The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
Chapter 14: Neither Bound nor Freed
Toh 10
Degé Kangyur, vol. 29 (shes phyin, khri brgyad, ka), folios 1.a–300.a; vol. 30 (shes phyin, khri brgyad, kha), folios 1.a–304.a; vol. 31 (shes phyin, khri brgyad, ga), folios 1.a–206.a
- Jinamitra
- Surendrabodhi
- Yeshé Dé
Imprint
Translated by Gareth Sparham
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2022
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines is one version of the Long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras that developed in South and South-Central Asia in tandem with the Eight Thousand version, probably during the first five hundred years of the Common Era. It contains many of the passages in the oldest extant Long Perfection of Wisdom text (the Gilgit manuscript in Sanskrit), and is similar in structure to the other versions of the Long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras (the One Hundred Thousand and Twenty-Five Thousand) in Tibetan in the Kangyur. While setting forth the sacred fundamental doctrines of Buddhist practice with veneration, it simultaneously exhorts the reader to reject them as an object of attachment, its recurring message being that all dharmas without exception lack any intrinsic nature.
The sūtra can be divided loosely into three parts: an introductory section that sets the scene, a long central section, and three concluding chapters that consist of two important summaries of the long central section. The first of these (chapter 84) is in verse and also circulates as a separate work called The Verse Summary of the Jewel Qualities (Toh 13). The second summary is in the form of the story of Sadāprarudita and his guru Dharmodgata (chapters 85 and 86), after which the text concludes with the Buddha entrusting the work to his close companion Ānanda.
Acknowledgements
This sūtra was translated by Gareth Sparham under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Translator’s Acknowledgments
This is a good occasion to remember and thank my friend Nicholas Ribush, who first gave me a copy of Edward Conze’s translation of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines in 1973. I also thank the Tibetan teachers and students at the Riklam Lobdra in Dharamshala, India, where I began to study the Perfection of Wisdom, for their kindness and patience; Jeffrey Hopkins and Elizabeth Napper, who steered me in the direction of the Perfection of Wisdom and have been very kind to me over the years; and Ashok Aklujkar and others at the University of British Columbia in Canada, who taught me Sanskrit and Indian culture while I was writing my dissertation on Haribhadra’s Perfection of Wisdom commentary. I thank the hermits in the hills above Riklam Lobdra and the many Tibetan scholars and practitioners who encouraged me while I continued working on the Perfection of Wisdom after I graduated from the University of British Columbia. I thank all those who continued to support me as a monk and scholar after the violent death of my friend and mentor toward the end of the millennium. I thank those at the University of Michigan and then at the University of California (Berkeley), particularly Donald Lopez and Jacob Dalton, who enabled me to complete the set of four volumes of translations from Sanskrit of the Perfection of Wisdom commentaries by Haribhadra and Āryavimuktisena and four volumes of the fourteenth-century Tibetan commentary on the Perfection of Wisdom by Tsongkhapa. I thank Gene Smith, who introduced me to 84000. I thank everyone at 84000: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and the sponsors; the scholars, translators, editors, and technicians; and all the other indispensable people whose work has made this translation of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines and its accompanying commentary possible.
Around me everything I see would be part of a perfect road if I had better driving skills.Where I was born, where everything is made of concrete, it too is a perfect place.Everyone I have been with, everyone who is near me now, and even those I have forgotten—there is no one who has not helped me.So, I bow to everyone and to the world and ask for patience, and, as a boon, a smile.
Acknowledgment of Sponsors
We gratefully acknowledge the generous sponsorship of Matthew Yizhen Kong, Steven Ye Kong and family; An Zhang, Hannah Zhang, Lucas Zhang, Aiden Zhang, Jinglan Chi, Jingcan Chi, Jinghui Chi and family, Hong Zhang and family; Mao Guirong, Zhang Yikun, Chi Linlin; and Joseph Tse, Patricia Tse and family. Their support has helped make the work on this translation possible.
Text Body
The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
Chapter 14: Neither Bound nor Freed
Then venerable Subhūti inquired of the Lord, “Lord, you say ‘armed with great armor’ again and again. Lord, to what extent are bodhisattva great beings armed with great armor?”
The Lord said, “Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings, having become armed with great armor—that is, armed with perfection of giving armor, and armed with perfection of morality, perfection of patience, perfection of perseverance, perfection of concentration, and perfection of wisdom armor; armed with applications of mindfulness armor, and armed with right efforts, legs of miraculous power, faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and path armor; armed with inner emptiness armor, up to armed with emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature armor; and armed with powers armor, armed with fearlessnesses armor, armed with detailed and thorough knowledges armor, and armed with distinct attributes of a buddha armor—and having become armed with the armor of the knowledge of all aspects and the body of a buddha, they pervade world systems in the great billionfold world system with light and shake the earth. Having blown out all the fires in the hell dwellings, extinguished the sufferings of the beings in the hells, and caused them to know their suffering is extinguished, those bodhisattvas [F.132.b] say, ‘I bow to you, tathāgata, worthy one, perfectly complete Buddha!’ proclaiming the name out loud, and then those beings in the hells, having heard the sound buddha, find pleasure and mental happiness. They emerge from those hells just because of that pleasure and mental happiness, and wherever lord buddhas are standing and can be seen and can be pleased they take birth in those world systems, reborn as gods and humans.
“Similarly, beings emerge from animal dwellings and the world of Yama and are reborn wherever lord buddhas are standing.
“Similarly, they pervade with light as many world systems as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River to the south, west, and north, in the intermediate directions to the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, below and above, and they shake them in the six ways. Having blown out all the fires in the hell dwellings, extinguished the sufferings of the beings in the hells, and caused them to know their suffering is extinguished, those bodhisattvas say ‘I bow to you, tathāgata, worthy one, perfect complete Buddha!’ proclaiming the name out loud. Then those beings in the hells, having heard the sound buddha, find pleasure and mental happiness. They emerge from those hells just because of that pleasure and mental happiness, and wherever lord buddhas are standing and can be seen and attended to, they take birth in those world systems, reborn as gods and humans.
“Similarly, those beings die in animal dwellings and the world of Yama [F.133.a] and take birth in whichever world systems lord buddhas are standing.
“Subhūti, it is said that bodhisattva great beings are ‘armed with great armor’ in that way.
“To illustrate, Subhūti, were a clever magician or magician’s apprentice to have conjured up the hells, animal dwellings, and the worlds of Yama in front of a gathering of beings at the junction of two main roads, and having conjured them up were they to proclaim to those beings the word ‘Buddha,’ the word ‘Dharma,’ and the word ‘Saṅgha,’ then, when those they have conjured up have emerged from those hells, animal dwellings, and the worlds of Yama because of the word Buddha, the word Dharma, and the word Saṅgha, Subhūti, what do you think, would that magician or magician’s apprentice have caused any beings to emerge from the hells, animal dwellings, or the worlds of Yama?”
“Similarly, Subhūti,” said the Lord, “even though bodhisattva great beings have released beings from the three terrible forms of life in an unbounded, infinite number of world systems, still no beings at all have been released. And why? Because, Subhūti, this is just the way things are, given the illusory nature of dharmas.242 Subhūti, it is said that bodhisattva great beings are ‘armed with great armor’ in that way.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings stand in the perfection of giving and armed with great armor conjure up a great billionfold world system made of beryl. [F.133.b] Having conjured up a great billionfold world system made of beryl, they conjure up a splendid array of a wheel-turning emperor. Having conjured up a splendid array of a wheel-turning emperor, they give food to those seeking food, and similarly they give drink, clothes, transport, perfume, flower garlands, flowers, incense, creams, powders, requirements, houses, bedding, shawls, and requirements for sustaining themselves, as well as medicines, gold, silver, jewels, gems, corals, conch shells, crystals, pearls, and ornaments—whatever requirements are appropriate. Having given food to those seeking food, up to and having given whatever requirements are appropriate, they then teach those beings the Dharma—that is, just this Dharma conjoined with the six perfections—and, having heard that exposition of the Dharma those beings, never become separated from the six perfections right up until they fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
“To illustrate further, Subhūti, suppose a clever magician or magician’s apprentice were to have conjured up a huge crowd of beings in front of a gathering of other beings at the junction of two main roads and given food to those seeking food, up to and given whatever requirements are appropriate. What do you think, Subhūti, would that magician or magician’s apprentice have given anything to anybody?”
“Similarly, Subhūti,” said the Lord, “even though bodhisattva great beings conjure up a splendid array of a wheel-turning emperor and give food to those seeking food, up to give whatever requirements are appropriate, still they do not give anything to any being. [F.134.a] And why? Because, Subhūti, this is just the way things are, given the illusory nature of dharmas. Subhūti, it is said that bodhisattva great beings are ‘armed with great armor’ in that way.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings stand in the perfection of morality and intentionally take birth. Born in the family of a wheel-turning emperor, they stand in that wheel-turning majesty, establish beings in the ten wholesome actions, establish beings in the four concentrations, the four immeasurables, and the four formless absorptions, up to establish beings in the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, and those beings never become separated from that teaching right up until they fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
“To illustrate, Subhūti, suppose a clever magician or magician’s apprentice were to have conjured up a huge crowd of beings in front of a gathering of other beings at the junction of two main roads and established them in the ten wholesome actions, up to established them in the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha. What do you think, Subhūti, would that magician or magician’s apprentice have established any beings in the ten wholesome actions, up to would they have established them in the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha?”
“Similarly, Subhūti,” said the Lord, “even though bodhisattva great beings establish an unbounded, infinite number of beings in the ten wholesome actions, up to establish them in the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, still they do not establish any beings [F.134.b] in the ten wholesome actions, up to they do not establish any beings in the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha. And why? Because, Subhūti, this is just the way things are, given the illusory nature of dharmas. Subhūti, it is said that bodhisattva great beings are ‘armed with great armor’ in that way.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience cause beings to engage in the perfection of patience and establish them in it. And how, Subhūti, do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of patience cause beings to engage in the perfection of patience and establish them in it? Subhūti, after bodhisattva great beings have produced their first thought of awakening they arm themselves with great armor in this way: they think, ‘Even if all beings deal me a blow with a stick, a stone, their fists, a knife, or a sword,243 I will not let myself feel any sort of mental anguish,’ and they also establish all beings in such patience.
“To illustrate, Subhūti, were a clever magician or magician’s apprentice to have conjured up a huge crowd of beings in front of a gathering of other beings at the junction of two main roads and caused them to engage in the perfection of patience and established them in it, what do you think, Subhūti, would that magician or magician’s apprentice have established any beings in the perfection of patience?”
“Similarly, Subhūti,” said the Lord, “even though bodhisattva great beings establish an unbounded, infinite number of beings in the perfection of patience, still they do not establish any beings in the perfection of patience. And why? Because, Subhūti, this is just the way things are, given the illusory nature [F.135.a] of dharmas. Subhūti, it is said that bodhisattva great beings are ‘armed with great armor’ in that way.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance cause beings to take up, enter into, and be established in the perfection of perseverance. And how, Subhūti, do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance cause beings to take up, enter into, and be established in the perfection of perseverance? Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of perseverance with attention connected with the knowledge of all aspects cause beings to take up, enter into, and be established in physical and mental perseverance.244
“To illustrate, Subhūti, were a clever magician or magician’s apprentice to have conjured up a huge crowd of beings in front of a gathering of other beings at the junction of two main roads and caused them to take up, enter into, and be established in physical and mental perseverance, what do you think, Subhūti, would that magician or magician’s apprentice have caused any beings to take up, enter into, and be established in physical and mental perseverance?”
“Similarly, Subhūti,” said the Lord, “even though bodhisattva great beings establish all beings in physical and mental perseverance, still they do not cause any beings to take up, enter into, and be established in physical and mental perseverance. And why? Because, Subhūti, this is just the way things are, given the illusory nature of dharmas. [F.135.b] Subhūti, it is said that bodhisattva great beings are ‘armed with great armor’ in that way.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration cause all beings to take up, enter into, and be established in the perfection of concentration. And how, Subhūti, do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of concentration cause all beings to take up, enter into, and be established in the perfection of concentration? Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings standing in the sameness of all dharmas do not consider any dharma to be wavering or not wavering. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings stand in the perfection of concentration in that way, and they cause all beings to take up, enter into, and be established in the perfection of concentration like that. And those whom they have caused to take it up never become separated from that perfection of concentration, right up until they fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening.
“To illustrate, Subhūti, were a clever magician or magician’s apprentice to have conjured up a huge crowd of beings in front of a gathering of other beings at the junction of two main roads and caused them to take up, enter into, and be established in the perfection of concentration, what do you think, Subhūti, would that magician or magician’s apprentice have caused any beings to take up, enter into, and be established in the perfection of concentration?”
“Similarly, Subhūti,” said the Lord, “even though bodhisattva great beings [F.136.a] establish all beings in the perfection of concentration, still they do not cause any beings to take up, enter into, and be established in the perfection of concentration. And why? Because, Subhūti, this is just the way things are, given the illusory nature of dharmas. Subhūti, it is said that bodhisattva great beings are ‘armed with great armor’ in that way.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of wisdom cause all beings to take up, enter into, and be established in the perfection of wisdom. And how, Subhūti, do bodhisattva great beings standing in the perfection of wisdom cause all beings to take up, enter into, and be established in the perfection of wisdom? Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom do not