“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “for phenomena that are uncreated and unconditioned, any establishment at all cannot be apprehended. An establishment for phenomena that are created and conditioned is apprehended. If you ask why, it is because foolish folk, ordinary people who have not studied, fixate on the five aggregates. They fixate on physical forms, fixate on feelings feelings, fixate on perceptions, fixate on formative predispositions, and fixate on consciousness; fixate on the eyes, fixate on the ears, fixate on the nose, fixate on the tongue, fixate on the body, and fixate on the mental faculty; fixate on sights, fixate on sounds, fixate on odors, fixate on tastes, fixate on tangibles, and fixate on mental phenomena; fixate on visual consciousness, fixate on auditory consciousness, fixate on olfactory consciousness, fixate on gustatory consciousness, fixate on tactile consciousness, and fixate on mental consciousness; fixate on visually compounded sensory contact, fixate on aurally compounded sensory contact, fixate on nasally compounded sensory contact, fixate on lingually compounded sensory contact, fixate on corporeally compounded sensory contact, and fixate on mentally compounded sensory contact; fixate on feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact, fixate on feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact, fixate on feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact, fixate on feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact, fixate on feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact, and fixate on feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact; fixate on the earth element, fixate on the water element, fixate on the fire element, fixate on the wind element, fixate on the space element, and fixate on the consciousness element; fixate on ignorance, fixate on formative predispositions, fixate on consciousness, fixate on name and form, fixate on the six sense fields, fixate on sensory contact, fixate on sensation, fixate on craving, fixate on grasping, fixate on the rebirth process, fixate on birth, and fixate on aging and death; fixate on the perfection of generosity, fixate on the perfection of ethical discipline, fixate on the perfection of tolerance, fixate on the perfection of perseverance, fixate on the perfection of meditative concentration, and fixate on the perfection of wisdom; fixate on the emptiness of internal phenomena, fixate on the emptiness of external phenomena, fixate on the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, fixate on the emptiness of emptiness, fixate on the emptiness of great extent, fixate on the emptiness of ultimate reality, fixate on the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, fixate on the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, fixate on the emptiness of the unlimited, fixate on the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, fixate on the emptiness of nonexclusion, fixate on the emptiness of inherent nature, fixate on the emptiness of all phenomena, fixate on the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, fixate on the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, fixate on the emptiness of nonentities, fixate on the emptiness of essential nature, and fixate on the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities; fixate on the applications of mindfulness, fixate on the correct exertions, fixate on the supports for miraculous ability, fixate on the faculties, fixate on the powers, fixate on the branches of enlightenment, and fixate on the noble eightfold path; fixate on the truths of the noble ones, fixate on the meditative concentrations, fixate on the immeasurable attitudes, fixate on the formless absorptions, fixate on the eight liberations, fixate on the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, fixate on the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, fixate on the extrasensory powers, fixate on the meditative stabilities, and fixate on the dhāraṇī gateways; fixate on the ten powers of the tathāgatas, fixate on the four fearlessnesses, fixate on the four kinds of exact knowledge, fixate on great loving kindness, fixate on great compassion, and fixate on the distinct qualities of the buddhas; and fixate on the fruit of having entered the stream, fixate on the fruit of once-returner, fixate on the fruit of non-returner, fixate on arhatship, fixate on individual enlightenment, fixate on the knowledge of the aspects of the path, and fixate on unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment.
“Having done so, they give rise to conceits on account of physical forms and apprehend physical forms, give rise to conceits on account of feelings and apprehend feelings, give rise to conceits on account of perceptions and apprehend perceptions, give rise to conceits on account of formative predispositions and apprehend formative predispositions, and give rise to conceits on account of consciousness and apprehend consciousness; give rise to conceits on account of the eyes and apprehend the eyes, give rise to conceits on account of the ears and apprehend the ears, give rise to conceits on account of the nose and apprehend the nose, give rise to conceits on account of the tongue and apprehend the tongue, give rise to conceits on account of the body and apprehend the body, and give rise to conceits on account of the mental faculty and apprehend the mental faculty; give rise to conceits on account of sights and apprehend sights, give rise to conceits on account of sounds and apprehend sounds, give rise to conceits on account of odors and apprehend odors, give rise to conceits on account of tastes and apprehend tastes, give rise to conceits on account of tangibles and apprehend tangibles, and give rise to conceits on account of mental phenomena and apprehend mental phenomena; give rise to conceits on account of visual consciousness and apprehend visual consciousness, give rise to conceits on account of auditory consciousness and apprehend auditory consciousness, give rise to conceits on account of olfactory consciousness and apprehend olfactory consciousness, give rise to conceits on account of gustatory consciousness and apprehend gustatory consciousness, give rise to conceits on account of tactile consciousness and apprehend tactile consciousness, and give rise to conceits on account of mental consciousness and apprehend mental consciousness; give rise to conceits on account of visually compounded sensory contact and apprehend visually compounded sensory contact, give rise to conceits on account of aurally compounded sensory contact and apprehend aurally compounded sensory contact, give rise to conceits on account of nasally compounded sensory contact and apprehend nasally compounded sensory contact, give rise to conceits on account of lingually compounded sensory contact and apprehend lingually compounded sensory contact, give rise to conceits on account of corporeally compounded sensory contact and apprehend corporeally compounded sensory contact, and give rise to conceits on account of mentally compounded sensory contact and apprehend mentally compounded sensory contact; give rise to conceits on account of feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact and apprehend feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact, give rise to conceits on account of feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact and apprehend feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact, give rise to conceits on account of feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact and apprehend feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact, give rise to conceits on account of feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact and apprehend feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact, give rise to conceits on account of feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact and apprehend feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact, and give rise to conceits on account of feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact and apprehend feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact; give rise to conceits on account of the earth element and apprehend the earth element, give rise to conceits on account of the water element and apprehend the water element, give rise to conceits on account of the fire element apprehend the fire element, give rise to conceits on account of the wind element and apprehend the wind element, give rise to conceits on account of the space element and apprehend the space element, and give rise to conceits on account of the consciousness element and apprehend the consciousness element; give rise to conceits on account of ignorance and apprehend ignorance, give rise to conceits on account of formative predispositions and apprehend formative predispositions, give rise to conceits on account of consciousness and apprehend consciousness, give rise to conceits on account of name and form and apprehend name and form, give rise to conceits on account of the six sense fields and apprehend the six sense fields, give rise to conceits on account of sensory contact and apprehend sensory contact, give rise to conceits on account of sensation and apprehend sensation, give rise to conceits on account of craving and apprehend craving, give rise to conceits on account of grasping and apprehend grasping, give rise to conceits on account of the rebirth process and apprehend the rebirth process, give rise to conceits on account of birth and apprehend birth, and give rise to conceits on account of aging and death and apprehend aging and death; give rise to conceits on account of the perfection of generosity and apprehend the perfection of generosity, give rise to conceits on account of the perfection of ethical discipline and apprehend the perfection of ethical discipline, give rise to conceits on account of the perfection of tolerance and apprehend the perfection of tolerance, give rise to conceits on account of the perfection of perseverance and apprehend the perfection of perseverance, give rise to conceits on account of the perfection of meditative concentration and apprehend the perfection of meditative concentration, and give rise to conceits on account of the perfection of wisdom and apprehend the perfection of wisdom; give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of internal phenomena and apprehend the emptiness of internal phenomena, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of external phenomena and apprehend the emptiness of external phenomena, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of external and internal phenomena and apprehend the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of emptiness and apprehend the emptiness of emptiness, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of great extent and apprehend the emptiness of great extent, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of ultimate reality and apprehend the emptiness of ultimate reality, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of conditioned phenomena and apprehend the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena and apprehend the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of the unlimited and apprehend the emptiness of the unlimited, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end and apprehend the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of nonexclusion and apprehend the emptiness of nonexclusion, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of inherent existence and apprehend the emptiness of inherent existence, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of all phenomena and apprehend the emptiness of all phenomena, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics and apprehend the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended and apprehend the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of nonentities and apprehend the emptiness of nonentities, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of essential nature and apprehend the emptiness of essential nature, and give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities and apprehend the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities; give rise to conceits on account of the applications of mindfulness and apprehend the applications of mindfulness, give rise to conceits on account of the correct exertions and apprehend the correct exertions, give rise to conceits on account of the supports for miraculous ability and apprehend the supports for miraculous ability, give rise to conceits on account of the faculties and apprehend the faculties, give rise to conceits on account of the powers and apprehend the powers, give rise to conceits on account of the branches of enlightenment and apprehend the branches of enlightenment, and give rise to conceits on account of the noble eightfold path and apprehend the noble eightfold path; give rise to conceits on account of the truths of the noble ones and apprehend the truths of the noble ones, give rise to conceits on account of the meditative concentrations and apprehend the meditative concentrations, give rise to conceits on account of the immeasurable attitudes and apprehend the immeasurable attitudes, give rise to conceits on account of the formless absorptions and apprehend the formless absorptions, give rise to conceits on account of the eight liberations and apprehend the eight liberations, give rise to conceits on account of the nine serial steps of meditative absorption and apprehend the serial steps of meditative absorption, give rise to conceits on account of the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation and apprehend the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, give rise to conceits on account of the extrasensory powers and apprehend the extrasensory powers, give rise to conceits on account of the meditative stabilities and apprehend the meditative stabilities, and give rise to conceits on account of the dhāraṇī gateways and apprehend the dhāraṇī gateways; give rise to conceits on account of the ten powers of the tathāgatas and apprehend the ten powers of the tathāgatas, give rise to conceits on account of the four fearlessnesses and apprehend the four fearlessnesses, give rise to conceits on account of the four kinds of exact knowledge and apprehend the four kinds of exact knowledge, give rise to conceits on account of great loving kindness and apprehend great loving kindness, give rise to conceits on account of great compassion and apprehend great compassion, and give rise to conceits on account of the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas and apprehend the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas; and give rise to conceits on account of the fruit of having entered the stream and apprehend the fruit of having entered the stream, give rise to conceits on account of the fruit of once-returner and apprehend the fruit of once-returner, give rise to conceits on account of the fruit of non-returner and apprehend the fruit of non-returner, give rise to conceits on account of arhatship and apprehend arhatship, give rise to conceits on account of individual enlightenment and apprehend individual enlightenment, give rise to conceits on account of the knowledge of the aspects of the path and apprehend the knowledge of the aspects of the path, and give rise to conceits on account of unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment and apprehend unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment.
“They think, ‘I shall fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment. I shall liberate beings from saṃsāra.’ Thinking like that, they imagine the unreal. If you ask why, Subhūti, it is because even though the five eyes of the buddhas do not apprehend physical forms, feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, or consciousness; the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, or the mental faculty; sights, sounds, odors, tastes, tangibles, or mental phenomena; visual consciousness, auditory consciousness, olfactory consciousness, gustatory consciousness, tactile consciousness, or mental consciousness; visually compounded sensory contact, aurally compounded sensory contact, nasally compounded sensory contact, lingually compounded sensory contact, corporeally compounded sensory contact, or mentally compounded sensory contact; feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact, feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact, feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact, feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact, feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact, or feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact; the earth element, the water element, the fire element, the wind element, the space element, or the consciousness element; ignorance, formative predispositions, consciousness, name and form, the six sense fields, sensory contact, sensation, craving, grasping, the rebirth process, birth, or aging and death; the perfection of generosity, the perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection of tolerance, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative concentration, or the perfection of wisdom; the emptiness of internal phenomena, the emptiness of external phenomena, the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, the emptiness of emptiness, the emptiness of great extent, the emptiness of ultimate reality, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, the emptiness of the unlimited, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, the emptiness of nonexclusion, the emptiness of inherent nature, the emptiness of all phenomena, the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, the emptiness of nonentities, the emptiness of essential nature, or the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities; the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, or the path; the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the eight liberations, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, or the dhāraṇī gateways; the ten powers of the tathāgatas, the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, or the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas; or the fruit of having entered the stream, the fruit of once-returner, the fruit of non-returner, arhatship, individual enlightenment, the knowledge of the aspects of the path, omniscience, the knowledge of the aspects of the path, or unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, still those blind, dim-witted persons without eyes want to liberate beings from cyclic existence.”
Subhūti said, “Blessed Lord, if even the five eyes of the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas do not see such beings who should be liberated from cyclic existence, how then, Blessed Lord, does the Blessed One, having fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, then prophesy beings belonging to the three categories—those who are destined for perfection, those whose destiny is uncertain, and those destined to be wrong?”
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “having fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, I do not apprehend any beings at all belonging to the three categories—those who are destined for perfection, those whose destiny is uncertain, and those destined to be wrong. On the other hand, Subhūti, in mundane, conventional terms, though not ultimately, I do extricate those beings who perceive nonentities as entities from grasping at the unreal.”
“Did the Blessed One, established in ultimate reality, fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment?” asked Subhūti.
“No,” replied the Blessed One.
“In that case, did the Blessed One, established in error, fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment?” asked Subhūti.
“No,” replied the Blessed One.
Subhūti asked, “Blessed Lord, if they have not, dwelling in ultimate reality, fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, and they have not, dwelling in error, fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, well then, Blessed Lord, would not tathāgatas not fully awakening to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment become the same?”
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas have not not fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment. Subhūti, the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, but still, they have not fully awakened while dwelling in any realm of the conditioned or realm of the unconditioned at all.
“To illustrate, Subhūti, an emanation of the tathāgatas is not established in any realm of the conditioned or realm of the unconditioned at all, but still that emanation of the tathāgatas goes and comes, stands and sits. If it were to have practiced the perfection of generosity, practiced the perfection of ethical discipline, practiced the perfection of tolerance, practiced the perfection of perseverance, practiced the perfection of meditative concentration, and practiced the perfection of wisdom; practiced the emptiness of internal phenomena, practiced the emptiness of external phenomena, practiced the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, practiced the emptiness of emptiness, practiced the emptiness of great extent, practiced the emptiness of ultimate reality, practiced the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, practiced the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, practiced the emptiness of the unlimited, practiced the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, practiced the emptiness of nonexclusion, practiced the emptiness of inherent nature, practiced the emptiness of all phenomena, practiced the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, practiced the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, practiced the emptiness of nonentities, practiced the emptiness of essential nature, and practiced the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities; cultivated the four applications of mindfulness, cultivated the four correct exertions, cultivated the four supports for miraculous ability, cultivated the five faculties, cultivated the five powers, cultivated the seven branches of enlightenment, and cultivated the noble eightfold path; cultivated the four truths of the noble ones, achieved and maintained the four meditative concentrations, achieved and maintained the four immeasurable attitudes, achieved and maintained the four formless absorptions, achieved and maintained the eight liberations, achieved and maintained the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, achieved and maintained meditative stability on emptiness, achieved and maintained meditative stability on signlessness, and achieved and maintained meditative stability on wishlessness, achieved and maintained the extrasensory powers, achieved and maintained the meditative stabilities, and achieved the dhāraṇī gateways; and cultivated the ten powers of the tathāgatas, cultivated the four fearlessnesses, cultivated the four kinds of exact knowledge, cultivated great loving kindness, cultivated great compassion, and cultivated the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, having done so were it to have fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, and having fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, were it to have turned the wheel of the Dharma, and having turned the wheel of the Dharma, were it to have emanated an incalculable number of beings and prophesied them to belong to three categories, do you think, Subhūti, that emanation would have prophesied any beings at all to belong to these categories?”
“No, Blessed Lord,” replied Subhūti.
“In the same way, Subhūti,” continued the Blessed One, “the tathāgatas have understood and comprehended that all phenomena are emanations, and having understood that they are like emanations, they have not apprehended and have not disciplined any beings at all. So it is, Subhūti, that bodhisattva great beings should practice the perfection of wisdom, like an emanation of a tathāgata.”
“Blessed Lord,” asked Subhūti, “if all phenomena are like emanations, what is the distinction and the difference between a tathāgata and an emanation? What is your intention?”
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “no distinction or difference at all is apprehended between a tathāgata and an emanation. Subhūti, a tathāgata and an emanation are indistinguishable. If you ask why, Subhūti, it is because the activities that are the enlightened activities a tathāgata performs, the emanation performs as well.”
“Blessed Lord, when a tathāgata is not there does the emanation perform those activities?” asked Subhūti.
“It does, Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One.
“Blessed Lord, how will an emanation perform those activities when the tathāgata is not there?” asked Subhūti.
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “to illustrate, it is well known that the tathāgata, arhat, perfectly complete buddha Śāntamati, seeing no bodhisattvas, emanated a tathāgata’s body and passed into final nirvāṇa. That emanation, subsequently, performed the deeds of a buddha for an eon. After that, having prophesied a bodhisattva great being, it passed into final nirvāṇa. Yet that emanation had no birth or passing into final nirvāṇa at all. In the same way, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings should practice the perfection of wisdom, confident that all phenomena are like an emanation.”
Subhūti asked, “Blessed Lord, if there is no distinction between such an emanation and the tathāgatas, how would offerings become purified? Blessed Lord, when those beings striving for nirvāṇa give offerings to the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas, the merit they seek never becomes extinct until those beings have passed into final nirvāṇa in the expanse of nirvāṇa where there is no remainder of the aggregates. Since that is the case, Blessed Lord, similarly with those beings who give offerings to an emanation of the tathāgatas, will it never become extinct until those beings have attained final nirvāṇa in the expanse of nirvāṇa where there is no remainder of the aggregates?”
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “that emanation is also a worthy recipient of the offerings of the world with its the gods, based on the reality of phenomena, a reality of phenomena that is that very basis on which the tathāgatas become worthy recipients of the offerings of the world with its gods. Subhūti, leave aside giving offerings to a tathāgata, and leave aside giving offerings even to that emanation of a tathāgata. Even if, Subhūti, any sons or daughters of good families, endowed with loving kindness, were to pay attention to a tathāgata, they would all reach the end of suffering before they reached the end of their roots of virtue. Subhūti, leave aside being endowed with loving kindness and paying attention. Even if, Subhūti, some sons or daughters of good families, while paying attention to a tathāgata, were to scatter flowers in the air, they too would all reach the end of suffering before they reached the end of their roots of virtue. Subhūti, leave aside being endowed with loving kindness and paying attention, and leave aside scattering flowers in the air. Even if some sons or daughters of good families were to say, ‘Homage to the Buddha,’ they too would gradually arrive at the end of suffering. In this way, Subhūti, offerings given to the tathāgatas have great benefit, have such excellence, and have such great good qualities. For such reasons, Subhūti, when one has made the reality of phenomena as it pertains to phenomena the determining factor,1116 one should know that there is no difference at all between a tathāgata and an emanation of a tathāgata. So it is, Subhūti, that bodhisattva great beings should comprehend the reality of phenomena as it pertains to phenomena and practice the perfection of wisdom.
“One should not disturb this reality of phenomena as it pertains to phenomena. One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the perfection of wisdom. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the perfection of wisdom.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the perfection of meditative concentration. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the perfection of meditative concentration.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the perfection of perseverance. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the perfection of perseverance.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the perfection of tolerance. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the perfection of tolerance.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the perfection of ethical discipline. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the perfection of ethical discipline.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the perfection of generosity. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the perfection of generosity.’
“One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of internal phenomena. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of internal phenomena.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of external phenomena. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of external phenomena.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of external and internal phenomena. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of external and internal phenomena.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of emptiness. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of emptiness.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of great extent. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of great extent.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of ultimate reality. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of ultimate reality.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of conditioned phenomena. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of conditioned phenomena.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of the unlimited. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of the unlimited.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of nonexclusion. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of nonexclusion.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of inherent nature. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of inherent nature.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of all phenomena. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of all phenomena.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of nonentities. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of nonentities.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of essential nature. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of essential nature.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities.’
“One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the applications of mindfulness. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the applications of mindfulness.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the correct exertions. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the correct exertions.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the supports for miraculous ability. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the supports for miraculous ability.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the faculties. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the faculties.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the five powers. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the powers.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the branches of enlightenment. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the branches of enlightenment.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the noble eightfold path. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the noble eightfold path.’
“One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the truths of the noble ones. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the truths of the noble ones.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the meditative concentrations. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the meditative concentrations.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the immeasurable attitudes. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the immeasurable attitudes.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the formless absorptions. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the formless absorptions.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the eight liberations. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the liberations.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the nine serial steps of meditative absorption. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the serial steps of meditative absorption.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the extrasensory powers. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the extrasensory powers.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the meditative stabilities. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the meditative stabilities.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the dhāraṇī gateways. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the dhāraṇī gateways.’
“One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the ten powers of the tathāgatas. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the powers of the tathāgatas.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the four fearlessnesses. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the fearlessnesses.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the four kinds of exact knowledge. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the kinds of exact knowledge.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is great loving kindness. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to great loving kindness.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is great compassion. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to great compassion.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘These are the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the distinct qualities of the buddhas.’
“One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the fruit of having entered the stream. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the fruit of having entered the stream.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the fruit of once-returner. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the fruit of once-returner.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the fruit of non-returner. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the fruit of non-returner.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is arhatship. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to arhatship.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is individual enlightenment. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to individual enlightenment.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is the knowledge of the aspects of the path. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to the knowledge of the aspects of the path.’ One should not disturb it with, ‘This is all-aspect omniscience. This is the reality of phenomena as it pertains to all-aspect omniscience.’ ”
Subhūti then asked, “Blessed Lord, if in that way the reality of phenomena as it pertains to phenomena should not be disturbed, and if the Tathāgata has disturbed the reality of phenomena as it pertains to phenomena by saying, ‘These are physical forms. These are feelings. These are perceptions. These are formative predispositions. This is consciousness. These are the eyes. These are the ears. This is the nose. This is the tongue. This is the body. This is the mental faculty. These are sights. These are sounds. These are odors. These are tastes. These are tangibles. These are mental phenomena. This is visual consciousness. This is auditory consciousness. This is olfactory consciousness. This is gustatory consciousness. This is tactile consciousness. This is mental consciousness. This is visually compounded sensory contact. This is aurally compounded sensory contact. This is nasally compounded sensory contact. This is lingually compounded sensory contact. This is corporeally compounded sensory contact. This is mentally compounded sensory contact. These are feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact. These are feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact. These are feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact. These are feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact. These are feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact. These are feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact. This is the earth element. This is the water element. This is the fire element. This is the wind element. This is the space element. This is the consciousness element. This is ignorance. These are formative predispositions. This is consciousness. These are name and form. These are the six sense fields. This is sensory contact. This is sensation. This is craving. This is grasping. This is the rebirth process. This is birth. These are aging and death.