“They themselves should become absorbed in the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities, should encourage others to become absorbed in the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities, should praise the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities, and when other beings become absorbed in the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the four applications of mindfulness, should encourage others to cultivate the applications of mindfulness, should praise the applications of mindfulness, and when other beings cultivate the applications of mindfulness should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the four correct exertions, should encourage others to cultivate the correct exertions, should praise the correct exertions, and when other beings cultivate the correct exertions should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the four supports for miraculous ability, should encourage others to cultivate the supports for miraculous ability, should praise the supports for miraculous ability, and when other beings cultivate the supports for miraculous ability should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the five faculties, should encourage others to cultivate the faculties, should praise the faculties, and when other beings cultivate the faculties should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the five powers, should encourage others to cultivate the powers, should praise the powers, and when other beings cultivate the powers should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the seven branches of enlightenment, should encourage others to cultivate the seven branches of enlightenment, should praise the seven branches of enlightenment, and when other beings cultivate the seven branches of enlightenment should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the noble eightfold path, should encourage others to cultivate the noble eightfold path, should praise the noble eightfold path, and when other beings cultivate the noble eightfold path should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the four truths of the noble ones, should encourage others to cultivate the four truths of the noble ones, should praise the truths of the noble ones, and when other beings cultivate the four truths of the noble ones should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the four meditative concentrations, should encourage others to cultivate the four meditative concentrations, should praise the meditative concentrations, and when other beings cultivate the four meditative concentrations should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the four immeasurable attitudes, should encourage others to cultivate the four immeasurable attitudes, should praise the immeasurable attitudes, and when other beings cultivate the four immeasurable attitudes should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the four formless absorptions, should encourage others to cultivate the four formless absorptions, should praise the formless absorptions, and when other beings cultivate the four formless absorptions should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the eight liberations, should encourage others to cultivate the eight liberations, should praise the liberations, and when other beings cultivate the eight liberations should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, should encourage others to cultivate the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, should praise the serial steps of meditative absorption, and when other beings cultivate the nine serial steps of meditative absorption should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilities, should encourage others to cultivate the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilities, should praise the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilities, and when other beings cultivate the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness meditative stabilities should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the extrasensory powers, should encourage others to cultivate the extrasensory powers, should praise the extrasensory powers, and when other beings cultivate the extrasensory powers should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the meditative stabilities, should encourage others to cultivate the meditative stabilities, should praise the meditative stabilities, and when other beings cultivate the meditative stabilities should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should cultivate the dhāraṇī gateways, should encourage others to cultivate the dhāraṇī gateways, should praise the dhāraṇī gateways, and when other beings cultivate the dhāraṇī gateways should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should complete the ten powers of the tathāgatas, should encourage others to complete the ten powers of the tathāgatas, should praise the powers of the tathāgatas, and when others complete the ten powers of the tathāgatas should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should complete the four fearlessnesses, should encourage others to complete the four fearlessnesses, should praise the fearlessnesses, and when others complete the four fearlessnesses should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should complete the four kinds of exact knowledge, should encourage others to complete the four kinds of exact knowledge, should praise the kinds of exact knowledge, and when others complete the four kinds of exact knowledge should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should complete great loving kindness, should encourage others to complete great loving kindness, should praise great loving kindness, and when others complete great loving kindness should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should complete great compassion, should encourage others to complete great compassion, should praise great compassion, and when others complete great compassion should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should complete the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, should encourage others to complete the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, should praise the distinct qualities of the buddhas, and when others complete the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should become absorbed in the links of dependent origination consecutively and in the reverse order, should encourage others to become absorbed in the links of dependent origination consecutively and in the reverse order, should praise absorption in the links of dependent origination consecutively and in the reverse order, and when other beings become absorbed in the links of dependent origination consecutively and in the reverse order should give them praise and approval.
“It is in this way that bodhisattva great beings who wish to fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment should dwell, without apprehending anything.
“They themselves should comprehend suffering, renounce its origin, actualize its cessation, and cultivate the path; should encourage others to comprehend suffering, renounce its origin, actualize its cessation, and cultivate the path; should praise comprehending suffering, renouncing its origin, actualizing its cessation, and cultivating the path; and when other beings comprehend suffering, renounce its origin, actualize its cessation, and cultivate the path should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should develop knowledge to actualize the knowledge of the fruit of having entered the stream, but without actualizing the very limit of reality; should encourage others to actualize the knowledge of the fruit of having entered the stream; should praise the actualization of the knowledge of the fruit of having entered the stream; and when other beings actualize the knowledge of the fruit of having entered the stream should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should develop knowledge to actualize the knowledge of the fruit of once-returner, but without actualizing the very limit of reality; should encourage others to actualize the knowledge of the fruit of once-returner; should praise the actualization of the knowledge of the fruit of once-returner; and when other beings actualize the knowledge of the fruit of once-returner should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should develop knowledge to actualize the knowledge of the fruit of non-returner, but without actualizing the very limit of reality; should encourage others to actualize the knowledge of the fruit of non-returner; should praise the actualization of the knowledge of the fruit of non-returner; and when other beings actualize the knowledge of the fruit of non-returner should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should develop knowledge to actualize the knowledge of the fruit of arhatship, but without actualizing the very limit of reality; should encourage others to actualize the knowledge of the fruit of arhatship; should praise the actualization of the knowledge of the fruit of arhatship; and when other beings actualize the knowledge of the fruit of arhatship should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should develop knowledge to actualize the knowledge of individual enlightenment, but without actualizing the very limit of reality; should encourage others to actualize the knowledge of individual enlightenment; should praise the actualization of the knowledge of individual enlightenment; and when other beings actualize the knowledge of individual enlightenment should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should enter a bodhisattva’s full maturity, should encourage others to enter a bodhisattva’s full maturity, should praise entering a bodhisattva’s full maturity, and when other beings enter a bodhisattva’s full maturity should give them praise and approval.
“It is in this way that bodhisattva great beings who wish to be emancipated in unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment should dwell, without apprehending anything.
“They themselves should bring beings to maturity, should encourage others to bring beings to maturity, should praise bringing beings to maturity, and when other beings bring beings to maturity should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should refine a buddhafield, should encourage others to refine a buddhafield, should praise purifying a buddhafield, and when other beings refine a buddhafield should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should develop the extrasensory powers of the bodhisattvas, should encourage others to develop the extrasensory powers of the bodhisattvas, should praise the extrasensory powers, and when other beings develop the extrasensory powers of the bodhisattvas should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should develop the transcendent knowledge of an all-aspect omniscient one, should encourage others to develop the transcendent knowledge of an all-aspect omniscient one, should praise the transcendent knowledge of an all-aspect omniscient one, and when other beings develop the transcendent knowledge of an all-aspect omniscient one should give them praise and approval.
“They themselves should abandon all the afflicted mental states and their connecting propensities, should encourage others to abandon all the afflicted mental states and their connecting propensities, should praise the abandonment of all the afflicted mental states and their connecting propensities, and when other beings abandon all the afflicted mental states and their connecting propensities should give them praise and approval.
“It is in this way that bodhisattva great beings who wish to fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment should dwell, without apprehending anything.
“They themselves should acquire an excellent lifespan, should encourage others to acquire an excellent lifespan, should praise an excellent lifespan, and when other beings acquire an excellent lifespan should give them praise and approval.
“It is in this way, Subhūti, that bodhisattva great beings who wish to fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment should dwell, without apprehending anything.
“It is in this way that bodhisattva great beings should train in the perfection of wisdom and in skill in means, and because they train in that way, and because they dwell in that way, their physical forms will be unobscured, feelings will be unobscured, perceptions will be unobscured, formative predispositions will be unobscured, and consciousness will be unobscured; their eyes will be unobscured, ears will be unobscured, nose will be unobscured, tongue will be unobscured, body will be unobscured, and mental faculty will be unobscured; their sights will be unobscured, sounds will be unobscured, odors will be unobscured, tastes will be unobscured, tangibles will be unobscured, and mental phenomena will be unobscured; their visual consciousness will be unobscured, auditory consciousness will be unobscured, olfactory consciousness will be unobscured, gustatory consciousness will be unobscured, tactile consciousness will be unobscured, and mental consciousness will be unobscured; their visually compounded sensory contact will be unobscured, aurally compounded sensory contact will be unobscured, nasally compounded sensory contact will be unobscured, lingually compounded sensory contact will be unobscured, corporeally compounded sensory contact will be unobscured, and mentally compounded sensory contact will be unobscured; their feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact will be unobscured, feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact will be unobscured, feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact will be unobscured, feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact will be unobscured, feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact will be unobscured, and feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact will be unobscured; their earth element will be unobscured, water element will be unobscured, fire element will be unobscured, wind element will be unobscured, space element will be unobscured, and consciousness element will be unobscured; their ignorance will be unobscured, formative predispositions will be unobscured, consciousness will be unobscured, name and form will be unobscured, six sense fields will be unobscured, sensory contact will be unobscured, sensation will be unobscured, craving will be unobscured, grasping will be unobscured, the rebirth process will be unobscured, birth will be unobscured, and aging and death will be unobscured; their perfection of generosity will be unobscured, perfection of ethical discipline will be unobscured, perfection of tolerance will be unobscured, perfection of perseverance will be unobscured, perfection of meditative concentration will be unobscured, and perfection of wisdom will be unobscured; their emptiness of internal phenomena will be unobscured, emptiness of external phenomena will be unobscured, emptiness of external and internal phenomena will be unobscured, emptiness of emptiness will be unobscured, emptiness of great extent will be unobscured, emptiness of ultimate reality will be unobscured, emptiness of conditioned phenomena will be unobscured, emptiness of unconditioned phenomena will be unobscured, emptiness of the unlimited will be unobscured, emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end will be unobscured, emptiness of nonexclusion will be unobscured, emptiness of inherent nature will be unobscured, emptiness of all phenomena will be unobscured, emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics will be unobscured, emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended will be unobscured, emptiness of nonentities will be unobscured, emptiness of essential nature will be unobscured, and emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities will be unobscured; their applications of mindfulness will be unobscured, correct exertions will be unobscured, supports for miraculous ability will be unobscured, faculties will be unobscured, powers will be unobscured, branches of enlightenment will be unobscured, and noble eightfold path will be unobscured; their truths of the noble ones will be unobscured, meditative concentrations will be unobscured, immeasurable attitudes will be unobscured, formless absorptions will be unobscured, eight liberations will be unobscured, nine serial steps of meditative absorption will be unobscured, emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation will be unobscured, extrasensory powers will be unobscured, meditative stabilities will be unobscured, and dhāraṇī gateways will be unobscured; their powers of the tathāgatas will be unobscured, fearlessnesses will be unobscured, kinds of exact knowledge will be unobscured, great loving kindness will be unobscured, great compassion will be unobscured, and distinct qualities of the buddhas will be unobscured; their knowledge of the fruit of having entered the stream will be unobscured, knowledge of the fruit of once-returner will be unobscured, knowledge of the fruit of non-returner will be unobscured, knowledge of the fruit of arhatship will be unobscured, and knowledge of individual enlightenment will be unobscured; and their entry into a bodhisattva’s full maturity will be unobscured, action of bringing beings to maturity will be unobscured, action of purifying a buddhafield will be unobscured, transcendent knowledge of an all-aspect omniscient one will be unobscured, abandonment of all the afflicted mental states and their connecting propensities will be unobscured, excellent lifespan will be unobscured, and the lasting of the good Dharma will be unobscured.
“If you ask why, Subhūti, it is because those bodhisattva great beings also in the past did not grasp physical forms, did not grasp feelings, did not grasp perceptions, did not grasp formative predispositions, and did not grasp consciousness; did not grasp the eyes, did not grasp the ears, did not grasp the nose, did not grasp the tongue, did not grasp the body, and did not grasp the mental faculty; did not grasp sights, did not grasp sounds, did not grasp odors, did not grasp tastes, did not grasp tangibles, and did not grasp mental phenomena; did not grasp visual consciousness, did not grasp auditory consciousness, did not grasp olfactory consciousness, did not grasp gustatory consciousness, did not grasp tactile consciousness, and did not grasp mental consciousness; did not grasp visually compounded sensory contact, did not grasp aurally compounded sensory contact, did not grasp nasally compounded sensory contact, did not grasp lingually compounded sensory contact, did not grasp corporeally compounded sensory contact, and did not grasp mentally compounded sensory contact; did not grasp feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact, did not grasp feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact, did not grasp feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact, did not grasp feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact, did not grasp feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact, and did not grasp feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact; did not grasp the earth element, did not grasp the water element, did not grasp the fire element, did not grasp the wind element, did not grasp the space element, and did not grasp the consciousness element; did not grasp ignorance, did not grasp formative predispositions, did not grasp consciousness, did not grasp name and form, did not grasp the six sense fields, did not grasp sensory contact, did not grasp sensation, did not grasp craving, did not grasp grasping, did not grasp the rebirth process, did not grasp birth, and did not grasp aging and death; did not grasp the perfection of generosity, did not grasp the perfection of ethical discipline, did not grasp the perfection of tolerance, did not grasp the perfection of perseverance, did not grasp the perfection of meditative concentration, and did not grasp the perfection of wisdom; did not grasp the emptiness of internal phenomena, did not grasp the emptiness of external phenomena, did not grasp the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, did not grasp the emptiness of emptiness, did not grasp the emptiness of great extent, did not grasp the emptiness of ultimate reality, did not grasp the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, did not grasp the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, did not grasp the emptiness of the unlimited, did not grasp the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, did not grasp the emptiness of nonexclusion, did not grasp the emptiness of inherent nature, did not grasp the emptiness of all phenomena, did not grasp the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, did not grasp the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, did not grasp the emptiness of nonentities, did not grasp the emptiness of essential nature, and did not grasp the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities; did not grasp the applications of mindfulness, did not grasp the correct exertions, did not grasp the supports for miraculous ability, did not grasp the faculties, did not grasp the powers, did not grasp the branches of enlightenment, and did not grasp the noble eightfold path; did not grasp the truths of the noble ones, did not grasp the meditative concentrations, did not grasp the immeasurable attitudes, did not grasp the formless absorptions, did not grasp the liberations, did not grasp the serial steps of meditative absorption, did not grasp the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, did not grasp the extrasensory powers, did not grasp the meditative stabilities, and did not grasp the dhāraṇī gateways; did not grasp the powers of the tathāgatas, did not grasp the fearlessnesses, did not grasp the kinds of exact knowledge, did not grasp great loving kindness, did not grasp great compassion, did not grasp the distinct qualities of the buddhas; and did not grasp omniscience, did not grasp the knowledge of the aspects of the path, and did not grasp all-aspect omniscience.
“If you ask why, it is because those physical forms that have not been grasped are not physical forms. The feelings that have not been grasped are not feelings. The perceptions that have not been grasped are not perceptions. The formative predispositions that have not been grasped are not formative predispositions. The consciousness that has not been grasped is not consciousness.
“The eyes that have not been grasped are not the eyes. The ears that have not been grasped are not the ears. The nose that has not been grasped is not the nose. The tongue that has not been grasped is not the tongue. The body that has not been grasped is not the body. The mental faculty that has not been grasped is not the mental faculty.
“The sights that have not been grasped are not sights. The sounds that have not been grasped are not sounds. The odors that have not been grasped are not odors. The tastes that have not been grasped are not tastes. The tangibles that have not been grasped are not tangibles. The mental phenomena that have not been grasped are not mental phenomena.
“The visual consciousness that has not been grasped is not visual consciousness. The auditory consciousness that has not been grasped is not auditory consciousness. The olfactory consciousness that has not been grasped is not olfactory consciousness. The gustatory consciousness that has not been grasped is not gustatory consciousness. The tactile consciousness that has not been grasped is not tactile consciousness. The mental consciousness that has not been grasped is not mental consciousness.
“The visually compounded sensory contact that has not been grasped is not visually compounded sensory contact. The aurally compounded sensory contact that has not been grasped is not aurally compounded sensory contact. The nasally compounded sensory contact that has not been grasped is not nasally compounded sensory contact. The lingually compounded sensory contact that has not been grasped is not lingually compounded sensory contact. The corporeally compounded sensory contact that has not been grasped is not corporeally compounded sensory contact. The mentally compounded sensory contact that has not been grasped is not mentally compounded sensory contact.
“The feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact that have not been grasped are not feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact. The feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact that have not been grasped are not feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact. The feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact that have not been grasped are not feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact. The feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact that have not been grasped are not feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact. The feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact that have not been grasped are not feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact. The feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact that have not been grasped are not feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact.
“The earth element that has not been grasped is not the earth element. The water element that has not been grasped is not the water element. The fire element that has not been grasped is not the fire element. The wind element that has not been grasped is not the wind element. The space element that has not been grasped is not the space element. The consciousness element that has not been grasped is not the consciousness element.
“The ignorance that has not been grasped is not ignorance. Those formative predispositions that have not been grasped are not formative predispositions. The consciousness that has not been grasped is not consciousness. The name and form that have not been grasped are not name and form. The six sense fields that have not been grasped are not the six sense fields. The sensory contact that has not been grasped is not sensory contact. The sensation that has not been grasped is not sensation. The craving that has not been grasped is not craving. The grasping that has not been grasped is not grasping. The rebirth process that has not been grasped is not the rebirth process. The birth that has not been grasped is not birth. The aging and death that have not been grasped are not aging and death.
“The perfection of generosity that has not been grasped is not the perfection of generosity. The perfection of ethical discipline that has not been grasped is not the perfection of ethical discipline. The perfection of tolerance that has not been grasped is not the perfection of tolerance. The perfection of perseverance that has not been grasped is not the perfection of perseverance. The perfection of meditative concentration that has not been grasped is not the perfection of meditative concentration. The perfection of wisdom that has not been grasped is not the perfection of wisdom.
“The emptiness of internal phenomena that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of internal phenomena. The emptiness of external phenomena that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of external phenomena. The emptiness of external and internal phenomena that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of external and internal phenomena. The emptiness of emptiness that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of emptiness. The emptiness of great extent that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of great extent. The emptiness of ultimate reality that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of ultimate reality. The emptiness of conditioned phenomena that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of conditioned phenomena. The emptiness of unconditioned phenomena that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena. The emptiness of the unlimited that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of the unlimited. The emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end. The emptiness of nonexclusion that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of nonexclusion. The emptiness of inherent nature that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of inherent nature. The emptiness of all phenomena that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of all phenomena. The emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics. The emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended. The emptiness of nonentities that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of nonentities. The emptiness of essential nature that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of essential nature. The emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities that has not been grasped is not the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities.
“The applications of mindfulness that have not been grasped are not the applications of mindfulness. The correct exertions that have not been grasped are not the correct exertions. The supports for miraculous ability that have not been grasped are not the supports for miraculous ability. The faculties that have not been grasped are not the faculties. The powers that have not been grasped are not the powers. The branches of enlightenment that have not been grasped are not the branches of enlightenment. The noble eightfold path that has not been grasped is not the noble eightfold path.
“The truths of the noble ones that have not been grasped are not the truths of the noble ones. The meditative concentrations that have not been grasped are not the meditative concentrations. The immeasurable attitudes that have not been grasped are not the immeasurable attitudes. The formless absorptions that have not been grasped are not the formless absorptions. The liberations that have not been grasped are not the liberations. The serial steps of meditative absorption that have not been grasped are not the serial steps of meditative absorption. The emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation that have not been grasped are not the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation. The extrasensory powers that have not been grasped are not the extrasensory powers. The meditative stabilities that have not been grasped are not the meditative stabilities. The dhāraṇī gateways that have not been grasped are not the dhāraṇī gateways.
“The powers of the tathāgatas that have not been grasped are not the powers of the tathāgatas. The four fearlessnesses that have not been grasped are not the fearlessnesses. The four kinds of exact knowledge that have not been grasped are not the kinds of exact knowledge. The great loving kindness that has not been grasped is not great loving kindness. The great compassion that has not been grasped is not great compassion. The distinct qualities of the buddhas that have not been grasped are not the distinct qualities of the buddhas.
“The fruit of having entered the stream that has not been grasped is not the fruit of having entered the stream. The fruit of once-returner that has not been grasped is not the fruit of once-returner. The fruit of non-returner that has not been grasped is not the fruit of non-returner. The arhatship that has not been grasped is not arhatship. The individual enlightenment that has not been grasped is not individual enlightenment. The knowledge of the aspects of the path that has not been grasped is not the knowledge of the aspects of the path. The all-aspect omniscience that has not been grasped is not all-aspect omniscience.”
When he explained this dwelling of the bodhisattvas, two thousand bodhisattvas gained acceptance that phenomena are nonarising.
This completes the thirty-eighth chapter from “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.”