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Table of Contents

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Summary

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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.

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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.

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Acknowledgements

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This sūtra was translated by Gareth Sparham under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

The Translator’s Acknowledgments

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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

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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 Translation
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra
The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines
17.

Chapter 17: Level Purification

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“Subhūti, in regard to what you have asked‍—‘How have bodhisattva great beings come to set out in the Great Vehicle?’‍—Subhūti, here bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections change place, going from level to level. And how do bodhisattva great beings practicing the six perfections change place, going from level to level? Like this: by all dharmas not changing place. And why? Because no dharma comes, or goes, or changes place, or is close to changing places. But even though they do not falsely project the level of those dharmas,305 do not direct their thoughts toward them, they still do the purification306 for a level, and they do not view those levels.

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“And what is the bodhisattva great beings’ purification? Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings occupying the first level, Pramuditā, have to do ten purifications for that level. What are the ten? They are purification of the surpassing aspiration, and that by way of not apprehending anything; purification of the basis for beneficial work through not apprehending causal signs;307 purification of the same state of mind toward all beings through not apprehending beings; purification of giving up things through not apprehending a gift, giver, or recipient; purification of serving spiritual friends because of not falsely projecting anything on account of them; [F.168.b] purification of seeking the doctrine through not apprehending any dharma; purification of constant renunciation through not apprehending a home; purification of longing for the body of a buddha through not apprehending the causal signs of the auspicious major and minor signs;308 purification of an exposition of dharmas through not apprehending an analysis of dharmas; purification of preventing being puffed up with pride309 through not apprehending a state of existence; and purification of making truth statements through not apprehending a statement. These, Subhūti, are the ten purifications bodhisattva great beings occupying the first level, Pramuditā, have to do.

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“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings occupying the second level have to constantly pay attention to eight dharmas and focus on them in practice. What are the eight? They are completely pure morality, a feeling of appreciation and gratitude, a foundation of the power of patience, an experience of great delight and joy, not ignoring any being, being deeply moved by great compassion, great reverence because of venerating gurus with faith and by imagining them as the Teacher, and seeking the perfections through the practice of them. These, Subhūti, are the eight dharmas bodhisattva great beings occupying the second level have to constantly pay attention to and focus on in practice.

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“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings occupying the third level have to keep on with five dharmas. What are the five? They have to keep on with great learning without complacency, and that without settling down on words; with expositions of the gift of Dharma without concern for material possessions but not falsely projecting anything on account of that; in raising up and transforming wholesome roots for the purification of a buddhafield but not falsely projecting anything on account of that; [F.169.a] with not feeling oppressed by immeasurable cycles of existence but not falsely projecting anything on account of that; and with an abiding sense of shame and embarrassment but not falsely projecting anything on account of those either. Bodhisattva great beings occupying the third level, Subhūti, have to keep on with these five dharmas.

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“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings occupying the fourth level have to appropriate and keep ten dharmas and should not give them up. What are the ten? Not giving up dwelling in the forest, having few desires, contentment, not giving up the qualities of the ascetic or austerity, not giving up training, abhorring sense objects, production of a thought associated with nirvāṇa,310 giving up all possessions, an unmixed mind,311 and not relying on anything. These, Subhūti, are the ten dharmas a bodhisattva great being occupying the fourth level should not give up and that they have to appropriate and keep.

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“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings occupying the fifth level have to avoid ten dharmas.312 What are the ten? They have to avoid getting tied up with householders, avoid getting tied up with monks and nuns, stop envying status families, avoid places where people get together, stop bearing malice, stop praising themselves and disparaging others, stop the ten unwholesome actions, avoid haughtiness and pride in being superior, stop distortions, avoid doubt,313 [F.169.b] and avoid the propensity for greed, hatred, and confusion. These, Subhūti, are the ten dharmas bodhisattva great beings occupying the fifth level should avoid.

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“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings occupying the sixth level have to complete six dharmas. What are the six? They have to complete the six perfections. There are also another six dharmas they have to avoid. What are the six? They have to avoid śrāvaka states of mind, avoid pratyekabuddha states of mind, avoid wearied states of mind,314 avoid feeling cowed when they see a beggar, avoid feeling unhappy about all the things they have given up, and not rebuff beggars. These, Subhūti, are the six dharmas bodhisattva great beings occupying the sixth level should avoid.

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“Furthermore, Subhūti, there are twenty dharmas that bodhisattva great beings occupying the seventh level should not do. What are the twenty? They should not seize on a self, seize on a sentient being, seize on a living being, seize on a person, seize on annihilation, seize on permanence, perceive a causal sign, view that it is a cause, settle down on name and form, settle down on the aggregates, settle down on the sense fields, settle down on the constituents, settle down on the three realms, cling to the three realms, wallow in the three realms, settle down on the view that the Buddha should be resorted to, settle down on the view that the Dharma should be resorted to, settle down on the view that the Saṅgha should be resorted to, settle down on the view that morality is a place to resort to, or get depressed that [F.170.a] ‘all dharmas are empty’ and oppose emptiness. These, Subhūti, are the twenty dharmas that bodhisattva great beings occupying the seventh level should not do.

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“Occupying the seventh level, they also have to complete exactly twenty dharmas. What are the twenty? They are the realization of emptiness, the actualization of signlessness, the knowledge of wishlessness, the purification of the three spheres, empathy and compassion for all beings, not looking down on those beings, viewing the sameness of all dharmas and not settling down on it, realizing the way things are perfect without falsely projecting anything on account of it,