The Questions of Sāgaramati
Chapter Eight

The bodhisattva Sāgaramati then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, it is incredible how much the Great Vehicle is able to benefit beings so that they experience the pleasures of gods and humans and attain the unsurpassed pleasure of nirvāṇa. Blessed One, what are the teachings that summarize the Great Vehicle? What are the teachings that are held in high regard in the Great Vehicle? What are the teachings that are challenging in the Great Vehicle? What are the teachings that reveal the Great Vehicle? Blessed One, what are the ways the Great Vehicle is obstructed? Blessed One, why is the Great Vehicle called the Great Vehicle?”

The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva Sāgaramati, “Listen, Sāgaramati, and I will teach. Sāgaramati, there is one teaching that summarizes the Great Vehicle. What is this one teaching? It is being careful and not forgetting the mind of awakening. Sāgaramati, this is the teaching that summarizes the Great Vehicle. [F.59.a]

“Sāgaramati, there is another teaching that summarizes the Great Vehicle. What is this teaching? It is doing what is good and trusting in karmic ripening. There is another teaching: right view that does not contradict the Dharma that has been taught. There is another teaching: getting rid of notions of beauty and ugliness so that one has an equal attitude toward all beings. There is another teaching: great love that seeks to protect everyone. There is another teaching: great compassion that is not attached to one’s own happiness. There is another teaching: recollection of the Buddha that yearns for the body of a buddha. There is another teaching: recollection of the essential qualities that accomplish the Dharma. There is another teaching: recollection of the Saṅgha that is the Saṅgha of those who have reached the irreversible level. There is another teaching: recollection of giving that eradicates all afflictions. There is another teaching: recollection of discipline that is not forgetting the mind of awakening. There is another teaching: recollection of the deity that has the pure Dharma. There is another teaching: altruism that brings help and happiness. There is another teaching: stable contemplation and strong devotion. There is another teaching: supreme delight in bringing all beings to freedom. There is another teaching: seeking the sublime Dharma that liberates through the profound Dharma. There is another teaching: giving the Dharma with a mind that is unconcerned with material things. There is another teaching: perceiving those who have come to receive the teachings as sick patients. There is another teaching: perceiving the Dharma as medicine. There is another teaching: perceiving oneself as a physician. [F.59.b]

“There is another teaching: protecting the sublime Dharma so that it remains a long time. There is another teaching: preserving the lineage of the Three Jewels. There is another teaching: being satisfied with the least and not craving. There is another teaching: being courageous enough to give away all one’s possessions. There is another teaching: ripening those with corrupt discipline using one’s own discipline. There is another teaching: being patient without being angered by negative actions. There is another teaching: wishing to repay positive actions. There is another teaching: being compassionate toward those who are ungrateful. There is another teaching: being respectful toward those who are grateful. There is another teaching: not being proud around those who know little. There is another teaching: being a student of the learned. There is another teaching: not giving up the motivation to gather roots of virtue. There is another teaching: not perpetuating nonvirtuous mental states. There is another teaching: keeping the three vows pure by not putting on airs of being a Dharma practitioner and being overly talkative. There is another teaching: serving those who teach the Dharma and esteeming them as teachers and spiritual masters. There is another teaching: studying the Dharma without mixing it up with what the Lokāyata followers teach. There is another teaching: being undiscouraged by saṃsāra, having refined and purified one’s roots of virtue. There is another teaching: being insatiable in venerating the living thus-gone ones as well as those who have passed into parinirvāṇa. There is another teaching: acting as a spiritual friend, whether beings request it or not. [F.60.a] There is another teaching: not observing, clinging to, or being attached to any objects. There is another teaching: constantly practicing the monastic life with an awareness of the flaws of the household life.

“There is another teaching: undertaking the activities of sublime beings. There is another teaching: gathering the accumulations of the path of awakening, which produces certainty. There is another teaching: never being angry with those who have entered the same vehicle. There is another teaching: never being disheartened in the pursuit of upholding the mind of awakening. There is another teaching: guarding secret mantras so they do not proliferate. There is another teaching: seeking knowledge of the Dharma and craftsmanship. There is another teaching: seeing the Dharma by upholding true speech. There is another teaching: exceeding expectations. There is another teaching: giving without any regret. There is another teaching: understanding the function of māras and abandoning them. There is another teaching: acting with wisdom devoid of pride.

“There is another teaching: staying in remote areas with no worldly ambition. There is another teaching: eliminating excessive pride, praise for oneself, and the slander of others. There is another teaching: acting in accord with the world without afflictions. There is another teaching: having a pure livelihood and delighting in solitude. There is another teaching: settling internally by applying appropriate effort. There is another teaching: becoming certain through abundant learning. There is another teaching: the level of genuine and diligent practice. [F.60.b] There is another teaching: perceiving the phenomena of the experience of emptiness. There is another teaching: neither being inflated nor pained by gain or loss. There is another teaching: delighting in being alone by fearing and worrying about distraction. There is another teaching: distributing the wealth of the Dharma to others. There is another teaching: being learned in the truths of the noble ones. There is another teaching: generously teaching any topic of knowledge. There is another teaching: gently bringing those who have not trained much to the trainings. There is another teaching: trusting that gain and loss are both karmic ripening and not being tormented by either of them.

“There is another teaching: respectfully teaching the Dharma to those who wish to hear it. There is another teaching: abandoning attachment for one’s friends and having an unbiased mind toward every being. There is another teaching: expressing one’s approval of Dharma teachers without any duplicity. There is another teaching: shouldering the burden of all beings with a noble mind. There is another teaching: seeking out the perfections. There is another teaching: diligently gathering the accumulations of the path of awakening. There is another teaching: having firm and unmoving roots of faith. There is another teaching: purposefully going on alms rounds in one’s vicinity. There is another teaching: eliminating poverty by gathering the seven riches. There is another teaching: living a life that is meaningful.

“There is another teaching: ripening beings through skill in means. There is another teaching: attracting disciples through performing Dharma offering ceremonies. There is another teaching: engaging in lively Dharma discussions without argument. [F.61.a] There is another teaching: listening to Dharma without an intention to dispute it. There is another teaching: being a spiritual practitioner without having any of the faults of spiritual practitioners. There is another teaching: entering towns, villages, and cities without getting mixed up with their business. There is another teaching: protecting all beings by having understood one’s own confusion. There is another teaching: having equanimity about all the world’s variety. There is another teaching: not deceiving spiritual friends.

“There is another teaching: knowing the purity of the minds of all beings by purifying one’s own mind. There is another teaching: purifying one’s thoughts without contrivance. There is another teaching: purifying one’s motivation with intention. There is another teaching: purifying one’s conduct with positive actions. There is another teaching: purifying the marks of perfection through purifying one’s merit. There is another teaching: purifying one’s afflictions through purifying one’s knowledge. There is another teaching: purifying buddha realms by purifying beings.

“There is another teaching: becoming skilled in dedication while analyzing signlessness. There is another teaching: attaining the acceptance that concurs with reality. There is another teaching: gaining certainty and understanding through cultivating the three gateways of liberation. There is another teaching: being an elder by living nowhere. There is another teaching: enjoying super-knowledge and knowing the exhaustion of defilement. There is another teaching: gaining understanding and liberation through having mastered tranquility and special insight. There is another teaching: cultivating insight that is embraced by skillful means. [F.61.b] There is another teaching: attaining the essence of the three realms as an ornament of the seat of awakening. There is another teaching: fully awakening to buddhahood by knowing the sameness of all phenomena.

“Sāgaramati, there is another teaching that summarizes the Great Vehicle. What is this teaching? It is attaining the acceptance that phenomena are unborn through realizing that all phenomena are unborn and non-arising by nature. Sāgaramati, that is a teaching that summarizes the Great Vehicle.

“Sāgaramati, these teachings summarize, uphold, and maintain the Great Vehicle.

“Sāgaramati, there are two teachings that are held in high regard in the Great Vehicle. What are they? They are aspiring to the qualities of buddhahood and not desiring the qualities of the hearers or solitary buddhas. Sāgaramati, these two teachings are held in high regard in the Great Vehicle.

“Sāgaramati, there are two teachings that are challenging in the Great Vehicle. What are they? They are protecting one’s liberation through aspiration, and teaching the Dharma for the sake of liberation. Sāgaramati, these two teachings are challenging in the Great Vehicle.

“Sāgaramati, there are two teachings that are held in high regard in the Great Vehicle. What are they? They are not straying from the mind of awakening and being stable in observing one’s mind. There are two teachings that are challenging: realizing the mind of awakening to be illusory and realizing all beings to be selfless.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: not giving up one’s motivation and not contriving one’s conduct. There are two teachings that are challenging: having thoughts with pure roots, and gathering merit while being neither active, nor inactive. [F.62.a]

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: applying oneself to roots of virtue and immersing oneself in this endeavor. There are two teachings that are challenging: practicing without conceptual elaborations and disengaging by bringing one’s practice into experience.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: excelling in pure motivation and observing what is uniquely special. There are two teachings that are challenging: not engaging in negativities oneself and delivering others from negativities.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: giving away all one’s possessions and not hoping for karmic ripening. There are two teachings that are challenging: giving with an even mind and being skilled in dedication.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: not letting one’s trainings decline and not hoping for rebirth. There are two teachings that are challenging: being especially compassionate to those whose discipline is corrupt and not praising oneself.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: being patient and gentle, and dedicating merit toward awakening. There are two teachings that are challenging: giving up attachment and cultivating patience for rulers.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: having diligence that pursues all forms of virtue, and delighting in virtue. There are two teachings that are challenging: keeping body and mind in solitude, and freeing the fixated mind.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: gathering the requisites for concentration and gaining pliancy of mind. There are two teachings that are challenging: knowing how to undo concentration and disparaging the desire realm.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: being passionate and eager for the Dharma. There are two teachings that are challenging: [F.62.b] contemplating and gaining certainty in Dharma.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: relying on a spiritual friend and respectfully relying on a spiritual master. There are two teachings that are challenging: being respectful and accepting advice.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: examining what is timely and untimely, and bringing the meaning into experience. There are two teachings that are challenging: understanding the meaning and being content.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: not being satisfied with the wealth of hearing and not being satisfied with the insight of hearing. There are two teachings that are challenging: accurately analyzing the Dharma and abandoning inaccurate teachings.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: teaching Dharma and being compassionate to those who are listening to it. There are two teachings that are challenging: being a generous spiritual teacher and teaching the Dharma without any material aims.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: listening carefully and being highly motivated. There are two teachings that are challenging: eliminating obscurations and cultivating the branches of awakening.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: achieving supreme joy and experiencing joy. There are two teachings that are challenging: knowing the extent of what is permissible and obtaining self-knowledge.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: trusting the ripening of karma and engaging in positive actions. There are two teachings that are challenging: longing for no karma and no karmic ripening, and teaching virtuous teachings.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: speaking truthfully and not deceiving noble beings. There are two teachings that are challenging: practicing exactly what one preaches and not disrupting the buddha way.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: [F.63.a] purifying the body and abandoning the three nonvirtues. There are two teachings that are challenging: understanding that the body is like a reflection, and understanding that it is like grass, a wall, or wood.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: purifying the speech and abandoning the four faults of speech. There are two teachings that are challenging: mastering the inexpressible Dharma and understanding all sound to be like echoes.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: purifying the mind, and abandoning covetousness, malice, and wrong views. There are two teachings that are challenging: being internally peaceful and externally still.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: cultivating love and having an equal attitude toward all beings. There are two teachings that are challenging: gaining love that is immaculate and pure like space and making dedications that protect all beings.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: not losing great compassion and never being discouraged in the pursuit of roots of virtue. There are two teachings that are challenging: understanding the unborn and sustaining one’s certainty.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: being inspired and eager because of one’s delight with the Dharma, and abandoning being uninspired. There are two teachings that are challenging: perfecting the ascetic discipline of silence and only engaging in ascetic disciplines.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: letting go of attachments and abandoning anger. There are two teachings that are challenging: cultivating equanimity and abandoning views regarding beings.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: cultivating the recollection of the Buddha and developing the mind of awakening and sustaining that recollection. There are two teachings that are challenging: cultivating the Dharma body and manifesting the body of marks. [F.63.b]

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: cultivating the recollection of the Dharma and bringing beings to the Dharma. There are two teachings that are challenging: realizing reality free of desire and generating extra compassion for beings who indulge in desire.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: recollecting the bodhisattva saṅgha and teaching to the saṅgha of those who have reached the irreversible level. There are two teachings that are challenging: realizing the unconditioned and maintaining one’s attainment of the result.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: recollecting discipline and not forgetting the mind of awakening. There are two teachings that are challenging: realizing unconditioned discipline, and attracting and ripening those beings with corrupt discipline.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: recollecting giving, and giving without regret. There are two teachings that are challenging: giving up one’s own afflictions and teaching beings to discard their afflictions.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: recollecting divinity and not aspiring to be reborn. There are two teachings that are challenging: being mindful and aware, and establishing all who are distracted in mindfulness.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: gathering the accumulation of merit and the accumulation of wisdom. There are two teachings that are challenging: obtaining unconditioned wisdom and not disparaging the accumulation of merit.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: transcending desire and explaining what it is to cling because of desire. There are two teachings that are challenging: having strong resolve and being without pretense or deceit.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: showing gratitude and being grateful. There are two teachings that are challenging: eliminating passionate attachment and not giving up one’s passion for virtuous qualities. [F.64.a]

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: confessing all one’s misdeeds and not engaging in any misdeeds. There are two teachings that are challenging: having no regret or complacency.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: rejoicing in others’ merit and not being satisfied with one’s own merit. There are two teachings that are challenging: understanding the exhaustion of misdeeds and understanding the accumulation of merit.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: supplicating all the buddhas and upholding all of the Dharma. There are two teachings that are challenging: knowing the unadulterated realm of phenomena and understanding how to teach all linguistic categories.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: skill in dedication and dedicating to all beings equally. There are two teachings that are challenging: becoming familiar with signlessness and destroying all signs.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: understanding emptiness and observing beings. There are two teachings that are challenging: eliminating views with insight and skillfully utilizing views.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: yearning for roots of virtue and bringing all beings to all forms of roots of virtue. There are two teachings that are challenging: cultivating wishlessness and knowing how to take rebirth intentionally.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: not being attached or moved. There are two teachings that are challenging: being without pride and being gentle.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: staying in solitude and experiencing the positive qualities of solitude. There are two teachings that are challenging: maintaining an absence of afflictions and protecting all beings.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: having few desires and being content. There are two teachings that are challenging: [F.64.b] seeking out one’s afflictions and seeking the elimination of all beings’ afflictions.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: certainty and understanding. There are two teachings that are challenging: recognizing one’s own confusion and not seeing others’ confusion as a fault.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: not praising oneself or condemning others. There are two teachings that are challenging: seeing the lack of self in oneself and the lack of beings in beings.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: Acting on one’s own and not relying on others. There are two teachings that are challenging: reversing saṃsāra and freeing beings from saṃsāra.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: pursuing the perfections, and living according to what one teaches to those who are pursuing the perfections. There are two teachings that are challenging: attaining insight that does not depend on anyone else and bringing others to knowledge.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: being disinterested in gain, honor, and praise, and being interested in pursuing the Dharma. There are two teachings that are challenging: benefiting those who do not benefit oneself, and not overly liking those who do.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: practicing great love that knows no limit and practicing uninterrupted great compassion. There are two teachings that are challenging: engaging with saṃsāra once one has crossed over, and liberating those who have not crossed over.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: encouraging all beings to develop qualities and being especially compassionate to beings who have no qualities. There are two teachings that are challenging: helping those who do not reciprocate favors, and being free from concepts about those who do reciprocate.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: [F.65.a] maintaining mindfulness applied to the body, and maintaining the purity of the body. There are two teachings that are challenging: applying a view of the body onto the body, and not conceptualizing thoughts that come along with a body.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: maintaining mindfulness applied to feelings, and not being pierced by the feelings of pleasure or pain. There are two teachings that are challenging: applying a view of feelings onto feelings, and not thinking in terms of thoughts that go along with feelings.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: maintaining mindfulness applied to mind, and maintaining the purity of mind. There are two teachings that are challenging: applying a view of mind onto mind, and not thinking in terms of thoughts that go along with mind.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: maintaining mindfulness applied to phenomena, and distinguishing phenomena. There are two teachings that are challenging: applying a view of mental phenomena onto phenomena, and not thinking in terms of thoughts that go along with phenomena.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: abandoning those nonvirtuous negative qualities that have arisen, and producing virtuous qualities that have not yet arisen. There are two teachings that are challenging: preventing nonvirtuous negative qualities that have not already developed, and protecting those virtuous qualities that have developed.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: cultivating the bases of miracles‍—interest, diligence, conscientiousness, and investigation‍—and guiding beings who can be guided by miraculous powers. There are two teachings that are challenging: attaining unconditioned miraculous powers, and traveling to all buddha realms without wavering from the realm of phenomena.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: [F.65.b] not wavering from one’s faith, and bringing faith to the faithless. There are two teachings that are challenging: bringing appreciation to those whose minds are lucid and to those whose minds are not.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: developing the faculty of diligence and not being distracted from the faculty of mindfulness. There are two teachings that are challenging: discerning powerful diligence, and mindfulness that accomplishes emptiness.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: pursuing the accumulation of the faculties of absorption and insight, and never being discouraged in the pursuit of the accumulations. There are two teachings that are challenging: knowing how to be unmoving, and moving when necessary for the sake of ripening beings.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: correctly understanding all the afflictions, and seeking what comes from both the occurrence and non-occurrence of afflictions. There are two teachings that are challenging: not mixing with any phenomenon due to the absence of afflictions, and mixing with the three realms in order to cause the abandonment of beings’ afflictions.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: diligence that cultivates the branches of awakening and the motivation to teach the branches of awakening. There are two teachings that are challenging: not falling into the knowledge of exhaustion and accepting the knowledge of the unborn.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: skillfully traversing the path and skillfully not traversing the path. There are two teachings that are challenging: understanding how to progress through the path and understanding that the path is uninterrupted.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: being in accord with dependent origination and discarding the two extreme views. There are two teachings that are challenging: understanding what causes and conditions bring about pollution, and understanding what causes and conditions bring about purification. [F.66.a]

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: realizing the acts of māras and discarding the acts of māras. There are two teachings that are challenging: transcending all māras and not seeing any māras.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: not upsetting those who are not upset and being patient and gentle with those who are upset. There are two teachings that are challenging: never getting upset and understanding that anything can be instantly destroyed.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: keeping the seat of awakening in view once one has initially developed the mind of awakening, and having no desire for the Lesser Vehicle while keeping the seat of awakening in view. There are two teachings that are challenging: being free from clinging to the initial mind of awakening that functions as the cause of the seat of awakening, and being free from clinging to engendering the virtuous mind states that emerge from that cause.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: severing the ties that sustain the continuity of saṃsāra, and not losing the mind of awakening that sustains the continuity of roots of virtue. There are two teachings that are challenging: dedicating roots of virtue that rely neither on places or directions to awakening, and knowing the illusory nature of the development of the mind of awakening that is dedicated to awakening.

“There are two teachings that are held in high regard: seeing awakening as something sentient beings should accomplish, and seeing the liberation of beings as something that awakening should accomplish. There are two teachings that are challenging: understanding beings as sameness because awakening is sameness, and not giving up one’s diligence such that one may ripen beings.

“Sāgaramati, there are two teachings that are held in high regard in the Great Vehicle. What are they? Developing the intention to accumulate all virtuous qualities, and arousing compassion to establish all beings on the path to nirvāṇa. [F.66.b] Sāgaramati, these are two teachings that are held in high regard in the Great Vehicle. Sāgaramati, there are two teachings that are challenging in the Great Vehicle. What are they? Taking birth from the unborn and arising from the unarisen. Sāgaramati, these are two teachings that are challenging in the Great Vehicle.

“Sāgaramati, moreover, there are three teachings that reveal the Great Vehicle. What are they? They are: developing the mind of awakening through stable roots of virtue, being impossible to discourage because of being accepted by a spiritual friend, and being irreversible by maintaining great compassion. Sāgaramati, these are three teachings that reveal the Great Vehicle.

“Sāgaramati, there are three other teachings that reveal the Great Vehicle. What are they? Seeking the accumulations, realizing the accumulations, and bringing beings to the accumulations.

“There are another three. What are they? Destroying stinginess, increasing giving, and dedicating this to awakening.

“There are another three: authentically upholding discipline, ripening beings with corrupt discipline, and dedicating this to awakening.

“There are another three: having a mind devoid of anger, causing faith in angry beings, and dedicating this to awakening.

“There are another three: not losing one’s diligence, ripening lazy beings, and dedicating this to awakening.

“There are another three: developing concentration, not being attached to that concentration, and dedicating this to awakening.

“There are another three: seeking out opportunities to listen, realizing what one has heard, and dedicating this to awakening.

“There are another three: love with reference to beings, love with reference to phenomena, and non-referential love. [F.67.a]

“There are another three: compassion developed by oneself, compassion directed towards the actions of others, and great compassion that eradicates the two extremes.

“There are another three: seeking knowledge to benefit oneself, seeking knowledge to benefit others, and practicing diligence so that one may perfect the benefit of both.

“There are another three: knowledge of the exhaustion of the past, knowledge of the non-arrival of the future, and knowledge of how phenomena do not exist in the present.

“There are another three: love that liberates beings who have certainty, love that liberates beings who have no certainty, and great love that protects beings who have developed perverse certainty.

“There are another three: pliancy of body through being pleasant to be with, pleasant speech through protecting others, and pliancy of mind through being honest.

“There are another three: not criticizing those who maintain their awareness of unpleasantness while keeping company with beings who indulge in desire; not criticizing those who maintain love while keeping company with beings who indulge in aggression; and not criticizing those are aware of dependent origination while keeping company with beings who indulge in stupidity.

“There are another three: being helpful because one acts well, being balanced because one is content, and being patient because one will not later feel regret.

“There are another three: retaining what one studies, retaining words and letters, and understanding the discontinuous nature of sound from the past to the future.

“There are another three: eliminating poverty through manifesting the seven riches, great giving through offering the gift of the Dharma, and increasing wealth through sharing material things.

“There are another three: being truthful in terms of the ultimate truth, being genuine through non-deception, [F.67.b] and understanding reality through suchness.

“There are another three: knowing oneself by understanding the self, knowing others in terms of what to say, and knowing time by being timely.

“There are another three: realizing the sameness of the aggregates and the Dharma collection, realizing the sameness of the elements and the realm of phenomena, and realizing the similarity of the sense sources to an empty village.

“There are another three: knowing that causes always produce their effects, being skilled in using conditions to bring increase, and mutually reinforcing by assembling conditions.

“There are another three: not contradicting the Buddha, not abandoning the Dharma, and humbly and respectfully serving the Saṅgha.

“There are another three: pacifying attachment, eliminating aggression, and defeating stupidity.

“There are another three: engaging with relative truth, teaching the truth of characteristics, and sustaining ultimate truth.

“There are another three: not abusing beings, being respectful of those worthy of offerings, and not falling into afflictions.

“There are another three: not being stained by the desire realm, not becoming affected by the form realm, and not being attached to the formless realm.

“There are another three: not being disheartened by poverty, obscurity, scorn, or suffering; not becoming arrogant because of gain, renown, praise, or pleasure; and being like a mountain in not being affected by the eight worldly concerns.

“There are another three: keeping the faculties under control, liberating oneself from all the māras, and taming the mind.

“There are another three: knowing how to maintain the qualities of the levels, knowing how to undo the flaws of each level, and knowing how to ascend from level to level.

“There are another three: maintaining excellent contemplation, maintaining an especially pure motivation, [F.68.a] and maintaining continual application.

“There are another three: training in higher discipline in order to purify absorption, training in higher mind in order to perfect insight, and training in higher insight in order to perfect liberation.

“There are another three: abandoning attachment to pleasant feelings, abandoning aversion toward painful feelings, and abandoning a lack of perceptions of feelings that are neither pleasant nor painful.

“There are another three: turning away from causes through the unconditioned; turning away from afflictions through nonconceptuality; and turning away from the three realms through wishlessness.

“There are another three: gaining familiarity with emptiness and eliminating views, gaining familiarity with signlessness and pacifying concepts, gaining familiarity with wishlessness and stopping the three realms.

“There are another three: the eye’s emptiness, form’s separateness, and visual consciousness’s lack of basis.

“There are another three: the ear’s emptiness, sound’s separateness, and auditory consciousness’s lack of basis.

“There are another three: the nose’s emptiness, smell’s separateness, and olfactory consciousness’s lack of basis.

“There are another three: the tongue’s emptiness, taste’s separateness, and gustatory consciousness’s lack of basis.

“There are another three: the body’s emptiness, texture’s separateness, and tactile consciousness’s lack of basis.

“There are another three: the mind’s emptiness, mental phenomena’s separateness, and mental consciousness’s lack of basis.

“There are another three: guarding discipline, preserving absorption, and maintaining discriminating knowledge through insight.

“There are another three: using mindfulness to uphold the Dharma, using intelligence to gain appropriate understanding, [F.68.b] and using realization to master the meaning.

“There are another three: demonstrating the manner of liberation to hearers by speaking the words of the truths of the noble ones, demonstrating the manner of liberation to solitary buddhas through being one-pointedly focused on dependent origination, and demonstrating the manner of liberation to bodhisattvas through engaging in the six perfections.

“There are another three: giving, great giving, and extraordinary giving. In this case, giving means giving valuables; great giving means giving one’s wife, son, or daughter; and extraordinary giving means giving one’s hands, feet, head, or eyes.

“There are another three: upholding the sacred Dharma, upholding the position of a Dharma teacher, and upholding the Great Vehicle.

“There are another three: understanding the unbroken continuity of saṃsāra, realizing saṃsāra’s faults, and abandoning saṃsāra’s faults.

“There are another three: listening to the Dharma with an unobscured mind, meditating alone with a settled mind, and reaching mastery with an active mind.

“There are another three: hearing based on the meaning, thinking based on wisdom, and liberation based on the Dharma.

“There are another three: staying in seclusion with ample opportunities to study, keeping a correct outlook while staying in seclusion, and endeavoring in the correct outlook to understand all phenomena.

“There are another three: serving the learned, asking questions of the educated, and protecting meditators.

“There are another three: giving the Dharma without any concern for wealth, loving those who are studying Dharma, and manifesting the mind of omniscience. [F.69.a]

“There are another three: the equality of the mind reveals the equality of beings; the absence of difference reveals the equality of phenomena; the equality of wisdom reveals the equality of the buddhas.

“There are another three: wisdom reveals the equality of the three times; the intellect reveals the equality of the three liberations; understanding reveals the equality of the three realms.

“There are another three: conceiving of all formations as impermanent and dissatisfying, realizing all phenomena to be selfless, and realizing nirvāṇa to be peace.

“There are another three: the essence of commitment come through experience; the essence of learning comes through persistence; the essence of absorption comes through insight.

“There are another three: not concealing one’s downfalls, identifying harmful actions, and making vows about the future.

“There are another three: being without regret, being free of upheaval, and being without doubt.

“There are another three: staying in seclusion, delighting in solitude, and desiring virtuous qualities.

“There are another three: accepting the profound Dharma, giving various Dharma teachings, and exercising eloquence.

“There are another three: clear recollection of what one has heard, eloquence that is blessed by the Buddha, and Dharma discourse that is upheld by the gods.

“There are another three: having the initial development of the earth-like mind of awakening, applying experiential analysis to all one’s activities, and reaching the irreversible level where one reverses all concepts.

“There are another three: perfecting the patience that conforms with sound, attaining the patience that comes from contemplation and is without proliferations, and attaining the patience regarding the unborn nature of phenomena.

“Sāgaramati, there are three other teachings that reveal the Great Vehicle. [F.69.b] What are they? Cultivating the path that is endowed with skillful means and insight, ripening beings while possessing great love and compassion, and upholding the sublime Dharma while possessing diligence and carefulness. Sāgaramati, these three teachings reveal the Great Vehicle. [B7]

“Sāgaramati, moreover, there are four ways the Great Vehicle is obstructed. What are they? Obtaining misguided learning and seeking advice from worldly materialists; not listening to the Dharma teachings on the six perfections and the bodhisattva section; proudly undertaking the work of Māra; and abandoning the Dharma due to the arising of obscurations concerning the Dharma. Sāgaramati, these are four ways that obstruct the Great Vehicle.

“There are another four: attachment, aggression, stupidity, and failing to be interested in the qualities of the Dharma because one is full of afflictions.

“There are another four: being jealous of others’ gain, acting deceitfully toward Dharma teachers, being scattered and pretentious, and being unreliable and deceptive.

“There are another four: conceiving of spiritual friends as destructive companions, conceiving of destructive companions as spiritual friends, conceiving of what is not Dharma as Dharma, and conceiving of what is Dharma as not Dharma.

“There are another four: a mind stained by stinginess, a mind that is malicious and unaccommodating of beggars, a mind that regrets giving, and not orienting one’s mind toward omniscience.

“There are another four: giving out of ulterior motive, aggression, stupidity, [F.70.a] or fear.

“There are another four: giving because of seeking acclaim, reputation, renown, or praise.

“There are another four: giving in public view, giving for a minor purpose, giving with a scornful attitude, and giving the belongings of others.

“There are another four: negative giving, impatient giving, disrespectful giving, and proud giving.

“There are another four: giving weapons, giving poison, giving inappropriate things, and giving illegal things.

“There are another four: being aggressive toward those who are disciplined, being malicious and unaccommodating toward those who have corrupt discipline, personally relaxing one’s vows, and thinking that discussions of discipline and vows are useless.

“There are another four: pursuing shallow gains, not sharing the wealth of the Dharma, preventing others’ success, and not being satisfied with one’s own successes.

“There are another four: being physically hypocritical, being verbally hypocritical through wrong speech, being mentally hypocritical by taking pleasure in evil deeds, and acting hypocritically in every way due to an impure livelihood.

“There are another four: being aggressive toward those who have entered the same vehicle, criticizing them, being displeased by their praise and qualities, and having manifest pride because one fails to understand the workings of Māra.

“There are another four: swelling with pride and failing to honor one’s religious commitments; failing to respect Dharma teachers; not bowing to one’s parents, instructors, or preceptors; and always acting contrary because of one’s physical and mental abrasiveness.

“There are another four: praising oneself, [F.70.b] disputing the qualities of others, letting the pride of one’s self-centeredness blaze, and being mean.

“There are another four: laziness, sloth, failing to heed advice, and being disagreeable.

“There are another four: being unruly, unsettled, uninhibited, and untamed.

“There are another four: going to towns, villages, and cities while being insufficiently learned; living without observing discipline and yet desiring gain, honor, and praise; looking at women while failing to guard one’s senses; and engaging the faculties of beings while one's mind is not in equipoise.

“There are another four: not putting energy into the means of attracting students, straying from ripening beings, giving up the Dharma and failing to guard one’s actions, and harming people who teach the Dharma.

“There are another four: increasing one’s attachment because of stupidity, desiring evil deeds because of aggression, being discontent because of attachment, and being insatiable because of desire.

“There are another four: being uninspired because of lacking faith, failing to scorn evil deeds because of one’s reliance on evil companions, letting virtuous qualities diminish due to laziness, and destroying roots of virtue due to carelessness.

“There are another four: lacking shame due to insufficient reflection, lacking conscience due to not thinking about the Buddha, being ungrateful by acting in accord with the acts with immediate consequence, and not being appropriately fearful due to blind hope.

“There are another four: malice, anger, spite, and harmfulness.

“There are another four: deceiving noble beings, failing to protect those that are not noble, scorning donors, and disparaging those worthy of offerings.

“There are another four: failing to purify one’s physical deeds, failing to guard one’s verbal deeds, getting discouraged about one’s mental deeds, and being discouraged concerning the Great Vehicle. [F.71.a]

“There are another four: splitting up reconciled parties, criticizing one’s instructors and preceptors, gossiping with those who are truly interested in what is essential, and deceiving gods or humans.

“There are another four: failing to maintain abundant discipline, denying rebirth, destroying roots of virtue, and preventing the gathering of accumulations.

“There are another four: keeping rude company, being arrogant and attracted to gatherings, straying into error by speaking falsely, and employing mistaken statements to cast worldly spells.

“There are another four: living in seclusion without doing anything, spending time with those who are very aggressive, thinking one has merit without developing roots of virtue, and living to attain the reputation of being a bodhisattva.

“There are another four: an ignoble mind, an uncivilized mind, an untamed mind, and being biased towards beings.

“There are another four: being arrogant because of one’s discipline, being arrogant because of one’s learning, being arrogant because of living in seclusion, and being arrogant because of one’s austere lifestyle and asceticism.

“There are another four: disparaging oneself, disparaging the Dharma, being contemptuous of lesser roots of virtue and failing to dedicate them to awakening, and feeling an occasional fondness for the vehicles of the hearers and solitary buddhas.

“There are another four: attachment to the body, attachment to the mind, attachment to discipline and learning, and failing to excel.

“There are another four: clinging to the homes of one’s relatives and those who give alms, clinging to erroneous discipline in order to pursue gain and praise, clinging to one’s place, and perpetuating negative actions because of aversion toward the disciplined life. [F.71.b]

“There are another four: excessive activity, excessive wealth, excessive conversation, and excessive acquaintances.

“There are another four: the view of self because of clinging to the self, the view of beings because of clinging to beings, the view of nihilism because of clinging to inappropriate actions, and the view of eternalism because of clinging to the body and life force.

“There are another four: discontinuing one’s efforts, failing to uphold any efforts after having discontinued them, getting discouraged by failing to embrace one’s efforts, and reversing and destroying one’s progress by becoming discouraged.

“There are another four: disparaging the progress from level to level, being unskilled in exiting concentration, having insight without consideration for beings, and claiming to have skillful means while observing reference points.

“Sāgaramati, there are four more ways the Great Vehicle is obstructed. What are they? They are: being base due to the manifestation of phenomenal obscurations, not pursuing roots of virtue due to the manifestation of karmic obscurations, not engaging with the three virtuous factors due to the manifestation of afflictive obscurations, and forgetting the mind of awakening due to the manifestation of the māras’ activities. Sāgaramati, those four ways obstruct the Great Vehicle.”

When the Blessed One spoke of the Great Vehicle, forty-four thousand gods and humans developed the mind directed toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening, and twenty-eight thousand bodhisattvas attained the acceptance that phenomena are unborn. The great trichiliocosm trembled six times and a great light illuminated the world. Eight thousand gods in the space above called out in wonder, laughter, and joy, and they cast a rain of flowers, played instruments, and sang. [F.72.a]

They remarked, “Hark! This is a great treasure of Dharma, which has been opened by the Thus-Gone One and revealed to all beings out of great compassion. Blessed One, anyone who even slightly tries to uphold this great treasure of the precious Dharma will be freed from the fear of falling into the lower realms. Gradually they will begin to turn the unsurpassed and precious wheel of Dharma.

“To draw an analogy, let us imagine, Blessed One, that a person who lived near a town, village, or city happened upon a hitherto undiscovered, immense treasure of all types of jewels, and that this person was someone who was very helpful to others. Having discovered that treasure, he then went to the town, village, or city with the intention to inform the public and said, ‘Everyone, come here! I will show this inexhaustible deposit to whoever needs jewels!’ Blessed One, some trusted him and some did not. The ones who trusted him went to the deposit. For some, there were as many jewels as they had strength to carry. For some, there were as many jewels as they could imagine. Yet the deposit itself had no concepts as to bestowing or not bestowing, or that it was appropriate to give to some and not to others. Why is this? Because, Blessed One, this deposit held no concepts.

“Likewise, the Blessed One accomplished the immense treasure of the precious Dharma over countless trillions of eons, whereupon he awakened to perfect buddhahood at the seat of awakening. [F.72.b] He then turned the immense and precious wheel of Dharma in the city of Vārāṇasī at the Hill of Fallen Sages. In the same manner the Blessed One opened the unsurpassed and precious treasure of this collection of Dharma teachings. The Blessed One developed great compassion for all beings with no distinction. Arousing beneficial means, he spoke to the world of gods, humans, and asuras with the voice of Brahmā that engenders understanding, saying, ‘Come! Take possession of this unsurpassed and immense treasure of the precious Dharma that is inexhaustible, bestows all forms of happiness, and transports one to the end of birth, aging, sickness, and death.’ Responding to your attempt to engender understanding, Blessed One, some beings who were stupid and had no faith were not inspired, interested, thoughtful, or trusting. Those whose nature was capable of faith were inspired, interested, thoughtful, and trusting. They partook what they could of the Thus-Gone One’s immense treasure of the precious Dharma. He explained the vehicle that inspired them. Some entered seeking the state of hearers, solitary buddhas, or unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Yet, the Thus-Gone One’s unsurpassed and immense treasure of the precious Dharma had no concepts about anyone.

“Blessed One, those who give up the Thus-Gone One’s immense treasure of the precious Dharma or do not uphold this revelation even slightly will lose these jewels and find themselves bereft of them. They will find themselves in the three lower realms for a long time. Blessed One, if anyone who upholds even a single four-line verse of this immense treasure of the precious Dharma will become wealthy and receive the seven riches of noble beings, then what need have we to speak of those who uphold a complete chapter of this collection of Dharma teachings‍—or two, three, [F.73.a] four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, or seventy chapters, or the entire teaching? The extent of those sublime beings’ merit could not be fathomed. Blessed One, anyone who has not lost the mind of awakening and is moved by great compassion for beings, and who then upholds, retains, reads, understands, and teaches it extensively to others, will be prophesied to awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. They will defeat the māras and gain attainment of super-knowledge within this Great Vehicle.”

The Blessed One then expressed his approval to the gods, saying, “Gods, these words have been well said. Excellent, excellent. You see how any sublime being who hears this gateway to the Dharma, becomes inspired, and subsequently takes it up, upholds it, reads it, masters it, and accomplishes it will alight upon the seat of awakening. You see how they possess all qualities. You see how they reach the peak of omniscience and act as a lamp of insight for those blinded in the world. Before long, they will fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. Why is this so? Because they ride the vehicle that is the Great Vehicle.”

The Blessed One then expressed this in verse: