The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines
Chapter 41
Toh 9
Degé Kangyur, vol. 26 (shes phyin, nyi khri, ka), folios 1.b–382.a; vol. 27 (shes phyin, nyi khri, kha), folios 1.b–393.a; and vol. 28 (shes phyin, nyi khri, ga), folios 1.b–381.a
Imprint
Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2023
Current version v 1.1.12 (2024)
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84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines is among the most important scriptures underlying both the “vast” and the “profound” approaches to Buddhist thought and practice. Known as the “middle-length” version, being the second longest of the three long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, it fills three volumes of the Kangyur. Like the two other long sūtras, it records the major teaching on the perfection of wisdom given by the Buddha Śākyamuni on Vulture Peak, detailing all aspects of the path to enlightenment while at the same time emphasizing how bodhisattvas must put them into practice without taking them—or any aspects of enlightenment itself—as having even the slightest true existence.
Acknowledgements
Translation by the Padmakara Translation Group. A complete draft by Gyurme Dorje was first edited by Charles Hastings, then revised and further edited by John Canti. The introduction was written by John Canti. We are grateful for the advice and help received from Gareth Sparham, Greg Seton, and Nathaniel Rich.
This translation is dedicated to the memory of our late colleague, long-time friend, and vajra brother Gyurme Dorje (1950–2020), who worked assiduously on this translation in his final years and into the very last months of his life. We would also like to express our gratitude to his wife, Xiaohong, for the extraordinary support she gave him on so many levels.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Kris Yao and Xiang-Jen Yao, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Text Body
Chapter 41
The venerable Subhūti said to the Blessed One, “Blessed Lord, irreversible bodhisattva great beings are endowed with great attributes. Blessed Lord, irreversible bodhisattva great beings are endowed with incalculable and inestimable attributes. Blessed Lord, irreversible bodhisattva great beings are endowed with unshakeable attributes.”
“Subhūti, it is so! It is so!” replied the Blessed One. “Subhūti, irreversible bodhisattva great beings are endowed with great attributes. Subhūti, irreversible bodhisattva great beings are endowed with incalculable and inestimable attributes. Subhūti, irreversible bodhisattva great beings are endowed with unshakeable attributes. [F.372.b] If you ask why, it is because they have acquired the infinite and limitless wisdom that is not shared in common with any śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. Abiding in this wisdom, irreversible bodhisattva great beings have actualized the kinds of exact knowledge—the kinds of exact knowledge in consequence of which they cannot succumb to any response, even when questioned by the world with its gods, humans, and asuras.”
Subhūti then requested, “Blessed Lord, since the tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas have the power to reveal, over eons numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, the attributes, indications, and signs on account of which irreversible bodhisattva great beings are called irreversible bodhisattva great beings, Blessed Lord, please reveal the profound states in which bodhisattva great beings, when practicing the six perfections, complete the four applications of mindfulness; in which they complete the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, {Ki.IV: 164} the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, and the noble eightfold path; in which they complete the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, and the formless absorptions; in which they complete the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; in which they complete the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, and the dhāraṇī gateways; [F.373.a] in which they complete the ten powers of the tathāgatas, the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas; and in which they complete [all the goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience.”
“Excellent, Subhūti! Excellent!” replied the Blessed One. “Subhūti, it is excellent that you are thinking to ask the Tathāgata about those profound states, for the sake of irreversible bodhisattva great beings. Subhūti, this term profound is a designation of emptiness. This is a designation of signlessness, wishlessness, nonconditioning, nonarising, nonattachment, noncessation, nirvāṇa, quiescence, real nature, the very limit of reality, and the realm of phenomena. Subhūti, these designations of nirvāṇa are said to be profound states.”
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “the term profound is indeed a designation of all phenomena. If you ask why, Subhūti, physical forms are profound. Feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness are profound. Subhūti, the eyes are profound. The ears, nose, tongue, body, and [F.373.b] mental faculty are profound. Subhūti, sights are profound. Sounds, odors, tastes, tangibles, and mental phenomena are profound. Subhūti, visual consciousness is profound. Visually compounded sensory contact and feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact are profound. Subhūti, auditory consciousness, olfactory consciousness, gustatory consciousness, tactile consciousness, and mental consciousness are profound. Mentally compounded sensory contact [and so forth], and feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact [and so forth], are profound. Subhūti, the earth element is profound. The water element, the fire element, the wind element, the space element, and the consciousness element are profound. Subhūti, ignorance, formative predispositions, consciousness, name and form, the six sense fields, sensory contact, sensation, craving, grasping, the rebirth process, actual birth, and aging and death are profound. Subhūti, all the perfections, all the aspects of emptiness, and the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment are profound. The truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, {Ki.IV: 165} the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, and the dhāraṇī gateways are profound. The ten powers of the tathāgatas, the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas are profound. Subhūti, [the goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, are profound. Enlightenment is profound.
“Subhūti, if you ask how physical forms are profound; how feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness are profound; how the sense fields, the sensory elements, and the links of dependent origination are profound; how all the perfections, all the aspects of emptiness, and the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment are profound; how [the fruitional attributes], up to and including the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, are profound; how [the goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, are profound; and how enlightenment is profound, physical forms are as profound as the real nature of physical forms. Feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness are as profound as the real nature of consciousness [and so forth]. The sense fields, [F.374.a] sensory elements, and links of dependent origination are as profound as the real nature of the links of dependent origination [and so forth]. All the perfections, all the aspects of emptiness, and the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment are as profound as the real nature of the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment [and so forth]. The truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, and the dhāraṇī gateways are as profound as the real nature of the dhāraṇī gateways [and so forth]. The powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, and the distinct qualities of the buddhas are as profound as the real nature of the distinct qualities of the buddhas [and so forth]. [The goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, are as profound as the real nature of all-aspect omniscience [and so forth]. Enlightenment is as profound as the real nature of enlightenment.”
“Blessed Lord, how is the real nature of physical forms? Blessed Lord, how is the real nature of feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness? Blessed Lord, how is the real nature of the sense fields, sensory elements, and links of dependent origination? Blessed Lord, how is the real nature of all the perfections, all the aspects of emptiness, and the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment? Blessed Lord, how is the real nature of [the fruitional attributes], up to and including the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas? Blessed Lord, how is the real nature of [the goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience? Blessed Lord, how is the real nature of enlightenment?”