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ALL this equipment the Sage has ordained for the sake of wisdom; so he that seeks to still sorrow must get him wisdom. We deem that there are two verities, the Veiled Truth and the Transcendent Reality. The Reality is beyond the range of the understanding; the understanding is called Veiled Truth.... Thus there is never either cessation or existence; the universe neither comes to be nor halts in being. Life's courses, if thou considerest them, are like dreams and as the plantain's branches; in reality there is no distinction between those that are at rest and those that are not at rest. Since then the forms of being are empty, what can be gained, and what lost? who can be honoured or despised, and by whom? Whence should come joy or sorrow? What is sweet, what bitter? What is desire, and where shall this desire in verity be sought? If thou considerest the world of living things, who shall die therein? who shall be born, who is born? who is a kinsman and who a friend, and to whom? Would that my fellow-creatures should understand that all is as the void! They are angered and delighted by their matters of strife and rejoicing; with grief and labour, with despair, with rending and stabbing one another, they wearily pass their days in sin as they seek their own pleasure; they die and fall into hells of long and bitter anguish; they return again and again to happy births after births and grow wonted to joy.... In life are oceans of sorrow, fierce and boundless beyond compare, a scant measure of power, a brief term of years; our years are spent in vain strivings for existence and health, in hunger, faintness, and labour, in sleep, in vexation, in fruitless commerce with fools, and discernment is hard to win; how shall we come to restrain the spirit from its wont of wandering? There, too, the Spirit of Desire is labouring to cast us into deep hells; there evil paths abound, and unbelief can scarce be overcome; it is hard to win j, a brief return, exceeding hard for the Enlightened « to arise to us; the torrent of passion can scarce be stayed. Alas, how sorrow follows on sorrow! Alas, how lamentable is the estate of them that are borne down in the floods of affliction, and in their sore distress see not how sad their plight is, like one who should again and again come forth from the waters of his bath and cast himself into fire, and so in their sore trouble deem themselves to be in happy estate! As thus they live in sport that knows not of age and dissolution, dire afflictions will come upon them, with Death in their forefront. Then when will the day come when I may bring peace to them that are tortured in the fire of sorrow by my ministrations of sweetness born from the rain-clouds of my righteousness, and when I may reverently declare to the souls who imagine a real world that all is void, and righteousness is gathered by looking beyond the Veiled Truth?

(26) This sick Bodhisattva receives sense-impressions as if he did not. Not being endowed yet with the Buddha’s law he does not exterminate sensations to attain to the state of enlightenment. If he suffers he should cherish the great compassion comparing himself with those who are in the unhappy [states of] existence. [And he should dwell upon such a thought as this:] Having conquered myself I will cause all beings to conquer themselves. He ought only to remove his disease but not things themselves. In order to exterminate the origin of disease it should be taught [thus]: What is the origin of disease? It is bondage. Where there is bondage there is disease. By what is it bound? It is bound by the three states of existence. How is it exterminated? It is exterminated by [the thought of] nothing to obtain. Where there is nothing to obtain there is no bondage. What is [the meaning of] nothing to obtain? It is to be free from the two [opposing] heresies. They are [false ideas] of both things within and things without; they are nothing.

(20) O Ananda there are the four evils, the eighty-four thousand ways of passion which all beings suffer from; yet Buddhas perform religious works even with these. This is said to enter the doctrine of all the Buddhas.

(4) Let me not despair that the Enlightenment will come to me; for the Blessed One, the speaker of truth, has revealed this truth, that they who by force of striving have gained hard-won supreme Enlightenment have been erstwhile gnats, gadflies, flies, and worms. Now I am a man by birth, able to know good and evil: why shall I not win the Enlightenment by following the rule of the All-knowing? If I am afraid when I think that I must give my hand or foot, it is because in my heedlessness I confound things of great and of small weight. I may be cleft, pierced, burnt, split open many and many a time for countless millions of aeons, and never win the Enlightenment. But this pain that wins me the Enlightenment is of brief term; it is like the pain of cutting out a buried arrow to heal its smart. All physicians restore health by painful courses; then to undo much suffering let us bear a little. But even this fitting course the Great Physician has not enjoined upon us; he heals them that are grievously sick by tender treatment. At first our Lord ordains gifts only of herbs and the like, and then in due course brings men at last to surrender even their own flesh. When there comes to man the spirit that looks upon his flesh as no more than herbs, what hardship is it for him to surrender his flesh and bone? He is not hurt, for he has cast off sin, nor sad, for knowledge is his; for distress comes in the mind from false imaginations, and in the body from sin. The body is made happy by righteous works, the spirit by knowledge; what can vex the compassionate one who remains in embodied life only for the welfare of others? Annulling his former sins, amassing oceans of righteousness, by the power of his Thought of Enlightenment he travels more swiftly than the Disciples. Having thus in the Thought of Enlightenment a chariot that removes all vexation and weariness, travelling from happiness to happiness, who that is wise will despair?

(2) 'There is this verse, "He who sees this, does not see death, nor illness, nor pain; he who sees this, sees everything, and obtains everything everywhere. '"He is one (before creation), he becomes three (fire, water, earth), he becomes five, he becomes seven, he becomes nine; then again he is called the eleventh, and hundred and ten and one thousand and twenty ." 'When the intellectual aliment has been purified, the whole nature becomes purified. When the whole nature has been purified, the memory becomes firm. And when the memory (of the Highest Self) remains firm, then all the ties (which bind us to a belief in anything but the Self) are loosened. 'The venerable Sanatkumâra showed to Nârada, after his faults had been rubbed out, the other side of darkness. They call Sanatkumâra Skanda, yea, Skanda they call him.'

(18) And now hear from Me, O lord of the Bharatas, of the threefold pleasure, in which one delights by practice and surely comes to the end of pain.

(4) Ah, when I vowed to deliver all beings within the bounds of space in its ten points from the Passions, I myself had not won deliverance from the Passions. Knowing not my now measure, I spoke like a madman. Then I will never turn back from smiting the Passions. I will grapple with them, will wrathfully make war on them all except the passion that makes for the destruction of the Passions. Though my bowels ooze out and my head fall off, I will nowise abase myself before my foes the Passions. An enemy, though driven away, may establish himself in another spot, whence he may return with gathered powers; but such is not the way of the enemy Passion. Where can this dweller in my spirit go when I cast him out; where can he stand, to labour for my destruction? It is only that I — fool that I am — make no effort; the miserable Passions are to be overcome by the vision of wisdom. The Passions lie not in the objects of sense, nor in the sense-organs, nor between them, nor elsewhere; where do they lie? And yet they disturb the whole world! They are but a phantom. Then cast away thy heart's terror, and labour for wisdom; why shouldst thou vainly torture thyself in hell? Thus resolved, I will strive to fulfil the rule as it has been taught; how should he who needs medicine find healing, if he depart from the physician's command?

(9) O nobly-born, those are called the Lights of the Four Wisdoms United, [whence proceeds that] which is called the Inner Path through Vajra-Sattva.

(1) “By this wisdom shall enlightened disciples be enabled to bring into subjection every inordinate desire! Every species of life, whether hatched in the egg, formed in the womb, evolved from spawn, produced by metamorphosis, with or without form or intelligence, possessing or devoid of natural instinct—from these changeful conditions of being, I command you to seek deliverance, in the transcendental concept of Nirvana. Thus, you shall be delivered from an immeasurable, innumerable, and illimitable world of sentient life; but, in reality, there is no world of sentient life from which to seek deliverance. And why? Because, in the minds of enlightened disciples there have ceased to exist such arbitrary concepts of phenomena as an entity, a being, a living being, or a personality.”

(1) ALL the righteousness, the charity, the worship of the Blessed, that have been wrought in thousands of aeons, are destroyed by ill-will. There is no guilt equal to hatred, no mortification equal to long-suffering; and therefore one should diligently practise patience in divers ways. While the arrow of hate is in the heart, none can have a peaceful mind in equipoise, or feel the joy of kindliness, none can win sleep or calm. They whom a master cursed with an evil spirit honours with wealth and favours, and who dwell under his protection, seek nevertheless to destroy him. Even his friends are in terror of him. His gifts win for him no service. In short, there is no way for a passionate man to find happiness. He who stoutly fights against wrath, the enemy that brings these and other sorrows, wins joy in this world and beyond. Nourished by discontent, hatred grows swollen and destroys me; and discontent springs from doing unpleasing works or^from^the baffling of desire. Then I will cut off the nourishment of my enemy, for this foeman's sole purpose is to slay me. My cheerfulness shall not be disturbed, even by the most untoward events; discontent works no good, and only destroys merit. What profits discontent if there is a remedy; and what profits it if there is none? We shrink from sorrow, defeat, rude speech, and dishonour for ourselves and our friends, and from the opposite of these for our enemy. Happiness is hard to win, pain comes readily; there is no escape from life save by pain; then be firm, 0 my spirit! The Karnatas, the " little children of Durga," suffer the agonies of burning and maiming in a vain hope of salvation; why then shall I be fainthearted? There is nothing which practice cannot make easy; so by practice in slight sufferings we learn to bear great pains. Flies, stinging creatures, gnats, hunger, thirst, and other like pains, fierce itch and other like miseries — lookest thou upon these as profitless? Before cold, heat, rain, wind, travel, sickness, bondage, and blows be not tender and delicate, else thy anguish will increase. Some there are who at the sight of their own blood become exceedingly valorous, and some at sight of others' blood fall into faintness. This comes about through firmness and feebleness of spirit; then he who is unconquerable by pain will overcome suffering. Even in pain the wise man will not let the calm of his spirit be disturbed; for he is at war with the Passions, and in war suffering abounds. They who overcome their foes by presenting their bosoms to the enemy's blows are " victors," " heroes "; the rest are " slayers of the slain."

(2) Vimalakirti spoke : “ O Sariputra, he who seeks the Law never spares either life or body; how much less should he think about seats. He who seeks the Law has no desire either for form or sensation or perception or conformation or consciousness ; also he has no desire either for the twelve organs and objects of sense (Ayatanas') or eighteen elements (Dhatus) ; no desire even either for the world of Kama or the world of Rupa or the world of Arupa. O Sariputra, he who seeks the Law has neither attachment to the Buddha nor to the Law nor to the Order. He who seeks the law never seeks the contemplation of suffering, never seeks the attainment of the cessation of suffering, and never seeks the walking on the path of cessation. And why ? The Law is far above mere talk. If I should say that I see suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path of cessation, it is mere talk and this is not seeking the Law.

(45) To preach how to be delivered from the eight disadvantages is the pure land of the Bodhisattva; when he shall arrive at full enlightenment, there in that land he will find neither the three unhappy regions nor the eight misfortunes.

(14) Again, to practise according to the teaching of all the law, to be in accordance with the twelve chains of causation, to be far above all heresies, to attain to the acquiescence in the eternal law, to be absolutely selfless, to be without personality, yet to be free from dissension, free from discord concerning the law of cause and effect, to be free from ideas of possession, not to depend on words but to depend on meaning, not to depend on knowledge but to depend on wisdom, not to depend on incomplete scriptures but to depend on complete scripture, not to depend on man but to depend on the law, to be in accordance with the nature of things, not to cherish any heretical views, to have no abode, and no refuge, to regard the twelve chains of causation as working in an endless circle thus as follows:—as ignorance is completely annihilated, all component things are completely annihilated, until we come to, as birth is completely annihilated, old age and death are also completely annihilated. This is paying homage to the law, which is superior to all other homages.’ ”

(27) O nobly-born, the special art of these teachings is especially important at this moment: whichever light shineth upon thee now, meditate upon it as being the Compassionate One; from whatever place the light cometh, consider that [place] to be [or to exist in] the Compassionate One. This is an exceedingly profound art; it will prevent birth. Or whosoever thy tutelary deity may be, meditate upon the form for much time — as being apparent yet non-existent in reality, like a form produced by a magician. That is called the pure illusory form. Then let the [visualization of the] tutelary deity melt away from the extremities, till nothing at all remaineth visible of it; and put thyself in the state of the Clearness and the Voidness — which thou canst not conceive as something — and abide in that state for a little while. Again meditate upon the tutelary deity; again meditate upon the Clear Light: do this alternately. Afterwards, allow thine own intellect also to melt away gradually, [beginning] from the extremities.

(45) When experiencing miseries, because of the force of evil karma, Let it come that the Conquerors, the Peaceful and Wrathful, may dispel the miseries; When the self-existing Sound of Reality reverberates [like] a thousand thunders, Let it come that they be transmuted into the sounds of the Mahayana Doctrines.

(2) Again Manjusri asked: “ In what manner does he practise ‘ no-way Vimalakirti replied: “ The Bodhisattva is said to practise the way of Buddha, when he feels no anguish, no anger in the commission of the five grave sins; when he enters hell even without the defilement of sin; when he enters the animal world without errors of ignorance and arrogance, etc.; when he enters the world of hungry ghosts though himself endowed with merits; when he practices such acts as may lead him to heaven either with form or without form though he does not himself consider heaven an excellent abode; when he is free from defilements, while appearing as if practising covetousness; when he is free from impediments of anger, while appearing as if practising anger; when he controls his mind in wisdom, while appearing as if practising ignorance; when he abandons his possessions, both inner and outer, and does not spare even his body nor his life, while appearing as if practising avarice; when he abides in pure morality and trembles with great fear even for a minor misdemeanour, while appearing as if practising trespasses; when he is ever merciful and patient, while appearing as if practising anger; when he is diligent in virtue, while appearing to be slothful; when he is ever abiding in meditation, while appearing to be distracted in mind; when he is in possession of the wisdom both of this world and that of the world beyond, while appearing to be ignorant; when he follows the teaching of the scripture in accordance with the necessary means, while appearing as if practising flattery and hypocrisy; when he is even like a bridge for all beings, while appearing to be arrogant; when he is pure in mind, while appearing to practise passions; when he is obedient to the wisdom of Buddha, never following the doctrines of the heretical teachers while appearing to be with the evil one; when he is preaching for the sake of all beings, the law which has never been heard before while appearing to be with Sravakas; when he is endowed with great compassion and teaches all beings, w’hile appearing to be with Pratyeka-Buddhas; when his hands are jewelled and his virtues are inexhaustible, while appearing to be with poor people; when he is endowed with excellent forms with which he is adorned, while he looks as if defective in the body; when he is endowed with virtues and born in the race of Buddhas, while appearing to be of mean birth; when he is regarded by all beings with pleasure having obtained the body of the Narayana, while appearing to be weak and uncomely; when he eradicated the root of disease and is gone far beyond the fear of death, while appearing to be subject to old age and disease; when he is ever meditating on the transciency of things and is never covetous, though in possession of property; when he is far above the mire of the five senses, though he-possesses wives and children: when he is endowed with eloquence and memory which never fails, while appearing to be slow in speech; when he saves beings and leads them in the right path, while appearing to be in the wrong path; when he has exterminated causes for the evil paths, while manifesting himself everywhere in all those paths; when he has exterminated birth and death, while manifesting Nirvana. Manjusri, when the Bodhisattva realises the no-way in these manners, he is said to comprehend the way of Buddha.”

(16) Thrice he rolled the wheel of the law in the world, the wheel ever pure and testified by gods and men, who through it attain their goal. Thence The Three Treasures made their appearance in the world. He saves all beings from sorrow through this excellent doctrine, which when once given brings them to peace, from which they never fall. He is the Great Physician King who delivers us from old age, disease, and death. Adoration is due to him whose virtues are infinite as the ocean.

(23) Then those Bodhisattvas said: ‘ ‘ How many laws ought to be practised by a Bodhisattva in this world in order to be perfect in deeds and to be reborn in the pure land ? ’ ’ Vimalakirti said: “A Bodhisattva who would be perfect in deeds and be born in the pure land must practise the eightfold law in this world. What is the eightfold law ? (1) To bestow happiness on all beings without expecting reward, to endure all suffering for the sake of all beings, and to bestow on them all the stock of merit one has achieved; (2) to bring his mind down to the minds of those beings ever in perfect humiliation; (3) to regard Bodhisattvas as if they were Buddhas themselves; (4) not to cherish doubt in his mind when listening to a scripture which he never heard before; (5) not to contradict Sravakas; (6) not to be jealous of the honour given to them, not to be arrogant over the benefit enjoyed by oneself and thereby subdue one’s own mind; (7) ever to reflect upon his faults and never talk about others’ shortcomings; and (8) ever to seek a stock of merit with intent mind,— this is called the eightfold law.”

(25) He thoroughly knows the coming and going of all beings; he is ever emancipated in all things; stainless in the world as a lotus; walks the path of tranquillity, comprehending the nature of things;

(25) When the cause of sickness is known then he should abandon all the thoughts both of Self and beings, and cherish the thought of objectivity. He should dwell upon such thoughts as these : ‘the body consists of several constituent parts combined together. When it is produced, it is objects only that are produced; and when it perishes it is objects only that perish. Again, those constituent parts are strangers to one another; when they are produced, they do not say: [we are produced], and when they perish they do not say: [they perish]. “Then again he should abandon even the thought of objectivity and dwell upon such thoughts as these: ‘the thought of objectivity is also an error, and this error is a great calamity; it should be removed; how should it be removed? Free thyself from the ideas of me and mine. How the ideas of me and mine be removed? It means to remove two things. What is meant by being removed from two things? Think neither things within nor without and live the life of equity. How is [the thought of] equity to be dwelt upon? There is equity in self. There is equity in Nirvāna. And why? Both self and Nirvāna are empty. Why are they empty? They are empty because they are mere names. These two things have no definite nature. If a Bodhisattva would attain to this equity there would be no more sickness but that of emptiness; and this emptiness is also empty.