Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines

“Subhūti, at the same time that the bodhisattva great being Sadāprarudita attained those six million meditative concentrations, he saw blessed buddhas, equal in number to the grains of sand in the River Ganges, in all the ten directions‍—in the east, south, west, north, between, above, and below‍—within the billionfold, great order world systems equal in number to the grains of sand in the River Ganges. Each buddha was surrounded by his saṅgha of monks and attended by those with the positive qualities of bodhisattvas. Each was teaching this very transcendent state of wisdom with these very methods, these very words, and these very syllables.¹⁴³⁹ Each was doing exactly what I am doing right now, surrounded by this saṅgha of monks and attended by this community of bodhisattvas, and teaching this very transcendent state of wisdom with these very methods, these very words, and these very syllables. Through seeing these, the bodhisattva great being Sadāprarudita came to possess inconceivably great learning and ocean-like knowledge. In all his births, he was never separate from the buddhas and was born only where he would be face to face with the blessed buddhas. He was never separate from the blessed buddhas, even in the midst of sleep.¹⁴⁴⁰ He completely left behind inauspicious birth and gained the good fortune of auspicious births.”

Then the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, you should understand also through this Dharma teaching how this transcendent state of wisdom brings forth the knowing of someone who has complete knowing.¹⁴⁴¹ Therefore, Ānanda, any bodhisattva great being who wishes to obtain the knowing of someone who has complete knowing should go about life in this transcendent state of wisdom. Ānanda, this transcendent state of wisdom should be listened to, taken in, kept in mind, chanted, mastered, passed on, taught, expounded, explained, recited, and written out. Through the Tathāgata’s blessings, it should be made into a high-quality book, nicely written out with extremely clear letters. Then one should pay tribute to it‍—with flowers, incense, perfumes, wreaths, fragrant oils, aromatic powders, cloth, musical instruments, parasols, fabrics, banners, bells, flags, garlands of lights all around, and a wide variety of other devotional offerings to venerate it‍—revere it, respect it, venerate it, honor it, and tend to it.¹⁴⁴² Ānanda, this is our admonition to you.¹⁴⁴³ Why is that?¹⁴⁴⁴ It is because one actualizes the knowing of someone who has complete knowing in this transcendent state of wisdom. Ānanda, what do you think? Is the Tathāgata your teacher?”¹⁴⁴⁵

“Blessed One, the Tathāgata is my teacher. Sugata, the Tathāgata is my teacher,” said Ānanda.

At this, the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, you have served me with benevolent and agreeable acts of body, acts of speech, and acts of mind. Therefore, Ānanda, just as you have acted with appreciation, trust, and devotion toward this assemblage belonging to me while it is presently residing, existing, and remaining here, exactly so, Ānanda, you should act toward this transcendent state of wisdom.¹⁴⁴⁶ I am entrusting you this transcendent state of wisdom and transmitting it to you a second time, and also a third time, to ensure that it does not disappear, since no other person besides you would be able to do so.¹⁴⁴⁷ As long as this transcendent state of wisdom is circulating among beings in the world, Ānanda, one should understand the Tathāgata to be remaining, one should understand the Tathāgata to be teaching the Dharma, and one should understand those sentient beings to never be separate from seeing the Buddha, from hearing the Dharma, or from being near the Saṅgha. Also, Ānanda, one should understand those sentient beings to be living in the presence of the Tathāgata whenever they listen to this transcendent state of wisdom, take it in, keep it in mind, chant it, master it, pass it on, teach it, expound it, explain it, recite it, write it out, pay tribute to it‍—with flowers, incense, perfumes, wreaths, fragrant oils, aromatic powders, cloth, parasols, banners, bells, flags, garlands of lights all around, and a wide variety of other devotional offerings to venerate it‍—revere it, respect it, venerate it, honor it, and tend to it.”

As the Blessed One taught this with delight in his heart, they all‍—the bodhisattva great beings headed by Maitreya, the venerable Subhūti, the venerable Śariputra, the venerable Ānanda, Śakra, powerful lord of the gods, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, garuḍas, and gandharvas‍—rejoiced in what the Blessed One had taught.¹⁴⁴⁸

This ends the chapter “The Entrustment,” the thirty-second chapter in “The Noble Transcendent State of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines.”

This ends The Noble Transcendent State of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines. She is the one who engenders all the tathāgatas; the mother of the bodhisattvas, the solitary realizers, and the disciples; the seal of the Dharma; the torch of the Dharma; the drum of the Dharma; the wreath of pearls inconceivable and amazing to behold; venerated by the world with its gods, humans, asuras, garuḍas, and gandharvas; the inexhaustible Dharma, a repository of Dharma jewels; and the cause of all happiness.

“Of those things produced by a cause, the Tathāgata has taught their cause and cessation. He who so explains is the Great Mendicant.”¹⁴⁴⁹

Translated, edited, and verified by the Indian preceptors Śākyasena and Jñānasiddhi, the chief editor and translator Bandé Dharmatāśīla, and others. Subsequently, on the orders of the sublime lord ruler of Tibet, Pel Lhatsenpo Tashi Lhadetsen,¹⁴⁵⁰ the Indian preceptor Subhāṣita and the translator, the monk Rinchen Zangpo, harmonized it with the commentary. Subsequently again, the Indian preceptor, the great paṇḍita Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna, and the chief editor-translator, the monk Rinchen Zangpo, harmonized it with a commentary from Magadha, emending, editing, and establishing it. Still later, at a time when the great paṇḍita Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna and the translator Drom Gyalwai Jungné were both expounding The Eight Thousand at Nyethang Namoché in the Lower Kyichu Valley, they verified one approximate passage.¹⁴⁵¹ Afterward, at the temple of Radreng, the translator Drom Gyalwai Jungné verified it twice by comparing it with three Indian sūtra manuscripts. Later still, the same translator expounded and verified some minor points. In a later period the great translator and Śākya bhikṣu Loden Sherab collected a number of manuscripts from Kashmir and Magadha and verified the text.