阿難即從座起，頂禮佛足而白佛言：「我輩愚鈍好為多聞，於諸漏心未求出離，蒙佛慈誨得正熏修，身心快然獲大饒益。世尊！如是修證佛三摩提未到涅槃，云何名為乾慧之地？四十四心？至何漸次得修行目？詣何方所名入地中？云何名為等覺菩薩？」作是語已，五體投地，大眾一心佇佛慈音瞪矒瞻仰。
Ānanda then arose, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and addressed the Buddha saying, “I and those like me have been so unwise and dull-witted as to prefer the mere pursuit of learning to the attempt to put an end to our outflows. But now that the Buddha has kindly given us this instruction, our practice has been corrected. We are thoroughly delighted with the great benefit we have gained. “World-Honored One, suppose someone has cultivated the Buddha’s samādhi in this way but has not yet reached nirvana. What is meant by the stage of ‘arid wisdom’? What are the forty-four stages through which the mind must pass in order to reach the goal of spiritual practice? At what stage of mastery does one reach the Ten Grounds? What does it mean to be a Bodhisattva at the stage of ‘Equivalent Enlightenment’?” Having spoken these words, Ānanda bowed to the ground, and everyone in the great assembly gazed up unblinking with respectful admiration as they waited to hear the sound of the Buddha’s compassionate voice.
爾時，世尊讚阿難言：「善哉，善哉！汝等乃能普為大眾及諸末世一切眾生修三摩提求大乘者，從於凡夫終大涅槃，懸示無上正修行路。汝今諦聽，當為汝說。」阿難大眾合掌刳心，默然受教。
Thereupon, the World-Honored One praised Ānanda, saying, “Excellent! Excellent! On behalf of all in this great assembly and on behalf of all beings who practice samādhi in the time of the Dharma’s ending as they seek to advance in accord with the Great Vehicle, you and others have asked me to point out the supreme right path of self-cultivation that will lead them from their mundane state to the great nirvana. You should listen carefully to what I say to you.” Ānanda and the others in the great assembly placed their palms together and let their minds become empty as they waited in silence to receive the teaching.
佛言：「阿難！當知妙性圓明離諸名相，本來無有世界眾生，因妄有生因生有滅，生滅名妄滅妄名真，是稱如來無上菩提及大涅槃二轉依號。阿難！汝今欲修真三摩地，直詣如來大涅槃者，先當識此眾生世界二顛倒因，顛倒不生斯則如來真三摩地。
The Buddha said, “Ānanda! You should know, the wondrous enlightened nature is endowed with perfect understanding. It is apart from all names and characteristics, and in it, at the fundamental level, there are no worlds and no beings. It is because of delusion that there is coming into being, and because there is coming into being, there is ceasing to be. Arising and ceasing is called delusion. The ceasing of delusion is called Truth. This turning back from duality to reality is called the supreme awakening. It is also called the great nirvana of the Thus Come Ones. Ānanda! You now wish to practice the true samādhi and to realize the great nirvana of the Thus-Come Ones. You should begin by understanding the causes for two inverted views (viparyaya), that is, beings and worlds [in which beings exist]. When these two inversions do not come into being, the true samādhi of the Thus-Come One appears.
「阿難！云何名為眾生顛倒？阿難！由性明心，性明圓故；因明發性，性妄見生。從畢竟無成究竟有，此有所有非因所因，住所住相了無根本，本此無住，建立世界及諸眾生，迷本圓明是生虛妄，妄性無體非有所依。將欲復真，欲真已非真真如性，非真求復宛成非相，非生非住非心非法，展轉發生生力發明，熏以成業同業相感，因有感業相滅相生，由是故有眾生顛倒。
What is the inversion that we call sentient beings? Ānanda! The enlightened nature of the true mind that understands is such that its understanding is perfect and complete. But, from this understanding, another understanding may be created as another entity, and from that other entity, a deluded awareness will come into being. Thus from within the original state which has no attributes whatever, that which has definite attributes comes into being. Neither what comes into being nor what it comes into being from are based on anything, nor are they a basis for anything. Beings and the worlds they dwell in have no foundation, and yet, despite their having no foundation, beings and the worlds come into being. Confusion about the original perfect understanding results in delusion, but this delusion has no essential nature of its own; it is based on nothing. One may wish to return to what is real, but to wish for the real is already a falsification. The true nature of the suchness of reality is not a reality that one can seek to return to. If one were to try to return to it, one would merely experience something that does not have the attributes of reality. Through their mutual interaction, there comes into being what does not really come into being, as well as what does not really abide, what is not really the mind, and what are not really phenomena. From the force of their coming into being, an understanding is created, and its influence leads to activity subject to karma. Similar karma mutually attracts, and because of the karma of this mutual attraction, there is a coming into being and then a ceasing to be. This is the reason for the inversion of sentient beings.”
「阿難！云何名為世界顛倒？是有所有分段妄生，因此界立；非因所因無住所住遷流不住，因此世成。三世四方和合相涉，變化眾生成十二類，是故世界因動有聲、因聲有色、因色有香、因香有觸、因觸有味、因味知法，六亂妄想成業性故，十二區分由此輪轉，是故世間聲香味觸，窮十二變為一旋復；乘此輪轉顛倒相故，是有世界卵生、胎生、濕生、化生，有色無色，有想無想，若非有色若非無色，若非有想若非無想。
“Ānanda! What is the inversion that we call worlds? Because of the existence of the mind and of what the mind observes, there arises the unreal phenomenon of beings divided into individual bodies, and from this, boundaries are established. Yet these bodies and their boundaries are neither based on anything nor a basis for anything. There is no abiding nor any place of abiding; there is only a constant and unending flux. The three periods of time and the four directions of the worlds intersect and combine, and in this way, beings are transformed into any one of twelve classes. Thus in this world, because there is movement, there are sounds, and because there are sounds, there are visible objects. Because there are visible objects, there are odors. Because there are odors, there are objects of touch. Because there are objects of touch, there are flavors. Because there are flavors, there are objects of cognition. Because of the karma created by these six kinds of disordered mental activity, the twelve classes of beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth. Therefore, because of the visible objects, sounds, odors, flavors, objects of touch, and objects of cognition in this world, beings may be born in succession through the twelve classes, thus making a complete sequence. Beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth, and according to their various distorted attributes, they may be born into this world from an egg, or from a womb, or in the presence of moisture, or via metamorphosis. Some beings are born with bodies that they may or may not make visible, while others may be born without physical form. Some beings are born capable of cognition but lacking a physical body; others are born with their cognitive function inactive. Some beings have physical forms that are not self-sufficient, and others sometimes lack and sometimes do not lack physical form. Still other beings sometimes lack and sometimes do not lack perception.
The Twelve Classes of Beings
「阿難！由因世界虛妄輪迴動顛倒故，和合氣成八萬四千飛沈亂想。如是，故有卵羯邏藍流轉國土，魚鳥龜蛇其類充塞。
“Ānanda, beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in this world as a result of illusion, which arises from inverted mental activity. That mental activity combines with vital energies to create eighty-four thousand kinds of disordered predilections for flying or for being submerged. The result is the fetal stage of beings who are born from eggs. These become the fish, birds, turtles, and snakes, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界雜染輪迴欲顛倒故，和合滋成八萬四千橫竪亂想。如是，故有胎遏蒱曇流轉國土，人畜龍仙其類充塞。
“Beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in this world as a result of defilement, which arises from inverted desires. Those desires combine with procreative substances to create eighty-four thousand kinds of disordered predilections for standing upright or on four legs. The result is the fetal stage of beings who are born from wombs. These become the humans, beasts, nagas, and ascetic masters, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界執著輪迴趣顛倒故，和合軟成八萬四千飜覆亂想。如是，故有濕相蔽尸流轉國土，含蠢蠕動其類充塞。
“Beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in this world as a result of attachments that arise from distorted inclinations. Those inclinations combine with warmth to create eighty-four thousand kinds of distorted predilections for fluttering motion. The result is the fetal stage of beings who will be born in the presence of moisture. These are the dull-witted beings who creep or swim, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界變易輪迴假顛倒故，和合觸成八萬四千新故亂想。如是，故有化相羯南流轉國土，轉蛻飛行其類充塞。
“Beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in this world as a result of transformations, which arise from the inverted desire to assume another form. This desire to assume another form, upon contact with another being’s physical nature, combines to create eighty-four thousand kinds of distorted predilections for exchanging the old for the new. The result is the fetal stages of beings that are born by metamorphosis. These are the creatures that fly or crawl, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界留礙輪迴障顛倒故，和合著成八萬四千精耀亂想。如是，故有色相羯南流轉國土，休咎精明其類充塞。
“Beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in this world as a result of stagnation, which arises from inversion due to hindrance. This hindrance, combining with an attachment to display, produces eighty-four thousand kinds of distorted predilections for glittering and shining. The result is the development of beings who may or may not make their bodies visible. These are the bioluminescent beings of either an auspicious or an inauspicious nature, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界銷散輪迴惑顛倒故，和合暗成八萬四千陰隱亂想。如是，故有無色羯南流轉國土，空散銷沈其類充塞。
“Beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in this world as a result of dispersion, which arises from inversion due to doubt. That doubt combines with darkness to create eighty-four thousand kinds of distorted predilections to avoid visible form. The result is the development of beings who have no physical form. These are the beings who abide in boundless space, or in boundless consciousness, or in infinite nothingness, or at the highest point where perception is and yet is not absent, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界罔象輪迴影顛倒故，和合憶成八萬四千潛結亂想。如是，故有想相羯南流轉國土，神鬼精靈其類充塞。
“Beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in this world as a result of deceptive imaginings, which arise from distortions due to shadowy images. Those shadowy images combine with memories to produce eighty-four thousand kinds of predilections for attachment to seclusion and obscurity. The result is the development of beings who are capable of cognition but lack a physical body. These are spirits, ghosts, and phantoms, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界愚鈍輪迴癡顛倒故，和合頑成八萬四千枯槁亂想。如是，故有無想羯南流轉國土，精神化為土木金石其類充塞。
“Beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in this world as a result of dullness, which arises from inversion due to mental insufficiency. That insufficiency combines with obtuseness to produce eighty-four thousand kinds of predilections for the drying up of vitality. The result is the development of beings whose cognitive function is inactive. Their vital spirits come to inhabit earth, wood, metal, or stone, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界相待輪迴偽顛倒故，和合染成八萬四千因依亂想。如是，故有非有色相成色羯南流轉國土，諸水母等以蝦為目其類充塞。
“Beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in this world as a result of mutual dependency, which arises from inversions due to the assumption of false identities. These false identities combine with impure influences to produce eighty-four thousand kinds of predilection for symbiosis. The result is the development of beings whose physical forms are not self-sufficient. These include various kinds of beings, such as sea anemones which rely on shrimp in order to see, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界相引輪迴性顛倒故，和合呪成八萬四千呼召亂想。由是，故有非無色相無色羯南流轉國土，呪咀厭生其類充塞。
“Beings are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in this world as a result of an interaction, which arises with the invoking of beings whose fundamental natures are inverted. These invocations combine with the utterance of mantras or spells to produce eighty-four thousand kinds of predilections for being summoned. The result is the development of beings who sometimes lack and sometimes do not lack a physical form. These are the beings who are commanded by mantras, spells, and curses, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界合妄輪迴罔顛倒故，和合異成八萬四千迴互亂想。如是，故有非有想相成想羯南流轉國土，彼蒱盧等異質相成其類充塞。
“Beings are bound to revolving in the cycle of death and rebirth in this world may come about from a false commonality, which arises from inversions due to deception. This deception combines with what is different to produce eighty-four thousand kinds of predilections for making substitutions. The result is the development of beings whose understanding has a deficiency. These are such beings as the potter wasps and other creatures whose bodies develop among those of a different species, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
「由因世界怨害輪迴殺顛倒故，和合怪成八萬四千食父母想。如是，故有非無想相無想羯南流轉國土，如土梟等附塊為兒，及破鏡鳥以毒樹果抱為其子，子成，父母皆遭其食，其類充塞。是名眾生十二種類。」
“Beings are bound to revolving in a cycle of death and rebirth in this world may come about from malice, which arises from inversion due to killing. This killing combines with monstrousness to produce eighty-four thousand kinds of thoughts of devouring one’s parents. The result is the development of beings which sometimes lack and sometimes do not lack a cognitive capacity. These are such beings as owls whose young are hatched on the ground and mirror-smashing birds that lay their eggs in a toxic fruit. These offspring then feed upon their parents, in their multitude, spread throughout the world.”
“These are the twelve classes of beings.”
Three Steps to Purification
「阿難！如是眾生一一類中，亦各各具十二顛倒；猶如揑目亂花發生，顛倒妙圓真淨明心，具足如斯虛妄亂想。汝今修證佛三摩提，於是本因元所亂想，立三漸次方得除滅；如淨器中除去毒蜜，以諸湯水并雜灰香洗滌其器，後貯甘露。云何名為三種漸次？一者修習，除其助因；二者真修，刳其正性；三者增進，違其現業。
“Ānanda! All twelve of these classes of beings are each affected by all twelve of these inversions. Like the disordered and elaborate images that appear when pressure is exerted upon the eye, these distortions completely obscure the wondrous, perfect, pure, true, and understanding mind with deluded and disordered mental activity. Now, however, you wish to practice and to master the samādhi of the Buddhas. You should take three gradual steps in order to eradicate the fundamental factors that are the source of this disordered mental activity. Taking these steps will be like cleaning a pot that has held poisonous honey by scouring it with hot water mixed with the ashes of burnt incense. Once the pot has been cleaned in this way, it may be used to store even a celestial ambrosia. What are the three steps? The first is practice, which eliminates contributing factors. The second is ‘true cultivation’, which ends violation of the correct nature. The third is progress, turning away from manifest karma.”
「云何助因？阿難！如是世界十二類生，不能自全依四食住，所謂段食、觸食、思食、識食，是故佛說一切眾生皆依食住。阿難！一切眾生食甘故生，食毒故死。是諸眾生求三摩提，當斷世間五種辛菜，是五種辛，熟食發婬，生啖增恚，如是世界食辛之人，縱能宣說十二部經，十方天仙嫌其臭穢咸皆遠離，諸餓鬼等因彼食次，舐其唇吻常與鬼住，福德日銷長無利益。是食辛人修三摩地，菩薩、天仙、十方善神不來守護，大力魔王得其方便，現作佛身來為說法，非毀禁戒讚婬怒癡，命終自為魔王眷屬，受魔福盡墮無間獄。阿難！修菩提者永斷五辛，是則名為第一增進修行漸次。
“What are the contributing factors? Ānanda! Consider it this way: the twelve classes of beings of this world cannot sustain themselves without some kind of nutriment, which may be taken in one of four ways: by mouth, by touch, by thought, or by consciousness. That is why the Buddha says that all beings take nutriment in order to sustain themselves. All beings must take food nutriment to live. Ānanda! And if they consume a toxic substance, they may die. Beings who seek to enter samādhi must refrain from eating the five plants of the onion group. When eaten cooked, these plants arouse sexual desire; when eaten raw, they increase anger. Gods and ascetic masters of the ten directions keep their distance from anyone who eats these plants, because the plants cause people to stink, including even people who can expound upon the twelve types of discourse spoken by the Buddha. Hungry ghosts, meanwhile, will come to lick and kiss the lips of people who have eaten these plants. Such people will always be accompanied by ghosts, and their blessings will lessen day by day. They will experience no lasting benefit. When people who eat the plants of the onion group practice samādhi, the Bodhisattvas, gods, ascetic masters, and wholesome spirits of the ten directions will not come to protect them. Mara-kings of great power, however, will seize the opportunity to appear before these people in the form of a Buddha and will pretend to speak Dharma to them. These Maras will denounce the precepts and will praise sexual desire, anger, and delusion. Such people, at the end of their lives, will inevitably join the retinues of demon-kings. Once they have exhausted the blessings that they may enjoy as demons, they will fall into the Unrelenting Hell. Ānanda, those who practice in pursuit of full awakening must forever refrain from eating the five plants of the onion group. This is the first step they should take in their practice in order to make progress on the Path.
「云何正性？阿難！如是眾生入三摩地，要先嚴持清淨戒律，永斷婬心不飡酒肉，以火淨食無啖生氣。阿難！是修行人，若不斷婬及與殺生，出三界者無有是處。常觀婬欲猶如毒蛇、如見怨賊，先持聲聞四棄八棄執身不動，後行菩薩清淨律儀執心不起，禁戒成就，則於世間永無相生相殺之業，偷劫不行無相負累，亦於世間不還宿債。是清淨人修三摩地，父母肉身不須天眼，自然觀見十方世界，覩佛聞法親奉聖旨，得大神通遊十方界，宿命清淨得無艱嶮。是則名為第二增進修行漸次。
“What is meant by the ‘correct nature’? Ānanda! Beings who wish to enter samādhi must strictly observe the pure precepts. They must rid themselves of sexual desire once and for all. They must not consume alcohol or meat. They may eat raw food only when it has been made allowable after it has been exposed to fire, to ensure the plant’s vital energies are not consumed for nourishment. Ānanda! If people who practice do not put an end to their sexual desire and do not refrain from taking life, it will be impossible for them to transcend the three realms. They should look upon sexual desire as upon a venomous snake or a vengeful thief. They should gain control of their bodies by observing the four prohibitions or the eight prohibitions, and they should follow the Bodhisattvas’ regulations concerning purity so that thoughts of desire will not arise in their minds. People of this world who are accomplished in following the precepts will be free forever of the mutual karma that arises when one kills in this life and so is killed in turn in a subsequent life. Further, people of this world who do not steal from one another will never become indebted to one another; they will incur no debts from the past. When such pure people practice samādhi, they will very naturally be able to see the worlds of the ten directions while remaining in their bodies born of their parents and without needing the Divine Eye. They will see the Buddhas and hear the Dharma, and they will respectfully receive the sages’ instructions in person. They will gain great spiritual powers, they will be able to roam playfully throughout the ten directions, and they will have clear knowledge of past lives. They will never encounter danger or difficulty. That is the second step they should take in their practice, in order to make progress on the Path.”
「云何現業？阿難！如是清淨持禁戒人心無貪婬，於外六塵不多流逸，因不流逸旋元自歸，塵既不緣根無所偶，反流全一六用不行，十方國土皎然清淨，譬如琉璃內懸明月。身心快然妙圓平等獲大安隱，一切如來密圓淨妙皆現其中，是人即獲無生法忍。從是漸修，隨所發行安立聖位，是則名為第三增進修行漸次。
“What is meant by ‘intentional engagement with perceived objects,’? Ānanda! People who practice in this way — who observe the prohibitory precepts with purity and who have no sexual desire — allow themselves few outflows in response to the six kinds of perceived objects. Because their outflows are few, these people are able to redirect the attention of their faculties inward to the faculties’ source. Since their faculties are no longer paying attention to objects of perception, the faculties and objects are no longer paired. Once the attention has been redirected inward, the faculties become one and cease to function in six separate ways. Then the lands throughout the Ten Directions will be as pure and as transparent as a bright moon appearing within a crystal. In their bodies and minds they will experience bliss, wondrous perfection, and their essential equality with all beings and all things. They will know peace and great tranquility. In their midst all the Thus-Come Ones will appear — mysterious, perfect, pure, and wondrous. These people will soon develop patience with the state of mind in which no mental objects arise. Because they take these steps in their practice, they will, as a result of their practice, abide peacefully in the succession of stages on the path to become sages. That is the third step one should take in one’s practice in order to make progress on the Path.”
Eleven States of Mind
「阿難！是善男子欲愛乾枯根境不偶，現前殘質不復續生，執心虛明純是智慧，慧性明圓瑩十方界，乾有其慧名乾慧地。欲習初乾未與如來法流水接，即以此心中中流入圓妙開敷，從真妙圓重發真妙，妙信常住，一切妄想滅盡無餘，中道純真名信心住。真信明了一切圓通，陰處界三不能為礙，如是乃至過去未來無數劫中捨身受身，一切習氣皆現在前，是善男子皆能憶念，得無遺忘名念心住。妙圓純真真精發化，無始習氣通一精明，唯以精明進趣真淨名精進心，心精現前純以智慧名慧心住。執持智明周遍寂湛，寂妙常凝，名定心住。定光發明明性深入，唯進無退，名不退心。心進安然保持不失，十方如來氣分交接，名護法心。覺明保持，能以妙力迴佛慈光向佛安住，猶如雙鏡光明相對，其中妙影重重相入，名迴向心。心光密迴，獲佛常凝無上妙淨，安住無為得無遺失，名戒心住。住戒自在能遊十方，所去隨願，名願心住。
“Ānanda! When in good people emotional love and desire have dried up and their sense-faculties are no longer paired with sense-objects, their remaining habitual tendencies no longer arise. Their attachments are emptied out, and their minds are clear. What is left is pure wisdom, whose brilliant and perfect nature shines throughout the worlds of the ten directions. This pure wisdom exists because their desires have dried up, and so this stage is called 1. ‘Arid Wisdom.’ Although their habits of desire have now dried up, they have not yet entered the stream of the Thus-Come Ones’ Dharma. When these people have reached the very essence of that stage, they enter the stream of the Middle Way, where a wondrous perfection opens out before them. From this true and wondrous perfection, yet another true and wondrous perfection appears, and they experience a wondrous and unshakable confidence. All their deluded acts of mind are ended, and the Middle Way remains as the only truth. This stage of stabilizing the mind is called 2. ‘Confidence.’ This true confidence brings about complete clarity so that all is fully understood, and the aggregates, the sites, and the constituent elements can no longer be a hindrance. These people are now able to see before them all the habits they cherished during their successive lives throughout countless kalpas in the past; they can even tell what habits they should expect to have in the future. These good people, then, can remember all their habits, forgetting none. This stage of stabilizing the mind is called 3. ‘Recollection.’ When only the true and wondrous perfection remains, the essence of this true perfection begins to transform these people’s habits, which have accumulated over time without beginning, into a single essential clarity. By means of this essential clarity, these people advance into a true state of purity. This stage of stabilizing the mind is called 4. ‘Advancement by Means of Essential Clarity.’ As this essential clarity becomes more and more present to them, their minds function by means of wisdom alone. This stage of stabilizing the mind is called 5. ‘The Mind Residing in Functioning with Wisdom.’ As they become steadfast in this wisdom and its light, their minds extend everywhere in clarity and stillness — a stillness that is wondrously constant and unchanging. This stage of stabilizing the mind is called 6. ‘Abiding in Samādhi.’ As this samādhi becomes more luminous, their wisdom grows, and with this wisdom they enter yet more deeply into samādhi so that they only advance; they never retreat. This stage of stabilizing the mind is called 7. ‘Nonregressing.’ As they advance in this state of mind, they are ever more tranquil. They cherish this state and do not let go of it, and they become connected with the energy of the Thus-Come Ones of the ten directions. This stage of stabilizing the mind is called 8. ‘Protecting the Dharma.’ As they successfully protect their enlightened understanding, they use its wondrous power to become able to redirect the light of the Buddhas’ compassion inward to the Buddhas’ tranquil abode. It is as if light were being reflected between two mirrors and as if wondrous images of light were appearing in the mirrors in an infinite regress. This stage of stabilizing the mind is called 9. ‘Transference.’ As the light of their minds is thus mysteriously reflecting, they attain the steadfastness and the unsurpassed wondrous purity of the Buddhas. They abide in the unconditioned and will no longer lose ground. This stage of stabilizing the mind is called 10. ‘Steadfastness in Precepts.’ Having mastered this steadfastness in precepts, they are able to roam playfully throughout the ten directions, going wherever they wish. This stage of stabilizing the mind is called 11. ‘Accomplishing What One Wishes.’
Ten Abodes
「阿難！是善男子以真方便發此十心，心精發揮十用涉入，圓成一心，名發心住。心中發明如淨瑠璃，內現精金，以前妙心履以成地，名治地住。心地涉知俱得明了，遊履十方得無留礙，名修行住。行與佛同受佛氣分，如中陰身自求父母，陰信冥通入如來種，名生貴住。既遊道胎親奉覺胤，如胎已成人相不缺，名方便具足住。容貌如佛心相亦同，名正心住。身心合成日益增長，名不退住。十身靈相一時具足，名童真住。形成出胎親為佛子，名法王子住。表以成人如國大王，以諸國事分委太子，彼剎利王世子長成陳列灌頂，名灌頂住。
“Ānanda! These good people have entered these ten states of mind with true upaya, and their minds’ essence is radiant. The functions of these ten states of mind are now completely integrated. This stage is called 1. ‘The Abode of the Resolved Mind.’ From within that state of mind, light shines forth like pure gold appearing from within a flawless crystal, and these good people rely upon that wondrous state of mind just described to discipline themselves as if they were leveling a piece of ground. This stage is called 2. ‘The Abode of Leveled Ground.’ On this level ground of the mind, their wisdom is integrated so that they attain a luminous understanding. Their travels throughout the ten directions are now without hindrance or obstruction. This stage is called 3. ‘The Abode of Practice on the Path.’ They walk the Buddhas’ Path and share in the Buddhas’ energy, and so — just as beings who seek new parents while in the passage between death and rebirth connect with their new parents without the parents’ being aware of it — so these good people, as if at the moment of conception, enter into the Thus-Come One’s family. This stage is called 4. ‘The Abode of Noble Birth.’ They have now entered the Thus-Come One’s family, so they inherit the attributes of the Awakened Ones, just as every human feature is already fully evident in the unborn child. This stage is called 5. ‘The Abode of Full Development of Expedient Attributes.’ Their outward appearance is like a Buddha’s outward appearance, and their minds share the attributes of the Buddha’s mind. This stage is called 6. ‘The Abode of the Right State of Mind.’ Mentally and physically resembling the Buddha, they grow day by day. This stage is called 7. ‘The Abode of Irreversible Development.’ Their ability to have their bodies appear in ten forms — each form endowed with spiritually efficacious attributes — comes to fullness at the same time. This stage is called 8. ‘The Abode of Childlike Purity.’ Once they are fully formed, they come forth from the womb as the Buddha’s children. This stage is called 9. ‘The Abode of the Dharma Prince.’ Having grown to adulthood, they are like a crown prince who has come of age. To him the king entrusts the affairs of state, and he is anointed as the Kśatriya lord’s royal heir. This stage is called 10. ‘The Abode of Anointment.’”
Ten Practices
「阿難！是善男子成佛子已，具足無量如來妙德，十方隨順，名歡喜行。善能利益一切眾生，名饒益行。自覺覺他得無違拒，名無嗔恨行。種類出生窮未來際，三世平等十方通達，名無盡行。一切合同，種種法門得無差誤，名離癡亂行。則於同中顯現群異，一一異相各各見同，名善現行。如是乃至十方虛空滿足微塵，一一塵中現十方界，現塵現界不相留礙，名無著行。種種現前咸是第一波羅蜜多，名尊重行。如是圓融能成十方諸佛軌則，名善法行。一一皆是清淨無漏，一真無為性本然故，名真實行。
“Ānanda! These good people, having become children of the Buddha, are fully endowed with the immeasurable and wondrous virtues of the Thus-Come Ones. They respond to the needs of all beings throughout the ten directions. They are at the stage called 1. ‘The Practice of Extreme Joy.’ They become skillful in doing good deeds for all beings. This stage is called 2. ‘The Practice of Beneficial Deeds.’ In the process of awakening themselves and awakening others, they become skillful in not opposing and not resisting. This stage is called 3. ‘The Practice of Freedom from Resentment.’ Unto the farthest reaches of the future, they undergo rebirth freely and equally among the various kinds of beings in the three periods of time throughout the ten directions. This stage is called 4. ‘The Practice of Inexhaustibility. For them the various ways of practice merge into a single practice, and in these practices they are beyond error. This stage is called 5. ‘The Practice of Departing from Ignorance and Delusion.’ Within what is identical, many different attributes appear, and these good people perceive the identity that exists among all these different attributes. This stage is called 6. ‘The Practice of Skill with Regard to What Manifests.’ In the same way, these good people perceive that all the worlds in the ten directions appear in each and every mote of dust throughout space in the ten directions without any mutual interference. This stage is called7. ‘The Practice of Nonattachment.’ They look upon each of these states of mind as the foremost among the perfections. This stage is called 8. ‘The Practice That Is Worthy of Veneration.’ When these good people perceive that all is perfectly interfused in this way, they are able to conform perfectly to the rules and regulations of all the Buddhas throughout all ten directions. 9. This stage is called ‘The Practice of Skill in the Dharma.’ Each and every one of these practices, in its fundamental nature, is pure and without outflows, such that all are a single unconditioned truth. This stage is called 10. ‘The Practice of Truth.’
Ten Transferences [of Merit]
「阿難！是善男子滿足神通成佛事已，純潔精真遠諸留患，當度眾生滅除度相，迴無為心向涅槃路，名救護一切眾生離眾生相迴向。壞其可壞遠離諸離，名不壞迴向。本覺湛然覺齊佛覺，名等一切佛迴向。精真發明地如佛地，名至一切處迴向。世界如來互相涉入得無罣礙，名無盡功德藏迴向。於同佛地，地中各各生清淨因，依因發揮取涅槃道，名隨順平等善根迴向。真根既成，十方眾生皆我本性，性圓成就不失眾生，名隨順等觀一切眾生迴向。即一切法離一切相，唯即與離二無所著，名如相迴向。真得所如十方無礙，名無縛解脫迴向。性德圓成法界量滅，名法界無量迴向。
“Ānanda! Now that these good people have gained full spiritual powers and have gained proficiency in doing the work of the Buddhas, they are entirely pure and true, and they are far from all hindrance and misfortune. They will now be able to rescue beings, and yet they have relinquished all attachment to their rescuing of beings. In rescuing them, they turn from the mental state that is apart from conditions towards the path that leads to nirvana. This is the stage called ‘Transferring to the Rescue of Beings while Remaining Unattached [to Sentient Beings].’ They abandon what should be abandoned and leave behind what should be left behind. This stage is called ‘Indestructible Transference.’ Their inherent enlightenment, deep and clear, is equivalent to the enlightenment of the Buddhas. This stage is called ‘Transference Equal to All Buddhas.’ When the essential truth is fully revealed, these good people stand on the same ground as the Buddhas. This stage is called ‘Transference Reaching All Places.’ Having entered worlds and having become identical with the Thus-Come Ones, they now experience both of these as merged together without a hindrance. This stage is called ‘Transferring One’s Inexhaustible Treasury of Merit.’ These good people have the same grounding in reality as the Buddhas have, and so at every stage along the path, they generate pure intentions. By means of these pure intentions, they radiate light, and they do not stray from the path to nirvana. This stage is called ‘Transferring One’s Roots of Goodness That Are Grounded in the Same Reality as the Buddhas.’ Since their roots of goodness have now been grounded in reality, they each make this contemplation: ‘All beings in the ten directions have the same fundamental nature that I have, and now that my nature is fully realized, I know that no being is excluded from it.’ This stage is called ‘Transferring the Contemplation of One’s Identity with All Beings.’ While experiencing oneness with all phenomena, they are nevertheless apart from the attributes of phenomena. Further, they are without attachment either to oneness with phenomena or to separateness from them. This stage is called ‘Transferring the Suchness of Reality within All Phenomena. When they have truly reached the suchness of reality, they meet no obstacles anywhere throughout the ten directions. This stage is called ‘Transferring on Behalf of Liberation from All Bonds.’ When they have fully realized the virtue of their true nature, all limits to the Dharmadhatu are eradicated. This stage is called ‘Transferring the Boundlessness of the Dharmadhatu.’”
Four Wonderous Practices
「阿難！是善男子盡是清淨四十一心，次成四種妙圓加行。即以佛覺用為己心，若出未出，猶如鑽火欲然其木，名為煖地。又以己心成佛所履，若依非依如登高山，身入虛空下有微礙，名為頂地。心佛二同善得中道，如忍事人非懷非出，名為忍地。數量銷滅，迷覺中道二無所目，名世第一地。
“Ānanda! When in each of these forty-one stages these good people have completely purified their minds, they next master four wondrous and perfect additional practices. First, they are on the brink of being able to model their minds on the Buddha’s enlightenment. They are like a piece of wood smoldering when it is drilled. This is called ‘The Stage of Heating Up.’ Next, in that their minds are about to complete the journey that the Buddhas have made, they are as if on the point of no longer being bound by the earth. They are like a person standing on a mountain summit, with his body in the air and hardly any solid ground beneath his feet. This is called ‘The Stage of Standing at the Peak.’ Their minds and the minds of the Buddhas had been separate, but now they have become one. They gain true understanding of the Middle Way. They are like someone who endures something that cannot be repressed and yet cannot be expressed. This is called ‘The Stage of Patience.’ When all delineations have melted away, these good people no longer distinguish between confusion and enlightenment and the Middle Way. This is called ‘The Foremost Stage in the World.’”
Ten Bhumi (Stages)
「阿難！是善男子於大菩提善得通達，覺通如來盡佛境界，名歡喜地。異性入同同性亦滅，名離垢地。淨極明生，名發光地。明極覺滿，名焰慧地。一切同異所不能至，名難勝地。無為真如性淨明露，名現前地。盡真如際，名遠行地。一真如心，名不動地。發真如用，名善慧地。
“Ānanda! These good people have fully understood the Great Enlightenment, and their awakening is much the same as the Thus-Come Ones. They have fathomed the state of the Buddha’s mind. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Happiness.’ The different natures become identical, and that identity itself disappears. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Freedom from Defilement.’ At the point of ultimate purity, bright light appears. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Shining Light.’ At the point of ultimate luminosity, there is full awakening. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Wisdom Blazing Forth.’ All the previous grounds of identity and difference are now surpassed. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Being Hard to Surpass.’ The pure nature of the unconditioned suchness of reality now becomes clearly manifest. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Manifestation.’ They reach the very boundaries of the suchness of reality. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Traveling Far.’ Everything is the true mind, the suchness of reality. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Immovability.’ They now skillfully reveal the functioning of the suchness of reality. This stage is called ‘The Ground of Using Wisdom Skillfully.’
「阿難！是諸菩薩從此已往，修習畢功功德圓滿，亦目此地名修習位，慈陰妙雲覆涅槃海，名法雲地。如來逆流，如是菩薩順行而至覺際入交，名為等覺。
“Ānanda! These Bodhisattvas’ practices and merit have already been perfected. Therefore this ground may also be called ‘The Stage at Which Practice is Perfected.’ The wondrous cloud of compassion covers the sea of nirvana with its shade. This stage is called ‘The Ground of the Dharma-Cloud.’ When Thus-Come Ones reverse their direction and the Bodhisattvas advance towards them along the path of practice, they meet at the threshold of the Buddha’s enlightenment. This stage is called the ‘Equivalent Enlightenment.’”
「阿難！從乾慧心至等覺已，是覺始獲金剛心中初乾慧地，如是重重單複十二，方盡妙覺成無上道，是種種地皆以金剛觀察如幻十種深喻，奢摩他中用諸如來毘婆舍那，清淨修證漸次深入。阿難！如是皆以三增進故，善能成就五十五位真菩提路，作是觀者名為正觀；若他觀者名為邪觀。」
“Ānanda! They have progressed from the stage of Arid Wisdom to the stage of Equivalent Enlightenment. Their ground of awakening is the wisdom that results from the drying up of ignorance within the Vajra-mind. Thus, having passed through these various stages — twelve stages in all, some counted singly, some in groups — they reach at last the stage of Wondrous Awakening, which is the unsurpassed enlightenment. At each of these stages, with their Vajra-mind, they have used ten profound analogies to make the contemplation that all is an illusion. They have stopped the flow of deluded thoughts in their minds, and by means of the Thus-Come Ones’ contemplative insight, they have advanced step by step as they bring their pure practice to fulfillment. Ānanda! Because they have taken the three gradual steps, these people are fully capable of reaching each of the fifty-five stages along the true path to full awakening. The contemplations that have been described here are the right contemplations; all other contemplations are mistaken.”