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the reflected images are identical to the gold and water. Thus, know that the object is prajna (wisdom) and prajna, is the object. Therefore, [this state] is said to have no objective realm. This is, namely, to know one's mind as it really is, and it is called bodhi. Therefore, [in the Mahavairocana Sutra] the Honored One Vairocana addressed the Lord of Mysteries, saying (T. 18: lc): "Lord of Mysteries, what is bodhi? It means to know one's mind as it really is. Lord of ysteries, this is anuttara samyaksambodhi (unsurpassed perfect enlightenment), and there is not the smallest portion of it that can be apprehended. Why? [Because] bodhi has the characteristic of empty space, and there is no one to comprehend it, nor is there any understanding of it. Why? Because bodhi has no [distinguishing] characteristics. Lord of Mysteries, all dharmas are without characteristics. That is to say, they have the characteristic of empty space."

Then Vajrapani again said to the Buddha, "World-honored One, who is it that seeks omniscience? Who is it that accomplishes perfect enlightenment on account of bodhi Who is it that generates the wisdom of an omniscient one?" The Buddha said, "Lord of Mysteries, it is in one's own mind that one seeks bodhi and omniscience. Why? Because it is by nature pure. The mind is neither within nor without, nor can the mind be apprehended between the two. Lord of Mysteries, the Tathagata, worthy [of worship] and perfectly enlightened, is neither blue nor yellow nor red nor white nor crimson nor purple nor the color of crystal, neither long nor short nor round nor square, neither bright nor dark, neither male nor female nor neuter. Lord of Mysteries, the mind is not of the same nature as the realm of desire, nor is it of the same nature as the realm of form, nor is it of the same nature as the realm of non-form, nor is it of the same nature as the destinies of gods, nagas, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, humans, and non-humans. Lord of 193

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Mysteries, the mind does not reside in the realm of the eyes, nor does it reside in the realms of the ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind, and neither is it visible, nor does it manifest itself.

"Why? [Because] the mind, which has the characteristic of empty space, is removed from all discrimination and nondiscrimination. What is the reason for this? That whose nature is the same as empty space is the same as the mind, and that whose nature is the same as the mind is the same as bodhi. In this manner, Lord of Mysteries, the three entities of mind, realm of empty space, and bodhi are not different. They have compassion as their root and are fulfilled by the paramita (perfection) of expedient means. For this reason, Lord of Mysteries, I expound the dharmas in this manner so as to make the hosts of bodhisattvas purify the bodhi-mind and know their mind.

"Lord of Mysteries, if a man or woman of [good] family wishes to know bodhi, they should know their own mind in this manner. Lord of Mysteries, how is one to know one's own mind? It cannot, namely, be apprehended by seeking it in distinctions or in color or in shape or in the objective realm or in matter or in sensation, ideation, volition, or consciousness or in T or in 'mine' or in the grasper (i.e., subject) or in the grasped (i.e., object) or in the pure or in the [eighteen] realms or in the [twelve] sense fields or in any other distinctions. Lord of Mysteries, this gateway to the bodhisattva's pure bodhi-mind is called the path whereby the Dharma becomes clear for the first time. "

Interpretative Comments: Phrases such as "no [distinguishing] characteristics," "the characteristic of empty space" and "neither blue nor yellow" all elucidate the truth of he thusness of the Dharma body and the One Path, unconditioned. The Buddha explains this, calling it "the path whereby the Dharma becomes clear for the first time." In the [Great] Perfection of Wisdom [Treatise] (T. 25: 289a) 194

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it is called "the first gateway for entering the path of the Buddha."93 The "path of the Buddha" refers to the Buddha in the mandala of Mahavairocana in the Palace of the Adamantine Realm. In the exoteric teachings this is the ultimate Dharma body combining the [truth-]principle and wisdom, but when viewed from the mantra gateway it corresponds to the first gateway. The Honored One Vairocana and the bodhisattva Nagarjuna have both clearly explained this, and so one should have no doubts about it. Again, in a subsequent passage [in the Mahavairocana Sutra] it says (T. 18: 3b):

So-called emptiness is removed from the sense organs and sense objects, has no [distinguishing] characteristics and no [cognitive] objectivity, transcends all frivolous arguments, and is like empty space;[... ] it is removed from the conditioned and unconditioned realms, removed from all activities, and removed from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. This too elucidates the Dharma body of the [truth-]principle. The Tripitaka master Subhakarasimha explains it as follows (T. 39: 603c):

When the practitioner dwells in this [state of] mind, he knows that Sakyamuni's pure land is not destroyed,94 and he sees that the Buddha's lifespan is very long and that the [Buddha's] original body meets in one place together with Visistacaritra and the other bodhisattvas who welled up from the earth; he who cultivates the path of antidotes, though a manifestation close to the state of one limited [to only one more life before enlightenment], does not recognize a single one of them.95 Therefore, this is called a "mystery. "

A Buddha who realizes this principle is also called Vairocana of the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light.

The Ch'an master Chih-che (Man of Wisdom) of Kuo-ch'ing Temple on Mount T'ien-t'ai in the Greater Sui96 cultivated calming and contemplation in accordance with this approach and gained 195

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the Dharma-flower samadhi,97 With the Lotus [Sutra], Middle Treatise, and [Great] Perfection of Wisdom [Treatise] as his basis, he formulated the tenets of his school. Such is the general gist of this vehicle.

Here are some verses:

Bodhisattvas of the previous eon98 engage in frivolous arguments,

But the perfect enlightenment of this [eighth stage of the] mind is also not genuine.

Unconditioned and without characteristics, the One Path is pure;

It explains nonduality, neither existent nor nonexistent. With the mind and its objects completely dissolved, [there appears] the Land of Eternally Tranquil [Light]; With the path of speech cut off, one is a guest of [Vairo]cana.

Body and mind also extinguished, it is like the great void, And manifesting in accordance with the different kinds of beings, one becomes a person of transformations. Question: Is this principle of the one Dharma realm and the thusness of the One Path regarded as [a mark of] the ultimate Buddha?

[Answer:] The bodhisattva Nagarjuna has explained it [in the Commentary on the Mahayana Treatise] (T. 32: 637c):99 The one Dharma-realm mind is not found in a hundred negations, it defies a thousand affirmations, and it does not correspond to the middle; not corresponding to the middle, it defies heaven (i.e., supreme truth), and since it defies heaven, discourses of flowing eloquence are stopped in their tracks and speculations of careful deliberation are left with no recourse. The one mind such as this belongs to the extremity of ignorance and not to the station of knowledge. 196

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9. The Mind of Ultimate Own-naturelessness

The mind of ultimate own-naturelessness—in now interpreting this mind, there are two approaches: one is the exoteric cursory approach, and the other is the esoteric secret approach. The exoteric cursory approach: That which is very deep is the varu[na] (ocean), that which is lofty is [Mount] Sume[ru], that which is vast is empty space, and that which is long is a mustard[-seed eon] or a stone [eon].100 Nonetheless, the mustard seeds are [eventually] exhausted and the stone is worn away, while empty space can be measured; [Mount] Sume[ru] is 160,000 \yojanas high], and the varu[na] is eight million \yoja\nas [deep]. That which is near and yet difficult to see is one's own mind, and that which is mfinitesimal and yet pervades space is one's own Buddha. One's Buddha is difficult to conceive, and one's mind is vast. A [mathematical] genius and Silpabhijna would become perplexed and abandon their calculations;101 [the sharp-eyed] Li [Chu] and [the clairvoyant] Aniruddha would become blind and give up looking;102 [King] Yu, [famed for] his naming, would hold his tongue, and K'ua [Fu], [famed for] his walking, would lose his feet.103 The cognition of srauakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot recognize them, and the wisdom of [bodhi]sattvas cannot know them. The remarkable among all that is remarkable, the absolute among all that is absolute — surely it is only the Buddha of one's own mind. Because one is deluded about one's own mind, the waves of the six paths [of transmigration] are stirred up, but by understanding the mind's source, the one great expanse of water becomes clear and calm. Clear and calm water reflects a myriad images, and the Buddha of the one mind knows all things. Sentient beings, deluded about this principle, are unable to put an end to the cycle of transmigration, and living beings, quite madly intoxicated, are unable to awaken to their own mind.

The Great Enlightened One, like a compassionate father, has pointed out the way of eturn, and the way of return is five hundred 197

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yojanas,104 This mind is a wayside inn, and a wayside inn is no permanent abode. Depending on conditions, it will suddenly move, and in its moves it has no fixed location. Therefore, it has no ownnature, and because things have no own-nature, one can eschew the lowly and opt for what is worthy. Hence there is the ultimate assertion of the permeation of thusness [with ignorance] and the secret declaration of the [own-]naturelessness of the supreme truth. [Those in the eighth stage of the mind] are startled out of the One Path with a snap of the fingers and awakened to the inultimacy of the unconditioned. It is here that the [ninth stage of the] mind, like space, arises for the first time. The result of quiescence [for the eighth stage of the mind], this result in turn becomes the cause [with respect to the tenth stage of the mind]. This cause and this mind are the ultimate fruit when viewed from the foregoing exoteric teachings, but with respect to the subsequent secret mind [of the tenth stage] it is the initial mind. It must indeed be true that when one first generates the aspiration [for enlightenment] one immediately accomplishes perfect enlightenment.105 The virtues of the Buddha of the initial aspiration are inconceivable. A myriad virtues appear for the first time, and the one mind manifests to a small degree. When one realizes this mind, one knows that the threefold world is identical to one's own person and awakens to the fact that the ten [bodies of the Tathagata] equal in size [to all things] are also one's own mind.106

When the Buddha Vairocana107 first attained enlightenment, he discussed these matters extensively with Samantabhadra and other great bodhisattvas during the second week, and this corresponds to the Flower Ornament Sutra.

[Vairocana] enveloped the Lotus-Repository [World],108 making it his home, and encompassed the Dharma realm, making it his kingdom. He adorned seats in seven places and revealed the sutra to eight assemblies.109 Entering this ocean-seal samadhi, he observed the perfect interfusion of Dharma-nature, and shining on those whose religious capacity is [elevated] like the king of mountains, he showed that the mind and the Buddha are not 198

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different. He embraced the nine ages110 in a single moment, and stretched a single moment of thought into many eons. The one and the many interpenetrate, and the [underlying truth-]principle and phenomena interrelate. Their manifold interconnectedness is compared to Indra's net, and their inscrutable interfusion is likened to the light of [many] lamps. Finally, [the young pilgrim Sudhana]111 generated the aspiration [for enlightenment] under the Mother of Enlightenment (i.e., Manjusri) and realized the [ultimate] fruit by taking refuge in Samantabhadra; he practiced assiduously for three lifetimes112 and visited [spiritual] friends in one hundred cities. With a single practice one practices all [practices], and by cutting off one [mental affliction] one cuts off all [mental afflictions], Although it is said that one accomplishes enlightenment with the initial aspiration and that the path is perfected in the ten [levels of] faith,113 because cause and result are not different, one drives the carriage [of the teachings of the Flower Ornament Sutra] through the five levels,114 and because attributes and inherent nature do not differ, all ten bodies (i.e., attributes) [of the Tathagata] are equally reduced [to Vairocana]. This is the general import of the flower-ornament samadhi.

Therefore, the Tathagata Vairocana addressed the Lord of Mysteries [in the Mahavairocana Sutra], saying (T. 18: 3c): So-called emptiness is removed from the sense organs and sense objects, has no [distinguishing] characteristics and no [cognitive] objectivity, transcends all frivolous arguments, and is like empty space;[... ] it is removed from the conditioned and unconditioned realms, removed from all activities, and removed from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. [Then] is born the mind of ultimate own-naturelessness. The Tripitaka master Subhakarasimha (T. 39: 612b) explains that this one phrase "the mind of ultimate own-naturelessness" completely encompasses all the teachings of the Hua-yen [school]. The reason for this is that the general import of the Hua-yen [school] in probing the origins and seeking the end is to explain 199

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how the Dharma realm of thusness does not preserve its own-nature but [manifests] in accordance with conditions. Relying on this Dharma gateway, Master Tu-shun115 composed the Flower-Ornament Samadhi of the Five Teachings,116 the Meditation on the Dharma Realm,111 and so on. He was succeeded by his disciple Chih-yen.118 Chih-yen's disciple, the Dharma master Fa-tsang,119 also spread the five teachings and composed the Essential Purport [of the Flower Ornament Sutra], the Main Points [of the Meaning of Passages from the Flower Ornament Sutra], and a commentary [on the Flower Ornament Sutra].120 These are the exegetical works of the Dharma gateway of the Hua-yen school. Here are some verses:

Just as wind and water and the dragon-king [who causes them] constitute a single Dharma realm,

So too do thusness and birth-and-death lead to this [one] peak.

[The mind, like] a brightly shining gem, produces the [three] elements of essence[, aspect, and function]; [The threefold world of] the physical [world], [unenlightened] sentient beings, and enlightened beings is most profound.

The ten mysteries of dependent arising are as principal and subordinate to one another;

The sound of the ocean-seal [samadhi] swallows up the five teachings.

The manifold unobstructedness [of all things] is likened to Indra's net,

And their inscrutable perfect interfusion is at the heart of [the analogy of] the light of [many] lamps. The flower-ornament samadhi is [a single practice which encompasses] all practices,

And the Ten Honored Ones121 of the resultant realm [of enlightenment] are present in all lands. Though one may enter this palace [of the ninth stage], one 2 0 0

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is a Buddha who has generated [the aspiration for enlightenment] for only the first time,

And one should seek out the accomplishment of the body [of a Buddha] in five phases.122

In the [Mahavairocana] Sutra it says (T. 18: 3b): It is removed from the conditioned and unconditioned realms, removed from all activities, and removed from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. [Then] is born the mind of ultimate own-naturelessness.

It is boundless like empty space, and all Buddha dharmas are successively born in dependence on it. Lord of Mysteries, such an initial aspiration the Buddha has declared to be the cause for becoming a Buddha; although liberated from karma and mental afflictions, it still has karma and mental afflictions at its base.

In the Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra it is explained as follows 18: 207c):

The Lord, the great mind of enlightenment and great bodhisattva Samantabhadra, was residing in the hearts of All the Tathagatas.

At that time the Tathagatas filled this Buddha land just like sesame [seeds packed closely together in a sesame pod]. Then All the Tathagatas gathered as if in a cloud and betook themselves to where the bodhisattva and mahasattva Sarvarthasiddhi was seated at the place of enlightenment (.bodhimanda). Manifesting the enjoyment body, they spoke all together as follows: "Good sir, how will you, who endure ascetic practices without knowing the truth of All the Tathagatas, realize unsurpassed perfect enlightenment? " Thereupon the bodhisattva Sarvarthasiddhi, having been aroused by All the Tathagatas, arose from the asphanakasamadhi,123 made obeisance to All the Tathagatas, and said, 201

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372c "World-honored Tathagatas, please instruct me! How should I practice? What is the truth?"

When he had finished speaking thus, All the Tathagatas addressed the bodhisattva in unison, saying, "Good sir, abiding in the samadhi of observing one's mind, you should chant as [many times as] you please the [following] mantra, which is effective of its own nature. "

In the Sutra [of the Dhdrani] for Protecting State [Rulers] it says (T. 19: 570c):124

Then the Buddha Sakyamuni said, "Lord of Mysteries, for immeasurable and incalculable eons I cultivated and accumulated these paramitas, and on reaching my last life I engaged in ascetic practices for six years, but I failed to obtain anuttara samyaksambodhi and become Vairocana. When I was seated at the place of enlightenment, innumerable Transformation-Buddhas filled empty space just like sesame [seeds packed closely together in a sesame pod]. With one voice the Buddhas addressed me, saying, 'Good sir, how do you seek to accomplish perfect enlightenment?' I said to the Buddhas, 'I am an ordinary person and still do not know what I am seeking. I beg you to have pity and explain it for me.' Thereupon the Buddhas addressed me together, saying, 'Good sir, listen attentively! We will explain it for you. You should now imagine a lunar disc on the tip of your nose, and in the lunar disc visualize the letter Om. After having performed this visualization, in the last watch of the night you will succeed in accomplishing anuttara samyaksambodhi. Good sir, among the Buddhas of the three ages in world-systems throughout the ten directions, [as numerous as] the sands of the Ganges River, there has never been an instance of one who succeeded in becoming a Buddha without performing the visualization of the letter Om in a lunar disc. Why? The letter Om represents all gateways to the Dharma; it is also the precious torch and lock of he eighty-four thousand gateways to the Dharma. 2 0 2

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The letter Om is the true body of Vairocana; the letter Om is the mother of all dharanis. From this all Tathagatas are produced; from the Tathagatas all bodhisattvas are produced; from the bodhisattvas all sentient beings are produced; and so on until all the merest roots of good are produced."' In Nagarjuna's Treatise on the Bodhi-mind it says (T. 32: 573b): The dharmas of the paths of delusion arise from deluded thinking. They then develop into innumerable and infinite mental afflictions, and one transmigrates in the six destinies. Once one is enlightened, deluded thinking ceases and various dharmas are extinguished. Therefore, there is no ownnature. Next, the compassion of the Buddhas is activated out of the truth and saves sentient beings. Giving medicine as is appropriate to the illness, [the Buddhas] bestow the gateways to the Dharma, and in accordance with the mental afflictions [of sentient beings] they counter the fords of delusion. As when one finds a raft and has reached the other shore, so too must the Dharma be abandoned, for it has no ownnature__When delusion ceases, the mind's source is empty and tranquil; it is endowed with a myriad virtues, and its wondrous functions are boundless.[... ] Anyone who possesses this mind is able to turn the Dharma wheel and benefit both himself and others.

It also says [in the Commentary on the Mahayana Treatise] (T. 32: 622a):

Original enlightenment, pure by nature, is not dissociated from anywhere in the threefold world. Permeating these three [worlds], it makes of them a single enlightenment and adorns the one great Dharma body representing the result. For this reason it is called the mirror of causal permeation. What is the threefold world? It is 1) the world of sentient beings, 2) the physical world, and 3) the world of the wise and enlightened. The world of sentient beings is, namely, the realm of 203

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373a those with the nature of ordinary people; the physical world is, namely, the ground by which they are supported; and the world of the wise and enlightened is, namely, Buddhas and bodhisattvas. These constitute a threesome. The "mirror" in this case is a mirror consisting of a brightly shining gem. When one takes the brightly shining gem, places it in a [certain] spot, and gathers things all around, all those things are made pellucid by the permeating influence of that gem; furthermore, those pellucid things all without exception manifest in the gem, and the gem also manifests without exception in all those things. Similarly, the mirror of causal permeation is also like this: it permeates all things, making of them pure enlightenment, and renders them all equal. Question: Is this original dharma of the one mind the ultimate stage of the mind?

[Answer:] The bodhisattva Nagarjuna has explained it [in the Commentary on the Mahayana Treatise] (T. 32: 637c):125 In the Dharma of [the Mahayana with] the one mind and its own three [attributes of essence, aspect, and function], the "one" [mind] cannot be one [since it is one yet all], but it is provisionally called "one" from the standpoint of entry [to the Mahayana]; [likewise] the [one] "mind" cannot be the mind [since it is one mind yet all minds], but it is provisionally called "mind" from the standpoint of entry [to the Mahayana]; although it is not really [the referent of] the term "self," it is [provisionally] called "self," and although it is not [the referent of] the designation "own," it [provisionally] corresponds to "own"; it is termed ["self"] as if it were the self, but this is not the real self, and it is called ["own"] as if it were the own, but this is not the real own; it is more mysterious than the mysteriously mysterious and more remote than the remotely remote. A superior state such as this belongs to the extremity of ignorance and not to the station of knowledge. 204

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10. The Mind of Secret Adornment

The nine stages of the mind have no own-nature; Becoming progressively deeper and progressively more wondrous, they are all causes [for the next stage]. The esoteric teachings of the true word (mantra) were expounded by the Dharma body,

And the Secret Adamantine [Vehicle] is the supreme truth. The five phases,126 the five wisdoms, the essence of the Dharma realm,

The four man[dalas], and the four seals127 are revealed in this [tenth stage of the] mind.

Buddhas [as numerous as] the dust motes of [countless] lands are the Buddhas of one's own mind, And [deities of the] Vajra and Lotus [Families as numerous as] the drops of water in the ocean are also one's own body. Every single letter gateway incorporates a myriad forms, And every single [symbolic] sword and vajra manifests the divine.

The own-nature of a myriad virtues is completely perfected, And in a single lifetime one succeeds in realizing [the state of] one of [secret] adornment.

In the [Mahavairocana] Sutra it says (T. 18: 3b): Next, Lord of Mysteries, bodhisattvas who cultivate bodhisattva practices via the gateway of mantras accomplish all the immeasurable merit and wisdom accumulated during immeasurable and incalculable hundreds of thousands of kotis oinayutas of eons and all the immeasurable wisdom and expedient means for fully cultivating all practices. Explanatory Remarks: This extols the merits of bodhisattvas who enter the mantra [path] for the first time. It also says (T. 18: 9b):128 Thereupon the World-honored One Vairocana entered the samadhi "Swift Power of the Single Essence of All Tathagatas" 205

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373b and expounded the samadhi of the essential nature of the Dharma realm which he himself had realized, saying: I awoke to original non-birth, transcended the path of speech,

Obtained liberation from all faults, dissociated myself from causes and conditions,

And knew emptiness, which is like empty space, and knowledge concordant with reality was born; Having been freed from all darkness, foremost reality is untainted.

Explanatory Remarks: These verses are terse in wording but broad in meaning; their language may seem superficial, but the thoughts are profound. It is difficult to explain except face to face. There are also the samadhi gateways of methods for visualizing mantras such as the Wheel of One Hundred Letters and the Twelve Letters [in the Mahavairocana Sutra], as well as the samadhis of the four wisdom-seals of the thirty-seven deities of the Adamantine Realm. These represent the most secret samadhis of the Tathagata Vairocana. Because the [source] passages are extensive, they cannot be quoted in full.

Again, in the bodhisattva Nagarjuna's Treatise on the Bodhimind it says (T. 32: 573c-574c): Third, as for samadhi, after the mantra practitioner has contemplated thus, how can he realize unsurpassed bodhi? Know that, with things as they naturally are, he should dwell in the great bodhi-mind of Samantabhadra. All sentient beings are innate sattvas, but because they are bound by the mental afflictions of greed, anger, and ignorance (i.e., the three poisons), the Buddhas out of great compassion have expounded with the wisdom of expedient means this most profound and secret yoga, making the practitioner visualize a solar or lunar disc in his inner mind. By performing this visualization, he sees his original mind, serene and pure just like a full moon 206

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whose light pervades empty space without any discrimination. This is also called "without apperception" or "pure Dharma realm" or "sea of the prajna-paramita (perfection of wisdom) of reality." Encompassing various innumerable samadhis of rare preciousness, it is just like a full moon in its purity and clarity, for all sentient beings contain the mind of Samantabhadra. "I see my heart to be like a lunar disc in shape."129 Why is a lunar disc used as an analogy? Because the form of the full moon, round and bright, is similar to the bodhi-mind. The lunar disc has sixteen phases, which are analogous to the Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas from Vajrasattva to Vajramusti in the [.Adamantine Pinnacle] Yoga [Sutra]. Among the thirty-seven deities [of the Vajradhatu Mandala], the Buddhas of the five directions each represent one wisdom. The Buddha Aksobhya in the eastern quarter is also called Adamantine Wisdom because he has attained great perfect mirrorlike wisdom; the Buddha Ratnasambhava in the southern quarter is also called Consecration Wisdom because he has attained the wisdom of equality; the Buddha Amitabha in the western quarter is also called Lotus Wisdom or Wisdom of Turning the Dharma Wheel because he has attained the wisdom of wondrous observation; the Buddha Amoghasiddhi in the northern quarter is also called Karma Wisdom because he has attained the wisdom of accomplishing what is to be done; and the Buddha Vairocana in the center represents the fundamental [wisdom] because he has attained the wisdom of the Dharma realm. The wisdoms of the above [first] four Buddhas generate the Four Paramita Bodhisattvas. [These] four bodhisattvas are Vajra[paramita], Ratna[paramita], Dharma[paramita], and Karma[paramita]. They are the mothers who give birth to and nurture all sages of the three ages. The Four Buddhas emanate from [the wisdom of] the essential nature of the Dharma realm here sealed [by the Four Paramita Bodhisattvas].

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373c The Tathagatas of the four quarters each encompass four bodhisattvas. The Buddha Aksobhya in the eastern quarter encompasses four bodhisattvas; the four bodhisattvas are Vajrasattva, Vajraraja, Vajraraga, and Vajrasadhu. The Buddha Ratnasambhava in the southern quarter encompasses four bodhisattvas; the four bodhisattvas are Vajraratna, Vajrateja, Vajraketu, and Vajrahasa. The Buddha Amitabha in the western quarter encompasses four bodhisattvas; the four bodhisattvas are Vajradharma, Vajratiksna, Vajrahetu, and Vajrabhasa. The Buddha Amoghasiddhi in the northern quarter encompasses four bodhisattvas; the four bodhisattvas are Vajrakarma, Vajraraksa, Vajrayaksa, and Vajramusti. The four bodhisattvas of each of the Buddhas of the four quarters [together] constitute the Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas. Among the thirty-seven deities, one excludes the Five Buddhas, the Four Paramita [Bodhisattvas], and the ensuing Four Gatekeepers and Eight Offering [Goddesses] and takes only the Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas encompassed by the Buddhas of the four quarters [when likening them to the sixteen phases of the moon].

Again, in the Mahaprajnci[paramita\ Sutra there are sixteen meanings [of emptiness], from inner emptiness to emptiness of the own-nature of nonbeing [and these can also be likened to the sixteen phases of the moon]. All sentient beings have in the core of their minds a portion of purity which is completely appointed with all practices. Its essence is extremely subtle, clear, and bright, and it remains unchanged even when transmigrating in the six destinies. It is like the sixteenth phase of the moon. When the bright aspect of that phase of the moon meets the sun, it is merely deprived of its brightness by the rays of the sun and therefore does not appear, but from the start of the [new] moon that then rises it gradually waxes day by day until the fifteenth day, when it is perfectly full and [its brightness] unobstructed. Therefore, the practitioner of meditation first arouses 208

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the brightness within his original mind by means of the letter A, gradually makes it pure and brighter, and realizes the knowledge of nonarising. The letter A signifies the original non-birth of all things.

<According to the commentary on the [MahaJ vairocana Sutra (T. 39: 723b), in interpreting the letter A, it has in all five meanings: 1) A (short) stands for the bodhi-mind; 2) A (long) stands for the practices of bodhi; 3) Am (short) signifies the realization of bodhi; 4) Ah (short) signifies parinirvana; and 5) Ah (long) signifies complete possession of the wisdom of expedient means.

Again, the letter A can also be interpreted in accordance with the four words "open," "reveal," "understand," and "enter" in the Lotus Sutra.130 The word "open" means to open the door to the Buddha's knowledge-and-insight and also to open the door to the bodhi-mind; it is like the first letter A and signifies the ho&hi-mind. The word "reveal" means to reveal the Buddha's knowledge-and-insight; it is like the second letter A and signifies the practices of bodhi. The word "understand" means to understand the Buddha's knowledge-and-insight; it is like the third letter Am and signifies the realization of bodhi. The word "enter" means to enter the Buddha's knowledge-and-insight; it is like the fourth letter Ah and signifies parinirvana. In sum, they represent the fifth letter Ah of omplete accomplishment, and they signify the perfection of the wisdom of skill in expedient means.>

In a verse extolling the fact that the letter A signifies the bodhi-mind it says (T. 18: 328b):

[In a lunar disc] one cubit across on an eight-petaled white lotus

Make manifest the letter A, the color of white light. Insert both the right and left thumbs in the adamantine bind,

And draw in the tranquil wisdom of the Tathagata. 209

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374a

Those who understand the letter A must meditate on it; they should meditate on pure consciousness, round and bright. If one has a glimpse of it, one is called "he who has perceived the truly supreme truth, " and if one sees it constantly, one has entered the first stage of the bodhisattva. As it gradually expands, it will pervade the Dharma realm in extent and become equal to empty space in size. Able to reduce it and expand it at will, one will be endowed with omniscience. All those who cultivate the meditation practices of yoga must fully cultivate the practices of the three mysteries and realize the meaning of accomplishing the body [of a Buddha] in five phases.

The so-called three mysteries are: 1) the mystery of the body—this is, for instance, binding pledge-seals and invoking the hosts of holy ones; 2) the mystery of speech—this is, for instance, reciting mantras in secret with the words pronounced distinctly and clearly without any mistakes; and 3) the mystery of the mind—this is, for instance, abiding in yoga, entering into union with the perfect fullness of a white and pure moon, and meditating on the bodhi-mind. Next, accomplishing the body [of a Buddha] in five phases can be explained as follows: 1) penetration of the [6orf/ii-]mind, 2) accomplishment of the bodhi-mind, 3) adamantine mind, 4) adamantine body, and 5) realization of unsurpassed bodhi and attainment of an adamantinely firm body. Moreover, when these five phases have been completed, one accomplishes the body of one's own deity. Its perfect brightness is that of the body of Samantabhadra, and it is also the mind of Samantabhadra. It is identical with the Buddhas of the ten directions. Again, although in the cultivation of practices during the three ages there are differences in progress regarding realization, once one has attained enlightenment, there is no past, future, or present.

The mind of an ordinary person is like a closed lotus flower, while the mind of a Buddha is like a full moon. If one 2 1 0

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accomplishes this meditation, there will appear in it lands, both pure and defiled, throughout the ten directions, sentient beings in the six destinies, and the stages of practice of the three vehicles, as well as the creation and destruction of lands throughout the three ages, the karmic differences among sentient beings, the characteristics of practice in the causal stages of the bodhisattva, and the Buddhas of the three ages, and one will realize the body of one's own deity and fulfill all Samantabhadra's vows to practice. Therefore, in the Mahdvairocana Sutra it says (T. 18: 22a): "Such a true mind has been proclaimed by former Buddhas. "

Question: Earlier it was said that because people of the two vehicles have attachment to things, they are unable to attain Buddhahood. How is that different from this samadhi which makes one cultivate the bodhi-mind?

Answer: Because people of the two vehicles have attachment to things, they realize the [truth-]principle after a very long time, whereupon they sink into emptiness and linger in quiescence for a period measured in eons. Then they engender the great aspiration (bodhicitta), and spend incalculable eons availing themselves of the gateway of good deeds performed in a distracted state of mind. For this reason [their teachings] should be eschewed and not relied upon. Now, the mantra practitioner has already destroyed the attachments beyond [attachments to] persons and things, but although he has the wisdom to perceive the truth correctly, because of his beginningless separation [from enlightenment] he has been unable to realize the Tathagata's wisdom of an omniscient one and therefore seeks after the wondrous path, cultivates the gradational procedures, and from [the state of] an ordinary [person] enters the stage of a Buddha. With this samcidhi one is, namely, able to attain the own-nature of the Buddhas, comprehend the Dharma body of the Buddhas, realize the wisdom of the essential nature of the Dharma realm, 211

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374b and accomplish the own-nature body, enjoyment body, transformation body, and homogeneous body of the Buddha Mahavairocana. Because the practitioner has not yet realized this, it stands to reason that he should cultivate this \samadhi]. Therefore, in the Mahavairocana Sutra it says (T. 18: 19b): "Siddhi is bom of the mind." As is explained in the Adamantine Pinnacle Yoga Sutra, the bodhisattva Sarvarthasiddhi first sat on the adamantine seat, realized the unsurpassed path, finally came to be conferred this state of mind by the Buddhas, and was then able to realize the [ultimate] fruit. If anyone of the present age, his mind resolute, practices in accordance with the teachings, samadhi will manifest itself without his rising from his seat, and he will herewith accomplish the body of his own deity. Therefore, in the "Procedural Rites of Worship" in the Mahavairocana Sutra it says (T. 18: 45bc):

Should you not have the strength to bring extensive benefit [to others],

Abiding by the rite, simply meditate on the hodhi-mind; The Buddha has taught that it is endowed with the myriad practices

And satisfies the immaculate and pure dharmas. Because this bodhi-mind contains the meritorious attributes of all Buddhas, if one actualizes it by cultivating and realizing it, then one will become a leader of all. If one returns to the source, then one finds oneself in the Land of Secret Adornment,131 and without rising from one's seat, one will be able to accomplish all Buddha deeds. In praise of the bodhimind it is said: If someone seeking the Buddha's wisdom should penetrate the bodhi-mind,

He will quickly realize the stage of great enlightenment with the body born of his parents.

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Question: We have already heard the words of the verse [at the start of this section]. Please explain their meaning. Answer: In the mantra doctrines every single sound and syllable, every single word and name, every single phrase, and every single clause are each possessed of infinite meanings, and even if one were to spend eons it would be difficult to exhaust [their meanings]. Furthermore, every single syllable has three meanings, namely, sound, sign, and reality.132 They also have two meanings: the superficial meaning and the connotative meaning.133 Again, every single phrase has both a shallow and cursory and a profound and secret meaning. [Thus] it is difficult to discuss them hurriedly. If one explains it as it really is, those of small capacity will engender doubts and engage in slander, [as a result of which] they will most certainly become icchantikas [with no hope of attaining Buddhahood] and denizens of [the Hell of] Immediate [Retribution]. Therefore, it is for this reason that the Responsive-Transformation Tathagata has kept it secret and not spoken of it, and bodhisattvas who transmitted the Dharma left it and did not discuss it. Therefore, in the Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra it is explained [as follows] (T. 19: 321a):134

One must explain not a single word of this samadhi rite for Vairocana to those who have not yet been initiated. As for the ritual manuals and mantras of one's own deity, one must not speak about them casually even to practitioners of the same rite. If one does so, one will promptly die while young or invite some calamity and subsequently fall into the Hell of Immediate [Retribution]—

[Question:] We respectfully accept your admonitions and will not presume to act against them. We would once again ask you to explain the content of the verse at the start [of this section]. [Answer:] "The nine stages of the mind have no own-nature; Becoming progressively deeper and progressively more wondrous, they are all causes [for the next stage]."—These two lines reject 213

374c

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The Precious Key

the nine minds explained previously since none of them represents the ultimate fruit of Buddhahood. The nine [stages of the mind] are those from "the mind of the common person, like a ram" to "the mind of ultimate own-naturelessness." Among these, the first one refers to the ordinary person who performs only acts of evil and does not cultivate the slightest bit of goodness. The next one represents the vehicle of human beings. The next one describes the vehicle of heavenly beings; it corresponds to non-Buddhists who loathe the lower realms below and long to be born in heaven above, but while seeking liberation they eventually fall into hell. The above three minds are all mundane minds and cannot yet be called supramundane. [The stages of the mind] from the fourth "[mind of] aggregates-only [and no-self]" onward are called "obtaining the holy fruit." Among the supramundane minds, "[the mind of] aggregates-only [and no-self]" and "[the mind] that has eradicated [the causes and seeds of] karma" correspond to the teachings of the Hinayana, while those from "[the mind of the Mahayana] concerned for others" onward are the minds of the Mahayana. The first two [minds] of the Mahayana are the bodhisattva vehicles and the second two are the Buddha vehicles. Each of these vehicles may appropriate the name "Buddha" for its own vehicle, but when viewed in light of the subsequent [vehicles], it becomes a frivolous assertion. None of the previous [stages of the mind] is stationary, and therefore they are described as having no ownnature; none of the subsequent [stages of the mind] is the [ultimate] fruit, and therefore they are all causes. When viewed successively in relation to each other, each is profound and wondrous, and therefore they become "[progressively] deeper and [progressively] more wondrous. "

"The esoteric teachings of the true word (mantra) were expounded by the Dharma body."—This line reveals the expositor of the mantra [teachings]. The seven teachings apart from that of "[the mind of] ultimate own-naturelessness" were all expounded by the Response- and Transformation-Buddhas of other-enjoyment.135 The secret treasury of the esoteric teaching of mantras in two divisions136 was expounded by the Dharma body, the Tathagata Mahavairocana, together with his retainers, the fourfold Dharma body, for their own enjoyment of Dharma bliss while residing in the Adamantine Dharma-realm Palace, the Mantra Palace, and so on. Passages in the Indications of the Goals of the Eighteen Assemblies and so on are clear about this, and I will cite no further evidence.

"And the Secret Adamantine [Vehicle] is the supreme truth."— This line shows that the teaching of the mantra vehicle is the ultimate truth, transcending all other vehicles.

The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury, Fascicle Three 215

214

Notes

On the Differences between the Exoteric and Esoteric Teachings

1 Kukai's use of the term okeshin (or okebutsu) both in The, Differences and elsewhere is by no means consistent. Here oke is clearly an abbreviation for ojin (response body) and keshin (transformation body), but dke(shin) can also refer to a single type of Buddha body (responsive-transformation body). Furthermore, in some instances it would seem possible to interpret it either way, and in such cases a note has been added to indicate the alternative interpretation.

2 An allusion to the parable of the phantom city in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sutra.

3 See the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Chapter Nine (T. 12: 485c). 4 Alternatively, "... by the other-enjoyment and responsive-transformation bodies. "

5 Both these passages are quoted below in Fascicle Two. 6 In The Precious Key Kukai equates the standpoints articulated by the first four of these five questions and answers with the teachings of the Fa-hsiang (Hosso), San-lun (Sanron), T'ien-t'ai (Tendai), and Hua-yen (Kegon) schools respectively.

7 The first line of he four-line verse for the transference of erit with which Paramartha's translation of the Treatise on the Awakening of aith in the Mahayana ends (T. 32: 583b).

8 There exist three-fascicle and four-fascicle redactions of this work; the version given in the Taisho edition is the four-fascicle redaction, and there the passage quoted here appears in Fascicle Four.

9 Two of he "Ten Mysteries, which represent ten aspects of niversal interpenetration as propounded in Hua-yen doctrine.

10 In Hua-yen doctrine the process of becoming a Buddha is explained in terms of three "lifetimes": after having "seen and heard" the teachings of the Flower Ornament Sutra in a past lifetime, one "understands and 217

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practices" them in one's present lifetime and "realizes and enters" the state of enlightenment in a future lifetime.

11 The original has been adapted by Kukai.

12 The Lamp of rajna Treatise is a commentary on Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka-karika by Bhaviveka, but because the root verses are by Nagarjuna, Kukai here writes "Nagarjuna's Lamp of Prajna Treatise" when quoting the following verses. These verses, however, are not from the Madhyamaka-karika, and they would seem to summarize an opponent's views.

13 Madhyamaka-karika 25.24cd; cf. T. 30: 36b.

14 The original has been abridged by Kukai.

16 Kukai has adapted the original, which lists more than two hundred names. 16 The first eight "minds" listed here correspond to the eight consciousnesses posited in Fa-hsiang doctrine (with "manas-consciousness" representing ego-consciousness and "aZaya-consciousness" ["storehouse-consciousness"] corresponding to the subconscious underlying the other seven consciousnesses), while the final two are peculiar to the Commentary on the Mahayana Treatise: 9) "mind of many-and-one-consciousness" signifies the state of mind that recognizes the plurality of phenomena as well as their ultimate oneness, while 10) "mind of one-oneness-consciousness" refers to the state of ind that transcends all distinctions between plurality and oneness and dwells in a state of total oneness.

17 This quotation forms part of an explication of the Dharma as the second of the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), but the original has been adapted by Kukai.

18 This refers specifically to the T'ien-t'ai school, in whose fivefold classification of Buddhist teachings the Lotus Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra are equated with ghee.

19 In the Sanskrit text of the Lahkavatara-sutra his name is given as Nagahvaya, but the Chinese translation gives the standard equivalent of agarjuna, and I have rendered it accordingly since this is how it would have been understood by readers of the Chinese.

20 The original has been abridged by Kukai. In the Sanskrit text of the Lahkavatara-sutra, the terms rendered here as "Recompense-Buddha [emanating from] the Dharma-Buddha," "Recompense-Buddha," "Dharma-Buddha" and "Response-Buddha created by the Responsive-Transformation Buddha" correspond to dharmata-nisyanda-buddha, nisyanda-buddha, dharmata-buddha, and nirmita-nirmana-buddha respectively. 218

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Notes

21 jp.; okebutsu. Since Kukai here refers to "three bodies," this term could also be taken to mean "Response- and Transformation-Buddhas. " Cf. note 1.

22 This passage is quoted in full (except for the first paragraph) in Becoming a Buddha, pp. 77-8.

23 The original has been adapted by Kukai, but the full version is given in the passage from the same work quoted below in Section III. 24 The original has been adapted by Kukai, but the full version is given in the passage from the same work quoted below.

26 The original, corresponding to the preface of his sutra, has been slightly abridged by Kukai.

26 This refers to the enlightenment of Sarvarthasiddhi as described at the start of the Sarvatathagatatattvasamgraha; see T. 18: 207c-208a (cf. "The Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra" in Two Esoteric Sutras, translated by Rolf W. Giebel [Numata Center, 2000], pp. 23-5).

27 The "five circles" are the five circles of five deities, each centered on one of the Five Buddhas, that constitute the main part of the Vajradhatu Mandala, and the foregoing section refers to the generation of the mandala deities by Vairocana.

28 This passage corresponds to the opening section of this sutra (which in the original begins: "Thus have I heard... ").

29 The "five phrases" are the five phrases from "in the originally existent Adamantine Realm" to "... palace of he radiant mind," and properly speaking they constitute a single compound representing the name of the palace in which Vairocana dwells.

30 I.e., the Four Gatekeepers, who in the Vajradhatu Mandala are male: Vajrankusa, Vajrapasa, Vajrasphota, and Vajravesa.

31 I.e., the Four Inner Goddesses of Offering and the Four Outer Goddesses of Offering in the Vajradhatu Mandala: Vajralasya, Vajramala, Vajraglta, Vajranrtya, Vajradhupa, Vajrapuspa, Vajraloka, and Vajragandha. 32 Variant reads: <—the wisdom that has completely perfected the virtue of cutting off>.

33 Variant has "Adamantine One Vehicle" for "one vehicle of adamantine wisdom. "

34 Perhaps a reference to the Ta-lo chin-kang pu-k'ung chen-shih san-meiyeh ching pan-jo po- lo-mi-to li-ch'u shih (T. 1003). 219

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36 This passage corresponds to the opening section of this sutra (which in the original begins: "Thus have I heard... "), but it has been abridged by Kukai. 36 The original has been adapted by Kukai.

37 This passage is part of the response to a question about why the Buddha, in spite of his divine powers, should have received on nine occasions "retribution for sins," and it continues, "Because there are two kinds of Buddhas, it is not wrong [to say] that he should receive [retribution for] sins."

38 Here and below "response and transformation [bodies]" (oke) could perhaps also be taken in the sense of "responsive-transformation [body]." Cf. note 1.

The Meaning of Becoming a Buddha in This \fery Body

1 An apparent reference to the section on the ten stages of he development of the religious mind in Chapter One of the Mahavairocana Sutra (T. 18: 3b).

2 An apparent reference to the Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra on Differentiating the Positions of he Deities, which describes the generation of thirtysix of the thirty-seven chief deities of the Vajradhatu Mandala by the central deity Vairocana.

3 This passage describes the fourth stage of a five-stage process of enlightenment based on the enlightenment of Sarvarthasiddhi as described in the first chapter of the Sarvatathagatatattvasamgraha. The original has "... your own body becomes an adamantine body" for "... your own body becomes the Adamantine Realm. "

4 Several manuscripts add parenthetical comments to each of the four lines of the second stanza, but because they are repeated in the following "Interpretative Remarks," and also because they are not found in the standard text, those appended to the first three lines have been omitted, while that for the fourth line follows the standard text.

6 Variant reads: Buddhabodhi a vi ra hum kham hum. Cf. Namah. samantabuddhanam, ah vi ra hum kham (T. 18: 20a). 6 The Five Buddhas each symbolize one of the five elements, but in Sino-Japanese Esoteric Buddhism there are two schools of thought on the correspondences between the Five Buddhas and five elements; see The Meanings of ound, Sign, and Reality, note 12.

7 Strictly speaking "cognition-only" (vijhapti-matratd), but it is translated here as "consciousness-only" because both "consciousness" (vijhana) and "cognition" (vijhapti) are rendered by the same term in Chinese and Kukai's comments hinge on this identity.

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8 The original has: "the letter Hum refers to wrath. " 9 The subject of the initial verb "produce" is not specified m the Mahavairocana Sutra, but in the translation the six elements have provisionally been given as the subject in accordance with Kukai's subsequent exposition. In addition, the Mahdvairocana Sutra has "dharma marks of dharmas" for "dharmas and dharma marks." "The dharmas that are born, abide, and so on" in the final line refers to the four phases of existence exhibited by all transient phenomena, i.e., birth (jati), duration (sthiti), change (anyathatva), and extinction (vyaya).

10 For a further discussion of the dharma-mandala, etc., see the exposition of line two of the first stanza below.

11 See note 3.

12 One of the seven treasures possessed by a wheel-turning king (cakravartin), although in the present context it could possibly be construed as "wheel, gem,..."

is According to the Sarvatathdgatatattvasamgraha, the "adamantine bind" (vajra-bandha) forms the basis of all samaya seals (samaya-mudra), i.e., hand gestures (cf. T. 18: 220c, 243c, 356c; see also Two Esoteric Sutras, p. 88).

14 In orthodox Buddhist doctrine a "dominant condition" (adhipati-pratyaya) refers to any general cause, such that with respect to a particular element X all elements apart from X act as dominant conditions of X insofar that they do not hinder the occurrence of X.

15 This analogy plays on the literal meanings of the two characters that make up the term chia-ch'ih/kaji, the Sino-Japanese equivalent of the Sanskrit adhisthana, "empowerment."

16 T. 18: 12c, 24b, etc. The salutation is: Namah samantabuddhanam ("Homage to all Buddhas!"). The mantra can be translated as follows: "O you who are unequaled! you who have three equal parts! pledge! All hail. Kukai's interpretation of samaya as "equality" is based on the traditiona interpretation of this term in Sino-Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, according to which "equality" is one of the four meanings of this term, presumably because of a supposed link with the word sama, "equal," to which it is not, however, directly connected etymologically. 17 The Taisho text of the Mahdvairocana Sutra (as well as the Tibetan translation) reads "... completely removed from cause and karma," and in addition a variant found in several editions (and supported ay the Tibetan translation) has: "... and so how can there be any cause?" 18 The original has been adapted by Kukai; it is quoted in full in The Differences, pp. 52-4.

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Notes

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19 Strictly speaking, the Sanskrit equivalent of the Chinese term rendered here as "all-knowing wisdom" is sarvajfajnana, which refers to the knowledge (Jnana) possessed by an all-knowing or omniscient one (sarvajfia) In addition, the Sanskrit equivalent of the Chinese transliteration sa-panjo (Jp.: sahannya) could be sarvajfia, sarvajna[ta\, or sarvajhafna], but in light of Kukai's interpretation it has for the sake of convenience been given as sarvajnana (lit., "omniscience").

20 This explanation draws on traditional interpretations of the terms jnana citta, and dharma. The definition of "accumulative arising" for citta is based on the Abhidharmakosa-bhasya (ad II.34ab), which states that "[the mind is termed] citta because it accumulates (cinoti)" (cf. T. 29: 21c), while the definition of dharma as "norm-support," partially based on the fact that the word dharma derives from the verb dhr, "to hold," is found in the Treatise on the Establishment of Consciousness-only (T. 31: la). 21 On many-and-one—consciousness," see The Differences, note 16. The Meanings of Sound, Sign, and Reality

1 There are several possible interpretations of "the inner and the outer breath": they could refer to the breath of sentient and non-sentient beings respectively, in which case "sound" would encompass all sounds in the natural world; alternatively, when confined to a human context, they could refer either to inhalation and exhalation respectively or to the breath within the body during respiration and the external air with which it comes in contact upon exhalation. It should also be noted that the word translated as "vibration" can also mean "echo."

2 A dependent compound (tatpurusa) in the narrow sense of he term is one in which the first member ("sound" or "sound-sign") modifies the second member ("sign" or "reality") and there also exists a case relationship between the two members, in this case either instrumental ("sign dependent on sound" or "reality dependent on sound-sign") or genitive ("sign of sound" or "reality of sound-sign").

3 A possessive compound (bahuvrihi) is one that functions as an adjective qualifying another substantive and has some sense of possession or attribution. Therefore, strictly speaking, it cannot apply to the relationship between sound and "sign, " but only to the relationship between "soundsign" and "reality," nor can there exist, at least grammatically, a relationship of mutual possession between the two.

4 An appositional compound (karmadharaya) is one in which the first member modifies the second member appositionally or by way of equivalence. Thus in the present case "sound" and "sign," as well as "sound-sign" and reality, stand in apposition to each other and are also deemed to be essentially equivalent to each other.

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Notes

6 An indeclinable (or adverbial) compound (avyaylbhava) is a compound in which the first member is an indeclinable and the compound functions as an adverb, but in China it came to be interpreted as a form of metonymy, with either both the metonym and its referent or only the metonym being indicated; "sound-sign" and "sound-sign-reality" are considered to be examples of the former, and Kukai presumably means that "sound and "sign," or "sound-sign" and "reality," are so closely connected in meaning that they can serve as metonyms of each other.

6 A copulative compound (dvandva) is one in which the two or more members of the compound are simply enumerated together without any syntactical dependence of one case upon another obtaining between them. Thus in the present case "sound-sign" means "sound and sign," while "sound-sign-reality" means "sound-sign and reality." 7 A numeral compound (dvigu) is one in which the first member is a numeral. 8 See especially Chapters Four and Nine.

9 See especially T. 18: lOab.

10 See especially Chapters Eight, Seventeen, and Twenty-two. 11 See especially Chapters Two and Eleven. The term translated as "reality" means literally "characteristic of the real" or "real characteristic," and hence it is associated with "characteristiclessness" and the characteristics of the deities.

12 In Sino-Japanese Esoteric Buddhism there are two traditions concerning the correspondences between the five elements, the five syllables, and the Five Buddhas. According to Subhakarasimha, they correspond as follows: Earth A Aksobhya

Water Vam Amitäbha/Amitäyus

Fire Ram Ratnasambhava

Wind Ham Amoghasiddhi

Space Kham Vairocana

According to Amoghavajra, on the other hand, they correspond as follows: Earth A Vairocana

Water Va Amoghasiddhi

Fire Ra Ratnasambhava

Wind Ha Amitabha/Amitayus

Space Kha Aksobhya

The "commentators"alluded to here are probably the authors of the Abhidharmakosa-bhasya and the Treatise on the Establishment of Consciousness-only, in both of hich "[articulatory] pattern" (wen/mon = Skt. 223

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vyanjana) and "sign" (tz'u/ji = Skt. aksara) are regarded as synonymous (see T. 29: 29a; T. 31: 6b). Kukai, on the other hand, is here pointing out the difference between what in modern parlance might be described as the phonological and semantic aspects of a linguistic unit. 14 This is believed to be an allusion to the Great Perfection of Wisdom Treatise (T. 25: 336c), and the passage in question is quoted in The Differences, p. 37, and summarized in The Meanings of he Word Hum, p. 127, although the actual term "secret speech" does not appear in this passage. Strictly speaking, the equivalent of "mantra" in the preceding sentence is the standard transliteration of mandala, but, given the context, it is presumably an error (possibly scribal) for "mantra."

15 "True speech" (or "true word"; chen-yen/shingon) is the standard Sino-Japanese equivalent of "mantra," and hereafter it is generally rendered as "mantra. "

16 T. 32: 605c-606a. The passage in question is quoted in The Differences pp. 39-41.

17 The following definitions of color, shape, and movement are based chiefly on the Yoga Treatise (T. 30: 279b).

18 Our text reads "commentary on the Mahavairocana Sutra," but the word "commentary" is probably superfluous.

19 The original has been abridged by Kukai.

20 In the original this and the previous two quotations constitute a single sentence describing the bodies that emerged from the (Dharma) body of Mahavairocana to utter a verse in all world-systems, whereupon they once again entered the body of Mahavairocana, and therefore Kukai's interpretation of t in terms of the Buddha's recompense, responsive-transformation, and homogeneous bodies goes beyond its original intent. 21 This analogy is taken from the Commentary on the Mahavairocana Sutra (T. 39: 643c). Kasaya /kasaya refers to a brown-red or yellowish-red color and, by extension, to a monk's robe, which is dyed this color. The Meanings of the Word Hum

1 I follow the variant in reading chuo [no] hontai for chuo honzon [no] tai. 2 In Abhidharma doctrine the patterns of relationship obtaining between different elements of xistence are classified into six causes, four conditions, and five results, and the six causes are: 1) general cause (karana-hetu), 2) coexistent cause (sabhu-hetu), 3) homogeneous cause (sabhaga-hetu), 4) concomitant cause (samprayukta-hetu), 5) pervasive cause (sarvatragahetu), and 6) maturative cause (vipaka-hetu). Among these, 1) "general 224

Notes

cause" signifies an indirect cause in the broadest sense of the term, i.e., anything that does not hinder the occurrence of a particular result, while the remaining five causes (2-6) refer to different types of causes with the potential for producing particular results, and these five types of causes are also known as "causal conditions" (hetu-pratyaya), one of he four types of conditions (with the remaining three types of conditions referring to different instances of a "general cause").

3 Quoted from the Commentary on the Mahavairocana Sutra (T. 39: 656a). Strictly speaking, the Sanskrit equivalent hetu has been transliterated as hetva, and the Commentary reads, "...hetva, which means 'cause'"; this is preferable to Kukai's "causal condition" (or "cause and/or condition"). 4 Quoted from the Commentary (T. 39: 651c).

6 Quoted from the Commentary (T. 39: 656a). Although I have followed Kukai when translating "[This corresponds to] the Dharma realm of all things," the Commentary reads, "[This corresponds to] the Dharma realm of all Buddhas."

6 Madhyamaka-karika XXIV.18; T. 30: 33b.

7 Quoted from the Commentary (T. 39: 649b).

8 The mandala described in the Mahavairocana Sutra, the full name of which is "Mandala Born of the Matrix of Great Compassion." 9 Quoted from the Commentary (T. 39: 651c).

10 The original has only "[inherent] nature" for Kukai's "[inherent] nature of all dharmas."

11 Sarvadharmesvararaja asks the Buddha to explain the eight kinds of "dharani gateways" to which the latter had previously alluded, and in his explication of the first the Buddha lists one hundred meanings of the letter A (532b-533b).

12 This is an allusion to the three modes of being (or "three natures" [trisvabhava]) posited in Yogacara (Hosso) doctrine: "discriminated nature" (parikalpita-svabhava), "other-dependent nature ' (paratantra-svabhava), and "consummate nature" (parinispanna-svabhava).

13 Variant has "extinguished" for "diminished."

14 One of several techniques for meditating in regular and reverse order on the meanings of the individual syllables constituting a mantra or some other formula (dharani) arranged in a "wheel of etters. " Here, Kukai interprets the meaning of the letter U on the basis of a series of twenty-nine letters/syllables given in Chapter Two of the Mahavairocana Sutra (T. 18: lOab) and further explained in the commentary on the same (T. 39: 225

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651c-656a); Kukai omits the letters themselves, but in the translation each letter and the Sanskrit term representing its meaning (corresponding to a word generally beginning with that particular syllable) have been added in parentheses.

An allusion to the parable of the phantom city in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sutra. 16 Cf. T. 18: 10b and T. 39: 715b.

The Chinese term teng-ch'ih is normally a translation of samddhi, and the pertinent passage alluded to in note 16 (T. 18:10b) gives in fact ''mas tery of all samadhis" (not "all samayas") as the meaning of the nasals ha na, na, na, and ma. On Kukai's interpretation of samaya as "equality " see Becoming a Buddha, note 16.

18 Cf. T. 39: 582b, 686c.

19 The heart-mantra of Acalanatha is usually ham mam or hmmam. 20 See Sound, Sign, and Reality, pp. 88-9.

When representing the nasalization of a preceding vowel (as in hum), the letter m is indicated by a simple dot (anusvara) placed either over the vowel that is to be nasalized or to the right of the vowel mark. When combined with a consonant (as in hum), the vowel u is indicated by a curved stroke placed below the consonant.

In Sanskrit, a, when used as a prefix, has a negative or privative meaning, similar to English in-, un-, -less, etc. Kukai gives three sets of negate; propositions exemplifying the negative meaning of a, and these are differentiated by the use of three separate negatives in Sino-Japanese (Ch.: fei, pu, and wu; Jp.: hi, fu, and mu).

The original has been adapted by Kukai; it is quoted in full in The Differences, p. 37.

In Sino-Japanese Siddham studies, twelve standard vowels are distinguished (a, a, i, i, u, u, e, ai, o, au, am, and ah), and when the four phases of ause, practice, realization, and nirvana are assigned to these twelve vowels, a corresponds to cause, a-au correspond to practice, am corresponds to realization, and ah corresponds to nirvana. Hence here and below u is associated with practice and ma (i.e., [a]m) with result, and similarly ha may be considered to represent cause not only because it is the first letter in the word hetu ( cause ), but also because it contains the initial vowel a. 26 This corresponds to what is known in Sino-Japanese Esoteric Buddhism as the three propositions," which appear in the Mahavairocana Sutra (I. 18: lbc); see also T. 19: 527c and T. 20: 539a.

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27 In Sino-Japanese Siddham studies vowels are divided into male and female—a is regarded as male and the rest as female—and because meditation is, moreover, deemed to be "female" and wisdom "male," the subscript representing the vowel u is here referred to as the "samadhi stroke." 28 In the following Kukai elaborates on six further meanings of the word Hum, and the first five are based on the commentary (T. 39: 673b-674a) on a mantra appearing in Chapter Two of the Mahavairocana Sutra and called "spell-consort of great strength and great protection" (T. 18: 12c); it includes the two seed-syllables ham and kham, and Kukai's explication of the meaning "protection" (as well as the next two meanings "defeating at will" and "fulfilling wishes") is based on the commentary on these two letters (T. 39: 673c; here and below direct quotations from the Commentary have been enclosed in quotation marks).

29 The samadhi into which Vairocana entered before pronouncing the mantra mentioned in note 28 is called "Observation from the High Peak of the Pure Dharma Banner. "

30 The Commentary has simply "... fulfills all wishes." 31 This section is based on the commentary (T. 39: 673c) on the word mahabale ("0 [you who have] great power/strength!") appearing in the aforementioned mantra (see note 28).

32 The Commentary has simply "... the powers of all Tathagatas. " 33 The Commentary omits "Dharma practices" and reads "... cultivating... the myriad virtues of the letter Kha (—reading ch'ti for fa), every single one of hich is__"

34 This section is based on the commentary (T. 39: 674a) on the words hum hum appearing in the aforementioned mantra (see note 28). 35 The Commentary has Ha instead of Hum..

36 This section is based on the commentary (T. 39: 681b) on the mantra of Avalokitesvara given in Chapter Four of the Mahavairocana Sutra (T. 18: 14a). In the following quotation the Commentary has samadhi for Kukai's samaya.

The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury

1 "Cow-Head" was an epithet of Shen Nung, one of the legendary founders of Chinese civilization and renowned as a great agriculturalist and the father of medicine; "Broken Stump" was an epithet of Duke Tan of Chou, so called because he is said by some to have been a hunchback. 2 See Becoming a Buddha, pp. 74-5.

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3 Acalanatha and Trailokyavijaya are both deities of fearsome appearance. Acalanatha is described as having only his right eye open; hence the reference to a "sidelong glance."

4 The Eight Offering Goddesses correspond to the Four Inner Goddesses of Offering and the Four Outer Goddesses of Offering in the Vajradhatu Mandala (see The Differences, note 31), while the Four Paramita Bodhisattvas are the four deities surrounding Vairocana in the center of the Vajradhatu Mandala.

5 A teaching found in the Commentary on the Mahayana Treatise; cf. The Differences, p. 23. Here it implies the ninth stage, while "those of the ten stages" is an allusion to the eighth stage.

6 Mahavairoeana is here represented by the five elements; cf. Becoming a Buddha, pp. 68-9.

The dharma-mandala, corresponding to linguistic representations of the deities (e.g., seed-syllables, mantras, and also scriptures), is here represented by words which in Sanskrit begin with the first letters of the five series of consonants and the semivowels in the Sanskrit alphabet—ka: kdrya ("action"); ca: cyuti (lit., "fall"); ta: tanka ("pride"); ta: tathata ("thusness"); pa: paramartha ("supreme truth"); and ya: ydna ("vehicle"). The samaya-mandala, corresponding to symbolic representations (samaya) of the deities, is here represented by the insignia of the Five Buddhas Vairocana (caitya), Ratnaketu (banner), Samkusumitarajendra (radiant gem), Amitabha (lotus), and Dundubhisvara (conch shell). 9 The maha-mandala ("great mandala"), corresponding to the physical manifestations of the deities, is here represented by the Five Buddhas of the Mahakarunagarbhodbhava Mandala and the Four Paramita Bodhisattvas and two of the Eight Offering Goddesses of the Vajradhatu Mandala. The karma-mandala ( action mandala ") corresponds to the activities and concrete representations of the deities.

11 "Three delusions" refers both to three levels of delusion (coarse, subtle, and very subtle) and to the three eons said to be necessary for eradicating these three levels of delusion.

12 See note 28.

is The "Three Luminaries" refers to the sun, moon, and stars, while the "Five Marchmounts" are the five sacred mountains of China. This is an allusion to the teachings of Taoism; the "One" is ch'i (primal pneuma), the Two axe in and yang, and the "Three" are heaven, earth, and humankind.

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is The makara is a kind of sea monster, the garuda a mythical bird, and the raksasa a type of demon.

w The foregoing sentences describe the three kinds of evil or unwholesome physical activity (killing, stealing, and adultery); these and the four kinds of unwholesome verbal activity and three kinds of unwholesome mental activity described next together constitute the "ten evil deeds. 17 Tai Yuan was an outlaw who later rose to the position of district governor after having been admonished by one of his intended victims; Chou Ch'u was an unruly and violent young man, but eventually became a loyal minister of the king of Wu after having been reprimanded by his father. 18 Ancestral sacrifices, funeral rites, protocol for receiving guests, military rites, and coming-of-age and marriage ceremonies.

19 The source of this quotation is not known. According to Indian cosmology, the four continents mentioned here lie to the south, east, west, and north of Mount Sumeru; the first in particular is said to be the home of human beings.

20 "Acquired lineage," "innate lineage," and "lineage of the path" correspond to the ten abodes, ten practices, and ten [levels of] merit transference, which in turn correspond to the first thirty levels in the forty-two levels or stages of the path leading from the state of an ordinary person to enlightenment. 21 The six days of abstinence are the eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, twentythird, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth days of each month. 22 It is said that when Liu An, Prince of Huai-nan, flew up into the sky after having taken a special medicine, a dog licked the remainder of the medicine left in a container in the garden and followed him up into the sky, while Fei Ch'ang-fang is said to have ridden on a staff, given to him by a transcendent, which turned out to be a dragon.

23 The six heavens of the realm of desire and the four dhyana heavens of the realm of form.

24 The heat of he sun from above and the heat from four fires burning around a Hindu ascetic.

26 "Mo-yeh," the name of a famous sword, so named after the wife of its maker, Kan Chiang, of the third century B.C.E.

26 The people of the state of Cheng referred to unpolished jade asp'o, while the people of Chou called the dried corpse of a mouse by the same name. 27 The Vaisesika and Samkhya schools of orthodox Indian philosophy posit six and twenty-five basic principles respectively, and these are referred to in Chinese texts as the "six truths" and the "twenty-five truths." 229

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Dlrghanakha was a wandering religious mendicant at the time of Sakyamum whose view of reality was one that repudiated all philosophical viewpoints. The Vatsiputriya, one of the schools of Nikaya Buddhism, maintained that the self belonged to a category of dharmas called "inexponible. " 28 In the parable of the three carts and the burning house in the Lotus Sutra (Chapter Three), carts drawn by a goat, a deer, and an ox are likened to the three vehicles of sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas respectively. (Here and below, all references to the Lotus Sutra are to the Chinese translation by Kumarajlva.)

29 In early Buddhism the path to enlightenment is divided into four stages, known as "entering the stream" (srota-apanna), "returning once more" ( sakrdagamin), "not returning" (anagamin), and "arhat." These correspond to the "four fruits," each of which is considered to be preceded by a preliminary stage, collectively known as the "four approaches." 30 The six consciousnesses are the eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, noseconsciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness; the seventh consciousness is ego-consciousness (manas); and the eighth consciousness is the storehouse-consciousness (alaya-vijhana). 31 The "knowledge of nonarising" (anutpada-jndna) and the "knowledge of extinction" (ksaya-jnana) are the last two of the ten forms of knowledge: the latter is knowledge of the extinction of all one's defilements, and this is followed by the former, namely, the knowledge that defilements will never again arise.

32 There follows a lengthy dialogue between a young Confucian and a monk; the monk's name, Genkan, means "Gateway to the Mysteries." 33 A famous musician who lived during the reign of the Yellow Emperor. 34 Yen Yuan (alias Hui), the most gifted of Confucius's disciples. 35 Two early legendary rulers of China; Yao is said to have devised a calendar and encouraged agriculture, while Shun initially served him as a minister.

36 The last king of the pre-dynastic state of Chou, later idealized as a paragon of virtue.

37 Sixteen famous ministers during the reign of Shun. 38 Two famous physicians of ancient China.

39 Two famous archers of ancient China.

40 Two famous musicians of ancient China.

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« Two famous calligraphers of the fourth century C.E. 42 The manifestations of the Dharma in the first two of the three periods after the Buddha's parinirvana: 1) the period of the True Dharma, during which the Buddha's teaching is practiced and enlightenment can be attained; 2) the period of he Imitative Dharma, during which the Buddha's teaching is practiced but enlightenment can no longer be attained; and 3) the period of the Latter Dharma, during which only the teaching exists. 43 Eons of increase and decrease are periods during which, according to traditional Buddhist cosmology, the human lifespan gradually increases to eighty thousand years and then decreases to ten years. 44 The foregoing statements and phrases that make up the master's reply are all taken from the Tao te ching.

46 A collective designation for three officials considered the paramount aides to the ruler; from the Sui to the mid-Sung dynasties they were the Defender-in-Chief, Minister of Education, and Minister of Works. 46 The Five Virtuous [or Famous] Ministers were, like the Eight Good Ministers, ministers during the reign of the sage-king Shun. I Yin is said to have become a cook in order to approach King T'ang of Yin and advise him. T'ai-kung Wang was fishing when he was spotted by King Wen of Chou, whom he subsequently served. Chang Liang and Ch'en P'ing both served under the founder of the Former Han dynasty. 47 These are both incidents said to have occurred in Sakyamuni's former lives.

48 See Chapters Twelve and Twenty-three of the Lotus Sutra. 49 This subject is treated at greater length in The Differences. 50 Fourteen of he twenty-four standard histories of successive Chinese dynasties contain a monograph on the "five elements" (wu-hsing), i.e., water, fire, wood, metal, and earth.

51 Hsien-yil yin-yuan ching, T. 4: 376b; the original has been adapted by Kukai.

62 The Group of Six was a group of six monks notorious for their misdemeanors at the time of Sakyamuni; Devadatta was a cousin of Sakyamuni who turned against him and formed his own community; and Sunaksatra was a disciple of Sakyamuni who eventually became dissatisfied and left the order.

53 Two heterodoxical views mentioned in a passage quoted earlier from the Mahavairocana Sutra (pp. 143-4); they correspond to the standpoints of eternalism and annihilationism respectively.

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54 Eight places or conditions in which it is difficult to see a Buddha or hear the Dharma.

65 Kukai has added the first word "pratyekabuddhas." 56 The original has been adapted by Kukai.

67 Parinirvana, or complete nirvana attained after death. 68 An allusion to the parable of the phantom city in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sutra.

59 The "four immeasurables" are loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity; the "four methods of conversion" are giving, kind speech, beneficial action, and adaptation to the conditions of others. 60 Lit., "grasping consciousness"; an alternative name for either the seventh or eighth consciousness, it here refers to the latter. 61 These are two analogies used to describe the length of an eon (kalpa), which is said to be longer than either the time required to remove all the mustard seeds from an enormous city if one took away one seed every hundred years, or the time needed for an enormous stone cube to wear away if a celestial nymph came and brushed against it with a light garment once every hundred years.

62 The "three kinds of training" correspond to the efforts made to overcome three kinds of lassitude that arise upon hearing that enlightenment is vast and profound, that giving is difficult to practice, and that enlightenment is difficult to attain. The "four extensive vows" are the vow to save sentient beings, infinite though they may be; the vow to eradicate mental afflictions, inexhaustible though they may be; the vow to study the teachings, immeasurable though they may be; and the vow to accomplish the Buddhist path, unsurpassed though it may be. Both the "three kinds of training" and the "four extensive vows" are practiced in the first of the five levels or stages into which the path to enlightenment is divided in the Fa-hsiang (Jp: Hosso) school, and the following four sentences refer to practices carried out in each of the succeeding four stages. 63 The functioning of the other seven consciousnesses (cf. note 30). 64 Sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas.

65 An allusion to the cosmology of the Brahmajala-sutra (T. 1484). 66 The third of the three natures, or modes of being, posited in Yogacara doctrine; it corresponds to the state of enlightenment (cf. The Meanings of the Word Hum, note 12).

67 The Fa-hsiang school, so called because it was prevalent north of the Yangtze River.

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68 A reference to the Dharma body, wisdom, and liberation. 69 The original has been slightly adapted by Kukai; it is quoted in full in The Differences, p. 22.

70 The "four middle paths" are the middle path as opposed to the biased views of annihilationism and eternalism, the middle path that emerges when the biased views of annihilationism and eternalism come to an end, the absolute middle path, and the provisional middle path. 71 The San-lun (Jp.: Sanron) school, so called because it spread to the south of the Yangtze River.

72 The original has been slightly adapted by Kukai. 73 The letter A here stands for [ady]anutpada ("[original] nonarising"). 74 Chi-tsang (549-623) consolidated the foundations of the San-lun school. In his Treatise on the Profundities of the Mahayana (T. 1853; Ch.: Tach'eng hsiian-lun; Jp.: Daijogenron) he attempts to systematize the teachings of Buddhism from the Madhyamika standpoint of he San-lun school. He also wrote a work entitled The Meaning of the Two Truths (T. 1854; Ch.: Erh-ti i; Jp.: Nitaigi), to which Kukai may also be referring here. 76 During the second of the three eons, the subtle delusions are eradicated; cf. note 11.

76 The original has been slightly adapted by Kukai; it is quoted in full in The Differences, pp. 22-3.

77 Lit., "three herbs"; an allusion to the inferior, middling, and superior herbs mentioned in the parable of the three kinds of medicinal herbs and two kinds of trees in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sutra. The three herbs have traditionally been interpreted as referring to the vehicle for humans and gods, the vehicle for sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, and the vehicle for bodhisattvas respectively, while the two kinds of trees are identified with two levels of bodhisattvas.

78 An allusion to the parable of the three carts and the burning house in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sutra.

79 Another allusion to the parable of the three kinds of medicinal herbs and two kinds of trees in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sutra. 80 Cf. Chapter One of the Lotus Sutra.

81 Cf. Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra.

82 Cf. Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sutra.

83 Cf. Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sutra.

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84 Cf. Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sutra.

86 An allusion to the parable of the bright pearl in the topknot in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sutra; the "bright pearl" represents the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.

86 Cf. Chapter Twenty-five of the Lotus Sutra. 87 Cf. Chapter Three of the Lotus Sutra.

88 An allusion to Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sutra, in which the Buddha ("father") declares that the countless bodhisattvas who had welled up from the earth are his disciples ("children") from long ago. 89 Cf. Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sutra. The phrase "king of elephants" could be taken to refer to either the Buddha or Manjusri. 90 Cf. Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sutra. 91 The "ten thusnesses," mentioned in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra, are ten factors or aspects common to all phenomena; they are appearance, nature, substance, power, action, cause, condition, result, retribution, and the totality of the foregoing nine factors. "Calming" (samatha) and "contemplation" (vipasyana) are the two main components of the system of meditation employed in the T'ien-t'ai (Jp.: Tendai) school. 92 Cf. Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sutra.

93 Cf. The Differences, p. 34.

94 Cf. Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sutra.

96 This is an allusion to Maitreya in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sutra. 96 Chih-i (538-597), the founder of the T'ien-t'ai school. 97 I.e., the samadhi of the Lotus Sutra.

98 I.e., bodhisattvas of the sixth and seventh stages. 99 The original has been slightly adapted by Kukai; it is quoted in full in The Differences, p. 23.

100 See note 61.

101 Silpabhijna (lit., "Higher Knowledge of the Arts") was one of the fiftythree teachers visited by Sudhana in the course of his pilgrimage as described in the Gandavyuha, the final section of the Flower Ornament Sutra, and he is said to have attained liberation through his knowledge of various arts, including mathematics. The "mathematical genius" is mentioned in Chapter Two of the Chuang-tzu. 234

Notes

102 Li Chu is mentioned in the Huai-nan-tzu, while Aniruddha was one of the Buddha's ten chief disciples and is said to have been foremost in clairvoyance. 103 Yu, said to have founded the Hsia dynasty in ancient China, is also credited with having assigned names to all manner of things, while K'ua Fu is said to have challenged the light of the sun in a race to the place where the sun sets, but died of thirst on the way.

104 Cf. the parable of the phantom city in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sutra. 105 A famous statement in the Flower Ornament Sutra (T. 9: 449c). 106 In the Flower Ornament Sutra it is stated that at the time of enlightenment the Tathagata obtained a body equal in size to all dharmas, all lands, etc., and it lists a total of thirteen items with which his body is equal in size (T. 10: 275a). Kukai's reference to "ten" rather than "thirteen" is probably due to prosodical considerations.

107 The main Buddha of the Flower Ornament Sutra, on the teachings of which this ninth stage of the mind is based.

108 The name of the realm presided over by Vairocana in the Flower Ornament Sutra.

109 The various sections of the Flower Ornament Sutra are said to have been expounded to eight assemblies in seven different locations. 110 The three ages of the past, present, and future are in turn each said to have past, present, and future aspects, resulting in a total of "nine ages." 111 The youth Sudhana's pilgrimage is described in the final section of the Flower Ornament Sutra, known as the Gandavyuha or, in Chinese, as "Entry into the Dharma Realm."

112 According to Hua-yen doctrine, enlightenment is attained by listening to the Dharma in a past lifetime, practicing in the present lifetime, and realizing enlightenment in a future lifetime.

113 The first ten levels of the fifty-two levels or stages. 114 The five groups of ten stages which together constitute the first fifty of the fifty-two levels into which the Mahayana path is divided. ns Tu-shun (557-640) was the first patriarch of the Hua-yen (Jp.: Kegon) school.

116 T. 1867; it is probably the work of Fa-tsang.

117 This work is quoted in its entirety in the Essay on Generating the Bodhimind in the Hua-yen (T. 1878; Ch.: Hua-yen fa p'u-t'i-hsin chang; Jp.: 235

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Kegonhotsubodaishinsho) by Fa-tsang, the Profound Mirror of he Dharma Realm in the the Hua-yen (T. 1883; Ch.: Hua-yen fa-chieh hsuan-ching; Jp.: Kegonhokkaigenkyo) by Ch'eng-kuan, and the Commentary on the Gateway to Meditation on the Dharma Realm (T. 1884; Ch.: Chu Huayen fa-chieh kuan-men; Jp.: Chukegonhokkaikanmon) by Tsung-mi. 118 Chih-yen (602-668) was the second patriarch of the Hua-yen school. 119 Fa-tsang (643-712) was the third patriarch of the Hua-yen school. 120 T. 1871, 1734, and 1733 respectively.

121 A reference to ten aspects of the enlightened state of a Buddha. 122 A reference to the five-stage process of enlightenment described in the first chapter of the Sarvatathagatatattvasamgraha, the opening section of which is quoted below from the Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra (cf. "The Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra" in Two Esoteric Sutras, pp. 23-5). 123 The exact meaning of asphanaka is obscure, but asphdnaka-samadhi seems to refer to a deep state of meditation characterized by a complete absence of mental activity.

124 The original has been slightly adapted by Kukai. 125 The original has been slightly adapted by Kukai; it is quoted in full in The Differences, pp. 23-4.

126 Another reference to the five-stage process of enlightenment described in the Sarvatathagatatattvasamgraha; cf. note 122.

127 On the four mandalas and four seals, see Becoming a Buddha, pp. 74-5. 128 The original has been adapted by Kukai. See also Becoming a Buddha, pp. 68-9.

129 T. 18: 207c. This sentence occurs in the account of the first stage of the five-stage process of enlightenment alluded to earlier. 130 An allusion to Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra, where it is stated that the Buddhas appear in the world for one great reason alone, namely, to open the door of the Buddha's knowledge-and-insight to sentient beings, to reveal it to them, to make them understand it, and to induce them to enter it (T. 9: 7a).

131 In light of the Sanskrit equivalent "ghanavyuha," "Secret Adornment" should perhaps be translated "Dense (or Close) Adornment," but in Japan it has traditionally tended to be interpreted in the sense of "Secret Adornment" or "Adorned with Mysteries

132 This theme is dealt with in detail in Sound, Sign, and Reality. 236

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133 This theme is dealt with in detail in The Meanings of the Word Hum. 134 The original has been adapted by Kukai. 135 Alternatively, " by the Buddhas of other-enjoyment and responsive transformation." Cf. The Differences, note 1. 136 This refers to the Mahavairocana Sutra and Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra together with their associated rites and teachings. 237

THE MITSUGONIN CONFESSION THE ILLUMINATING SECRET COMMENTARY ON THE FIVE CAKRAS AND THE NINE SYLLABLES