“Moreover, Subhūti, the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings is the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas. If you ask what these eighteen are, from the night when the tathāgatas fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment until when—having taught the path whereby living creatures, including gods, demons, Brahmās, virtuous ascetics, and brahmin priests, along with gods, humans, and asuras, put an end to suffering—they attain final nirvāṇa in the expanse of nirvāṇa where there is no remainder of the aggregates, the tathāgatas are without clumsiness; they are not noisy; their memory does not degenerate; they are without differentiating perceptions; they are without uncomposed minds; they are without the indifference that lacks discernment; they do not degenerate in their resolution; they do not degenerate in their perseverance; they do not degenerate in their mindfulness; they do not degenerate in their meditative stability; they do not degenerate in their wisdom; they do not degenerate in their liberation nor do they degenerate in their knowledge and seeing of liberation;532 all the activities of their bodies are preceded by transcendental knowledge and informed by transcendental knowledge;533 all the activities of their speech are preceded by transcendental knowledge and informed by transcendental knowledge; all the activities of their minds are preceded by transcendental knowledge and informed by transcendental knowledge; their unobstructed and unimpeded transcendental knowledge and seeing engages with the past; their unobstructed and unimpeded transcendental knowledge and seeing engages with the future; and their unobstructed and unimpeded transcendental knowledge and seeing engages with the present.
“This too, Subhūti, by way of not apprehending anything, is the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings.
“Moreover, Subhūti, the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings is the dhāraṇī gateways—that is to say, the sameness of letters,534 the sameness of explanations, the letters as gateways, and the entrance through letters. Among them, if you ask what the letters as gateways and entrance through letters are, the a is the gateway to all phenomena, because they have not arisen (a nutpannatvād). The ra is the gateway to all phenomena, because they are without dirt (ra jas). The pa is the gateway to all phenomena, because it indicates the ultimate (pa ramārtha). The tsa is the gateway to all phenomena, because death (cya vana) and rebirth are not apprehended so all phenomena do not die and are not reborn. The na is the gateway to all phenomena, because they are separated from names (nā man) and an intrinsic nature of names is not acquired or lost. The la is the gateway to all phenomena, because they are supramundane (l okottara) and the causes and conditions giving rise to the creeping vine (la tā) of craving are utterly destroyed. The da is the gateway to all phenomena, because being disciplined (dā nta) and disciplined abiding (da matha) are determined.535 The ba is the gateway to all phenomena, because they are free from bondage (ba ndhana). The ḍa is the gateway to all phenomena, because they are free from agitation (ḍa mara). The ṣa536 is the gateway to all phenomena, because there is no attachment (sa ṅga) and no bondage because attachment cannot be apprehended. The va537 is the gateway to all phenomena, because the pathway and sounds of speech (vā kpatha) have been interrupted. The ta is the gateway to all phenomena, because they do not waver from the real nature (ta thatā). The ya is the gateway to all phenomena, because they cannot be apprehended definitively (ya thāvat). The sta538 is the gateway to all phenomena, because boasting (sta mbha) is not apprehended. The ka is the gateway to all phenomena, because agents (kā raka) are not apprehended. The sa is the gateway to all phenomena, because they have not transgressed sameness (sa matā) because sameness is not apprehended. The ma is the gateway to all phenomena, because the notion of ‘mine’ (ma makāra) is not apprehended. The ga is the gateway to all phenomena, because motion (ga mana) is not apprehended. The [s]tha is the gateway to all phenomena, because abodes ([s]thā na) are not apprehended. The dza is the gateway to all phenomena, because birth (jā ti) is not apprehended. The shva539 is the gateway to all phenomena, because the life breath (śvā sa) is not apprehended. The dha is the gateway to all phenomena, because the realm of phenomena (dha rma) is not apprehended. The sha is the gateway to all phenomena, because calm abiding (śa matha) is not apprehended. The kha is the gateway to all phenomena, because phenomena are not apprehended owing to the sameness of space (kha). The kṣa is the gateway to all phenomena, because extinction (kṣa ya) is not apprehended. The sta is the gateway to all phenomena, because eulogies (st otra) are not apprehended.540 The dznya is the gateway to all phenomena, because transcendental knowledge (jñā na) is not apprehended. The rta is the gateway to all phenomena, because afflictive mental states (art i) are not apprehended.541 The ha542 is the gateway to all phenomena, because causes (he tu) are not apprehended. The bha is the gateway to all phenomena, because there is no fear (bha ya).543 The cha is the gateway to all phenomena, because a complexion (cha vi) is not apprehended. The sma544 is the gateway to all phenomena, because memory (sma raṇa) is not apprehended. The hva is the gateway to all phenomena, because appellations (āhvā na) are not apprehended. The tsa is the gateway to all phenomena, because resolution (utsā ha) is not apprehended. The gha is the gateway to all phenomena, because density (gha na) is not apprehended. The tha545 is the gateway to all phenomena, because fabrications (viṭha pana) are not apprehended. The ṇa is the gateway to all phenomena, because, since there is no conflict (raṇa), nothing goes or comes, stands or sits, or rests, or thinks conceptually. The pha is the gateway to all phenomena, because fruits (pha la) are not apprehended. The ska is the gateway to all phenomena, because the aggregates (ska ndha) are not apprehended. The ysa is the gateway to all phenomena, because unhappiness (ys kara)546 is not apprehended. The tsa is the gateway to all phenomena, because conduct (ca raṇa) is not apprehended. The ḍa is the gateway to all phenomena, because suffering (*ḍa dakara)547 is not apprehended. The ḍha is the gateway to all phenomena, because, since a covering (ḍha kana)548 is not apprehended, ultimately there is neither death and transmigration nor rebirth.
“There is no conventional usage of letters above these. If you ask why, it is because there exist no sorts of names at all by which anything could be conventionally designated, by which anything could be expressed, by which anything could be taught, by which anything could be written, by which anything could be seen, or by which anything could be recited aloud.
“Subhūti, all phenomena should be understood to resemble space. Subhūti, this is the entrance through the dhāraṇī gateways, the entrance through the explanation of the letters, beginning with a. Subhūti, if any bodhisattva great beings comprehend this expertise with respect to the letters, beginning with a, they will not be attached to any sounds, they will accomplish all as the reality of phenomena, and they will acquire skill in the cognition of sounds.
“Subhūti, you should know there are twenty advantages for those bodhisattva great beings who have heard this seal of entrance through the letters a and so on, and these words that are the seal of entrance through the letters a and so on, and who, having heard them, also take them up, hold them in mind, recite them aloud, and master and demonstrate them to others with the proper understanding. If you ask what these twenty are, they are as follows:549
“They will be mindful, intelligent, understanding, clever, joyful, modest, and inspired. They will acquire this dhāraṇī gateway without feeling afflicted and will not be hesitant, will not be attached upon hearing the sweet words of others, and they will not be angered upon hearing harsh words, so that they will dwell in the correct way, neither high nor low. They will be skilled in words. They will be skilled with respect to the aggregates. They will be skilled with respect to the sensory elements. They will be skilled with respect to the sense fields. They will be skilled with respect to the truths. They will be skilled with respect to dependent origination, which is to say, skilled with respect to causes and skilled with respect to conditions. They will be skilled with respect to the reality of phenomena. They will be skilled in knowledge of those of high and low acumen. They will be skilled in knowledge of death and rebirth. They will be skilled in knowledge of clairaudience. They will be skilled in knowledge of others’ minds. They will be skilled in knowledge of recollecting past lives. They will be skilled in knowledge of miraculous abilities. They will be skilled in knowledge of the extinction of contaminants. They will be skilled in knowledge of that which is possible and that which is impossible. They will be skilled in going out and skilled in returning. They will be skilled in conduct. They will also acquire skill in matters of shame and conscience.
“This too, Subhūti, this entrance through the dhāraṇī gateways––the letters a and so on––by way of not apprehending anything, is the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings.”
This completes the ninth chapter from The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.