VIMALAKIRTI NIRDESA SUTRA Translated by Robert A. F.

Thurman

1. ur!"!#at!on o" the $uddha%F!eld

Reverence to all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Aryasravakas, and Pratyekabuddhas, in the past, the present, and the future. Thus have I heard: At one time the Lord Buddha They as in residence in the !arden of Amrapali, in the city of ere ei!ht thousand, all saints.

"aisali, attended by a !reat !atherin!. #f Bhikkhus there ere entirely liberated by perfect kno led!e. They elephants. They had accomplished their ork, done

ere free from impurities and afflictions, and all had attained self$mastery. Their minds ere calm and di!nified, like royal hat they had to do, cast off their

burdens, attained their !oals, and totally destroyed the bonds of e%istence. They all had attained the utmost perfection of every form of mind control. #f bodhisattvas there acclaimed. They kno led!e&s and ere thirty$t o thousand, !reat spiritual heroes ho ere universally

ere dedicated throu!h the penetratin! activity of their !reat super$ ere sustained by the !race of the Buddha. 'uardians of the city of

(harma, they upheld the true doctrine, and their !reat teachin!s resounded like the lion)s roar throu!hout the ten directions. *ithout havin! to be asked, they and over helmin! all critics. Their mindfulness, intelli!ence, reali-ation, meditation, incantation, and elo,uence all thin!s. They turned the irreversible insi!nia of si!n$less$ness. They bein!s. They ere brave heel of the (harma. They ere stamped ith the ere ere the natural spiritual benefactors of all livin! bein!s.

They maintained unbroken the succession of the Three +e els, con,uerin! devils and foes

perfected. They had attained the intuitive tolerance of the ultimate incomprehensibility of all ere e%pert in kno in! the spiritual faculties of all livin!

ith the confidence that overa es all assemblies. They had !athered

the !reat stores of merit and of adorned They

isdom, and their bodies, beautiful

ithout ornaments,

ere

ith all the auspicious si!ns and marks.

ere e%alted in fame and !lory, like the lofty summit of .ount /umeru. Their hi!h

resolve as hard as diamond, unbreakable in their faith in Buddha, (harma and /an!ha, they sho ered forth the rain of ambrosia that is released by the li!ht rays of the 0e el of the (harma, hich shines every here. ere perfect in diction and resonance, and versatile in speakin! all lan!ua!es.

Their voices

They had penetrated the profound principle of relativity and had destroyed the persistence of the instinctual mental habits underlyin! all convictions concernin! finitude and infinitude. They spoke fearlessly, like lions, soundin! the thunder of the ma!nificent teachin!. 1ne,ualed, they surpassed all measure. They in the ay of the (harma, ere the best captains for the voya!e of isdom. They ere e%pert discovery of the treasures of the (harma, the stores of merit and to reali-e. They as ere endo ed ith the isdom that is able to understand the thou!hts of livin! bein!s, ith the anointment of the

hich is strai!ht, peaceful, subtle, !entle, hard to see, and difficult

ell as their comin!s and !oin!s. They had been consecrated

peerless !nosis 2intuitive kno led!e3 of the Buddha. *ith their hi!h resolve, they approached the ten po ers, the four fearlessnesses, and the ei!hteen special ,ualities of the Buddha. They had crossed the terrifyin! abyss of the bad mi!rations, and yet they assumed reincarnation voluntarily in all mi!rations for the sake of disciplinin! livin! bein!s. 'reat 4in!s of medicine, understandin! all the sicknesses of passions, they could apply the medicine of the (harma appropriately. They and they !lorified innumerable Buddha$fields conferred !reat benefit mi!hty flood of virtues. These bodhisattvas ere named: /amadarsana, Asamadarsana, /amadhivikurvitara0a, ere ine%haustible mines of limitless virtues, ith the splendor of these virtues. They

hen seen, heard, or even approached. *ere one to e%tol them for

innumerable hundreds of thousands of myriads of aeons, one still could not e%haust their

harmesvara, (harmaketu, Prabhaketu, Prabhavyuha, Ratnavyuha, .ahavyuha, Pratibhanakuta, Ratnakuta, Ratnapani, Ratnamudrahasta, 5ityapralambahasta, 5ityotksipthasta, 5ityatapta, 5ityamuditendriya, Pramodyara0a, (evara0a, Pranidhanapravesaprapta, Prasiddhapratisamvitprapta, 'a!ana!an0a, Ratnolkapari!rhita, Ratnasura, Ratnapriya, Ratnasri, Indra0ala, +aliniprabha, 5iralambanadhyana, Pra0nakuta,

Ratnadatta, .arapramardaka, "idyuddeva, "ikurvanara0a, 4utanimittasamatikranta, /imhanadanadin, 'irya!rapramardira0a, 'andhahastin, 'andhakun0arana!a, 5ityodyukta, Aniksiptadhura, Pramati, /u0ata, Padmasri!arbha, Padmavyuha, Avalokitesvara, .ahasthamaprapta, Brahma0ala, Ratnadandin, .arakarmavi0eta, 4setrasamalamkara, .aniratnacchattra, /uvarnacuda, .anicuda, .aitreya, .an0usrikumarabhuta, and so forth, ith the remainder of the thirty$t o thousand. There ere also !athered there ten thousand Brahmas, at their head Brahma /ikhin, ho had

come from the Ashoka universe

ith its four sectors to see, venerate, and serve the Buddha ere t elve thousand /akras, from ere other po erful !ods: Brahmas, /akras,

and to hear the (harma from his o n mouth. There various four$sector universes. And there 6inally, there lay omen.

Lokapalas, devas, na!as, yakshas, !andharvas, asuras, !arudas, kimnaras, and mahora!as. as the fourfold community, consistin! of Bhikkhus, Bhikkhunis, laymen, and

The Lord Buddha, thus surrounded and venerated by these multitudes of many hundreds of thousands of livin! bein!s, sat upon a ma0estic lion$throne and be!an to teach the (harma. (ominatin! all the multitudes, 0ust as /umeru, the kin! of mountains, looms hi!h over the oceans, the Lord Buddha shone, radiated, and !littered as he sat upon his ma!nificent lion$ throne. Thereupon, the Licchavi bodhisattva Ratnakara, ith five hundred Licchavi youths, each

holdin! a precious parasol made of seven different kinds of 0e els, came forth from the city of "aisali and presented himself at the !rove of Amrapali. 7ach approached the Buddha, bo ed at his feet, circumambulated him clock ise seven times, laid do n his precious parasol in offerin!, and ithdre to one side.

As soon as all these precious parasols had been laid do n, suddenly, by the miraculous po er of the Lord, they !ala%y ere transformed into a sin!le precious canopy so !reat that it here the total content of ell as formed a coverin! for this entire billion$ orld !ala%y. The surface of the entire billion$ orld as reflected in the interior of the !reat precious canopy, this !ala%y could be seen: limitless mansions of suns, moons, and stellar bodies8 the realms of the devas, na!as, yakshas, !andharvas, asuras, !arudas, kimnaras, and mahora!as, as the realms of the four .ahara0as8 the kin! of mountains, .ound /umeru8 .ount 9imadri, .ount .ucilinda, .ount .ahamucilinda, .ount 'andhamadana, .ount Ratnaparvata, .ount 4alaparvata, .ount :akravada, .ount .ahacakravada8 all the !reat oceans, rivers, bays torrents, streams, brooks, and sprin!s8 finally, all the villa!es, suburbs, cities, capitals, provinces, and ildernesses. All this could be clearly seen by everyone. And the voices of all

the Buddhas of the ten directions could be heard proclaimin! their teachin!s of the (harma in all the orlds, the sounds reverberatin! in the space beneath the !reat precious canopy.

At this vision of the ma!nificent miracle affected by the supernatural po er of the Lord Buddha, the entire host as ecstatic, enraptured, astonished, deli!hted, satisfied, and filled ithdre to one side ith ith fi%ed attention. The youn! Licchavi ith a e and pleasure. They all bo ed do n to the Tath;!ata, palms pressed to!ether, and !a-ed upon him Ratnakara knelt salute of the Buddha, and praised him

ith his ri!ht knee on the !round raised his hands8 palms pressed to!ether in ith the follo in! hymn:

Pure are your eyes, broad and beautiful, like the petals of a blue lotus. Pure is your thou!ht, havin! discovered the supreme transcendence of all trances. Immeasurable is the ocean of your virtues, the accumulation of your !ood deeds. <ou affirm the path of peace. #h, 'reat Ascetic, obeisance to you=

Leader, bull of men,

e behold the revelation of your miracle.

The superb and radiant fields of the /u!atas appear before us, And your e%tensive spiritual teachin!s, that lead to immortality .ake themselves heard throu!hout the hole reach of space.

(harma$4in!, you rule And thereby besto

ith the (harma your supreme (harma$kin!dom,

the treasures of the (harma upon all livin! bein!s.

7%pert in the deep analysis of thin!s, you teach their ultimate meanin!. /overei!n Lord of (harma, obeisance to you.

All these thin!s arise dependently, from causes, <et they are neither e%istent nor none%istent. Therein is neither e!o, nor e%periencer, nor doer, <et no action, !ood or evil, loses its effects. /uch is your teachin!.

# /hakyamuni, con,uerin! the po erful host of .ara, <ou found peace, immortality, and the happiness of that supreme enli!htenment, *hich is not reali-ed by any amon! the heterodo%, Thou!h they arrest their feelin!, thou!ht and mental processes.

# *onderful 4in! of (harma, <ou turned the heel of (harma before men and !ods,

*ith its threefold revolution, its manifold aspects, Its purity of nature, and its e%treme peace8 And thereby the Three +e els ere revealed.

Those

ho are

ell disciplined by your precious (harma

Are free of vain ima!inin!s and al ays deeply peaceful. /upreme doctor, you put an end to birth, decay, sickness, and death.

Immeasurable #cean of virtue, obeisance to you=

Like .ount /umeru, you are unmoved by honor or scorn. <ou love moral bein!s and immoral bein!s e,ually. Poised in e,uanimity, your mind is like the sky. *ho ould not honor such a precious 0e el of a bein!>

'reat /a!e, in all these multitudes !athered here, *ho look upon your countenance ith hearts sincere in faith,

7ach bein! beholds the "ictor, as if 0ust before him. This is a special ,uality of the Buddha.

Althou!h the Lord speaks

ith but one voice,

Those present perceive that same voice differently, And each understands in his o n lan!ua!e accordin! to his o n needs. This is a special ,uality of the Buddha.

6rom the Leader)s act of speakin! in a sin!le voice, /ome merely develop an instinct for the teachin!, some !ain reali-ation, /ome find pacification of all their doubts. This is a special ,uality of the Buddha.

#beisance to you #beisance to you

ho command the force of leadership and the ten po ers= ho are dauntless, kno in! no fear=

#beisance to you, leader of all livin! bein!s, *ho fully manifests the special ,ualities=

#beisance to you #beisance to you #beisance to you #beisance to you

ho have cut the bonda!e of all fetters= ho, havin! !one beyond, stand on firm !round= ho save the sufferin! bein!s= ho do not remain in the mi!rations=

<ou associate

ith livin! bein!s by fre,uentin! their mi!rations.

<et your mind is liberated from all mi!rations. +ust as the lotus, born of mud, is not tainted thereby, /o the lotus of the Buddha preserves the reali-ation of void$ness.

<ou nullify all si!ns in all thin!s every here. <ou are not sub0ect to any ish for anythin! at all.

The miraculous po er of the Buddhas is inconceivable. I bo to you, ho stand no here, like infinite space.

Then, the youn! Licchavi Ratnakara, havin! celebrated the Buddha addressed him: ?Lord, these five hundred youn! Licchavis are truly on their enli!htenment, and they have asked

ith these verses, further

ay to une%celled, perfect

hat is the bodhisattvas) purification of the Buddha$

field. Please, Lord, e%plain to them the bodhisattvas) purification of the Buddha$field=? 1pon this re,uest, the Buddha !ave his approval to the youn! Licchavi Ratnakara: ?'ood, !ood, youn! man= <our ,uestion to the Tath;!ata about the purification of the Buddha$field is indeed !ood. Therefore, youn! man, listen ell and remember= I ill e%plain to you the purification of the Buddha$field of the bodhisattvas.? ?"ery !ood, Lord,? replied Ratnakara and the five hundred youn! Licchavis, and they set themselves to listen. The Buddha said, ?5oble sons, a Buddha$field of bodhisattvas is a field of livin! bein!s. *hy so> A bodhisattva embraces a Buddha$field to the same e%tent that he causes the development of livin! bein!s. 9e embraces a Buddha$field to the same e%tent that livin! bein!s become disciplined. 9e embraces a Buddha$field to the same e%tent that, throu!h entrance into a Buddha$field, livin! bein!s are introduced to the Buddha$!nosis. 9e embraces a Buddha$field to the same e%tent that, throu!h entrance into that Buddha$field, livin! bein!s increase their holy spiritual faculties. *hy so> 5oble son, a Buddha$field of bodhisattvas sprin!s from the aims of livin! bein!s. ?6or e%ample, Ratnakara, should one same ay, should a bodhisattva, ish to build in empty space, one mi!ht !o ahead in ell that all thin!s are like empty space,

spite of the fact that it is not possible to build or to adorn anythin! in empty space. In 0ust the ho kno s full ish to build a Buddha$field in order to develop livin! bein!s, he mi!ht !o ahead, in spite of the fact that it is not possible to build or to adorn a Buddha$field in empty space. ?<et, Ratnakara, a bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is a field of positive thou!ht. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! bein!s free of hypocrisy and deceit ill be born in his Buddha$field.

?5oble son, a bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is a field of hi!h resolve. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! bein!s that have harvested the t o stores and have planted the roots of virtue ill be born in his Buddha$field.

?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is a field of virtuous application. *hen he attains enli!htenment livin! bein!s that live by all virtuous principles field. ?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is the ma!nificence of the conception of the spirit of enli!htenment. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! bein!s that are actually participatin! in the .ahayana ill be born in his Buddha$field. ill be born in his Buddha$

?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is a field of !enerosity. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! bein!s that !ive a ay all their possessions ill be born in his Buddha$field.

?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is a field of tolerance. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! bein!s ith the transcendences of tolerance, discipline, and the superior trance $ hence ith the thirty$t o auspicious si!ns $ ill be born in his Buddha$field. beautiful

?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is a field of meditation. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! bein!s that are evenly balanced throu!h mindfulness and a areness Buddha$field. ?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is a field of bein!s that are destined for the ultimate isdom. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! ill be born in his Buddha$field. ill be born in his

?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field consists of the four immeasurables. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! bein!s that live by love, compassion, 0oy, and impartiality in his Buddha$field. ?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field consists of the four means of unification. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! bein!s that are held to!ether by all the liberations Buddha$field. ?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is skill in liberative techni,ue. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! bein!s skilled in all liberative techni,ues and activities ill be born in his Buddha$field. ?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field consists of the thirty$seven aids to enli!htenment. Livin! bein!s ho devote their efforts to the four foci of mindfulness, the four ri!ht efforts, the four ill be born in his Buddha$field. bases of ma!ical po er, the five spiritual faculties, the five stren!ths, the seven factors of enli!htenment, and the ei!ht branches of the holy path ill be born in his ill be born

?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is his mind of total dedication. *hen he attains enli!htenment, the ornaments of all virtues ill appear in his Buddha$field.

?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is the doctrine that eradicates the ei!ht adversities. *hen he attains enli!htenment, the three bad mi!rations the ei!ht adversities in his Buddha$field. ?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field consists of his personal observance of the basic precepts and his restraint in blamin! others for their trans!ressions. *hen he attains enli!htenment, even the ord )crime) ill never be mentioned in his Buddha$field. ill cease, and there ill be no such thin! as

?A bodhisattva)s Buddha$field is the purity of the path of the ten virtues. *hen he attains enli!htenment, livin! bein!s ho are secure in lon! life, !reat in ealth, chaste in conduct, ith enhanced by true speech, soft$spoken, free of divisive intri!ues and adroit in reconcilin! factions, enli!htenin! in their conversations, free of envy, free of malice, and endo ed perfect vie s ill be born in his Buddha$field.

?Thus, noble son, 0ust as is the bodhisattva)s production of the spirit of enli!htenment, so is his positive thou!ht. And 0ust as is his positive thou!ht, so is his virtuous application. ?9is virtuous application is tantamount to his hi!h resolve, his hi!h resolve is tantamount to his determination, his determination is tantamount to his practice, and his practice is tantamount to his total dedication, his total dedication is tantamount to his liberative techni,ue, his liberative techni,ue is tantamount to his development of livin! bein!s, and his development of livin! bein!s is tantamount to the purity of his Buddha$field. ?The purity of his Buddha$field reflects the purity of livin! bein!s8 the purity of the livin! bein!s reflects the purity of his !nosis8 the purity of his !nosis reflects the purity of his doctrine8 the purity of his doctrine reflects the purity of his transcendental practice8 and the purity of his transcendental practice reflects the purity of his o n mind.?

Thereupon, ma!ically influenced by the Buddha, the venerable /hariputra had this thou!ht: ?If the Buddha$field is pure only to the e%tent that the mind of the bodhisattva is pure, then, hen /hakyamuni Buddha been impure. #ther ise, ho as en!a!ed in the career of the bodhisattva, his mind must have could this Buddha$field appear to be so impure>?

The Buddha, kno in! telepathically the thou!ht of venerable /hariputra, said to him, ?*hat do you think, /hariputra> Is it because the sun and moon are impure that those blind from birth do not see them>? /hariputra replied, ?5o, Lord. It is not so. The fault lies ith the sun and moon.? The Buddha declared, ?In the same ay, /hariputra, the fact that some livin! bein!s do not ith those blind from birth, and not

behold the splendid display of virtues of the Buddha$field of the Tath;!ata is due to their o n i!norance. It is not the fault of the Tath;!ata. /hariputra, the Buddha$field of the Tath;!ata is pure, but you do not see it.? Then the Brahma /ikhin said to the venerable /hariputra, ?Reverend /hariputra, do not say that the Buddha$field of the Tath;!ata is impure. Reverend /hariputra, the Buddha$field of the Tath;!ata is pure. I see the splendid e%panse of the Buddha$field of the Lord /hakyamuni as e,ual to the splendor of, for e%ample, the abodes of the hi!hest deities.? Then the venerable /hariputra said to the Brahma /ikhin, ?As for me, # Brahma, I see this !reat earth, ith its hi!hs and lo s, its thorns, its precipices, its peaks, and its abysses, as if it ith ordure.? ere so ere entirely filled

Brahma /ikhin replied, ?The fact that you see such a Buddha$field as this as if it

impure, reverend /hariputra, is a sure si!n that there are hi!hs and lo s in your mind and that your positive thou!ht in re!ard to the Buddha$!nosis is not pure either. Reverend /hariputra, those hose minds are impartial to ard all livin! bein!s and hose positive thou!hts to ard the Buddha$!nosis are pure see this Buddha$field as perfectly pure.? Thereupon the Lord touched the !round of this billion$ orld$!alactic universe toe, and suddenly it ith his bi!

as transformed into a hu!e mass of precious 0e els, a ma!nificent array

of many hundreds of thousands of clusters of precious !ems, until it resembled the universe of the Tath;!ata Ratnavyuha, called Ananta!unaratnavyuha. 7veryone in the entire assembly as filled ith onder, each perceivin! himself seated on a throne of 0e eled lotuses.

Then, the Buddha said to the venerable /hariputra, ?/hariputra, do you see this splendor of the virtues of the Buddha$field>? /hariputra replied, ?I see it, Lord= 9ere before me is a display of splendor such as I never before heard of or beheld=?

The Buddha said, ?/hariputra, this Buddha$field is al ays thus pure, but the Tath;!ata makes it appear to be spoiled by many faults, in order to brin! about the maturity of the inferior livin! bein!s. 6or e%ample, /hariputra, the !ods of the Trayastrimsa heaven all take their food from a sin!le precious vessel, yet the nectar, hich nourishes each one, differs accordin! to the differences of the merits each has accumulated. +ust so, /hariputra, livin! bein!s born in the same Buddha$field see the splendor of the virtues of the Buddha$fields of the Buddhas accordin! to their o n de!rees of purity.? *hen this splendor of the beauty of the virtues of the Buddha$field shone forth, ei!hty$four thousand bein!s conceived the spirit of une%celled perfect enli!htenment, and the five hundred Licchavi youths ho had accompanied the youn! Licchavi Ratnakara all attained the conformative tolerance of ultimate birthlessness. Then, the Lord ithdre his miraculous po er and at once the Buddha$field as restored to

its usual appearance. Then, both men and !ods

ho subscribed to the disciple$vehicle

thou!ht, ?Alas= All constructed thin!s are impermanent.? Thereby, thirty$t o thousand livin! bein!s purified their immaculate, undistorted (harma$ eye in re!ard to all thin!s. The ei!ht thousand Bhikkhus that ere liberated from their mental defilements, attainin! the state of non$!raspin!. And the ei!hty$four thousand livin! bein!s ere devoted to the !randeur of the Buddha$field, havin! understood that all thin!s are by nature but ma!ical creations, all conceived in their o n minds the spirit of une%celled, totally perfect enli!htenment. &. In#on#e!'able S(!ll !n L!berat!'e Te#hn!)ue At that time, there lived in the !reat city of "aisali a certain Licchavi, "imalakirti by name. 9avin! served the ancient Buddhas, he had !enerated the roots of virtue by honorin! them and makin! offerin!s to them. 9e had attained tolerance as ell as elo,uence. 9e played ith the !reat super$kno led!e&s. 9e had attained the po er of incantations and the fearlessnesses. 9e had con,uered all demons and opponents. 9e had penetrated the profound ay of the (harma. 9e as liberated throu!h the transcendence of ith skill in liberative techni,ue, he isdom. 9avin! inte!rated his reali-ation and bein! !ifted his tasks as e%pert in kno in!

the thou!hts and actions of livin! bein!s. 4no in! the stren!th or

eakness of their faculties,

ith unrivaled elo,uence, he tau!ht the (harma appropriately to each. ith the deportment of a Buddha, and his superior as praised, honored, and commended by all the

9avin! applied himself ener!etically to the .ahayana, he understood it and accomplished ith !reat finesse. 9e lived as as intelli!ence ide as an ocean. 9e

Buddhas and livin! bein!s 9is ealth

as respected by Indra, Brahma, and all the Lokapalas. In order to develop ith his skill in liberative techni,ue, he lived in the !reat city of "aisali. as ine%haustible for the purpose of sustainin! the poor and the helpless. 9e ho ere an!ry, cruel, violent, and brutal. 9e bla-ed ho ere la-y. 9e maintained concentration,

observed a pure morality in order to protect the immoral. 9e maintained tolerance and self$ control in order to reconcile bein!s ith ener!y in order to inspire people isdom in order to sustain the foolish. 9e ore the hite clothes of the layman, yet lived impeccably like a reli!ious devotee. 9e ife, and female attendants, yet al ays maintained as endo ed ith the auspicious si!ns and marks. as al ays to

mindfulness, and meditation in order to sustain the mentally troubled. 9e attained decisive

lived at home, but remained aloof from the realm of desire, the realm of pure matter, and the immaterial realm. 9e had a son, a be adorned continence. 9e appeared to be surrounded by servants, yet lived in solitude. 9e appeared to ith ornaments, yet al ays 9e seemed to eat and drink, yet al ays took nourishment from the taste of meditation. 9e made his appearance at the fields of sports and in the casinos, but his aim mature those people ho ere attached to !ames and !amblin!. 9e visited the fashionable

heterodo% teachers, yet al ays kept uns ervin! loyalty to the Buddha. 9e understood the mundane and transcendental sciences and esoteric practices, yet al ays took pleasure in the deli!hts of the (harma. 9e mi%ed in all cro ds, yet In order to be in harmony and ith people, he associated as respected as foremost of all. ith elders, ith those of middle a!e, ould

ith the youn!, yet al ays spoke in harmony

ith the (harma. 9e en!a!ed in all sorts

of businesses, yet had no interest in profit or possessions. To train livin! bein!s, he appear at crossroads and on street corners, and to protect them he participated in

!overnment. To turn people a ay from the 9inayana and to en!a!e them in the .ahayana, he appeared amon! listeners and teachers of the (harma. To develop children, he visited all the schools. To demonstrate the evils of desire, he even entered the brothels. To establish drunkards in correct mindfulness, he entered all the cabarets. 9e as honored as the businessman amon! businessmen because he demonstrated the as honored as the landlord amon! landlords because he as honored as the arrior amon! arriors as as honored as the

priority of the (harma. 9e

renounced the a!!ressiveness of o nership. 9e

because he cultivated endurance, determination, and fortitude. 9e

aristocrat amon! aristocrats because he suppressed pride, vanity, and arro!ance. 9e accordin! to the (harma. 9e

honored as the official amon! officials because he re!ulated the functions of !overnment as honored as the prince of princes because he reversed their

attachment to royal pleasures and soverei!n po er. 9e

as honored as a eunuch in the royal

harem because he tau!ht the youn! ladies accordin! to the (harma. 9e as compatible ith ordinary people because he appreciated the e%cellence of ordinary as honored as the Brahma amon! Brahmas because he sho ed them as honored as the Lokapala amon! Lokapalas because

merits. 9e

as honored as the Indra amon! Indra&s because he sho ed them the temporality

of their lordship. 9e

the special e%cellence of !nosis. 9e

he fostered the development of all livin! bein!s. Thus lived the Licchavi "imalakirti in the !reat city of "aisali, endo ed kno led!e of skill in liberative techni,ues. At that time, out of this very skill in liberative techni,ue, "imalakirti manifested himself as if sick. To in,uire after his health, the kin!, the officials, the lords, the youths, the aristocrats, the householders, the businessmen, the to n$folk, the country$folk, and thousands of other livin! bein!s came forth from the !reat city of "aisali and called on the invalid. *hen they arrived, "imalakirti tau!ht them the (harma, be!innin! his discourse from the actuality of the four main elements: ?6riends, this body is so impermanent, fra!ile, un orthy of confidence, and feeble. It is so insubstantial, perishable, short$lived, painful, filled ith diseases, and sub0ect to chan!es. ise men do not rely on it. ater bubble, not Thus, my friends, as this body is only a vessel of many sicknesses, ith an infinite

This body is like a ball of foam, unable to bear any pressure. It is like a

remainin! very lon!. It is like a mira!e, born from the appetites of the passions. It is like the trunk of the plantain tree, havin! no core. Alas= This body is like a machine, a ne%us of bones and tendons. It is like a ma!ical illusion, consistin! of falsifications. It is like a dream, bein! an unreal vision. It is like a reflection, bein! the ima!e of former actions. It is like an echo, bein! dependent on conditionin!. It is like a cloud, bein! characteri-ed by turbulence and dissolution. It is like a flash of li!htnin!, bein! unstable, and decayin! every moment. The body is o nerless, bein! the product of a variety of conditions. ?This body is inert, like the earth8 selfless, like ater8 lifeless, like fire8 impersonal, like the

ind8 and non$substantial, like space. This body is unreal, bein! a collocation of the four main elements. It is void, not e%istin! as self or as self$possessed. It is inanimate, bein! like !rass, trees, alls, clods of earth, and hallucinations. It is insensate, bein! driven like a indmill. It is filthy, bein! an a!!lomeration of pus and e%crement. It is false, bein! fated to be broken and destroyed, in spite of bein! anointed and massa!ed. It is afflicted by the four hundred and four diseases. It is like an ancient ell, constantly over helmed by old a!e. Its

duration is never certain $ certain only is its end in death. This body is a combination of a!!re!ates, elements, and sense$media, snakes, and an empty to n, respectively. Therefore, such a body should repulse you. <ou should despair of it and should arouse your admiration for the body of the Tath;!ata. ?6riends, the body of a Tath;!ata is the body of (harma, born of !nosis. The body of a Tath;!ata is born of the stores of merit and isdom. It is born of morality, of meditation, of isdom, of the liberations, and of the kno led!e and vision of liberation. It is born of love, compassion, 0oy, and impartiality. It is born of charity, discipline, and self$control. It is born of the path of ten virtues. It is born of patience and !entleness. It is born of the roots of virtue planted by solid efforts. It is born of the concentrations, the liberations, the meditations, and the absorptions. It is born of learnin!, isdom, and liberative techni,ue. It is born of the thirty$seven aids to enli!htenment. It is born of mental ,uiescence and transcendental analysis. It is born of the ten po ers, the four fearless$nesses, and the ei!hteen special ,ualities. It is born of all the transcendences. It is born from sciences and super$kno led!e&s. It is born of the abandonment of all evil ,ualities, and of the collection of all !ood ,ualities. It is born of truth. It is born of reality. It is born of conscious a areness. ?6riends, the body of a Tath;!ata is born of innumerable !ood orks. To ard such a body hich are comparable to murderers, poisonous

you should turn your aspirations, and, in order to eliminate the sicknesses of the passions of all livin! bein!s, you should conceive the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment.? *hile the Licchavi "imalakirti thus tau!ht the (harma to those une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. *. The D!s#!+les, Relu#tan#e to V!s!t V!mala(!rt! Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti thou!ht to himself, ?I am sick, lyin! on my bed in pain, yet the Tath;!ata, the saint, the perfectly accomplished Buddha, does not consider or take pity upon me, and sends no one to in,uire after my illness.? The Lord kne this thou!ht in the mind of "imalakirti and said to the venerable /hariputra, ho had come to in,uire

about his sickness, many hundreds of thousands of livin! bein!s conceived the spirit of

?/hariputra, !o to in,uire after the illness of the Licchavi "imalakirti.? Thus havin! been addressed, the venerable /hariputra ans ered the Buddha, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to ask the Licchavi "imalakirti about his illness. *hy> I remember one

day,

hen I

as sittin! at the foot of a tree in the forest, absorbed in contemplation, the

Licchavi "imalakirti came to the foot of that tree and said to me, )Reverend /hariputra, this is not the ay to absorb yourself in contemplation. <ou should absorb yourself in orld. <ou ay that you can manifest all ordinary ithout abandonin! your contemplation so that neither body nor mind appear any here in the triple should absorb yourself in contemplation in such a behavior

ithout forsakin! cessation. <ou should absorb yourself in contemplation in such a

ay that you can manifest the nature of an ordinary person neither settles ithin nor moves

cultivated spiritual nature. <ou should absorb yourself in contemplation so that the mind ithout to ard e%ternal forms. <ou should absorb yourself in contemplation in such a such a ay that the thirty$seven aids to enli!htenment are manifest ithout abandonin! the passions that are the

ithout deviation to ard any convictions. <ou should absorb yourself in contemplation in ay that you are released in liberation orld. ho absorb themselves in contemplation in such a ay are province of the

?)Reverend /hariputra, those

declared by the Lord to be truly absorbed in contemplation.) ?Lord, hen I heard this teachin!, I as unable to reply and remained silent. Therefore, I am

reluctant to !o to ask that !ood man about his sickness.? Then, the Buddha said to the venerable .aha$.aud!alyayana, ?.aud!alyayana, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? 2.aha is a title that means ?'reat?3 .aud!alyayana replied, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness. *hy> I remember one day hen I as teachin! the (harma to the ay to teach the (harma to the householders in a s,uare in the !reat city of "aisali, and the Licchavi "imalakirti came alon! and said to me, )Reverend .aud!alyayana, that is not the householders in their hite clothes. The (harma must be tau!ht accordin! to reality. ithout livin! bein!s, because it is free of the dust

?)Reverend .aud!alyayana, the (harma is of livin! bein!s.

It is selfless, because it is free of the dust of desire. It is lifeless, because it is free of birth and death. It is ithout personalities, because it dispenses ith past ori!ins and future destinies.

?)The (harma is peace and pacification, because it is free from desire. It does not become an ob0ect, because it is free of movement of mind. ords and letters8 it is ine%pressible, and it transcends all

?)The (harma is omnipresent, because it is like infinite space. It is shape, because it is free of all process. It is the habitual notion of possession. It is

ithout color, mark, or

ithout the concept of ?mine,? because it is free of ithout presumption of

ithout ideation, because it is free of mind, thou!ht, or

consciousness. It is incomparable, because it has no antitheses. It is conditionality, because it does not conform to causes.

?)It permeates evenly all thin!s, because all are included in the ultimate realm. It conforms to reality by means of the process of nonconformity. It abides at the reality$limit, for it is utterly ithout fluctuation. It is immovable, because it is independent of the si% ob0ects of sense. It is ithout comin! and !oin!, for it never stands still. It is comprised by void ness, is remarkable throu!h si!n$less$ness, and is free of presumption and repudiation, because of It is ithout establishment and re0ection, ithout birth or destruction. It is ish$less$ness. ithout any

fundamental consciousness, transcendin! the ran!e of eye, ear, nose, ton!ue, body, and thou!ht. It is ithout hi!hness and lo ness. It abides ithout movement or activity.

?)Reverend .aha$.aud!alyayana, ho presumptuous, and those

could there be a teachin! in re!ard to such a

(harma> Reverend .aha$.aud!alyayana, even the e%pression ?to teach the (harma? is ho listen to it listen to presumption. Reverend .aud!alyayana, ords, there is no teacher of the (harma, no one to listen, ere to teach the (harma to illusory here there are no presumptuous people. ?)Therefore, you should teach the (harma by keepin! your mind on this. <ou should be adept in re!ard to the spiritual faculties of livin! bein!s. By means of the correct vision of the isdom$eye, manifestin! the !reat compassion, ackno led!in! the benevolent activity of the Buddha, purifyin! your intentions, understandin! the definitive e%pressions of the (harma, you should teach the (harma in order that the continuity of the Three +e els may never be interrupted.) ?Lord, hen "imalakirti had discoursed thus, ei!ht hundred householders in the cro d as speechless.

and no one to understand. It is as if an illusory person

conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment, and I myself

Therefore, Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to this !ood man to in,uire about his illness.? Then, the Buddha said to the venerable .aha$4asyapa, ?.aha$4asyapa, you !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness. *hy> I remember one day, hen I as in the street of the poor be!!in! for my food, the Licchavi "imalakirti came alon! and said to me, )Reverend .aha$4asyapa, to avoid the

houses of the

ealthy, and to favor the houses of the poor $ this is partiality in benevolence. ith consideration for all livin! bein!s at all times. <ou should be! your

Reverend .aha$4asyapa, you should d ell on the fact of the e,uality of thin!s, and you should seek alms food in a areness of the ultimate none%istence of food. <ou should seek alms for the sake of eliminatin! the materialism of others. *hen you enter a to n, you should keep in mind its actual void ness, yet you should proceed throu!h it in order to develop men and omen. <ou should enter homes as if ere echoes, smell scents ith the consciousness ithout imparted enterin! the family of the Buddha. <ou should accept alms by not takin! anythin!. <ou should see form like a man blind from birth, hear sounds as if they as if they ere inds, e%perience tastes hich is a areness of the ultimate lack of contact in !nosis, and kno of an illusory creature. That substance does not burn. And hat does not burn thin!s ithout any discrimination, touch tan!ibles in

ithout intrinsic substance and

ill not be e%tin!uished. ithout

?)7lder .aha$4asyapa, if, e,uipoised 2a state of e,uilibrium3 in the ei!ht liberations

transcendin! the ei!ht perversions, you can enter the e,uanimity of reality by means of the e,uanimity of perversion, and if you can make a !ift to all livin! bein!s and an offerin! to all the saints and Buddhas out of even a sin!le measure of alms, then you yourself may eat. Thus, hen you eat, after offerin!, you should be neither affected by passions nor free of passions, neither involved in concentration nor free from concentration, neither livin! in the orld nor abidin! in liberation. 6urthermore, those disciples. #nly in this meanin!ful.) ?Lord, hen I heard this teachin!, I as astonished and thou!ht: )Reverence to all ith such elo,uence, ho is there ho ho !ive such alms, reverend, have neither !reat merit nor small merit, the ay of the Buddhas, not the ay of the ay, 7lder .aha$4asyapa, is the practice of eatin! by alms

neither !ain nor loss. They should follo

bodhisattvas= If a lay bodhisattva may be endo ed

ould not conceive the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment> 6rom that time forth, I no lon!er recommend the vehicles of the disciples and of the solitary sa!es but recommend the .ahayana. And thus, Lord, I am reluctant to !o to this !ood man to in,uire about his illness.? Then, the Buddha said to the venerable /ubhuti, ?/ubhuti, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? /ubhuti replied, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to this !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> .y Lord,

I remember one day,

hen I

ent to be! my food at the house of the Licchavi "imalakirti in ith some e%cellent food and said to

the !reat city of "aisali, he took my bo l and filled it

me, )Reverend /ubhuti, take this food if you understand the e,uality of all thin!s, by means of the e,uality of material ob0ects, and if you understand the e,uality of all the attributes of the Buddha, by means of the e,uality of all thin!s. Take this food if, desire, hatred, and folly, you can avoid association the sin!le ay kno led!e&s and liberations ithout abandonin! the path of ith them8 if you can follo

ithout ever disturbin! the e!oistic vie s8 if you can produce the ithout con,uerin! i!norance and the cravin! for e%istence8 if, ho ?has not

by the e,uality of the five deadly sins, you reach the e,uality of liberation8 if you are neither liberated nor bound8 if you do not see the 6our 9oly Truths, yet are not the one seen the truth?8 if you have not attained any fruit, yet are not the one ho ?has not attained?8

if you are an ordinary person, yet have not the ,ualities of an ordinary person8 if you are not holy, yet are not unholy8 if you are responsible for all thin!s, yet are free of any notion concernin! anythin!. ?)Take this food, reverend /ubhuti, if, ithout seein! the Buddha, hearin! the (harma, or

servin! the /an!ha, you undertake the reli!ious life under the si% heterodo% masters8 namely, Purana 4asyapa, .askarin 'osaliputra, /am0ayin "airatiputra, 4akuda 4atyayana, A0ita 4esakambala, and 5ir!rantha +naniputra, and follo the ays they prescribe.

?)Take this food, reverend /ubhuti, if, entertainin! all false vie s, you find neither e%tremes nor middle8 if, bound up in the ei!ht adversities, you do not obtain favorable conditions8 if, assimilatin! the passions, you do not attain purification8 if the dispassion of all livin! bein!s is your dispassion, reverend8 if those those ho make offerin!s to you are not thereby purified8 if ho offer you food, reverend, still fall into the three bad mi!rations8 if you associate

ith all .ara&s8 if you entertain all passions8 if the nature of passions is the nature of a reverend8 if you have hostile feelin!s to ard all livin! bein!s8 if you despise all the Buddhas8 if you critici-e all the teachin!s of the Buddha8 if you do not rely on the /an!ha8 and finally, if you never enter ultimate liberation.) ?Lord, and house hen I heard these hat I should do, but I ords of the Licchavi "imalakirti, I ondered hat I should say as about to leave the ords,

as totally in the dark. Leavin! the bo l, I

hen the Licchavi "imalakirti said to me, )Reverend /ubhuti, do not fear these

and pick up your bo l. *hat do you think, reverend /ubhuti>

If it

ere an incarnation created by the Tath;!ata

ho spoke thus to you,

ould you be

afraid>) ?I ans ered, )5o indeed, noble sir=) 9e then said, )Reverend /ubhuti, the nature of all thin!s is like illusion, like a ma!ical incarnation. /o you should not fear them. *hy> All have that nature, and thus the liberation.) ?*hen "imalakirti had discoursed in this vision in re!ard to all thin!s, ay, t o hundred !ods obtained the pure doctrinal as speechless and unable to respond to ise are not attached to ords also ords, nor do they fear them. *hy>

All lan!ua!e does not ultimately e%ist, e%cept as liberation. The nature of all thin!s is

ithout obscurity or defilement, and five hundred !ods

obtained the conformative tolerance. As for me, I

him. Therefore, Lord, I am reluctant to !o to this !ood man to in,uire about his illness.? Then, the Buddha said to the venerable Purna$maitrayaniputra, ?Purna, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? Purna replied, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to this !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> Lord, I remember one day, hen I as teachin! the (harma to some youn! monks in the !reat forest, the Licchavi "imalakirti came there and said to me, )Reverend Purna, first concentrate yourself, re!ard the minds of these youn! Bhikkhus, and then teach them the (harma= (o not put rotten food into a 0e eled bo l= 6irst understand the inclinations of these monks, and do not confuse priceless sapphires ?)Reverend Purna, not impose a narro ith !lass beads=

ithout e%aminin! the spiritual faculties of livin! bein!s, do not presume ound those ho are ithout ounds8 do path upon those ho aspire to a !reat path8 do not try to pour the !reat ith the li!ht of a !lo orm8 and do not e%pose

upon the one$sidedness of their faculties8 do not

ocean into the hoof$print of an o%8 do not try to put .ount /umeru into a !rain of mustard8 do not confuse the brilliance of the sun those ho admire the roar of a lion to the ho l of a 0ackal= ere formerly en!a!ed in the .ahayana but have

?)Reverend Purna, all these monks

for!otten the spirit of enli!htenment. /o do not instruct them in the disciple$vehicle. The disciple$vehicle is not ultimately valid, and you disciples are like men blind from birth, in re!ard to reco!nition of the de!rees of the spiritual faculties of livin! bein!s.) ?At that moment, the Licchavi "imalakirti entered into such a concentration that those monks ere caused to remember their various former e%istences, in hich they had produced the roots of virtue by servin! five hundred Buddhas for the sake of perfect enli!htenment. As

soon as their o n spirits of enli!htenment had become clear to them, they bo ed at the feet of that !ood man and pressed their palms to!ether in reverence. 9e tau!ht them the (harma, and they all attained the sta!e of irreversibility from the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. It occurred to me then, )the disciples, ho do not kno the thou!hts or the inclinations of others, are not able to teach the (harma to anyone. *hy> These disciples are not e%pert in discernin! the superiority and inferiority of the spiritual faculties of livin! bein!s, and they are not al ays in a state of concentration like the Tath;!ata, the /aint, the perfectly accomplished Buddha.) ?Therefore, Lord, I am reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his health.? The Buddha then said to the venerable .aha$4atyayana, ?4atyayana, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? 4atyayana replied, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o that !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> Lord, I remember one day instruction to the monks, I hen, after the Lord had !iven some brief as definin! the e%pressions of that discourse by teachin! the

meanin! of impermanence, sufferin!, selflessness, and peace8 the Licchavi "imalakirti came there and said to me, )Reverend .aha$4atyayana, do not teach an ultimate reality endo ed ith activity, production, and destruction= Reverend .aha$4atyayana, nothin! destroyed, is destroyed, or as ever ill ever be destroyed. /uch is the meanin! of ?impermanence.?

The meanin! of the reali-ation of birthlessness, throu!h the reali-ation of the void ness of the five a!!re!ates, is the meanin! of ?sufferin!.? The fact of the non$duality of self and selflessness is the meanin! of ?selflessness.? That other sort of substance does not burn, and of e%tinction is the meanin! of ?peace.?) ?*hen he had discoursed thus, the minds of the monks and entered a state of non$!raspin!. Therefore, Lord, I am reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness.? The Buddha then said to the venerable Aniruddha, ?Aniruddha, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? ?.y Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o that !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> I remember, Lord, one day hen I as takin! a alk, the !reat Brahma named /ubhavyuha ith their ithdre to one side and asked me, and the ten thousand other Brahmas ho accompanied him illuminated the place ere liberated from their defilements hich has no intrinsic substance and no hat does not burn is not e%tin!uished8 such lack

radiance and, havin! bo ed their heads at my feet,

)Reverend Aniruddha, you have been proclaimed by the Buddha to be the foremost amon! those ho possess the divine eye. To hat distance does the divine vision of the venerable Aniruddha e%tend>) I ans ered, )6riends, I see the entire billion$ orld$!alactic universe of the Lord /hakyamuni 0ust as plainly as a man of ordinary vision sees a myrobalan nut on the palm of his hand.) *hen I had said these ords, the Licchavi "imalakirti came there and, havin! bo ed his head at my feet, said to me, )Reverend Aniruddha, is your divine eye compounded in nature> #r is it uncompounded in nature> If it is compounded in nature, it is the same as the super$kno led!e&s of the heterodo%. If it is uncompounded in nature, then it is not constructed and, as such, is incapable of seein!. Then, ho do you see, # elder>) ords, I became speechless, and Brahma also as ama-ed to hear this teachin!

?At these

from that !ood man. 9avin! bo ed to him, he said, )*ho then, in the ?"imalakirti ans ered, )in the the Buddha$fields affected by duality.) ?9avin! heard these ords, the ten thousand Brahmas ere inspired ith hi!h resolve and orld, possesses the divine eye>) ho have the divine eye. They see all ithout bein!

orld, it is the Buddhas

ithout even leavin! their state of concentration and

conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. 9avin! paid homa!e and respect both to me and to that !ood man, they disappeared. As for me, I remained speechless, and therefore I am reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness.? The Buddha then said to the venerable 1pali, ?1pali, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? 1pali replied, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> Lord, I remember that one day there infraction and )Reverend 1pali, infractions.) ere t o monks ho had committed some ere too ashamed to appear before the Lord, so they came to me and said, e have both committed an infraction but are too ashamed to appear before

the Buddha. "enerable 1pali, kindly remove our an%ieties by absolvin! us of these

?Lord,

hile I

as !ivin! those t o monks some reli!ious discourse, the Licchavi "imalakirti

came there and said to me, )Reverend 1pali, do not a!!ravate further the sins of these t o monks. *ithout perple%in! them, relieve their remorse. Reverend 1pali, sin is not to be apprehended ithin, or ithout, or bet een the t o. *hy>

The Buddha has said, ?Livin! bein!s are afflicted by the passions of thou!ht, and they are purified by the purification of thou!ht.? ?)Reverend 1pali, the mind is neither escape this same reality. ?)Reverend 1pali, this nature of the mind, by virtue of liberated $ does it ever become afflicted>) ?)5ever,) I replied. ?)Reverend 1pali, the minds of all livin! bein!s have that very nature. Reverend 1pali, passions consist of conceptuali-ations. The ultimate none%istence of these conceptuali-ations and ima!inary fabrications $ that is the purity that is the intrinsic nature of the mind. .isapprehensions are passions. The ultimate absence of misapprehensions is the intrinsic nature of the mind. The presumption of self is passion. The absence of self is the intrinsic nature of the mind. Reverend 1pali, all thin!s are ithout production, destruction, and duration, like ma!ical illusions, clouds, and li!htnin!8 all thin!s are evanescent, not remainin! even for an instant8 all thin!s are like dreams, hallucinations, and unreal visions8 all thin!s are like the reflection of the moon in mental construction. Those those disciplined in that ho kno ay are indeed ater and like a mirror$ima!e8 they are born of this are called the true upholders of the discipline, and ell disciplined.)? ell endo ed ith isdom. The hich your mind, reverend, is ithin nor ithout, nor is it to be apprehended bet een

the t o. /in is 0ust the same as the mind, and all thin!s are 0ust the same as sin. They do not

?Then the t o monks said, )this householder is e%tremely reverend 1pali, ho discipline, is not his e,ual.)

as proclaimed by the Lord as the foremost of the upholders of the

?I then said to the t o monks, )(o not entertain the notion that he is a mere householder= *hy> *ith the e%ception of the Tath;!ata himself, there is no disciple or bodhisattva capable of competin! ith his elo,uence or rivalin! the brilliance of his isdom.) ith a hi!h resolve,

?Thereupon, the t o monks, delivered from their an%ieties and inspired

conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. Bo in! do n to that !ood man,

they made the

ish: ).ay all livin! bein!s attain elo,uence such as this=) Therefore, I am

reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness.? The Buddha then said to the venerable Rahula, ?Rahula, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? Rahula replied, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> Lord, I remember that one day many youn! Licchavi !entlemen came to the place here I as and said to me, )Reverend Rahula, you are the son of the Lord, and, havin! orld. *hat are the virtues in leavin! the orld>) orld, the renounced a kin!dom of a universal monarch, you have left the and benefits you sa ?As I

as teachin! them properly the benefits and virtues of renouncin! the

Licchavi "imalakirti came there and, havin! !reeted me, said, )Reverend Rahula, you should not teach the benefits and virtues of renunciation in the is itself the very absence of virtues and benefits. Reverend Rahula, one may speak of benefits and virtues in re!ard to compounded thin!s, but renunciation is uncompounded, and there can be no ,uestion of benefits and virtues in re!ard to the uncompounded. Reverend Rahula, renunciation is not material but is free of matter. It is free of the e%treme vie s of be!innin! and end. It is the path of liberation. It is praised by the ise, embraced by the saints, and causes the defeat of all .ara&s. It liberates from the five states of e%istence, purifies the five eyes, cultivates the five po ers, and supports the five spiritual faculties. Renunciation is totally harmless to others and is not adulterated ?mine.? It is ith evil thin!s. It disciplines the heterodo%, transcendin! all denominations. It is ithout !raspin!, and free of the habits of ?I? and ithout disturbance, eliminatin! all commotion. It ithout attachment and the brid!e over the s amp of desire, ay that you do. *hy> Renunciation

disciplines one)s o n mind and protects the minds of others. It favors mental ,uiescence and stimulates transcendental analysis. It is irreproachable in all respects and so is called renunciation. Those men, renounce the ho leave the mundane in this ay are called ?truly renunciant.? <oun! orld in the li!ht of this clear teachin!= The appearance of the Buddha is ith leisure and opportunity is very hard to obtain. To

e%tremely rare. 9uman life endo ed be a human bein! is very precious.)

?The youn! men complained: )But, householder, one should not renounce the orld

e have heard the Tath;!ata declare that

ithout the permission of one)s parents.)

?"imalakirti ans ered: )<oun! men, you should cultivate yourselves intensively to conceive the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. That in itself hi!h ordination=) ?Thereupon, thirty$t o of the Licchavi youths conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. Therefore, Lord, I am reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness.? The Buddha then said to the venerable @nanda, ?@nanda, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? @nanda replied, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> Lord, I remember one day hen the body of the Lord manifested some ent to the door of the mansion ith your bo l in your indisposition and he re,uired some milk8 I took the bo l and )Reverend @nanda, ill be your renunciation and

of a !reat Brahman family. The Licchavi "imalakirti came there, and, havin! saluted me, said, hat are you doin! on the threshold of this house hand so early in the mornin!>) ?I replied: )the body of the Lord manifests some indisposition, and he needs some milk. Therefore, I have come to fetch some.) ?"imalakirti then said to me, )Reverend @nanda, do not say such a thin!= Reverend @nanda, the body of the Tath;!ata is tou!h as a diamond, havin! eliminated all the instinctual traces of evil and bein! endo ed body> ?)Reverend @nanda, !o in silence, and do not belittle the Lord. (o not say such thin!s to others. It ould not be !ood for the po erful !ods or for the bodhisattvas comin! from the ords. ho is endo ed only ith a small root of virtue, is various Buddha$fields to hear such ith all !oodness. 9o could disease or discomfort affect such a

?)Reverend @nanda, a universal monarch, free of diseases. 9o then could the Lord,

ho has an infinite root of virtue, have any disease> It is

impossible. ?)Reverend @nanda, do not brin! shame upon us, but !o in silence, lest the heterodo% sectarians should hear your ords. They ould say, ?6or shame= The teacher of these people

cannot even cure his o n sicknesses. 9o

then can he cure the sicknesses of others>?

Reverend @nanda, !o then discreetly so that no one observes you. ?)Reverend @nanda, the Tath;!atas have the body of the (harma $ not a body that is sustained by material food. The Tath;!atas have a transcendental body that has transcended all mundane ,ualities. There is no in0ury to the body of a Tath;!ata, as it is rid of all defilements. The body of a Tath;!ata is uncompounded and free of all formative activity. Reverend @nanda, to believe there can be illness in such a body is irrational and unseemly=) ?*hen I had heard these the Buddha, and I ords, I ondered if I had previously misheard and misunderstood

as very much ashamed. Then I heard a voice from the sky: )@nanda= The

householder speaks to you truly. 5evertheless, since the Buddha has appeared durin! the time of the five corruptions, he disciplines livin! bein!s by actin! lo ly and humble. Therefore, @nanda, do not be ashamed, and !o and !et the milk=) ?Lord, such as my conversation ith the Licchavi "imalakirti, and therefore I am reluctant

to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness.? In the same ay, the rest of the five hundred disciples ere reluctant to !o to the Licchavi

"imalakirti, and each told the Buddha his o n adventure, recountin! all his conversations ith the Licchavi "imalakirti. -. The Relu#tan#e o" the $odh!satt'as Then, the Buddha said to the bodhisattva .aitreya, ?.aitreya, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? .aitreya replied, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> Lord, I remember that one day I as en!a!ed in a conversation ith the !ods of the Tushita heaven, the !od /amtusita and his retinue, about the sta!e of non$re!ression of the !reat bodhisattvas. At that time, the Licchavi "imalakirti came there and addressed me as follo s: ?).aitreya, the Buddha has prophesied that only one more birth stands bet een you and une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. *hat kind of birth does this prophecy concern, .aitreya>

Is it past> Is it future> #r is it present> If it is a past birth, it is already finished. If it is a future birth, it ill never arrive. If it is a present birth, it does not abide. 6or the Buddha has declared, ?Bhikkhus, in a sin!le moment, you are born, you a!e, you die, you transmi!rate, and you are reborn.? ?)Then mi!ht the prophecy concern birthlessness> But birthlessness applies to the sta!e of destiny for the ultimate, in enli!htenment. ?)Therefore, .aitreya, is your reality from birth> #r is it from cessation> <our reality as prophesied is not born and does not cease, nor ill it be born nor ill it cease. 6urthermore, ay, so can that your reality is 0ust the same as the reality of all livin! bein!s, the reality of all thin!s, and the reality of all the holy ones. If your enli!htenment can be prophesied in such a henever you attain Buddhahood, all livin! bein!s of all livin! bein!s. *hy, because reality does not consist of duality or of diversity. .aitreya, hich is the perfection of enli!htenment, at the same time ill also attain ultimate liberation. *hy> The Tath;!atas do not enter hich there is neither prophecy nor attainment of perfect

ultimate liberation until all livin! bein!s have entered ultimate liberation. 6or, since all livin! bein!s are utterly liberated, the Tath;!atas see them as havin! the nature of ultimate liberation. ?)Therefore, .aitreya, do not fool and delude these deities= 5o one abides in, or re!resses from, enli!htenment. .aitreya, you should introduce these deities to the repudiation of all discriminative constructions concernin! enli!htenment. ?)7nli!htenment is perfectly reali-ed neither by the body nor by the mind. 7nli!htenment is the eradication of all marks. 7nli!htenment is free of presumptions concernin! all ob0ects. 7nli!htenment is free of the functionin! of all intentional thou!hts. 7nli!htenment is the annihilation of all convictions. 7nli!htenment is free from all discriminative constructions. 7nli!htenment is free from all vacillation, mentation, and a!itation. 7nli!htenment is not involved in any commitments. 7nli!htenment is the arrival at detachment, throu!h freedom from all habitual attitudes. The !round of enli!htenment is the ultimate realm. 7nli!htenment is reali-ation of reality. 7nli!htenment abides at the limit of reality. 7nli!htenment is ithout duality, since therein are no minds and no thin!s. 7nli!htenment is

e,uality, since it is e,ual to infinite space.

?)7nli!htenment is un$constructed, because it is neither born nor destroyed, neither abides nor under!oes any transformation. 7nli!htenment is the complete kno led!e of the thou!hts, deeds, and inclinations of all livin! bein!s. 7nli!htenment is not a door for the si% media of sense. 7nli!htenment is unadulterated, since it is free of the passions of the instinctually driven succession of lives. 7nli!htenment is neither some here nor no here, abidin! in no location or dimension. 7nli!htenment, not bein! contained in anythin!, does not stand in reality. 7nli!htenment is merely a name and even that name is unmovin!. 7nli!htenment, free of abstention and undertakin!, is ener!y$less. There is no a!itation in enli!htenment, as it is utterly pure by nature. 7nli!htenment is radiance, pure in essence. 7nli!htenment is ithout sub0ectivity and completely ithout ob0ect. 7nli!htenment, hich penetrates the e,uality of all thin!s, is undifferentiated. 7nli!htenment, hich is not sho n

by any e%ample, is incomparable. 7nli!htenment is subtle, since it is e%tremely difficult to reali-e. 7nli!htenment is all$pervasive, as it has the nature of infinite space. 7nli!htenment cannot be reali-ed, either physically or mentally. *hy> The body is like !rass, trees, alls, paths, and hallucinations. And the mind is immaterial, invisible, baseless, and unconscious.) ?Lord, hen "imalakirti had discoursed thus, t o hundred of the deities in that assembly as rendered speechless. Therefore,

attained the tolerance of birthlessness. As for me, Lord, I

I am reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness.? The Buddha then said to the youn! Licchavi Prabhavyuha, ?Prabhavyuha, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? Prabhavyuha replied, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> Lord, I remember one day, )9ouseholder, hen I as !oin! out of the !reat city of "aisali, I met the Licchavi "imalakirti comin! in. 9e !reeted me, and I then addressed him: here do you come from>) 9e replied, )I come from the seat of enli!htenment.) I then in,uired, )*hat is meant by ?seat of enli!htenment?>) 9e then spoke the follo in! ords to me, )5oble son, the seat of enli!htenment is the seat of positive thou!ht because it is ithout artificiality. It is the seat of effort, because it releases ener!etic activities. It is the seat of hi!h resolve, because its insi!ht is superior. It is the seat of the !reat spirit of enli!htenment, because it does not ne!lect anythin!. ?)It is the seat of !enerosity, because it has no e%pectation of re ard. It is the seat of morality, because it fulfills all commitments. It is the seat of tolerance, because it is free of an!er to ard any livin! bein!. It is the seat of effort, because it does not turn back. It is the seat of

meditation, because it !enerates fitness of mind. It is the seat of everythin! directly.

isdom, because it sees

?)It is the seat of love, because it is e,ual to all livin! bein!s. It is the seat of compassion, because it tolerates all in0uries. It is the seat of 0oy, because it is 0oyfully devoted to the bliss of the (harma. It is the seat of e,uanimity, because it abandons affection and aversion. ?)It is the seat of paranormal perception, because it has the si% super$kno led!e&s. It is the seat of liberation, because it does not intellectuali-e. It is the seat of liberative techni,ue, because it develops livin! bein!s. It is the seat of the means of unification, because it brin!s to!ether livin! bein!s. It is the seat of learnin!, because it makes practice of the essence. It is the seat of decisiveness, because of its precise discrimination. It is the seat of the aids to enli!htenment, because it eliminates the duality of the compounded and the uncompounded. It is the seat of truth, because it does not deceive anyone. ?)It is the seat of interdependent ori!ination, because it proceeds from the e%haustion of i!norance to the e%haustion of old a!e and death. It is the seat of eradication of all passions, because it is perfectly enli!htened about the nature of reality. It is the seat of all livin! bein!s, because all livin! bein!s are perfectly enli!htened ithout intrinsic identity. It is the seat of all thin!s, because it is ith re!ard to void ness.

?)It is the seat of the con,uest of all devils, because it never flinches. It is the seat of the triple orld, because it is free of involvement. It is the seat of the heroism that sounds the lion)s roar, because it is free of fear and tremblin!. It is the seat of the stren!ths, the fearlessnesses, and all the special ,ualities of the Buddha, because it is irreproachable in all respects. It is the seat of the three kno led!e&s, because in it no passions remain. It is the seat of instantaneous, total understandin! of all thin!s, because it reali-es fully the !nosis of omniscience. ?)5oble son, hen bodhisattvas are thus endo ed ith the transcendences, the roots of

virtue, the ability to develop livin! bein!s, and the incorporation of the holy (harma, hether they lift up their feet or put them do n, they all come from the seat of enli!htenment. They come from the ,ualities of the Buddha, and stand on the ,ualities of the Buddha.) ?Lord, hen "imalakirti had e%plained this teachin!, five hundred !ods and men conceived

the spirit of enli!htenment, and I became speechless. Therefore, Lord, I am reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness.?

The Buddha then said to the bodhisattva +a!atimdhara, ?+a!atimdhara, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? +a!atimdhara replied, ?.y Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> Lord, I remember that one day, .ara, dis!uised as Indra and surrounded approached me feet ith his head, he ithdre hen I as at home, the icked ith t elve thousand heavenly maidens, as /akra,

ith the sounds of music and sin!in!. 9avin! saluted me by touchin! my ith his retinue to one side. I then, thinkin! he

the kin! of the !ods, said to him, )*elcome, # 4ausika= <ou should remain consciously a are in the midst of the pleasures of desire. <ou should often think on impermanence and strive to utili-e the essential in body, life, and ealth.)

?.ara then said to me, )'ood sir, accept from me these t elve thousand divine maidens and make them your servants.) ?I replied, )# 4ausika, do not offer me, ho am reli!ious and a son of the /akya, thin!s hich

are not appropriate. It is not proper for me to have these maidens.) ?5o sooner had I said these to ridicule you.) ?Then the Licchavi "imalakirti said to .ara, )7vil .ara, since these heavenly maidens are not suitable for this reli!ious devotee, a son of the /akya, !ive them to me.) ?Then .ara as terrified and distressed, thinkin! that the Licchavi "imalakirti had come to ith all his ma!ical ill you be able to ords than the Licchavi "imalakirti came there and said to me, ho has come

)5oble son, do not think that this is Indra= This is not Indra but the evil .ara,

e%pose him. 9e tried to make himself invisible, but, try as he mi!ht

po ers, he could not vanish from si!ht. Then a voice resounded in the sky, sayin!, )7vil #ne, !ive these heavenly maidens to the !ood man "imalakirti, and only then return to your o n abode.) ?Then .ara maidens. ?The Licchavi "imalakirti, havin! received the !oddesses, said to them, )5o enli!htenment.) that you have as even more fri!htened and, much a!ainst his ill, !ave the heavenly

been !iven to me by .ara, you should all conceive the spirit of une%celled, perfect

?9e then e%horted them

ith discourse suitable for their development to ard enli!htenment,

and soon they conceived the spirit of enli!htenment. 9e then said to them, )<ou have 0ust conceived the spirit of enli!htenment. 6rom no on, you should devote yourselves to find 0oy in pleasures of the (harma, and

should take no pleasure in desires.) ?They then asked him, )*hat is ?0oy in the pleasures of the (harma?>) ?9e declared, )It is the 0oy of unbreakable faith in the Buddha, of of servin! the /an!ha and honorin! the spiritual benefactors renunciation of the hole ishin! to hear the (harma,

ithout pride. It is the 0oy of

orld, of not bein! fi%ed in ob0ects, of considerin! the five

a!!re!ates to be like murderers, of considerin! the elements to be like venomous serpents, and of considerin! the sense$media to be like an empty to n. It is the 0oy of al ays !uardin! the spirit of enli!htenment, of helpin! livin! bein!s, of sharin! throu!h !enerosity, of not slackenin! in morality, of control and tolerance in patience, of thorou!h cultivation of virtue by effort, of total absorption in meditation, and of absence of passions in isdom. It is the 0oy of e%tendin! enli!htenment, of con,uerin! the .ara&s, of destroyin! the passions, and of purifyin! the Buddha$field. It is the 0oy of accumulatin! all virtues, in order to cultivate the auspicious marks and si!ns. It is the 0oy of the liberation of non$intimidation hen hearin! the profound teachin!. It is the 0oy of e%ploration of the three doors of liberation, and of the reali-ation of liberation. It is the 0oy of bein! an ornament of the seat of enli!htenment, and of not attainin! liberation at the ron! time. It is the 0oy of servin! those of e,ual fortune, of not hatin! or resentin! those of superior fortune, of servin! the spiritual benefactors, and of avoidin! sinful friends. It is the 0oy of the superior !ladness of faith and devotion to the (harma. It is the 0oy of ac,uirin! liberative techni,ues and of the conscious cultivation of the aids to enli!htenment. Thus, the bodhisattva admires and finds 0oy in the deli!hts of the (harma.) ?Thereupon, .ara said to the !oddesses, )no come alon! and let us return home.) e should en0oy the deli!hts of the

?They said, )you !ave us to this householder. 5o

(harma and should no lon!er en0oy the pleasures of desires.) ?Then .ara said to the Licchavi "imalakirti, )If it is so that the bodhisattva, the spiritual hero, has no mental attachment, and !ives a ay all his possessions, then, householder, please !ive me these !oddesses.)

?"imalakirti replied, )they are !iven, .ara. 'o home reli!ious aspirations of all livin! bein!s=)

ith your retinue. .ay you fulfill the

?Then the !oddesses, salutin! "imalakirti, said to him, )9ouseholder, ho the abode of the .ara&s>)

should

e live in

?"imalakirti replied, )/isters, there is a door of the (harma called ?The Ine%haustible Lamp.? Practice it= *hat is it> /isters, a sin!le lamp may li!ht hundreds of thousands of lamps bein! diminished. Like ise, sisters, a sin!le bodhisattva may establish many hundreds of thousands of livin! bein!s in enli!htenment ithout his mindfulness bein! diminished. In fact, not only does it ith respect to these virtuous ,ualities. This is the ith the spirit of enli!htenment. In such a ill become the benefactors of all not diminish, it !ro s stron!er. Like ise, the more you teach and demonstrate virtuous ,ualities to others, the more you !ro door of the (harma called ?The Ine%haustible Lamp.? *hen you are livin! in the realm of .ara, inspire innumerable !ods and !oddesses ay, you livin! bein!s.) ?Then, those !oddesses bo ed at the feet of the Licchavi "imalakirti and departed in the company of .ara. Thus, Lord, I sa illness.? The Buddha then said to the merchant)s son, /udatta, ?5oble son, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? /udatta replied, ?Lord, I am indeed reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness. *hy> Lord, I remember one day in my father)s house !reat sacrifice, I retched, the unfortunate, be!!ars, and all the needy. #n the seventh and final day of this !reat sacrifice, the Licchavi "imalakirti came there and said, ).erchant)s son, you hen, in order to celebrate a as besto in! !ifts upon reli!ious devotees, Brahmans, the poor, the the supremacy of the ma!ical po er, isdom, and elo,uence of the ill repay the kindness of the Tath;!ata, and you ithout itself

Licchavi "imalakirti, and therefore I am reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his

should not celebrate a sacrifice in this

ay. <ou should celebrate a (harma$sacrifice. *hat is

the use of the sacrifice of material thin!s>) ?I then asked him, )9o does one !ive a (harma$sacrifice>) hich develops livin! bein!s ithout be!innin! or hich is hich

?9e replied, )A (harma$sacrifice is that

end, !ivin! !ifts to them all simultaneously. *hat is that> It consists of the !reat love consummated in enli!htenment8 of the !reat compassion hich is consummated in the concentration of the holy (harma on the liberation of all livin! bein!s8 of the !reat 0oy !reat e,uanimity hich is consummated in concentration throu!h kno led!e.

is consummated in the a areness of the supreme happiness of all livin! bein!s8 and of the

?)The (harma$sacrifice consists of the transcendence of !enerosity, peacefulness and self$discipline8 of the transcendence of morality,

hich is consummated in hich is consummated in

the moral development of immoral bein!s8 of the transcendence of tolerance, consummated throu!h the principle of selflessness8 of the transcendence of effort, consummated in initiative to ard enli!htenment8 of the transcendence of meditation, consummated in the solitude of body and mind8 and of the transcendence of isdom, consummated in the omniscient !nosis.

?)The (harma$sacrifice consists of the meditation of void ness, consummated in effectiveness in the development of all livin! bein!s8 of the meditation of si!n$less$ness, consummated in the purification of all compounded thin!s8 and of the meditation of consummated in voluntarily assumin! rebirths. ?)The (harma$sacrifice consists of heroic stren!th, consummated in the upholdin! of the holy (harma8 of the po er of life, consummated in the means of unification8 of the absence of pride, consummated in becomin! the slave and the disciple of all livin! bein!s8 of the !ain of body, health, and ealth, consummated by the e%traction of essence from the essence$less8 of mindfulness, consummated by the si% remembrances8 of positive thou!ht, consummated throu!h the truly en0oyable (harma8 of purity of livelihood, consummated by correct spiritual practice8 of the respect of saints, consummated by 0oyful and faithful service8 of soberness of mind, consummated by absence of dislike for ordinary people8 of hi!h resolve, consummated by renunciation8 of skill in erudition, consummated by reli!ious practice8 of retirement in solitary retreats, consummated by understandin! thin!s free of passions8 of introspective meditation, consummated by attainment of the Buddha$!nosis8 of the sta!e of the practice of yo!a, consummated by the yo!a of liberatin! all livin! bein!s from their passions. ish$less$ness,

?)The (harma$sacrifice consists of the store of merit livin! bein!s8 of the store of kno led!e

hich is consummated by the auspicious

si!ns and marks, the ornaments of the Buddha$fields, and all other means of development of hich is consummated in the ability to teach the isdom, (harma accordin! to the thou!hts and actions of all livin! bein!s8 of the store of

hich is consummated in the uniform !nosis free of acceptance and re0ection in re!ard to all thin!s8 of the store of all roots of virtue, consummated in the abandonment of all passions, obscurations, and un$virtuous thin!s8 and of the attainment of all the aids to enli!htenment, consummated in the reali-ation of the !nosis of omniscience as all virtue. ?)That, noble son, is the (harma$sacrifice. The bodhisattva all people, includin! the !ods.) ?Lord, as soon as the householder had discoursed thus, t o hundred Brahmans amon! the cro d of Brahmans present conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. And I, full of astonishment, havin! saluted this !ood man by touchin! his feet from around my neck a necklace of pearls offered it to him. But he ith my head, took orth one hundred thousand pieces of !old and homsoever you ish.) ho lives by this (harma$sacrifice orthy of offerin!s from ell as in accomplishment of

is the best of sacrifice&s, and, throu!h his e%treme sacrifice, is himself

ould not accept it. I then said to him, )Please accept, !ood man, this

necklace of pearls, out of compassion for me, and !ive it to

?Then, "imalakirti took the pearls and divided them into t o halves. 9e !ave one half of them to the lo liest poor of the city, ho had been disdained by those present at the sacrifice. The other half he offered to the Tath;!ata (usprasaha. And he performed a miracle such that all present beheld the universe called .arici and the Tath;!ata (usprasaha. #n the head of the Tath;!ata (usprasaha, the pearl necklace took the form of a pavilion, decorated strin!s of pearls, restin! on four bases, ith four columns, symmetrical, lovely to behold. 9avin! sho n such a miracle, "imalakirti said, )the !iver to the lo liest poor of the city, considerin! them as himself, the !iver re ard, and ho !ives ithout any discrimination, impartially, ith ell constructed, and ho makes !ifts

orthy of offerin! as the Tath;!ata ith no e%pectation of

ith !reat love $ this !iver, I say, totally fulfills the (harma$sacrifice.)

?Then the poor of the city, havin! seen that miracle and havin! heard that teachin!, conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. Therefore, Lord, I am reluctant to !o to that !ood man to in,uire about his illness.? In the same conversations ay, all the bodhisattvas, !reat spiritual heroes, told the stories of their ith "imalakirti and declared their reluctance to !o to him.

.. The /onsolat!on o" the In'al!d Then, the Buddha said to the cro n prince, .an0usri, ?.an0usri, !o to the Licchavi "imalakirti to in,uire about his illness.? .an0usri replied, ?Lord, it is difficult to attend upon the Licchavi "imalakirti. 9e is !ifted ith marvelous elo,uence concernin! the la of the profound. 9e is e%tremely skilled in full e%pressions and in the reconciliation of dichotomies. 9is elo,uence is ine%orable, and no one can resist his imperturbable intellect. 9e accomplishes all the activities of the bodhisattvas. 9e penetrates all the secret mysteries of the bodhisattvas and the Buddhas. 9e is skilled in civili-in! all the abodes of devils. 9e plays consummate in ith the !reat super$kno led!e&s. 9e is isdom and liberative techni,ue. 9e has attained the supreme e%cellence of ithin the uniform ultimate. 9e is skilled in !rantin! means of ith the spiritual faculties of all livin! bein!s. 9e has thorou!hly ith skill in liberative techni,ue. 9e has attained decisiveness ithstood by someone of my feeble ill !o to him and ill converse ith ith

the indivisible, non$dual sphere of the ultimate realm. 9e is skilled in teachin! the (harma ith its infinite modalities attainment in accordance inte!rated his reali-ation

re!ard to all ,uestions. Thus, althou!h he cannot be defenses, still, sustained by the !race of the Buddha, I him as ell as I can.?

Thereupon, in that assembly, the bodhisattvas, the !reat disciples, the /akras, the Brahmas, the Lokapalas, and the !ods and !oddesses, all had this thou!ht: ?/urely the conversations of the youn! prince .an0usri and that !ood man (harma.? Thus, ei!ht thousand bodhisattvas, five hundred disciples, a !reat number of /akras, Brahmas, Lokapalas, and many hundreds of thousands of !ods and !oddesses, all follo ed the cro n prince .an0usri to listen to the (harma. And the cro n prince .an0usri, surrounded and follo ed by these bodhisattvas, disciples, /akras, Brahmas, Lokapalas, !ods, and !oddesses, entered the !reat city of "aisali. .ean hile, the Licchavi "imalakirti thou!ht to himself, ?.an0usri, the cro n prince, is comin! here emptiness=? Then, ma!ically his house became empty. 7ven the doorkeeper disappeared. And, e%cept for the invalid)s couch upon be seen any here. hich "imalakirti himself as lyin!, no bed or couch or seat could ith numerous attendants. 5o , may this house be transformed into ill result in a profound teachin! of the

Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti sa <ou appear,

the cro n prince .an0usri and addressed him thus: elcome= There you are, ithout any hearin!.? ithout any comin!.

?.an0usri= *elcome, .an0usri= <ou are very

ithout any seein!. <ou are heard,

.an0usri declared, ?9ouseholder, it is as you say. *ho comes, finally comes not. *ho !oes, finally !oes not. *hy> *ho comes is not kno n to come. *ho !oes is not kno n to !o. *ho appears is finally not to be seen. ?'ood sir, is your condition tolerable> Is it livable> Are your physical elements not disturbed> Is your sickness diminishin!> Is it not increasin!> The Buddha asks about you $ if you have sli!ht trouble, sli!ht discomfort, sli!ht sickness, if your distress is li!ht, if you are cared for, stron!, at ease, happiness. ?9ouseholder, stand> 9o hence came this sickness of yours> 9o lon! ill it continue> 9o does it ithout self$reproach, and if you are livin! in touch ith the supreme

can it be alleviated>?

"imalakirti replied, ?.an0usri, my sickness comes from i!norance and the thirst for e%istence and it ill last as lon! as do the sicknesses of all livin! bein!s. *ere all livin! bein!s to be ould not be sick. *hy> .an0usri, for the bodhisattva, the orld orld. *ere all livin! free from sickness, I also

consists only of livin! bein!s, and sickness is inherent in livin! in the bein!s free of sickness, the bodhisattva also sickness of their son. And the parents only child. 9e becomes sick me, .an0usri, compassion.?

ould be free of sickness. 6or e%ample, .an0usri,

hen the only son of a merchant is sick, both his parents become sick on account of the ill suffer as lon! as that only son does not recover ere his hen they are cured. <ou ask from his sickness. +ust so, .an0usri, the bodhisattva loves all livin! bein!s as if each hen they are sick and is cured

hence comes my sickness8 the sicknesses of the bodhisattvas arise from !reat

.an0usri: 9ouseholder,

hy is your house empty> *hy have you no servants>

"imalakirti: .an0usri, all Buddha$fields are also empty. .an0usri: *hat makes them empty> "imalakirti: They are empty because of emptiness.

.an0usri: *hat is ?empty? about emptiness> "imalakirti: :onstructions are empty, because of emptiness. .an0usri: :an emptiness be conceptually constructed> "imalakirti: 7ven that concept is itself empty, and emptiness cannot construct emptiness. .an0usri: 9ouseholder, here should emptiness be sou!ht>

"imalakirti: .an0usri, emptiness should be sou!ht amon! the si%ty$t o convictions. .an0usri: *here should the si%ty$t o convictions be sou!ht> "imalakirti: They should be sou!ht in the liberation of the Tath;!atas. .an0usri: *here should the liberation of the Tath;!atas be sou!ht> "imalakirti: It should be sou!ht in the prime mental activity of all livin! bein!s. .an0usri, you ask me hy I am ithout servants, but all .ara&s and opponents are my servants. *hy> The .ara&s advocate this life of birth and death and the bodhisattva does not avoid life. The heterodo% opponents advocate convictions, and the bodhisattva is not troubled by convictions. Therefore, all .ara&s and opponents are my servants. .an0usri: 9ouseholder, of hat sort is your sickness>

"imalakirti: It is immaterial and invisible. .an0usri: Is it physical or mental> "imalakirti: It is not physical, since the body is insubstantial in itself. It is not mental, since the nature of the mind is like illusion. .an0usri: 9ouseholder, air> "imalakirti: .an0usri, I am sick only because the elements of livin! bein!s are disturbed by sicknesses. .an0usri: 9ouseholder, ho should a bodhisattva console another bodhisattva ho is sick> hich of the four main elements is disturbed $ earth, ater, fire, or

"imalakirti: 9e should tell him that the body is impermanent, but should not e%hort him to renunciation or dis!ust. 9e should tell him that the body is miserable, but should not encoura!e him to find solace in liberation8 that the body is selfless, but that livin! bein!s should be developed8 that the body is peaceful, but not to seek any ultimate calm. 9e should ur!e him to confess his evil deeds, but not for the sake of absolution. 9e should encoura!e his empathy for all livin! bein!s on account of his o n sickness, his remembrance of sufferin! e%perienced from be!innin!$less time, and his consciousness of orkin! for the elfare of livin! bein!s. 9e should encoura!e him not to be distressed, but to manifest the roots of virtue, to maintain the primal purity and the lack of cravin!, and thus to al ays strive to become the kin! of healers, console a sick bodhisattva, in such a .an0usri asked, ?5oble sir, ho ho can cure all sicknesses. Thus should a bodhisattva ay as to make him happy.

should a sick bodhisattva control his o n mind>? ith the

"imalakirti replied, ?.an0usri, a sick bodhisattva should control his o n mind follo in! consideration: /ickness arises from total involvement in the process of

misunderstandin! from be!innin!$less time. It arises from the passions that result from unreal mental constructions, and hence ultimately nothin! is perceived hich can be said to be sick. *hy> The body is the issue of the four main elements, and in these elements there is no o ner and no a!ent. There is no self in this body, and e%cept for arbitrary insistence on self, ultimately no ?I? hich can be said to be sick can be apprehended. Therefore, thinkin! ?I? should not adhere to any self, and ?I? should rest in the kno led!e of the root of illness,) he should abandon the conception of himself as a personality and produce the conception of himself as a thin!, thinkin!, )This body is an a!!re!ate of many thin!s8 thin!s are born8 of each other8 hen it is born, only hen it ceases, only thin!s cease8 these thin!s have no a areness or feelin! hen they are born, they do not think, ?I am born.? *hen they cease, they do

not think, ?I cease.?) ?6urthermore, he should understand thorou!hly the conception of himself as a thin! by cultivatin! the follo in! consideration: )+ust as in the case of the conception of ?self,? so the conception of ?thin!? is also a misunderstandin!, and this misunderstandin! is also a !rave sickness8 I should free myself from this sickness and should strive to abandon it.) ?*hat is the elimination of this sickness> It is the elimination of e!oism and possessiveness. *hat is the elimination of e!oism and possessiveness> It is the freedom from dualism. *hat is freedom from dualism> It is the absence of involvement ith either the e%ternal or the

internal. *hat is absence of involvement

ith either e%ternal or internal> It is non$deviation, can

non$fluctuation, and non$distraction from e,uanimity. *hat is e,uanimity> It is the e,uality of everythin! from self to liberation. *hy because both self and liberation are void. 9o Therefore, one both be void> As verbal desi!nations, they both are void, and neither is established in reality. ho sees such e,uality makes no difference bet een sickness and void ness8 his sickness is itself void ness, and that sickness as void ness is itself void. ?The sick bodhisattva should reco!ni-e that sensation is ultimately non$sensation, but he should not reali-e the cessation of sensation. Althou!h both pleasure and pain are abandoned hen the Buddha$,ualities are fully accomplished, there is then no sacrifice of the !reat compassion for all livin! bein!s livin! in the bad mi!rations. Thus, reco!ni-in! in his o n sufferin! the infinite sufferin!s of these livin! bein!s, the bodhisattva correctly contemplates these livin! bein!s and resolves to cure all sicknesses. As for these livin! bein!s, there is nothin! to be applied, and there is nothin! to be removed8 one has only to teach them the (harma for them to reali-e the basis from ob0ect$perception. Insofar as apparent ob0ects are perceived, they are the basis of sickness. *hat thin!s are perceived as ob0ects> The three realms of e%istence are perceived as ob0ects. *hat is the thorou!h understandin! of the basic, apparent ob0ect> It is its non$perception, as no ob0ects e%ist ultimately. *hat is non$ perception> The internal sub0ect and the e%ternal ob0ect are not perceived dualistically. Therefore, it is called non$perception. ?.an0usri, thus should a sick bodhisattva control his o n mind in order to overcome old a!e, sickness, death, and birth. /uch, .an0usri, is the sickness of the bodhisattva. If he takes it other ise, all his efforts ill be in vain. 6or e%ample, one is called )hero) hen one con,uers the miseries of a!in!, sickness, and death. ?The sick bodhisattva should tell himself: )+ust as my sickness is unreal and none%istent, so the sicknesses of all livin! bein!s are unreal and none%istent.) Throu!h such considerations, he arouses the !reat compassion to ard all livin! bein!s ithout fallin! into any sentimental compassion. The !reat compassion that strives to eliminate the accidental passions does not conceive of any life in livin! bein!s. *hy> Because !reat compassion that falls into sentimentally purposive vie s only e%hausts the bodhisattva in his reincarnations. But the !reat compassion, hich is free of involvement ith sentimentally purposive vie s, does not e%haust the bodhisattva in all his reincarnations. 9e does not reincarnate throu!h hich sicknesses arise. *hat is this basis> It is

involvement

ith such vie s but reincarnates

ith his mind free of involvement. 9ence,

even his reincarnation is like liberation. Bein! reincarnated as if bein! liberated, he has the po er and ability to teach the (harma, bonda!e. But one bonda!e. ?*hat is bonda!e> And hat is liberation> To indul!e in liberation from the orld ithout orld hich liberates livin! bein!s from their bonda!e. As ho is himself bound to deliver others from their the Lord declares: )It is not possible for one

ho is himself liberated is able to liberate others from their bonda!e.)

Therefore, the bodhisattva should participate in liberation and should not participate in

employin! liberative techni,ue is bonda!e for the bodhisattva. To en!a!e in life in the the taste of contemplation, meditation, and concentration techni,ue is liberation. *isdom not inte!rated isdom inte!rated ith ?9o

ith full employment of liberative techni,ue is liberation for the bodhisattva. To e%perience ithout skill in liberative techni,ue ith skill in liberative is bonda!e. To e%perience the taste of contemplation and meditation

ith liberative techni,ue is bonda!e, but ith isdom is liberation.

ith liberative techni,ue is liberation. Liberative techni,ue not inte!rated

isdom is bonda!e, but liberative techni,ue inte!rated is isdom not inte!rated

ith liberative techni,ue a bonda!e> *isdom not inte!rated ish$less$

ith liberative techni,ue consists of concentration on void ness, si!n$less$ness, and ness, and yet, bein! motivated by sentimental compassion, failure to concentrate on

cultivation of the auspicious si!ns and marks, on the adornment of the Buddha$field, and on the ?9o ork of development of livin! bein!s it is bonda!e. is isdom inte!rated ith liberative techni,ue a liberation> *isdom inte!rated ith

liberative techni,ue consists of bein! motivated by the !reat compassion and thus of concentration on cultivation of the auspicious si!ns and marks, on the adornment of the Buddha$field, and on the ork of development of livin! bein!s, all the hile concentratin! on deep investi!ation of void ness, si!n$less$ness, and ish$less$ness $ and it is liberation. ith isdom> The bonda!e of hile livin! in the !rip

?*hat is the bonda!e of liberative techni,ue not inte!rated liberative techni,ue not inte!rated roots of virtue ith

isdom consists of the bodhisattva)s plantin! of the

ithout dedicatin! them for the sake of enli!htenment,

of do!matic convictions, passions, attachments, resentments, and their subconscious instincts. ?*hat is the liberation of liberative techni,ue inte!rated liberative techni,ue inte!rated ith roots of virtue for the sake of enli!htenment, ith isdom> The liberation of hile for!oin!

isdom consists of the bodhisattva)s dedication of his ithout takin! any pride therein,

all convictions, passions, attachments, resentments, and their subconscious instincts.

?.an0usri, thus should the sick bodhisattva consider thin!s. 9is

isdom is the consideration

of body, mind, and sickness as impermanent, miserable, empty, and selfless. 9is liberative techni,ue consists of not e%haustin! himself by tryin! to avoid all physical sickness, and in applyin! himself to accomplish the benefit of livin! bein!s, reincarnations. 6urthermore, his sickness are neither ne ithout interruptin! the cycle of isdom lies in understandin! that the body, mind, and

nor old, both simultaneously and se,uentially. And his liberative

techni,ue lies in not seekin! cessation of body, mind, or sicknesses. ?That, .an0usri, is the ay a sick bodhisattva should concentrate his mind8 he should live

neither in control of his mind, nor in indul!ence of his mind. *hy> To live by indul!in! the mind is proper for fools and to live in control of the mind is proper for the disciples. Therefore, the bodhisattva should live neither in control nor in indul!ence of his mind. 5ot livin! in either of the t o e%tremes is the domain of the bodhisattva. ?5ot the domain of the ordinary individual and not the domain of the saint, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the orld yet not the domain of the passions, such is the domain of the

bodhisattva. *here one understands liberation, yet does not enter final and complete liberation, there is the domain of the bodhisattva. *here the four .ara&s manifest, yet this !nosis at the here all the orks of .ara&s are transcended, there is

the domain of the bodhisattva. *here one seeks the !nosis of omniscience, yet does not attain ron! time, there is the domain of the bodhisattva. *here one kno s the ron! time, there is the domain of here one herein one does not arrest voluntary 6our 9oly Truths, yet does not reali-e those truths at the the bodhisattva. A domain of introspective insi!ht, reincarnation in the

orld, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. A domain

reali-es birthlessness, yet does not become destined for the ultimate, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. *here one sees relativity ithout entertainin! any convictions, there is the ith all bein!s, yet keeps free of all afflictive ith no place for the domain of the bodhisattva. *here one associates

instincts, there is the domain of the bodhisattva. A domain of solitude

e%haustion of body and mind, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the triple orld, yet indivisible from the ultimate realm, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of void ness, yet here one cultivates all types of virtues, such is the domain of the here one keeps in si!ht the deliverance of all ish$less$ness, here one bodhisattva. The domain of si!n$less$ness, voluntarily manifests lives in the

livin! bein!s, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of

orld, such is the domain of the bodhisattva.

?A domain essentially transcendences,

ithout undertakin!, yet

here all the roots of virtue are undertaken

ithout interruption, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the si% here one attains the transcendence of the thou!hts and actions of all livin! bein!s, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the si% super$kno led!e&s, herein defilements are not e%hausted, such is the domain of ithout even perceivin! any evil here

the bodhisattva. The domain of livin! by the holy (harma,

paths, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the four immeasurables, The domain of the si% remembrances, unaffected by any sort of defilement, such is the

one does not accept rebirth in the heaven of Brahma, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of contemplation, meditation, and concentration, here one does not reincarnate in the formless realms by force of these meditations and concentrations, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the four ri!ht efforts, here the duality of !ood and evil is not apprehended, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the four bases of ma!ical po ers, here they are effortlessly mastered, such is here one kno s the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the five spiritual faculties, The domain of livin! ith the five po ers,

the de!rees of the spiritual faculties of livin! bein!s, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. here one deli!hts in the ten po ers of the Tath;!ata, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of perfection of the seven factors of enli!htenment, here one is skilled in the kno led!e of fine intellectual distinctions, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the holy ei!htfold path, here one deli!hts in the unlimited path of the Buddha, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the cultivation of the aptitude for mental ,uiescence and transcendental analysis, here one does not fall into e%treme ,uietism, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the reali-ation of the unborn nature of all thin!s, yet of the perfection of the body, the auspicious si!ns and marks, and the ornaments of the Buddha, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of manifestin! the attitudes of the disciples and the solitary sa!es ithout sacrificin! the ,ualities of the Buddha, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of conformity to all thin!s utterly pure in nature hile manifestin! behavior that suits the inclinations of all livin! bein!s, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. A domain here one reali-es that all the Buddha$fields are indestructible here one manifests the heel of the holy (harma and un$creatable, havin! the nature of infinite space, yet the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain

establishment of the ,ualities of the Buddha$fields in all their variety and ma!nitude, such is here one turns the and manifests the ma!nificence of ultimate liberation, yet never forsakes the career of the bodhisattva, such is the domain of the bodhisattva=?

*hen "imalakirti had spoken this discourse, ei!ht thousand of the !ods in the company of the cro n prince .an0usri conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. 0. The In#on#e!'able L!berat!on Thereupon, the venerable /hariputra had this thou!ht: ?There is not even a sin!le chair in this house. *here are these disciples and bodhisattvas !oin! to sit>? The Licchavi "imalakirti read the thou!ht of the venerable /hariputra and said, ?Reverend /hariputra, did you come here for the sake of the (harma> #r did you come here for the sake of a chair>? /hariputra replied, ?I came for the sake of the (harma, not for the sake of a chair.? "imalakirti continued, ?Reverend /hariputra, he ho is interested in the (harma is not ho is

interested even in his o n body, much less in a chair. Reverend /hariputra, he

interested in the (harma has no interest in matter, sensation, intellect, motivation, or consciousness. 9e has no interest in these a!!re!ates, or in the elements, or in the sense$ media. Interested in the (harma, he has no interest in the realm of desire, the realm of matter, or the immaterial realm. Interested in the (harma, he is not interested in attachment to the Buddha, attachment to the (harma, or attachment to the /an!ha. Reverend /hariputra, he ho is interested in the (harma is not interested in reco!ni-in! sufferin!, abandonin! its ori!ination, reali-in! its cessation, or practicin! the path. *hy> The (harma is ultimately ithout formulation and ithout verbali-ation. *ho verbali-es: )/ufferin! should be reco!ni-ed, ori!ination should be eliminated, cessation should be reali-ed, the path should be practiced,) is not interested in the (harma but is interested in verbali-ation. ?Reverend /hariputra, the (harma is calm and peaceful. Those but are interested in production and destruction. ?6urthermore, reverend /hariputra, the (harma is ithout taint and free of defilement. 9e ho pursues ob0ects is not ithout acceptance or ho en0oys a ho are en!a!ed in

production and destruction are not interested in the (harma, are not interested in solitude,

ho is attached to anythin!, even to liberation, is not interested in the (harma but is interested in the taint of desire. The (harma is not an ob0ect. 9e re0ection. 9e interested in the (harma but is interested in ob0ects. The (harma is

ho holds on to thin!s or lets !o of thin!s is not interested in the (harma but is

interested in holdin! and lettin! !o. The (harma is not a secure refu!e. 9e is ithout si!n. 9e

secure refu!e is not interested in the (harma but is interested in a secure refu!e. The (harma hose consciousness pursues si!ns is not interested in the (harma but is

interested in si!ns. The (harma is not a society. 9e sound, a cate!ory, or an idea. 9e

ho seeks to associate

ith the (harma

is not interested in the (harma but is interested in association. The (harma is not a si!ht, a ho is involved in si!hts, sounds, cate!ories, and ideas is not interested in the (harma but is interested in si!hts, sounds, cate!ories, and ideas. Reverend /hariputra, the (harma is free of compounded thin!s and uncompounded thin!s. 9e ho adheres to compounded thin!s and uncompounded thin!s is not interested in the (harma but is interested in adherin! to compounded thin!s and uncompounded thin!s. ?Thereupon, reverend /hariputra, if you are interested in the (harma, you should take no interest in anythin!.? *hen "imalakirti had spoken this discourse, five hundred !ods obtained the purity of the (harma$eye in vie in! all thin!s. Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti said to the cro n prince, .an0usri, ?.an0usri, you have already been in innumerable hundreds of thousands of Buddha$fields throu!hout the universes of the ten directions. In the finest ,ualities>? .an0usri replied, ?5oble sir, if one crosses the Buddha$fields to the east, numerous than all the !rains of sand of thirty$t o 'an!es Rivers, one hich are more ill discover a hich Buddha$field did you see the best lion$thrones ith

universe called .erudhva0a. There d ells a Tath;!ata called .erupradipara0a. 9is body measures ei!hty$four hundred thousand lea!ues in hei!ht, and the hei!ht of his throne is si%ty$ei!ht hundred thousand lea!ues. The bodhisattvas there are forty$t o hundred thousand lea!ues tall and their o n thrones are thirty$four hundred thousand lea!ues hi!h. 5oble sir, the finest and most superb thrones e%ist in that universe .erudhva0a, Buddha$field of the Tath;!ata .erupradipara0a.? At that moment, the Licchavi "imalakirti, havin! focused himself in concentration, performed a miraculous feat such that the Lord Tath;!ata .erupradipara0a, in the universe .erudhva0a, sent to this universe thirty$t o hundred thousand thrones. These thrones so tall, spacious, and beautiful that the bodhisattvas, !reat disciples, /akras, Brahmas, Lokapalas, and other !ods had never before seen the like. The thrones descended from the sky and came to rest in the house of the Licchavi "imalakirti. The thirty$t o hundred thousand thrones arran!ed themselves ithout cro din! and the house seemed to enlar!e ith very bad itself accordin!ly. The !reat city of "aisali did not become obscured8 neither did the land of +ambudvipa, 2or ?land of the 0ambu trees,? this is a land populated by people karma3 nor the orld of four continents. ere hich is the

7verythin! else appeared 0ust as it

as before.

Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti said to the youn! prince .an0usri, ?.an0usri, let the bodhisattvas be seated on these thrones, havin! transformed their bodies to a suitable si-e=? Then, those bodhisattvas bodhisattvas ho had attained the super$kno led!e&s transformed their bodies

to a hei!ht of forty$t o hundred thousand lea!ues and sat upon the thrones. But the be!inner ere not able to transform themselves to sit upon the thrones. Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti tau!ht these be!inner bodhisattvas a teachin! that enabled them to attain the five super$kno led!e&s, and, havin! attained them, they transformed their bodies to a hei!ht of forty$t o hundred thousand lea!ues and sat upon the thrones. But still the !reat disciples ere not able to seat themselves upon the thrones.

The Licchavi "imalakirti said to the venerable /hariputra, ?Reverend /hariputra, take your seat upon a throne.? 9e replied, ?'ood sir, the thrones are too bi! and too hi!h, and I cannot sit upon them.? "imalakirti said, ?Reverend /hariputra, bo you ill be able to take your seat.? ere do n to the Tath;!ata .erupradipara0a, and

Then, the !reat disciples bo ed do n to the Tath;!ata .erupradipara0a and they seated upon the thrones.

Then, the venerable /hariputra said to the Licchavi "imalakirti, ?5oble sir, it is astonishin! that these thousands of thrones, so bi! and so hi!h, should fit into such a small house and that the !reat city of "aisali, the villa!es, cities, kin!doms, capitals of +ambudvipa, the other three continents, the abodes of the !ods, the na!as, the yakshas, the !andharvas, the asuras, the !arudas, the kimnaras, and the mahora!as $ that all of these should appear obstacle, 0ust as they ere before=? ithout any

The Licchavi "imalakirti replied, ?Reverend /hariputra, for the Tath;!atas and the bodhisattvas, there is a liberation called )Inconceivable.) The bodhisattva inconceivable liberation can put the kin! of mountains, /umeru, noble, and so vast, into a mustard seed. 9e can perform this feat mustard seed and four .ahara0as and of the Trayastrimsa heavens do not even kno ho lives in the hich is so hi!h, so !reat, so ithout enlar!in! the here they are.

ithout shrinkin! .ount /umeru. And the deities of the assembly of the

#nly those bein!s that are destined to be disciplined by miracles see and understand the puttin! of the kin! of mountains, /umeru, into the mustard seed8 that, reverend /hariputra is an entrance to the domain of the inconceivable liberation of the bodhisattvas. ?6urthermore, reverend /hariputra, the bodhisattva can pour into a sin!le pore of his skin all the the ho lives in the inconceivable liberation ithout in0urin! ithout

aters of the four !reat oceans,

ater$animals such as fish, tortoises, crocodiles, fro!s, and other creatures, and

the na!as, yakshas, !andharvas, and asuras even bein! a are of hole operation is visible

here they are. And the

ithout any in0ury or disturbance to any of those livin! bein!s. ith his ri!ht hand this billion$ orld$!alactic universe as if it it beyond universes as numerous as the

?/uch a bodhisattva can pick up ere a potter)s sands of the 'an!es, and !oin!8 and yet the

heel and, spinnin! it round, thro

ithout the livin! bein!s therein kno in! their motion or its ori!in, and ithout the livin! bein!s suspectin! their comin! hole operation is visible. ho become disciplined after an ho are disciplined after a short period

he can catch it and put it back in its place,

?6urthermore, reverend /hariputra, there are bein!s immense period of evolution, and there are also those of evolution. The bodhisattva disciplinin! those livin! bein!s

ho lives in the inconceivable liberation, for the sake of ho are disciplined throu!h immeasurable periods of eek seem like the passin! of an aeon, and he can make eek for those ho are disciplined throu!h

evolution, can make the passin! of a

the passin! of an aeon seem like the passin! of a period of evolution actually perceive a eek. ?Thus, a bodhisattva

a short period of evolution. The livin! bein!s that are disciplined throu!h an immeasurable eek to be the passin! of an aeon, and those disciplined by a short period of evolution actually perceive an aeon to be the passin! of a

ho lives in the inconceivable liberation can manifest all the splendors ithin a sin!le Buddha$field. Like ise, he can place all them ith the supernatural speed of

of the virtues of all the Buddha$fields thou!ht all the Buddha$fields

livin! bein!s in the palm of his ri!ht hand and can sho

ithout ever leavin! his o n Buddha$field. 9e can display in a

sin!le pore all the offerin!s ever offered to all the Buddhas of the ten directions, and the orbs of all the suns, moons, and stars of the ten directions. 9e can inhale all the hurricanes of the cosmic and ind$atmospheres of the ten directions into his mouth ithout harmin! his o n body ithout lettin! the forests and the !rasses of the Buddha$fields be flattened. 9e can take ithout interferin! ith their functions. 9avin! crossed

all the masses of fire of all the supernovas that ultimately consume all the universes of all the Buddha$fields into his stomach Buddha$fields as numerous as the sands of the 'an!es do n ard, and havin! taken up a

Buddha$field, he can rise up throu!h Buddha$fields as numerous as the sands of the 'an!es and place it on hi!h, 0ust as a stron! man may pick up a 0u0ube leaf on the point of a needle. ?Thus, a bodhisattva ho lives in the inconceivable liberation can ma!ically transform any

kind of livin! bein! into a universal monarch, a Lokapala, a /akra, a Brahma, a disciple, a solitary sa!e, a bodhisattva, and even into a Buddha. The bodhisattva can transform miraculously all the cries and noises, superior, mediocre, and inferior, of all livin! bein!s of the ten directions, into the voice of the Buddha, can cause them to recite the of the ten directions. ?Reverend /hariputra, I have sho n you only a small part of the entrance into the domain of the bodhisattva ho lives in the inconceivable liberation. Reverend /hariputra, to e%plain to ho lives in the ould re,uire more than an aeon, and even more than that.? you the teachin! of the full entrance into the domain of the bodhisattva inconceivable liberation ith the ords of the Buddha, the (harma, and the /an!ha, havin! them proclaim, )Impermanent= .iserable= 7mpty= /elfless=) And he ords and sounds of all the teachin!s tau!ht by all the Buddhas

Then, the patriarch .aha$4asyapa, havin! heard this teachin! of the inconceivable liberation of the bodhisattvas, /hariputra, if one as ama-ed, and he said to the venerable /hariputra, ?"enerable ere to sho a variety of thin!s to a person blind from birth, he hen this door of the ould not

be able to see a sin!le thin!. Like ise, venerable /hariputra,

inconceivable liberation is tau!ht, all the disciples and solitary sa!es are si!htless, like the man blind from birth, and cannot comprehend even a sin!le cause of the inconceivable liberation. *ho is there amon! the ise that, hearin! about this inconceivable liberation, does hose faculties are hat else can e do if e do not become not conceive the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment> As for us, deteriorated, like a burned and rotten seed,

receptive to this !reat vehicle> *e, all the disciples and solitary sa!es, upon hearin! this teachin! of the (harma, should utter a cry of re!ret that !alactic universe= And as for the bodhisattvas, they should be as 0oyful as a youn! cro n prince hat could the entire host of .ara&s ever do to one liberation>? *hen the patriarch .aha$4asyapa had uttered this discourse, thirty$t o thousand !ods conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. ould shake this billion$ orld$ hen they hear of this inconceivable liberation hen he takes the diadem and is anointed, ho is devoted to this inconceivable

and they should increase to the utmost their devotion to this inconceivable liberation. Indeed,

Then the Licchavi "imalakirti said to the patriarch .aha$4asyapa, ?Reverend .aha$4asyapa, the .ara&s ho play the devil in the innumerable universes of the ten directions are all ho are playin! the devil in order to bodhisattvas d ellin! in the inconceivable liberation, the miserable be!!ars

develop livin! bein!s throu!h their skill in liberative techni,ue. Reverend .aha$4asyapa, all ho come to the bodhisattvas of the innumerable universes of the ten ife, a son, a directions to ask for a hand, a foot, an ear, a nose, some blood, muscles, bones, marro , an eye, a torso, a head, a limb, a member, a throne, a kin!dom, a country, a dau!hter, a slave, a slave$!irl, a horse, an elephant, a chariot, a cart, !old, silver, 0e els, pearls, conches, crystal, coral, beryl, treasures, food, drink, eli%irs, and clothes $ these demandin! be!!ars are usually bodhisattvas livin! in the inconceivable liberation throu!h their skill in liberative techni,ue, ho, ish to test and thus demonstrate the firmness of

the hi!h resolve of the bodhisattvas. *hy> Reverend .aha$4asyapa, the bodhisattvas demonstrate that firmness by means of terrible austerities. #rdinary persons have no po er to be thus demandin! of bodhisattvas, unless they are !ranted the opportunity. They are not capable of killin! and deprivin! in that manner ?Reverend .aha$4asyapa, 0ust as a !lo .aha$4asyapa, it is not possible muster an attack on a ithout bein! freely !iven the chance.

orm cannot eclipse the li!ht of the sun, so reverend

ithout special allo ance that an ordinary person can thus ho is not

attack and deprive a bodhisattva. Reverend .aha$4asyapa, 0ust as a donkey could not ild elephant, even so, reverend .aha$4asyapa, one himself a bodhisattva cannot harass another bodhisattva, and only a bodhisattva can tolerate the harassment of another bodhisattva. Reverend .aha$4asyapa, such is the introduction to the po er of the kno led!e of liberative techni,ue of the bodhisattvas inconceivable liberation.? 1. The 2oddess Thereupon, .an0usri, the cro n prince, addressed the Licchavi "imalakirti: ?'ood sir, ho should a bodhisattva re!ard all livin! bein!s>? "imalakirti replied, ?.an0usri, a bodhisattva should re!ard all livin!s bein!s as a re!ards the reflection of the moon in should re!ard them as bein! like a face in a mirror8 like the the appearance and disappearance of a bubble of ise man ho live in the

ater or as ma!icians re!ard men created by ma!ic. 9e ater of a mira!e8 like the sound

of an echo8 like a mass of clouds in the sky8 like the previous moment of a ball of foam8 like ater8 like the core of a plantain tree8 like a flash of li!htnin!8 like the fifth !reat element8 like the seventh sense$medium8 like the appearance of matter in an immaterial realm8 like a sprout from a rotten seed8 like a tortoise$ hair coat8 like the fun of !ames for one ho ishes to die8 like the e!oistic vie s of a stream$

inner8 like a third rebirth of a once$returner8 like the descent of a non$returner into a ickedness, and hostility in a bodhisattva

omb8

like the e%istence of desire, hatred, and folly in a saint8 like thou!hts of avarice, immorality, ho has attained tolerance8 like the instincts of passions in a Tath;!ata8 like the perception of color in one blind from birth8 like the inhalation and e%halation of an ascetic absorbed in the meditation of cessation8 like the track of a bird in the sky8 like the erection of a eunuch8 like the pre!nancy of a barren akin!8 like the passions of one fuel8 like the reincarnation of one oman8 like the un$ ithout produced passions of an emanated incarnation of the Tath;!ata8 like dream$visions seen after ho is free of conceptuali-ations8 like fire burnin! ho has attained ultimate liberation. ho reali-es the ultimate selflessness consider

?Precisely thus, .an0usri, does a bodhisattva all bein!s.?

.an0usri then asked further, ?5oble sir, if a bodhisattva considers all livin! bein!s in such a ay, ho does he !enerate the !reat love to ard them>? hen a bodhisattva considers all livin! bein!s in this ay, he

"imalakirti replied, ?.an0usri,

thinks: )+ust as I have reali-ed the (harma, so should I teach it to livin! bein!s.) Thereby, he !enerates the love that is truly a refu!e for all livin! bein!s8 the love that is peaceful because free of !raspin!8 the love that is not feverish, because free of passions8 the love that accords ith reality because it is e,uanimous in all three times8 the love that is neither ultimate. ?Thereby he !enerates the love that is firm, its hi!h resolve unbreakable, like a diamond8 the love that is pure, purified in its intrinsic nature8 the love that is even, its aspirations bein! e,ual8 the saint)s love that has eliminated its enemy8 the bodhisattva)s love that continuously develops livin! bein!s8 The Tath;!atas love that understands reality8 the Buddha)s love that causes livin! bein!s to a aken from their sleep8 the love that is spontaneous because it is fully enli!htened spontaneously8 the love that is enli!htenment because it is unity of e%perience8 the love that has no presumption because it has eliminated attachment and aversion8 the love that is !reat compassion because it infuses the .ahayana ith radiance8 the love that is never e%hausted because it ackno led!es void ness and selflessness8 the love that is !ivin! because it besto s the !ift of (harma free of the ti!ht fist of a bad teacher8 the love that is morality because it improves immoral livin! bein!s8 the love that is tolerance because it protects both self and others8 the love that is effort because it takes responsibility for all livin! bein!s8 the love that is contemplation because it refrains from indul!ence in tastes8 the ith the e%ternal nor ithout conflict because free of the violence of the passions8 the love that is non$dual because it is involved ith the internal8 the love that is imperturbable because totally

love that is

isdom because it causes attainment at the proper time8 the love that is liberative ay every here8 the love that is ithout formality because it ithout deviation because it acts from decisive ithout passions8 the love that is

techni,ue because it sho s the

is pure in motivation8 the love that is

motivation8 the love that is hi!h resolve because it is

ithout deceit because it is not artificial8 the love that is happiness because it introduces livin! bein!s to the happiness of the Buddha. /uch, .an0usri, is the !reat love of a bodhisattva.? .an0usri: *hat is the !reat compassion of a bodhisattva> "imalakirti: It is the !ivin! of all accumulated roots of virtue to all livin! bein!s. .an0usri: *hat is the !reat 0oy of the bodhisattva> "imalakirti: It is to be 0oyful and ithout re!ret in !ivin!.

.an0usri: *hat is the e,uanimity of the bodhisattva> "imalakirti: It is .an0usri: To hat benefits both self and others. hen terrified by fear of life> ho is terrified by fear of life should resort to the

hat should one resort

"imalakirti: .an0usri, a bodhisattva ma!nanimity of the Buddha. .an0usri: *here should he stand> ho

ishes to resort to the ma!nanimity of the Buddha take his

"imalakirti: 9e should stand in e,uanimity to ard all livin! bein!s. .an0usri: *here should he his stand> "imalakirti: 9e should live for the liberation of all livin! bein!s. .an0usri: *hat should he ho ishes to liberate all livin! bein!s do> ho ishes to stand in e,uanimity to ard all livin! bein!s take

"imalakirti: 9e should liberate them from their passions. .an0usri: 9o should he ho ishes to eliminate passions apply himself>

"imalakirti: 9e should apply himself appropriately. .an0usri: 9o should he apply himself, to ?apply himself appropriately?>

"imalakirti: 9e should apply himself to production$less$ness and to destruction$less$ness. .an0usri: *hat is not produced> And hat is not destroyed>

"imalakirti: 7vil is not produced and !ood is not destroyed. .an0usri: *hat is the root of !ood and evil> "imalakirti: .ateriality is the root of !ood and evil. .an0usri: *hat is the root of materiality> "imalakirti: (esire is the root of materiality. .an0usri: *hat is the root of desire and attachment> "imalakirti: 1nreal construction is the root of desire. .an0usri: *hat is the root of unreal construction> "imalakirti: The false concept is its root. .an0usri: *hat is the root of the false concept> "imalakirti: Base$less$ness. .an0usri: *hat it the root of base$less$ness> "imalakirti: .an0usri, thin!s stand on the root, hen somethin! is baseless, ho hich is baseless. ho lived in that house, havin! heard this teachin! of the can it have any root> Therefore, all

Thereupon, a certain !oddess

(harma of the !reat heroic bodhisattvas, and bein! deli!hted, pleased, and over0oyed, manifested herself in a material body and sho ered the !reat spiritual heroes, the bodhisattvas, and the !reat disciples ith heavenly flo ers. *hen the flo ers fell on the hen they fell on the bodies of the bodies of the bodhisattvas, they fell off on the floor, but

!reat disciples, they stuck to them and did not fall. The !reat disciples shook the flo ers and

even tried to use their ma!ical po ers, but still the flo ers flo ers>?

ould not shake off. Then, the hy do you shake these

!oddess said to the venerable /hariputra, ?Reverend /hariputra,

/hariputra replied, ?'oddess, these flo ers are not proper for reli!ious persons and so tryin! to shake them off.? The !oddess said, ?(o not say that, reverend /hariputra. *hy> These flo ers are proper

e are

indeed= *hy> /uch flo ers have neither constructual thou!ht nor discrimination. But the elder /hariputra has both constructual thou!ht and discrimination. ?Reverend /hariputra, impropriety for one are full of such thou!hts. #ne ?Reverend /hariputra, see ho discriminations. ?6or e%ample, evil spirits have po er over fearful men but cannot disturb the fearless. Like ise, those intimidated by fear of the tastes, and te%tures, inherent in the constructive orld are in the po er of forms, sounds, smells, ho are free from fear of the passions ho have ho have hich do not disturb those ho is ho has renounced the orld for the discipline of

the ri!htly tau!ht (harma consists of constructual thou!ht and discrimination, yet the elders ithout such thou!hts is al ays proper.

these flo ers do not stick to the bodies of these !reat spiritual

heroes, the bodhisattvas= This is because they have eliminated constructual thou!hts and

orld. Thus, these flo ers stick to the bodies of those

not eliminated their instincts for the passions and do not stick to the bodies of those eliminated their instincts. Therefore, the flo ers do not stick to the bodies of these bodhisattvas, ho have abandoned all instincts.?

Then the venerable /hariputra said to the !oddess, ?'oddess, ho house>?

lon! have you been in this

The !oddess replied, ?I have been here as lon! as the elder has been in liberation.? /hariputra said, ?Then, have you been in this house for ,uite some time>? The !oddess said, ?9as the elder been in liberation for ,uite some time>? At that, the elder /hariputra fell silent. The !oddess continued, ?7lder, you are )foremost of the hen it is your turn, you do not ans er the ,uestion.? ise=) *hy do you not speak> 5o ,

/hariputra: /ince liberation is ine%pressible, !oddess, I do not kno

hat to say.

'oddess: All the syllables pronounced by the elder have the nature of liberation. *hy> Liberation is neither internal nor e%ternal, nor can it be apprehended apart from them. Like ise, syllables are neither internal nor e%ternal, nor can they be apprehended any here else. Therefore, reverend /hariputra, do not point to liberation by abandonin! speech= *hy> The holy liberation is the e,uality of all thin!s= /hariputra: 'oddess, is not liberation the freedom from desire, hatred, and folly> 'oddess: ?Liberation is freedom from desire, hatred, and folly? that is the teachin! of the e%cessively proud. But those free of pride are tau!ht that the very nature of desire, hatred, and folly is itself liberation. /hariputra: 7%cellent= 7%cellent, !oddess= Pray, reali-ed, that you have such elo,uence> 'oddess: I have attained nothin!, reverend /hariputra. I have no reali-ation. Therefore I have such elo,uence. *hoever thinks, ?I have attained= I have reali-ed=? is overly proud in the discipline of the ell$tau!ht (harma. /hariputra: 'oddess, do you belon! to the disciple$vehicle, to the solitary$vehicle, or to the !reat vehicle> 'oddess: I belon! to the disciple$vehicle solitary$vehicle hen I teach it to those ho need it. I belon! to the ho need hat have you attained, hat have you

hen I teach the t elve links of dependent ori!ination to those

them. And, since I never abandon the !reat compassion, I belon! to the !reat vehicle, as all need that teachin! to attain ultimate liberation. 5evertheless, reverend /hariputra, 0ust as one cannot smell the castor plant in a ma!nolia ood, but only the ma!nolia flo ers, so, reverend /hariputra, livin! in this house, redolent hich is ith the perfume of the virtues of the Buddha$,ualities, one does not smell the

perfume of the disciples and the solitary sa!es. Reverend /hariputra, the /akras, the Brahmas, the Lokapalas, the devas, na!as, yakshas, !andharvas, asuras, !arudas, kimnaras, and mahora!as ho live in this house hear the (harma from the mouth of this holy man and,

enticed by the perfume of the virtues of the Buddha$,ualities, proceed to conceive the spirit of enli!htenment. Reverend /hariputra, I have been in this house for t elve years, and I have heard no discourses concernin! the disciples and solitary sa!es but have heard only those concernin! the !reat love, the !reat compassion, and the inconceivable ,ualities of the Buddha. Reverend /hariputra, ei!ht stran!e and this house. *hat are these ei!ht> A li!ht of !olden hue shines here constantly, so bri!ht that it is hard to distin!uish day and ni!ht8 and neither the moon nor the sun shines here distinctly. That is the first house. 6urthermore, reverend /hariputra, passions from the moment he is hoever enters this house is no lon!er troubled by his onderful thin!. onder of this onderful thin!s manifest themselves constantly in

ithin. That is the second stran!e and

6urthermore, reverend /hariputra, this house is never forsaken by /akra, Brahma, the Lokapalas, and the bodhisattvas from all the other Buddha$fields. That is the third stran!e and onderful thin!.

6urthermore, reverend /hariputra, this house is never empty of the sounds of the (harma, the discourse on the si% transcendences, and the discourses of the irreversible (harma. That is the fourth stran!e and onderful thin!. heel of the

6urthermore, reverend /hariputra, in this house one al ays hears the rhythms, son!s, and music of !ods and men, and from this music constantly resounds the sound of the infinite (harma of the Buddha. That is the fifth stran!e and onderful thin!.

6urthermore, reverend /hariputra, in this house there are al ays four ine%haustible treasures, replete ith all kinds of 0e els, hich never decrease, althou!h all the poor and retched may partake to their satisfaction. That is the si%th stran!e and onderful thin!. ish of this !ood man, to this house come the

6urthermore, reverend /hariputra, at the

innumerable Tath;!atas of the ten directions, such as the Tath;!atas /hakyamuni, Amitabha, Aksobhya, Ratnasri, Ratnarcis, Ratnacandra, Ratnavyuha, (usprasaha, /arvarthasiddha, Ratnabahula, /imhakirti, /imhasvara, and so forth8 and hen they come they teach the door

of (harma called the ?/ecrets of the Tath;!atas? and then depart. That is the seventh stran!e and onderful thin!.

6urthermore, reverend /hariputra, all the splendors of the abodes of the !ods and all the splendors of the fields of the Buddhas shine forth in this house. That is the ei!hth stran!e and onderful thin!. Reverend /hariputra, these ei!ht stran!e and then, seein! such inconceivable thin!s, /hariputra: 'oddess, onderful thin!s are seen in this house. *ho

ould believe the teachin! of the disciples>

hat prevents you from transformin! yourself out of your female state>

'oddess: Althou!h I have sou!ht my ?female state? for these t elve years, I have not yet found it. Reverend /hariputra, if a ma!ician ere to incarnate a oman by ma!ic, ould you ask her, ?*hat prevents you from transformin! yourself out of your female state>? /hariputra: 5o= /uch a oman ould not really e%ist, so hat ould there be to transform> ould you think,

'oddess: +ust so, reverend /hariputra, all thin!s do not really e%ist. 5o , ?*hat prevents one out of her female state>?

hose nature is that of a ma!ical incarnation from transformin! herself

Thereupon, the !oddess employed her ma!ical po er to cause the elder /hariputra to appear in her form and to cause herself to appear in his form. Then the !oddess, transformed into /hariputra, said to /hariputra, transformed into a !oddess, ?Reverend /hariputra, prevents you from transformin! yourself out of your female state>? And /hariputra, transformed into the !oddess, replied, ?I no lon!er appear in the form of a male= .y body has chan!ed into the body of a oman= I do not kno hat to transform=? hat

The !oddess continued, ?If the elder could a!ain chan!e out of the female state, then all omen could also chan!e out of their female states. All in 0ust the same ay as the elder appears in the form of a in reality, they appear in the form of omen appear in the form of oman. *hile they are not omen omen

omen. *ith this in mind, the Buddha said, )In all

thin!s, there is neither male nor female.)? Then, the !oddess released her ma!ical po er and each returned to his ordinary form. /he then said to him,

?Reverend /hariputra,

hat have you done

ith your female form>?

/hariputra: I neither made it nor did I chan!e it. 'oddess: +ust so, all thin!s are neither made nor chan!ed, and that they are not made and not chan!ed, that is the teachin! of the Buddha. /hariputra: 'oddess, 'oddess: I ill be born here ill you be born hen you transmi!rate after death>

here all the ma!ical incarnations of the Tath;!ata are born.

/hariputra: But the emanated incarnations of the Tath;!ata do not transmi!rate nor are they born. 'oddess: All thin!s and livin! bein!s are 0ust the same8 they do not transmi!rate nor are they born= /hariputra: 'oddess, ho soon ill you attain the perfect enli!htenment of Buddhahood> ith the ,ualities of an

'oddess: At such time as you, elder, become endo ed once more ordinary individual, then

ill I attain the perfect enli!htenment of Buddhahood. ith the

/hariputra: 'oddess, it is impossible that I should become endo ed once more ,ualities of an ordinary individual.

'oddess: +ust so, reverend /hariputra, it is impossible that I should attain the perfect enli!htenment of Buddhahood= *hy, because perfect enli!htenment stands upon the impossible. Because it is impossible, no one attains the perfect enli!htenment of Buddhahood. /hariputra: But the Tath;!ata has declared: ?The Tath;!atas, and ill !o on attainin! perfect Buddhahood.? ho are as numerous as the

sands of the 'an!es, have attained perfect Buddhahood, are attainin! perfect Buddhahood,

'oddess: Reverend /hariputra, the e%pression, ?the Buddhas of the past, present and future,? is a conventional e%pression made up of a certain number of syllables. The Buddhas are neither past, nor present, nor future. Their enli!htenment transcends the three times= But tell me, elder, have you attained sainthood> /hariputra: It is attained, because there is no attainment.

'oddess: +ust so, there is perfect enli!htenment because there is no attainment of perfect enli!htenment. Then the Licchavi "imalakirti said to the venerable elder /hariputra, ?Reverend /hariputra, this !oddess has already served ninety$t o million billion Buddhas. /he plays the birthlessness of thin!s. /he has actually attained irreversibility. /he can live ishes on the stren!th of her vo to develop livin! bein!s.? ith the herever she super$kno led!e&s. /he has truly succeeded in all her vo s. /he has !ained the tolerance of

3. The Fam!ly o" the Tath45atas Then, the cro n prince .an0usri said to the Licchavi "imalakirti, ?5oble sir, ho bodhisattva follo the ay to attain the ,ualities of the Buddha>? hen the bodhisattva follo s the ron! ay, he follo s the does the

"imalakirti replied, ?.an0usri,

ay to attain the ,ualities of the Buddha.? .an0usri continued, ?9o does the bodhisattva follo the ron! ay>?

"imalakirti replied, ?7ven should he enact the five deadly sins, he feels no malice, violence, or hate. 7ven should he !o into the hells, he remains free of all taint of passions. 7ven should he !o into the states of the animals, he remains free of darkness and i!norance. *hen he !oes into the states of the asuras, he remains free of pride, conceit, and arro!ance. *hen he !oes into the realm of the lord of death, he accumulates the stores of merit and isdom. *hen he !oes into the states of motionlessness and immateriality, he does not dissolve therein. ?9e may follo follo the the ays of desire, yet he stays free of attachment to the en0oyments of the ays of hatred, yet he feels no an!er to any livin! bein!. 9e may ith the isdom of firm understandin!.

desire. 9e may follo

ays of folly, yet he is ever conscious the

?9e may follo

ays of avarice, yet he !ives a ay all internal and e%ternal thin!s the ays of immorality, yet, seein! the

ithout re!ard even for his o n life. 9e may follo may follo the ays of

horror of even the sli!htest trans!ressions, he lives by the ascetic practices and austerities. 9e ickedness and an!er, yet he remains utterly free of malice and lives the ays of la-iness, yet his efforts are uninterrupted as he strives in the ays of sensuous distraction, yet8 the ays of false isdom, he is e%pert in all mundane and by love. 9e may follo

the cultivation of roots of virtue. 9e may follo

naturally concentrated his contemplation is not dissipated. 9e may follo isdom, yet, havin! reached the transcendence of transcendental sciences.

?9e may sho

the

ays of sophistry and contention, yet he is al ays conscious of ultimate the ays of pride, the the ays of the passions, ays of the .ara&s, yet

meanin!s and has perfected the use of liberative techni,ues. 9e may sho yet he serves as a brid!e and a ladder for all people. 9e may sho yet he is utterly dispassionate and naturally pure. 9e may follo Buddha. 9e may follo the

he does not really accept their authority in re!ard to his kno led!e of the ,ualities of the ays of the disciples, yet he lets livin! bein!s hear the teachin! the ays of the solitary sa!es, yet he is inspired they have not heard before. 9e may follo

ith !reat compassion in order to develop all livin! bein!s. ?9e may follo 9e may follo the the ays of the poor, yet he holds in his hand a 0e el of ine%haustible ays of cripples, yet he is beautiful and the ell adorned ays of those of lo ly birth, yet, throu!h his isdom, he is born in the family of the Tath;!atas. 9e retched, yet he is beautiful to look upon, ealth.

ith the auspicious

si!ns and marks. 9e may follo may follo the ays of the

accumulation of the stores of merit and and his body is like that of 5arayana. ?9e may manifest to livin! bein!s the

eak, the u!ly, and the

ays of the sick and the unhappy, yet he has entirely

con,uered and transcended the fear of death. ?9e may follo the ays of the rich, yet he is ithout ac,uisitiveness and often reflects upon

the notion of impermanence. 9e may sho himself en!a!ed in dancin! ith harem !irls, yet he cleaves to solitude, havin!

crossed the s amp of desire. ?9e follo s the ays of the dumb and the incoherent, yet, havin! ac,uired the po er of ith a varied elo,uence. ithout ever becomin! heterodo%. 9e follo s the ay of orld. ays, thereby follo in! the ay to

incantations, he is adorned ?9e follo s the ays of the entire liberation

ays of the heterodo%

orld, yet he reverses all states of e%istence. 9e follo s the

ithout ever abandonin! the pro!ress of the the ron!

?.an0usri, thus does the bodhisattva follo the ,ualities of the Buddha.?

Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti said to the cro n prince .an0usri, ?.an0usri, )family of the Tath;!atas)>?

hat is the

.an0usri replied, ?5oble sir, the family of the Tath;!atas consists of all basic e!oism8 of i!norance and the thirst for e%istence8 of lust, hate, and folly8 of the four misapprehensions, of the five obscurations, of the si% media of sense, of the seven abodes of consciousness, of the ei!ht false paths, of the nine causes of irritation, of the paths of ten sins. /uch is the family of the Tath;!atas. In short, noble sir, the si%ty$t o kinds of convictions constitute the family of the Tath;!atas=? "imalakirti: .an0usri, .an0usri: 5oble sir, one ith hat in mind do you say so>

ho stays in the fi%ed determination of the vision of the uncreated is ho ithout seein! any truth, is indeed

not capable of conceivin! the spirit of une%celled perfect enli!htenment. 9o ever, one lives amon! created thin!s, in the mines of passions, capable of conceivin! the spirit of une%celled perfect enli!htenment. 5oble sir, flo ers like the blue lotus, the red lotus, the moon lily do not !ro on the dry !round in the in those livin! bein!s mud banks. +ust so, the Buddha$,ualities do not !ro the uncreated but do !ro ,ualities do not !ro passions. Like ise, as seeds do not !ro hite lotus, the ater lily, and the

ilderness, but do !ro

in the s amps and

in livin! bein!s certainly destined for in the earth, so the Buddha$ in those ho conceive

ho are like s amps and mud banks of

in the sky but do !ro

in those determined for the absolute but do !ro

the spirit of enli!htenment, after havin! produced a /umeru$like mountain of e!oistic vie s. 5oble sir, throu!h these considerations one can understand that all passions constitute the family of the Tath;!atas. 6or e%ample, noble sir, ithout !oin! out into the !reat ocean, it is ithout !oin! into the ocean of impossible to find precious, priceless pearls. Like ise,

passions, it is impossible to obtain the mind of omniscience. Then, the elder .aha$4asyapa applauded the cro n prince .an0usri: ?'ood= 'ood .an0usri= This is indeed Tath;!atas. 9o ell spoken= This is ri!ht= The passions do indeed constitute the family of the can such as e, the disciples, conceive the spirit of enli!htenment, or hich

become fully enli!htened in re!ard to the ,ualities of the Buddha> #nly those !uilty of the five deadly sins can conceive the spirit of enli!htenment and can attain Buddhahood, is the full accomplishment of the ,ualities of the Buddha= ?+ust as, for e%ample, the five desire ob0ects have no impression or effect on those bereft of faculties, even so all the ,ualities of the Buddha have no impression or effect on the disciples, ho have abandoned all adherences. Thus, the disciples can never appreciate those ,ualities.

?Therefore, .an0usri, the ordinary individual is !rateful to the Tath;!ata, but the disciples are not !rateful. *hy> The ordinary individuals, upon learnin! of the virtues of the Buddha, conceive the spirit of une%celled perfect enli!htenment, in order to insure the uninterrupted continuity of the herita!e of the Three +e els8 but the disciples, althou!h they may hear of the ,ualities, po ers, and fearlessnesses of the Buddha until the end of their days, are not capable of conceivin! the spirit of une%celled perfect enli!htenment.? Thereupon, the bodhisattva /arvarupasamdarsana, addressed the Licchavi "imalakirti: ?9ouseholder, children, your ho as present in that assembly,

here are your father and mother, your

ife, your servants, your maids, your laborers, and your attendants> *here

are your friends, your relatives, and your kinsmen> *here are your servants, your horses, your elephants, your chariots, your body!uards, and your bearers>? Thus addressed, the Licchavi "imalakirti spoke the follo in! verses to the bodhisattva /arvarupasamdarsana:

#f the true bodhisattvas, The mother is the transcendence of isdom,

The father is the skill in liberative techni,ue8 The Leaders are born of such parents.

Their

ife is the 0oy in the (harma,

Love and compassion are their dau!hters, The (harma and the truth are their sons8 And their home is deep thou!ht on the meanin! of void ness.

All the passions are their disciples,

:ontrolled at

ill.

Their friends are the aids to enli!htenment8 Thereby they reali-e supreme enli!htenment.

Their companions, ever

ith them,

Are the si% transcendences. Their consorts are the means of unification, Their music is the teachin! of the (harma.

The incantations make their !arden, *hich blossoms ith the flo ers of the factors of enli!htenment, ealth of the (harma,

*ith trees of the !reat

And fruits of the !nosis of liberation.

Their pool consists of the ei!ht liberations, 6illed ith the ater of concentration,

:overed

ith the lotuses of the seven impurities $

*ho bathes therein becomes immaculate.

Their bearers are the si% super kno led!e&s, Their vehicle is the une%celled .ahayana,

Their driver is the spirit of enli!htenment, And their path is the ei!htfold peace.

Their ornaments are the auspicious si!ns, And the ei!hty marks8 Their !arland is virtuous aspiration, And their clothin! is !ood conscience and consideration.

Their

ealth is the holy (harma,

And their business is it&s teachin!, Their !reat income is pure practice, And it is dedicated to the supreme enli!htenment.

Their bed consists of the four contemplations, And its spread is the pure livelihood, And their a akenin! consists of !nosis, *hich is constant learnin! and meditation.

Their food is the ambrosia of the teachin!s, And their drink is the 0uice of liberation. Their bath is pure aspiration,

And morality their un!uent and perfume.

9avin! con,uered the enemy passions, They are invincible heroes. 9avin! subdued the four .ara&s, They raise their standard on the field of enli!htenment.

They manifest birth voluntarily, <et they are not born, nor do they ori!inate. They shine in all the fields of the Buddhas, +ust like the risin! sun.

Thou!h they

orship Buddhas by the millions,

*ith every conceivable offerin!, They never d ell upon the least difference Bet een the Buddhas and themselves.

They 0ourney throu!h all Buddha$fields In order to brin! benefit to livin! bein!s, <et they see those fields as 0ust like empty space, 6ree of any conceptual notions of ?livin! bein!s.?

The fearless bodhisattvas can manifest, All in a sin!le instant, The forms, sounds, and manners of behavior #f all livin! bein!s.

Althou!h they reco!ni-e the deeds of .ara&s, They can !et alon! even ith these .ara&s

6or even such activities may be manifested By those perfected in liberative techni,ue.

They play

ith illusory manifestations

In order to develop livin! bein!s, /ho in! themselves to be old or sick, And even manifestin! their o n deaths.

They demonstrate the burnin! of the earth In the consumin! flames of the orld)s end,

In order to demonstrate impermanence To livin! bein!s ith the notion of permanence.

Invited by hundreds of thousands of livin! bein!s, All in the same country, They partake of offerin!s at the homes of all, And dedicate all for the sake of enli!htenment.

They e%cel in all esoteric sciences, And in the many different crafts, And they brin! forth the happiness #f all livin! bein!s.

By devotin! themselves as monks To all the stran!e sects of the They develop all those bein!s *ho have attached themselves to do!matic vie s. orld,

They may become suns or moons, Indras, Brahmas, or lords of creatures, They may become fire or #r earth or ind. ater

(urin! the short aeons of maladies,

They become the best holy medicine8 They make bein!s ell and happy,

And brin! about their liberation.

(urin! the short aeons of famine, They become food and drink. 9avin! first alleviated thirst and hun!er, They teach the (harma to livin! bein!s.

(urin! the short aeons of s ords, They meditate on love, Introducin! to nonviolence 9undreds of millions of livin! bein!s.

In the middle of !reat battles They remain impartial to both sides8 6or bodhisattvas of !reat stren!th (eli!ht in reconciliation of conflict.

In order to help the livin! bein!s, They voluntarily descend into

The hells,

hich are attached

To all the inconceivable Buddha$fields.

They manifest their lives In all the species of the animal kin!dom, Teachin! the (harma every here. Thus they are called ?Leaders.?

They display sensual en0oyment to the And trances to the meditative. They completely con,uer the .ara&s, And allo them no chance to prevail.

orldlin!s,

+ust as it can be sho n that a lotus :annot e%ist in the center of a fire, /o they sho the ultimate unreality

#f both pleasures and trances.

They intentionally become courtesans In order to in men over, ith the hook of desire,

And, havin! cau!ht them

They establish them in the Buddha$!nosis.

In order to help livin! bein!s, They al ays become chieftains, :aptains, priests, and ministers, #r even prime ministers.

6or the sake of the poor, They become ine%haustible treasures, :ausin! those to hom they !ive their !ifts

To conceive the spirit of enli!htenment.

They become invincible champions, 6or the sake of the proud and the vain, And, havin! con,uered all their pride, They start them on the ,uest for enli!htenment.

They al ays stand at the head #f those terrified ith fri!ht,

And, havin! besto ed fearlessness upon them, They develop them to ard enli!htenment.

They become !reat holy men, *ith the super$kno led!e&s and pure continence, And thus induce livin! bein!s to the morality #f tolerance, !entleness, and discipline.

9ere in the Those

orld, they fearlessly behold

ho are masters to be served,

And they become their servants or slaves, #r serve as their disciples.

*ell trained in liberative techni,ue, They demonstrate all activities, *hichever possibly may be a means To make bein!s deli!ht in the (harma.

Their practices are infinite8 And their spheres of influence are infinite8 9avin! perfected an infinite isdom,

They liberate an infinity of livin! bein!s.

7ven for the Buddhas themselves, (urin! a million aeons, #r even a hundred million aeons, It ould be hard to e%press all their virtues.

7%cept for some inferior livin! bein!s, *ithout any intelli!ence at all, Is there anyone ith any discernment

*ho, havin! heard this teachin!, *ould not ish for the supreme enli!htenment> 6. The Dharma%Door o" Non%dual!ty

Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti asked those bodhisattvas, ?'ood sirs, please e%plain ho bodhisattvas enter the (harma$door of non$duality=?

the

The bodhisattva (harmavikurvana declared, ?5oble sir, production and destruction are t o, but hat is not produced and does not occur cannot be destroyed. Thus the attainment of the tolerance of the birthlessness of thin!s is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /ri!andha declared, ? )I) and )mine) are t o. If there is no presumption of a self, there ill be no possessiveness. Thus, the absence of presumption is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /rikuta declared, ? )(efilement) and )purification) are t o. *hen there is thorou!h kno led!e of defilement, there ill be no conceit about purification. The path leadin! to the complete con,uest of all conceit is the entrance into non$duality.?

The bodhisattva Bhadra0yotis declared, ? )(istraction) and )attention) are t o. *hen there is no distraction, there ill be no attention, no mentation, and no mental intensity. Thus, the absence of mental intensity is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /ubahu declared, ? )Bodhisattva$spirit) and )disciple$spirit) are t o. *hen both are seen to resemble an illusory spirit, there is no bodhisattva$spirit, nor any disciple$ spirit. Thus, the sameness of natures of spirits is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva Animisa declared, ? )'raspin!) and )non$!raspin!) are t o. *hat is not !rasped is not perceived, and hat is not perceived is neither presumed nor repudiated. Thus, the inaction and noninvolvement of all thin!s is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /unetra declared, ? )1ni,ueness) and )character$less$ness) are t o. 5ot to presume or construct somethin! is neither to establish its uni,ueness nor to establish its character$less$ness. To penetrate the e,uality of these t o is to enter non$duality.? The bodhisattva Tisya declared, ? )'ood) and )evil) are t o. /eekin! neither !ood nor evil, the understandin! of the non$duality of the si!nificant and the meanin!less is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /imha declared, ? )/infulness) and )sin$less$ness) are t o. By means of the diamond$like isdom that pierces to the ,uick, not to be bound or liberated is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /imhamati declared, ?To say, )This is impure) and )this is immaculate) makes for duality. #ne ho, attainin! e,uanimity, forms no conception of impurity or ithout conception, has e,uanimity ithout any immaculateness, yet is not utterly

attainment of e,uanimity $ he enters the absence of conceptual knots. Thus, he enters into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /uddhadhimukti declared, ?To say, )This is happiness) and )That is misery) is dualism. #ne ho is free of all calculations, throu!h the e%treme purity of !nosis $ his mind is aloof, like empty space8 and thus he enters into non$duality.? The bodhisattva 5arayana declared, ?To say, )This is mundane) and )that is transcendental) is dualism. This orld has the nature of void ness, so there is neither transcendence nor involvement, neither pro!ress nor standstill. Thus, neither to transcend nor to be involved, neither to !o nor to stop $ this is the entrance into non$duality.?

The bodhisattva (antamati declared, ?)Life) and )liberation) are dualistic. 9avin! seen the nature of life, one neither belon!s to it nor is one utterly liberated from it. /uch understandin! is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva Pratyaksadarsana declared, ?)(estructible) and )indestructible) are dualistic. *hat is destroyed is ultimately destroyed. *hat is ultimately destroyed does not become destroyed8 hence, it is called )indestructible.) *hat is indestructible is instantaneous, and is instantaneous is indestructible. The e%perience of such is called )the entrance into the principle of non$duality.)? The bodhisattva Pari!udha declared, ?)/elf) and )selflessness) are dualistic. /ince the e%istence of self cannot be perceived, hat is there to be made )selfless)> Thus, the non$dualism of the vision of their nature is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva "idyuddeva declared, ?)4no led!e) and )i!norance) are dualistic. The natures of i!norance and kno led!e are the same, for i!norance is undefined, incalculable, and beyond the sphere of thou!ht. The reali-ation of this is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva Priyadarsana declared, ?.atter itself is void. "oid ness does not result from the destruction of matter, but the nature of matter is itself void ness. Therefore, to speak of void ness on the one hand, and of matter, or of sensation, or of intellect, or of motivation, or of consciousness on the other $ is entirely dualistic. :onsciousness itself is void ness. "oid ness does not result from the destruction of consciousness, but the nature of consciousness is itself void ness. /uch understandin! of the five compulsive a!!re!ates and the kno led!e of them as such by means of !nosis is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva Prabhaketu declared, ?To say that the four main elements are one thin! and the etheric space$element another is dualistic. The four main elements are themselves the nature of space. The past itself is also the nature of space. The future itself is also the nature of space. Like ise, the present itself is also the nature of space. The !nosis that penetrates the elements in such a ay is the entrance into non$duality.? hat

The bodhisattva Pramati declared, ?)7ye) and )form) are dualistic. To understand the eye correctly, and not to have attachment, aversion, or confusion ith re!ard to form $ that is the mind, and to be neither called )peace.) /imilarly, )ear) and )sound,) )nose) and )smell,) )ton!ue) and taste,) )body) and touch,) and )mind) and )phenomena) $ all are dualistic. But to kno

attached, averse, nor confused

ith re!ard to phenomena $ that is called )peace.) To live in

such peace is to enter into non$duality.? The bodhisattva Aksayamati declared, ?The dedication of !enerosity for the sake of attainin! omniscience is dualistic. The nature of !enerosity is itself omniscience, and the nature of omniscience itself is total dedication. Like ise, it is dualistic to dedicate morality, tolerance, effort, meditation, and sake of omniscience. #mniscience is the nature of duality.? The bodhisattva 'ambhiramati declared, ?It is dualistic to say that void$ness is one thin!, si!n$less$ness another, and si!n has no ish$less$ness still another. *hat is void has no si!n. *hat has no ish there is no process of thou!ht, mind, or ish. *here there is no isdom for the

isdom, and total dedication is the nature

of omniscience. Thus, the entrance into this principle of uni,ueness is the entrance into non$

consciousness. To see the doors of all liberations in the door of one liberation is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /antendriya declared, ?It is dualistic to say )Buddha,) )(harma,) and )/an!ha.) The (harma is itself the nature of the Buddha, the /an!ha is itself the nature of the (harma, and all of them are uncompounded. The uncompounded is infinite space, and the processes of all thin!s are e,uivalent to infinite space. Ad0ustment to this is the entrance into non$ duality.? The bodhisattva Apratihatanetra declared, ?It is dualistic to refer to )a!!re!ates) and to the )cessation of a!!re!ates.) A!!re!ates themselves are cessation. *hy> The e!oistic vie s of a!!re!ates, bein! un$produced themselves, do not e%ist ultimately. 9ence such vie s do not really conceptuali-e )These are a!!re!ates) or )These a!!re!ates cease.) 1ltimately, they have no such discriminative constructions and no such conceptuali-ations. Therefore, such vie s have themselves the nature of cessation. 5onoccurrence and non$destruction are the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /uvinita declared, ?Physical, verbal, and mental vo s do not e%ist dualistically. *hy> These thin!s have the nature of inactivity. The nature of inactivity of the body is the same as the nature of inactivity of speech, hose nature of inactivity is the same and to understand this fact of as the nature of inactivity of the mind. It is necessary to kno

the ultimate inactivity of all thin!s, for this kno led!e is the entrance into non$duality.?

The bodhisattva Punyaksetra declared, ?It is dualistic to consider actions meritorious, sinful, or neutral. The non$undertakin! of meritorious, sinful, and neutral actions is not dualistic. The intrinsic nature of all such actions is void ness, entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva Padmavyuha declared, ?(ualism is produced from obsession ithout ideation, and that absence of ideation is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /ri!arbha declared, ?(uality is constituted by perceptual manifestation. 5on$duality is ob0ect$less$ness. Therefore, non$!raspin! and non$re0ection is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva :androttara declared, ?)(arkness) and )li!ht) are dualistic, but the absence of both darkness and li!ht is non$duality. *hy> At the time of absorption in cessation, there is neither darkness nor li!ht, and like ise ith the natures of all thin!s. The entrance into this e,uanimity is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva Ratnamudrahasta declared, ?It is dualistic to detest the in liberation, and neither detestin! the Liberation can be found here there is bonda!e, but orld and to re0oice ith self, but herein ultimately there is neither merit, nor sin, nor neutrality, nor action itself. The non$accomplishment of such actions is the

true understandin! of self does not result in dualism. *ho thus abides in non$duality is

orld nor re0oicin! in liberation is non$duality. *hy> here there is ultimately no bonda!e ho is neither bound nor liberated does

here is there need for liberation> The mendicant

not e%perience any like or any dislike and thus he enters non$duality.? The bodhisattva .anikutara0a declared, ?It is dualistic to speak of !ood paths and bad paths. #ne ho is on the path is not concerned ith !ood or bad paths. Livin! in such unconcern, he entertains no concepts of )path) or )non$path.) 1nderstandin! the nature of concepts, his mind does not en!a!e in duality. /uch is the entrance into non$duality.? The bodhisattva /atyarata declared, ?It is dualistic to speak of )true) and )false.) *hen one sees truly, one does not ever see any truth, so ho see ith the physical eye, one sees could one see falsehood> *hy> #ne does not isdom. And ith the isdom$eye one ith the eye of

sees only insofar as there is neither si!ht nor non$si!ht. There, here there is neither si!ht nor non$si!ht, is the entrance into non$duality.?

*hen the bodhisattvas had !iven their e%planations, they all addressed the cro n prince .an0usri: ?.an0usri, hat is the bodhisattva)s entrance into non$duality>?

.an0usri replied, ?'ood sirs, you have all spoken are themselves dualistic. To kno the entrance into non$duality.?

ell. 5evertheless, all your e%planations

no one teachin!, to e%press nothin!, to say nothin!, to

e%plain nothin!, to announce nothin!, to indicate nothin!, and to desi!nate nothin! $ that is

Then the cro n prince .an0usri said to the Licchavi "imalakirti, ?*e have all !iven our o n teachin!s, noble sir. 5o , may you elucidate the teachin! of the entrance into the principle of non$duality=? Thereupon, the Licchavi "imalakirti kept his silence, sayin! nothin! at all. The cro n prince .an0usri applauded the Licchavi "imalakirti: ?7%cellent= 7%cellent, noble sir= This is indeed the entrance into the non$duality of the bodhisattvas. 9ere there is no use for syllables, sounds, and ideas.? *hen these teachin!s had been declared, five thousand bodhisattvas entered the door of the (harma of non$duality and attained tolerance of the birthlessness of thin!s. 17. The Feast $rou5ht by the Emanated In#arnat!on Thereupon, the venerable /hariputra thou!ht to himself, ?If these !reat bodhisattvas do not ad0ourn before noontime, hen are they !oin! to eat>?

The Licchavi "imalakirti, kno in! telepathically the thou!ht of the venerable /hariputra, spoke to him: ?Reverend /hariputra, the Tath;!ata has tau!ht the ei!ht liberations. <ou should concentrate on those liberations, listenin! to the (harma material thin!s. +ust have never before tasted.? Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti set himself in such a concentration and performed such a miraculous feat that those bodhisattvas and those !reat disciples universe called /arva!andhasu!andha, ere enabled to see the hich is located in the direction of the -enith, beyond ith a mind free of preoccupations ith ait a minute, reverend /hariputra, and you ill eat such food as you

as many Buddha$fields as there are sands in forty$t o 'an!es rivers. There the Tath;!ata named /u!andhakuta resides, lives, and is manifest. In that universe, the trees emit a fra!rance that far surpasses all the fra!rances, human and divine, of all the Buddha$fields of the ten directions. In that universe, even the names ?disciple? and ?solitary sa!e? do not e%ist, and the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta teaches the (harma to a !atherin! of bodhisattvas only. In that universe, all the houses, the avenues, the parks, and the palaces are made of various

perfumes, and the fra!rance of the food eaten by those bodhisattvas pervades immeasurable universes. At this time, the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta sat do n and the deities called 'andhavyuhahara, "imalakirti ho ith his bodhisattvas to take his meal,

ere all devoted to the .ahayana, served and herein the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta and

attended upon the Buddha and his bodhisattvas. 7veryone in the !atherin! at the house of as able to see distinctly this universe ere takin! their meal. hole !atherin! of bodhisattvas: ?'ood sirs, is there his bodhisattvas

The Licchavi "imalakirti addressed the any amon! you ho

ould like to !o to that Buddha$field to brin! back some food>?

But, restrained by the supernatural po er of .an0usri, none of them volunteered to !o. The Licchavi "imalakirti said to cro n prince .an0usri, ?.an0usri, are you not ashamed of such a !atherin!>? .an0usri replied, ?5oble sir, did not the Tath;!ata declare, )Those not be despised)>? Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti, incarnation$bodhisattva, ithout risin! from his couch, ma!ically emanated an as of !olden color, adorned ith the auspicious si!ns hole assembly. The Licchavi ho are unlearned should

hose body

and marks, and of such an appearance that he outshone the -enith and

"imalakirti addressed that incarnated bodhisattva: ?5oble son, !o in the direction of the hen you have crossed as many Buddha$fields as there are sands in forty$t o ill reach a universe called /arva!andhasu!andha, here you ill find 'an!es rivers, you

the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta takin! his meal. 'o to him and, havin! bo ed do n at his feet, make the follo in! re,uest of him: ?)The Licchavi "imalakirti bo s do n one hundred thousand times at your feet, # Lord, and asks after your health $ if you have but little trouble, little discomfort, little unrest8 if you are stron!, ell, ithout complaint, and livin! in touch ith supreme happiness.)

?9avin! thus asked after his health, you should re,uest of him )"imalakirti asks the Lord to !ive me the remains of your meal, system3 Thus, those livin! bein!s ith hich he ill accomplish the Buddha$ ork in the orld ill be inspired ith lofty ide.? universe called ?/aha.? 2/aha means Aendurance& and al ays refers to our present ith inferior aspirations aspirations, and the !ood name of the Tath;!ata ill be celebrated far and

At that, the incarnated bodhisattva said, ?"ery !ood=? to the Licchavi "imalakirti and obeyed his instructions. In si!ht of all the bodhisattvas, he turned his face up ard and as !one, and they sa him

no more. *hen he reached the universe /arva!andhasu!andha, he bo ed do n at the feet of the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta and said, ?Lord, the bodhisattva "imalakirti, bo in! do n at the feet of the Lord, !reets the Lord, sayin!: )do you have little trouble, little discomfort, and little unrest> Are you stron!, ell, ithout complaint, and livin! in touch ith the supreme happiness>) 9e then re,uests, havin! bo ed do n one hundred thousand times at the feet of the Lord: ).ay the Lord be !racious and !ive to me the remains of his meal in order to accomplish the Buddha$ ork in the universe called /aha. Then, those livin! bein!s aspire to inferior and the name of the Buddha ill be celebrated far and ide.)? ere astonished ays)>? ho ays may !ain the intelli!ence to aspire to the !reat (harma of the Buddha,

At that the bodhisattvas of the Buddha$field of the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta and asked the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta, ?Lord, *here is the universe /aha> *hat does he mean by )those

here is there such a !reat bein! as this> ho aspire to inferior

9avin! thus been ,uestioned by those bodhisattvas, the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta said, ?5oble sons, the universe /aha e%ists beyond as many Buddha$fields in the direction of the nadir as there are sands in forty$t o 'an!es Rivers. There the Tath;!ata /hakyamuni teaches the (harma to livin! bein!s that aspire to the inferior five corruptions. There the bodhisattva "imalakirti, to celebrate my name, in order to sho ays, in that Buddha$field tainted ith ho lives in the inconceivable liberation,

teaches the (harma to the bodhisattvas. 9e sends this incarnation$bodhisattva here in order the advanta!es of this universe, and in order to increase the roots of virtue of those bodhisattvas.? The bodhisattvas e%claimed, ?9o incarnation is thus endo ed !reat must that bodhisattva be himself if his ma!ical

ith supernatural po er, stren!th, and fearlessness=?

The Tath;!ata said, ?The !reatness of that bodhisattva is such that he sends ma!ical incarnations to all the Buddha$fields of the ten directions, and all these incarnations accomplish the Buddha$ ork for all the livin! bein!s in all those Buddha$fields.? Then, the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta poured some of his food, impre!nated bodhisattvas of that universe volunteered to !o alon! "imalakirti and those bodhisattvas.? ith him: ?Lord, ith all perfumes, ould like to

into a fra!rant vessel and !ave it to the incarnation$bodhisattva. And the ninety million e also !o to that universe /aha, to see, honor, and serve the Buddha /hakyamuni and to see

The Tath;!ata declared, ?5oble sons, !o ahead if you think it is the ri!ht time. But, lest those livin! bein!s become mad and into%icated, !o bein!s of the /aha ithout your perfumes. And, lest those livin! orld become 0ealous of you, chan!e your bodies to hide your beauty.

And do not conceive ideas of contempt and aversion for that universe. *hy> 5oble sons, a Buddha$field is a field of pure space, but the Lord Buddhas, in order to develop livin! bein!s, do not reveal all at once the pure realm of the Buddha.? Then the incarnation$bodhisattva took the food and departed ith the ninety million

bodhisattvas and by the po er of the Buddha and the supernatural operation of "imalakirti, disappeared from that universe /arva!andhasu!andha and stood a!ain in the house of "imalakirti in a fraction of a second. The Licchavi "imalakirti created ninety million lion$ thrones e%actly like those already there, and the bodhisattvas ere seated.

Then, the incarnation$bodhisattva !ave the vessel full of food to "imalakirti, and the fra!rance of that food permeated the entire !reat city of "aisali and its s eet perfume spread throu!hout one hundred universes. *ithin the city of "aisali, the Brahmans, householders, and even the Licchavi chieftain :andracchattra, havin! noticed this fra!rance, ith all ei!hty$four thousand of the Licchavis. /eein! there the bodhisattvas seated on the hi!h, filled ide, and beautiful lion$thrones, they ere ere ama-ed and filled ith onder. They ere so cleansed in body and mind that they came at once to the house of "imalakirti, alon!

ith admiration and !reat 0oy. They all bo ed do n to those !reat disciples and orld, attracted by the perfume, also came to the house of

bodhisattvas and then sat do n to one side. And the !ods of the earth, the !ods of the desire$ orld, and the !ods of the material "imalakirti. Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti spoke to the elder /hariputra and the !reat disciples: ?Reverends, eat of the food of the Tath;!ata= It is ambrosia perfumed by the !reat compassion. But do not fi% your minds in narro $minded attitudes, lest you be unable to receive its !ift.? But some of the disciples had already had the thou!ht: ?9o such a small amount of food>? Then the incarnation$bodhisattva said to those disciples, ?(o not compare, venerable ones, your o n isdom and merits ith the isdom and the merits of the Tath;!ata= *hy> 6or ould never be e%hausted. If all e%ample, the four !reat oceans mi!ht dry up, but this food can such a hu!e multitude eat

livin! bein!s

ere to eat for an aeon an amount of this food e,ual to .ount /umeru in si-e, it

ould not be depleted. *hy> Issued from ine%haustible morality, concentration, and isdom, the remains of the food of the Tath;!ata contained in this vessel cannot be e%hausted.? Indeed, the entire !atherin! as satisfied by that food, and the food as not at all depleted.

9avin! eaten that food, there arose in the bodies of those bodhisattvas, disciples, /akras, Brahmas, Lokapalas, and other livin! bein!s, bliss 0ust like the bliss of the bodhisattvas of the universe /arvasukhamandita. And from all the pores of their skin arose a perfume like that of the trees that !ro in the universe /arva!andhasu!andha. ho had come from does the Tath;!ata

Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti kno in!ly addressed those bodhisattvas the Buddha$field of the Lord Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta: ?5oble sirs, ho /u!andhakuta teach his (harma>?

They replied, ?The Tath;!ata does not teach the (harma by means of sound and lan!ua!e. 9e disciplines the bodhisattvas only by means of perfumes. At the foot of each perfume$tree sits a bodhisattva, and the trees emit perfumes like this one. 6rom the moment they smell that perfume, the bodhisattvas attain the concentration called )source of all bodhisattva$virtues.) 6rom the moment they attain that concentration, all the bodhisattva$virtues are produced in them.? Those bodhisattvas then asked the Licchavi "imalakirti, ?9o teach the (harma>? "imalakirti replied, ?'ood sirs, these livin! bein!s here are hard to discipline. Therefore, he teaches them 9o they are: ?)This is hell. This is the animal orld. This is the orld of the lord of death. These are the ith discourses appropriate for the disciplinin! of the ild and uncivili-ed. does he discipline the ild and uncivili-ed> *hat discourses are appropriate> 9ere does the Buddha /hakyamuni

adversities. These are the rebirths

ith crippled faculties. These are physical misdeeds, and

these are the retributions for physical misdeeds. These are verbal misdeeds, and these are the retributions for verbal misdeeds. These are mental misdeeds, and these are the retributions for mental misdeeds. This is killin!. This is stealin!. This is se%ual misconduct. This is lyin!. This is backbitin!. This is harsh speech. This is frivolous speech. This is covetousness. This is malice. This is false vie . These are their retributions. This is miserliness, and this is its effect. This is immorality. This is hatred. This is sloth. This is the fruit of sloth. This is false isdom

and this is the fruit of false vo of personal liberation.

isdom. These are the trans!ressions of the precepts. This is the

This should be done and that should not be done. This is proper and that should be abandoned. This is an obscuration and that is above sin. This is the path and that is the ithout obscuration. This is sin and that rises ron! path. This is virtue and that is evil. This is

blame orthy and that is blameless. This is defiled and that is immaculate. This is mundane and that is transcendental. This is compounded and that is uncompounded. This is passion and that is purification. This is life and that is liberation.) ?Thus, by means of these varied e%planations of the (harma, the Buddha trains the minds of those livin! bein!s ho are 0ust like ild horses. +ust as ild horses or ild elephants ho are ill not be tamed unless the !oad pierces them to the marro , so livin! bein!s ild and

hard to civili-e are disciplined only by means of discourses about all kinds of miseries.? The bodhisattvas said, ?Thus is established the !reatness of the Buddha /hakyamuni= It is marvelous ho , concealin! his miraculous po er, he civili-es the poor and inferior. And the bodhisattvas hardships must have inconceivably !reat compassion=? The Licchavi "imalakirti declared, ?/o be it, !ood sirs= It is as you say. The !reat compassion of the bodhisattvas ho reincarnate here is e%tremely firm. In a sin!le lifetime in this universe, they accomplish much benefit for livin! bein!s. /o much benefit for livin! bein!s could not be accomplished in the universe /arva!andhasu!andha even in one hundred thousand aeons. *hy> 'ood sirs, in this /aha universe, there are ten virtuous practices, hich do not e%ist in any other Buddha$field. *hat are these ten> 9ere they are: to poor by !enerosity8 to to in the falsely adversities ho behavior8 to in the immoral by morality8 to isdom8 to sho in the la-y by means of effort8 to ise by means of true in the in the hateful by means of tolerance8 those sufferin! from the ei!ht ild livin! bein!s that are ho settle in a Buddha$field of such intense

in the mentally troubled by means of concentration8 to

to rise above them8 to teach the .ahayana to those of narro $minded in those ho have not produced the roots of virtue by means of the roots of ithout interruption throu!h the four means of

virtue8 and to develop livin! bein!s unification. Those Buddha$field.? A!ain the bodhisattvas asked, ?9o

ho en!a!e in these ten virtuous practices do not e%ist in any other

many ,ualities must a bodhisattva have, to !o safe and

sound to a pure Buddha$field after he transmi!rates at death a ay from this /aha universe>?

"imalakirti replied, ?After he transmi!rates at death a ay from this /aha universe, a bodhisattva must have ei!ht ,ualities to reach a pure Buddha$field safe and sound. *hat are the ei!ht> 9e must resolve to himself: )I must benefit all livin! bein!s, ithout seekin! even the sli!htest benefit for myself. I must bear all the miseries of all livin! bein!s and !ive all my accumulated roots of virtue to all livin! bein!s. I must have no resentment to ard any livin! bein!. I must re0oice in all bodhisattvas as if they teachin!s, covetin! the !ains of others, and ere the Teacher. I must not ne!lect any ithout hether or not I have heard them before. I must control my mind,

ithout takin! pride in !ains of my o n. I must e%amine

my o n faults and not blame others for their faults. I must take pleasure in bein! consciously a are and must truly undertake all virtues.) ?If a bodhisattva has these ei!ht ,ualities, /aha universe, he hen he transmi!rates at death a ay from the

ill !o safe and sound to a pure Buddha$field.?

*hen the Licchavi "imalakirti and the cro n prince .an0usri had thus tau!ht the (harma to the multitude !athered there, one hundred thousand livin! bein!s conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment, and ten thousand bodhisattvas attained the tolerance of the birthlessness of thin!s. 11. Lesson o" the Destru#t!ble and the Indestru#t!ble .ean hile, the area in e%panded and !re hich the Lord as teachin! the (harma in the !arden of Amrapali ith a !olden hue.

lar!er, and the entire assembly appeared tin!ed

Thereupon, the venerable @nanda asked the Buddha, ?Lord, this e%pansion and enlar!ement of the !arden of Amrapali and this !olden hue of the assembly $ hat do these auspicious si!ns portend>? The Buddha declared, ?@nanda, these auspicious si!ns portend that the Licchavi "imalakirti and the cro n prince .an0usri, attended by a !reat multitude, are comin! into the presence of the Tath;!ata.? At that moment the Licchavi "imalakirti said to the cro n prince .an0usri, ?.an0usri, let us take these many livin! bein!s into the presence of the Lord, so that they may see the Tath;!ata and bo do n to him=?

.an0usri replied, ?5oble sir, send them if you feel the time is ri!ht=? Thereupon the Licchavi "imalakirti performed the miraculous feat of placin! the entire assembly, replete ith thrones, upon his ri!ht hand and then, havin! transported himself

ma!ically into the presence of the Buddha, placin! it on the !round. 9e bo ed do n at the feet of the Buddha, circumambulated him to the ri!ht seven times ithdre to one side. ho had come from the Buddha$field of the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta ithdre ithdre to one side. And the other bodhisattvas, !reat to one side. Like ise all those Indras, Brahmas, ith palms to!ether, and

The bodhisattvas

descended from their lion$thrones and, bo in! do n at the feet of the Buddha, placed their palms to!ether in reverence and bo ed at the feet of the Buddha, reverence and ithdre spiritual heroes, and the !reat disciples descended from their thrones like ise and, havin! Lokapalas, and !ods bo ed at the feet of the Buddha, placed their palms to!ether in to one side. ith !reetin!s, declared, ?5oble sons,

Then, the Buddha, havin! deli!hted those bodhisattvas be seated upon your thrones=?

Thus commanded by the Buddha, they took their thrones. The Buddha said to /hariputra, ?/hariputra, did you see the miraculous performances of the bodhisattvas, those best of bein!s>? ?I have seen them, Lord.? ?*hat concept did you produce to ard them>? ?Lord, I produced the concept of inconceivability to ard them. Their activities appeared inconceivable to me to the point that I ima!ine them.? Then the venerable @nanda asked the Buddha, ?Lord, I have never smelled before>? The Buddha ans ered, ?@nanda, this perfume emanates from all the pores of all these bodhisattvas.? /hariputra added, ?"enerable @nanda, this same perfume emanates from all our pores as ell=? @nanda: *here does the perfume come from> hat is this perfume, the likes of hich as unable to think of them, to 0ud!e them, or even to

/hariputra: The Licchavi "imalakirti obtained some food from the universe called /arva!andhasu!andha, the Buddha$field of the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta, and this perfume emanates from the bodies of all those ho partook of that food. lon! ill this perfume

Then the venerable @nanda addressed the Licchavi "imalakirti: ?9o remain>? "imalakirti: 1ntil is it di!ested. @nanda: *hen "imalakirti: It ill it be di!ested> ill be di!ested in forty$nine days, and its perfume

ill emanate for seven

days more after that, but there this food, it ill be di!ested

ill be no trouble of indi!estion durin! that time. ho have not entered ultimate determination eat ho have ill not be di!ested until their minds are hen they conceive the spirit of une%celled, ho have

6urthermore, reverend @nanda, if monks

hen they enter that determination. *hen those

entered ultimate determination eat this food, it enli!htenment eat this food, it perfect enli!htenment. If those this food, it ill be di!ested

totally liberated. If livin! bein!s that have not conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect ho have conceived the spirit of perfect enli!htenment eat ill be di!ested hen they have become bodhisattvas one

ill not be di!ested until they have attained tolerance. And if those

attained tolerance eat this food, it

lifetime a ay from Buddhahood. Reverend @nanda, it is like the medicine called ?delicious,? hich reaches the stomach but is not di!ested until all poisons have been eliminated only then is it di!ested. Thus, reverend @nanda, this food is not di!ested until all the poisons of the passions have been eliminated only then is it di!ested. Then, the venerable @nanda said to the Buddha, ?Lord, it is accomplishes the ork of the Buddha=? onderful that this food

?/o it is, @nanda= It is as you say, @nanda= There are Buddha$fields that accomplish the Buddha$ ork by means of bodhisattvas8 those that do so by means of li!hts8 those that do so by means of the tree of enli!htenment8 those that do so by means of the physical beauty and the marks of the Tath;!ata8 those that do so by means of reli!ious robes8 those that do so by means of !ood8 those that do so by means of ater8 those that do so by means of !ardens8 those that do so by means of palaces8 those that do so by means of mansions8 those that do so by means of ma!ical incarnations8 those that do so by means of empty space8 and those that do so by means of li!hts in the sky. *hy is it so, @nanda> Because by these various means, livin! bein!s become disciplined. /imilarly, @nanda, there are Buddha$fields that accomplish the Buddha$ ork by means of teachin! livin! bein!s ords, definitions, and e%amples, such

as )dreams,) )ima!es,) )the reflection of the moon in

ater,) )echoes,) )illusions,) and )mira!es)8 ords understandable. Also,

and those that accomplish the Buddha$ ork by makin! bein!s

@nanda, there are utterly pure Buddha$fields that accomplish the Buddha$ ork for livin! ithout speech, by silence, ine%pressibility, and un$teach$ability. @nanda, amon! all the activities, en0oyments, and practices of the Buddhas, there are none that do not accomplish the Buddha$ ork, because all discipline livin! bein!s. 6inally, @nanda, the Buddhas accomplish the Buddha$ ork by means of the four .ara&s and all the ei!hty$four thousand types of passion that afflict livin! bein!s. ?@nanda, this is a (harma$door called )Introduction to all the Buddha$,ualities.) The bodhisattva ho enters this (harma$door e%periences neither 0oy nor pride hen confronted by a Buddha$field apparently hen confronted by a Buddha$field adorned sadness nor aversion ho ith the splendor of all noble ,ualities, and e%periences neither ithout that splendor, onderful

but in all cases produces a profound reverence for all the Tath;!atas. Indeed, it is all the Lord Buddhas, Buddha$fields in order to develop livin! bein!s=

ho understand the e,uality of all thin!s, manifest all sorts of

?@nanda, 0ust as the Buddha$fields are diverse as to their specific ,ualities but have no difference as to the sky that covers them, so, @nanda, the Tath;!atas are diverse as to their physical bodies but do not differ as to their unimpeded !nosis. ?@nanda, all the Buddhas are the same as to the perfection of the Buddha$,ualities, that is: their forms, their colors, their radiance, their bodies, their marks, their nobility, their morality, their concentration, their isdom, their liberation, the !nosis and vision of liberation, their stren!ths, their fearlessnesses, their special Buddha$,ualities, their !reat love, their !reat compassion, their helpful intentions, their attitudes, their practices, their paths, the len!ths of their lives, their teachin!s of the (harma, their development and liberation of livin! bein!s, and their purification of Buddha$fields. Therefore, they are all called )/amyaksambuddhas,) )Tath;!atas,) and )Buddhas.) ?@nanda, ere your life to last an entire aeon, it ould not be easy for you to understand ere like you the

thorou!hly the e%tensive meanin! and precise verbal si!nificance of these three names. Also, @nanda, if all the livin! bein!s of this billion$ orld !alactic universe foremost of the learned and the foremost of those endo ed and ere they to devote an entire aeon, they the e%act and e%tensive meanin! of the three )Buddha.) ith memory and incantations $

ould still be unable to understand completely ords )/amyaksambuddha,) )Tath;!ata,) and

Thus, @nanda, the enli!htenment of the Buddhas is immeasurable, and the elo,uence of the Tath;!atas are inconceivable.?

isdom and the

Then, the venerable @nanda addressed the Buddha: ?Lord, from this day forth, I shall no lon!er declare myself to be the foremost of the learned.? The Buddha said, ?(o not be discoura!ed, @nanda= *hy> I pronounced you, @nanda, the foremost of the learned, ith the disciples in mind, not considerin! the bodhisattvas. Look, @nanda, look at the bodhisattvas. They cannot be fathomed even by the isest of men. @nanda, one can fathom the depths of isdom, !nosis, memory, incantations, or ith re!ard to the ho have

the ocean, but one cannot fathom the depths of the

elo,uence of the bodhisattvas. @nanda, you should remain in e,uanimity

deeds of the bodhisattvas. *hy> @nanda, these marvels displayed in a sin!le mornin! by the Licchavi "imalakirti could not be performed by the disciples and solitary sa!es attained miraculous po ers, transformation durin! one hundred thousand millions of aeons.? Then, all those bodhisattvas from the Buddha$field of the Tath;!ata /u!andhakuta 0oined their palms in reverence and, salutin! the Tath;!ata /hakyamuni, addressed him as follo s: ?Lord, hen e first arrived in this Buddha$field, e conceived a ne!ative idea, but e no abandon this ron! idea. *hy> Lord, the realms of the Buddhas and their skill in liberative ere they to devote all their po ers of incarnation and

techni,ue are inconceivable. In order to develop livin! bein!s, they manifest such and such a field to suit the desire of such and such a livin! bein!. Lord, please !ive us a teachin! by hich e may remember you, hen e have returned to /arva!andhasu!andha.?

Thus havin! been re,uested, the Buddha declared, ?5oble sons, there is a liberation of bodhisattvas called )destructible and indestructible.) <ou must train yourselves in this liberation. *hat is it> )(estructible) refers to compounded thin!s. )Indestructible) refers to the uncompounded. But the bodhisattva should neither destroy the compounded nor rest in the uncompounded. ?5ot to destroy compounded thin!s consists in not losin! the !reat love8 not !ivin! up the !reat compassion8 not for!ettin! the omniscient mind !enerated by hi!h resolve8 not tirin! in the positive development of livin! bein!s8 not abandonin! the means of unification8 !ivin! up body and life in order to uphold the holy (harma8 never bein! satisfied seekin! the (harma8 bein! in seein! and ith the roots of virtue already accumulated8 takin! pleasure in skillful dedication8 havin! no la-iness in ithout selfish reticence in teachin! the (harma8 sparin! no effort orshipin! the Tath;!atas8 bein! fearless in voluntary reincarnations8 bein!

neither proud in success nor bo ed in failure8 not despisin! the unlearned, and respectin! the learned as if they ere the Teacher himself8 makin! reasonable those hose passions are e%cessive8 takin! pleasure in solitude, e,uanimity as if they ithout bein! attached to it8 not lon!in! for one)s o n orld as a !arden of liberation8

happiness but lon!in! for the happiness of others8 conceivin! of trance, meditation, and ere the Avici hell8 conceivin! of the considerin! be!!ars to be spiritual teachers8 considerin! the !ivin! a ay of all possessions to be the means of reali-in! Buddhahood8 considerin! immoral bein!s to be saviors8 considerin! the transcendences to be parents8 considerin! the aids to enli!htenment to be servants8 never ceasin! accumulation of the roots of virtue8 establishin! the virtues of all Buddha$fields in one)s o n Buddha$field8 offerin! limitless pure sacrifices to fulfill the auspicious marks and si!ns8 adornin! body, speech and mind by refrainin! from all sins8 continuin! in reincarnations durin! immeasurable aeons, virtues of the Buddha8 kno in! hile purifyin! body, speech, and mind8 hen learnin! of the immeasurable isdom to chastise the enemy passions8 avoidin! discoura!ement, throu!h spiritual heroism, ieldin! the sharp s ord of

ell the a!!re!ates, the elements, and the sense$media in order to bear the burdens ith ener!y to con,uer the host of demons8 seekin! kno led!e in ith little desire in order to uphold the (harma8 not

of all livin! bein!s8 bla-in! mi%in! ith

order to avoid pride8 bein! content

orldly thin!s in order to deli!ht all the people8 bein! faultless in all activities in

order to conform to all people8 producin! the super$kno led!e&s to actually accomplish all duties of benefit to livin! bein!s8 ac,uirin! incantations, memory, and kno led!e in order to retain all learnin!8 understandin! the de!rees of people)s spiritual faculties to dispel the doubts of all livin! bein!s8 displayin! invincible miraculous feats to teach the (harma8 havin! irresistible speech by ac,uirin! unimpeded elo,uence8 tastin! human and divine success by purifyin! the path of ten virtues8 establishin! the path of the pure states of Brahma by cultivatin! the four immeasurables8 invitin! the Buddhas to teach the (harma, re0oicin! in them, and applaudin! them, thereby obtainin! the melodious voice of a Buddha8 disciplinin! body, speech, and mind, thus maintainin! constant spiritual pro!ress8 bein! ithout attachment to anythin! and thus ac,uirin! the behavior of a Buddha8 !atherin! to!ether the order of bodhisattvas to attract bein!s to the .ahayana8 and bein! consciously a are at all times not to ne!lect any !ood ,uality. 5oble sons, a bodhisattva the (harma is a bodhisattva ho thus applies himself to ho does not destroy the compounded realm.

?*hat is not restin! in the uncompounded> The bodhisattva practices void ness, but he does not reali-e void ness. 9e practices si!n$less$ness but does not reali-e si!n$less$ness. 9e practices ish$less$ness but does not reali-e ish$less$ness. 9e practices non$performance but does not reali-e non$performance. 9e kno s impermanence but is not complacent about his roots of virtue. 9e considers misery, but he reincarnates voluntarily. 9e kno s selflessness but does not aste himself. 9e considers peacefulness but does not seek e%treme

peace. 9e cherishes solitude but does not avoid mental and physical efforts. 9e considers place$less$ness but does not abandon the place of !ood actions. 9e considers occurrence$less$ ness but undertakes to bear the burdens of all livin! bein!s. 9e considers immaculateness, yet he follo s the process of the orld. 9e considers motionlessness, yet he moves in order to develop all livin! bein!s. 9e considers selflessness yet does not abandon the !reat compassion to ard all livin! bein!s. 9e considers birthlessness, yet he does not fall into the ultimate determination of the disciples. 9e considers vanity, futility, insubstantiality, dependency, and place$less$ness, yet he establishes himself on merits that are not vain, on kno led!e that is not futile, on reflections that are substantial, on the strivin! for the consecration of the independent !nosis, and on the Buddha$family in its definitive meanin!. ?Thus, noble sons, a bodhisattva ho aspires to such a (harma neither rests in the

uncompounded nor destroys the compounded. ?6urthermore, noble sons, in order to accomplish the store of merit, a bodhisattva does not rest in the uncompounded, and, in order to accomplish the store of isdom, he does not destroy the compounded. In order to fulfill the !reat love, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, in order to fulfill the !reat compassion, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. In order to develop livin! bein!s, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and in order to aspire to the Buddha$,ualities, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. To perfect the marks of Buddhahood, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, to perfect the !nosis of omniscience, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. #ut of skill in liberative techni,ue, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, throu!h thorou!h analysis ith his isdom8 he does not destroy compounded thin!s. To purify the Buddha$field, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, by the po er of the !race of the Buddha, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. Because he feels the needs of livin! bein!s, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, in order to sho truly the meanin! of the (harma, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. Because of his store of roots of virtue, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and because of his instinctive enthusiasm for these roots of virtue, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. To fulfill his prayers, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, because he has no ishes, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. Because his positive thou!ht is pure, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, because his hi!h resolve is pure, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. In order to play ith the five super$kno led!e&s, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, because of the si% super$kno led!e&s of the Buddha$!nosis, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. To fulfill the si% transcendences, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, to fulfill the time, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. To !ather the treasures of the (harma, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, because he does not

like any narro $minded teachin!s, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. Because he !athers all the medicines of the (harma, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, to apply the medicine of the (harma appropriately, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. To confirm his commitments, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, to mend any failure of these commitments, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. To concoct all the eli%irs of the (harma, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, to !ive out the nectar of this subtle (harma, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. Because he kno s thorou!hly all the sicknesses due to passions, he does not rest in the uncompounded, and, in order to cure all sicknesses of all livin! bein!s, he does not destroy compounded thin!s. ?Thus, noble sons, the bodhisattva does not destroy compounded thin!s and does not rest in the uncompounded, and that is the liberation of bodhisattvas called )destructible and indestructible.) 5oble sirs, you should also strive in this.? Then, those bodhisattvas, havin! heard this teachin!, They the ere filled ere satisfied, deli!hted, and reverent. orship the Buddha ell as this teachin!, they covered hole retinue of the Tath;!ata,

ith re0oicin! and happiness of mind. In order to

/hakyamuni and the bodhisattvas of the /aha universe, as hole earth of this billion$ orld universe

ith fra!rant po der, incense, perfumes, and

flo ers up to the hei!ht of the knees. 9avin! thus re!aled the

bo ed their heads at the feet of the Buddha, and circumambulated him to the ri!ht three times, they san! a hymn of praise to him. They then disappeared from this universe and in a split second ere back in the universe /arva!andhasu!andha. 1&. V!s!on o" the Un!'erse Abh!rat! and the Tath45ata A(sobhya Thereupon, the Buddha said to the Licchavi "imalakirti, ?5oble son, Tath;!ata, ho do you vie him>? hen I ould see the hen you ould see the

Thus addressed, the Licchavi "imalakirti said to the Buddha, ?Lord, Tath;!ata, I vie

him by not seein! any Tath;!ata. *hy> I see him as not born from the past, hich is the reality of

not passin! on to the future, and not abidin! in the present time. *hy> 9e is the essence, hich is the reality of matter, but he is not matter. 9e is the essence, sensation, but he is not sensation. 9e is the essence, not intellect. 9e is the essence, is the essence, hich is the reality of intellect, but he is

hich is the reality of motivation, yet he is not motivation. 9e

hich is the reality of consciousness, yet he is not consciousness. Like the

element of space, he does not abide in any of the four elements. Transcendin! the scope of eye, ear, nose, ton!ue, body, and mind, he is not produced in the si% sense$media. 9e is not involved in the three liberation, is endo ed orlds, is free of the three defilements, is associated ith the triple ith the three kno led!e&s, and has truly attained the unattainable.

?The Tath;!ata has reached the e%treme of detachment in re!ard to all thin!s, yet he is not a reality$limit. 9e abides in ultimate reality, yet there is no relationship bet een it and him. 9e is not produced from causes, nor does he depend on conditions. 9e is not ithout any characteristic, nor has he any characteristic. 9e has no sin!le nature nor any diversity of natures. 9e is not a conception, not a mental construction, nor is he a non$conception. 9e is neither the other shore, nor this shore, nor that bet een. 9e is neither here, nor there, nor any here else. 9e is neither this nor that. 9e cannot be discovered by consciousness, nor is he inherent in consciousness. 9e is neither darkness nor li!ht. 9e is neither name nor si!n. 9e is neither eak nor stron!.

9e lives in no country or direction. 9e is neither !ood nor evil. 9e is neither compounded nor uncompounded. 9e cannot be e%plained as havin! any meanin! hatsoever.

?The Tath;!ata is neither !enerosity nor avarice, neither morality nor immorality, neither tolerance nor malice, neither effort nor sloth, neither concentration nor distraction, neither isdom nor foolishness. 9e is ine%pressible. 9e is neither truth nor falsehood8 neither escape from the orld nor failure to escape from the orld8 neither cause of involvement in the orld8 he is the cessation of all theory and all orthy of offerin!s hole, orld nor not a cause of involvement in the

practice. 9e is neither a field of merit nor not a field of merit8 he is neither

nor un orthy of offerin!s. 9e is not an ob0ect, and cannot be contacted. 9e is not a

nor a con!lomeration. 9e surpasses all calculations. 9e is utterly une,ualed, yet e,ual to the ultimate reality of thin!s. 9e is matchless, especially in effort. 9e surpasses all measure. 9e does not !o, does not stay, and does not pass beyond. 9e is neither seen, heard, distin!uished, nor kno n. 9e is ithout reproach, ithout e%cess, ithout any comple%ity, havin! attained the e,uanimity of ithout corruption, ithout birth, ithout conception, and ithout occurrence, ithout fear and ithout omniscient !nosis. 7,ual to ard all thin!s, he does not discriminate bet een them. 9e is intellectuali-ation. 9e is ithout production, and consciousness8 e%press him. ?/uch is the body of the Tath;!ata and thus should he be seen. *ho sees thus, truly sees. *ho sees other ise, sees falsely.? The venerable /hariputra then asked the Buddha, ?Lord, in "imalakirti die, before reincarnatin! in this Buddha$field>? hich Buddha$field did the noble ithout activity, ithout ori!in,

ithout non$production. 9e is ithout 0oy, and

ithout sub$

ithout sorro ,

ithout strain. 5o verbal teachin! can

The Buddha said, ?/hariputra, ask this !ood man directly

here he died to reincarnate here.? here did you die

Then the venerable /hariputra asked the Licchavi "imalakirti, ?5oble sir, to reincarnate here>?

"imalakirti declared, ?Is there anythin! amon! the thin!s that you see, elder, that dies or is reborn>? /hariputra: There is nothin! that dies or is reborn. "imalakirti: Like ise, reverend /hariputra, as all thin!s neither die nor are reborn, you ask, ?*here did you die to reincarnate here>? Reverend /hariputra, if one man or oman created by a ma!ician ould ans er> you think he or she here he or she had died to reincarnate there, hy do hat do

ere to ask a

/hariputra: 5oble sir, a ma!ical creation does not die, nor is it reborn. "imalakirti: Reverend /hariputra, did not the Tath;!ata declare that all thin!s have the nature of a ma!ical creation> /hariputra: <es, noble sir, that is indeed so. "imalakirti: Reverend /hariputra, ?death? is an end of performance, and ?rebirth? is the continuation of performance. But, althou!h a bodhisattva dies, he does not put an end to the performance of the roots of virtue, and althou!h he is reborn, he does not adhere to the continuation of sin.

Then, the Buddha said to the venerable /hariputra, ?/hariputra, this holy person came here from the presence of the Tath;!ata Aksobhya in the universe Abhirati.? /hariputra: Lord, it is onderful that this holy person, havin! left a Buddha$field as pure as

Abhirati, should en0oy a Buddha$field as full of defects as this /aha universe= The Licchavi "imalakirti said, ?/hariputra, accompany the darkness>? /hariputra: :ertainly not, noble sir= "imalakirti: Then the t o do not !o to!ether> hat do you think> (oes the li!ht of the sun

/hariputra: 5oble sir, those t o do not !o to!ether. As soon as the sun rises, all darkness is destroyed. "imalakirti: Then hy does the sun rise over the orld>

/hariputra: It rises to illuminate the "imalakirti: +ust in the same the li!ht of associate

orld, and to eliminate the darkness.

ay, reverend /hariputra, the bodhisattva reincarnates

voluntarily in the impure Buddha$fields in order to purify the livin! bein!s, in order to make isdom shine, and in order to clear a ay the darkness. /ince they do not ith the passions, they dispel the darkness of the passions of all livin! bein!s.

Thereupon, the entire multitude e%perienced the desire to behold the universe Abhirati, the Tath;!ata Aksobhya, his bodhisattvas, and his !reat disciples. The Buddha, kno in! the thou!hts of the entire multitude, said to the Licchavi "imalakirti, ?5oble son, this multitude ishes to behold the universe Abhirati and the Tath;!ata Aksobhya $ sho them=?

Then the Licchavi "imalakirti thou!ht, ?*ithout risin! from my couch, I shall pick up in my ri!ht hand the universe Abhirati and all it contains: its hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas8 its abodes of devas, na!as, yakshas, !andharvas, and asuras, bounded by its :akravada mountains8 its rivers, lakes, fountains, streams, oceans, and other bodies of ater8 its .ount /umeru and other hills and mountain ran!es8 its moon, its sun, and its stars8 its devas, na!as, yakshas, !andharvas, and asuras themselves8 its Brahma and his retinues8 its villa!es, cities, to ns, provinces, kin!doms, men, omen, and houses8 its bodhisattvas8 its disciples8 the tree of enli!htenment of the Tath;!ata Aksobhya8 and the Tath;!ata Aksobhya himself, seated in the middle of an assembly vast as an ocean, teachin! the (harma. Also the lotuses that accomplish the Buddha$ ork amon! the livin! bein!s8 the three 0e eled ladders that rise from its earth to its Trayastrimsa heaven, on descend to the (harma, and on !ods. Like a potter hich ladders the !ods of that heaven orld to see, honor, and serve the Tath;!ata Aksobhya and to hear the hich the men of the earth climb to the Trayastrimsa heaven to visit those ith his heel, I ill reduce that universe Abhirati, ith its store of ill sho it atery base up to its Akanistha heaven, to a minute si-e and, ill brin! it to this /aha universe and

innumerable virtues, from its to the multitudes.?

carryin! it !ently like a !arland of flo ers,

Then, the Licchavi "imalakirti entered into a concentration, and performed a miraculous feat such that he reduced the universe Abhirati to a minute si-e, and took it and brou!ht it into this /aha universe. ith his ri!ht hand,

In that universe Abhirati, the disciples, bodhisattvas, and those amon! !ods and men possessed the super$kno led!e of the divine eye all cried out, ?Lord, a ay= /u!ata, e are bein! carried off= Protect us, # Tath;!ata=?

ho

e are bein! carried

But, to discipline them, the Tath;!ata Aksobhya said to them, ?<ou are bein! carried off by the bodhisattva "imalakirti. It is not my affair.? As for the other men and !ods, they had no a areness at all that they any here. Althou!h the universe Abhirati had been brou!ht into the universe /aha, the /aha universe as not increased or diminished8 it ever been. Thereupon, the Buddha /hakyamuni asked all the multitudes, ?6riends, behold the splendors of the universe Abhirati, the Tath;!ata Aksobhya, the array of his Buddha$field, and the splendors of these disciples and bodhisattvas=? They replied, ?*e see them, Lord=? The Buddha said, ?Those bodhisattvas ho ish to embrace such a Buddha$field should train as neither compressed nor obstructed. 5or as the universe Abhirati reduced internally, and both universes appeared to be the same as they had ere bein! carried

themselves in all the bodhisattva$practices of the Tath;!ata Aksobhya.? *hile "imalakirti, ith his miraculous po er, sho ed them thus the universe Abhirati and

the Tath;!atas Aksobhya, one hundred and forty thousand livin! bein!s amon! the men and !ods of the /aha universe conceived the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment, and all of them formed a prayer to be reborn in the universe Abhirati. And the Buddha prophesied that in the future all ould be reborn in the universe Abhirati.

And the Licchavi "imalakirti, havin! thus developed all the livin! bein!s that could thereby be developed, returned the universe Abhirati e%actly to its former place. The Lord then said to the venerable /hariputra, ?/hariputra, did you see that universe Abhirati, and the Tath;!ata Aksobhya>? /hariputra replied, ?I sa it, Lord= .ay all livin! bein!s come to live in a Buddha$field as

splendid as that= .ay all livin! bein!s come to have miraculous po ers 0ust like those of the noble Licchavi "imalakirti=

?*e have !ained !reat benefit from havin! seen a holy man such as he. *e have !ained a !reat benefit from havin! heard such teachin! of the (harma, still actually e%ists or need to mention the !reat benefit for those and sho hether the Tath;!ata himself hether he has already attained ultimate liberation. 9ence, there is no ho, havin! heard it, believe it, rely on it, embrace

it, remember it, read it, and penetrate to its depth8 and, havin! found faith in it, teach, recite, it to others and apply themselves to the yo!a of meditation upon its teachin!. ho understand correctly this teachin! of the (harma ill obtain the

?Those livin! bein!s

treasury of the 0e els of the (harma. ?Those ho study correctly this teachin! of the (harma ho rite, teach, and ill become the companions of the ill be the true protectors ill be

Tath;!ata. Those

ho honor and serve the adepts of this doctrine

of the (harma. Those (harma

orship this teachin! of the (harma

visited by the Tath;!ata in their homes. Those ill embrace all merits. Those

ho take pleasure in this teachin! of the hether it be no more than a ill

ho teach it to others,

sin!le stan-a of four lines, or a sin!le summary phrase from this teachin! of the (harma, be performin! the !reat (harma$sacrifice. And those ho devote to this teachin! of the

(harma their tolerance, their -eal, their intelli!ence, their discernment, their vision, and their aspirations, thereby become sub0ect to the prophesy of future Buddhahood=?

7pilo!ue Antecedents and Transmission of the 9oly (harma

Then /akra, the prince of the !ods, said to the Buddha, ?Lord, formerly I have heard from the Tath;!ata and from .an0usri, the cro n prince of isdom, many hundreds of thousands of teachin!s of the (harma, but I have never before heard a teachin! of the (harma as remarkable as this instruction in the entrance into the method of inconceivable transformations. Lord, those livin! bein!s ho, havin! heard this teachin! of the (harma, ill be, ithout a doubt, true vessels ill open their ay to all ho apply themselves to the yo!a of ill al ays overcome all ill have truly accept it, remember it, read it, and understand it deeply of the (harma8 there is no need to mention those meditation upon it. They fortunate lives, adversaries, and bodhisattvas,

ill cut off all possibility of unhappy lives,

ill al ays be looked after by all Buddhas, ill al ays con,uer all devils. They

ill practice the path of the

ill take their places upon the seat of 7nli!htenment, and

entered the domain of the Tath;!atas. Lord, the noble sons and dau!hters practice this e%position of the (harma (harma (harma. I to those At these To the villa!es, to ns, cities, states, kin!doms, and capitals ill inspire the unbelievin! ith faith, and I

ho

ill teach and

ill be honored and served by me and my follo ers. herein this teachin! of the ill come to hear the

ill be applied, tau!ht, and demonstrated, I and my follo ers ho believe and uphold the (harma.?

ill !uarantee my help and protection

ords, the Buddha said to /akra, the prince of the !ods, ?7%cellent= 7%cellent, prince ords. Prince of !ods, the enli!htenment of the rite

of !ods= The Tath;!ata re0oices in your !ood prince of !ods,

Buddhas of the past, present, and future is e%pressed in this discourse of (harma. Therefore, hen noble sons and dau!hters accept it, repeat it, understand it deeply, it completely, and, makin! it into a book, honor it, those sons and dau!hters thereby pay homa!e to the Buddhas of the past, present and future. ?Let us suppose, prince of !ods, that this billion$ orld$!alactic universe Tath;!atas as it is covered ith herbs, and ith !roves of su!arcane, ith rosebushes, ith flo ers, and that a noble son or dau!hter ere as full of ith bamboo thickets,

ere to honor them, revere

them, respect and adore them, offerin! them all sorts of comforts and offerin!s for an aeon or more than an aeon. And let us suppose that, these Tath;!atas havin! entered ultimate liberation, he or she honored each of them by enshrinin! their preserved bodies in a memorial stupa made of precious stones, each as lar!e as a risin! as hi!h as the orld of Brahma, adorned orld ith four !reat continents, ith parasols, banners, standards, and lamps.

And let us suppose finally that, havin! erected all these stupas for the Tath;!atas, he or she ere to devote an aeon or more to offerin! them flo ers, perfumes, banners, and standards, hile playin! drums and music. That bein! done, hat do you think, prince of !ods> *ould that noble son or dau!hter

receive much merit as a conse,uence of such activities>? /akra, the prince of !ods, replied, ?.any merits, Lord= .any merits, # /u!ata= *ere one to spend hundreds of thousands of millions of aeons, it ould be impossible to measure the ould thereby !ather=? limit of the mass of merits that that noble son or dau!hter

The Buddha said, ?9ave faith, prince of !ods, and understand this: *hoever accepts this e%position of the (harma called )Instruction in the Inconceivable Liberation,) recites it, and understands it deeply, he or she ill !ather merits even !reater than those ho perform the above acts. *hy so> Because, prince of !ods, the enli!htenment of the Buddhas arises from

the (harma, and one honors them by the (harma

orship, and not by material

orship.

Thus it is tau!ht, prince of !ods, and thus you must understand it.? The Buddha then further said to /akra, the prince of !ods, ?#nce, prince of !ods, lon! a!o, lon! before aeons more numerous than the innumerable, immense, immeasurable, inconceivable, and even before then, the Tath;!ata called Bhaisa0yara0a appeared in the orld: a saint, perfectly and fully enli!htened, endo ed blissful one, kno er of the universe called .ahavyuha. ?The len!th of life of this Tath;!ata Bhaisa0yara0a, perfectly and fully enli!htened one, t enty short aeons. 9is retinue of disciples numbered thirty$si% million billion, and his retinue of bodhisattvas numbered t elve million billion. In that same era, prince of !ods, there monarch called 4in! Ratnacchattra, as a universal ho rei!ned over the four continents and possessed as ith kno led!e and conduct, a ho need to be civili-ed, orld, incomparable kno er of men

teacher of !ods and men, a Lord, a Buddha. 9e appeared in the aeon called "icarana in the

seven precious 0e els. 9e had one thousand heroic sons, po erful, stron!, and able to con,uer enemy armies. This 4in! Ratnacchattra honored the Tath;!ata Bhaisa0yara0a and his retinue ith many e%cellent offerin!s durin! five short aeons. At the end of this time, the orshiped the orship him.) 4in! Ratnacchattra said to his sons, )Reco!ni-in! that durin! my rei!n I have Tath;!ata, in your turn you also should

?The thousand princes !ave their consent, obeyin! their father the kin!, and all to!ether, durin! another five short aeons, they honored the Tath;!ata Bhaisa0yara0a e%cellent offerin!s. ?Amon! them, there than this>) ?Then, by the supernatural po er of the Buddha Bhaisa0yara0a, the !ods spoke to him from the heavens: )'ood man, the supreme orship is the (harma$ orship.) as a prince by the name of :andracchattra, ho retired into solitude ith all sorts of

and thou!ht to himself, )Is there not another mode of

orship, even better and more noble

?:andracchattra asked them, )*hat is this ?(harma$ orship?>) ?The !ods replied, )'ood man, !o to the Tath;!ata Bhaisa0yara0a, ask him about the ?(harma$ orship,? and he ill e%plain it to you fully.)

?Then, the prince :andracchattra

ent to the Lord Bhaisa0yara0a, the saint, the Tath;!ata, the ithdre to one side. 9e then asked, orship. *hat it this

insuperably, perfectly enli!htened one, and havin! approached him, bo ed do n at his feet, circumambulated him to the ri!ht three times, and )Lord, I have heard of a ?(harma$ orship,? ?(harma$ orship?>) ?The Tath;!ata Bhaisa0yara0a said, )5oble son, the (harma$ orship is that orship rendered hich surpasses all other

to the discourses tau!ht by the Tath;!ata. These discourses are deep and profound in illumination. They do not conform to the mundane and are difficult to understand, difficult to see and difficult to reali-e. They are subtle, precise, and ultimately incomprehensible. As /criptures, they are collected in the canon of the bodhisattvas, stamped the kin! of incantations and teachin!s. They reveal the irreversible ith the insi!nia of ith all the aids heel of (harma, arisin!

from the si% transcendences, cleansed of any false notions. They are endo ed

to enli!htenment and embody the seven factors of enli!htenment. They introduce livin! bein!s to the !reat compassion and teach them the !reat love. They eliminate all the convictions of the .ara&s, and they manifest relativity. ?)They contain the messa!e of selflessness, livin!$bein!$less$ness, lifelessness, person$less$ ness, void ness, si!n$less$ness, nonoccurrence. ?)They make possible the attainment of the seat of enli!htenment and set in motion the of the (harma. They are approved and praised by the chiefs of the !ods, na!as, yakshas, !andharvas, asuras, !arudas, kimnaras, and mahora!as. They preserve unbroken the herita!e of the holy (harma, contain the treasury of the (harma, and represent the summit of the (harma$ orship. They are upheld by all holy bein!s and teach all the bodhisattva practices. They induce the unmistaken understandin! of the (harma in its ultimate sense. They certify that all thin!s are impermanent, miserable, selfless, and peaceful, thus epitomi-in! the (harma. They cause the abandonment of avarice, immorality, malice, la-iness, for!etfulness, foolishness, and 0ealousy, as ell as bad convictions, adherence to ob0ects, and all opposition. They are praised by all the Buddhas. They are the medicines for the tendencies of mundane life, and they authentically manifest the !reat happiness of liberation. To teach correctly, to uphold, to investi!ate, and to understand such /criptures, thus incorporatin! into one)s o n life the holy (harma $ that is the ?(harma$ orship.? heel ish$less$ness, nonperformance, non$production, and

?)6urthermore, noble son, the (harma$ orship consists of determinin! the (harma accordin! to the (harma8 applyin! the (harma accordin! to the (harma8 bein! in harmony ith relativity8 bein! free of e%tremist convictions8 attainin! the tolerance of ultimate birthlessness and nonoccurrence of all thin!s8 reali-in! selflessness and livin!$bein!$less$ness8 refrainin! from stru!!le about causes and conditions, ithout ,uarrelin!, or disputin!8 not bein! possessive8 bein! free of e!oism8 relyin! on the meanin! and not on the literal e%pression8 relyin! on !nosis and not on consciousness8 relyin! on the ultimate teachin!s definitive in meanin! and not insistin! on the superficial teachin!s interpretable in meanin!8 relyin! on reality and not insistin! on opinions derived from personal authorities8 reali-in! correctly the reality of the Buddha8 reali-in! the ultimate absence of any fundamental consciousness8 and overcomin! the habit of clin!in! to an ultimate !round. 6inally, attainin! peace by stoppin! everythin! from i!norance to old a!e, death, sorro , lamentation, misery, an%iety, and trouble, and reali-in! that livin! bein!s kno called the une%celled (harma$ orship.) ?Prince of !ods, hen the prince :andracchattra had heard this definition of (harma$ no end to their vie s concernin! these t elve hen you do not hold to any vie at all, it is links of dependent ori!ination8 then, noble son,

orship from the Tath;!ata Bhaisa0yara0a, he attained the conformative tolerance of ultimate birthlessness8 and, takin! his robes and ornaments, he offered them to the Buddha Bhaisa0yara0a, sayin!, )*hen the Tath;!ata holy (harma, to protect it, and to ill be in ultimate liberation, I ish to defend his orship it. .ay the Tath;!ata !rant me his supernatural

blessin!, that I may be able to con,uer .ara and all adversaries and to incorporate in all my lives the holy (harma of the Buddha=) ?The Tath;!ata Bhaisa0yara0a, kno in! the hi!h resolve of :andracchattra, prophesied to him that he ould be, at a later time, in the future, the protector, !uardian, and defender of the city of the holy (harma. Then, prince of !ods, the prince :andracchattra, out of his !reat faith in the Tath;!ata, left the household life in order to enter the homeless life of a monk and havin! done so, lived makin! !reat efforts to ard the attainment of virtue. 9avin! made !reat effort and bein! ell established in virtue, he soon produced the five

super$kno led!e&s, understood the incantations, and obtained the invincible elo,uence. *hen the Tath;!ata Bhaisa0yara0a attained ultimate liberation, :andracchattra, on the stren!th of his super$kno led!e&s and by the po er of his incantations, made the short aeons. heel of the (harma turn 0ust as the Tath;!ata Bhaisa0yara0a had done and continued to do so for ten

?Prince of !ods,

hile the monk :andracchattra

as e%ertin! himself thus to protect the holy ere disciplined in the

(harma, thousands of millions of livin! bein!s reached the sta!e of irreversibility on the path to une%celled, perfect enli!htenment, fourteen billion livin! bein!s human and heavenly realms. ?Perhaps, prince of !ods, you are onderin! or e%periencin! some doubt about hether or vehicles of the disciples and solitary sa!es, and innumerable livin! bein!s took rebirth in the

not, at that former time, the 4in! Ratnacchattra that epoch, the universal monarch Ratnacchattra.

as not some other than the actual Tath;!ata as at that time, in

Ratnarcis. <ou must not ima!ine that, for the present Tath;!ata Ratnarcis

As for the thousand sons of the 4in! Ratnacchattra, they are no of the present blessed aeon, durin! the course of the

the thousand bodhisattvas ill appear in

hich one thousand Buddhas ho

orld. Amon! them, 4rakucchanda and others are already born, and those remainin! ill be the last to be born.

ill still be born, from 4akutsunda up to the Tath;!ata Roca,

?Perhaps, prince of !ods, you are askin! yourself if, in that life, in that time, the Prince :andracchattra ho upheld the 9oly (harma of Lord Tath;!ata Bhaisa0yara0a as not someone other than myself. But you must not ima!ine that, for I as, in that life, in that time,

the Prince :andracchattra. Thus it is necessary to kno , prince of !ods, that amon! all the orships rendered to the Tath;!ata, the (harma$ orship is the very best. <es, it is !ood, eminent, e%cellent, perfect, supreme, and une%celled. And therefore, prince of !ods, do not orship me me ith material ob0ects but orship me ith the (harma$ orship= (o not honor ith material ob0ects but honor me by honor to the (harma=?

Then the Lord /hakyamuni said to the bodhisattva .aitreya, the !reat spiritual hero, ?I transmit to you, .aitreya, this une%celled, perfect enli!htenment hich I attained only after ill spread in the innumerable millions of billions of aeons, in order that, at a later time, durin! a later life, a similar teachin! of the (harma, protected by your supernatural po er, orld and virtue, ill not disappear. *hy> .aitreya, in the future there dau!hters, devas, na!as, yakshas, !andharvas, and asuras, teachin! of the (harma, they they hear such a teachin!, they spread a teachin! such as this= ill be noble sons and

ho, havin! planted the roots of

ill produce the spirit of une%celled, perfect enli!htenment. If they do not hear this ill certainly lose boundless advanta!es and even perish. But if ill re0oice, ill believe, and ill accept it upon the cro ns of

their heads. 9ence, in order to protect those future noble sons and dau!hters, you must

?.aitreya, there are t o !estures of the bodhisattvas. *hat are they> The first !esture is to believe in all sorts of phrases and profound principle of the (harma ords, and the second !esture is to penetrate e%actly the ithout bein! afraid. /uch are the t o !estures of the ho believe in all sorts of

bodhisattvas. .aitreya, it must be kno n that the bodhisattvas reli!ious practice. But the bodhisattvas, teachin!

ords and phrases, and apply themselves accordin!ly, are be!inners and not e%perienced in ho read, hear, believe, and teach this profound ith its impeccable e%pressions reconcilin! dichotomies and its analyses of sta!es of

development these are veterans in the reli!ious practice. ?.aitreya, there are t o reasons the be!inner bodhisattvas hurt themselves and do not concentrate on the profound (harma. *hat are they> 9earin! this profound teachin! never before heard, they are terrified and doubtful, do not re0oice, and re0ect it, thinkin!, and A hence comes this teachin! never before heard>) They then behold other noble sons acceptin!, becomin! vessels for, and teachin! this profound teachin!, and they do not attend upon them, do not befriend them, do not respect them, and do not honor them, and eventually they !o so far as to critici-e them. These are the t o reasons the be!inner bodhisattvas hurt themselves and do not penetrate the profound (harma. ?There are t o reasons the bodhisattvas ho do aspire to the profound (harma hurt ho have not

themselves and do not attain the tolerance of the ultimate birthlessness of thin!s. *hat are these t o> These bodhisattvas despise and reproach the be!inner bodhisattvas, been practicin! for a lon! time, and they do not initiate them or instruct them in the profound teachin!. 9avin! no !reat respect for this profound teachin!, they are not careful about its rules. They help livin! bein!s by means of material !ifts and do not help them by means of the !ift of the (harma. /uch, .aitreya, are the t o reasons the bodhisattvas profound (harma hurt themselves and birthlessness of all thin!s.? Thus havin! been tau!ht, the bodhisattva .aitreya said to the Buddha, ?Lord, the beautiful teachin!s of the Tath;!ata are avoid all such errors and onderful and truly e%cellent. Lord, from this time forth, I ill ill defend and uphold this attainment of une%celled, perfect ill place in the hands of noble sons and noble dau!hters ill instill in them the ho aspire to the ill not ,uickly attain the tolerance of the ultimate

enli!htenment by the Tath;!ata durin! innumerable hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of aeons= In the future, I ho are po er of memory others. ith orthy vessels of the holy (harma this profound teachin!. I

hich they may, havin! believed in this teachin!, retain it, recite, it, rite it do n, and proclaim it e%tensively to

penetrate its depths, teach it, propa!ate it,

?Thus I

ill instruct them, Lord, and thus it may be kno n that in that future time those ho enter deeply into it ill be sustained by the supernatural

ho

believe in this teachin! and

blessin! of the bodhisattva .aitreya.? Thereupon the Buddha !ave his approval to the bodhisattva .aitreya: ?7%cellent= 7%cellent= <our ord is ell !iven= The Tath;!ata re0oices and commends your !ood promise.? e also, after the ultimate ide

Then all the bodhisattvas said to!ether in one voice, ?Lord, liberation of the Tath;!ata, believe in that=?

ill come from our various Buddha$fields to spread far and

this enli!htenment of the perfect Buddha, the Tath;!ata. .ay all noble sons and dau!hters

Then the four .ahara0as, the !reat kin!s of the ,uarters, said to the Buddha, ?Lord, in all the to ns, villa!es, cities, kin!doms, and palaces, practiced, upheld, and correctly tau!ht, armies, our youn! herever this discourse of the (harma ill !o there e ith our ill be e, the four !reat kin!s,

arriors, and our retinues, to hear the (harma. And

ill protect the

teachers of this (harma for a radius of one lea!ue so that no one disruption a!ainst these teachers

ho plots in0ury or

ill have any opportunity to do them harm.?

Then the Buddha said to the venerable @nanda, ?Receive then, @nanda, this e%pression of the teachin! of the (harma. Remember it, and teach it idely and correctly to others=?

@nanda replied, ?I have memori-ed, Lord, this e%pression of the teachin! of the (harma. But hat is the name of this teachin!, and ho should I remember it>?

The Buddha said, ?@nanda, this e%position of the (harma is called )The Teachin! of "imalakirti,) or )The Reconciliation of (ichotomies,) or even )/ection of the Inconceivable Liberation.) Remember it thus=? Thus spoke the Buddha. And the Licchavi "imalakirti, the cro n prince .an0usri, the venerable @nanda, the bodhisattvas, the !reat disciples, the entire multitude, and the universe ith its !ods, men, asuras and !andharvas, re0oiced e%ceedin!ly. All heartily praised these declarations by the Lord. hole

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