Section One: The Causes of This Dharma Meeting
Thus have I heard, at one time, the Buddha was in the state of Sravasti at the Jeta Grove with a gathering of monks numbering 1,250. At mealtime, the World-honored One put on his robe, picked up his bowl, and went into the city of Sravasti to beg for food. After he had gone from house to house, he returned to the grove. When he had finished eating, he put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, straightened his mat, and sat down.
Section Two: Subhuti’s Request
At that time the elder monk Subhuti was among the gathering of monks. He rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, kneeled on his right knee, and with palms pressed together before him, respectfully spoke to the Buddha saying, “Rare One, World-honored One, the Tathagata protects and is concerned about all bodhisattvas, and he instructs all bodhisattvas. World-honored One, when good men and good women commit themselves to anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, on what should they base themselves, and how should they subdue their minds?”
The Buddha said, “Wonderful! Wonderful! Subhuti, you said that the Tathagata protects and is concerned about all bodhisattvas, and that he instructs all bodhisattvas. Now listen carefully while I tell you, when good men and good women commit themselves to anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, on what they should base themselves, and how they should subdue their minds.”
“Excellent, World-honored One. I eagerly await your answer.”
Section Three: The Heart of the Mahayana
The Buddha said to Subhuti, “All great bodhisattvas should subdue their minds in the following manner: they should realize as they vow to save all sentient beings that in truth there are no sentient beings to be saved. And they should realize as they vow to save all of the infinite, innumerable, illimitable sentient beings that in reality there are no sentient beings to be saved. When they vow to lead them all to nirvana without remainder—be they born of eggs, wombs, moisture, or transformation, or whether they have form, or no form, or whether they are able to perceive, or do not perceive, or cannot perceive, or will not perceive—they should realize that in truth there are no sentient beings to be led to nirvana.
“And why is this? Subhuti, if a bodhisattva has laksana of self, laksana of human beings, laksana of sentient beings, or laksana of a soul, then he is not a bodhisattva.”
Section Four: The Wonder of Behaving Without Attachment
“Moreover, Subhuti, within this phenomenal world, a bodhisattva ought to practice generosity without basing it on anything. This means that he should not base his generosity on form, and he should not base his generosity on sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought. Subhuti, the generosity of a bodhisattva should be like this and it should not be based on any laksana whatsoever. And why is this? If the generosity of a bodhisattva is not based on any laksana whatsoever, then his goodness will be immeasurable.
“Subhuti, what do you say, can the vastness of space to the east of us be measured?”
“No, it cannot, World-honored One.”
“Subhuti, can the vastness of space in any direction be measured? Can the vastness of space to the south, west, north, up, or down be measured?”
“No, it cannot, World-honored One.”
“Subhuti, when the generosity of a bodhisattva is not based on laksana, his goodness is just as immeasurable as that. Subhuti, a bodhisattva should base himself on this teaching and this teaching alone.”
Section Five: Seeing the Truth That Lies Beneath Perception
“Subhuti, what do you say, can you see the Tathagata in his bodily laksana?”
“No, World-honored One, no one can see the Tathagata in his bodily laksana. And why is this? The bodily laksana that the Tathagata is talking about are not bodily laksana.”
The Buddha said to Subhuti, “All laksana are delusive. If you can see that all laksana are not laksana, then you will see the Tathagata.”
Section Six: The Rarity of True Belief
Subhuti said to the Buddha, “World-honored One, can sentient beings, upon hearing these words, really be expected to believe them?”
The Buddha told Subhuti, “Don’t talk like that. Even after I have been gone for five hundred years there will still be people who are moral and who cultivate goodness. If they can believe this teaching and accept it as the truth, you can be sure that they will have planted good roots not just with one Buddha, or two Buddhas, or three, or four, or five Buddhas, but that they will have planted good roots with infinite tens of millions of Buddhas. And if someone has so much as a single pure moment of belief concerning this teaching, Subhuti, they will be intimately known and seen by the Tathagata. And what is the reason that these sentient beings will attain so much infinite goodness? These sentient beings will not return to the laksana of self, the laksana of human beings, the laksana of sentient beings, the laksana of souls, the laksana of laws, or the laksana of non-laws.
And why is this? If a sentient being clings to laksana in his mind, then he will cling to self, human beings, sentient beings, or souls. If he clings to the laksana of a law, then he will also cling to self, human beings, sentient beings, or souls. And why is this? If he clings to even so little as the laksana of a non-law, then he will also cling to self, human beings, sentient beings, or souls. Thus, he must not cling to laws or non-laws, and this is why I have often said to you monks that even my teachings should be understood to be like a raft; if even the Dharma must be let go of, then how much more must everything else be let go of?”
Section Seven: Nothing Has Been Attained and Nothing Has Been Said
“Subhuti, what do you say? Has the Tathagata really attained anuttara-samyak-sambodhi? Has the Tathagata really spoken a Dharma?”
Subhuti said, “As far as I understand what the Buddha has said, there is no definite dharma that can be called anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and there is no definite Dharma that could be spoken about by the Tathagata. And why is this? The Dharma of which the Tathagata speaks cannot be held onto, it cannot be spoken, it is not a law, and it is not a non-law. And that is why all bodhisattvas understand the unconditioned dharmas differently.
Section Eight: Enlightenment Comes from These Teachings
“Subhuti, what do you say? If a person, in a an act of generosity, were to give away enough precious jewels to fill an entire great chiliocosm, would the goodness he achieved be great or not?”
Subhuti said, “It would be very great, World-honored One. And why is this? This goodness is devoid of a ‘goodness nature,’ and therefore the Tathagata would say that it is great.”
“If someone else were to receive and uphold as few as four verses of this sutra, and if he were to teach them to others, his goodness would be even greater than that. And why is this? Subhuti, all Buddhas and all anuttara-samyak-sambodhi are born of this sutra. Subhuti, that which is called the Buddhadharma is not the Buddhadharma.”
Section Nine: The Four Fruits Are Empty
Subhuti, what do you say? Would it be right for a srotapana to think like this: ‘I have attained the fruit of a srotapana’?”
Subhuti said, “No, World-honored One. And why is this? Srotapana means ‘stream-enterer,’ and yet there is nothing to be entered. Indeed, to not enter into form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought is what is called srotapana.”
“Subhuti, what do you say? Would it be right for a sakradagami to think like this: ‘I have attained the fruit of a sakradagami’?”
Subhuti said, “No, World-honored One. And why is this? Sakradagami means ‘once-returner,’ and yet in truth there is no such thing as returning. This is what is called sakradagami.”
“Subhuti, what do you say? Would it be right for an anagami to think like this: ‘I have attained the fruit of an anagami?”
Subhuti said, “No, World-honored One. And why is this? Anagami means ‘never-returner,’ and yet in truth there is no such thing as never returning. This is the reason it is called anagami.”
“Subhuti, what do you say? Would it be right for an arahant to think like this: ‘I have attained the path of an arahant?”
Subhuti said, “No, World-honored One. And why is this? There is no dharma called ‘arahant.’ World-honored One, if an arahant were to think ‘I have attained the path of arahant,’ then he would be clinging to self, human being, sentient being, and soul.
“World-honored One, the Buddha has said that I have attained non-disputational samadhi, and that among all people, I am the best in this; and that among all arahants, I am also the best at going beyond desire. And yet, I do not have the thought that I am an arahant that has gone beyond desire. World-honored One, if I were to have the thought that I had attained the path of an arahant, then the World-honored One would not have said that Subhuti takes delight in the practice of aranya. Since Subhuti is wholly without any practice, Subhuti has been said to take delight in the practice of aranya.”
Section Ten: Making the Buddha Realm Magnificent
The Buddha said to Subhuti, “What do you say? When the Tathagata was in the realm of Dipankara Buddha, did he gain anything by his practice of the Dharma?”
“No, World-honored One, when the Tathagata was in the realm of Dipankara Buddha, he did not gain anything from his practice of the Dharma.”
“Subhuti, what do you say? Does a bodhisattva make a Buddha realm magnificent?”
“No, World-honored One. And why is this? That which makes a Buddha realm magnificent is not magnificent, and this is what is called magnificence.”
“For this reason, Subhuti, all great bodhisattvas should give rise to purity of mind in this way: they should give rise to a mind that is not based on form, and they should give rise to a mind that is not based on sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought. They should give rise to a mind that is not based on anything.
“Subhuti, what do you say? If a man’s body were as large as Mount Sumeru, would that body be large?”
Subhuti said, “Very large, World-honored One. And why is this? The Buddha has said that no body is what is called the large body.”
Section Eleven: The Unconditioned Is Supreme
“Subhuti, if each grain of sand in the Ganges River were to become a Ganges River, and if the sand in all of those rivers were added up, what do you say? Would that be a lot of sand?”
Subhuti said, “It would be very much, World-honored One. The number of Ganges Rivers alone would be enormous; the amount of sand would be even greater than that.”
“Subhuti, I am going to speak the truth to you now: if a good man or a good woman were to give away as many great chiliocosms of precious jewels as all of those grains of sand, would his goodness be great?”
Subhuti said, “It would be very great, World-honored One.”
The Buddha said to Subhuti, “If a good man or a good woman receives and upholds as few as four verses of this sutra, and if he teaches it to others, then his goodness will be greater than that.”
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