Chapter 56
Then the venerable Subhūti asked the Blessed One, “Blessed Lord, if there are bodhisattva great beings who do not devote themselves to the lord buddhas, who do not complete the roots of virtue, and who also have not been assisted by spiritual mentors, do those bodhisattva great beings not attain all-aspect omniscience?”
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “bodhisattva great beings who have not devoted themselves to the lord buddhas, have not completed the roots of virtue, and who also have not been assisted by spiritual mentors will not attain all-aspect omniscience. If you ask why, it is because, if even those who have devoted themselves to the lord buddhas, have perfected the roots of virtue, and have devoted themselves to spiritual mentors still cannot attain all-aspect omniscience, what need one say about those who have not devoted themselves to the lord buddhas, have not perfected the roots of virtue, and have not been assisted by spiritual mentors attaining all-aspect omniscience? It is impossible. Therefore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who wish to bear the title bodhisattva in truth, and wish to swiftly fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment, should devote themselves the lord buddhas, should develop many roots of virtue, and should serve their spiritual mentors.”
“Blessed Lord, why do the bodhisattva great beings who have devoted themselves to the lord buddhas, have perfected the roots of virtue, and have served spiritual mentors still not attain all-aspect omniscience?” asked Subhūti.
“It is because they are without skill in means,” replied the Blessed One. “They have not heard about those means from those lord buddhas and therefore have not developed such roots of virtue. They have not attended upon the sort of spiritual mentors who would reveal those means to them, so such an attainment does not happen.”
“Blessed Lord, what is the skill in means the bodhisattva great beings are endowed with, the skill in means through which they will attain all-aspect omniscience?” asked Subhūti.
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “here, when bodhisattva great beings, from the time when they first set their mind on enlightenment, practice the perfection of generosity with attention connected with all-aspect omniscience, they are generous with gifts for the lord buddhas, the pratyekabuddhas, and the śrāvakas, and for humans and nonhumans. That is to say, endowed with that attention connected with all-aspect omniscience, they do not even perceive the gift as a gift, do not even perceive the recipient as a recipient, and do not even perceive the giver as a giver. In this way they know that all phenomena are empty of their own defining characteristics, and they see that all phenomena are nonexistent, unoriginated, unconsummated, and not brought into being. Although, for all phenomena, they engage with the defining characteristics of the phenomenon, they do so through engaging with their defining characteristic of being unconditioned—‘all phenomena are utterly ineffectual.’ Since they are endowed with such skill in means, they practice the perfection of generosity and flourish through the roots of virtue. Practicing the perfection of generosity, they bring beings to maturity and refine a buddhafield. Other than practicing the perfection of generosity in order that they might protect all beings and bring beings to maturity, they do not aspire for other fruits of their generosity, such as those fruits that they would enjoy in saṃsāra.”
This completes the fifty-sixth chapter from “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.”