Chapter 8

The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines

Chapter 8: Maturity

8.1 Then, Senior Śāradvatīputra asked the Blessed One, “Venerable Lord! How do unskilled great bodhisattva beings descend to the level of the śrāvakas and the level of the pratyekabuddhas, and how do they not enter into the maturity of a bodhisattva? What is the immaturity of a bodhisattva? What is the maturity of a bodhisattva?” The Blessed One then addressed Senior Śāradvatīputra as follows: “Śāradvatīputra, the immaturity of a bodhisattva manifests when great bodhisattva beings who have previously regressed descend to the level of the śrāvakas or the level of the pratyekabuddhas, and fail to enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas.”

8.2   Then Senior Śāradvatīputra asked the Blessed One, “Venerable Lord! What is the immaturity of a great bodhisattva being who has previously regressed?” The Blessed One replied, “Śāradvatīputra, when great bodhisattva beings who are unskilled practice the six transcendent perfections, owing to their lack of skill in means they actualize the level of the śrāvakas and the level of the pratyekabuddhas dependent on the [three] gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and aspirationlessness—and they do not maintain the maturity of the bodhisattvas. That, Śāradvatīputra, is the immaturity of a great bodhisattva being who has previously regressed.”

8.3   “Venerable Lord! Why does this immaturity of great bodhisattva beings occur?” The Blessed One replied, “Śāradvatīputra, this ‘immaturity’ entails craving for the sacred doctrine.”

8.4   He asked, “Venerable Lord!” What is the immaturity that craves for the sacred doctrine?” The Blessed One replied, “Śāradvatīputra, when great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that physical forms are impermanent, and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness are impermanent, this craving for the sacred doctrine in the case of great bodhisattva beings is indicative of their immaturity.

8.5   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, when great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the aggregates] from physical forms to consciousness are imbued with suffering; when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the aggregates] from physical forms to consciousness are not a self; when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the aggregates] from physical forms to consciousness are empty; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the aggregates] from physical forms to consciousness are signless; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the aggregates] from physical forms to consciousness are without aspirations; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the aggregates] from physical forms to consciousness are calm; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the aggregates] from physical forms to consciousness are void; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the aggregates] from physical forms to consciousness are purified; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the aggregates] from physical forms to consciousness do not arise; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the aggregates] from physical forms to consciousness do not cease; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that physical forms are non-entities; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the other aggregates], up to and including consciousness, are non-entities—in all such cases, Śāradvatīputra, this craving for the sacred doctrine in the case of great bodhisattva beings indicates their immaturity. Śāradvatīputra, it is in this way that unskilled great bodhisattva beings have formerly regressed, descended to the levels of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and failed to enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas.

8.6   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, when great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are impermanent, owing to their lack of skill in means; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are imbued with suffering; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are not a self; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are empty; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are signless; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are without aspirations; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are calm; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are void; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are purified; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are non-arising; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the sensory elements] from the eyes to mental phenomena are unceasing; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that the eyes are non-entities; and similarly, when they establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that [the other sensory elements], up to and including mental phenomena, are non-entities—in all such cases, Śāradvatīputra, this craving for the sacred doctrine in the case of great bodhisattva beings indicates their immaturity. Śāradvatīputra, it is in this way that unskilled great bodhisattva beings have formerly regressed, descended to the levels of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and failed to enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas.

8.7   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, when great bodhisattva beings practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom, owing to their lack of skill in means, the same refrain should be extensively applied to all the sensory elements and [all the causal attributes] from the applications of mindfulness, up to and including the noble eightfold path, and likewise, to [all the fruitional attributes] from the ten powers of the tathāgatas, up to and including the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas—just as has been indicated here in the context of the psycho-physical aggregates. Śāradvatīputra, it is in that way that unskilled great bodhisattva beings have formerly regressed, descended to the levels of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and failed to enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas.

8.8   “Śāradvatīputra, you also asked what is the maturity of a great bodhisattva being. In this regard, Śāradvatīputra, great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom should train as follows: They should not in any respect make assumptions on account of physical forms. They should not make assumptions on account of feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness. They should not make assumptions on account of the eyes, and similarly, they should not make assumptions on account of the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, and the mental faculty. They should not make assumptions on account of sights, and similarly, they should not make assumptions on account of sounds, odors, tastes, tangibles, and mental phenomena. They should not make assumptions on account of the sensory element of the eyes. They should not make assumptions on account of the sensory element of sights. They should not make assumptions on account of the sensory element of visual consciousness. And in the same vein, they should not make assumptions on account of [all the other sensory elements], up to and including the sensory element of mental consciousness. They should not make assumptions on account of the transcendent perfection of generosity. Similarly, they should not make assumptions on account of the transcendent perfection of ethical discipline, the transcendent perfection of tolerance, the transcendent perfection of perseverance, the transcendent perfection of meditative concentration, and the transcendent perfection of wisdom. Similarly, they should not make assumptions on account of the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable aspirations, and the formless meditative absorptions. They should not make assumptions on account of the applications of mindfulness, and in the same vein, they should not make assumptions on account of [all the other causal attributes], up to and including the noble eightfold path. Likewise, they should not make assumptions on account of the ten powers of the tathāgatas, and in the same vein, they should not make assumptions on account of [all the other fruitional attributes], up to and including the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas. Śāradvatīputra, great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom should not make assumptions even on account of the enlightened mind, the mind that is equal to the unequaled, the uncommon mind, the mind of vast extent. If you ask why, it is because the intrinsic nature of this mind is luminosity.”

8.9   Then, Senior Śāradvatīputra asked the Blessed One as follows: “Venerable Lord! What is the nature of luminosity—the intrinsic nature of mind?” The Blessed One replied to Senior Śāradvatīputra as follows: “Śāradvatīputra, the mind neither has desire, nor is it without desire. It neither has hatred, nor is it without hatred. It neither has delusion, nor is it without delusion. Similarly, it neither has obsessions, fetters, or latent impulses, nor is it without them. Similarly, it neither has all the fetters of philosophical view, nor is it without them. It neither has the mindsets of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, nor is it without them. This, Śāradvatīputra, is the natural luminosity of the mind with which great bodhisattva beings are endowed.”

8.10   Senior Śāradvatīputra then asked as follows: “Lord! Does this mind that is not the mind exist?” The Blessed One replied, “Śāradvatīputra, does this nature of mind with which minds are endowed exist or not exist? Does it have being or non-being? In terms of apprehensibility, is it in fact apprehensible?” He replied, “Venerable Lord! That is not the case!”

8.11   [The Lord Buddha] then said, “Śāradvatīputra, if the nature of mind with which minds are endowed has neither existence nor non-existence, and if it is non-apprehensible, then Śāradvatīputra, surely your question ‘Does this mind that is not the mind exist?’ is contestable. How can this reasoning be correct?” Senior Śāradvatīputra then asked the Blessed One, “Venerable Lord! What is the nature of mind with which minds are endowed?” He replied, “Śāradvatīputra! That which is unchanging and without conceptual notions regarding all things is called the nature of mind with which minds are endowed.”

8.12   Senior Śāradvatīputra then asked the Blessed One, “Venerable Lord! Just as there are no changes and no conceptual notions regarding the actual mind, then are there no changes and no conceptual notions regarding actual physical forms, feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness? In the same vein, are there no changes and no conceptual notions regarding any [phenomena] at all, up to and including all formative predispositions? If that were the case, there would be no changes and no conceptual notions regarding all [attributes and attainments], up to and including enlightenment.” The Blessed One replied, “Śāradvatīputra, that is right! There are no changes and no conceptual notions regarding any mind. There are no changes and there are no conceptual notions regarding any [phenomena], up to and including all formative predispositions, and similarly regarding [all the attributes and attainments], up to and including enlightenment. Śāradvatīputra, this absence of change and absence of conceptual notions regarding all things is designated as the maturity of a great bodhisattva being who practices the transcendent perfection of wisdom.

8.13   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the four applications of mindfulness which are correctly retained by skill in means. If you ask what these four are, they may be described as follows: (1) Great bodhisattva beings who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything, with regard to the inner body, continue to observe the physical body, without generating any apperceptions dependent on the physical body. Similarly, those who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything, with regard to the outer body, continue to observe the physical body, without generating any apperceptions dependent on the physical body. Similarly, those who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything, with regard to the inner and outer body combined, continue to observe the physical body, without generating any apperceptions dependent on the physical body.

8.14   (2) Those who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything, with regard to inner feelings, outer feelings, and combined inner and outer feelings, continue to observe feelings, without generating any apperceptions dependent on feelings.

8.15   (3) Those who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything, with regard to the inner mind, the outer mind, and the combined inner and outer mind, continue to observe the mind, without generating any apperceptions dependent on the mind.

8.16   (4) Those who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything, with regard to inner phenomena, outer phenomena, and combined inner and outer phenomena, continue to observe phenomena, without generating any apperceptions dependent on phenomena.

8.17   “Śāradvatīputra, if you ask how, with regard to the inner body, great bodhisattva beings continue to observe the physical body, when great bodhisattva beings are engaged in conduct, they are fully aware that they are engaged in conduct. When they are standing upright, they are fully aware that they are standing upright. When they are sitting, they are fully aware that they are sitting. When they are lying down, they are fully aware that they are lying down. In whatever ways the body changes its posture, they are fully aware of these. Śāradvatīputra, it is in such ways that great bodhisattva beings who are diligent, alert and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything, with regard to the inner body, continue to observe the physical body.

8.18   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, great bodhisattva beings maintain alertness whether they are going out or returning back. They maintain alertness whether they are looking outwardly or looking introspectively. They maintain alertness whether they are bending or stretching their limbs; whether they are holding an outer patched robe, a waist cloth, or an alms bowl; and whether they are eating, drinking, chewing, tasting, waking up, resting, coming or going, [standing or] sitting, reclining or not reclining, and speaking or not speaking. They maintain alertness whether they are absorbed in meditation or arising from meditation. Śāradvatīputra, it is in this way that when great bodhisattva beings practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom with regard to the inner body, they continue to observe the physical body. Furthermore, they do so without apprehending anything.

8.19   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, they breathe in mindfully and breathe out mindfully. They are fully aware that when they inhale a long breath they are inhaling a long breath, and that when they exhale a long breath, they are exhaling a long breath. They are fully aware that when they inhale a short breath, they are inhaling a short breath, and that when they exhale a short breath, they are exhaling a short breath. Śāradvatīputra, this resembles, for example, a potter or the skilled apprentice of a potter who is fully aware that when he is turning the wheel in a long whirl, he is turning the wheel in a long whirl, and who is fully aware that when he is turning the wheel in a short whirl, he is turning the wheel in a short whirl. Likewise, Śāradvatīputra, great bodhisattva beings breathe in mindfully and breathe out mindfully. When they are inhaling a long breath, they are fully aware that they are inhaling a long breath. When they are exhaling a long breath, they are fully aware that they are exhaling a long breath. When they are inhaling a short breath, they are fully aware that they are inhaling a short breath. When they are exhaling a short breath, they are fully aware that they are exhaling a short breath. Śāradvatīputra, it is in such ways that great bodhisattva beings who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything, with regard to the inner body, continue to observe the physical body.

8.20   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, great bodhisattva beings analyze this same physical body in terms of its material elements, considering that their bodies comprise the element of earth, the element of water, the element of fire, and the element of wind. Śāradvatīputra, just as a skilled butcher of bulls or the skilled apprentice of a butcher of bulls slays a bull with a sharp instrument, cuts it into four parts, and then examines the quartered carcass as he stands or sits, in the same way, Śāradvatīputra, great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom also examine this same physical body in terms of its material elements, considering that it comprises the element of earth, the element of water, the element of fire, and the element of wind. Śāradvatīputra, it is in this way that great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom with regard to the inner body, continue to observe the physical body. Furthermore, they do so without apprehending anything.

8.21   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, great bodhisattva beings consider that this same body, from the soles of the feet upwards and the crown of the head downwards, is full of manifold impurities. They discern that this body comprises the hairs of the head, the hairs of the body, nails, epidermal skin, inner skin, flesh, ligaments, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, spleen, lungs, liver, stomach, intestines, sigmoid colon, genitals, urinary bladder, excrement, tears, sweat, adipose tissue, saliva, nasal mucous, pus, serum, odors, urine, brain tissue, and cerebral secretions. Śāradvatīputra, this is just as when the grain bins of a householder farmer have been placed on either side of his doorway, filled with diverse grains—sesame, husked rice, beans, kidney beans, barley, wheat, lentils, unhusked rice, [other] grains [such as millet], and mustard—and an observant passer-by, on seeing them, would know that these are sesame, these are husked rice, these are beans, these are kidney beans, these are barley, these are wheat, these are lentils, these are unhusked rice, these are [other] grains [such as millet], and these are mustard. Śāradvatīputra, in the same way, great bodhisattva beings discern that this very body, from the soles of the feet upwards and from the hair and the head downwards, is full of manifold impurities. As such, this body comprises the hairs of the head, the hairs of the body, and in the same vein, [all the aforementioned things], up to and including the brain tissue and cerebral secretions. Śāradvatīputra, it is in this way that great bodhisattva beings who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything, with regard to the inner body, continue to observe the physical body. Furthermore, they should do so without apprehending anything. Śāradvatīputra, this is the maturity of a great bodhisattva being who practices the transcendent perfection of wisdom.

8.22   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, the maturity of a great bodhisattva being who practices the transcendent perfection of wisdom also entails the four correct exertions. If you ask what these four are, Śāradvatīputra, they may be described as follows:

8.23   (1) They resolve, struggle, strive, persevere with tenacity, and rightly aspire that negative and non-virtuous attributes which have not yet arisen might not be developed.

8.24   (2) They resolve, struggle, strive, persevere with tenacity, and rightly aspire that negative and non-virtuous attributes which have previously arisen might be renounced.

8.25   (3) They resolve, struggle, strive, persevere with tenacity, and rightly aspire that virtuous attributes which have not yet arisen might be developed.

8.26   (4) They resolve, struggle, strive, persevere with tenacity, and rightly aspire that virtuous attributes which have previously arisen might remain, be unforgotten, flourish and be fully cultivated. Furthermore, they do so without apprehending anything. Śāradvatīputra, this is the maturity of a great bodhisattva being.

8.27   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the four supports for miraculous ability. If you ask what these four are, Śāradvatīputra, they may be described as follows:

8.28   (1) Great bodhisattva beings imbued with renunciation, who dwell in solitude, maintaining detachment and remaining in a state of cessation, should cultivate the support for miraculous ability combining meditative stability of resolution with the formative force of exertion.

8.29   (2) Similarly, [imbued with renunciation, dwelling in solitude, maintaining detachment, and remaining in a state of cessation], they should cultivate the support for miraculous ability combining meditative stability of mind with the formative force of exertion.

8.30   (3) [Imbued with renunciation, dwelling in solitude, maintaining detachment, and remaining in a state of cessation], they should cultivate the support for miraculous ability combining meditative stability of perseverance with the formative force of exertion.

8.31   (4) [Imbued with renunciation, dwelling in solitude, maintaining detachment, and remaining in a state of cessation], they should cultivate the support for miraculous ability combining meditative stability of scrutiny with the formative force of exertion. “These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. Śāradvatīputra, this is the maturity of a great bodhisattva being.

8.32   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the five faculties. If you ask what these five are, Śāradvatīputra, they comprise (1) the faculty of faith, (2) the faculty of perseverance, (3) the faculty of recollection, (4) the faculty of meditative stability, and (5) the faculty of wisdom. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. Śāradvatīputra, this is the maturity of a great bodhisattva being.

8.33   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the five powers. If you ask what these five are, Śāradvatīputra, they comprise (1) the power of faith, (2) the power of perseverance, (3) the power of recollection, (4) the power of meditative stability, and (5) the power of wisdom. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. Śāradvatīputra, this is the maturity of a great bodhisattva being.

8.34   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the seven branches of enlightenment. If you ask what these seven are, Śāradvatīputra, they comprise (1) the branch of genuine enlightenment that is recollection, (2) the branch of genuine enlightenment that is doctrinal analysis, (3) the branch of genuine enlightenment that is perseverance, (4) the branch of genuine enlightenment that is delight, (5) the branch of genuine enlightenment that is mental and physical refinement, (6) the branch of genuine enlightenment that is meditative stability, and (7) the branch of genuine enlightenment that is equanimity.

8.35   “[Bodhisattvas who are] imbued with renunciation, who dwell in solitude, maintaining detachment and remaining in a state of cessation, should cultivate the branch of genuine enlightenment that is recollection. Similarly, [bodhisattvas who are] imbued with renunciation, dwelling in solitude, maintaining detachment, and remaining in a state of cessation should cultivate the branch of genuine enlightenment that is doctrinal analysis, and the [other] branches of genuine enlightenment, comprising perseverance, delight, mental and physical refinement, meditative stability, and equanimity. All these too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. Śāradvatīputra, this is the maturity of a great bodhisattva being.

8.36   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails [the observance of] the noble eightfold path. If you ask what these eight aspects are, Śāradvatīputra, they comprise (1) correct view, (2) correct thought, (3) correct speech, (4) correct action, (5) correct livelihood, (6) correct effort, (7) correct recollection, and (8) correct meditative stability. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. Śāradvatīputra, this is the maturity of a great bodhisattva being.

8.37   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails absorption in the three gateways to liberation by engaging in the understanding that all things are without duality. It further entails absorption in the four meditative concentrations, experiencing all things non-conceptually, without relishing the bliss of meditative concentration. It entails the absorption in the four immeasurable aspirations through acceptance that phenomena are non-arising. It entails absorption in the four formless meditative absorptions by understanding that the three world systems are non-apprehensible.

8.38   “It entails absorption in the eight aspects of liberation, without mind, the mental faculty, and mental consciousness. It entails absorption in the nine serial steps of meditative equipoise by perceiving cyclic existence and nirvāṇa without duality. It entails absorption in the nine contemplations of impurity by engaging with all things as if they were a mirage. It entails absorption in the ten recollections, without the need for mindfulness and without the need for mentation. It entails absorption in the six aspects of perception by engaging with all things as if they were an illusion.

8.39   “Furthermore, it entails engagement in the ten kinds of knowledge by regarding all things, known and unknown, as the same. It entails absorption in the three [modes of meditative stability], having realized that all things are naturally in equipoise. It entails the meditations on the three faculties [enabling knowledge of all that is unknown, acquiring the knowledge of all things, and endowed with the knowledge of all things] by means of knowledge that is free from [the limitations] of past, present, and future. It entails the meditations on the [eight] sense fields of mastery by engaging in the cognition of a single modality, without differentiation, and it entails absorption in the [ten] sense fields of total consummation through acceptance of the nature of profound phenomena. All these absorptions, too, are cultivated without apprehending anything. Śāradvatīputra, this is the maturity of a great bodhisattva being.

8.40   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails those circumstances when bodhisattvas practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom [with regard to the eighteen aspects of emptiness]: In the emptiness of internal phenomena, the emptiness of external phenomena is not discerned. In the emptiness of external phenomena, the emptiness of internal phenomena is not discerned. In the emptiness of both external and internal phenomena, the emptiness of emptiness is not discerned. In the emptiness of emptiness, the emptiness of both external and internal phenomena is not discerned. In the emptiness of emptiness, the emptiness of great extent is not discerned. In the emptiness of great extent, the emptiness of ultimate reality is not discerned. In the emptiness of ultimate reality, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena is not discerned. In the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena is not discerned. In the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, the emptiness of the unlimited is not discerned. In the emptiness of the unlimited, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end is not discerned. In the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, the emptiness of non-dispersal is not discerned. In the emptiness of non-dispersal, the emptiness of inherent existence is not discerned. In the emptiness of inherent existence, the emptiness of all intrinsic defining characteristics is not discerned. In the emptiness of all intrinsic defining characteristics, the emptiness of all things is not discerned. In the emptiness of all things, the emptiness of non-apprehension is not discerned. In the emptiness of non-apprehension, the emptiness of non-entities is not discerned. In the emptiness of non-entities, the emptiness of essential nature is not discerned. In the emptiness of essential nature, the emptiness of the essential nature of non-entities is not discerned. In the emptiness of the essential nature of non-entities, the emptiness of essential nature is not discerned. Śāradvatīputra, great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom accordingly will engage in the maturity of great bodhisattva beings.

8.41   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the completion of the ten powers of the tathāgatas by encouraging others to understand the teachings without relying on external conditions. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. It also entails the completion of the four assurances by elucidating [the teachings], without making assumptions with respect to oneself and others. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. It further entails the completion of the four unhindered discernments by knowing, without making assumptions, that the vehicles of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas have been rejected. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. It also entails the completion of great loving kindness by [understanding that] sentient beings are not sentient beings. This too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. It also entails the completion of great compassion by [understanding that] the self is not a self. This too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. It further entails the completion of the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas through freedom from thoughts associated with the two modes of awareness. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything.

8.42   “It also entails the completion of the understanding of all phenomena, the understanding of the aspects of the path, and the understanding of omniscience by engaging with emptiness in all its finest aspects. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. It entails the completion of the six transcendent perfections by discerning [respectively] that thoughts of miserliness, degenerate morality, agitation, indolence, and distraction, as well as thoughts of stupidity, are non-entities. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything.

8.43   “It also entails the completion of the six extrasensory powers, having resolved that all things neither come nor go. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. It entails the completion of the five eyes, having discerned that all things are empty, signless, aspirationless, neither arising nor ceasing, and are neither subject to non-conditioning nor non-origination. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything. It entails the completion of the major and minor marks, having aspired to [the realization] that all things are non-abiding. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything.”

8.44   Then Senior Śāradvatīputra asked the Blessed One, “Venerable Lord! How do great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom proceed on the path to enlightenment, and how indeed do they enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas? Can they not be overcome by anyone?” The Blessed One replied, “Śāradvatīputra, when great bodhisattva beings practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom, they do not make assumptions about the aggregate of physical forms. Similarly, they do not make assumptions about [the other aggregates], up to and including the aggregate of consciousness. They do not make assumptions about the sense field of the eyes, and similarly, they do not make assumptions about [the other sense fields], up to and including the sense field of the mental faculty. They do not make assumptions about the sense field of sights, and they do not make assumptions about [the other sense fields], starting from there and continuing up to the sense field of mental phenomena. Similarly, they do not make assumptions about the sensory element of the eyes, they do not make assumptions about the sensory element of sights, and they do not make assumptions about the sensory element of visual consciousness. And in the same vein, they do not make assumptions about the sensory element of the mental faculty, and they do not make assumptions about [the other sensory elements], up to and including the sensory element of mental phenomena.

8.45   “They do not make assumptions about the applications of mindfulness, and they do not make assumptions about [the other causal attributes], up to and including the noble eightfold path. They do not make assumptions about the transcendent perfection of generosity, and they do not make assumptions about the other transcendent perfections, up to and including the transcendent perfection of wisdom. Similarly, they do not make assumptions about the ten powers of the tathāgatas, and likewise, they do not make assumptions about the four assurances, the four unhindered discernments, great loving kindness, great compassion, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas.

8.46   “Similarly, they do not make assumptions about [their attainments], up to and including the fruit of having entered the stream, and they do not make assumptions about [their other attainments], up to and including arhatship. Similarly, they do not make assumptions about individual enlightenment, or about unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment. Śāradvatīputra! If great bodhisattva beings flourish accordingly through the transcendent perfection of wisdom, they will proceed on the path to enlightenment and they will also enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas. They cannot be overcome by anyone!

8.47   “Moreover, Śāradvatīputra, if great bodhisattva beings who abide in the transcendent perfection of wisdom, and then perfect the pristine cognition of omniscience, are endowed with that cognition, they will never fall into the lower realms of existence, and they will never be belittled among human beings. They will never become impoverished, and if they do possess a corporeal form, they will not acquire a body that is censured by the worlds of humans, gods, and antigods.”

8.48   Then, Senior Śāradvatīputra asked the Blessed One as follows: “Venerable Lord! If great bodhisattva beings are endowed with the cognition whereby they would never regress into the lower realms of existence and never be censured by the worlds of gods, humans, and antigods, what is that cognition?” The Blessed One replied, “Śāradvatīputra! If great bodhisattva beings are endowed with that cognition, in the world systems of the eastern direction, which are as numerous as the sands of the River Ganges, they will perceive tathāgatas, arhats, and genuinely perfect buddhas—as numerous as the sands of the River Ganges—and they will listen to the sacred teachings from them. They will also perceive the community of the śrāvakas and the community of the bodhisattvas who are associated with those lord buddhas, and they will also perceive the arrays of the enlightened attributes of the buddhafields. If great bodhisattva beings are endowed with that cognition, they do not maintain notions regarding the buddhas, they do not maintain notions regarding the bodhisattvas, they do not maintain notions regarding the śrāvakas, they have no notions regarding the pratyekabuddhas, they have no notions regarding self, they have no notions regarding non-self, and they have no notions regarding the buddhafields.

8.49   “If great bodhisattva beings are endowed with that cognition, they do practice the transcendent perfection of generosity, but they do not apprehend that generosity, and then they also practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom, but they do not apprehend that transcendent perfection of wisdom. If they are endowed with such cognition, they practice the applications of mindfulness, without apprehending the applications of mindfulness. In the same vein, they practice the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, without apprehending the distinct qualities of the buddhas. Śāradvatīputra! If great bodhisattva beings are endowed with that cognition, they bring all phenomena to perfection, and they are aware that they do not make assumptions about all these phenomena.

8.50   “So it is, Śāradvatīputra, that great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom, who wish to pursue the path to enlightenment, and who wish to enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas should have no opportunities to indulge in physical, verbal, and mental actions that are tainted with the inadmissible transgressions.”

8.51   Then, Senior Śāradvatīputra asked the Blessed One, “Venerable Lord! What are the physical actions that are tainted with the inadmissible transgressions, which great bodhisattva beings might have? What are the corresponding verbal actions, and what are the corresponding mental actions?” The Blessed One then addressed Senior Śāradvatīputra as follows: “Śāradvatīputra, when great bodhisattva beings think, ‘This is the body on the basis of which the self is to be apprehended as the body,’ or similarly, ‘This is the speech [on the basis of which the self is to be apprehended as speech],’ or ‘This is the mind on the basis of which the self is to be apprehended as the mind,’ Śāradvatīputra, all that denotes physical actions, verbal actions, and mental actions that are tainted with the inadmissible transgressions. However, Śāradvatīputra, great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom do not at all apprehend the physical body [and so forth]. Śāradvatīputra, if great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom were to apprehend the physical body [and so forth], and in doing so were to generate through their body, speech, or mind thoughts of miserliness, and if they were to generate thoughts of degenerate morality, thoughts of agitation, thoughts of indolence, thoughts of distraction, or thoughts of stupidity, then, Śāradvatīputra, one should know that they would not be great bodhisattva beings.

8.52   “Śāradvatīputra, if great bodhisattva beings practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom, they will purify the negativity of body, and if they also purify the negativity of speech, and purify the negativity of mind, it follows that those great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom will refine the path to enlightenment, and correctly enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas.”

8.53   Then, Senior Śāradvatīputra asked the Blessed One, “Venerable Lord! How do great bodhisattva beings purify the negativity of body? Similarly, how do they purify the negativity of speech and mind?” The Blessed One replied, “Śāradvatīputra, whenever great bodhisattva beings do not apprehend the physical body and do not apprehend speech and mind, then, Śāradvatīputra, these great bodhisattva beings continue to pursue the paths associated with the ten virtuous actions, from the time when they first begin to set their mind on enlightenment. They never develop the mindsets of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, but they do indeed develop great compassion at all times for the sake of all sentient beings.

8.54   “Accordingly, Śāradvatīputra, I say that great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom will purify the negativity of body. Similarly, I say that they will purify the negativity of speech and mind. Śāradvatīputra, so it is that great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom refine the path to enlightenment, and also enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas.”

8.55   This completes the eighth chapter from the Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines, entitled “Maturity.”

A Summary of Chapter 8: Maturity

8.A
The immaturity of a bodhisattva manifests when great bodhisattva beings who have previously regressed descend to the level{s} of the śrāvakas or ... pratyekabuddhas, and fail to enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas ... When great bodhisattva beings who are unskilled practice the six transcendent perfections, owing to their lack of skill in means they actualize the level{s} of the śrāvakas and ... pratyekabuddhas dependent on the [three] gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and aspirationlessness—and they do not maintain the maturity of the bodhisattvas. That ... is the immaturity of a great bodhisattva being who has previously regressed.

8.B
Why does this immaturity of great bodhisattva beings occur? ... {because} this ‘immaturity’ entails craving for the sacred doctrine ... When great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom establish, cognize, and become fixated on the notion that physical forms {as well as feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness; the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, tangibles and mental phenomena; and feelings conditioned by sensory contact that is visually compounded up to feelings conditioned by sensory contact that is mentally compounded; and [all the causal attributes] from the applications of mindfulness, up to and including the noble eightfold path, and likewise, [all the fruitional attributes] from the ten powers of the tathāgatas, up to and including the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas} are impermanent ... imbued with suffering ... not a self ... empty ... signless ... without aspirations ... calm ... void ... purified ... non-arising ... unceasing, and ... non-entities—in all such cases ... this craving for the sacred doctrine in the case of great bodhisattva beings indicates their immaturity ... It is in this way that unskilled great bodhisattva beings have formerly regressed, descended to the levels of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and failed to enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas.

8.C
Great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom should train as follows: They should not in any respect make assumptions on account of physical forms ... feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness ... the eyes ... the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, and the mental faculty ... sights ... sounds, odors, tastes, tangibles, and mental phenomena ... the sensory element of the eyes ... sights ... visual consciousness ... {and} [all the other sensory elements], up to and including the sensory element of mental consciousness ... the transcendent perfection{s} of generosity ... ethical discipline ... tolerance ... perseverance ... meditative concentration, and ... wisdom ... the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable aspirations, and the formless meditative absorptions ... the applications of mindfulness ... {and} [all the other causal attributes], up to and including the noble eightfold path ... the ten powers of the tathāgatas ... {and} [all the other fruitional attributes], up to and including the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas ... Great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom should not make assumptions even on account of the enlightened mind, the mind that is equal to the unequaled, the uncommon mind, the mind of vast extent. If you ask why, it is because the intrinsic nature of this mind is luminosity.

8.D
“What is the nature of luminosity—the intrinsic nature of mind?” The Blessed One replied ... “Śāradvatīputra, the {natural luminosity of the} mind neither has desire {in ultimate reality, nor in the omniscient mind in relative reality}, nor is it without desire {in relative reality}. {Similarly,} it neither has hatred, nor is it without hatred. {Similarly,} it neither has delusion, nor is it without delusion. Similarly, it neither has obsessions, fetters, or latent impulses, nor is it without them. Similarly, it neither has all the fetters of philosophical view, nor is it without them. It neither has the mindsets of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, nor is it without them. This ... is the natural luminosity of the mind with which great bodhisattva beings are endowed.” ... Senior Śāradvatīputra then asked ... “Lord! Does this mind that is not the mind exist?” ... [The Lord Buddha] then said, “ ... If the nature of mind with which minds are endowed has neither existence {in the non-existence of relative reality} nor non-existence {in ultimate reality}, and if it is non-apprehensible {as a 'secondary' thing beyond the mind of Our singularity in ultimate reality}, then ... surely your question ‘Does this mind that is not the mind exist?’ is contestable. How can this reasoning be correct?” Senior Śāradvatīputra then asked ... “Venerable Lord! What is the nature of mind with which minds are endowed?” He replied, “ ... That which is unchanging and without conceptual notions regarding all things is called the nature of mind with which minds are endowed.”

8.E
{Ultimately} there are no changes and no conceptual notions regarding any mind ... {or} any [phenomena], up to and including all formative predispositions, and ... [all the attributes and attainments], up to and including enlightenment ... This absence of change and absence of conceptual notions regarding all things {from the perspective of ultimate reality} is designated as the maturity of a great bodhisattva being who practices the transcendent perfection of wisdom.

8.F
The maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the four applications of mindfulness which are correctly retained by skill in means ... (1) Great bodhisattva beings who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}, with regard to the inner body ... the outer body ... {and} the inner and outer body combined, continue to observe the physical body, without generating any apperceptions {or 'biased assumptions'} dependent on the physical body. (2) Those who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}, with regard to inner feelings, outer feelings, and combined inner and outer feelings, continue to observe feelings, without generating any apperceptions {or 'biased assumptions'} dependent on feelings. (3) Those who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}, with regard to the inner mind, the outer mind, and the combined inner and outer mind, continue to observe the mind, without generating any apperceptions {or 'biased assumptions'} dependent on the mind. (4) Those who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}, with regard to inner phenomena, outer phenomena, and combined inner and outer phenomena, continue to observe phenomena, without generating any apperceptions {or 'biased assumptions'} dependent on phenomena.

8.G
If you ask how, with regard to the {example of the} inner body, great bodhisattva beings continue to observe the physical body ... when great bodhisattva beings are engaged in conduct, they are fully aware that they are engaged in conduct ... {or} standing upright, they are fully aware that they are standing upright ... {or} sitting, they are fully aware that they are sitting ... {or} lying down, they are fully aware that they are lying down. In whatever ways the body changes its posture, they are fully aware of these ... Moreover ... great bodhisattva beings maintain alertness whether they are going out or returning back ... looking outwardly or looking introspectively ... bending or stretching their limbs ... holding an outer patched robe, a waist cloth, or an alms bowl ... eating, drinking, chewing, tasting, waking up, resting, coming or going, [standing or] sitting, reclining or not reclining ... speaking or not speaking ... {and} absorbed in ... or arising from meditation ... Moreover ... they breathe in mindfully and breathe out mindfully. They are fully aware that when they inhale a long {or short} breath they are inhaling a long {or short} breath, and that when they exhale a long {or short} breath, they are exhaling a long {or short} breath ... This resembles, for example, a potter or the skilled apprentice of a potter who is fully aware that when he is turning the wheel in a long whirl, he is turning the wheel in a long whirl, and who is fully aware that when he is turning the wheel in a short whirl, he is turning the wheel in a short whirl ... Moreover ... great bodhisattva beings analyze this same physical body in terms of its material elements, considering that their bodies comprise the element{s} of earth ... water ... fire, and ... wind ... Just as a skilled butcher of bulls or ... {his} apprentice ... slays a bull with a sharp instrument, cuts it into four parts, and then examines the quartered carcass as he stands or sits, in the same way ... great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom also examine this same physical body in terms of its material elements ... Moreover ... great bodhisattva beings consider that this same body, from the soles of the feet upwards and the crown of the head downwards, is full of manifold impurities. They discern that this body comprises the hairs of the head, the hairs of the body, nails, epidermal skin, inner skin, flesh, ligaments, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, spleen, lungs, liver, stomach, intestines, sigmoid colon, genitals, urinary bladder, excrement, tears, sweat, adipose tissue, saliva, nasal mucous, pus, serum, odors, urine, brain tissue, and cerebral secretions ... This is just as when the grain bins of a householder farmer have been placed on either side of his doorway ... and an observant passer-by, on seeing them, would know that these are sesame, these are husked rice, these are beans, these are kidney beans, these are barley, these are wheat, these are lentils, these are unhusked rice, these are {millet} grains, and these are mustard ... It is in this way that great bodhisattva beings who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}, with regard to the inner body, continue to observe the physical body ... This is the maturity of a great bodhisattva being who practices the transcendent perfection of wisdom.

8.H
Moreover ... the maturity of a great bodhisattva being who practices the transcendent perfection of wisdom also entails the four correct exertions ... They resolve, struggle, strive, persevere with tenacity, and rightly aspire that ... {1} negative and non-virtuous attributes which have not yet arisen might not be developed ... {2} negative and non-virtuous attributes which have previously arisen might be renounced ... {3} virtuous attributes which have not yet arisen might be developed {and} ... {4} virtuous attributes which have previously arisen might remain, be unforgotten, flourish and be fully cultivated ... {and} they do so without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}.

8.I
Moreover ... the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the four supports for miraculous ability ... Great bodhisattva beings imbued with renunciation, who dwell in solitude, maintaining detachment and remaining in a state of cessation {of contaminants}, should cultivate the support for miraculous ability combining ... {1} meditative stability of resolution with the formative force of exertion ... {2} meditative stability of mind with the formative force of exertion ... {3} meditative stability of perseverance with the formative force of exertion {and} ... {4} meditative stability of scrutiny with the formative force of exertion ... These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}.

8.J
Moreover ... the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the five faculties ... (1) the faculty of faith, (2) the faculty of perseverance, (3) the faculty of recollection, (4) the faculty of meditative stability, and (5) the faculty of wisdom ... {and} also entails the five powers ... (1) the power of faith, (2) the power of perseverance, (3) the power of recollection, (4) the power of meditative stability, and (5) the power of wisdom. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}.

8.K
Moreover ... the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the seven branches of enlightenment ... {comprising} the branch of genuine enlightenment {of} ... (1) ... recollection, (2) ... doctrinal analysis, (3) ... perseverance, (4) ... delight, (5) ... mental and physical refinement, (6) ... meditative stability, and (7) ... equanimity ... “[Bodhisattvas who are] imbued with renunciation, who dwell in solitude, maintaining detachment and remaining in a state of cessation {of contaminants}, should cultivate the branch{es} of genuine enlightenment ... without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}.

8.L
Moreover ... the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails [the observance of] the noble eightfold path ... (1) correct view, (2) correct thought, (3) correct speech, (4) correct action, (5) correct livelihood, (6) correct effort, (7) correct recollection, and (8) correct meditative stability. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}.

8.M
Moreover ... the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails absorption in the three gateways to liberation by engaging in the understanding that all things are without duality {from the perspective of ultimate reality} ... in the four meditative concentrations, experiencing all things non-conceptually, without relishing the bliss of meditative concentration ... in the four immeasurable aspirations through acceptance that phenomena are non-arising ... in the four formless meditative absorptions by understanding that the three world systems are non-apprehensible {as ultimately real} ... in the eight aspects of liberation, without {the duality consciousness of the individuated} mind, the mental faculty, and mental consciousness ... in the nine serial steps of meditative equipoise by perceiving cyclic existence and nirvāṇa without duality ... in the nine contemplations of impurity by engaging with all things as if they were a mirage ... in the ten recollections, without the need for mindfulness and without the need for mentation ... in the six aspects of perception by engaging with all things as if they were an illusion ... in the ten kinds of knowledge by regarding all things, known and unknown, as the same ... in the three [modes of meditative stability], having realized that all things are naturally in equipoise ... {in} the meditations on the three faculties [enabling knowledge of all that is unknown, acquiring the knowledge of all things, and endowed with the knowledge of all things] by means of knowledge {of the omniscient mind} that is free from [the limitations] of past, present, and future ... {in} the meditations on the [eight] sense fields of mastery by engaging in the cognition of a single modality {in all illusory phenomenon}, without differentiation, and ... in the [ten] sense fields of total consummation through acceptance of the {illusory} nature of {all such} profound phenomena. All these absorptions, too, are cultivated without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}.

8.N
Moreover ... the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails those circumstances when bodhisattvas practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom [with regard to the eighteen aspects of emptiness]: In the emptiness of internal phenomena, the emptiness of external phenomena is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of external phenomena, the emptiness of internal phenomena is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of both external and internal phenomena, the emptiness of emptiness is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of emptiness, the emptiness of both external and internal phenomena is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of emptiness, the emptiness of great extent is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of great extent, the emptiness of ultimate reality {defined in this context as the path of nirvāṇa (or extinguishment of the three fires of craving, aversion and ignorance and the individual self) leading to ultimate reality} is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of ultimate reality, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, the emptiness of the unlimited is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of the unlimited, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, the emptiness of non-dispersal is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of non-dispersal, the emptiness of inherent existence is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of inherent existence, the emptiness of all intrinsic defining characteristics is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of all intrinsic defining characteristics, the emptiness of all things is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of all things, the emptiness of non-apprehension is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of non-apprehension, the emptiness of non-entities is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of non-entities, the emptiness of essential nature is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of essential nature, the emptiness of the essential nature of non-entities is not discerned {as ultimately real}. In the emptiness of the essential nature of non-entities, the emptiness of essential nature is not discerned {as ultimately real}.

8.O
Moreover ... the maturity of a great bodhisattva being also entails the completion of the ten powers of the tathāgatas by encouraging others to understand the teachings without relying on external conditions ... the four assurances by elucidating [the teachings], without making assumptions with respect to oneself and others ... the four unhindered discernments by knowing, without making assumptions, that the vehicles of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas have been rejected ... great loving kindness by [understanding that] sentient beings are not sentient beings ... great compassion by [understanding that] the {individuated} self is not a self ... the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas through freedom from thoughts associated with the two modes of awareness {of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas} ... the understanding of all phenomena, the understanding of the aspects of the path, and the understanding of omniscience by engaging with emptiness in all its finest aspects ... the six transcendent perfections by discerning [respectively] that thoughts of miserliness, degenerate morality, agitation, indolence, and distraction, as well as thoughts of stupidity, are non-entities ... the completion of the six extrasensory powers, having resolved that all things neither come nor go ... the five eyes, having discerned that all things are empty, signless, aspirationless, neither arising nor ceasing, and are neither subject to non-conditioning nor non-origination ... {and} the major and minor marks, having aspired to [the realization] that all things are non-abiding. These too should be cultivated without apprehending anything {as ultimately real}.

8.P
When great bodhisattva beings practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom, they do not make assumptions about the aggregate of physical forms ... {and} [the other aggregates], up to and including the aggregate of consciousness ... the sense field of the eyes ... {and} [the other sense fields], up to and including the sense field of the mental faculty ... the sense field of sights ... {and} [the other sense fields] ... up to the sense field of mental phenomena ... the sensory element{s} of the eyes ... sights, and ... visual consciousness ... {and} [the other sensory elements], up to and including the sensory element of mental phenomena ... the applications of mindfulness ... {and} [the other causal attributes], up to and including the noble eightfold path ... the transcendent perfection of generosity ... {and} the other transcendent perfections, up to and including the transcendent perfection of wisdom ... the ten powers of the tathāgatas ... the four assurances, the four unhindered discernments, great loving kindness, great compassion, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas ... [their attainments], up to and including the fruit of having entered the stream ... [their other attainments], up to and including arhatship ... individual enlightenment, or ... unsurpassed, genuinely perfect enlightenment ... If great bodhisattva beings flourish accordingly through the transcendent perfection of wisdom, they will proceed on the path to enlightenment and they will also enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas. They cannot be overcome by anyone! Moreover ... if great bodhisattva beings who abide in the transcendent perfection of wisdom, and then perfect the pristine cognition of omniscience, are endowed with that cognition, they will never fall into the lower realms of existence, and they will never be belittled among human beings. They will never become impoverished, and if they do possess a corporeal form, they will not acquire a body that is censured by the worlds of humans, gods, and antigods.

8.Q
If great bodhisattva beings are endowed with that {pristine} cognition {of omniscience}, in the world systems of the eastern direction, which are as numerous as the sands of the River Ganges, they will perceive tathāgatas, arhats, and genuinely perfect buddhas—as numerous as the sands of the River Ganges—and they will listen to the sacred teachings from them. They will also perceive the community of the śrāvakas and the community of the bodhisattvas who are associated with those lord buddhas, and ... the arrays of the enlightened attributes of the buddhafields. If great bodhisattva beings are endowed with that cognition, they do not maintain {conceptual} notions regarding the buddhas ... bodhisattvas ... śrāvakas ... pratyekabuddhas ... self ... non-self, and ... buddhafields ... they do practice the transcendent perfection of generosity, but they do not apprehend {as real} that generosity ... {up to} they practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom, but they do not apprehend {as real} that transcendent perfection of wisdom ... they practice the applications of mindfulness, without apprehending {as real} the applications of mindfulness ... {up to} they practice the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, without apprehending {as real} the distinct qualities of the buddhas ... If great bodhisattva beings are endowed with that cognition, they bring all phenomena to perfection, and they are aware that they do not make assumptions about all these phenomena. So it is ... that great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom, who wish to pursue the path to enlightenment, and who wish to enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas should have no opportunities to indulge in physical, verbal, and mental actions that are tainted with the inadmissible transgressions.

8.R
When great bodhisattva beings think, ‘This is the body on the basis of which the self is to be apprehended as the body,’ or similarly, ‘This is the speech [on the basis of which the self is to be apprehended as {the} speech],’ or ‘This is the mind on the basis of which the self is to be apprehended as the mind,’ ... all that denotes physical actions, verbal actions, and mental actions that are tainted with the inadmissible transgressions. However ... great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom do not at all apprehend the {individuated} physical body {speech and mind as the self} ... If great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom were to apprehend the physical body [and so forth] {as the self}, and in doing so were to generate through their body, speech, or mind thoughts of miserliness ... degenerate morality ... agitation ... indolence ... distraction ... {or} stupidity, then ... one should know that they would not be great bodhisattva beings ... Whenever great bodhisattva beings do not apprehend the physical body ... speech and mind {as the self}, then ... these great bodhisattva beings continue to pursue the paths associated with the ten virtuous actions, from the time when they first begin to set their mind on enlightenment. They never develop the mindsets of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, but they do indeed develop great compassion at all times for the sake of all sentient beings. Accordingly ... I say that great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom will purify the negativity of body ... speech and mind ... So it is that great bodhisattva beings who practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom refine the path to enlightenment, and also enter into the maturity of the bodhisattvas.

Commentary

The omniscient mind is the 'all-seeing eye' of the enlightened Buddha, which sees all phenomena through the singular eye of non-duality, beyond the three worlds of desire, form, and formlessness. Within this mind, the truth of all phenomena (the Dharma) and the mind of the Buddha are as 'one'; for the Buddha is the Dharma and the Dharma is the Buddha. This omniscient mind—or truth body—functions within the confines of 'relative' existence to replace the mind of independent thinkers, who are attached to their own ideas, speculations, and assumptions. Uncontaminated by conceptual notions, there is no craving for the sacred doctrine; for the omniscient mind understands from the perspective of 'ultimate' reality, the Dharma and the omniscient mind are merely illusions ~ serving as a raft to ferry the unawakened mind, from the shore of delusion to the shore of enlightenment.

*
The intrinsic nature of the enlightened (omniscient) mind is luminosity. By default, all individuals are endowed with this natural luminosity of mind, which is unchanging and without conceptual notions, which is why the Buddha states (above): “That which is unchanging and without conceptual notions regarding all things is called the nature of mind with which minds are endowed.” This mind of the individual becomes contaminated within 'relative' existence when the mind superimposes conceptual notions upon the natural luminosity of this mind. This process gives rise to a 'separate sense of self' and a build-up of ideas to reinforce its individuality ~ whereby new ideas must be assimilated with 'apperception' against an already existing body of ideas.

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Conceptual notions are like marker-pen scribbling's on the whiteboard of Our natural luminosity of mind ~ and when removed with a wiper, the only thing left is Our natural luminosity of mind, that is unchanging and without conceptual notions. For this reason the intrinsic nature of mind of Our singularity in God in 'ultimate' reality is luminosity, and is unchanging and without conceptual notions. The intrinsic nature of the omniscient mind, the all-seeing eye which sees all phenomena through the singular eye of non-duality in 'relative' reality, is also luminosity, and is unchanging and without conceptual notions. And the intrinsic nature with which all minds are endowed in 'relative' existence, is also luminosity, and is unchanging and without conceptual notions. Here the Buddha states (above): “If the nature of mind with which minds are endowed has neither existence {in relative reality} nor non-existence {in ultimate reality}, and if it is non-apprehensible {as a 'secondary' thing beyond the mind of Our singularity in ultimate reality}, then surely ... your question 'Does this mind that is not the mind exist?', is contestable.”

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Apperception is the generating of a 'biased assumption' of a sensory perception, such as a poor man finding a dollar bill on the ground and generating a belief he is now rich ... or an individual who has seen a man behaving badly in the past and generating a belief he is now evil. Any conditioned response, such as a thought of desire, hate or fear, is an example of an apperception ~ such as a young man seeing a red ferrari and generating the assumption this will make him happy; or a young woman witnessing her bag being stolen and generating the assumption this is a great injustice; or an elderly woman diagnosed with a chronic illness and generating the assumption this will lead to her death. The four applications of mindfulness help us to overcome these immature assumptions and are described by the Buddha in the chapter (above) as: “Great bodhisattva beings who are diligent, alert, and mindful, after eliminating worldly covetousness and sadness without apprehending anything {as ultimately real} ... continue to observe the physical body {as well as feelings, the mind, and phenomena}, without generating any apperceptions {that being any biased assumptions or conclusions} dependent on {any of these}.”

Chapter 7

Vertical Divider

Chapter 9

The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom ​in Ten Thousand Lines

Chapter 8: Maturity

A Summary of Chapter 8: Maturity

Commentary

The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines