Upholding the Roots of Virtue
The Pure Retinue
Toh 101
Degé Kangyur vol. 48 (mdo sde, nga), folios 1.a–227.b
- Leki Dé
- Prajñāvarman
- Jñānagarbha
- Yeshé Dé
Imprint
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2020
Current version v 1.2.27 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
This sūtra, one of the longest scriptures in the General Sūtra section of the Kangyur, outlines the path of the Great Vehicle as it is journeyed by bodhisattvas in pursuit of awakening. The teaching, which is delivered by the Buddha Śākyamuni to a host of bodhisattvas from faraway worlds as well as a selection of his closest hearer students, such as Śāradvatīputra and Ānanda, elucidates in particular the practice of engendering and strengthening the mind of awakening, as well as the practice of bodhisattva conduct for the sake of all other beings.
Acknowledgements
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Thomas Doctor and James Gentry produced the translation and Andreas Doctor compared the draft translation with the Tibetan and edited the text.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generosity of the sponsors who made work on this text possible is gratefully acknowledged. Their dedication is as follows: For Huang Yi-Hsong, Huang Tsai Shun-Ching, and all sentient beings.
Text Body
Upholding the Roots of Virtue
The Pure Retinue
“Ānanda, there are four qualities that bodhisattvas may have that will equip them with mindfulness, realization, intelligence, propriety, experience, and comportment. What are those four qualities? Ānanda, bodhisattvas apply effort to pursue such qualities. Once they have found them, they also become accomplished in those qualities. Adhering to them themselves, they also lead many other beings to uphold the same qualities. Leading them to uphold them, they also delight them with Dharma discourses and thus encourage them.”
The Blessed One then spoke these verses:
“Moreover, Ānanda, for the sake of such teachings, bodhisattvas should constantly follow Dharma preachers, thinking, “How awful if those teachings were to disappear after I hear them! How awful if any Dharma were to go to waste!”
The Blessed One then spoke these verses:
“Moreover, Ānanda, even while bodhisattva great beings teach the Dharma to others, precisely as they heard and mastered it, they do not regress from the Dharma. Ānanda, what makes bodhisattvas regress from the Dharma? It is the following: Although they teach the Dharma about profound emptiness, they may teach based on alms, bedding, seating, medicine, and utensils, such that they are given material objects first and then teach. In that case, although others are indeed taught the Dharma, this has in no way been engaged in properly. Thus, Ānanda, do bodhisattvas regress from the Dharma.”
The Blessed One then spoke these verses:
“Furthermore, Ānanda, bodhisattva great beings pursue the Dharma. [F.205.b] They do not maintain any depravity as Dharma preachers. They do not maintain anything deemed to be faulty. They pursue the Dharma according to the Dharma. They pursue the Dharma with the intention of engaging in the Dharma. Ānanda, how do bodhisattvas pursue the Dharma according to the Dharma? When they practice according to their preceptor’s and teacher’s command, they do what they have done and they joyfully make use of the religious robes, alms bowl, bedding, seating, medicines, and utensils. Thus, Ānanda, should bodhisattvas pursue the Dharma.”
The Blessed One then spoke these verses:
The venerable Ānanda then said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, given that the Thus-Gone One, the Worthy One, the perfect Buddha acquired such an abundance of merit, it is wonderful that the Blessed One’s previous bodies would also be so exalted. Blessed One, has the monk called Wise One who appeared then passed into nirvāṇa?”
“No, Ānanda,” said the Blessed One, “that monk has still not passed into nirvāṇa. For, Ānanda, he is practicing bodhisattva conduct under this teaching of mine.”
The venerable Ānanda then said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how wonderful it is that, although the merchant Rūpavati has fully awakened to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood based on the collection of roots of merit he gained by serving and honoring the Dharma preacher Wise One, the monk Wise One has still not fully awakened to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood.”
The Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, the monk Wise One did not perfectly embark as I perfectly embarked. [F.207.b] For, Ānanda, the monk Wise One perfectly embarked through the vehicle of pleasure, not through the vehicle of suffering, whereas I, Ānanda, reached perfection over a long period of time through the vehicle of suffering. Moreover, Ānanda, while I was previously practicing bodhisattva conduct over a long period of time I made the aspiration, ‘As long as beings suffer and most of them are inclined toward82 negative destinies, fall into negative destinies, and have fallen into negative destinies, I will, having awakened to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood, completely free those beings from suffering!’
“Ānanda, I cannot even illustrate with any analogy how the monk Wise One initiated a vow, made a vow, persevered, and aspired, nor for how long, Ānanda, the monk Wise One has journeyed toward unexcelled and perfect awakening through such a great vow. Yet the monk Wise One has perfectly set out for unexcelled and perfect awakening, for he has accumulated and is still accumulating roots of virtue with the thought, ‘May all the beings who behold me while I am practicing bodhisattva conduct resolutely go forth through the Great Vehicle, or the vehicles of the hearers or solitary buddhas.’ ”
The venerable Ānanda then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, is the monk Wise One who appeared back then present in this retinue?”
“Ānanda, the monk who was called Wise One then is present right here,” said the Blessed One. “He is this one seated before me.”
“Indeed, Ānanda, [F.208.a] indeed,” agreed the Blessed One, “Ānanda, the assembled retinue of great and pure beings is, accordingly, an assembly of bodhisattvas, an assembly of lions, an assembly of fearless ones, and an assembly of great elephants.”
“Ānanda,” replied the Blessed One, “it is called a great assembly and an assembly of lions because it dons the armor of immeasurable, innumerable beings to vanquish the great darkness of ignorance.
“Ānanda, it is like this, as a simile: Wherever the lion, the king of beasts, settles and resides no one else can settle. Lesser creatures, unable to withstand the odor, will flee, and when they happen to cross that place, they will fall to the ground on their backs upon smelling that odor. Likewise, Ānanda, wherever the assembly of great lions resides, Ānanda, no others—such as Māra, the gods from the realm of Māra, or any other beings under Māra’s spell—can settle. If they should happen to set foot in that place, they will feel pain and unhappiness and will have to leave the entourage and disappear right at that very moment. Unable to withstand the charisma of those fearless great lions, they take their leave from them.
“Ānanda, it is also like this, as a simile: When a lion, the king of beasts, with his mane and charisma, roars three times, it can be heard as far as a league away. Then even ordinary lions present throughout that distance are frightened, let alone other, lesser kinds of wild animals. Even when the elephants in musth hear that sound, they urinate and defecate, and then disband, trumpeting loudly to one another.
“Likewise, Ānanda, in the assembly of great lions, [F.208.b] the assembly of those of venerable family, the assembly of the fearless, bodhisattvas who are unruly are included in name alone. Thus, for instance, when ordinary lions hear the lion’s roar, they feel compelled to hide in mountain fissures. Likewise, Ānanda, unruly bodhisattvas with poor conduct, who chase after renown, fame, and praise, and who revere the name, cadence, and sound of ‘self,’ will flee, frightened and scared, and thus fall off steep cliffs. This is because, Ānanda, bodhisattvas who engage in perceptions other than the words empty, signless, and wishless, and who are strongly attached to self, the aggregates, the elements, the sense sources, discipline, absorption, the path, nirvāṇa, the fruition, and the great nirvāṇa of a buddha’s awakening, will not be able to bear them. For, Ānanda, the words emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness are words with magnitude.
“Ānanda, although the Thus-Gone One teaches the Dharma, ‘All phenomena are empty,’ there is no emptiness whatsoever—there is no emptiness belonging to anything whatsoever, there is no emptiness of anything whatsoever, and there is no emptiness in anything whatsoever.
“Ānanda, although the Thus-Gone One teaches the Dharma, ‘All phenomena are signless,’ there is no signlessness whatsoever—there is no signlessness belonging to anything whatsoever, there is no signlessness with anything whatsoever, and there is no signlessness in anything whatsoever.
“Ānanda, although the Thus-Gone One teaches the Dharma, ‘All phenomena are wishless,’ there is nothing to be attained whatsoever—there is nothing to be attained of anything whatsoever, [F.209.a] there is nothing to be attained by anyone whatsoever, and there is nothing to be attained in anything whatsoever.
“Ānanda, although the Thus-Gone One teaches that ‘the Dharma should be actualized,’ there is nothing to actualize whatsoever—there is nothing to actualize belonging to anything whatsoever, there is nothing to actualize by anyone whatsoever, and there is nothing to actualize in anything whatsoever.
“Ānanda, although the Thus-Gone One teaches that ‘the Dharma should be cultivated,’ there is nothing to cultivate whatsoever—there is nothing to cultivate belonging to anything whatsoever, there is nothing to cultivate by anyone whatsoever, and there is nothing to cultivate in anything whatsoever.
“Ānanda, although the Thus-Gone One teaches that ‘the Dharma should be developed,’ there is nothing to be developed whatsoever—there is nothing developed belonging to anything whatsoever, there is nothing to be developed by anyone whatsoever, and there is nothing to be developed in anything whatsoever.
“Ānanda, although the Thus-Gone One teaches that ‘phenomena are conditioned,’ there is nothing conditioned whatsoever—there is nothing conditioned belonging to anything whatsoever, there is nothing conditioned by anything whatsoever, and there is nothing conditioned in anything whatsoever.
“Ānanda, although the Thus-Gone One teaches that ‘phenomena are unconditioned,’ there is nothing unconditioned whatsoever—there is nothing unconditioned belonging to anything whatsoever, there is nothing unconditioned by anything whatsoever, and there is nothing unconditioned in anything whatsoever.
“Ānanda, although the Thus-Gone One teaches that ‘phenomena are afflicted,’ there is nothing afflicted whatsoever—there is nothing afflicted belonging to anything whatsoever, there is nothing afflicted by anything whatsoever, and there is nothing afflicted in anything whatsoever.
“Ānanda, although the Thus-Gone One teaches that ‘phenomena are completely purified,’ there is nothing completely purified whatsoever—there is nothing completely purified belonging to anything whatsoever, there is nothing completely purified by anything whatsoever, and there is nothing completely purified in anything whatsoever.
“Ānanda, the seal of Dharma, the seal of all phenomena, is the absence of a seal. It is the unformed seal. It is the indivisible seal. [F.209.b] Ānanda, anyone stamped with that seal is a bodhisattva great being. They are of venerable family. They are lions among humans. They are solitary. They are fearless. They proclaim the roar. They frighten other non-Buddhists. They subjugate the hordes of Māra. They cause other non-Buddhists to flee into caves in mountain fissures. They frighten those with reference points. They puncture and strike down those who are especially proud. They delight the offspring of buddhas that counteract Māra. They discern reality. They cause the victory banner of Dharma to be raised throughout the ten directions. They cause the drum of Dharma to be beaten. They cause the elixir of Dharma to be drunk. They satiate the heart-children of the victorious ones with well-spoken discourses. [B17]
“Ānanda, it is like this, as a simile: When a lion, the king of beasts, emerges from his lair and proclaims a lion’s roar three times, all the lion cubs of venerable pedigree who hear the sound show themselves. Confident, fearless, joyous, and satiated, they look around throughout the four directions. Likewise, Ānanda, bodhisattva great beings who have embraced the altruistic intention, yet whose roots of virtue and faculties have not yet matured, and who are present in the assembly of lions—the assembly of those without trepidation, the assembly of those with great manes—are delighted and gleeful in the gathering of the great assembly upon hearing that sound.
“Ānanda, it is also like this, as a simile: The lion, the king of beasts, only ever travels alone, without any companion, no matter where he goes. Likewise, Ānanda, the bodhisattva lions present in the assembly of the gathering of those audacious beings with manes [F.210.a]/[F.211.a] always wear their armor without a companion, no matter where they go. They wear their armor in the absence of peers, thinking, ‘I will realize the qualities of the buddhas by myself. I will actualize the qualities of the buddhas without a companion.’
“Ānanda, it is also like this, as a simile: The king of beasts dwells only in the womb of precisely its own kind. Moreover, the lion, the king of beasts, dwells only once in that womb. Likewise, Ānanda, bodhisattvas bound by only one rebirth dwell in the womb of the Great Vehicle, for they cannot be held by the vehicle of the hearers or the vehicle of the solitary buddhas. Thus, Ānanda, is the assembly an assembly of lions, an assembly of beings without trepidation, an assembly of beings with manes.
“Ānanda, it is also like this, as a simile: Whether a lion, the king of beasts, is strong or weak, it strikes while completely focused, no matter which kind of creature it strikes. It does not do so unfocused. Likewise, Ānanda, no matter what Dharma discourse is delivered, all those bodhisattvas with manes who are present in the gathering of the lion assembly respectfully teach, retain, and promulgate that teaching and make others retain it. Ānanda, thus is this an assembly of lions, an assembly of those without trepidation.”
This concludes the twelfth chapter.
Colophon
Translated by the Indian preceptor Prajñāvarman and the translator Bandé Leki Dé, then revised and finalized by the Indian preceptors Prajñāvarman and Jñānagarbha, and the chief editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.
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