“Moreover Kauśika, when bodhisattva great beings instruct others in, or encourage them in, or fill them with enthusiasm for, or cause them to delight in unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, they should instruct others in, they should encourage them in, they should fill them with enthusiasm for, and they should cause them to delight in it with a mind that is in conformity with reality. Furthermore, they should instruct others in, they should encourage them in, they should fill them with enthusiasm for, and they should cause them to delight in it so that, by whatever means, when they are practicing the perfection of generosity, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of generosity.’ When they are practicing the perfection of ethical discipline, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of ethical discipline.’ When they are practicing the perfection of tolerance, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of tolerance.’ When they are practicing the perfection of perseverance, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of perseverance.’ When they are practicing the perfection of meditative concentration, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of meditative concentration.’ When they are practicing the perfection of wisdom, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of wisdom.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of internal phenomena, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of internal phenomena.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of external phenomena, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of external phenomena.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of external and internal phenomena.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of emptiness, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of emptiness.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of great extent, they will not think, ’I am practicing the emptiness of great extent.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of ultimate reality, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of ultimate reality.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of conditioned phenomena.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of the unlimited, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of the unlimited.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of nonexclusion, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of nonexclusion.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of inherent nature, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of inherent nature.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of all phenomena, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of all phenomena.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of nonentities, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of nonentities.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of essential nature, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of essential nature.’ When they are practicing the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities.’ When they are practicing the applications of mindfulness, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the applications of mindfulness.’ When they are practicing the correct exertions, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the correct exertions.’ When they are practicing the supports for miraculous ability, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the supports for miraculous ability.’ When they are practicing the faculties, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the faculties.’ When they are practicing the powers, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the powers.’ When they are practicing the branches of enlightenment, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the branches of enlightenment.’ When they are practicing the noble eightfold path, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the noble eightfold path.’ When they are practicing the truths of the noble ones, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the truths of the noble ones.’ When they are practicing the meditative concentrations, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the meditative concentrations.’ When they are practicing the immeasurable attitudes, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the immeasurable attitudes.’ When they are practicing the formless absorptions, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the formless absorptions.’ When they are practicing the eight liberations, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the eight liberations.’ When they are practicing the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the nine serial steps of meditative absorption.’ When they are practicing the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation.’ When they are practicing the extrasensory powers, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the extrasensory powers.’ When they are practicing the meditative stabilities, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the meditative stabilities.’ When they are practicing the dhāraṇī gateways, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the dhāraṇī gateways.’ When they are practicing the powers of the tathāgatas, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the powers of the tathāgatas.’ When they are practicing the fearlessnesses, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the fearlessnesses.’ When they are practicing the kinds of exact knowledge, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the kinds of exact knowledge.’ When they are practicing great loving kindness, they will not think, ‘I am practicing great loving kindness.’ When they are practicing great compassion, they will not think, ‘I am practicing great compassion.’ When they are practicing the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the distinct qualities of the buddhas.’ When they are practicing the fruit of having entered the stream, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the fruit of having entered the stream.’ When they are practicing the fruit of once-returner, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the fruit of once-returner.’ When they are practicing the fruit of non-returner, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the fruit of non-returner.’ When they are practicing arhatship, they will not think, ‘I am practicing arhatship.’ When they are practicing individual enlightenment, they will not think, ‘I am practicing individual enlightenment.’ When they are practicing the knowledge of the aspects of the path, they will not think, ‘I am practicing the knowledge of the aspects of the path.’ And when they are practicing all-aspect omniscience, they will not think, ‘I am practicing all-aspect omniscience.’ Practicing in that manner, sons or daughters of good families should instruct others in, should encourage them in, should fill them with enthusiasm for, and should cause them to delight in unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment. Furthermore, when they instruct others with, encourage them with, fill them with enthusiasm for, and cause them delight with that instruction, that encouragement, that filling with enthusiasm, and that causing delight, they will not degenerate, and they will encourage others with the encouragement permitted by the buddhas. In that manner, those sons or daughters of good families will renounce all the limits of attachment.”
Then the Blessed One said to the venerable Subhūti, “Excellent, Subhūti! It is excellent, Subhūti, that you are teaching those sorts of possible attachments, excellent. Therefore, Subhūti, I will also explain possible attachments even more subtle than those to you. I will teach them, so listen and pay attention very carefully.”
Saying, “Blessed Lord, I will do so,” the venerable Subhūti then listened to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said to him, “Subhūti, when sons or daughters of good families who have set out for unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment pay attention to the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas as a mental image, to the extent that there is a mental image, to that extent there is attachment.
“When they pay attention to all the roots of virtue of past, present, and future tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas who are free from all attachments—whatever they are, as many as there are—from the first setting of the mind up to the establishment of the good Dharma,851 as a mental image, and, having paid attention, dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, Subhūti, to the extent they pay attention to a mental image, to that extent there is attachment. When they have taken all the roots of virtue of the śrāvakas of those tathāgatas, and of other beings apart from them—whatever they are, as many as there are—as a mental image and dedicate them to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, Subhūti, to the extent they pay attention to a mental image, to that extent there is attachment. If you ask why, it is because it is not right to pay attention to those tathāgatas to as a mental image, and it is also not right to pay attention to those roots of virtue of the tathāgatas as a mental image.”
Then Subhūti said, “Blessed Lord, the perfection of wisdom is profound.”
“Subhūti, that is because all phenomena are, in their inherent nature, void,” replied the Blessed One.
“Blessed Lord, I pay homage to the perfection of wisdom,” said Subhūti.
“Subhūti,” said the Blessed One, “because the perfection of wisdom is unfabricated and unconditioned, it cannot be fully awakened to by anyone at all.”
“Blessed Lord, all phenomena are not fully awakened to.”
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “this is because the inherent nature of phenomena is not two. The inherent nature of phenomena is just one. Subhūti, that which is the singular inherent nature of phenomena is not the inherent nature of phenomena. Subhūti, that which is not the inherent nature is unfabricated. That which is unfabricated is unconditioned. Subhūti, so it is that when bodhisattva great beings know the singular inherent nature of phenomena that is not the inherent nature—unfabricated and unconditioned—they abandon all possible attachments.”
“Blessed Lord, the perfection of wisdom is hard to realize,” said Subhūti.
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “this is because the perfection of wisdom has not been seen, has not been heard, has not been realized, has not been cognized, and has not been attained in manifest buddhahood by anyone at all.”
“Blessed Lord, the perfection of wisdom is inconceivable,” said Subhūti.
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “this is because it is not known by the mind, and it is not known by physical forms, is not known by feelings, is not known by perceptions, is not known by formative predispositions, and is not known by consciousness. It is not known by the eyes, is not known by the ears, is not known by the nose, is not known by the tongue, is not known by the body, and is not known by the mental faculty. It is not known by sights, is not known by sounds, is not known by odors, is not known by tastes, is not known by tangibles, and is not known by mental phenomena. It is not known by visual consciousness, is not known by auditory consciousness, is not known by olfactory consciousness, is not known by gustatory consciousness, is not known by tactile consciousness, and is not known by mental consciousness. It is not known by visually compounded sensory contact, is not known by aurally compounded sensory contact, is not known by nasally compounded sensory contact, is not known by lingually compounded sensory contact, is not known by corporeally compounded sensory contact, and is not known by mentally compounded sensory contact. It is not known by feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact, is not known by feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact, is not known by feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact, is not known by feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact, is not known by feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact, and is not known by feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact. It is not known by the earth element, is not known by the water element, is not known by the fire element, is not known by the wind element, is not known by the space element, and is not known by the consciousness element. It is not known by ignorance, is not known by formative predispositions, is not known by consciousness, is not known by name and form, is not known by the six sense fields, is not known by sensory contact, is not known by sensation, is not known by craving, is not known by grasping, is not known by the rebirth process, is not known by birth, and is not known by aging and death. It is not known by the perfection of generosity, is not known by the perfection of ethical discipline, is not known by the perfection of tolerance, is not known by the perfection of perseverance, is not known by the perfection of meditative concentration, and is not known by the perfection of wisdom. It is not known by the emptiness of internal phenomena, is not known by the emptiness of external phenomena, is not known by the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, is not known by the emptiness of emptiness, is not known by the emptiness of great extent, is not known by the emptiness of ultimate reality, is not known by the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, is not known by the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, is not known by the emptiness of the unlimited, is not known by the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, is not known by the emptiness of nonexclusion, is not known by the emptiness of inherent nature, is not known by the emptiness of all phenomena, is not known by the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, is not known by the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, is not known by the emptiness of nonentities, is not known by the emptiness of essential nature, and is not known by the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities. It is not known by the applications of mindfulness, is not known by the correct exertions, is not known by the supports for miraculous ability, is not known by the faculties, is not known by the powers, is not known by the branches of enlightenment, and it is not known by the noble eightfold path. It is not known by the truths of the noble ones, is not known by the meditative concentrations, is not known by the immeasurable attitudes, is not known by the formless absorptions, is not known by the eight liberations, and is not known by the nine serial steps of meditative absorption. It is not known by the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, is not known by the extrasensory powers, is not known by the meditative stabilities, and is not known by the dhāraṇī gateways. It is not known by the ten powers of the tathāgatas, is not known by the fearlessnesses, is not known by the kinds of exact knowledge, is not known by great loving kindness, is not known by great compassion, and is not known by the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas. It is not known by the fruit of having entered the stream, is not known by the fruit of once-returner, is not known by the fruit of non-returner, is not known by arhatship, is not known by individual enlightenment, is not known by the knowledge of the aspects of the path, and it is not known by all-aspect omniscience.”
This completes the twenty-seventh chapter from “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.”