The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines

“Blessed Lord, how is the perfection of wisdom utter purity because space is without conventional designations?” asked Subhūti.

“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “the perfection of wisdom is utter purity because, just like the two sounds when there is an echo in space, space is without conventional designations. Subhūti, the perfection of wisdom is utter purity because space cannot be expressed.”

“Blessed Lord, how is the perfection of wisdom utter purity because space cannot be expressed?” asked Subhūti.

“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “just as in space nothing at all can be expressed, similarly, Subhūti, the perfection of wisdom is utter purity because space cannot be expressed. Moreover, Subhūti, the perfection of wisdom is utter purity because space cannot be apprehended.”

“Blessed Lord, how is the perfection of wisdom utter purity because space cannot be apprehended?” asked Subhūti.

Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “just as in space nothing at all can be apprehended, similarly, Subhūti, the perfection of wisdom is utter purity because space cannot be apprehended. Moreover, Subhūti, the perfection of wisdom is utter purity because of the nonarising, nonceasing, nondefilement, and nonpurification of all phenomena.”

“Blessed Lord, how is the perfection of wisdom utter purity because of the nonarising, nonceasing, nondefilement, and nonpurification of all phenomena?” asked Subhūti.

“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “the perfection of wisdom is utter purity because all phenomena are absolutely pure.”

Subhūti then said, “Blessed Lord, if any sons or daughters of good families take up, uphold, recite, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom, then, Blessed Lord, they will not suffer from diseases of the eyes, nor will they suffer from diseases of the ears, diseases of the nose, diseases of the tongue, or diseases of the body, nor will their limbs be missing, nor will their bodies become ugly, nor will their bodies become decrepit from old age, nor will those sons or daughters of good families die a terrible death. Many hundreds of thousands of gods will follow behind them, that is to say, the gods of the Cāturmahārājika realm; the gods of the Trayastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, Paranirmitavaśavartin, Brahmakāyika, Brahmapurohita, Brahma­pārṣadya, Ābha, Parīttābha, Apramāṇābha, Ābhāsvara, Śubha, Parīttaśubha, Apramāṇaśubha, Śubhakṛtsna, Vṛha, Parīttavṛha, Apramāṇavṛha, and Vṛhatphala realms; and the gods of the Avṛha, Atapa, Sudṛśa, Sudarśana, and Akaniṣṭha realms will follow behind them. On the eighth, the fourteenth, and the fifteenth,⁸⁵⁶ great hosts of the gods will congregate in the places where those sons or daughters of good families who teach the Dharma reveal this perfection of wisdom. And when those sons or daughters of good families reveal this perfection of wisdom, they will greatly increase their merit. Indeed, very many immeasurable, countless, inconceivable, incomparable, unappraisable, and unbounded stocks of merit of those sons or daughters of good families will really increase.”

“So it is, Subhūti, so it is!” said the Blessed One. “Those sons or daughters of good families who reveal this perfection of wisdom before the assembly of gods on the eighth, the fourteenth, and the fifteenth are sons or daughters of good families who will greatly increase their merit. Indeed, the very many immeasurable, countless, inconceivable, incomparable, unappraisable, and unbounded stocks of merit of those sons or daughters of good families will really increase. If you ask why, Subhūti, it is because this perfection of wisdom is a great jewel. Subhūti, this great jewel, the perfection of wisdom, is the one that liberates beings from the hells, and liberates them from the animal realm, the world of Yama, and the impoverished states of human beings and gods. It causes great and lofty royal families to appear, causes great and lofty priestly families to appear, and causes great and lofty householder families to appear; causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Cāturmahārājika realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Trayastriṃśa realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Yāma realm appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Tuṣita realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Nirmāṇarati realm to appear, and causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Paranirmitavaśavartin realm to appear; causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Brahmakāyika realm to appear, cause rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Brahmapurohita realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Brahma­pārṣadya realm to appear, and causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Mahābrahmā realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Ābha realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Parīttābha realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Apramāṇābha realm to appear, and causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Ābhāsvara realm to appear; causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Śubha realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Parīttaśubha realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Apramāṇaśubha realm to appear, and causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Śubhakṛtsna realm to appear; causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Vṛha realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Parīttavṛha realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Apramāṇavṛha realm to appear, and causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Vṛhatphala realm to appear; causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Avṛha realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Atapa realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Sudṛśa realm to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Sudarśana realm to appear, and causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the Akaniṣṭha realm to appear; causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the sphere of infinite space to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the sphere of infinite consciousness to appear, causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the sphere of nothing-at-all to appear, and causes rebirth in the sphere of the gods of the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception to appear; and causes the fruit of having entered the stream to appear, causes the fruit of once-returner to appear, causes the fruit of non-returner to appear, causes arhatship to appear, causes individual enlightenment to appear, and causes perfect, complete enlightenment to appear.

“If you ask why, it is because the path of the ten virtuous actions is revealed extensively by this perfection of wisdom. Having trained in them, great and lofty royal families exist, great and lofty priestly families exist, and great and lofty householder families exist; the gods of the Cāturmahārājika realm exist, the gods of the Trayastriṃśa realm exist, the gods of the Yāma realm exist, the gods of the Tuṣita realm exist, the gods of the Nirmāṇarati realm exist, and the gods of the Paranirmitavaśavartin realm exist; the gods of the Brahmakāyika realm exist, the gods of the Brahmapurohita realm exist, the gods of the Brahma­pārṣadya realm exist, and the gods of the Mahābrahmā realm exist; the gods of the Ābha realm exist, the gods of the Parīttābha realm exist, the gods of the Apramāṇābha realm exist, and the gods of the Ābhāsvara realm exist; the gods of the Śubha realm exist, the gods of the Parīttaśubha realm exist, the gods of the Apramāṇaśubha realm exist, and the gods of the Śubhakṛtsna realm exist; the gods of the Vṛha realm exist, the gods of the Parīttavṛha realm exist, the gods of the Apramāṇavṛha realm exist, and the gods of the Vṛhatphala realm exist; the gods of the Avṛha realm exist, the gods of the Atapa realm exist, the gods of the Sudṛśa realm exist, the gods of the Sudarśana realm exist, and the gods of the Akaniṣṭha realm exist; the gods of the sphere of infinite space exist, the gods of the sphere of infinite consciousness exist, the gods of the sphere of nothing-at-all exist, and the gods of the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception exist; and the fruit of having entered the stream exists, the fruit of once-returner exists, the fruit of non-returner exists, arhatship exists, individual enlightenment exists, and unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment exists.

“If this perfection of wisdom exists, the four meditative concentrations exist, the four immeasurable attitudes exist, and the four formless absorptions exist; the applications of mindfulness exist, the correct exertions exist, the supports for miraculous ability exist, the faculties exist, the powers exist, the branches of enlightenment exist, and the noble eightfold path exists; the perfection of generosity exists, the perfection of ethical discipline exists, the perfection of tolerance exists, the perfection of perseverance exists, the perfection of meditative concentration exists, and the perfection of wisdom exists; the emptiness of internal phenomena exists, the emptiness of external phenomena exists, the emptiness of external and internal phenomena exists, the emptiness of emptiness exists, the emptiness of great extent exists, the emptiness of ultimate reality exists, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena exists, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena exists, the emptiness of the unlimited exists, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end exists, the emptiness of nonexclusion exists, the emptiness of inherent nature exists, the emptiness of all phenomena exists, the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics exists, the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended exists, the emptiness of nonentities exists, the emptiness of essential nature exists, and the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities exists; the four truths of the noble ones exist, the four meditative concentrations exist, the four immeasurable attitudes exist, the four formless absorptions exist, the eight liberations exist, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption exist, the three gateways to liberation exist, the extrasensory powers exist, the meditative stabilities exist, the dhāraṇī gateways exist, the ten powers of the tathāgatas exist, the four fearlessnesses exist, the four kinds of exact knowledge exist, great loving kindness exists, great compassion exists, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas exist; and knowledge of all the dharmas exists, the knowledge of the aspects of the path exists, and all-aspect omniscience exists.

“Moreover, all these phenomena are revealed extensively by this perfection of wisdom in this manner. When they have trained in it, great and lofty royal families exist, great and lofty priestly families exist, and great and lofty householder families exist; the gods of the Cāturmahārājika realm exist, the gods of the Trayastriṃśa realm exist, the gods of the Yāma realm exist, the gods of the Tuṣita realm exist, the gods of the Nirmāṇarati realm exist, and the gods of the Paranirmitavaśavartin realm exist; the gods of the Brahmakāyika realm exist, the gods of the Brahmapurohita realm exist, the gods of the Brahma­pārṣadya realm exist, and the gods of the Mahābrahmā realm exist; the gods of the Ābha realm exist, the gods of the Parīttābha realm exist, the gods of the Apramāṇābha realm exist, and the gods of the Ābhāsvara realm exist; the gods of the Śubha realm exist, the gods of the Parīttaśubha realm exist, the gods of the Apramāṇaśubha realm exist, and the gods of the Śubhakṛtsna realm exist; the gods of the Vṛha realm exist, the gods of the Parīttavṛha realm exist, the gods of the Apramāṇavṛha realm exist, and the gods of the Vṛhatphala realm exist; the gods of the Avṛha realm exist, the gods of the Atapa realm exist, the gods of the Sudṛśa realm exist, the gods of the Sudarśana realm exist, and the gods of the Akaniṣṭha realm exist; the gods of the sphere of infinite space exist, the gods of the sphere of infinite consciousness exist, the gods of the sphere of nothing-at-all exist, and the gods of the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception exist; and those who have entered the stream exist, once-returners exist, non-returners exist, arhats exist, pratyekabuddhas exist, bodhisattvas exist, and the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas exist. Therefore, it is called the great jewel perfection.

“In that great jewel perfection there is no phenomenon at all that arises or ceases, or is defiled or purified, or is taken up or rejected. If you ask why, it is because there are no such phenomena that could arise or cease, or be defiled or purified, or be taken up or rejected. Subhūti, in this great jewel perfection, virtuous or nonvirtuous, mundane or supramundane, contaminated or uncontaminated, or conditioned or unconditioned phenomena cannot be apprehended at all. For this reason, also, Subhūti, this great jewel perfection cannot be apprehended.

“Subhūti, this great jewel perfection is not sullied by any phenomenon at all. If you ask why, it is because such a phenomenon by which it might be sullied cannot be apprehended. Therefore, Subhūti, this perfection is a perfection that is unsullied.

“Subhūti, if, when bodhisattva great beings are practicing the perfection of wisdom, they do not perceive in that manner, do not conceptualize in that manner, do not apprehend in that manner, and do not elaborate in that manner, they are practicing the perfection of wisdom. They are cultivating the perfection of wisdom. They please the lord buddhas. Bringing the lord buddhas directly to mind, they proceed from buddhafield to buddhafield to serve, respect, honor, and worship the lord buddhas. They proceed from buddhafield to buddhafield bringing beings to maturity and refining a buddhafield.

“As for this perfection of wisdom, Subhūti, it does not teach, reveal, disclose, cause to be taken up, make emerge, make arise, make cease, make defiled, make pure, make decline, make increase, or make past, future, or present any phenomenon at all.

“Subhūti, such a perfection of wisdom as this does not cause you to transcend the realm of desire and does not cause you to stay in it, does not cause you to transcend the realm of form and does not cause you to stay in it, and does not cause you to transcend the realm of formlessness and does not cause you to stay in it.

“It neither brings about nor prevents the perfection of generosity, neither brings about nor prevents the perfection of ethical discipline, neither brings about nor prevents the perfection of tolerance, neither brings about nor prevents the perfection of perseverance, neither brings about nor prevents the perfection of meditative concentration, and neither brings about nor prevents the perfection of wisdom. It neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of internal phenomena, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of external phenomena, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of emptiness, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of great extent, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of ultimate reality, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of the unlimited, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of nonexclusion, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of inherent nature, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of all phenomena, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of nonentities, neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of essential nature, and neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities.

“It neither brings about nor prevents the applications of mindfulness, neither brings about nor prevents the correct exertions, neither brings about nor prevents the supports for miraculous ability, neither brings about nor prevents the faculties, neither brings about nor prevents the powers, neither brings about nor prevents the branches of enlightenment, and neither brings about nor prevents the noble eightfold path. It neither brings about nor prevents the truths of the noble ones, neither brings about nor prevents the meditative concentrations, neither brings about nor prevents the immeasurable attitudes, neither brings about nor prevents the formless absorptions, neither brings about nor prevents the liberations, and neither brings about nor prevents the serial steps of meditative absorption. It neither brings about nor prevents the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, neither brings about nor prevents the extrasensory powers, neither brings about nor prevents the meditative stabilities, and neither brings about nor prevents the dhāraṇī gateways. It neither brings about nor prevents the powers of the tathāgatas, neither brings about nor prevents the fearlessnesses, neither brings about nor prevents the kinds of exact knowledge, neither brings about nor prevents great loving kindness, neither brings about nor prevents great compassion, and neither brings about nor prevents the distinct qualities of the buddhas. It neither brings about nor prevents the fruit of having entered the stream, neither brings about nor prevents the fruit of once-returner, neither brings about nor prevents the fruit of non-returner, neither brings about nor prevents arhatship, neither brings about nor prevents individual enlightenment, neither brings about nor prevents the knowledge of the aspects of the path, and neither brings about nor prevents all-aspect omniscience.

“This perfection of wisdom neither prevents the conditioned element, nor brings about the unconditioned element.

“If you ask why, it is because, whether the tathāgatas appear or whether the tathāgatas do not appear, the reality of phenomena as it pertains to phenomena, the realm of phenomena, the abiding nature of phenomena, the maturity of phenomena remains just as it is. It is the full awakening attained by the tathāgatas and comprehended by them. Having fully awakened, having completely comprehended it; they also describe, teach, explain, analyze, and elucidate it.”

Then many thousands of gods, positioning themselves⁸⁵⁷ in the sky above, cheered long and loud. They scattered divine flowers‍—blue lotuses, day lotuses, red lotuses, white lotuses, mandārava flowers, and big mandārava flowers‍—and they exclaimed, “Ah! Through the teaching of this perfection of wisdom many thousands of gods have gained acceptance that phenomena are nonarising. We are seeing the wheel of the Dharma being turned for the second time in Jambudvīpa!”

Then the Blessed One addressed the elder Subhūti: “Subhūti, owing to the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities, this is not the first, nor is it the second turning of the wheel of the Dharma. This perfection of wisdom has not been established for any Dharma to be turned or not turned.”

“Blessed Lord, what is the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities, owing to which this perfection of wisdom is not established as any Dharma to be turned or not turned?” asked Subhūti.

“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “the perfection of wisdom is empty of the perfection of wisdom, the perfection of meditative concentration is empty of the perfection of meditative concentration, the perfection of perseverance is empty of the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of tolerance is empty of the perfection of tolerance, the perfection of ethical discipline is empty of the perfection of ethical discipline, and perfection of generosity is empty of the perfection of generosity.

“The emptiness of internal phenomena is empty of the emptiness of internal phenomena, the emptiness of external phenomena is empty of the emptiness of external phenomena, the emptiness of external and internal phenomena empty of the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, the emptiness of emptiness is empty of the emptiness of emptiness, the emptiness of great extent is empty of the emptiness of great extent, the emptiness of ultimate reality is empty of the emptiness of ultimate reality, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena is empty of the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena is empty of the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, the emptiness of the unlimited is empty of the emptiness of the unlimited, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end is empty of the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, the emptiness of nonexclusion is empty of the emptiness of nonexclusion, the emptiness of inherent nature is empty of the emptiness of inherent nature, the emptiness of all phenomena is empty of the emptiness of all phenomena, the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics is empty of the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended is empty of the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, the emptiness of nonentities is empty of the emptiness of nonentities, the emptiness of essential nature is empty of the emptiness of essential nature, and the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities is empty of the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities.

“The applications of mindfulness are empty of the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions are empty of the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability are empty of the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties are empty of the faculties, the powers are empty of the powers, the branches of enlightenment are empty of the branches of enlightenment, and the noble eightfold path is empty of the noble eightfold path.

“The truths of the noble ones are empty of the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations are empty of the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes are empty of the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions are empty of the formless absorptions, the liberations are empty of the liberations, the serial steps of meditative absorption are empty of the serial steps of meditative absorption, the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation are empty of the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, the extrasensory powers are empty of the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities are empty of the meditative stabilities, and the dhāraṇī gateways are empty of the dhāraṇī gateways. The powers of the tathāgatas are empty of the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses are empty of the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge are empty of the kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness is empty of great loving kindness, great compassion is empty of great compassion, and the distinct qualities of the buddhas are empty of the distinct qualities of the buddhas. The fruit of having entered the stream is empty of the fruit of having entered the stream, the fruit of once-returner is empty of the fruit of once-returner, the fruit of non-returner is empty of the fruit of non-returner, arhatship is empty of arhatship, individual enlightenment is empty of individual enlightenment, the knowledge of the aspects of the path is empty of the knowledge of the aspects of the path, and all-aspect omniscience is empty of all-aspect omniscience.”

“Blessed Lord, this perfection of wisdom of the bodhisattva great beings is great, because the perfection of wisdom is empty of its own essential nature. It is all phenomena empty of all phenomena. Even though bodhisattva great beings dwell in the perfection of wisdom and will fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, they do not fully awaken to any Dharma at all. Even though they turn the wheel of the Dharma, they do not cause any Dharma to turn, not to turn, or to further turn. They neither see nor do not see any Dharma. If you ask why, it is because the sort of Dharma that is turned, is not turned, or further turns cannot be apprehended; it is because all Dharmas have not been brought into being at all. If you ask why, it is because emptiness does not cause turning or cause not turning. Signlessness does not cause turning or cause not turning. And wishlessness does not cause turning or cause not turning.

“The teaching, explanation, proclamation, establishment, exposition, analysis, interpretation, discussion, elucidation, and revelation of the perfection of wisdom in this manner is the utterly purified teaching of the perfection of wisdom. Nobody has explained this teaching of the perfection of wisdom, nor has anybody grasped it. That which nobody has explained and nobody has grasped has not been actualized by anybody; and where nobody has directly actualized it, there nobody has passed into final nirvāṇa. Nor is there anyone at all who is worthy of offerings on account of this exposition of the Dharma.”

This completes the twenty-eighth chapter from “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.”