(T25.107a17-108a18 [fasc.6])

Sutra: They were skillful in bringing about deliverance in
accordance with reality.
Upadesha: There are dharmas propounded by followers of other
paths which, although they are able to bring about "deliverance" of
beings, do so in a way which does not accord with reality. How is this
so? It is because of the deficits inherent in the multifarious
erroneous views and fetters [which they promote].
Although the adherents of the Two Vehicles teachings do have
those whom they bring to deliverance, they effect deliverance through
inappropriate methods. How is this so? This is on account of the fact
that, because they do not possess omniscience, their skillful means-
based thought is scant. Only the bodhisattvas are able to effect
deliverance in accordance with reality. The difference here is
analogous to that between two ferrymen on a river, one of whom relies on
a raft fashioned of reeds and floats, and the other of whom employs a
ship. There is an obvious difference in the relative merits of the two
approaches to ferrying people across. The bodhisattva's skillful
deliverance of beings is just like this.
Then again, one might say that this is comparable to methods of
healing disease. Bitter herbs, needles and cauterization induce pain in
the process of effecting a cure. On the other hand, one may use a
method of healing such as the miraculous medicine known as
Shuddhashaantaa, which the patient needs only lay eyes upon to effect
the complete cure of a multitude of maladies. Although the two methods
are the same in the sense that they both bring about the alleviation of
disease, still, there is a difference as regards relative superiority of
technique. The respective approaches employed by the Hearers and the
Bodhisattvas in the teaching and deliverance of people correspond to
this analogy.
The teaching of the Hearers consists in gaining the Way through
the rigorous implementation of the dhuutaa'nga practices, and through
sitting in dhyaana meditation, applying oneself with diligent mind in
the beginning, middle and final periods of the night. The teaching of
the bodhisattvas consists in achieving purification of the mind through
contemplating the mark of all dharmas as being devoid of either that
which binds or that which liberates. This is as illustrated in the The
Life of Manjushrii:

[The+Story+of+Prasannendriya+and+Agramati]

Manjushrii adddressed the Buddha, saying, "Greatly Virtuous
One, in the past, during the course of my previous lifetimes,
innumerable asa.mkhyeya kalpas ago, there was at that time a Buddha
named "King of the Lion's Roar" (Si.mhanaadaraaja). The lifespan of
that Buddha and the beings in that world was a hundred thousand ko.tis
of nayutas of years. That Buddha employed the teaching of the Three
Vehicles in delivering beings.
The name of that country was Thousand Rays of Light. The trees
in that country were made of the seven kinds of jewels. Those trees
emitted sounds extolling the innumerable pure dharmas as well as sounds
proclaiming emptiness, marklessness, wishlessness, nonproduction,
nonextinction, and the nonexistence of anything whatsoever. When beings
heard these sounds their minds were liberated and they gained the Way.
At that time when the Buddha King of the Lion's Roar proclaimed
the Dharma, during the first assembly, ninety- nine ko.tis of people
gained the way of arhatship. Within the assembly of bodhisattvas, it
was the same. All of these bodhisattvas gained the patience arising
from realization of the nonproduction of dharmas. They took up all
manner of Dharma methods and saw innumerable buddhas. They paid their
respects to them, made offerings to them and were able to bring an
innumerable and incalculable multitude of beings to deliverance. They
gained innumerable dhaara.ni accesses and were able to realize
innumerable samaadhis of all different kinds. Those bodhisattvas who
had but recently established their resolve and who had newly entered the
gate of the Way were inexpressably numerous. The innumerable adornments
of this buddhaland exhausted the descriptive power of words.
At that time, when that buddha had completed his teaching and
conversion of beings, he entered upon the nirvana without residue. His
Dharma dwelt in the world for sixty thousand years. [Eventually], the
Dharma sound of those trees ceased to come forth. At that time there
were two bodhisattva bhikshus, one of whom was named Prasannendriya
(lit. "Joyous Faculty"), and the second of whom was named Agramati (lit.
"Superior Intellect"). As for this Dharma Master Prasannendriya, in his
comportment he was virtuous and in his character he was direct.
However, he did not repudiate worldly dharmas, nor did he indulge in
making discriminations as to what was good and what was bad. The
disciples of Prasannendriya were intelligent, were pleased by Dharma and
delighted in listening to the most abstruse levels of meaning. Their
master did not devote himself to praising the virtues of having but few
desires and knowing when enough is enough, nor did he extol the merits
of the prohibitions or cultivate the [ascetic] dhuutaa'nga practices.
He simply proclaimed that the true mark of all dharmas is pure. He told
his disciples, "All dharmas, even if they are characterized by sensual
desire, characterized by anger, or characterized by delusion,- the marks
of all of these dharmas are identical to the true mark of all dharmas.
There is nothing therein by which to be hung up or obstructed." He
employed this skillful means to instruct his disciples and afford them
entry into the "single- mark" wisdom. At that time, his disciples had
no more hatred or resentment with respect to other people. Because
their thoughts were free of resentment, they gained the patience with
regard to beings. Because they gained the patience with regard to
beings, they were then able to realize the patience with regard to
dharmas. Abiding in actual Dharma they were unmoving like mountains.
The Dharma Master Agramati was pure in his observance of the
prohibitions. He cultivated the twelve dhuutaa'nga practices, achieved
the four dhyaana and four formless samaadhis. The disciples of Agramati
were of dull faculties and were much inclined to make discriminations as
to this being pure and that being impure and thus their minds moved and
were turned.
There was one time when Agramati went into the town and, having
arrived at the house of one of Prasannendriya's disciples, sat down in
the appointed seat and proceeded to extol the observance of the
prohibitions, limitation of desires, knowing when enough was enough,
cultivating the dhuutaa'nga practices, and extolling also the taking up
of dhyaana meditation and the cultivation of stillness in a quiet place.
Additionally, he proceeded to disparage Prasannendriya, saying, "When
this man speaks Dharma, he instructs people in a way which influences
them to enter into erroneous views. He speaks of lust, hatred, and
delusion as being devoid of any characteristics which should constitute
an impediment. He is a man whose conduct is rather mixed. He is not
entirely pure."
This disciple was one possessed of sharp faculties and who had
achieved the patience with regard to dharmas. He asked Agramati,
"Greatly Virtuous One, by what characteristic does one know this dharma
of sensual desire?"
He replied, "Sensual desire is characterized by afflictions."
[The layperson] asked, "Do these desire- associated afflictions
reside externally or do they reside internally?"
[Agramati] replied, "These desire- associated afflictions do not
reside internally nor do they reside externally. If they resided
internally, then it shouldn't be the case that they rely on external
causes and conditions for their arisal. If they resided externally,
then they should have nothing to do with me and should not therefore be
able to afflict me."
The layperson then declared, "If it's the case that sensual
desire does not come from inside or from outside or from the east or
from the west or from the south or from the north or from any of the
four midpoints or from above or below, and if it is the case that one
can search everywhere and be entirely unable to find any actual
characteristic, this dharma then is neither produced nor destroyed. If
it is devoid of any mark of production or extinction, it is empty and
entirely devoid of anything whatsoever which exists. How then can it be
that it is able to be afflictive?"
After Agramati had listened to this declaration, he was not
pleased and was unable to offer a reply. He got up from his seat and
said words to this effect, "Prasannendriya has engaged in an extensive
deception of many people and has influenced them to take up an improper
path."
This Agramati Bodhisattva had not yet studied the dhaara.ni of
sound. When he heard words which had been spoken by the Buddha, he was
delighted. When he heard the doctrines of other paths, he was filled
with aversion. When he heard of the three roots of unwholesomeness then
he would be displeased. When he heard of the three roots of
wholesomeness then he would be greatly delighted. When he heard of
birth and death then he would become worried. When he heard of nirvana
then he would be happy. He departed from that layperson's house, went
to the forest, entered the monastery, and announced to the bhikshus,
"You should all be aware that this Prasannendriya bodhisattva has
engaged in deceptions whereby he has extensively influenced people to
engage in the unwholesome and the improper. How is this so? He has
said, 'As for the characteristics of lust, anger and delusion as well as
those of all other dharmas,-- they are all characterized by mutual
nonobstruction.'"
At this time Prasannendriya thought, "This man is extremely
hateful, is covered over by unwholesome karma, and is going to fall into
committing a grave offense. I should now speak the most profound
Dharma. Although he will gain nothing from it now, it will constitute
for him a cause and condition for the path of Buddhahood in a future
age. Then Prasennendriya called an assembly of the Sa.mgha and
singlemindedly uttered a verse:

One's sensual desire's identical with the Way.
And so it is with hate and delusion.
In just this way amidst these three,
One finds the Way of innumerable buddhas.

So if a man discriminates
'Twixt lust and hate, delusion and Way,
This man strays far away from Buddha
Just as heaven's far from earth.

The Way, lust, hatred and delusion
Are all one dharma, all the same.
Should one who hears this cringe in fear,
He's far away from Buddha's path.

The dharma of lust's not born or destroyed,
And cannot cause the mind affliction,
But if one has a view of self,
This lust leads forth to states of woe.

Seeing dharmas of existence and nonexistence as
different,
One can't leave existence or nonexistence.
But knowing existence and nonexistence as same,
Transcending supremely, one achieves Buddha's
Way.

He spoke more than seventy verses of this sort. At that time,
30,000 devas gained the patience arising from awareness of the
nonproduction of dharmas. Eighteen thousand Hearers, because they did
not cling to any dharmas, achieved liberation. At that time Agramati
bodhisattva fell into the hells where he underwent sufferings for an
immeasurable period of ten million ko.tis of years. When he emerged
again and was born among men, for 740,000 existences, he was always
slandered. He did not even hear the word "buddha" for an innumerable
number of kalpas. When these offenses gradually became lighter he was
able to hear the Buddha's Dharma. He left home as a monk for the sake
of the Way, but he [eventually] gave up the precepts. In this manner,
for 63,000 existences, he always foresook the precepts. Then, for an
innumerable number of existences he became a shrama.na but, although he
no longer set aside the precepts, his faculties were [still] dark and
dull.
This Prasannendriya bodhisattva is now a buddha far away to the
east, 100,000 ko.tis of buddhalands away. His land is known as "Jeweled
Adornment" and his buddha name is "Sun- Surpassing Brilliance King".
Ma "At that time, the bhikshu Agramati was
myself. I observe that for such a period of time I endured this
immeasurable amount of suffering."
Manjushrii again addressed the Buddha, saying, "If there be a
man who seeks the way of the Three Vehicles and who doesn't wish to
undergo all manner of suffering, he should not [employ the
discriminating mind to] break up the mark of all dharmas and then
cherish hatefulness based thereon."
The Buddha asked Ma~njushrii, "What benefits did you gain from
listening to these verses?"
He replied, "When I heard these verses, I achieved the ending of
the multitude of sufferings and in life after life developed sharp
faculties and wisdom. I became able to understand the profound Dharma
and able to expound the profound meaning. I became foremost among the
bodhisattvas in this regard."
Examples such as these illustrate skillful explanation of the
mark of all dharmas. This is what is meant by "They were skillful in
bringing about deliverance in accordance with reality."

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End Notes:
"They were skillful..." The Sutra refers here to the bodhisattvas in
attendance upon the Buddha when he delivered these teachings on the
perfection of wisdom. [Return to text.]

Shuddhashaantaa. We borrow Lamotte's educated guess as to the proper
Sanskrit reconstruction of the Chinese "su t'uo shan t'uo." [Return to
text.]

Dhuutaa'nga practices. This refers to twelve beneficial ascetic
practices specifically recommended by the Buddha. [Return to text.]

Asa.mkhyeya kalpas. A kalpa is a cosmic cycle of time commensurate with
the lifespan of a world system. Asa.mkhyeya means "innumerable" and
here refers to an immeasurably long period of cosmic time comprised of
an innumerable number of births and deaths of world systems. [Return to
text.]

"...hung up or obstructed." Please note: This teaching does not
constitute an endorsement of desire, aversion and delusion. Its
intention is to diminish attachments, not multiply them, and thus it
does not in the least negate or diminish the importance of the
traditional and standard moral and ethical proscriptions. Though useful
for countering a tendency to make polarizing discriminations which may
constitute one of the most recalcitrant obstacles to liberation, still,
it does presume a pre- existing awareness of the need to eliminate the
above-mentioned three poisons from one's thoughts, words and actions.
[Return to text.]

"States of woe" is not a Buddhist euphemism for the short- term psychic
pain which may follow in the aftermath of a libidinous excursion.
Rather, it is a technical term referring specifically to repeated
reincarnation in the lower realms, realms characterized by intense and
unremitting pain as well as by such complete psychic submersion that the
prospects of regaining human incarnation in the foreseeable future are
quite scant. It may serve us well to note that this line constitutes
Prasannendriya's warning label. In essence, it tells us, "Unless we are
entirely free of a view of self (and no one is free of such an
affliction who has not already realized arhatship) the three poisons of
desire, aversion and delusion still conduce to karmic misery." [Back to
text.]

"...gave up the precepts." This character which I have translated
variously as "foresaking," "giving up," or "setting aside" of the
precepts does not necessarily imply transgression but does at least
signify a formal retreat from monastic status to the typically less rigorous
preceptual standards of lay life. [Back to text.]

Three Brothers Suddenly Awaken

(T25.110b8-21 [f.7])

The Bodhisattva is able to employ all manner of skillful means
to personally cut off all of these kinds of afflictions* and is also
able to employ clever skillful means to bring about the cutting off of
other people's afflictions. For example, when the Buddha was in the
world, there were three men, an elder brother, second brother and
youngest brother who had heard that there was a courtesan in Vaishaalii
named Aamrapaalii, a courtesan in Shraavastii named Sumanaa, and a
courtesan in Raajag.rha named Utpalavar.naa. Each of the three men had
heard people extol these three women as being incomparably lovely, so
much so that, day and night, they were obsessed, could not put those
women out of their thoughts, and then, in their dreams, dreamt that they
had an affair with them. Upon awakening, they thought, "These women did
not come to us, nor did we go to see them, and yet a sexual encounter
was consummated." Because of this they experienced an awakening and
wondered, "Could it be that all dharmas are like this?" At this time
they went to see the Bodhisattva Bhadrapaala to inquire about this
matter.
Bhadrapaala replied, "Actually, all dharmas are precisely like
this. In every case they arise from thought." He continued to bring
forth many instances like this and, for the benefit of these three men,
employed skillful means whereby he cleverly explained the emptiness of
all dharmas. At this time these three men straightaway achieved the
stage of the avaivartika (irreversability).
All of these bodhisattvas are like this. In all manner of ways
they cleverly explain dharma for the benefit of beings, influencing them
to cut off all manner of views, entanglements and afflictions. This is
what is meant when it is said, "They were able to cut off all views and
entanglements as well as all afflictions."

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End Notes:

This story occurs as commentary on the line from the Sutra which reads,
"They (the bodhisattvas) were able to cut off all kinds of views and
entanglements as well as all afflictions."