth ground — his practicing the last three perfections is no longer rare, since it proceeds effortlessly and without discrimination. And if the bodhisattva has already attained equal-mindedness toward self and other, his practicing every perfection is likewise no longer rare, since, when benefiting others, it is exactly as when benefiting himself, with no discouraged mind at all. The bodhisattva's non-rare qualities having been explained, the bodhisattva's equal-mindedness is next explained.
The bodhisattva's love for beings
is not the same as the five loves of the ordinary-born —
for one's own body, and one's household;
one's children, one's friends, and one's kin.
The exposition: this verse displays that the bodhisattva attains equal-mindedness toward every being. Ordinary beings have five kinds of unequal, loving minds: love for one's own body, love for one's household, love for one's children, love for one's friends, and love for one's kin. Because of these five loves, equanimity is not attained, nor is this love ultimate, since a person may, at times, even act to harm himself. The bodhisattva's loving mind toward beings is equal, since he neither forsakes nor retreats from it.
The five ordinary loves are not dismissed as false or worthless — a mother's love for her own child is not being denied as real affection — but diagnosed as structurally incapable of equanimity for a specific reason the treatise names outright: this love is not even reliably self-consistent, since a person may, at times, act to harm the very self this love is centered on. An affection unstable enough to turn against its own object under sufficient distortion was never a candidate for the kind of steady, unretreating equanimity the bodhisattva's love is said to have; the fault is not partiality alone, but partiality's downstream unreliability even toward what it favors.
3. Equal-Mindedness in the Six Perfections
偈曰：
無偏及無犯， 遍忍起善利，
禪亦無分別， 六度心平等。
釋曰：此偈顯示菩薩行六度得心平等。無偏者，是布施心平等，於諸求者不墮愛憎故。無犯者，是持戒心平等，乃至微細戒行亦不缺故。遍忍者，是忍辱心平等，普於勝劣眾生皆能忍故。起善利者，是精進心平等，為起一切善根及起自他一切種利而勤行故。禪亦者，是學定心平等，菩薩修定亦為起諸善根及為起諸利益而精進故。無分別者，是修慧心平等，從初發心乃至究竟所行諸度皆三輪清淨故。是名諸度心平等。已說菩薩平等心，次說菩薩饒益眾生事。
Without partiality, and without transgression;
universal patience, arising benefit;
meditation, too, and non-discrimination —
the mind is equal across the six perfections.
The exposition: this verse displays that the bodhisattva, practicing the six perfections, attains equanimity of mind. Without partiality is the equanimity of the mind of generosity, since he falls into neither love nor hatred toward those who seek from him. Without transgression is the equanimity of the mind of morality, since he is lacking in not even the subtlest point of moral conduct. Universal patience is the equanimity of the mind of patience, since he is able to bear with beings of superior and inferior standing equally, everywhere. Arising benefit is the equanimity of the mind of diligence, since he diligently strives to give rise to every wholesome root and to every kind of benefit for both self and other. Meditation, too is the equanimity of the mind that trains in concentration, since the bodhisattva cultivates concentration with this same diligence, for the sake of giving rise to wholesome roots and every benefit. And non-discrimination is the equanimity of the mind that cultivates wisdom, since, from the first arousing of the mind through to the very end, every perfection he practices has the three wheels pure. This is the equanimity of mind across the perfections. The bodhisattva's equal-mindedness having been explained, the bodhisattva's benefiting of beings is next explained.
Each perfection's equanimity is defined by a distinct kind of leveling, not a single generic fairness applied six times: generosity's is leveling love and hatred toward the recipient, patience's is leveling response across superior and inferior provokers, and wisdom's is leveling the three wheels of giver, gift, and recipient into equal unreality. The six are not interchangeable applications of one idea but six different axes along which unevenness could arise, each requiring its own specific correction — which is presumably why the treatise needed six terms rather than simply repeating "equanimity" six times.
4. Six Ways of Benefiting Beings
偈曰：
令器及令禁， 耐惡與助善，
入法亦斷疑， 六行饒益事。
釋曰：此偈顯示諸菩薩以六波羅蜜饒益諸眾生。令器者，以施饒益，令彼得成修善器故。令禁者，以戒饒益，隨其堪能而令持故。耐惡者，以忍饒益，能受眾生違逆事故。助善者，以進饒益，佐助眾生營善業故。入法者，以定饒益，迴邪入正通力能故。斷疑者，以智饒益，若凡若聖所有疑網皆除故。已說菩薩六度饒益，次說菩薩七似饒益，一似母饒益、二似父饒益、三似善友饒益、四似同侶饒益、五似健奴饒益、六似闍梨饒益、七似和上饒益。
Making them a vessel, and making them restrained;
bearing with their wrongs, and assisting their good;
bringing them into the Dharma, and cutting off their doubt —
these six conducts are the matter of benefiting beings.
The exposition: this verse displays that the bodhisattva benefits beings through the six perfections. Making them a vessel is benefiting through generosity, causing them to become a vessel fit to cultivate what is wholesome. Making them restrained is benefiting through morality, causing them to uphold it according to their own capacity. Bearing with their wrongs is benefiting through patience, being able to bear beings' opposition and wrongdoing. Assisting their good is benefiting through diligence, assisting beings in undertaking wholesome deeds. Bringing them into the Dharma is benefiting through meditative concentration, turning them from the deviant into the correct through the power of supernormal ability. And cutting off their doubt is benefiting through wisdom, removing every net of doubt, whether in an ordinary being or a noble one. The bodhisattva's benefiting through the six perfections having been explained, the bodhisattva's sevenfold resembling benefit is next explained: first, benefit resembling a mother; second, resembling a father; third, resembling a good friend; fourth, resembling a companion; fifth, resembling a sturdy servant; sixth, resembling a preceptor; seventh, resembling a master.
5. Seven Kinds of Benefit — Like a Mother, a Father, a Good Friend
問：云何似母饒益？偈曰：
等心生聖地， 長善防諸惡，
教習以多聞， 五業如慈母。
釋曰：譬如慈母於子作五種饒益業，一懷胎、二出生、三長養、四防害、五教語。菩薩饒益眾生五業亦爾，一等心向眾生、二生之於聖地、三長養諸善根、四防護諸惡作、五教習以多聞，是名菩薩五種似母業。問：云何似父饒益？偈曰：
令信令戒定， 令脫令勸請，
亦為防後障， 五業如慈父。
釋曰：譬如慈父於子作五種饒益業，一下種子、二教工巧、三為娉室、四付善友、五為絕債不令後償。菩薩五業亦爾，一令起信以為聖體種子、二令學增上戒定以為工巧、三令得解脫喜樂以為娉室、四令勸請諸佛以為善友、五為遮諸障閡以為絕債，是名菩薩五種似父業。問：云何似善友饒益？偈曰：
祕深及呵犯， 讚持與教授，
令覺諸魔事， 五業如善友。
釋曰：譬如善友於己作五種饒益業，一密語為覆、二惡行令斷、三善行稱譽、四所造佐助、五遮習惡事。惡事四種：一射獵、二姦非、三耽酒、四博戲。菩薩五業亦爾，一非器者祕其深說、二犯戒者如法呵責、三具戒者以善稱譽、四修行者教令速證、五魔事者即令覺知，是名菩薩五種似善友業。
Question: what is benefit resembling a mother?
An equal mind, birth in the noble ground;
nurturing good, and guarding against every evil;
teaching and training through vast learning —
these five deeds are like a loving mother.
The exposition: just as a loving mother performs five deeds that benefit her child — carrying him in the womb, giving him birth, nurturing him, guarding him from harm, and teaching him to speak — the bodhisattva's five deeds benefiting beings are likewise: an equal mind turned toward beings, giving them birth in the noble ground, nurturing every wholesome root, guarding them against every evil deed, and teaching and training them through vast learning. These are the bodhisattva's five deeds resembling a mother. Question: what is benefit resembling a father?
Causing faith, causing morality and concentration;
causing liberation, causing entreaty;
and guarding against later obstruction —
these five deeds are like a loving father.
The exposition: just as a loving father performs five deeds that benefit his child — planting the seed, teaching him a craft, arranging his marriage, entrusting him to a good friend, and settling his debts so that none remain to be repaid later — the bodhisattva's five deeds are likewise: causing faith to arise, as the seed of the noble nature; causing the cultivation of superior morality and concentration, as a craft; causing the attainment of the joy of liberation, as a marriage; causing entreaty of the buddhas, as a good friend; and blocking every future obstruction, as settling all debts. These are the bodhisattva's five deeds resembling a father. Question: what is benefit resembling a good friend?
Keeping what is profound secret, and rebuking transgression;
praising one who upholds it, and instructing;
causing awareness of the deeds of Māra —
these five deeds are like a good friend.
The exposition: just as a good friend performs five deeds that benefit oneself — keeping confidences private, putting a stop to evil conduct, praising good conduct, assisting in one's undertakings, and preventing habituation to evil deeds (evil deeds being of four kinds: hunting, illicit sexual conduct, indulgence in drink, and gambling) — the bodhisattva's five deeds are likewise: keeping what is profound secret from one who is not yet a fit vessel; rebuking, in accordance with the Dharma, one who breaks the precepts; praising, with genuine merit, one who is complete with the precepts; instructing the one who practices so that swift realization follows; and, for the deeds of Māra, immediately causing awareness of them. These are the bodhisattva's five deeds resembling a good friend.
The father's five deeds are the more striking pairing of the two, since the treatise translates a specifically worldly, even mercenary sequence — planting a seed, teaching a trade, arranging a marriage, placing a son with reliable connections, and clearing his debts before death — directly onto spiritual cultivation without softening the transaction underneath: faith becomes capital, the precepts become a trade, liberation's joy becomes a marriage settlement, and the buddhas become the useful friends one is introduced to. The comparison risks sounding reductive, but its actual function is the reverse — insisting that spiritual development follows the same structure of provision, preparation, and protection against future ruin that any responsible parent already understands, rather than requiring an entirely foreign framework to make sense of.
6. Seven Kinds of Benefit, Continued — Companion, Servant, Preceptor, Master
問：云何似同侶饒益？偈曰：
與樂及與利， 樂恒利亦恒，
及以不離散， 五業如同侶。
釋曰：譬如有智同侶於己作五種饒益業，一與樂、二與利、三恒與樂、四恒與利、五不乖離。菩薩五業亦爾，一與不顛倒樂。世間成就者名樂，由此得樂受故。二與不顛倒利。出世成就者名利，由此對治煩惱病故。餘三可解。是名菩薩五種似同侶業。問：云何似健奴饒益？偈曰：
成生開出要， 忍害與二成，
示以巧方便， 五業如健奴。
釋曰：譬如健奴為主作五種饒益業，一極諸所作、二得不欺誑、三忍諸打罵、四作事精好、五解巧方便。菩薩五業亦爾，一成熟眾生、二開示出要、三忍諸惡事、四與世間樂、五與出世利，是名菩薩五種似健奴業。問：云何似闍梨饒益？偈曰：
遍授及示要， 舒顏亦愛語，
不求彼恩報， 五業如闍梨。
釋曰：得無生忍者說為闍梨。譬如闍梨於弟子作五種饒益業，一教其諸法、二示其速要、三身知舒顏、四口知愛語、五心無悕望。菩薩五業亦爾應知。問：云何似和上饒益？偈曰：
令滿及令脫， 斷障與世樂，
及與出世利， 五業如和上。
釋曰：譬如和上於弟子作五種饒益業，一度令出家、二與其受戒、三禁斷諸過、四攝持以財、五教授以法。菩薩五業亦爾，一令滿二聚、二令得解脫、三令斷諸障、四與世間樂、五與出世利，是名菩薩五種似和上業。已說菩薩七似饒益，次說眾生六種報恩。
Question: what is benefit resembling a companion?
Giving bliss, and giving benefit;
bliss-giving constant, and benefit-giving constant;
and not scattering apart —
these five deeds are like a companion.
The exposition: just as a wise companion performs five deeds that benefit oneself — giving bliss, giving benefit, constantly giving bliss, constantly giving benefit, and not scattering apart — the bodhisattva's five deeds are likewise: giving unmistaken bliss (worldly accomplishment being called bliss, since through it a blissful feeling is attained), and giving unmistaken benefit (transcendent accomplishment being called benefit, since through it the sickness of the afflictions is remedied); the remaining three may be readily understood. These are the bodhisattva's five deeds resembling a companion. Question: what is benefit resembling a sturdy servant?
Maturing beings, opening the way out;
bearing with harm, and twofold accomplishment;
showing skillful means —
these five deeds are like a sturdy servant.
The exposition: just as a sturdy servant performs five deeds that benefit his master — carrying every task to its utmost, never once deceiving him, bearing with every blow and reproach, performing every task skillfully and well, and understanding skillful means — the bodhisattva's five deeds are likewise: maturing beings, opening up the way of transcendence, bearing with every evil deed, giving worldly bliss, and giving transcendent benefit. These are the bodhisattva's five deeds resembling a sturdy servant. Question: what is benefit resembling a preceptor?
Teaching universally, and showing what is essential;
an open countenance, and kind speech;
not seeking any repayment —
these five deeds are like a preceptor.
The exposition: one who has attained the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas is called a preceptor. Just as a preceptor performs five deeds that benefit his student — teaching him every teaching, showing him what is swiftly essential, an open countenance known through the body, kind speech known through the mouth, and a mind free of any expectation — the bodhisattva's five deeds should be understood likewise. Question: what is benefit resembling a master?
Causing fulfillment, and causing liberation;
cutting off obstruction, and worldly bliss;
and transcendent benefit —
these five deeds are like a master.
The exposition: just as a master performs five deeds that benefit his student — leading him to go forth from household life, giving him the precepts, restraining and cutting off every transgression, sustaining him with material things, and instructing him in the Dharma — the bodhisattva's five deeds are likewise: causing him to fulfill the two accumulations, causing him to attain liberation, causing him to cut off every obstruction, giving him worldly bliss, and giving him transcendent benefit. These are the bodhisattva's five deeds resembling a master. The bodhisattva's sevenfold resembling benefit having been explained, the six ways beings repay the bodhisattva's kindness are next explained.
Only the preceptor among these seven is defined by a specific attainment — one who has reached the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas — rather than by a social role anyone might recognize; a mother, father, friend, companion, servant, and master are all everyday relationships, but "preceptor" here names an achievement first and a relationship only derivatively. The sevenfold catalogue as a whole moves through an implicit hierarchy of intimacy and status — from the unconditional, prenatal care of a mother through to a master's institutional authority — suggesting the bodhisattva's benefit to beings is not exhausted by any single relational model, but requires borrowing the specific virtue each human relationship does best: a mother's care asks nothing in return, a servant's diligence asks for nothing but the task done well, and only the preceptor's care is explicitly noted as also asking nothing back, redundant with the mother's own point unless the redundancy is itself the message — that unconditional giving is not confined to the relationships that make it easiest to expect.
7. How Beings Repay the Bodhisattva; Five Hopes; Four Never-Empty Fruits
偈曰：
不著及不犯， 知作亦善行，
如是修六度， 是報菩薩恩。
釋曰：如菩薩饒益眾生，眾生報菩薩恩亦如是。不著者，布施報恩。不犯者，持戒報恩。知作者，修忍報恩。菩薩愛忍彼知而作，即是報恩。善行者，行餘三度報恩，以精進行定慧即得解脫故。後三度合名善行。已說眾生六種報恩，次說菩薩五種希望。偈曰：
六增及六減， 成生與進地，
大覺是五處， 希望有五種。
釋曰：諸菩薩於五處常起希望，一希望六度增長、二希望六蔽損減、三希望成熟眾生、四希望勝進諸地、五希望無上菩提，是名五種希望。已說菩薩五種希望，次說菩薩四種不空果。偈曰：
斷怖與發心， 除疑亦起行，
四事化眾生， 必定不空果。
釋曰：諸菩薩四業利益眾生，必不空果。一為說深法必得不怖、二令發菩提心必得佛果、三為之斷疑必無重起、四為說六度必能修習，是名四業不空果。已說菩薩四種不空果，次說菩薩六種正行。
Not being attached, and not transgressing;
knowing and doing accordingly, and good conduct —
cultivating the six perfections in this way
is how one repays the bodhisattva's kindness.
The exposition: just as the bodhisattva benefits beings, so too do beings repay the bodhisattva's kindness. Not being attached is repaying his kindness through generosity. Not transgressing is repaying his kindness through morality. Knowing and doing accordingly is repaying his kindness through patience — the bodhisattva loves and endures, and one who knows this and acts accordingly is thereby repaying his kindness. Good conduct is repaying his kindness by practicing the remaining three perfections, since through diligence, concentration, and wisdom, liberation is attained — these last three perfections are together called good conduct. Beings' six ways of repaying kindness having been explained, the bodhisattva's five kinds of hope are next explained.
The six increasing, and the six declining;
maturing beings, and advancing through the grounds;
great enlightenment — these five matters
are the five kinds of hope.
The exposition: the bodhisattva constantly gives rise to hope regarding five matters: hoping for the increase of the six perfections; hoping for the decline of the six hindrances; hoping to mature beings; hoping to advance through the grounds; and hoping for unsurpassed enlightenment. These are the five kinds of hope. The bodhisattva's five kinds of hope having been explained, the bodhisattva's four kinds of never-empty fruit are next explained.
Cutting off fear, and arousing the mind;
removing doubt, and giving rise to conduct —
these four matters, converting beings,
are certainly never an empty fruit.
The exposition: the bodhisattva's four deeds of benefiting beings are certainly never an empty fruit: first, teaching a profound Dharma certainly results in freedom from fear; second, causing the arising of the mind of enlightenment certainly results in the fruit of buddhahood; third, cutting off doubt for a being certainly results in that doubt never arising again; fourth, teaching the six perfections certainly results in their being cultivated. These are the four deeds that are never an empty fruit. The bodhisattva's four kinds of never-empty fruit having been explained, the bodhisattva's six kinds of correct conduct are next explained.
Repayment here is not reciprocal in the ordinary sense of returning something comparable to what was given — a being cannot repay a bodhisattva's gift of the Dharma with a counter-gift of the same kind. Instead, each form of repayment is simply the successful uptake of what was already offered: not clinging repays generosity, not transgressing repays morality, and so on down the list. The bodhisattva's benefit and the being's gratitude turn out to be the same act seen from two sides — to genuinely receive the teaching is already to have thanked the teacher, with no further gesture required or even really possible.
8. Six Kinds of Correct Conduct; Advance and Retreat in the Six Perfections
偈曰：
離求離後有， 遍起諸功德，
修禪捨無色， 智合方便行。
釋曰：離求者，布施正行不望報故。離後有者，戒忍正行不求後有故。遍起諸功德者，精進正行。修禪捨無色者，禪定正行。智合方便行者，般若正行。三輪清淨為般若，迴向菩提為方便。如《寶積經》說：施不求報，如是廣說。已說菩薩六種正行，次說菩薩六度進退分。偈曰：
著財與毀禁， 慢下將墮善，
噉味亦分別， 是退翻為進。
釋曰：六度所對治是退分因，翻彼所對治即是能對治，應知即是進分因。已說菩薩六度進退分，次說菩薩六度真似功德。
Free of seeking, and free of further existence;
universally arousing every merit;
cultivating meditation, relinquishing the formless —
wisdom joined with skillful means, this is the conduct.
The exposition: free of seeking is the correct conduct of generosity, not looking for repayment. Free of further existence is the correct conduct of morality and patience, not seeking further existence. Universally arousing every merit is the correct conduct of diligence. Cultivating meditation, relinquishing the formless is the correct conduct of meditative concentration. Wisdom joined with skillful means is the correct conduct of wisdom — purity of the three wheels being wisdom, and dedication toward enlightenment being skillful means. As the Ratnakūṭa Sūtra teaches: give without seeking repayment, and so on, at length. The bodhisattva's six kinds of correct conduct having been explained, the bodhisattva's advancing and retreating aspects of the six perfections are next explained.
Attachment to wealth, and breaking the precepts;
pride, and inferiority tending toward a fall from the wholesome;
savoring, and discriminating —
these are retreat; their reverse is advance.
The exposition: what the six perfections remedy is the cause of the aspect of retreat; the reverse of what is remedied is itself the remedy, and this should be understood as the cause of the aspect of advance. The bodhisattva's advancing and retreating aspects of the six perfections having been explained, the bodhisattva's true and false merit of the six perfections is next explained.
Relinquishing the formless as part of meditation's own correct conduct is worth flagging, since the formless absorptions are ordinarily prized as meditation's most refined attainment, not something to be given up. The point is not that the formless states are worthless but that clinging to their bliss, like clinging to any other superior result, becomes exactly the kind of "seeking" the whole verse is defined against — even the most rarefied meditative attainment can become an object of the same subtle grasping that ruins generosity when it looks for repayment.
9. True and False Merit in the Six Perfections; Removing Beings' Six Hindrances
偈曰：
假許及詐相， 誑喜亦偽勤，
身靜口善說， 是似翻即真。
釋曰：假許者是似布施，謂語求者言：所有恣取。而彼來即悋。詐相者是似持戒，謂覆藏諸惡而詐善威儀。誑喜者是似忍辱，謂甘言虛悅，而規害待時。偽勤者是似精進，謂虛說我求佛果，而實心希世報。身靜者是似禪定，謂身口端默而惡覺擾心口。善說者是似般若，謂為他巧說而身自不行。此六是不真行，翻此不真行即為真行。已說菩薩真似功德，次說菩薩為眾生除六蔽。偈曰：
與彼六度行， 除彼六蔽障，
菩薩化眾生， 地地皆如是。
釋曰：眾生有六蔽，能障彼六波羅蜜，所謂慳貪、破戒、嗔恚、懈怠、亂心、愚癡。菩薩如其次第，給其所須令行布施，乃至令行般若，使彼眾生得除六障，即是與施乃至與智。已說菩薩除眾生六蔽，次說諸佛授菩薩記。
False promising, and a deceptive appearance;
feigned joy, and pretended diligence;
a stilled body, and eloquent speech —
these resemble it falsely; their reverse is the true.
The exposition: false promising resembles generosity — telling one who seeks, "take freely whatever there is," yet, when he comes, being stingy after all. A deceptive appearance resembles morality — concealing every evil while feigning a virtuous bearing. Feigned joy resembles patience — sweet words and false delight, while secretly plotting harm and biding one's time. Pretended diligence resembles diligence itself — falsely proclaiming that one seeks buddhahood, while one's real mind hopes only for worldly reward. A stilled body resembles meditative concentration — body and speech outwardly composed and silent, while evil thoughts disturb the mind and mouth within. And eloquent speech resembles wisdom — skillfully teaching others while not practicing it oneself. These six are not true conduct; their reverse is true conduct. The bodhisattva's true and false merit having been explained, the bodhisattva's removing of beings' six hindrances is next explained.
Giving them the practice of the six perfections
removes the obstruction of their six hindrances;
the bodhisattva converts beings
in just this way at every ground.
The exposition: beings have six hindrances that obstruct the six perfections: stinginess and craving, breaking the precepts, hatred, laziness, a scattered mind, and delusion. The bodhisattva, in this same order, supplies what beings need, leading them to practice generosity, and so on through leading them to practice wisdom, so that they come to remove these six obstructions — this is giving generosity, and so on through giving wisdom. The bodhisattva's removing of beings' six hindrances having been explained, the buddhas' bestowal of predictions upon bodhisattvas is next explained.
Each of the six counterfeits fails in a structurally identical way — an outward performance detached from the inward state it is supposed to express — yet the treatise still bothers to specify six distinct scenarios rather than stating the general principle once. Eloquent speech resembling wisdom is the most quietly damning of the six, since it does not even require dishonest intent in the way false promising or a deceptive appearance do: a teacher can skillfully explain a practice he has simply never bothered to undertake himself, sincerely believing his own eloquence is the substance rather than its counterfeit.
10. The Buddhas' Bestowal of Prediction
偈曰：
授記有二種， 人別及時別；
轉記及大記， 此復為二種。
釋曰：授記有二種，一人差別、二時差別。人差別授記有四種：一未發心授記，謂性位；二已發心授記；三現前授記；四不現前授記。時差別授記有二種：一有數時授記、二無數時授記。復次更有二種授記：一轉授記、二大授記。轉授記者，謂記彼菩薩後於如是如來、如是時節當得授記。問：云何大授記？偈曰：
八地得無生， 斷慢斷功用，
諸佛及佛子， 一體同如故。
釋曰：大授記者，謂在第八地中得無生忍時，由斷自言我當作佛慢故，及斷一切分別相功用故，得一切諸佛菩薩同一體故。問：云何同一體？答：不見諸佛諸菩薩與自己身而有差別。何以故？同一如故。偈曰：
剎土及名號， 時節與劫名，
眷屬并法住， 記復有六種。
釋曰：復有此六種授記，一者於如是剎土、二者有如是名號、三者經如是時節、四者有如是劫名、五者得如是眷屬、六者如是時節正法住世。已說諸佛授記，次說菩薩六種決定。
The bestowal of prediction is of two kinds:
distinguished by person, and distinguished by time;
the relayed prediction, and the great prediction —
these, too, are a further two kinds.
The exposition: the bestowal of prediction is of two kinds: distinguished by person, and distinguished by time. Distinguished by person, the bestowal of prediction is of four kinds: prediction before the mind is aroused — namely, at the stage of lineage; prediction after the mind has been aroused; prediction given in one's presence; and prediction given in one's absence. Distinguished by time, the bestowal of prediction is of two kinds: prediction with a specified time, and prediction with an unspecified time. Furthermore, there are two further kinds of prediction: the relayed prediction, and the great prediction. The relayed prediction is predicting that a bodhisattva will, at some later time, receive a further prediction from such-and-such a Tathāgata, at such-and-such a time. Question: what is the great prediction?
Attaining the forbearance of non-arising at the eighth ground;
cutting off pride, and cutting off effort;
the buddhas and their offspring —
one substance, through the same suchness.
The exposition: the great prediction is received at the eighth ground, at the time of attaining the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas, since one has cut off the pride of declaring, "I shall become a buddha," and has cut off the effort of discriminating every mark, thereby attaining the same single substance as every buddha and bodhisattva. Question: what is this same single substance? Answer: it is seeing no difference at all between oneself and every buddha and bodhisattva — why? Because of their same, single suchness.
The buddha-land, and the name;
the era, and the name of the eon;
the retinue, and the dharma's duration —
prediction has, further, six kinds.
The exposition: there are, further, these six kinds of prediction: first, of such-and-such a buddha-land; second, of such-and-such a name; third, of passing through such-and-such an era; fourth, of such-and-such a name for the eon; fifth, of attaining such-and-such a retinue; sixth, of the true Dharma abiding in the world for such-and-such a duration. The buddhas' bestowal of prediction having been explained, the bodhisattva's six kinds of certainty are next explained.
The great prediction is unlike every other kind catalogued here in one crucial respect: it is not something the Buddha announces to the bodhisattva from outside, but something the bodhisattva comes to recognize about himself directly, at the eighth ground, through cutting off the very pride of thinking "I shall become a buddha" — a pride that presupposes a gap between his present self and a future buddha which, on this account, no longer really exists. The other kinds of prediction are events that happen to a bodhisattva at a particular time and place; the great prediction is closer to the removal of a remaining confusion about a fact — sameness of suchness with every buddha — that was arguably already true beforehand.
11. Six Certainties; Six Things That Must Be Done; Six Constantly Done
偈曰：
財成及生勝， 不退與修習，
定業無功用， 六事決定成。
釋曰：菩薩由六度增上得六種決定。一者財成決定，由施常得大財成就故。二者生勝決定，由戒常得隨意受生故。三者不退決定，由忍諸苦常不退故。四者修習決定，由進恒時習善無間息故。五者定業決定，由禪成就眾生業永不退故。六者無功用決定，由智得無生忍無分別智自然住故。已說菩薩六種決定，次說菩薩六種必應作。偈曰：
供養及學戒， 修悲亦勤善，
離諠深樂法， 六事必應作。
釋曰：諸菩薩為成就六度故，於諸地中決定應作六事。一者必應供養，此為成就檀度，若不長時供養則檀度不得圓滿。供養義如供養品說。二者必應學戒，此為成就戒度，若不長時學戒則戒度不得圓滿。三者必應修悲，此為成就忍度，若不長時忍諸不饒益事則忍度不得圓滿。四者必應勤善，此為成就進度，若心放逸不修諸善則進度不得圓滿。五者必應離諠，此為成就禪度，若在聚落多諍擾心則禪度不得圓滿。六者必應樂法，此為成就智度，若不遍歷諸佛聽法無厭如海納流無時盈溢則智度不得圓滿。已說菩薩六種必應作，次說菩薩六種必常作。偈曰：
厭塵及自省， 耐苦修善法，
不味不分別， 六行必常起。
釋曰：諸菩薩為成就六度故，必應常作六事。一者厭塵，謂知五欲過失，譬如糞穢雖少亦臭，布施果報雖多亦苦。由不著故能行三施，此事常修則檀度圓滿。二者自省，謂晝夜六時常自省察所作三業，知過則改，此事常修則戒度圓滿。三者耐苦，若有他來作諸不饒益事，及自求法忍諸寒熱等苦，此事常修則忍度圓滿。四者修善，善謂六波羅蜜，於諸地中此事常修則進度圓滿。五者不味，謂不噉禪中勝樂，恒來欲界受生，此事常修則禪度圓滿。六者不分別，謂於三輪異相不起分別，此事常修則智度圓滿。已說菩薩六種必常作，次說菩薩六度勝類。
Wealth accomplished, and superior birth;
non-retrogression, and cultivation;
karmic certainty, and effortlessness —
these six matters are certainly accomplished.
The exposition: through the dominance of the six perfections, the bodhisattva attains six kinds of certainty: first, the certainty of wealth accomplished, since through generosity he constantly attains the accomplishment of great wealth; second, the certainty of superior birth, since through morality he constantly attains birth as he wishes; third, the certainty of non-retrogression, since through patience he constantly does not retreat, no matter what suffering; fourth, the certainty of cultivation, since through diligence he constantly cultivates the wholesome without interruption; fifth, the certainty of karmic ripening, since through meditative concentration the deed of maturing beings is eternally without retrogression; sixth, the certainty of effortlessness, since through wisdom he attains the forbearance of non-arising, non-discriminating wisdom abiding spontaneously. The bodhisattva's six kinds of certainty having been explained, the bodhisattva's six things that must certainly be done are next explained.
Making offerings, and training in the precepts;
cultivating compassion, and diligence in the wholesome;
departing from clamor, and delighting deeply in the Dharma —
these six matters must certainly be done.
The exposition: in order to accomplish the six perfections, the bodhisattva must certainly do six things at every ground: first, he must certainly make offerings — this accomplishes the perfection of generosity, since, without making offerings over a long span of time, this perfection cannot be fulfilled (the meaning of offering being as explained in the chapter on veneration); second, he must certainly train in the precepts — this accomplishes the perfection of morality, since, without training in the precepts over a long span of time, this perfection cannot be fulfilled; third, he must certainly cultivate compassion — this accomplishes the perfection of patience, since, without bearing with what is unbeneficial over a long span of time, this perfection cannot be fulfilled; fourth, he must certainly be diligent in the wholesome — this accomplishes the perfection of diligence, since, if the mind is heedless and does not cultivate the wholesome, this perfection cannot be fulfilled; fifth, he must certainly depart from clamor — this accomplishes the perfection of meditative concentration, since, dwelling amid a crowd's many disturbances, this perfection cannot be fulfilled; sixth, he must certainly delight in the Dharma — this accomplishes the perfection of wisdom, since, without traveling everywhere to hear the Dharma from the buddhas, untiring, like the ocean receiving every stream without ever overflowing, this perfection cannot be fulfilled. The bodhisattva's six things that must certainly be done having been explained, the bodhisattva's six things that must constantly be done are next explained.
Wearied by the dust of the senses, and self-examination;
bearing with suffering, and cultivating what is wholesome;
not savoring, and not discriminating —
these six conducts must constantly arise.
The exposition: in order to accomplish the six perfections, the bodhisattva must constantly do six things: first, wearied by the dust of the senses — knowing the faults of the five desires, just as filth, however little, still stinks, so too the fruit of generosity's karmic ripening, however great, still carries suffering; through non-attachment, one is able to practice all three kinds of giving, and constantly cultivating this fulfills the perfection of generosity; second, self-examination — constantly examining one's own three deeds through the six watches of day and night, correcting a fault the moment it is known, and constantly cultivating this fulfills the perfection of morality; third, bearing with suffering — whether another comes to do what is unbeneficial, or in one's own pursuit of the Dharma bearing with cold, heat, and other such sufferings, and constantly cultivating this fulfills the perfection of patience; fourth, cultivating the wholesome — the wholesome being the six perfections — constantly cultivating this at every ground fulfills the perfection of diligence; fifth, not savoring — not savoring meditation's superior bliss, but constantly returning to take birth in the desire realm, and constantly cultivating this fulfills the perfection of meditative concentration; sixth, not discriminating — not giving rise to discrimination regarding the distinct marks of the three wheels, and constantly cultivating this fulfills the perfection of wisdom. The bodhisattva's six things that must constantly be done having been explained, the bodhisattva's supreme kind within the six perfections is next explained.
The image of the ocean receiving every stream without overflowing, applied to the bodhisattva's delight in hearing the Dharma from every buddha, is worth pausing on for what it denies as much as what it affirms: an ordinary vessel would eventually fill and spill over, but the ocean's capacity is precisely what makes continued receiving possible without loss or saturation. Applied to wisdom, the simile argues that genuine delight in learning does not diminish with accumulation the way ordinary appetite does with satiety — the more the bodhisattva has already heard, the more capacity for hearing further remains, rather than less.
12. The Six Perfections' Supreme Kind
偈曰：
法施及聖戒， 無生起大乘，
定悲如實智， 六行此為勝。
釋曰：施有多種，以法施而為最上。戒有多種，以聖人所愛無流戒而為最上。忍有多種，以八地無生忍而為最上。精進有多種，以起大乘度脫眾生而為最上。定有多種，以出世第四禪與大悲合者而為最上。智有多種，以如實通達諸法智而為最上。已說菩薩六度勝類，次說四種假建立。
The gift of the Dharma, and the noble precepts;
non-arising, arousing the Mahāyāna;
concentration joined with compassion, and wisdom as things really are —
among these six conducts, these are supreme.
The exposition: giving is of many kinds, and the gift of the Dharma is supreme among them. Morality is of many kinds, and the uncontaminated precepts cherished by the noble ones are supreme among them. Patience is of many kinds, and the eighth ground's forbearance of non-arising is supreme among them. Diligence is of many kinds, and arousing the Mahāyāna to liberate beings is supreme among them. Meditative concentration is of many kinds, and the transcendent fourth dhyāna joined with great compassion is supreme among them. And wisdom is of many kinds, and the wisdom that penetrates all dharmas as they really are is supreme among them. The bodhisattva's supreme kind within the six perfections having been explained, the four kinds of conventional establishment are next explained.
13. Four Kinds of Conventional Establishment
偈曰：
立法及立諦， 立理亦立乘，
五七四三種， 建立假差別。
釋曰：四種假建立者，一法假建立、二諦假建立、三道理假建立、四乘假建立。問：各有幾種？答：法假建立有五種差別，諦假建立有七種差別，道理假建立有四種差別，乘假建立有三種差別。法假建立五種者，偈曰：
所謂五明處， 皆是大乘種，
修多祇夜等， 類有差別故。
釋曰：法假建立五種，即是五明論，此五皆是大乘修多羅、祇夜等種類差別。五明處如覺分品說。諦假建立七種者，偈曰：
輪轉及空相， 唯識與依止，
邪行亦清淨， 正行如七種。
釋曰：七種差別即是七如，一輪轉如、二空相如、三唯識如、四依止如、五邪行如、六清淨如、七正行如。輪轉如者謂生死，即是三界心心法此從分別起，此分別復從因緣起，不從自在等因生，亦非無因生。由分別境界空故，一切時但有分別、依他二性輪轉。空相如者，謂法無我，一切諸法同一空如以為相故。唯識如者，謂無分別智。依止如者，謂苦諦。此有二種：一器世間、二眾生世間。邪行如者，謂集諦，此即是愛。清淨如者，謂滅諦，此有二種：一煩惱障淨、二智障淨。正行如者，謂道諦。如此七種如，名諦假建立。此中應知三種如是分別、依他二性，謂輪轉如、依止如、邪行如。四種如是真實性，謂空相如、唯識如、清淨如、正行如故。分別依他二性攝者即是世諦，真實性攝者即是真諦。道理假建立四種者，偈曰：
正思正見果， 擇法現等量，
亦說不思議， 道理有四種。
釋曰：道理假建立有四種，一相待道理、二因果道理、三成就道理、四法然道理。相待道理者，所謂正思，由待正思出世正見方始得起，離正思惟更無別方便故。因果道理者，所謂正見及果。成就道理者，所謂以現等量簡擇諸法。法然道理者，所謂不可思議處，此法已成故如。問：何故正思能起正見？此已成就不應更思。何故正見能斷煩惱及得於滅？此已成就不可更思。諸如是義悉是法然道理，如此四種名道理假建立。乘假建立三種者，偈曰：
心說行聚果， 五各下中上，
依此三品異， 建立有三乘。
釋曰：依五義、三品建立三乘。五義者，一心、二說、三行、四聚、五果。三品者，謂下、中、上。若聲聞，五事俱下：心下者求自解脫，說下者說自利法，行下者行自利行，聚下者福智狹小但三生等，果下者得聲聞果。若緣覺乘，五事俱中。若菩薩乘，五事俱上。心上者，謂四種恩心，如《金剛波若經》說。說上者，如其恩心，作如是說法。行上者，如其說法，作如是行行。聚上者，如其行行，得如是聚滿。果上者，如其聚滿，得無上菩提。復次若聲聞乘，從他聞法內自思惟，以分別智得果。若緣覺乘，不從他聞，內自思惟，亦以分別智得果。若菩薩乘，不從他聞，以無分別智得果。此三種名乘假建立。已說四種假建立，次說菩薩四種求知。
Establishing dharmas, and establishing truths;
establishing reasoning, and establishing vehicles;
five, seven, four, and three kinds —
such are the distinctions of conventional establishment.
The exposition: the four kinds of conventional establishment are: the conventional establishment of dharmas, of truths, of reasoning, and of vehicles. Question: how many kinds does each have? Answer: the conventional establishment of dharmas has five distinctions, of truths seven, of reasoning four, and of vehicles three.
Namely, the five sciences —
all of them are seeds of the Mahāyāna;
sūtra, verse, and the rest —
since their kinds show these distinctions.
The exposition: the five kinds of the conventional establishment of dharmas are precisely the five sciences — every one of these five is a distinct kind of Mahāyāna scripture, sūtra, verse, and the rest. The five sciences are as explained in the chapter on the factors of enlightenment.
Turning in the cycle, and the mark of emptiness;
consciousness-only, and support;
deviant conduct, and purity;
correct conduct — seven kinds of suchness.
The exposition: the seven distinctions are the seven kinds of suchness: the suchness of turning in the cycle, of the mark of emptiness, of consciousness-only, of support, of deviant conduct, of purity, and of correct conduct. The suchness of turning in the cycle is birth-and-death — namely, the mind and mental factors of the three realms, which arise from discrimination, this discrimination itself arising from causes and conditions, neither generated by a cause such as an independent creator, nor generated without any cause at all. Since the object discriminated is empty, at every time there is only the two natures — the discriminated and the dependent — turning in the cycle. The suchness of the mark of emptiness is the selflessness of phenomena, every dharma alike having the single mark of emptiness-suchness. The suchness of consciousness-only is non-discriminating wisdom. The suchness of support is the truth of suffering, of two kinds: the receptacle-world, and the world of sentient beings. The suchness of deviant conduct is the truth of origin — namely, craving. The suchness of purity is the truth of cessation, of two kinds: purity from the afflictive obstruction, and purity from the obstruction to wisdom. And the suchness of correct conduct is the truth of the path. These seven kinds of suchness are called the conventional establishment of truths. Here, it should be known that three kinds of suchness belong to the two natures of the discriminated and the dependent — the suchness of turning in the cycle, of support, and of deviant conduct — while the remaining four belong to the true nature: the suchness of the mark of emptiness, of consciousness-only, of purity, and of correct conduct. What belongs to the discriminated and dependent natures is the worldly truth; what belongs to the true nature is the ultimate truth.
Correct reflection, correct view and its fruit;
discerning through direct and inferential measure;
and, further, the inconceivable —
reasoning is of four kinds.
The exposition: the conventional establishment of reasoning has four kinds: the reasoning of mutual dependence, the reasoning of cause and fruit, the reasoning of accomplishment, and the reasoning of things being just so. The reasoning of mutual dependence is correct reflection, since transcendent correct view only arises in dependence on correct reflection, there being no other means of accomplishing it apart from correct reflection. The reasoning of cause and fruit is correct view together with its fruit. The reasoning of accomplishment is discerning every dharma through direct and inferential measure. And the reasoning of things being just so is the domain of the inconceivable, this dharma already being accomplished as it is. Question: why is correct reflection able to give rise to correct view? This is already accomplished and needs no further reflection. Why is correct view able to cut off the afflictions and attain cessation? This, too, is already accomplished and cannot be further reflected upon. Every such meaning belongs entirely to the reasoning of things being just so. These four kinds are called the conventional establishment of reasoning.
Mind, teaching, conduct, accumulation, and fruit —
each of the five, inferior, middling, or superior;
resting on these three distinct grades,
the three vehicles are established.
The exposition: the three vehicles are established resting on five meanings and three grades. The five meanings are: mind, teaching, conduct, accumulation, and fruit. The three grades are: inferior, middling, and superior. For the śrāvaka, all five matters are inferior: an inferior mind seeks liberation for oneself alone; inferior teaching teaches a dharma of self-benefit; inferior conduct practices conduct of self-benefit; an inferior accumulation is narrow in merit and wisdom, spanning as few as three lifetimes; and an inferior fruit is the fruit of a śrāvaka. For the pratyekabuddha vehicle, all five matters are middling. For the bodhisattva vehicle, all five matters are superior. A superior mind is the fourfold mind of kindness, as the Diamond Sūtra teaches. Superior teaching, in accordance with this mind of kindness, teaches the Dharma accordingly. Superior conduct, in accordance with this teaching, practices conduct accordingly. A superior accumulation, in accordance with this conduct, attains fulfillment accordingly. And a superior fruit, in accordance with this fulfillment, attains unsurpassed enlightenment. Furthermore: in the śrāvaka vehicle, one hears the Dharma from another, reflects inwardly on it oneself, and attains the fruit through discriminating wisdom. In the pratyekabuddha vehicle, one does not hear from another, but reflects inwardly oneself, likewise attaining the fruit through discriminating wisdom. In the bodhisattva vehicle, one does not hear from another, and attains the fruit through non-discriminating wisdom. These three are called the conventional establishment of vehicles. The four kinds of conventional establishment having been explained, the bodhisattva's four kinds of seeking knowledge are next explained.
The seven kinds of suchness quietly perform the same sorting this treatise has used before for the three natures: three kinds of suchness — turning in the cycle, support, and deviant conduct — are explicitly assigned to the discriminated and dependent natures and thereby to the worldly truth, while the remaining four belong to the true nature and the ultimate truth. What makes the assignment worth noting is that suffering and its origin, the first two noble truths, land on the worldly side, while cessation and the path land on the true side — meaning this sevenfold scheme is, among other things, a restatement of the four noble truths split cleanly along the very two-truths division the treatise has used throughout to organize everything else.
The three vehicles' establishment through five graded meanings — mind, teaching, conduct, accumulation, fruit — makes an implicit but pointed claim: a śrāvaka and a bodhisattva are not doing two different things, one lesser and one greater in kind, but the very same five things at three different grades of scope and intent. The structure is identical straight down the list; only the grade changes, from "inferior" seeking one's own liberation to "superior" resting on the fourfold mind of kindness. This is the same inclusive move the treatise has made about the two vehicles throughout — measuring by degree along a shared scale rather than by an unrelated kind of achievement.
14. Four Kinds of Seeking, and Four Kinds of True Knowledge
偈曰：
名物互為客， 二性俱是假，
二別不可得， 是名四求義。
釋曰：諸菩薩四種求諸法，一名求、二物求、三自性求、四差別求。名求者，推名於物是客，此謂名求。物求者，推物於名是客，此謂物求。自性求者，推名自性及物自性知俱是假，此謂自性求。差別求者，推名差別及物差別知俱空故悉不可得，此謂差別求。說四求已，次分別四如實知。偈曰：
真智有四種， 名等不可得，
二利為大業， 成在諸地中。
釋曰：諸菩薩於諸法有四種如實知，一緣名如實知、二緣物如實知、三緣自性如實知、四緣差別如實知。如實知者，由知一切名等皆不可得故。二利為大業成在諸地中者，諸菩薩於諸地中起自利利他大事，此名如實知業。
Name and thing are mutually guests to each other;
both natures are equally conventional;
their two distinctions cannot be found —
this is the meaning of the four kinds of seeking.
The exposition: the bodhisattva seeks out dharmas in four ways: seeking the name, seeking the thing, seeking the own-nature, and seeking the distinction. Seeking the name is investigating that the name is a mere guest with respect to the thing — this is called seeking the name. Seeking the thing is investigating that the thing is a mere guest with respect to the name — this is called seeking the thing. Seeking the own-nature is investigating and knowing that both the name's own-nature and the thing's own-nature are equally conventional — this is called seeking the own-nature. Seeking the distinction is investigating and knowing that both the name's distinction and the thing's distinction are, being empty, entirely unfindable — this is called seeking the distinction. The four kinds of seeking having been taught, the four kinds of true knowledge are next distinguished.
True knowledge is of four kinds;
name and the rest cannot be found;
the twofold benefit as its great task,
accomplished throughout the grounds.
The exposition: the bodhisattva has four kinds of true knowledge regarding dharmas: true knowledge regarding the name, true knowledge regarding the thing, true knowledge regarding the own-nature, and true knowledge regarding the distinction. This is true knowledge because one knows that name and the rest can none of them be found at all. The twofold benefit as its great task, accomplished throughout the grounds means that the bodhisattva, at every ground, undertakes the great task of benefiting both himself and others — this is called the function of true knowledge.
Calling name and thing "mutually guests" to each other is a precise way of denying either one a privileged claim to being the real "host" the other merely visits: a naive realist treats the thing as host and the name as its visiting label, while a naive nominalist might reverse this and treat the name as somehow primary. The treatise's four-part investigation — name, thing, their shared conventional own-nature, and their equally unfindable distinctions — refuses both directions of priority at once, which is what allows the same analysis to double, without contradiction, as the site of the twofold benefit: seeing through this mutual guesthood is simultaneously self-benefit (one's own wisdom) and benefit for others (the specific knowledge that makes accurate teaching possible).
15. Knowing Bondage — Three Causes, Three Things Bound
偈曰：
住持及受用， 種子合三因，
依止及心法， 亦種為彼縛。
釋曰：三因者，一住持因、二受用因、三種子因。住持因者，謂器世界。受用因者，謂五欲境界。種子因者，謂阿梨耶識，由此識是內外諸法種子因故。此三因如繩，即是能縛。問：此縛縛何等物？答：依止及心法亦種為彼縛。所縛亦有三種，一依止、二心法、三阿梨耶識。問：依止是何等？答：是眼等六根。問：阿梨耶識是何等？答：是三界內外諸法種子。此中但有阿梨耶識可縛，無人我可縛，此名如實知繫縛。
Sustaining, and enjoyment;
and the seed — these three causes combine;
the support, and mental phenomena;
and the seed too are what is bound by them.
The exposition: the three causes are: the cause of sustaining, the cause of enjoyment, and the cause of the seed. The cause of sustaining is the receptacle world. The cause of enjoyment is the domain of the five desires. And the cause of the seed is the ālayavijñāna, since this consciousness is the seed-cause of every dharma, internal and external. These three causes are like a rope — they are what binds. Question: what things does this bondage bind? Answer: the support, and mental phenomena, and the seed too are what is bound by them. What is bound is likewise of three kinds: the support, mental phenomena, and the ālayavijñāna. Question: what is the support? Answer: it is the six faculties — eye, and the rest. Question: what is the ālayavijñāna? Answer: it is the seed of every dharma, internal and external, within the three realms. Here, only the ālayavijñāna can be said to be bound — there is no person, no self, that could be bound. This is called true knowledge of bondage.
The closing line quietly resolves what could otherwise read as a contradiction with this treatise's own extended refutation of a real self back in fascicle 11: if there is no real person, what exactly is bound by craving and karma? The answer given here is precise rather than evasive — only the ālayavijñāna, a genuinely existent stream of momentary events, is bound; no further substantial self is required, or available, to serve as the thing in chains. Bondage does not need a bound self any more than a fire needs a self to be burning.
16. Knowing Liberation, and Knowing Exhaustion
偈曰：
安相在心前， 及以自然住，
一切俱觀察， 至得大菩提。
釋曰：安相在心前者，安相謂聞思修慧方便，人所緣起分別，故名安相。及以自然住者，彼相謂自性現前，非分別故，名自然住。一切俱觀察者，彼二所緣非所緣體，無分別故。以此方便為諸相對治，彼二應次第觀察，謂先觀安相、後觀自然住相，此二皆非緣體，彼起四倒即得隨滅。至得大菩提者，若修行人但觀察人相，唯得聲聞緣覺菩提；若觀察一切法相，即得無上菩提。如是隨其所縛而得解脫，此名如實知解脫。問：此解脫由何所知？由何所盡？偈曰：
若智緣真如， 遠離彼二執，
亦知熏聚因， 依他性即盡。
釋曰：若具知三性，即盡依他性。若智緣真如者，是知真實性。遠離彼二執者，是知分別性。亦知熏聚因者，是知依他性。依他性即盡者，由知三性即熏習聚盡。熏習聚者，謂阿梨耶識。問：此盡有何功德？
The settled mark placed before the mind,
and, further, spontaneous abiding;
observing both of these together,
one attains great enlightenment.
The exposition: the settled mark placed before the mind — the settled mark is the skillful means of the wisdom of hearing, reflecting, and cultivating, an object a person discriminatingly gives rise to; hence it is called the settled mark. And, further, spontaneous abiding — this mark is one's own-nature presenting itself directly, not through discrimination; hence it is called spontaneous abiding. Observing both of these together is that the objects of both are not, in substance, objects at all, being without discrimination. Through this skillful means, as the remedy for every mark, these two should be observed in sequence — first observing the settled mark, then observing the mark of spontaneous abiding — and since neither of these two is, in substance, an object, the four inversions that arise from them are correspondingly extinguished. One attains great enlightenment: if the practitioner observes only the mark of a person, he attains only the enlightenment of a śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha; if he observes the mark of every dharma, he attains unsurpassed enlightenment. In this way, liberation is attained corresponding to whatever one was bound by — this is called true knowledge of liberation. Question: through what is this liberation known? Through what is it exhausted?
If wisdom takes suchness as its object,
far removed from that twofold grasping,
and also knows the cause of habituated accumulation —
the dependent nature is thereby exhausted.
The exposition: fully knowing the three natures is what exhausts the dependent nature. If wisdom takes suchness as its object, this is knowing the true nature. Far removed from that twofold grasping is knowing the discriminated nature. Also knowing the cause of habituated accumulation is knowing the dependent nature. And the dependent nature is thereby exhausted, since, through knowing the three natures, the accumulation of habituation is exhausted — the accumulation of habituation being the ālayavijñāna. Question: what merit does this exhaustion carry?
The distinction between the "settled mark" and "spontaneous abiding" tracks a genuine difference in how a meditator arrives at the same insight from two directions: the settled mark is still an object one discriminatingly constructs through hearing, reflecting, and cultivating — a deliberate mental artifact, even if a skillful and necessary one — while spontaneous abiding is that same reality simply presenting itself, unconstructed. The treatise's insistence that both must be observed, in sequence, rather than jumping straight to the second, matters practically: the constructed approach is not a lesser substitute to be bypassed but the actual means by which the unconstructed becomes accessible at all, after which its own constructedness is what allows it, too, to be released.
17. The Benefit of This Knowledge; Two Views; Transformation of the Basis
偈曰：
緣彼真如智， 觀察無異相，
有非有現見， 想作自在成。
釋曰：觀察無異相者，別相及如無差別見故。此說二乘與菩薩差別。二乘相及無相差別而見，如是見已悉捨於相，於無相界起作意緣入無相三昧。菩薩則不爾，於真如外不見別有諸相，於無相界亦見無相，由菩薩智無種種相修故。有非有現見者，有名真如境界，非有名相境界，皆現見故。想作自在成者，謂欲作神通等事，一切皆由憶想分別而成，此是如實知利益。問：凡夫及菩薩二見云何顯示？偈曰：
覆實見不實， 應知是凡夫；
見實覆不實， 如是名菩薩。
釋曰：凡夫無功用，不見真如，見不真實相。菩薩無功用，見真如，不見不真實相。問：已知差別，云何轉依及得解脫？偈曰：
不見見應知， 無義有義境，
轉依及解脫， 以得自在故。
釋曰：無義境界謂諸相，此即不見；有義境界謂真如，此即見，如是說名轉依。見所執境界無體，及見真如有體，如是說名解脫。何以故？以得自在故。自在者，謂隨自意轉自然不行諸境界。如經說：若有相則被縛，若被縛則無解脫，不行一切境界即是解脫。
Wisdom taking that suchness as its object
observes there is no distinct mark;
the existent and the non-existent both directly seen,
mastery accomplished through mere thought.
The exposition: observing there is no distinct mark is seeing no difference between distinct marks and suchness. This displays the distinction between the two vehicles and the bodhisattva. The two vehicles see marks and signlessness as distinct — having seen this, they entirely relinquish marks, and, within the realm of signlessness, direct their attention toward it, entering the concentration of signlessness. The bodhisattva is not like this: apart from suchness, he sees no distinct marks whatsoever, and within the realm of signlessness he likewise sees signlessness — since the bodhisattva's wisdom is cultivated without any manifold of marks at all. The existent and the non-existent both directly seen: the existent is called the domain of suchness, the non-existent is called the domain of marks — both are directly seen. Mastery accomplished through mere thought is that, whenever one wishes to perform such deeds as supernormal power, all of it is accomplished entirely through recollection and mental construction — this is the benefit of true knowledge. Question: how are the two views of the ordinary being and the bodhisattva displayed?
Covering the real, seeing the unreal —
know this to be the ordinary being;
seeing the real, covering the unreal —
this is called the bodhisattva.
The exposition: the ordinary being, without effort, does not see suchness, and sees the unreal mark. The bodhisattva, without effort, sees suchness, and does not see the unreal mark. Question: the distinction now known, what are the transformation of the basis and the attainment of liberation?
Not seeing, and seeing, should be known:
the domain without meaning, and the domain with meaning;
the transformation of the basis, and liberation,
through the attainment of mastery.
The exposition: the domain without meaning refers to every mark — this is not seen; the domain with meaning refers to suchness — this is seen: this, thus described, is called the transformation of the basis. Seeing that the domain grasped has no substance, and seeing that suchness has substance: this, thus described, is called liberation. Why? Because mastery is thereby attained. Mastery is turning as one's own intention directs, spontaneously no longer operating within any domain. As a sūtra teaches: where there is a mark, one is bound; where one is bound, there is no liberation; not operating within any domain at all is itself liberation.
The two vehicles' path to signlessness and the bodhisattva's own signlessness look outwardly identical — both end up "seeing no marks" — yet the treatise insists on a real difference in how each arrives there. The two vehicles reach signlessness by first seeing marks as genuinely distinct from suchness and then deliberately discarding them, an achievement that still presupposes the distinction it overcomes. The bodhisattva never draws that distinction to begin with, seeing no marks apart from suchness in the first place — not an achievement of removal but an absence of the mistake removal would have been correcting. The destination looks the same from outside; the route, and what it says about the traveler, does not.
18. Purifying a Buddha-Land; Five Immeasurables; Eight Fruits of Teaching
問：云何如實知淨土方便？偈曰：
眾生同一種， 地境皆普見，
此即淨土障， 應知亦應捨。
釋曰：眾生同一種地境皆普見者，器世界是大境界，一切眾生同見一種類，皆言此是大地故。此即淨土障者，由作此見，即與淨土方便而為障礙。應知亦應捨者，菩薩知此想為障礙已，即應勤捨此想，是名對治。已說菩薩四種如實知，次說菩薩五種無量。偈曰：
應化及應淨， 應得亦應成，
應說此五事， 菩薩五無量。
釋曰：五事無量者，一應化事無量，由攝一切眾生界故；二應淨事無量，由攝一切器世界故；三應得事無量，由攝一切法界故；四應成事無量，由攝一切可化眾生故；五應說事無量，由攝十二部經是化眾生方便故。已說菩薩五種無量，次說菩薩說法有八果。偈曰：
發心及得忍， 淨眼與盡漏，
法住學亦斷， 受用為八果。
釋曰：菩薩若勤說法，能得八果：一諸聽法者或發菩提心；二或得無生忍；三或於諸法遠塵離垢得法眼淨，此謂下乘所攝；四或得諸漏盡；五令正法久住，由此正說得展轉受持故；六未學義者令得學義；七未斷疑者令得斷疑；八已斷疑者令得受用正法無障大喜味。已說菩薩說法有八果，次說大乘七大義。
Question: what is the true knowledge that is the skillful means for purifying a buddha-land?
Beings equally seeing one and the same kind,
the domain of the earth seen universally alike —
this is itself the obstruction to a pure land;
know it, and relinquish it.
The exposition: beings equally seeing one and the same kind, the domain of the earth seen universally alike: the receptacle world is a vast domain, and every being sees it alike, as a single kind, all alike calling it "this great earth." This is itself the obstruction to a pure land: forming this view becomes an obstruction to the skillful means of purifying a buddha-land. Know it, and relinquish it: the bodhisattva, knowing this notion to be an obstruction, should diligently relinquish it — this is the remedy. The bodhisattva's four kinds of true knowledge having been explained, the bodhisattva's five kinds of immeasurable matter are next explained.
What must be converted, and what must be purified;
what must be attained, and what must be accomplished;
what must be taught — these five matters
are the bodhisattva's five immeasurables.
The exposition: the five immeasurable matters: first, the immeasurable matter that must be converted, encompassing the entire realm of sentient beings; second, the immeasurable matter that must be purified, encompassing every receptacle world; third, the immeasurable matter that must be attained, encompassing the entire dharma-realm; fourth, the immeasurable matter that must be accomplished, encompassing every being capable of conversion; and fifth, the immeasurable matter that must be taught, encompassing the twelvefold scriptures, the skillful means of converting beings. The bodhisattva's five immeasurables having been explained, the bodhisattva's eightfold fruit of teaching the Dharma is next explained.
Arousing the mind, and attaining forbearance;
a pure eye, and the exhaustion of the contaminants;
the Dharma's abiding, learning, and severing;
and enjoyment — these are the eight fruits.
The exposition: if the bodhisattva diligently teaches the Dharma, eight fruits are attainable: first, those who hear the Dharma may arouse the mind of enlightenment; second, they may attain the forbearance of non-arising; third, they may, far from the dust and free of stain regarding every dharma, attain the pure Dharma eye — this belongs to the lesser vehicles; fourth, they may attain the exhaustion of every contaminant; fifth, the true Dharma is caused to abide long in the world, since through this correct teaching it is received and upheld, passed on in turn; sixth, one who has not yet learned its meaning is caused to learn it; seventh, one who has not yet cut off doubt is caused to cut it off; and eighth, one who has already cut off doubt is caused to enjoy the true Dharma's unobstructed, great and joyful flavor. The bodhisattva's eightfold fruit of teaching the Dharma having been explained, the Mahāyāna's seven great meanings are next explained.
The obstruction to a pure buddha-land turns out not to be some external defilement in the land itself but a shared perceptual habit — everyone alike agreeing to see the receptacle world as one uniform "great earth." This makes purifying a land less like cleaning a physical place and more like dissolving a consensus: since the obstruction is precisely that beings see it "universally alike," the remedy cannot be a private insight kept to oneself but must eventually unsettle the very agreement that keeps the ordinary, undifferentiated earth appearing solid and singular to everyone at once.
19. The Seven Great Meanings of the Mahāyāna, and the Eight Dharmas That Comprise It
偈曰：
緣行智勤巧， 果事皆具足，
依此七大義， 建立於大乘。
釋曰：若具足七種大義，說為大乘。一者緣大，由無量修多羅等廣大法為緣故。二者行大，由自利利他行皆具足故。三者智大，由人法二無我一時通達故。四者勤大，由三大阿僧祇劫無間修故。五者巧大，由不捨生死而不染故。六者果大，由至得力、無所畏、不共法故。七者事大，由數數示現大菩提、大涅槃故。已說大乘七大義，次說八法攝大乘。偈曰：
性信心行入， 成淨菩提勝，
如是八種事， 總攝諸大乘。
釋曰：此以八事總攝一切大乘。八事者，一種性，如性品說；二信法，如信品說；三發心，如發心品說；四行行，如度攝品說；五入道，如教授品說；六成熟眾生，謂初七地；七淨佛國土，謂第八不退地；八菩提勝，謂佛地。菩提有三種，謂聲聞菩提、緣覺菩提、佛菩提。佛菩提大故為勝，於此佛地示現大菩提及大涅槃故。已說八法攝大乘，次說菩薩五人差別。
Object, conduct, wisdom, diligence, and skillful means;
fruit and function, all complete —
resting on these seven great meanings,
the Mahāyāna is established.
The exposition: complete with seven great meanings, it is called the Mahāyāna, the Great Vehicle. First, the vastness of its object, since it takes measureless sūtras and other vast teachings as its object. Second, the vastness of its conduct, since conduct benefiting both self and other is entirely complete. Third, the vastness of its wisdom, since it penetrates the twofold selflessness of person and phenomena at a single stroke. Fourth, the vastness of its diligence, since it cultivates without interruption across three great incalculable eons. Fifth, the vastness of its skillful means, since it does not forsake birth-and-death, yet remains untainted by it. Sixth, the vastness of its fruit, since it attains the powers, the fearlessnesses, and the unique qualities. And seventh, the vastness of its function, since it repeatedly manifests great enlightenment and great nirvāṇa. The Mahāyāna's seven great meanings having been explained, the eight dharmas that comprise the entire Mahāyāna are next explained.
Lineage, faith, the mind, conduct, entry;
maturation, purity, enlightenment supreme —
these eight matters
together comprise the whole Mahāyāna.
The exposition: these eight matters together comprise the entire Mahāyāna: first, the lineage, as explained in the chapter on the lineage; second, faith in the Dharma, as explained in the chapter on faith; third, arousing the mind, as explained in the chapter on arousing the mind; fourth, conduct in practice, as explained in the chapter on the perfections and gathering beings; fifth, entering the path, as explained in the chapter on instruction; sixth, maturing beings, at the first seven grounds; seventh, purifying the buddha-land, at the eighth, non-retrogressing ground; and eighth, supreme enlightenment, at the buddha ground. Enlightenment is of three kinds: the enlightenment of the śrāvaka, of the pratyekabuddha, and of the buddha. The buddha's enlightenment, being vast, is supreme, since it is at this buddha ground that great enlightenment and great nirvāṇa are manifested. The eight dharmas that comprise the Mahāyāna having been explained, the bodhisattva's five kinds of persons are next explained.
The eight dharmas that comprise the Mahāyāna function as a table of contents for the treatise's own earlier chapters — lineage, faith, arousing the mind, conduct, entering the path — before the final three items step outside any single named chapter and instead map directly onto specific bodhisattva grounds: maturing beings across the first seven, purifying a buddha-land at the eighth, and supreme enlightenment at the buddha ground itself. The chapter citations are not incidental cross-references but a genuine claim about structure — that the entire treatise so far, chapter by chapter, has been one long unpacking of these same eight matters, now finally named together as a single, complete list.
20. Five Kinds of Persons by Stage
偈曰：
信行及淨行， 相行無相行，
及以無作行， 差別依諸地。
釋曰：菩薩有五人差別。一信行人，謂地前一阿僧祇劫。二淨心行人，謂入初地。三相行人，謂二地至六地。四無相行人，謂第七地。五無作行人，謂後三地。已說菩薩五人差別，次說菩薩諸相差別。
Conviction-conduct, and pure conduct;
sign-conduct, and signless conduct;
and, further, effortless conduct —
these distinctions rest on the various grounds.
The exposition: the bodhisattva has five distinct kinds of persons: first, the person of conviction-conduct — before the grounds, across the first incalculable eon; second, the person of pure-mind conduct — entering the first ground; third, the person of sign-conduct — the second ground through the sixth; fourth, the person of signless conduct — the seventh ground; and fifth, the person of effortless conduct — the last three grounds. The bodhisattva's five kinds of persons having been explained, the bodhisattva's marks are next explained.
This fivefold division compresses, into a single terse verse, the entire span of the path this treatise has spent eleven prior fascicles describing in granular detail — the first incalculable eon of nurtured faith, the first ground's transformation of the basis, the middle grounds still working with signs, the seventh ground's breakthrough to signlessness, and the effortless final three. Read as a summary rather than new material, it functions as a kind of index the treatise offers to its own structure, confirming that "conduct" itself, not merely the obstructions being remedied or the qualities being accumulated, is what changes in kind at each of these same joints.
21. Marks of a Bodhisattva — Self-Benefit, Benefiting Others, Abiding in Merit
偈曰：
不著及清淨， 降嗔與勤德，
不動并見實， 有欲名菩薩。
釋曰：此偈以自利門說菩薩相。不著者是能行施不著諸欲故，清淨者是能持戒，降嗔者是能忍辱，勤德者是能精進，不動者是能習定，見實者是能修智，有欲者是能起願樂大菩提故。行此七事，說名菩薩相。偈曰：
隨攝及無惱， 耐損并勇力，
不放逸多聞， 利彼名菩薩。
釋曰：此偈以利他門說菩薩相。隨攝者是施，恒以四攝攝眾生故。無惱者是戒，自信於他不起惱害見故。耐損者是忍，他來違逆不懷加報意故。勇力者是進，在苦度眾生無有退屈心故。不放逸者是定，不著禪味來就下處生故。多聞者是智，能斷一切眾生疑故。如是勤行利他是菩薩相。偈曰：
厭財及捨欲， 忘怨亦勤善，
巧相無惡見， 內住名菩薩。
釋曰：此偈以住功德門說菩薩相。厭財者住施功德，知慳財過墮於惡道、來貧窮故。捨欲者住戒功德，若著五欲不能出家受持戒故。忘怨者住忍功德，他來損己不懷不報故。懷報者如似畫石、不懷報者如似畫水，一墮惡道、一生善趣。勤善者住進功德，為自他二利恒行六波羅蜜故。巧相者住定功德，善能分別止舉捨三相故。無惡見者住智功德，一切諸相不可得故。內住者住願功德，內謂大乘論住不動故。
Free of attachment, and pure;
subduing hatred, and diligent virtue;
unmoved, and seeing the real;
having aspiration — this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: this verse describes the bodhisattva's marks through the gate of self-benefit. Free of attachment is being able to practice generosity, unattached to any desire. Pure is being able to uphold morality. Subduing hatred is being able to practice patience. Diligent virtue is being able to practice diligence. Unmoved is being able to cultivate concentration. Seeing the real is being able to cultivate wisdom. And having aspiration is being able to give rise to the wish for great enlightenment. Practicing these seven matters is called the bodhisattva's mark.
Gathering accordingly, and free of vexation;
bearing with harm, and valiant strength;
heedless of nothing, and vast learning —
this benefits others, and is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: this verse describes the bodhisattva's marks through the gate of benefiting others. Gathering accordingly is generosity, constantly gathering beings through the four means of gathering. Free of vexation is morality, trusting himself around others, never giving rise to a view that would harm them. Bearing with harm is patience, harboring no thought of retaliation when another comes in opposition. Valiant strength is diligence, having no discouraged mind amid the suffering of liberating beings. Heedless of nothing is concentration, not clinging to meditation's savor, but coming down to take birth in a lowly place. And vast learning is wisdom, able to cut off every being's doubt. Diligently practicing the benefit of others in this way is the bodhisattva's mark.
Wearied of wealth, and relinquishing desire;
forgetting resentment, and diligence in the good;
skilled in the marks, and free of ill will;
abiding within — this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: this verse describes the bodhisattva's marks through the gate of abiding in merit. Wearied of wealth is abiding in the merit of generosity, knowing that the fault of stinginess with wealth leads to falling into an evil destiny and to future poverty. Relinquishing desire is abiding in the merit of morality, since one attached to the five desires cannot go forth and uphold the precepts. Forgetting resentment is abiding in the merit of patience, harboring no thought of retaliation when another comes to harm him — harboring retaliation is like a mark carved in stone, while not harboring it is like a mark drawn in water: the one falls into an evil destiny, the other is born into a good one. Diligence in the good is abiding in the merit of diligence, constantly practicing the six perfections for the twofold benefit of self and other. Skilled in the marks is abiding in the merit of concentration, being well able to discriminate the three marks of stilling, uplifting, and relinquishing. Free of ill will is abiding in the merit of wisdom, since no mark whatsoever can be found. And abiding within is abiding in the merit of the vow, "within" meaning abiding unmoved in the Mahāyāna's own teaching.
The stone-versus-water simile for harboring or forgoing resentment is worth isolating from its surrounding list for its own precision: a mark carved in stone requires no maintenance to persist, while a mark drawn in water requires active renewal merely to survive an instant — resentment, on this image, is not something that must be cultivated to continue but something that continues automatically unless actively let go of, while forgiveness is the opposite, vanishing on its own the moment attention moves elsewhere unless something continually holds it there. The moral weight the verse assigns each — one destiny falling, one rising — inverts which of the two actually takes less effort to maintain, which may be the entire point: the easier default is the one leading to the worse outcome.
22. Marks of a Bodhisattva — Non-Retrogression, Freedom from Suffering, Gathering the Dharma
偈曰：
具悲亦起慚， 耐苦及捨樂，
持念并善定， 不捨名菩薩。
釋曰：此偈以不退門說菩薩相。具悲者是施不退，愍他苦人能行施故。起慚者是戒不退，觀此世他世及法人不造諸非故。耐苦者是忍不退，風雨寒熱等及他違損事一切皆忍故。捨樂者是進不退，能行正勤人不著自樂故。持念者是定不退，能善攝心人由念力故。善定者是慧不退，無分別智具足故。不捨者是願不退，不捨大乘故。偈曰：
除苦不作苦， 容苦不畏苦，
脫苦不思苦， 欲苦名菩薩。
釋曰：此偈以離苦門說菩薩相。除苦者是施，施他物時除他貧窮故。不作苦者是戒，戒自居時不作苦惱他故。容苦者是忍，自他利時諸苦能受故。不畏苦者是進，行難行時恒得不退故。脫苦者是定，離欲欲界時解脫苦苦故。不思苦者是慧，三輪清淨時不起分別故。欲苦者是願，為化眾生樂住生死故。偈曰：
樂法及性法， 呵法亦勤法，
自在法明法， 向法名菩薩。
釋曰：此偈以攝法門說菩薩相。樂法者是施，愛施等法故。性法者是戒，自性護持故。呵法者是忍，譏嫌瞋法故。勤法者是進，勤行大乘法故。自在法者是定，諸禪自在故。明法者是慧，無上般若具足故。向法者是願，一向樂大菩提故。問：云何名法？答：由一切諸波羅蜜法皆隨轉故。
Complete with compassion, and arising shame;
bearing with suffering, and relinquishing bliss;
upholding mindfulness, and excellent concentration;
not relinquishing — this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: this verse describes the bodhisattva's marks through the gate of non-retrogression. Complete with compassion is non-retrogression in generosity, pitying suffering beings and thereby practicing giving. Arising shame is non-retrogression in morality, observing this world, other worlds, and the Dharma, and thereby doing no wrong. Bearing with suffering is non-retrogression in patience, bearing with wind, rain, cold, heat, and every kind of opposition and harm from others. Relinquishing bliss is non-retrogression in diligence, one who practices correct effort not clinging to his own bliss. Upholding mindfulness is non-retrogression in concentration, one who is well able to gather his mind through the power of mindfulness. Excellent concentration is non-retrogression in wisdom, non-discriminating wisdom being complete. And not relinquishing is non-retrogression in the vow, not relinquishing the Mahāyāna.
Removing suffering, and not causing suffering;
bearing suffering, and unafraid of suffering;
freed of suffering, and not dwelling on suffering;
desiring suffering — this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: this verse describes the bodhisattva's marks through the gate of freedom from suffering. Removing suffering is generosity, removing another's poverty when giving him things. Not causing suffering is morality, not causing others distress in the course of one's own conduct. Bearing suffering is patience, able to bear every suffering when benefiting self and other. Unafraid of suffering is diligence, constantly attaining non-retrogression when practicing what is difficult to practice. Freed of suffering is concentration, freed from the suffering inherent in suffering itself when free of desire for the desire realm. Not dwelling on suffering is wisdom, not giving rise to discrimination when the three wheels are pure. And desiring suffering is the vow, delighting in dwelling in birth-and-death for the sake of converting beings.
Delighting in the Dharma, and its own-nature;
rebuking against it, and diligence in it;
mastery of it, and its illumination;
turning toward it — this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: this verse describes the bodhisattva's marks through the gate of gathering the Dharma. Delighting in the Dharma is generosity, loving the dharma of giving and the rest. Its own-nature is morality, guarding it as one's very own-nature. Rebuking against it is patience, being indignant at and averse to whatever opposes the Dharma. Diligence in it is diligence, diligently practicing the Dharma of the Mahāyāna. Mastery of it is concentration, mastery over every meditative absorption. Its illumination is wisdom, unsurpassed wisdom being complete. And turning toward it is the vow, single-mindedly delighting in great enlightenment. Question: why is each of these called "the Dharma"? Answer: because every dharma of every perfection follows accordingly.
Desiring suffering is the most deliberately jarring item in this entire ninefold catalogue, since every other mark in the freedom-from-suffering gate is framed as removing, bearing, or transcending suffering, while the seventh reverses direction entirely and makes wanting it the mark of the vow. The reversal is not a contradiction once read against what the treatise has said about the vow throughout — the bodhisattva's aspiration is precisely to remain within birth-and-death for the sake of converting beings, so that the very thing every other perfection works to end becomes, for the vow specifically, the condition its own fulfillment requires. Freedom from suffering, for the first six items, means escaping it; for the seventh, it means being free enough of aversion to it that one can still choose to stay.
23. Marks of a Bodhisattva — Non-Heedlessness, Shame, Gathering Beings
偈曰：
財制護善樂， 法乘於此七，
七種不放逸， 是故名菩薩。
釋曰：此偈以不放逸門說菩薩相。一財不放逸，此由布施，不施不堅、施則堅固故。二制不放逸，此由持戒，如佛說應作者作、不應作者不作故。三護不放逸，此由忍辱，護自他心無兩害故。四善不放逸，此由精進，常起正勤行六度故。五樂不放逸，此由修定，諸禪樂受不味著故。六法不放逸，如實真法此能知故。七乘不放逸，此由大願，魔王來壞其菩提心，亦不退故。偈曰：
不遂及小罪， 不忍退亦亂，
小見及異乘， 七羞名菩薩。
釋曰：此偈以有羞門說菩薩相。一不遂羞，羞慳貪故。二小罪羞，羞微細罪，見怖畏故。三不忍羞，羞不忍故。四退羞，羞懈怠故。五亂羞，羞退定故。六小見羞，羞餘小執，通達法無我故。七異乘羞，羞起小乘心，捨大菩提故。偈曰：
今世後世捨， 起勤亦得通，
等說及大果， 七攝名菩薩。
釋曰：此偈以攝生門說菩薩相。一今世攝，謂以布施攝現在眾生。二後世攝，謂以持戒攝未來眾生，得勝生處方能攝故。三捨攝，謂以忍辱攝有惱亂眾生。四起勤攝，謂以精進攝懈怠眾生。五得通攝，謂以禪定攝他方眾生，往彼化故。六等說攝，謂以智慧攝下中上眾生，等心為說無增減故。七大果攝，謂以大願，若得佛果攝諸眾生無有餘故。此諸偈義，以異門說六度及大願，是菩薩相應知。已說菩薩諸相差別，次說菩薩諸名差別。
Wealth, restraint, protection, and delight;
the Dharma, and the vehicle — through these seven,
seven kinds of non-heedlessness —
hence one is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: this verse describes the bodhisattva's marks through the gate of non-heedlessness. First, non-heedlessness regarding wealth — this through generosity, since what is not given is not secure, and what is given becomes secure. Second, non-heedlessness regarding restraint — this through upholding morality, since, as the Buddha taught, what should be done is done, and what should not be done is not done. Third, non-heedlessness regarding protection — this through patience, protecting the minds of both self and other from mutual harm. Fourth, non-heedlessness regarding what is good — this through diligence, constantly arousing correct effort and practicing the six perfections. Fifth, non-heedlessness regarding delight — this through cultivating concentration, not savoring or clinging to the bliss felt within meditation. Sixth, non-heedlessness regarding the Dharma — being able to know the true Dharma as it really is. And seventh, non-heedlessness regarding the vehicle — this through the great vow, not retreating even when the Lord of Māra comes to destroy his mind of enlightenment.
Unfulfilled desire, and the slightest offense;
impatience, retreat, and a scattered mind;
an inferior view, and a different vehicle —
seven kinds of shame, this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: this verse describes the bodhisattva's marks through the gate of shame. First, shame at unfulfilled desire — ashamed of stinginess and craving. Second, shame at the slightest offense — ashamed of even the subtlest offense, seeing it with dread. Third, shame at impatience — ashamed of failing to bear with things. Fourth, shame at retreat — ashamed of laziness. Fifth, shame at a scattered mind — ashamed of retreating from concentration. Sixth, shame at an inferior view — ashamed of every lesser attachment, having penetrated the selflessness of phenomena. And seventh, shame at a different vehicle — ashamed of giving rise to a lesser-vehicle mind, forsaking great enlightenment.
Gathering in this life, and gathering in future lives;
arousing diligence, and attaining supernormal power;
teaching equally, and the great fruit —
seven kinds of gathering, this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: this verse describes the bodhisattva's marks through the gate of gathering beings. First, gathering in this life — gathering present beings through generosity. Second, gathering in future lives — gathering future beings through morality, since only by attaining a superior birth can they then be gathered. Third, gathering through relinquishing — gathering beings who cause vexation and trouble through patience. Fourth, gathering through arousing diligence — gathering lazy beings through diligence. Fifth, gathering through attaining supernormal power — gathering beings in other regions through meditative concentration, going to them to convert them. Sixth, gathering through teaching equally — gathering inferior, middling, and superior beings through wisdom, teaching them with an equal mind, neither adding nor subtracting. And seventh, gathering through the great fruit — gathering, through the great vow, every being without exception once buddhahood is attained. The meaning of these verses, teaching the six perfections and the great vow through different gates, should be understood as the bodhisattva's marks. The bodhisattva's marks having been explained, the bodhisattva's various names are next explained.
Across these nine gates, the seventh item — always mapped to the great vow rather than to any of the six perfections — is worth tracking as its own thread, since it never repeats the same content twice: aspiration toward enlightenment, vast learning's counterpart in benefiting others, abiding unmoved in the Mahāyāna's teaching, never relinquishing it, desiring suffering itself, delighting single-mindedly in enlightenment, resisting Māra, shame at a lesser vehicle, and finally gathering every being without exception. The six perfections supply a stable, recurring vocabulary the treatise can run through nine different lenses with only modest variation; the vow, by contrast, is given nine genuinely distinct formulations, as though the treatise found the perfections easy to redescribe but the vow needed to be approached freshly every time to be captured at all.
24. The Bodhisattva's Sixteen Names, and the Groupings of Awakening
偈曰：
應知諸菩薩， 亦名摩訶薩，
亦名有慧者， 亦名上成就，
亦名降伏子， 亦名降伏持，
亦名能降伏， 亦名降伏牙，
亦名為勇猛， 亦名為上聖，
亦名為導師， 亦名大名稱，
亦名為有悲， 亦名大福德，
亦名自在行， 亦名正說者。
釋曰：此十六名皆依義立，一切菩薩總有此名。若人聞有此名，應知即是菩薩。已說菩薩諸名差別，次說菩薩諸義差別。偈曰：
實覺大義覺， 一切覺恒覺，
及以方便覺， 五覺名菩薩。
釋曰：由有五覺故名菩薩。一者實義覺，覺人法無我故。二者大義覺，覺自他義故。三者一切覺，覺一切種義故。四者恒覺，雖現涅槃，覺無盡故。五者方便覺，覺隨物機而作方便故。偈曰：
隨我及小見， 及以諸識身，
亦於虛分別， 四覺名菩薩。
釋曰：復由四覺名為菩薩。一隨我覺，由覺心故，心謂阿梨耶識。二小見覺，由覺意故，意謂與我見等四惑相應緣阿梨耶識者。三識身覺，由覺識故，識謂六識身。四虛分別覺，由覺不真分別故。不真分別者，即前心意識，一切菩薩唯覺此是不真分別故。偈曰：
無境及真義， 永無亦圓滿，
亦說不可得， 五覺名菩薩。
釋曰：復由五覺名為菩薩。一無境覺，覺依他性故。二真義覺，覺真實性故。三永無覺，覺分別性故。四圓滿覺，覺一切境一切種故。五不可得覺，覺三輪清淨故。三輪者，一應覺，謂菩薩境；二依覺，謂菩薩身；三覺性，謂菩薩智。此三不可得故，名不可得覺。偈曰：
成就及處所， 胎藏隨次現，
及以斷深疑， 五覺名菩薩。
釋曰：復由五覺名為菩薩。一成就覺，謂成佛果。二處所覺，謂住兜率天宮。三胎藏覺，謂入母胎。四隨次現覺，謂出胎、受欲、出家、修行、成道。五斷深疑覺，謂為諸眾生轉大法輪。偈曰：
得不得及住， 於自亦於他，
有說與無說， 有慢及慢斷，
未熟亦已熟， 如此十一種，
一切皆能覺， 是故名菩薩。
釋曰：復由十一種覺故名菩薩。得不得及住者，如其次第過去未來現在覺。於自亦於他者，謂內覺外覺。有說與無說者，謂麁覺細覺。有慢及慢斷者，謂劣覺、勝覺。未熟亦已熟者，謂遠覺、近覺。未熟者覺，彼久遠方覺。已熟者覺，彼於近即覺。功德品究竟。
Know that the bodhisattva
is also named mahāsattva,
also named one who has wisdom,
also named supreme accomplishment,
also named the Victor's child,
also named upholder of the Victor,
also named the vanquisher,
also named the Victor's tusk,
also named the valiant,
also named the supreme noble one,
also named the guide,
also named one of great renown,
also named one who has compassion,
also named one of great merit,
also named one of masterful conduct,
also named one who teaches correctly.
The exposition: these sixteen names are all established according to their meaning, and every bodhisattva altogether carries these names. If a person hears any of these names, he should know that a bodhisattva is meant. The bodhisattva's various names having been explained, the bodhisattva's various meanings are next explained.
The awakening to the real, and the awakening to great meaning;
the awakening to everything, and constant awakening;
and, further, the awakening of skillful means —
five awakenings, this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: through five awakenings, one is called a bodhisattva. First, the awakening to the real meaning, awakening to the selflessness of person and phenomena. Second, the awakening to great meaning, awakening to the benefit of self and other. Third, the awakening to everything, awakening to every kind of meaning. Fourth, constant awakening, since, though manifesting nirvāṇa, this awakening is inexhaustible. And fifth, the awakening of skillful means, awakening in accordance with each being's own capacity, and thereby acting with skillful means.
Awakening that accords with self, and the lesser view;
and, further, the body of consciousnesses;
and unreal discrimination —
four awakenings, this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: through four further awakenings, one is called a bodhisattva. First, awakening that accords with self, through awakening to mind — mind being the ālayavijñāna. Second, awakening to the lesser view, through awakening to the manas — the manas being that which is joined with the four afflictions, including the view of self, and takes the ālayavijñāna as its object. Third, awakening to the body of consciousnesses, through awakening to consciousness — consciousness being the body of the six consciousnesses. And fourth, awakening to unreal discrimination, through awakening to unreal discrimination itself — unreal discrimination being precisely the mind, the manas, and consciousness already named; every bodhisattva awakens only to the fact that this is unreal discrimination.
Awakening to no object, and to the true meaning;
eternal non-existence, and also fullness;
and, further, the unattainable —
five awakenings, this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: through five further awakenings, one is called a bodhisattva. First, awakening to no object, awakening to the dependent nature. Second, awakening to the true meaning, awakening to the true nature. Third, awakening to eternal non-existence, awakening to the discriminated nature. Fourth, awakening to fullness, awakening to every object of every kind. And fifth, awakening to the unattainable, awakening to the purity of the three wheels. The three wheels are: what is to be awakened to — the bodhisattva's object; what awakening rests on — the bodhisattva's own body; and the nature of awakening itself — the bodhisattva's wisdom. Since none of these three can be found, it is called the awakening to the unattainable.
Accomplishment, and dwelling place;
the womb, and sequential manifestation;
and, further, cutting off deep doubt —
five awakenings, this is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: through five further awakenings, one is called a bodhisattva. First, the awakening of accomplishment, becoming the fruit of buddhahood. Second, the awakening of dwelling place, dwelling in the Tuṣita heaven's palace. Third, the awakening of the womb, entering the mother's womb. Fourth, the awakening of sequential manifestation — being born, enjoying desire, going forth from household life, practicing cultivation, and accomplishing the path. And fifth, the awakening of cutting off deep doubt, turning the great wheel of the Dharma for the sake of beings.
Attained, not yet attained, and abiding;
toward oneself, and toward another;
expressible, and inexpressible;
having pride, and pride cut off;
not yet ripened, and already ripened —
such are these eleven kinds;
all of them able to be awakened to,
and for this reason one is called a bodhisattva.
The exposition: through eleven further kinds of awakening, one is called a bodhisattva. Attained, not yet attained, and abiding correspond, in order, to awakening regarding the past, the future, and the present. Toward oneself, and toward another is inward awakening and outward awakening. Expressible, and inexpressible is coarse awakening and subtle awakening. Having pride, and pride cut off is inferior awakening and superior awakening. Not yet ripened, and already ripened is distant awakening and near awakening: not yet ripened's awakening is that which awakens only after a long time; already ripened's awakening is that which awakens immediately, close at hand. The chapter on merit is complete.
The sixteen names read, at first glance, like an inventory of martial and heroic imagery — the Victor's child, the vanquisher, the Victor's tusk, the valiant — sitting oddly beside gentler epithets like "one who has compassion" or "one who teaches correctly." The juxtaposition is not an inconsistency but the chapter's own argument in miniature: everything this fascicle has catalogued, from a mother's tenderness to the philosophical demolition of a real self, belongs to a single figure the tradition is equally willing to describe in the vocabulary of conquest and the vocabulary of care, without treating either as more fundamental than the other.
The final elevenfold grouping of awakening closes the chapter — and, with it, this treatise's longest and most miscellaneous fascicle — on a note of almost mathematical tidiness: five paired contrasts (past/future/present collapsing the usual two into three, self/other, expressible/inexpressible, inferior/superior, distant/near) after five separate sets of five, four, five, and five awakenings each. Given how digressive the fascicle's path here has been — mother and father similes giving way to momentary destruction's old arguments recalled in passing, sixteen heroic names giving way to a philosophical breakdown of mind, manas, and consciousness — ending on this most schematic, most numerically self-conscious list reads as the treatise's own way of signaling that the chapter, however sprawling, was never actually unstructured.
Fascicle 12 Complete
功德品第二十二 is the treatise's longest chapter, and this fascicle carries it from beginning to end without a single internal break. It opens by drawing a sharp line between what is genuinely rare in bodhisattva conduct — giving up one's own body, renouncing a superior position, bearing with the lowly — and what stops being rare once specific attainments are already in place, then builds outward through equanimity across the six perfections into an extended, sevenfold catalogue of benefit modeled on a mother, a father, a good friend, a companion, a sturdy servant, a preceptor, and a master, each broken into exactly five deeds. Predictions of buddhahood, six kinds of certainty, obligations that must and must constantly be performed, six true perfections set against their six false counterfeits, and the removal of beings' own six hindrances follow in quick succession, before the chapter pivots into philosophy: four kinds of conventional establishment covering dharmas, truths, reasoning, and the three vehicles; four kinds of seeking and four kinds of true knowledge that dissolve name and thing into mutual guests of each other; bondage traced to nothing more than the ālayavijñāna, with no substantial self required to be its prisoner; and liberation described as the mastery of no longer operating within any domain at all.
The chapter's final movement returns to cataloguing rather than arguing: the seven great meanings and eight comprising dharmas of the Mahāyāna, five kinds of persons keyed to the bodhisattva's own grounds, and finally nine independent "gates" — self-benefit, benefiting others, abiding in merit, non-retrogression, freedom from suffering, gathering the Dharma, non-heedlessness, shame, and gathering beings — each redescribing the same six perfections and the great vow from an entirely different angle, down to the deliberately jarring seventh mark of the freedom-from-suffering gate: desiring suffering itself, for the sake of remaining in birth-and-death to convert others. Sixteen names and five further groupings of what "awakening" itself means close the chapter, and with it, the treatise's single longest and most various fascicle. Fascicle 13 opens 行住品第二十三 and 敬佛品第二十四, the treatise's final two chapters.
Continue to Fascicle 13 — Conduct, Abiding, and Veneration of the Buddha →