The Perfection Of Wisdom In Eight Thousand Lines
13,106 words
'The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines' is the earliest text of the Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom texts) The following is a less strict interpretation of the 'Eight Thousand Lines' in its original verse form only. ** Many thanks to Reverend Neil Christopher for his hard work on this translation and granting permissing for this c...
Chapter 27
The Bodhisattva Worthy of Homage
169. To the wise, who has made their course in this wisdom, even the great multitude of the gods will pay homage to. The Buddhas as well, as many as there have been realized through the ages, will also proclaim their praises of the wise ones qualities.
Mara Is Powerless Against Certain Bodhisattvas
170. If every person in the world, as countless as the number of sands by the river Ganges, were all to become Maras, and if every single hair on their bodies were to each become a snare; even they all combined could not snare the wise. For four reasons is the wise bodhisattva unshakable: becoming one who dwells in the empty, yet one who doesn’t abandon beings, acting as they speak, being sustained by the Buddhas.
The True Attitude to Suchness
171. The bodhisattva who believes with all their heart when this perfection of wisdom is being taught to them, and practices this path with the same attitude, such a one should be known as being close to the all-knowledge. But they do not come to a foot hold in Suchness to stand upon, instead they become like a cloud which stands in the sky with nothing to stand on. Or a sorcerer, who, like a bird, can fly on the wind with nothing to support them; or as one, who, by the power of their spells, can miraculously produce on a tree its flowers and fruits out of season.
The Bodhisattva Dwells Supreme
172. The wise and learned bodhisattva, who walks in this manner, does not arrive to the Buddhas, or the Buddha-dharmas, for this is the dwelling place of those who desire the calm of the release. As many as these dwellings are, they are all surpassed by this higher dwelling, the foremost and the unsurpassed.
How and Why One Should Dwell in Emptiness
173. A bird dwells in the air, but does not fall down. A fish dwells in the water, but does not suffocate. Just so, the bodhisattva who has gone beyond, dwells in the empty, but does not reach the Blessed Rest. One who wants to reach the peak of the summit of qualities of all beings, to experience the best, the exceedingly wonderful, Buddha-cognition, to give the best gift of the highest and supreme Dharma, should live in this, the best dwelling, which brings the most benefit.