Chapter 64: The Teaching on Sameness · continued 3 · The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines

“Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of wisdom, if they were to see any phenomenon apart from the realm of phenomena, they would not dwell in unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment. All phenomena are the realm of phenomena. This is why, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of wisdom, they know all phenomena to be the realm of phenomena and even though all phenomena are nameless, they teach the Dharma with names that are conventional terms, as follows: ‘these are physical forms,’ ‘these are feelings,’ ‘these are perceptions,’ ‘these are formative predispositions,’ and ‘this is consciousness’; ‘these are the eyes,’ ‘these are the ears,’ ‘this is the nose,’ ‘this is the tongue,’ ‘this is the body,’ and ‘this is the mental faculty’; ‘these are sights,’ ‘these are sounds,’ ‘these are odors,’ ‘these are tastes,’ ‘these are tangibles,’ and ‘these are mental phenomena’; ‘this is visual consciousness,’ ‘this is auditory consciousness,’ ‘this is olfactory consciousness,’ ‘this is gustatory consciousness,’ ‘this is tactile consciousness,’ and ‘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,’ and ‘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,’ and ‘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,’ and ‘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,’ and ‘these are aging and death’; ‘this is the perfection of generosity,’ ‘this is the perfection of ethical discipline,’ ‘this is the perfection of tolerance,’ ‘this is the perfection of perseverance,’ ‘this is the perfection of meditative concentration,’ and ‘this is the perfection of wisdom’; ‘this is the emptiness of internal phenomena,’ ‘this is the emptiness of external phenomena,’ ‘this is the emptiness of external and internal phenomena,’ ‘this is the emptiness of emptiness,’ ‘this is the emptiness of great extent,’ ‘this is the emptiness of ultimate reality,’ ‘this is the emptiness of conditioned phenomena,’ ‘this is the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena,’ ‘this is the emptiness of the unlimited,’ ‘this is the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end,’ ‘this is the emptiness of nonexclusion,’ ‘this is the emptiness of inherent nature,’ ‘this is the emptiness of all phenomena,’ ‘this is the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics,’ ‘this is the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended,’ ‘this is the emptiness of nonentities,’ ‘this is the emptiness of essential nature,’ and ‘this is the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities’; ‘these are the applications of mindfulness,’ ‘these are the correct exertions,’ ‘these are the supports for miraculous ability,’ ‘these are the faculties,’ ‘these are the powers,’ ‘these are the branches of enlightenment,’ and ‘this is the noble eightfold path’; ‘these are the truths of the noble ones,’ ‘these are the meditative concentrations,’ ‘these are the immeasurable attitudes,’ ‘these are the formless absorptions,’ ‘these are the eight liberations,’ ‘these are the nine serial steps of meditative absorption,’ ‘these are the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation,’ ‘these are the extrasensory powers,’ ‘these are the meditative stabilities,’ and ‘these are the dhāraṇī gateways’; ‘these are the powers of the tathāgatas,’ ‘these are the fearlessnesses,’ ‘these are the four kinds of knowledge,’ ‘this is great loving kindness,’ ‘this is great compassion,’ and ‘these are the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas’; and ‘this is the fruit of having entered the stream,’ ‘this is the fruit of once-returner,’ ‘this is the fruit of non-returner,’ ‘this is arhatship,’ ‘this is individual enlightenment,’ ‘this is the knowledge of the aspects of the path,’ and ‘this is unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment.’ ”

“To illustrate, Subhūti, an illusionist or the skilled apprentice of an illusionist, based on some sort of material substance,¹³²⁸ might conjure a diversity of different forms: the form of an elephant, or the form of a horse, or the form of a bull, or the form of a camel, or the form of a sheep; or the forms of a man, a woman, a boy, or a girl; or a meadow, a palace, or a grove in which austere practices are performed; or a pleasant monastic garden, or a brook, or a pleasant pool, or a pleasant grove. Or he might exhibit various carpets, surrounding carpets, and mats that have been spread out,¹³²⁹ or garlands, incense, unguents, or edibles delicious to see; or he might delight people with songs and music; or he might delight beings through generosity with gifts, or the maintenance of ethical discipline, or the cultivation of tolerance, or the undertaking of perseverance, or the play with meditative concentrations, or the cultivation of wisdom, in those sorts of ways; or he might exhibit the great and lofty royal families, or exhibit the great and lofty priestly families, or exhibit the great and lofty householder families; or exhibit Mount Sumeru, or exhibit the gods of the Caturmahārājakāyika realm, or exhibit the gods of the Trayastriṃśa realm, or exhibit the gods of the Yāma realm, or exhibit the gods of the Tuṣita realm, or exhibit the gods of the Nirmāṇarati realm, or exhibit the gods of the Paranirmitavaśavartin realm; or exhibit the gods of the Brahmakāyika realm, or exhibit the gods of the Brahmapurohita realm, or exhibit the gods of the Brahmapārṣadya realm, or exhibit the gods of the Mahābrahmā realm; or exhibit the gods of the Ābha realm, or exhibit the gods of the Parīttābha realm, or exhibit the gods of the Apramāṇābha realm, or exhibit the gods of the Ābhāsvara realm; or exhibit the gods of the Śubha realm, or exhibit the gods of the Parīttaśubha realm, or exhibit the gods of the Apramāṇaśubha realm, or exhibit the gods of the Śubhakṛtsna realm; or exhibit the gods of the Vṛhat realm, or exhibit the gods of the Parīttavṛha realm, or exhibit the gods of the Apramāṇavṛha realm, or exhibit the gods of the Vṛhatphala realm; or exhibit the gods of the Avṛha realm, or exhibit the gods of the Atapa realm, or exhibit the gods of the Sudṛśa realm, or exhibit the gods of the Sudarśana realm, or exhibit the gods of the Akaniṣṭha realm; or exhibit the gods of the sphere of infinite space, or exhibit the gods of the sphere of infinite consciousness, or exhibit the gods of the sphere of nothing-at-all, or exhibit the gods of the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception‍—the formless gods; or exhibit those many who have entered the stream, or those who are once-returners, non-returners, arhats, or pratyekabuddhas. Or he might exhibit those bodhisattva great beings who, starting from the first setting of the mind, practice the perfection of generosity, practice the perfection of ethical discipline, practice the perfection of tolerance, practice the perfection of perseverance, practice the perfection of meditative concentration, and practice the perfection of wisdom; who practice the emptiness of internal phenomena, practice the emptiness of external phenomena, practice the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, practice the emptiness of emptiness, practice the emptiness of great extent, practice the emptiness of ultimate reality, practice the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, practice the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, practice the emptiness of the unlimited, practice the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, practice the emptiness of nonexclusion, practice the emptiness of inherent nature, practice the emptiness of all phenomena, practice the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, practice the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, practice the emptiness of nonentities, practice the emptiness of essential nature, and practice the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities; who practice the applications of mindfulness, practice the correct exertions, practice the supports for miraculous ability, practice the faculties, practice the powers, practice the branches of enlightenment, and practice the noble eightfold path; who practice the meditative concentrations, the liberations, the meditative stabilities, and the formless absorptions; who complete the first level, complete the second level, complete the third level, complete the fourth level, complete the fifth level, complete the sixth level, complete the seventh level, complete the eighth level, complete the ninth level, and complete the tenth level; who actualize a bodhisattva’s full maturity and the extrasensory powers and, playing with those extrasensory powers, illuminate world systems, bring beings to maturity, and refine a buddhafield; sacrifice their limbs and major organs and practice the ascetic practices; thoroughly establish the powers of the tathāgatas, thoroughly establish the fearlessnesses, thoroughly establish the kinds of exact knowledge, and thoroughly establish the distinct qualities of the buddhas; and actualize great compassion. Or he might exhibit the body of a buddha, with all limbs and appendages completely perfect. When he does so, those beings who have a childish disposition take it to be astonishing and think, ‘Oh! What astonishingly beautiful things this well-trained man creates! How astonishing that he delights people in that manner. He exhibits a diversity of different forms: the forms of an elephant, a horse, a bull, a camel, and a sheep, and the forms of a man, a woman, a boy, and a girl; exhibits a meadow, a palace, a grove in which austere practices are performed, and a pleasant monastic garden; exhibits a pleasant pool, exhibits a pleasant grove, and exhibits many such things as various carpets, surrounding carpets, and mats spread out, and garlands, incense, unguents, and edibles delicious to see, and he delights people with songs and music. He delights beings through generosity with gifts, the maintenance of ethical discipline, the cultivation of tolerance, the undertaking of perseverance, play with the meditative concentrations, and the cultivation of wisdom, in those sorts of ways, and exhibits the great and lofty royal families, exhibits the great and lofty priestly families, and exhibits the great and lofty householder families; exhibits Mount Sumeru, exhibits the gods of the Yāma realm, exhibits the gods of the Tuṣita realm, exhibits the gods of the Nirmāṇarati realm, exhibits the gods of the Paranirmitavaśavartin realm; exhibits the gods of the Brahmakāyika realm, exhibits the gods of the Brahmapurohita realm, exhibits the gods of the Brahmapārṣadya realm, and exhibits the gods of the Mahābrahmā realm; exhibits the gods of the Ābha realm, exhibits the gods of the Parīttābha realm, exhibits the gods of the Apramāṇābha realm, and exhibits the gods of the Ābhāsvara realm; exhibits the gods of the Śubha realm, exhibits the gods of the Parīttaśubha realm, exhibits the gods of the Apramāṇaśubha realm, and exhibits the gods of the Śubhakṛtsna realm; exhibits the gods of the Vṛhat realm, exhibits the gods of the Parīttavṛha realm, exhibits the gods of the Apramāṇavṛha realm, and exhibits the gods of the Vṛhatphala realm; exhibits the gods of the Avṛha realm, exhibits the gods of the Atapa realm, exhibits the gods of the Sudṛśa realm, exhibits the gods of the Sudarśana realm, and exhibits the gods of the Akaniṣṭha realm; and exhibits the gods of the sphere of infinite space, exhibits the gods of the sphere of infinite consciousness, exhibits the gods of the sphere of nothing-at-all, and exhibits the gods of the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception‍—the formless gods. He exhibits those who have entered the stream, and exhibits those who are once-returners, non-returners, arhats, and pratyekabuddhas. He also exhibits those bodhisattva great beings who, starting from the first setting of the mind, practice the perfection of generosity, practice the perfection of ethical discipline, practice the perfection of tolerance, practice the perfection of perseverance, practice the perfection of meditative concentration, and practice the perfection of wisdom; practice the emptiness of internal phenomena, practice the emptiness of external phenomena, practice the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, practice the emptiness of emptiness, practice the emptiness of great extent, practice the emptiness of ultimate reality, practice the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, practice the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, practice the emptiness of the unlimited, practice the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, practice the emptiness of nonexclusion, practice the emptiness of inherent nature, practice the emptiness of all phenomena, practice the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, practice the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, practice the emptiness of nonentities, practice the emptiness of essential nature, and practice the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities; practice the applications of mindfulness, practice the correct exertions, practice the supports for miraculous ability, practice the faculties, practice the powers, practice the branches of enlightenment, and practice the noble eightfold path; practice the meditative concentrations, the liberations, the meditative stabilities, and the formless absorptions; complete the first level, complete the second level, complete the third level, complete the fourth level, complete the fifth level, complete the sixth level, complete the seventh level, complete the eighth level, complete the ninth level, and complete the tenth level; actualize a bodhisattva’s full maturity and the extrasensory powers and, playing with those extrasensory powers, illuminate world systems, bring beings to maturity and refine a buddhafield, sacrifice their limbs and major organs and practice the ascetic practices, thoroughly establish the powers of the tathāgatas, thoroughly establish the fearlessnesses, thoroughly establish the kinds of exact knowledge, and thoroughly establish the distinct qualities of the buddhas; and actualize great loving kindness and actualize great compassionT. He exhibits the body of a buddha, with all limbs and appendages completely perfect.’

“The people who are wise and lucid, sharp-witted and endowed with superior analytical ability, think about this, ‘Since no phenomena at all can be apprehended here, the wonderful and marvelous phenomenon is that this man delights this crowd of people with nonexistent phenomena.’ They have the understanding, ‘These beings are perceiving nonentities as entities.’

“In the same way, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of wisdom, they do not see any phenomena at all apart from the realm of phenomena. They bring beings to maturity with skill in means, but they do not apprehend beings, and they do not apprehend the designation of a being.¹³³⁰ They themselves are generous with gifts, encourage others to be generous, praise generosity, and when other beings are generous give them praise and approval.¹³³¹ They themselves maintain ethical discipline, encourage others to be ethically disciplined, praise ethical discipline, and when other beings are ethically disciplined give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate tolerance, encourage others toward tolerance, praise tolerance, and when other beings cultivate tolerance give them praise and approval. They themselves undertake perseverance, encourage others toward perseverance, praise perseverance, and when other beings undertake perseverance give them praise and approval. They themselves become absorbed in meditative stability, encourage others to become absorbed in meditative stability, praise meditative stability, and when other beings become absorbed in meditative stability give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate wisdom, encourage others toward wisdom, praise wisdom, and when other beings cultivate wisdom give them praise and approval.

“They themselves take up the path of the ten virtuous actions, encourage others toward the path of the ten virtuous actions, praise the path of the ten virtuous actions, and when other beings take up the path of the ten virtuous actions give them praise and approval. They themselves make the eight-branched confession and restoration, encourage others toward the eight-branched confession and restoration, praise the eight-branched confession and restoration, and when other beings make the eight-branched confession and restoration give them praise and approval. They themselves maintain the five trainings, encourage others toward the five trainings, praise the five trainings, and when other beings maintain the five trainings give them praise and approval.

“They themselves become absorbed in the first meditative concentration, encourage others to become absorbed¹³³² in the first meditative concentration, praise the first meditative concentration, and when other beings become absorbed in the first meditative concentration give them praise and approval. They themselves become absorbed in the second meditative concentration, encourage others to become absorbed in the second meditative concentration, praise the second meditative concentration, and when other beings become absorbed in the second meditative concentration give them praise and approval. They themselves become absorbed in the third meditative concentration, encourage others to become absorbed in the third meditative concentration, praise the third meditative concentration, and when other beings become absorbed in the third meditative concentration give them praise and approval. They themselves become absorbed in the fourth meditative concentration, encourage others to become absorbed in the fourth meditative concentration, praise the fourth meditative concentration, and when other beings become absorbed in the fourth meditative concentration give them praise and approval.

“They themselves become absorbed in loving kindness, encourage others to become absorbed in loving kindness, praise loving kindness, and when others become absorbed in loving kindness give them praise and approval. They themselves become absorbed in compassion, encourage others to become absorbed in compassion, praise compassion, and when other beings become absorbed in compassion give them praise and approval. They themselves become absorbed in empathetic joy, encourage others to become absorbed in empathetic joy, praise empathetic joy, and when other beings become absorbed in empathetic joy give them praise and approval. They themselves become absorbed in equanimity, encourage others to become absorbed in equanimity, praise equanimity, and when other beings become absorbed in equanimity give them praise and approval.

“They themselves become absorbed in the sphere of infinite space, encourage others to become absorbed in the sphere of infinite space, praise the sphere of infinite space, and when other beings become absorbed in the sphere of infinite space give them praise and approval. They themselves become absorbed in the sphere of infinite consciousness, encourage others to become absorbed in the sphere of infinite consciousness, praise the sphere of infinite consciousness, and when other beings become absorbed in the sphere of infinite consciousness give them praise and approval. They themselves become absorbed in the sphere of nothing-at-all, encourage others to become absorbed in the sphere of nothing-at-all, praise the sphere of nothing-at-all, and when other beings become absorbed in the sphere of nothing-at-all give them praise and approval. They themselves become absorbed in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception, encourage others to become absorbed in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception, praise the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception, and when other beings become absorbed in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception give them praise and approval.

“They themselves cultivate the applications of mindfulness, encourage others toward the applications of mindfulness, praise the applications of mindfulness, and when other beings cultivate the applications of mindfulness give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the correct exertions, encourage others toward the correct exertions, praise the correct exertions, and when other beings cultivate the correct exertions give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the supports for miraculous ability, encourage others toward the supports for miraculous ability, praise the supports for miraculous ability, and when other beings cultivate the supports for miraculous ability give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the faculties, encourage others toward the faculties, praise the faculties, and when other beings cultivate the faculties give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the powers, encourage others toward the powers, praise the powers, and when other beings cultivate the powers give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the branches of enlightenment, encourage others toward the branches of enlightenment, praise the branches of enlightenment, and when other beings cultivate the branches of enlightenment give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the noble eightfold path, encourage others toward the noble eightfold path, praise the noble eightfold path, and when other beings cultivate the noble eightfold path give them praise and approval.

“They themselves cultivate the three gateways to liberation, encourage others toward the three gateways to liberation, praise the three gateways to liberation, and when other beings cultivate the three gateways to liberation give them praise and approval.

“They themselves cultivate the eight liberations, encourage others toward the eight liberations, praise the eight liberations, and when other beings cultivate the eight liberations give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, encourage others toward the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, praise the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, and when other beings cultivate the nine serial steps of meditative absorption give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the five extrasensory powers, encourage others toward the five extrasensory powers, praise the five extrasensory powers, and when other beings cultivate the five extrasensory powers give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the meditative stabilities, encourage others toward the meditative stabilities, praise the meditative stabilities, and when other beings cultivate the meditative stabilities give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the dhāraṇī gateways, encourage others toward the dhāraṇī gateways, praise the dhāraṇī gateways, and when other beings cultivate the dhāraṇī gateways give them praise and approval.

“They themselves cultivate the ten powers of the tathāgatas, encourage others toward the ten powers of the tathāgatas, praise the ten powers of the tathāgatas, and when other beings cultivate the ten powers of the tathāgatas give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the four fearlessnesses, encourage others toward the four fearlessnesses, praise the four fearlessnesses, and when other beings cultivate the four fearlessnesses give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the four kinds of exact knowledge, encourage others toward the four kinds of exact knowledge, praise the four kinds of exact knowledge, and when other beings cultivate the four kinds of exact knowledge give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate great loving kindness, encourage others toward great loving kindness, praise great loving kindness, and when other beings cultivate great loving kindness give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate great compassion, encourage others toward great compassion, praise great compassion, and when other beings cultivate great compassion give them praise and approval. They themselves cultivate the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, encourage others toward the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, praise the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, and when other beings cultivate the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas give them praise and approval.

“They themselves actualize the thirty-two major marks of a great person, encourage others toward the thirty-two major marks of a great person, praise the thirty-two major marks of a great person, and when others actualize the thirty-two major marks of a great person give them praise and approval. They themselves actualize the eighty excellent minor signs, encourage others toward the eighty excellent minor signs, praise the eighty excellent minor signs, and when other beings actualize the eighty excellent minor signs give them praise and approval.

“Subhūti, if the realm of phenomena were not in the future to be exactly the same as it was in the past, and not exactly the same in between as well, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom would not reveal the realm of phenomena to beings through their skill in means, would not bring beings to maturity, and would refine a buddhafield. But, Subhūti, it is because the realm of phenomena will in the future be exactly the same as it was in the past, and is exactly the same in between, that bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom do reveal the realm of phenomena to beings through their skill in means, do engage in the conduct of a bodhisattva for the sake of beings, do bring beings to maturity, and do refine a buddhafield.”

This completes the sixty-fourth chapter, “The Teaching on Sameness,” from “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.”

The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines

Translator’s introduction & reference material

Edition & attribution

Make yourself comfortable

The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines

Translator’s introduction & reference material

Edition & attribution

Make yourself comfortable

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