The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
Chapter 16: Dhāraṇī Gateway
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
Current version v 1.1.0 (2024)
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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 16: Dhāraṇī Gateway
“Furthermore, Subhūti, the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings is this: the four applications of mindfulness. What are the four? They are the application of mindfulness to the body, the application of mindfulness to feeling, the application of mindfulness to mind, and the application of mindfulness to dharmas.
“What is the application of mindfulness to the body? Here enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell while viewing in a body the inner body by way of not apprehending anything, and without indulging in speculations to do with the body. They dwell while viewing in a body the outer body, and they dwell while viewing in a body [F.155.b] the inner and outer body by way of not apprehending anything, and without indulging in speculations to do with the body.
“Enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell while viewing in dharmas inner feelings, mind, and inner dharmas, by way of not apprehending anything, and without indulging in speculations to do with dharmas. They dwell while viewing in dharmas outer feelings, mind, and outer dharmas, and dwell while viewing in dharmas inner and outer feelings, mind, and inner and outer dharmas by way of not apprehending anything, and without indulging in speculations to do with the body.
“And how, Subhūti, do bodhisattva great beings dwell while viewing in a body the inner body? Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings dwell, while viewing in a body the inner body, aware when practicing, ‘I am practicing’; aware when they have stood, ‘I am standing’; aware when they have sat down, ‘I am sitting’; aware when they have laid down, ‘I am lying down.’ Whatever the position their body is in, they are aware of what it is. Subhūti, enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell while viewing in a body the inner body like that.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who dwell while viewing in a body the inner body, while going out or coming back, are those who are clearly conscious of what they are doing. When they have looked around or peered, they are clearly conscious of what they are doing. When they have pulled in; [F.156.a] stretched out; are wearing an under robe, carrying a begging bowl, or wearing an outer robe; or have eaten, drunk, chewed, savored, warded off being overcome by drowsiness,285 come, gone, stood, sat down, slept, awoken, spoken, remained silent, or withdrawn for meditation, they are those who are clearly conscious of what they are doing. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom dwell while viewing in a body the inner body by way of not apprehending anything like that.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings are mindful when breathing in, aware of the fact ‘I am breathing in’; are mindful when breathing out, aware of the fact ‘I am breathing out’; when breathing in long, are aware of the fact ‘I am breathing in long’; when breathing out long, are aware of the fact ‘I am breathing out long’; when breathing in short, are aware of the fact ‘I am breathing in short’; and when breathing out short, are aware of the fact ‘I am breathing out short.’
“To illustrate, Subhūti, when a skillful potter or potter’s apprentice286 turns the wheel they are aware when they give it a long spin, ‘I am giving it a long spin,’ and they are aware when they give it a short spin, ‘I am giving it a short spin.’ Similarly, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings when mindfully breathing in are mindfully aware of the fact ‘I am breathing in’; when mindfully breathing out are mindfully aware of the fact ‘I am breathing out’; when breathing in longare aware of the fact ‘I am breathing in long’; [F.156.b] when breathing out long are aware of the fact ‘I am breathing out long’; when breathing in short are aware of the fact ‘I am breathing in short’; and when breathing out short are aware of the fact ‘I am breathing out short.’ Subhūti, enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell viewing in a body the inner body like that, and that by way of not apprehending anything.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom examine how this very body in fact has constituents, how in this body are the earth element, water element, fire element, and wind element. As an example, Subhūti, when a skillful butcher of cows or apprentice to a butcher of cows has killed a cow with a sharp knife and quartered it, they examine it while standing or sitting. Similarly, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom also examine how this very body in fact has constituents, how in this body are the earth element, water element, fire element, and wind element. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom dwell viewing in a body the inner body like that while standing or sitting, and that by way of not apprehending anything.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom examine properly how this very body is full of various types of filth from the soles of the feet on up, from the top of the head on down, and out as far as the nails, hairs, and skin. They examine on this body [F.157.a] the hair on the head and hairs on the body, the nails, the teeth, the covering of skin, and the flesh, sinew, blood, bone, marrow, heart, kidney, liver, lungs, spleen, gut, intestines, coiled intestines, colon, urine, excrement, tears, sweat, fat, snot, mucus, pus, bile, phlegm, oil, marrow, plasma, dirt, cranium, brain, discharge from the eyes, and ear wax. As an analogy, Subhūti, when those with eyes untie and inspect a farmer’s sack full of different types of unhusked rice, unhusked grains, sesame seeds, husked grains, mung beans,287 kidney beans, lentils, barley, wheat, and mustard seeds, they know ‘this is unhusked rice, these are unhusked grains, these are sesame seeds, these are mung beans, these are kidney beans, these are lentils, this is barley, this is wheat, and these are mustard seeds.’ Similarly, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom examine how this very body is full of various types of filth from the soles of the feet on up, from the top of the head on down, and out as far as the nails, hairs, and skin. They examine on this body the hair on the head and hairs on the body, the nails, the teeth, the covering of skin, and the flesh, sinew, blood, bone, marrow, heart, kidney, liver, lungs, spleen, gut, intestines, coiled intestines, colon, urine, excrement, [F.157.b] tears, sweat, fat, snot, mucus, pus, bile, phlegm, oil, marrow, plasma, dirt, cranium, brain, discharge from the eyes, and ear wax. Subhūti, enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell viewing while in a body the inner body like that, by way of not apprehending anything.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings staying in a charnel ground see various bodies thrown out in the charnel ground that have been dead for one day, dead for two days, dead for three days, dead for four days, or dead for five days, or are bloated, black and blue, rotten, or cleaned out by worms, they connect this very body with that reality: ‘This body too has such a quality, is of such a nature, and does not avoid having that as its natural state.’ Subhūti, enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell while viewing in a body the body288 like that.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings see human corpses thrown out in the charnel ground dead for six days or dead for seven days or lying there being eaten by crows, kites, buzzards, vultures, hawks,289 jackals, foxes, or dogs, or being eaten by any other of the various kinds of creatures, they connect this very body with that reality: ‘This body too is of such a quality, is of such a nature, and does not avoid having that as its natural state.’ Subhūti, enthusiastic, [F.158.a] introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell while viewing in a body the outer body like that.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings see human corpses thrown out in the charnel ground that are chewed up, filthy, rotten, and stinking, they connect this very body with that reality: ‘This body too is of such a quality, is of such a nature, and does not avoid having that as its natural state.’ Subhūti, enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell while viewing in a body the body like that.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings see a complete skeleton thrown out in the charnel ground daubed with flesh and blood and hardly connected by sinews, they connect this very body with that reality: ‘This body too is of such a quality, is of such a nature, and does not avoid having that as its natural state.’ [F.158.b] Subhūti, enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell while viewing in a body the body like that.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings see the bones of a skeleton in the charnel ground without flesh and blood, colored like a conch shell and unconnected by sinews, they connect this very body with that reality: ‘This body too is of such a quality, is of such a nature, and does not avoid having that as its natural state.’ Subhūti, enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, are those who view in a body the body like that.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings see in the charnel ground the bones no longer held in the frame of a skeleton, detached from each other, scattered about like conch shells, they connect this very body with that reality: ‘This body too is of such a quality, is of such a nature, and does not avoid having that as its natural state.’ Subhūti, enthusiastic, introspective, mindful bodhisattva great beings, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression, dwell while viewing in a body the body like that.
“Furthermore,