Ratnāvalī, Chapter Three

[RV3.01]
諸佛大相好 從難思福生
我今為汝說 依大乘阿舍
How the great signs of buddhas
Arise out of unthinkable merit,
I now will explain to you,
Relying on the Āgamas of the Great Vehicle.

The Āgamas means the Āgama Sūtras, i.e. the collection of the early discourses of the Buddha. MW gives āgama as: “anything handed down and fixed by tradition.” The Pali equivalent of the Āgama Sūtras is the Nikāyas, so that, for example the Sanskrit samyuktāgama corresponds to the Pali Saṃyutta Nikāya.

[RV3.02]
一切緣覺福 有學無學福
及十方世福 福如世難量
All the merit of the pratyeka-buddha,
The merit of those possessed of learning and those without learning,
Along with the merit of the world in ten directions,
Is merit as unfathomable as the world.

[RV3.03]
此福更十倍 感佛一毛相
九萬九千毛 一一福皆爾
This merit increased ten times
Is rewarded by the manifestation of one hair of a buddha.
And for every one of a buddha's ninety-nine thousand hairs,
The merit is like that.

[RV3.04]

如此眾多福 生佛一切毛
復更百倍增 方感佛一好
Merit accumulated like this
Born in all of a buddha's hairs,
Again increased one hundred times,
Will be rewarded by of one of a buddha's minor auspicious signs.

[RV3.05]
如是如是多 一一好得成
乃至滿八十 隨飾一大相
As much [merit] as this
Having been realized in each minor auspicious sign,
Fully up to the eightieth,
Is not equal to the adorning of one great sign.

[RV3.06]
如是福德聚 能感八十好
合更百倍增 感佛一大相
Accumulation of merit like this,
Able to witness eighty auspicious signs,
When again increased one hundred times,
Experiences one great sign of a buddha.

[RV3.07]
如是多福德 能感三十相
復更百倍增 感毫如滿月
Merit as abundant as this,
Able to witness thirty signs,
When again increased one hundred times,
Experiences the curl of white hair as if it were the full moon.

[R3.08]
能感白毫福 復更千倍增
此福感難見 頂上鬱尼沙
Let the merit which is able to experience the circle of white hair,
Again be increased a thousand times.
This merit experiences what is rarely seen:
The uṣṇīṣa protrusion on the forehead.

[RV3.09]
如此無量福 方便說有量
於一切十方 如說十倍世
If immeasurable merit like this,
Were explained, with a convenient fiction, as having quantity,
It would be like explaining the whole world in ten directions,
Multiplied ten times.

[RV3.10]
諸佛色身因 尚如世無量
況佛法身因 而當有邊際
The cause of the material body of buddhas
Is like the limitlessness of the world.
How can the cause of the Buddha's dharma body
Have limits?

[RV3.11]
世間因雖小 若果大難量
佛因既無量 果量云何思
A cause in the world, though it is small,
If the effect is great, is hard to fathom.
The cause of buddha is already unfathomable.
How can the extent of its effect be thinkable?

[RV3.12]
諸佛有色身 皆從福行起
大王佛法身 由智慧行成
The buddhas have a material body,
Entirely arising from practising acts of merit.
A buddha's dharma-body, O Great King,
Is realized from practising wisdom.

[RV3.13]
故佛福慧行 是菩提正因
故願汝恒行 菩提福慧行
Therefore a buddha's practice of merit and wisdom
Are the true cause of bodhi.
Therefore may you constantly practise
The merit and wisdom of bodhi.

[RV3.14]
於成菩提福 汝莫墮沈憂
有理及阿舍 能令心安信
With regard to achieving the merit that leads to a buddha's enlightenment,
You must not be downhearted.
Reason, along with the Āgamas,
Allows the mind to be confident.

[RV3.15]
如十方無邊 空及地水火
有苦諸眾生 彼無邊亦爾
Just as space in the ten directions is limitless,
Along with earth, water and fire,
So also are suffering sentient beings
Similarly limitless.

[RV3.16]
此無邊眾生 菩薩依大悲
從苦而拔濟 願彼般涅槃
These limitless living beings
The bodhisattva, relying on universal compassion,
Seeks to extricate and to lead out from suffering,
Willing their nirvāṇa.

[RV3.17]
從發此堅心 行住及臥覺
或時小放逸 無量福恒流
From establishing this resolve,
When walking or standing, and when lying down or awake –
Notwithstanding occasional slight lapses –
Limitless merit constantly flows.

[RV3.18]
福量如眾生 恒流無間隙
因果既相稱 故菩提不難
The measure of the merit is like that of [the suffering of] sentient beings:
It is a constant stream, without interval.
Cause and effect are perfectly matched.
Therefore a buddha's enlightenment is not inaccessible.

[RV3.19]
時節及眾生 菩提與福德
由此四無量 菩薩堅心行
Time, living beings,
A buddha's enlightenment, and [this] merit –
Relying on these four immeasurables,
The bodhisattva with steadfast mind acts.

[RV3.20]
菩提雖無量 因前四無量
修福慧二行 云何難可得
Although the truth of bodhi is immeasurable,
With the aforementioned four immeasurables as cause,
When [the bodhisattva] cultivates the twofold practice of merit and wisdom,
How can a buddha's enlightenment be inaccessible?

[RV3.21]
福慧二種行 如此無邊際
菩薩身心苦 故疾得消除
Twofold practice of merit and wisdom
In this way is limitless.
The bodhisattva is therefore swiftly able to assuage
Physical and mental pain and suffering.

[RV3.22]
惡道飢渴等 身苦惡業生
菩薩永離惡 行善苦不生
Physical suffering in the realms of the hungry and thirsty, and other bad states,
Are produced from bad karma.
The bodhisattva who eternally transcends doing bad,
And practises the good, does not produce suffering.

[RV3.23]
欲瞋怖畏等 心苦從癡生
由依無二智 菩薩離心苦
Desire, hatred, fear,
And other sufferings of the mind arise out of ignorance.
Relying on the wisdom which is free of duality,
The bodhisattva transcends suffering of the mind.

[RV3.24]
有苦時若促 難忍何況多
無苦時長遠 有樂云何難
When suffering is present, if it is touched off [even slightly],
It is hard to endure – and how much more so if it is great.
When there is no suffering, there is lasting happiness:
What hardship can there be?

[RV3.25]
身苦永不有 假說有心苦
悲世間二苦 故恒住生死
Where physical suffering is forever absent,
How could mental suffering be said to be present?
[And yet] because of compassion for the two kinds of suffering of the world,
[The bodhisattva] continues to endure life and death.

[RV3.26]
故菩提長時 智人心不沈
為滅惡生善 是時無間修
A wise person's mind does not sink into despondency
On account of a buddha's enlightenment being a long time coming.
For the ceasing of wrongdoing, and the arising of good,
[The wise one] ceaselessly cultivates the present moment.

[RV3.27]
貪瞋及無明 願汝識捨離
無貪等眾善 知應恭敬修
May you mind, may you abandon, and may you transcend
Greed, hatred and ignorance.
Know freedom from greed, and other kinds of good,
And sincerely cultivate them.

[RV3.28]
由貪生鬼道 由瞋墮地獄
由癡入畜生 翻此感人天
Through greed one is born in the state of a hungry ghost;
Through hatred one falls into hell;
Through ignorance one enters an animal life;
Transcending these, one experiences being a human or a god.

[RV3.29]
捨惡及修善 此法是樂因
若是解脫法 由智捨二執
Abandoning wrong-doing and cultivating good –
This dharma is the cause of happiness.
If the state here and now is dharma-practice of liberation,
Dual attachments, through wisdom, are being abandoned.

[RV3.30]
佛像及支提 殿堂并寺廟
最勝多供具 汝應敬成立
For Buddha-images and for the making of offerings,
For halls, wells, temples, and shrines,
You should respectfully establish
Most excellent and abundant provisions.

[RV3.31]
坐寶蓮花上 好色微妙畫
一切金寶種 汝應造佛像
Buddha-images sitting on jewel lotuses,
Of lovely colours, finely drawn,
You should create
With all kinds of precious metals and gems. 

[RV3.32]
正法及聖眾 以命色事護
金寶網繖蓋 奉獻覆支提
The true dharma and the sacred assembly,
Serve and safeguard with your life and colour.
Reverently cover offerings
With webbed canopies of gold and gems.

[RV3.33]
金銀眾寶花 珊瑚琉璃珠
帝釋青大青 金剛貢支提
Offer gold, silver, and masses of jewel flowers,
Coral, lapis lazuli, and pearls.
Offer tributes of emeralds of Indra, and great sapphires,
And diamonds set in gold.

[RV3.34]

能說正法人 以四事供養
六和敬等法 常應勤修行
To people who are able to preach true dharma
Serve offerings of the four things.
The six ways – harmony, respect et cetera –
You should constantly cultivate and practice with diligence.

四事, the four things, are generally given as clothing, food & drink, bedding, and medicine. 

和敬清寂, harmony, respect, purity and tranquility, are regarded as the four most important elements of the tea ceremony. Soothill & Hodous reference 六法念, but do not list the six.

[RV3.35]
於尊恭敬聽 勤事而侍護
菩薩必應行 亡後亦供養
In a state of honour, reverence, respect and sincere listening,
Do service and wait upon
Bodhisattvas without fail.
Serve offerings also to those who have passed away.

[RV3.36]
於天外道眾 不應親事禮
因無知邪信 莫事惡知識
You should not be close to, or serve, or socialize with
Groups of celestial beings who are off the way.
Because the ignorant believe in what is false,
Do not serve bad teachers.

[RV3.37]
佛阿含及論 書寫讀誦施
亦惠紙筆墨 汝應修此福
Writing out, making copies, reading, reciting and making presents of
The Buddha's Āgamas, along with commentaries,
And along with gifts of paper, pens and ink –
This is merit you should cultivate.

[RV3.38]
於國起學堂 雇師供學士
興建永基業 汝行為長慧
Wherever in the land a school has sprung up,
Employ teachers and scholars.
And construct facilities that will form a lasting foundation for their work –
Do this for the promotion of wisdom.

[RV3.39]
解醫巧曆數 皆為立田疇
潤老小病苦 於國有濟益
Promote understanding of medical skills, the calendar, numeracy,
And all that is necessary for establishment of agriculture.
For the comfort of the old and young, the sick and infirm,
Let there be assistance in your kingdom.

[RV3.40]
起諸道伽藍 園塘湖亭屋
於中給生具 草蓐飲食薪
By roads and in monasteries let there be
Gardens, dikes, lakes, pavillions.
In them provide necessities for living –
Straw mats, cushions, drink, food, and firewood.

[RV3.41]
於小大國土 應起寺亭館
遠路乏水漿 造井池施飲
In lands small and great,
Let there be temples and rest-houses.
On distant roads with scant water
Construct wells and ponds to provide something to drink.

[R3.42]
病苦無依貧 下姓怖畏等
依慈悲攝受 勤心安立彼
Sufferers from illness, the poor and destitute,
People of humble birth, those living in fear, and so on
Treat and receive with compassion.
With diligent mind comfort and support them.

[RV3.43]
隨時新飲食 果菜及新穀
大眾及須者 未施莫先用
Fresh drink and food, in accordance with the season,
Fruit, vegetables and fresh grain,
Offer to the great assembly [of monks] and people in need.
Before making the offering, don't partake yourself.

[RV3.44]
屣繖瓶鉤鑷 針綖及扇等
荃提寢息具 應施寺亭館
Providing straw sandals, umbrellas, jars, pins, tweezers,
Needles and thread, fans and so on,
You should offer fine cloth for bedding and rest
At temples and rest-houses.

[RV3.45]
三果及三辛 蜜糖酥眼藥
恒應安息省 書咒及藥方
[Provide] the three fruits and three spices,
Honey, sugar, milk, and eye-drops.
Constantly make available for recuperation and reflection,
Written mantras, as well as instructions for medicines.

[RV3.46]
塗首身藥油 澡盤燈糗果
水器及刀斧 應給亭館中
Medicinal oils for applying to head and body,
Washing bowls, lamps, parched wheat, fruit,
Water containers, and knives and axes,
Should be provided inside the rest houses.

[RV3.47]
米穀麻飲食 糖膏等相應
恒置陰涼處 及淨水滿器
Rice, grains, hemp, food and drink,
Sugar, fat and so on, as appropriate,
Constantly have placed in a cool and shady place,
Along with vessels filled with clean water.

[RV3.48]
於蟻鼠穴門 飲食穀糖等
願令可信人 日日分布散
At the openings where ants and mice pass,
Please have a trustworthy person
Provide a daily portion
Of drink and food – grain, sugar and so on.

[RV3.49]
如意前後食 恒施於餓鬼
狗鼠鳥蟻等 願汝恒施食
Willingly, before and after eating,
Always make offerings to hungry ghosts.
To dogs, mice, birds, ants, and so on,
Please always offer food.

[RV3.50]
災疫飢餓時 水旱及賊難
國敗須濟度 願汝恒拯恤
At times of fire, flood, and famine,
In droughts, when refugees are fleeing war,
And to defeated nations in need of assistance,
Please always give help and provide relief.

[RV3.51]
田夫絕農業 願給糧種具
隨時蠲租稅 輕微受調斂
To farmers who lost their harvests,
Please provide provisions and seeds.
When necessary exempt them from tariffs and taxes,
Or receive less, making adjustment.

[RV3.52]
施物濟貧債 出息不長輕
直防許休偃 以時接賓客
Provide goods to help the poor and indebted
Lighten the burden of their expenditures.
直防許休偃 以時接賓客

Hopkins (from Tibetan):
Free them from the suffering [that follows when the tax collector] is waiting at the door.

[RV3.53]
境內外劫盜 方便斷令息
隨時遺商侶 平物價鈞調
Within and without the borders,
Use expedient means to eliminate thieving.
When appropriate leave shopkeepers
By their adjustments, to keep prices of goods in balance.

[RV3.54]
八座等判事 自如理觀察
事能利萬姓 恒恭敬修行
The eight seats and other judicial matters
Supervise yourself within reason.
So that these matters may benefit the ten-thousand families,
Let them be carried out with constant sincerity.

[RV3.55]
應作何自利 如汝恒敬思
利他云何成 如此汝急思
Just as sincerely as you always consider,
“What should I do for my own benefit?”
So should you urgently consider,
“How can I benefit others?”

[RV3.56]
地水風火等 草藥及野樹
如此或暫時 受他無礙策
Earth, water, wind, fire and so forth,
Grass and herbs, fields and trees,
Accept others without any impeding agenda.
Even if only for a moment, be like this.

[RV3.57]
七步頃起心 為捨內外財
菩薩福德成 難量如虛空
When in the space of seven steps the mind arises
To abandon inner and outer possessions,
The bodhisattva's realization of merit
Is as unfathomable as space.

[RV3.58]
童女好色嚴 惠施求得者
故獲陀羅尼 能持一切法
If you grant your blessing to the suitors
Of young women, with their lovely complexions and adornments,
On that account you will obtain a dhāraṇī
That allows you to retain the whole of dharma. 

[RV3.59]
愛色具莊嚴 并一切生具
施八萬童女 釋迦佛昔時
Women fully endowed with lovely complexions and adornments,
Along with all the necessities of life –
Eighty thousand such young women,
Śākyamuni Buddha gave away in ancient times.

[RV3.60]
光明種種色 衣服莊嚴具
花香等應施 依悲惠求者
Clothing complete with ornaments,
Bright with every kind of colour,
And flowers, perfume and suchlike, you should donate
With compassionate blessings to those who seek them.

[RV3.61]
若人離此緣 於法無安行
則應施與之 過此後莫惠
If people are deprived of this opportunity to practise dharma,
Lacking a sure way to go,
You should at once provide it.
There is no blessing that surpasses this.

[RV3.62]
毒亦許施彼 若此能利他
甘露不許施 若此損害他
Give to others even poison
If it can benefit them.
But even sweet nectar is not to be given
If it is harmful to others.

[RV3.63]
若蛇嚙人指 佛亦聽則除
或佛教利他 逼惱亦可行
Suppose that a snake bites a person's finger:
The Buddha, likewise, upon listening, acts at once to remove [poisons].
So there are cases of the Buddha's teaching benefiting others
In which driving out of emotional venom may be practised like that.

[RV3.64]
固謹持正法 及能說法人
恭敬聽受法 或以法施他
Steadfastly honour and maintain true dharma,
As well as a person who is able to expound dharma,
Sincerely listen and receive the dharma,
And when possible impart the dharma to others.

[RV3.65]
莫愛世讚歎 恒樂出俗法
如立自體德 於他亦如此
Do not love worldly hearsay;
Constantly delight in dharma that transcends vulgarity.
As you establish in yourself bodily acts of merit,
Cause others to do likewise.

[RV3.66]
於聞莫知足 及思修實義
於師報恩施 應敬行莫吝
Do not be satisfied with hearing;
Think out, and cultivate, the valuable meaning.
Repaying teachers for their benevolent gift,
You should practice sincerely, sparing nothing.

[RV3.67]
莫讀外邪論 但起諍慢故
不應讚自德 怨德亦可讚
Do not read exotic and false commentaries.
Disputes arise solely because of pride.
You should not praise your own merits.
You can praise, however, the merits of adversaries.

[RV3.68]
莫顯他密事 及惡心兩舌
自於他有過 如理觀悔露
Do not make known to others secret things,
Nor [speak] malevolently with two tongues.
There are mistakes which the self has inflicted on others –
In accordance with reason, reflect on them with tears of regret.

[RV3.69]
若由此過失 智者訶責他
自須離此失 有能拔濟他
When a wise person wishes to censure another
Because of a certain fault,
The wise one himself should transcend this fault.
Then he will have the ability to extricate others and help them.

[RV3.70]
他辱己莫瞋 即觀宿惡業
莫報對他惡 為後不受苦
One must not react with hate to the insults of others,
But reflect at once on one's own past wrongdoing.
Do not repay others' wrongs –
That way, further pain will not be suffered.

[RV3.71]
於他應作恩 莫希彼報答
唯自應受苦 共求眾受樂
Do your best to help others,
And do not expect them to pay you back.
One should suffer pain alone,
And seek company to share joy.

[RV3.72]
若得大富貴 自高不應作
遭枉如餓鬼 莫起下悲行
If one obtain great riches and honours,
One should not build oneself up.
Meeting lean times, like a hungry ghost,
Do not become down and act in a pitiful manner.

[RV3.73]
假設失王位 或死由實言
亦恒說此語 無實利默然
Even if it causes loss of royal status,
Or else death, speak the truth.
At the same time, if saying these words
Is of no real benefit, then let there be silence.

[RV3.74]
如言如此行 願汝堅行善
因此好名遍 自在成勝量
May you firmly practise the good,
As action thus described.
By virtue of this practice, your good name will spread widely,
And you will realize freedom in surpassing measure.

[RV3.75]
應作熟簡擇 後則依理行
莫由信他作 須自了實義
Do a thorough analysis
So that subsequent action will be based on reason.
Do not do anything based on faith in others.
The real meaning one must understand for oneself.

[RV3.76]
若依理行善 好名遍十方
王侯續不斷 王富樂轉大
If you practise the good, relying on reason,
Your good name will pervade the ten directions.
The succession of royal lords will be unbroken.
Your prosperity and happiness, O King, will proceed immensely well.

[RV3.77]
死緣百一種 壽命因不多
此因或死緣 故恒應修善
The conditions for death are of a hundred and one varieties,
The causes of longevity are not many –
And these causes are sometimes the conditions for death.
Therefore you should constantly cultivate the good.

[RV3.78]
若人恒行善 是所得安樂
於自他若等 此善樂圓足
If a person constantly practises good,
This practice itself is attainment of ease and joy.
If it is balanced with respect to self and others,
This joy in the good is roundly satisfying.

[RV3.79]
依法為性人 臥覺常安樂
夢中見善事 由內無過惡
When reliance on dharma becomes the essence of a person,
Sleeping and waking hours are constant ease and joy.
In dreams one sees good things.
From inside no fault or wrongdoing emerges.

[RV3.80]
若人養父母 恭奉自家尊
恭善人用財 忍辱有大度
If a person supports father and mother,
Honouring his own house,
Being respectful, a good person who puts possessions to good use,
Patient, modest, magnanimous,

[RV3.81]
軟語不兩舌 實言同止樂
此九天帝因 盡壽應修行
Speaking softly, not with two tongues,
Speaking jewelled words and equally delighting in silence,
Then these are nine causes of becoming a divine emperor,
To be cultivated over the whole of a lifetime.

[RV3.82]
由昔行九法 天主感帝位
時時處法堂 至今恒說此
From former practice of the nine dharma-practices,
O Divine Leader, you have experienced the position of emperor.
Often, at whatever place is a Dharma Hall,
Arriving at the present moment, constantly preach the following:

[RV3.83]
一日三時施 美食三百器
福不及剎那 行慈百分一
The merit of offering three times every day
Beautiful food in three hundred bowls,
Does not match the merit in the instant
Of one hundredth of an act of compassion.

[RV3.84]
天人等愛護 日夜受喜樂
免怨火毒杖 是行慈現果
Gods, humans and other beings love and cherish [that person of compassionate action].
Day and night [that bodhisattva] experiences happiness.
He is exempt from enmity, fire, poison and blows of the staff.
Thus does this act of compassion manifest its result.

[RV3.85]
無功用獲財 後生於色界
得慈十功德 若人未解脫
Through effortlessly spending money and receiving it,
He will obtain in future lives in material worlds,
Wherever people are not yet liberated,
The ten merits of compassion.

[RV3.86]
教一切眾生 堅發菩提心
菩薩德如山 菩提心牢固
Teaching all living beings
Firmly to establish the bodhi-mind,
The bodhisattva's merit is like a mountain.
The bodhi-mind is adamant.

[RV3.87]
由信離八難 因戒生善道
數修真如空 得善無放逸
By dint of confidence [the bodhisattva] transcends the eight difficulties.
Because of the precepts he gives rise to good ways.
Repeatedly cultivating the truth which is like space,
He attains the good, without being lax.

[RV3.88]
無諂得念根 恒思得慧根
恭敬得義理 護法感宿命
Without flattery, he obtains the root which is mindfulness.
He constantly directs his thinking towards attaining the root of wisdom.
With sincerity, he acquires the meaning of the teaching.
Guarding dharma, he experiences past lives.

[RV3.89]
布施聽聞法 或不障他聞
疾得如所愛 與佛相值遇
Giving freely, listening to dharma,
Or else not impeding other's hearing,
He swiftly gets whatever he likes,
And meets together with buddhas.

[RV3.90]
無貪作事成 不慳財物長
離慢招上品 法忍得總持
He is free from greed and yet achieves work to be done.
His possessions increase though he is not sparing with money.
He is free of snobbery and yet invites higher things.
Dharma-forebearance causes him to acquire, accrue, and retain.

[RV3.91]
由行五實施 及惠無怖畏
非諸罵能辱 故感大勝力
Through the practice of giving the five valuable things,
And the blessing of being free from fear,
[The bodhisattva] is incapable of being belittled by insults;
Therefore he experiences the excellent power of the mighty.

[RV3.92]
支提列燈行 幽闇秉火燭
布施續明油 故得淨天眼
Through the practice of offering lines of lamps,
Taking burning candles into darkness,
And regularly giving lighting oil,
He thereby attains the pure divine eye.

[RV3.93]
供養支提時 即設鼓聲樂
蠡角等妙音 故獲淨天耳
At the time of serving offerings
He lets there be the music of percussion and wind instruments –
The wonderful sounds of conches, horns and suchlike –
And he thereby obtains the pure divine ear.

[RV3.94]
於他失默然 不談人德闕
隨順護彼意 故得他心智
Remaining silent about others' mistakes,
Not discussing people's moral failings,
He guards, as occasion demands, the other's mind;
And he thereby attains the wisdom to know others' minds. 

[RV3.95]
由施徙舟乘 運致羸乏人
恭謹瞻尊長 故獲如意通
Through providing land and water transport,
Carrying people who are weak,
Showing respect to honourable veterans,
He thereby attains the power of acting at will.

[RV3.96]
令他憶法事 及正法句義
或淨心施法 故感宿命智
Causing others to remember matters of dharma
And the meaning of sentences of true dharma,
Or else, with a pure mind, imparting dharma,
He thereby experiences the wisdom to know past lives.

[RV3.97]
由知真實義 謂諸法無性
故得第六通 最勝是流盡
Through knowing the true and real meaning of the teaching,
Namely, that all dharmas are without an essential self,
He thereby attains the sixth and most excellent power of all,
Which is to put an end to the polluting influences.

[RV3.98]
平等悲相應 由修如實智
故自得成佛 恒解脫眾生
His impartiality and compassion are in mutual accord,
Through cultivation of the wisdom that accords with reality.
He is therefore able naturally to become buddha,
And endlessly to liberate living beings.

[RV3.99]
由種種淨願 故佛土清淨
眾寶獻支提 故放無邊光
Through many kinds of pure vow,
The [bodhisattva] cleanses the Buddha-land.
And because of serving up many jewels as offerings,
He radiates limitless light.

Note: On The Zen Site, these are numbered as 25 merits.

[RV3.100]
如此業及果 已知義相應
故應修利他 即菩薩自利
Such are karma and fruit,
When knowing and meaning are already in mutual accord.
Therefore, one should cultivate the benefit of others,
Which is just to one's own benefit as a bodhisattva.

寶行王正論菩提資糧品第三
True Advice to a King of Jewel-Conduct – Chapter 3, Raw Materials for Enlightenment

Ratnāvalī, Chapter Two

kadalī pāṭitā yadvan niḥśeṣāvayavaiḥ saha |
na kiṃ cit puruṣas tadvat pāṭitaḥ saha dhātubhiḥ ||RV2.1||
Just as there is nothing left of a plaintain tree when it, along with its parts, is split up,/ So it is when some person, along with the dhātus, or constituent elements, is split apart. //

sarva-dharmā an-ātmāna ity ato bhāṣitaṃ jinaiḥ |
dhātu-ṣaṭkaṃ ca taiḥ sarvaṃ nirṇītaṃ tac ca nārthataḥ ||RV2.2||
Therefore it is said by the victorious ones that all dharmas are without a self./ The entirety of the six elements has been marked out by them, and it in practice is not.//

naivam ātmā na cānātmā yāthābhūtyena labhyate |
ātmānātma-kṛte dṛṣṭī vavārāsmān mahā-muniḥ ||RV2.3||
Neither self nor non-self is conceived, in this way, as real./ Therefore the Great Sage rejected both views – whether consisting of self or of negation of self.//

dṛṣṭa-śrutādyaṃ muninā na satyaṃ na mṛṣoditam |
pakṣād dhi pratipakṣaḥ syād ubhayaṃ tac ca nārthataḥ ||RV2.4||
Sights, sounds, and so forth were said by the Sage to be neither true nor false./ For one side is liable to lead to its opposite, but both in practice are not. //

iti satyānṛtātīto loko ’yaṃ paramārthataḥ |
asmād eva ca tattvena nopaity asti ca nāsti ca ||RV2.5||
Thus, ultimately, this world is beyond truth and falsity. / And for this very reason it really does not lend itself to “does exist” and “does not exist.”//

yac caivaṃ sarvathā neti sarva-jñas tat kathaṃ vadet |
sāntam ity atha-vānantaṃ dvayaṃ vādvayam eva vā ||RV2.6||
When thus [the world] in every way is not, how could the All-Knowing One say of it:/ “It has an end” or else “It has no end,” or both, or neither? //

[Question / Objection]
asaṃkhyeyā gatā buddhās tatheṣyanty atha sāṃpratāḥ |
koṭy-agraśaś ca sattvāntas tebhyas traikālya-jo mataḥ ||RV2.7||
Countless buddhas have gone, and likewise will come, and are of the present. /
And according to them – [when they speak] in terms of ending and beginning – the end of existence is understood to be born from threefold temporality. //

vṛddhi-hetur na lokasya kṣayas traikālya-sambhavaḥ |
sarva-jñena kathaṃ tasya pūrvānto ’vyākṛtaḥ kṛtaḥ ||RV2.8||
The cause of the world's expansion is not of the world. Its extinction is brought about through threefold temporality./ How could the beginning and end of the world have been left unexplained by an All-Knowing One?//

[Answer]
etat tad dharma-gāmbhīryaṃ yat tad guhyaṃ pṛthag-jane |
māyopamatvaṃ lokasya buddhānāṃ śāsanāmṛtam ||RV2.9||
Here is that profundity of dharma which is a mystery to the common man./ The world's resemblance to an illusion is the deathless nectar of the teaching of buddhas. //

māyā-gajasya dṛśyeta yathā janmānta eva ca |
na ca kaś cit sa tattvena janmāntaś caiva vidyate ||RV2.10||
Just as the birth and the end might be seen of a phantom elephant,/ Though no such limit is really to be found,//

māyopamasya lokasya tathā janmānta eva ca |
dṛśyate paramārthena na ca janmānta eva ca ||RV2.11||
So the birth and the end of the illusion-like world are seen,/ But ultimately there is no birth and no end.//

yathā māyā-gajo naiti kutaś cid yāti na kva cit |
citta-mohana-mātratvād bhāvatvena na tiṣṭhati ||RV2.12||
Just as a phantom elephant does not come from anywhere, does not go anywhere, / And does not endure as an existing thing, because it is nothing but the mind making a mistake, //

tathā māyopamo loko naiti yāti na kutra cit |
citta-mohana-mātratvād bhāvatvena na tiṣṭhati ||RV2.13||
So the illusion-like world does not come from and does not go to any place whatever, / And does not endure as an existing thing, because it is nothing but the mind making a mistake.//

traikālya-vyativṛttātmā loka evaṃ nu ko ’rthataḥ |
yo ’sti nāsty atha vāpi syād anyatra vyavahārataḥ ||RV2.14||
Thus being inherently transcendent over threefold temporality, what exactly is the world, in practice? / [What is a world] which – except conventionally – might be existent or else non-existent?

catuṣ-prakāram ity asmāt sānto ’nanto dvayo ’dvayaḥ |
buddhena hetor nānyasmād ayam avyākṛtaḥ kṛtaḥ ||RV2.15||
On these grounds, with regard to “the four possibilities” – having an end, not having an end, both, neither – / And on no grounds but these, this world was left unexplained by the Buddha.//

śarīrāśucitā tāvat sthūlā pratyakṣa-gocarā |
satataṃ dṛśyamānāpi yadā citte na tiṣṭhati ||RV2.16||
The body's uncleanness which here and now is gross, perceptible before the eyes, / Though it is constantly in view does not remain in the mind. //

tadātisūkṣmo gambhīraḥ saddharmo ’yaṃ anālayaḥ |
apratyakṣaḥ kathaṃ citte sukhenāvatariṣyati ||RV2.17||
Then how could this true dharma which is extremely subtle, profound, of no fixed abode, / Not apprehended by the senses – how could it easily be absorbed into the mind?

sambudhyāsmān nivṛtto ’bhūd dharmaṃ deśayituṃ muniḥ |
durjñānam atigāmbhiryāj jñātvā dharmam imaṃ janaiḥ ||RV2.18||
Fully awake, the Sage turned back from teaching the dharma; / He had realized how hard this dharma would be for people to realize, because of this surpassing profundity. //

vināśayati durjñāto dharmo ’yam avipaścitam |
nāstitā-dṛṣṭi-samale yasmād asmin nimajjati ||RV2.19||
Wrongly understood, this dharma causes the dullard's ruin,/ Since he sinks into this dirt which is the nihilist view.//

aparo ’py asya durjñānān mūrkhaḥ paṇḍita-mānikaḥ |
pratikṣepa-vinaṣṭātmā yāty avīcim adhomukhaḥ ||RV2.20||
Because this [dharma] is so hard to know, the other kind of fool – one who fancies himself to be an authority – / Being inherently riven by contradictions, goes headlong into Avīci Hell.//

dur-bhuktena yathānnena vināśam adhigacchati |
su-bhuktenāyur ārogyaṃ balaṃ saukhyāni cāśnute ||RV2.21||
Just as one goes to ruin by eating badly, / But obtains long life, freedom from disease, strength and comforts by eating well, //

dur-jñātena tathānena vināśam adhigacchati |
samyag-jñātena tu sukhaṃ bodhiṃ cāpnoty anuttarām ||RV2.22||
So one goes to ruin by understanding this [dharma] badly,/ But by understanding fully and well one attains happiness, and the unsurpassed awakening of bodhi.//

tasmād atra pratikṣepaṃ dṛṣṭiṃ tyaktvā ca nāstikīm |
saṃyag-jñāna-paraṃ yatnaṃ kuru sarvārtha-siddhaye ||RV2.23||
Therefore abandoning contradiction in this matter, and the nihilist view, /
Make the effort whose chief object is the integral act of knowing, in the direction of Accomplishment of Every Aim (Sarvātha-siddhi). //

Alludes to the Buddha's childhood name Sarvātha-siddha (see Aśvaghoṣa, SN2.63).

dharmasyāsyāparijñānād ahaṃkāro ’nuvartate |
tataḥ śubhāśubhaṃ karma tato janma śubhāśubham ||RV2.24||
From incomplete knowing of this dharma, there follows “I”-making. / From that stems karma, good and bad. Thence birth, good and bad. //

tasmād yāvad avijñāto dharmo ’haṃkāra-śātanaḥ |
dāna-śīla-kṣamā-dharme tāvad ādaravān bhava ||RV2.25||
Therefore, as long as the dharma which cuts out “I”-making is not yet fully understood, / Be sincere in the dharma of free giving, ethical conduct and forbearance.//

dharma-pūrvāṇi kāryāṇi dharma-madhyāni pārthiva |
sādhayan dharma-niṣṭhāni neha nāmutra sīdati ||RV2.26||
While accomplishing tasks preparatory to dharma, tasks inside of dharma, and tasks grounded in dharma, / A lord of the earth sinks not into despondency, either here and now or hereafter.//

dharmāt kīrtiḥ sukhaṃ caiva neha bhīr na mumūrṣataḥ |
para-loke sukhaṃ sphītaṃ tasmād dharmaṃ sadā bhaja ||RV2.27||
By virtue of dharma there is good-repute and happiness, there is no fear either here and now or at the point of death; / And there is abundant happiness in the world hereafter. So constantly serve dharma.//

dharma eva parā nītir dharmāl loko ’nurajyate |
rañjitena hi lokena neha nāmutra vañcyate ||RV2.28||
The supreme plan of action is dharma itself. Through dharma the world is gratified./ When the world is gratified, one is not caused to go astray, either here and now or hereafter. //

adharmeṇa tu yā nītis tayā loko ’parajyate |
lokāparañjanāc caiva neha nāmutra nandati ||RV2.29||
The world is left discontented, however, by that plan of action which goes against dharma; / And when the world is expressing discontent, one does not feel glad, either here and now or hereafter. //

parātisandhāna-parā kaṣṭā durgati-paddhatiḥ |
anartha-vidyā duṣprajñair artha-vidyā kathaṃ kṛtā ||RV2.30||
How can knowledge whose chief object is deceiving others, how can harmful knowledge which is a path to miserable realms, / How can useless knowledge, be made by dullards into useful know-how? //

parātisandhāna-paro nītimān katham arthataḥ |
yena janma-sahasrāṇi bahūny ātmaiva vañcyate ||RV2.31||
How can a strategist whose chief object is deceiving others truly have a plan of action? / By those means he deceives only himself through many thousands of births.//

ripor apriyam anvicchan dosāṃs tyaktvā guṇān śraya |
sva-hitāvāptir evaṃ te ripoś cāpy apriyaṃ bhavet ||RV2.32||
[Even when] wishing frustration upon an enemy, you should abandon faults and take possession of virtues. / In this way you obtain your own benefit. And at the same time the enemy may be frustrated. //

dānena priya-vadyena hitenaikārtha-caryayā |
ebhir ācara lokasya dharmasyaiva ca saṅgraham ||RV2.33||
By the means of giving, loving speech, useful service, and co-operation – / Effect by these means the bringing together of the world and dharma.//

viśvāsaṃ janayaty ekaṃ satyaṃ rājñāṃ yathā dṛḍham |
tathaivānṛtam apy eṣām aviśvāsa-karaṃ param ||RV2.34||
Just as the sheer truthfulness of kings generates firm trust, / So equally does their falsity cause deepest distrust.//

nāvisaṃvāda-vat satyaṃ [na bhā]vodbhavam arthataḥ |
paraikānta-hitaṃ satyam ahitatvān mṛṣetarat ||RV2.35||
Truthfulness is not absence of false assertions, nor in practice is it conjured up out of something. / Truthfulness is singular devotion to helping others. From hostility, on the contrary, stems untruth. //

The Chinese has實意起無違, “True intention gives rise to no contradictions.” But the Sanskrit sugggests the opposite – if we translate visaṃvāda as contradiction, the meaning is that truthfulness is not without contradictions.

doṣān pracchādayaty ekas tyāgo rājñāṃ yathojjvalaḥ |
tathā kārpaṇyam apy eṣāṃ guṇa-sarva-svaghātakam ||RV2.36||
Just as a single shining act of free giving overshadows [all] faults of kings; / So equally is stinginess a self-directed destruction of all their virtues.//

upaśāntasya gāmbhīryaṃ gāmbhīryād gauravaṃ param |
gauravād dīptir ājñā ca tasmād upaśamaṃ bhaja ||RV2.37||
In tranquillity there is profundity; out of profundity emerges deepest respect;/ With respect comes splendour and authority. Therefore partake of tranquillity. //

ahārya-buddhiḥ prājñatvād a-para-pratyayaḥ sthiraḥ |
nātisaṁdhīyate rājā tasmāt prajñāparo bhava ||RV2.38||
From wisdom stems understanding that nobody can take away, and firm non-reliance on others – / One is not deceived. Therefore, O King, be devoted above all to wisdom.//

satya-tyāga-śama-prajñā-catur-bhadro narādhipaḥ |
dharmaś catur-bhadra iva stūyate deva-mānuṣaiḥ ||RV2.39||
A leader of men possessed of the four boons of truthfulness, generosity, calmness and wisdom, / Is praised by gods and men in the same way that a dharma possessed of the four boons is praised.//

nigṛhya-vādibhiḥ śuddhaiḥ prajñā-kāruṇya-nirmalaiḥ |
sahāsīnasya satataṃ prajñā dharmaś ca vardhate ||RV2.40||
In one who sits together with those who are restrained in speech, cleansed, untainted in wisdom and compassion, / Wisdom and dharma constantly grow. //

durlabhāḥ pathya-vaktāraḥ śrotāras tv atidurlabhāḥ |
tebhyo ’tidurlabhatamā ye pathyasyāśu-kāriṇaḥ ||RV2.41||
Rare are speakers of what is salutary, but very rare are listeners. / Rarer still than these, are ones who are prompt to put what is salutary into practice.//

pathyam apy apriyaṃ tasmāj jñātvā śīghraṃ samācara |
pibed auṣadham apy ugram ārogyāyātmavān iva ||RV2.42||
Having understood, therefore, that something is salutary but also unpleasant, go for it at once, / As [a patient still] in possession of himself would drink even revolting medicine for the sake of freedom from disease. //

jīvitārogya-rājyānāṃ cintayānityatāṃ sadā |
tataḥ saṃvegavān dharmam ekāntena prayatsyase ||RV2.43||
Constantly reflect that life, health and sovereignty are impermanent; / On that basis, bestirred, you will apply yourself to dharma as your only end.//

avaśyaṃ maraṇaṃ paśyan pāpād duḥkhaṃ mṛtasya ca |
aihikena sukhenāpi na pāpaṃ kartum arhasi ||RV2.44||
Seeing that death is inevitable and that in death suffering follows from wrongdoing, / You should not do wrong, even when it brings temporary relief. //

kasmiṃś cid abhayaṃ dṛṣṭaṃ bhayaṃ dṛṣṭaṃ kva cit kṣaṇe |
yady ekasmin samāśvāsaḥ kim ekasmin na te bhayam ||RV2.45||
Sometimes no danger is seen and at the next moment danger is seen./ If in one instance you breathe easy, in the next instance do you feel no fear? // 

madyāt paribhavo loke kārya-hānir dhana-kṣayaḥ |
akārya-kāraṇam mohān [madyaṃ tyaja tataḥ sadā] ||RV2.46||
由酒遭他輕 損事減身力
由癡行非事 故智人斷酒
Intoxication leads to disgrace in the world, setting aside of what is to be done, and loss of wealth. / Bewilderment of the mind leads to the doing of what ought not to be done. Therefore always avoid intoxicating drink [Chinese: Therefore a wise person cuts out alcohol.] //

[RV2.47]
圍碁等嬉戲 生貪瞋憂諂
誑妄惡口因 故應恒遠離
Silly amusements like playing Go
Are the cause of greed, anger, grief and flattery
As well as trickery, wildness and bad-mouthing;
Therefore one should constantly stay away from them.

[RV2.48]

婬逸過失生 由想女身淨
尋思女身中 實無一毫淨
The fault of lust arises
From the impression that a woman's body is clean.
If one visits the inside of a woman's body in one's thinking,
In reality there is not one speck that is clean.

[RV2.49]
女口涎唾器 齒舌垢臭穢
鼻臭由洟流 目淚種類處
A woman's mouth is a vessel of drool and spit,
Her teeth and tongue are grimy, malodorous, dirty,
Her nose smells of snot and running mucous,
Her eyes are the site of assorted teary discharges.

[RV2.50]

腹屎尿腸器 餘身骨肉聚
癡人迷可厭 故貪著此身
The belly is a vessel of faeces, urine, and guts;
The rest of the body a collection of bones and flesh.
An ignorant person is confused about what should be abhorred,
And therefore lusts for this body.

[RV2.51]
根門最臭穢 是厭惡身因
於中若生愛 何緣得離欲
If this disgusting, unhygienic body
Where foul-smelling impurities ooze even from the sensory orifices,
Is the condition in which sensual love arises,
In what circumstances will one ever be able to become free from desire?

[RV2.52]
譬如屎尿器 豬好在中戲
於身不淨門 多欲戲亦爾
As, for example, in a trough of urine and filth,
Pigs love to play,
So, in a body's unclean orifices
A person of abundant desire loves to frolic.

[RV2.53]
此門所以生 為棄身土穢
癡人邪愛著 不顧己善利
These orifices via which
Bodily excrements are discharged,
Ignorant people wrongly crave
Instead of seeking their own welfare.

[RV2.54]
汝自見一分 屎尿等不淨
此聚說名身 云何汝生愛
See for yourself for a minute
The faeces, urine and other impurities
Which make up this conglomeration called a body.
How then can you generate sensual love?

[RV2.55]
赤白為生種 廁汁所沷養
如知身不淨 何意苦生愛
śukra-śoṇita-saṃparka-bījaṃ viṇ-mūtra-vardhitam |
amedhya-rūpam ājānan rajyase ’tra kayecchayā ||RV2.55||
Knowing it to be an unholy form sprung from contact between semen and blood, full of faeces and urine,/ By what kind of desire are you enamoured of it? //

[RV2.56]
穢聚可憎惡 臭濕皮纏裹
若能處中臥 則愛著女身
amedhya-puñje pracchanne tat-kledārdreṇa carmaṇā |
yaḥ śayīta sa nārīṇāṃ śayīta jaghanodare ||RV2.56||
When a man lays himself down with the unholy mass whose covering of skin is dampened by those discharges,/ He is laying himself down with women's backsides and bowels. //

[RV2.57]
若可愛可憎 衰老及童女
女身皆不淨 汝何處生欲
Since whether she is lovely or odious,
Old or young,
A woman's body, in every case, is unclean,
Where does your desire come from?

[RV2.58]
設糞聚好色 軟滑相端正
起愛則不應 愛女身亦爾
If a dung-heap has an attractive colour,
Is soft and smooth, and upright in appearance,
Still it is not appropriate to fall in love with it.
Loving a woman's body is also like that.

[RV2.59]
內臭極不淨 外皮所覆藏
是死屍種性 云何見不知
Inside there are organs which are foul-smelling and extremely unclean,
Outside those organs are covered by skin.
How can you look at but not see this thing
Which in essence is a kind of corpse?

[RV2.60]
皮不淨如衣 不可暫解浣
云何穢聚皮 可權時汰淨
[They say] the skin is not unclean; it is like a robe –
One that is impossible, for the present, to understand how to wash!
How can skin, when it is a mass of impurities,
Have an appointed hour for washing?

[RV2.61]
畫瓶滿糞穢 外飾若汝憎
此身穢種滿 云何汝不厭
If a decorated pot filled with filth
Disgusts you despite the outer ornamentation,
How can this body, which is full of assorted impurities,
Fail to disgust you?

[RV2.62]
若汝憎不淨 云何不惡身
香華鬘飲食 本淨而能污
If you abhor what is unclean,
Why not the unhygienic body
Which is able to befoul the fragrant flowers of chaplets,
And food and drink, that were originally pure?

[RV2.63]
如汝併憎惡 於自他糞穢
云何汝不厭 自他不淨身
As you abhor what is noxious
In the filth of self and others,
Why do you not abhor
Your own and others' impure bodies?

[RV2.64]
如女身不淨 自身穢亦爾
是故離欲人 於內外相稱
Just as a woman's body is unclean,
So is one's own body foul.
For this reason, a person who transcends desire
Speaks of the mutual relation between inside and outside.

[RV2.65]
九門流不淨自證自浣濯
若不知不淨 而造愛欲論
Impurities flowing through the nine orifices,
One washes by oneself from one's own body.
If one fails to see any impurity
And composes romantic literature,

[RV2.66]
希有極無知 無慚及輕他
於最不淨身 何方利益汝
How strange that is, how extremely lacking in discernment,
Shameless, and unappreciative of others.
Where for you is the profit
In a body which is so extremely unclean?

[RV2.67]
多眾生因此 無明覆其心
為塵欲結怨 如狗鬥爭糞
Because of this [lack of discernment], many living beings
Have their minds engulfed in ignorance.
Out of desire for dust they bear grudges,
Quarreling like dogs over what is filthy.

[RV2.68]
如搔癢謂樂 不癢最安樂
如此有欲樂 無欲人最樂
Just as scratching an itch is said to be pleasurable,
But not to have an itch is most comfortable,
So this possession of a desire is pleasurable,
But a person who is free of desire is happiest.

[RV2.69]
若汝思此義 離欲不得成
由思欲輕故 不遭婬逸過
If you think in this way,
Even if you are unable to realize transcendence of desire,
Because of thinking light of desire,
You will not enter into excessive lust.

[RV2.70]
從獵感短壽 怖苦重逼惱
未來決受此 故應堅行悲
Through hunting one has a short life,
Fear and suffering are heavy, and one is plagued by anger.
In future [the hunter] inevitably suffers this.
Therefore one should steadfastly practise compassion.

[RV2.71]
何人若他見 生彼極驚怖
譬糞穢污身 流出毒惡蛇
A person who would see the other
Experiencing extreme fear,
Is like a snake whose body is fouled by filth,
Spitting out poison and malice.

[RV2.72]
是人若至彼 眾生得安樂
譬夏月大雲 田夫見欲雨
When a real human being encounters other sentient beings,
And they are able to be easy and joyful,
It is like a farmer seeing a great cloud in the light of a summer moon,
And knowing that it is going to rain.

[RV2.73]
故汝捨惡法 決心修善行
為自他俱得 無上菩提果
Therefore you must abandon wrong practices,
And resolve to cultivate good actions,
So that self and others together
Might gain the end which is the supreme truth of bodhi.

[RV2.74]
是菩提根本 心堅如山王
因十方際悲 及無二依智
The root of this bodhi
Is a mind which is as steadfast as the king of mountains,
Because of compassion extending as far as the ten directions
And non-dual reliance on wisdom.

[RV2.75]
大王汝諦聽 此因我今說
感三十二相 能莊嚴汝身
Listen, O great King,
To these causes that I shall now expound
Of being rewarded by the thirty-two signs.
It is possible for them to adorn your body.

三十二相, the thirty-two signs, are called in Sanskrit mahāpuruṣa-lakṣaṇa, marks of a great man.

[RV2.76]
支提聖尊人 供養恒親侍
手足寶相輪 當成轉輪王
By serving offerings to sacred and venerable people
And constantly waiting closely on them,
You will become a wheel-rolling king
The treasures of your hands and feet having the sign of the wheel. 

[RV2.77]
手足滑柔軟 身大七處高
由施美飲食 於他等豐足
Having hands and feet that are smooth and soft,
And the body being magnificent, statuesque in the seven places,
Derives from having served in abundance to others
Beautiful food and drink.

七處平等 “the seven places being level and even” refers to feet, hands, shoulders, and head.

[RV2.78]
身圓滿端直 指足跟圓長
汝當感長壽 由悲濟死囚
With a body that is full and upright,
With fingers, toes and heels that are round and long,
You will experience long life
Because of compassion for condemned prisoners.

[RV2.79]
大王堅持法 令清淨久住
由此足安平 當得成菩薩
Steadfastly maintaining dharma, Great King,
Live a pure and long life.
From this you will be able to become a bodhisattva
Whose feet are balanced and even. 

[RV2.80]
行布施愛語 利行及同利
由此指網密 手足八十文
Practise free giving, loving words,
Beneficial conduct and cooperation:
And from this, your fingers will be closely joined;
Your hands and feet will [conform with] the eighty signs.

[RV2.81]
腳趺高可愛 旋毛端向上
由長不棄背 本所受持法
Your ankles will be stately and lovely,
The tips of your hair whorl will be growing upward,
Because you have long refused to abandon
Dharma received and maintained in the past.

[RV2.82]
由恭敬施受 明處及工巧
故得鹿王膞 及聰明大智
Because of reverence for learning and the arts,
Because of making them available and receiving them,
You will get the calves of a king-stag
And the brightness of great wisdom.

[RV2.83]
他求自有物 我疾能惠施
由此臂傭大 得為世化主
“My possessions, with my blessings,
I am swiftly able to give to those who seek them.”
From this attitude you will be broad-shouldered,
And you will be able to become a master who changes the world.

[RV2.84]
親愛若別離 菩薩令和集
此感陰藏相 恒服慚羞衣
Where loved ones are divided
The bodhisattva causes reconciliation:
This is rewarded by the sign of the sexual organ
Being constantly clothed in modesty.

[RV2.85]
常施樓殿具 細軟可愛色
故感天色身 潤滑光微妙
Because of always providing palace furnishings
Which are finely woven with lovely colours,
You will be rewarded by a body with a heavenly colour
And a soft sheen.

[RV2.86]
由施無上護 如理順尊長
感一孔一毛 白毫端嚴面
Through giving the supreme safeguards,
And following honourable veterans according to principle,
You will be rewarded by one hair in each hair pore
And by the circle of white hair neatly adorning your face.

[RV2.87]
常說善愛語 又能順正教
上身如師子 頸圓喻甘浮
Always propounding the good with loving words
While being able to follow true teaching,
You will have an upper body like a lion's,
With a neck that is round, as if softly floating.

[RV2.88]
看病給醫藥 或令他養護
故得腋下滿 千脈別百味
Because of nursing, and administering medicines,
Or causing others to provide care,
You will obtain fullness below the armpits
And a thousand veins will have a hundred distinct flavours. [??]

[RV2.89]
於自他法事 常能為端首
頂骨鬱尼沙 橫豎頰匿瞿
If you are always able to be level headed,
In matters of dharma relating to self and others,
Your skull will have the uṣṇīṣa protrusion
And horizontally and vertically your face 匿瞿 [??]

Hopkins: [your body] will be symmetrical like a banyan tree.

[RV2.90]
由長時巧說 實美滑善言
得八相梵音 及舌根脩廣
Through speaking skillfully over a long period
True and beautiful speech which is fluent and good,
You will obtain the eight signs and the Brahma-sound,
Along with the long and broad tongue.

[RV2.91]
已知事實利 數數為他說
得好如師子 面門方可愛
Knowing from experience things of true benefit
And widely expounding them for others,
You will agreeably obtain lion-like
Facial features and lovely proportions.

[RV2.92]
由尊他不輕 隨順行正理
齒白齊必勝 譬若真珠行
Through honouring and not slighting others,
And acting in accordance with the true principle,
You will have white teeth that are uniform and excellent,
Like lines of pearls.

[RV2.93]
由數習此言 謂實不兩舌
故具四十齒 平滑堅遒淨
Because of becoming accustomed to this speech,
That is, truthful speech, without two tongues,
You will be endowed with forty teeth,
Even, smooth, hard, strong and clean.

[RV2.94]
由瞻視眾生 滑無貪瞋癡
眼珠青滑了 瞼睫如牛王
Through watching over living beings
Mildly, without greed, hatred or ignorance,
Your eyeballs will be clear and their tracking smooth,
Your eyelids and lashes like a king of bulls.

[RV2.95]
由如此略說 大人相及因
轉輪王菩薩 美飾汝應知
By such a summarized exposition
Of the signs of a great person, along with causes of those signs,
You should know the beautiful adornments
Of a bodhisattva who is a wheel-rolling king.

[RV2.96]
隨相有八十 從慈悲流生
大王我不說 為避多文辭
There are eighty lesser signs
Which flow forth from compassion.
I shall not expound those, O Great King,
In order to avoid too many sentences.

[RV2.97]
雖諸轉輪王 同有此相好
淨明及可愛 終不逮如來
Even wheel-rolling kings
Have these auspicious signs in common,
[But their signs] in purity and loveliness
Do not come close to a tathāgata's.

[RV2.98]
從菩薩善心 一念中一分
輪王相好因 尚不能等此
From a bodhisattva's will to the good are caused,
Even if only for one fraction of one moment of consciousness,
The auspicous signs of a wheel-rolling king –
But they can never equal those [of a tathāgata] at all.

[RV2.99]

一人萬億劫 修善根生長
於佛一毛相 此因亦不感
If a person for trillions of kalpas
Cultivated good roots and developed them,
This cause would not amount
To even one hair of a sign of a buddha.

[RV2.100]

諸佛與輪王 相中一分等
譬如螢與日 於光微有似
Any partial correspondence in terms of signs
Between buddhas and wheel-rolling kings,
Is like the faint similarity that exists, in power of illumination,
Between a firefly and the sun.

寶行王正論雜品第二
True Advice to a King of Jewel-Conduct – Chapter 2, A Mix

Ratnāvalī, Chapter One

oṃ namo ratna-trayāya |
Oṁ! Homage to the three jewels

sarva-doṣa-vinirmuktaṃ guṇaiḥ sarvair alaṃkṛtam |
praṇamya sarva-jñam ahaṃ sarva-sattvaika-bāndhavam ||RV1.1||
To the one free of all the faults, to the one adorned with all the virtues, / I shall bow down, to the all-knowing one, to the one friend of all living beings; //

dharmam ekānta-kalyāṇaṃ rājan dharmodayāya te |
vakṣyāmi dharmaḥ siddhiṃ hi yāti saddharma-bhājane ||RV1.2||
And then, so that you, O King, might carry on up in dharma, I will expound the dharma which is wholly good./ For dharma reaches fulfilment in a deserving receptacle of true dharma. //

prāg dharmo ’bhyudayo yatra paścān naiḥśreyasodayaḥ |
saṃprāpyābhyudayaṃ yasmād eti naiḥśreyasaṃ kramāt ||RV1.3||
Where, beforehand, Dharma was of elevated status, later on there is the going up that leads to ultimate good. / Because, having obtained the elevation in status, one goes gradually in the direction of ultimate good.//

sukham abhyudayas tatra mokṣo naiḥśreyaso mataḥ |
asya sādhana-saṃkṣepaḥ śraddhā-prajñe samāsataḥ ||RV1.4||
Elevation to that elevated status is happy, [but] liberation is esteemed as leading in the direction of ultimate good. / The essential means for that [liberation] are, in brief, belief and wisdom. //

śrāddhatvād bhajate dharmaṃ prājñatvād vetti tattvataḥ |
prajñā pradhānaṃ tv anayoḥ śraddhā pūrvaṃ-gamāsya tu ||RV1.5||
On the grounds of belief one practices dharma; on the grounds of wisdom one knows, in reality; / Of the two, wisdom is paramount, but belief serves as its forerunner. //

chandād dveṣād bhayān mohād yo dharmaṃ nātivartate |
sa śrāddha iti vijñeyaḥ śreyaso bhājanaṃ param ||RV1.6||
One who is not, through desire, hatred, fear, and delusion, untrue to dharma – / He is to be known as faithful; he is a supreme vessel for betterment. //

kāya-vāṅ-mānasaṃ karma sarvaṃ samyak parīkṣya yaḥ |
parātma-hitam ājñāya sadā kuryāt sa paṇḍitaḥ ||RV1.7||
One who examines well all physical, verbal, and mental karma, / With deep understanding of what is good for self and others, and always acts accordingly – he is a wise one. //

ahiṃsā caurya-viratiḥ para-dāra-vivarjanam |
mithyā-paiśunya-pāruṣyābaddha-vādeṣu saṃyamaḥ ||RV1.8||
Doing no harm, abstaining from dishonesty, avoiding other men's wives; / Refraining from any instance of false, slanderous, harsh, or ill-disciplined speech; //

lobha-vyāpāda-nāstikya-dṛṣṭīnāṃ parivarjanam |
ete karma-pathāḥ śuklā daśa kṛṣṇā viparyayāt ||RV1.9||
Giving up covetousness, ill-will, and nihilist views – / These are the ten ways of pure conduct. Their opposites are the impure. //

a-madya-pānaṃ svājīvo ’vihiṃsā dānam ādarāt |
pūjya-pūjā ca maitrī ca dharma eṣa samāsataḥ ||RV1.10||
Not drinking intoxicants, making a clean living, doing no harm, giving sincerely; / Honoring the honorable, and friendliness: this in short is dharma.//

śarīra-tāpanād dharmaḥ kevalān nāsti yat tataḥ |
na para-droha-viratir na pareṣām anugrahaḥ ||RV1.11||
There is no dharma through mere mortification of the body – as a result of which / There is neither abstention from harming others nor conferring of benefit on others. //

dāna-śīla-kṣamā-spaṣṭaṃ yaḥ saddharma-mahā-patham |
anādṛtya vrajet kāya-kleśa-go-daṇḍakotpathaiḥ ||RV1.12||
The broad path of true dharma becomes clear with giving, ethical conduct, and forbearance; / He who, failing to honour it, would go by the wrong paths which are the cow-tracks of physical distress: //

sa saṃsārāṭavīṃ ghorām anantajana-pādapām |
kleśa-vyālāvalīddhāṅgaḥ sudīrghaṃ pratipadyate ||RV1.13||
He enters the terrible forest of saṁsāra, whose trees are endless regeneration; / There he wanders for a long time, body [preyed upon] by a string of ferocious tigers – one afflictive emotion after another. //

1. saṃsārāṭavīṃ ghorām anantajana is reconstructed from the Tibetan.
2. TLB: kleśavyālāvalīḍhāṅgaḥ. For a stopgap solution, read iddha = ferocious.

hiṃsayā jāyate ’lpāyur bahv-ābādho vihiṃsayā |
cauryeṇa bhoga-vyasanī sa(śa[truḥ] paradārikaḥ) ||RV1.14||
Through harm to life one is born again in a short life. Violence is associated with many troubles, / Dishonesty with impoverishment, adultery with making enemies. //

pratyākhyānaṃ mṛṣā-vādāt paiśunyān mitra-bhedanam |
apriya-śravaṇaṃ raukṣyād abaddhād durbhagaṃ vacaḥ ||RV1.15||
From lying stems rejection; from slander, the breaking of friendships; / From harshness, hearing the unpleasant [echo]; from ill-discipline, ill-fated words. //

manorathān hanty abhidhyā vyāpādo bhayadaḥ smṛtaḥ |
mithyā-dṛṣṭeḥ ku-dṛṣṭitvaṃ madya-pānān mati-bhramaḥ ||RV1.16||
Coveting them kills one's heart's desires; ill-will is known to be the bestower of fear; / From a false view stems weak-sightedness; from the drinking of intoxicants, rambling of the mind.//

apradānena dāridryaṃ mithyā-jīvena vañcanā |
stambhena duṣkulīnatvam alpaujaskatvam īrṣyayā ||RV1.17||
Stinginess is associated with poverty; a wrong livelihood with deceit; / Stiff-necked arrogance with an inferior lineage; jealousy with diminished vitality. //

krodhād durvarṇatā maurkhyam apraśnena vipaścitām |
phalam etan manuṣyatve sarvebhyaḥ prāk tu durgatiḥ ||RV1.18||
From anger arises bad colour; from not asking those who know, stupidity; / Such a result is [felt] in the human condition, but preceding all such was wandering in a lower realm.

eṣāṃ akuśalākhyānāṃ vipāko yaḥ prakīrtitaḥ |
kuśalānāṃ tu sarveṣāṃ viparītaḥ phalodayaḥ ||RV1.19||
Opposite to the karmic ripening thus described of these so-called unwholesome deeds,/ Is the arising of the fruit of all wholesome acts.//

lobho dveṣaś ca mohaś ca taj-jaṃ karmeti cāśubham |
alobhāmohādveṣāś ca taj-jaṃ karma ca tac chubham ||RV1.20||
Greed, hatred, ignorance, and the karma born of them, are ugly./ Non-greed, non-hatred, non-ignorance, and the karma born of them, are beautiful.//

aśubhāt sarva-duḥkhāni sarvā durgatayas tathā |
śubhāt sugatayaḥ sarvāḥ sarva-janma-sukhāni ca ||RV1.21||
From the ugly arise all sufferings; likewise all wanderings in lower realms./ From the beautiful arise all goings-on in happy realms, and all happy births.//

nivṛttir aśubhāt kṛtsnāt pravṛttis tu śubhe sadā |
manasā karmaṇā vācā dharmo ’yaṃ dvividhaḥ smṛtaḥ ||RV1.22||
Totally turning back from the ugly while constantly carrying on with the beautiful / In one's mind, in one's action, and in one's words: this is known as the twofold dharma.//

naraka-preta-tiryagbhyo dharmād asmād vimucyate |
nṛṣu deveṣv avāpnoti sukha-śrī-rājya-vistarān ||RV1.23||
Through this dharma one is freed from the realms of hell, hungry ghosts and animals./ Among human beings and among gods, one gains extensive happiness, splendour, and sovereignty.//

dhyānāpramāṇārūpyais tu brahmādyaṃ sukham aśnute |
ity abhyudaya-dharmo ’yaṃ phalaṃ cāsya samāsataḥ ||RV1.24||
By means of the dhyānas, the immeasurables, and the formless states, one obtains the ease of Brahma and the rest./ Thus in brief is the dharma of elevation in status, and its fruit.//

For the four dhyānas, see e.g. Aśvaghoṣa's Saundarananda Canto 17. For the four immeasurables see R3.19 below. The four formless realms (ārūpya-dhātu) are a variation on the theme of the triple world in Brahmanic cosmology.

naiḥśreyasaḥ punar dharmaḥ sūkṣmo gambhīra-darśanaḥ |
bālānāṃ aśru[tima]tām uktas trāsakaro jinaiḥ ||RV1.25||
The dharma that leads in the direction of ultimate good, however, is subtle, and profound in its realization./ It is said by the victorious ones to be fear-inducing in the immature, who are not equipped with listening ears.//

nāsmy ahaṃ na bhaviṣyāmi na me ’sti na bhaviṣyati |
iti bālasya santrāsaḥ paṇḍitasya bhaya-kṣayaḥ ||RV1.26||
“I am not, nor will I be; nothing belongs, nor will belong, to me": / This to the immature is a terror, to the wise it is a relief.//

ahaṃkāra-prasūteyaṃ mama-kāropasaṃhitā |
prajā prajā-hitaikānta-vādinābhihitākhilā ||RV1.27||
Sprung from "I"-making and attached to "my"-making / Is this entire mass of humanity, as described by the teacher of only what was good for humanity.//

asty ahaṃ mama cāstīti mithyaitat paramārthataḥ |
yathābhūta-parijñānān na bhavaty ubhayam yataḥ ||RV1.28||
"I exist, and what is mine exists" – this is ultimately false. / Which is to say that both these [assumptions], following thorough investigation of what really is, do not hold. //

ahaṃ-kārodbhavāḥ skandhāḥ so ’haṃkāro ’nṛto ’rthataḥ |
bījaṃ yasyānṛtaṃ tasya prarohaḥ satyataḥ kutaḥ ||RV1.29||
The skandhas, or aggregates, are produced from "I"-making. That "I"-making, in practice, is not true./ When a seed is a falsehood, how, in truth, can there be growth from that seed? //

skandhān asatyān dṛṣṭvaivam ahaṃkāraḥ prahīyate |
ahaṃkāra-prahāṇāc ca na punaḥ skandha-saṃbhavaḥ ||RV1.30||
When thus it is seen that the skandhas are not true, "I"-making is abandoned, / And from the abandonment of "I"-making, there is no more coming into being of skandhas.//

yathādarśam upādāya sva-mukha-pratibimbakam |
dṛśyate nāma tac caiva na kiṃ cid api tattvataḥ ||RV1.31||
Just as, through the medium of a mirror, one sees the reflection of one's face,/ But that reflection is not anything at all, in reality, //

ahaṃkāras tathā skandhān upādāyopalabhyate |
na ca kaś cit sa tattvena sva-mukha-pratibimbavat ||RV1.32||
So likewise, through the medium of skandhas, is the "I"-maker conceived / But, as with the reflection of one's face, it is not really anything.//

yathādarśam anādāya sva-mukha-pratibimbakam |
na dṛśyate tathā skandhān anādāyāham ity api ||RV1.33||
Just as without the mirror one does not see the reflection of one's face,/ So it is also, without the skandhas, for the "I".

evaṃvidhārtha-śravaṇād dharma-cakṣur avāptavān |
āryānandaḥ svayaṃ caiva bhikṣubhyo ’bhīkṣṇam uktavān ||RV1.34||
Having listened to such meaning and made the Dharma-eye his own,/ Noble Ānanda repeatedly communicated it to the monks: //

skandha-grāho yāvad asti tāvad evāham ity api |
ahaṃkāre sati punaḥ karma janma tataḥ punaḥ ||RV1.35||
So long as there is skandha-grasping, so too is there [the assumption] that "I am." / There being "I"-making there is, in turn, karma; and from that karma there is, in turn, rebirth.//

tri-vartmaitad an-ādy-anta-madhyaṃ saṃsāra-maṇḍalam |
alāta-maṇḍala-prakhyaṃ bhramaty anyonya-hetukam ||RV1.36||
A three-track circuit with no beginning, end, or middle, is this cycle of saṁsāra./ Like a circle of light made by a firebrand, round and around it goes, one thing leading to another.//

sva-parobhayatas tasya trai-kālyato ’py aprāptitaḥ |
ahaṃkāraḥ kṣayaṃ yāti tataḥ karma ca janma ca ||RV1.37||
On the grounds of the ungraspability of that [cycle], as self, other, or both, or on the basis of three times,/ "I"-making fades away, and so also do karma and rebirth.//

evaṃ hetu-phalotpādaṃ paśyaṃs tat-kṣayaṃ eva ca |
nāstitām astitāṃ caiva naiti lokasya tattvataḥ ||RV1.38||
Thus seeing the arising of causes and effects, and their waning, / One does not see either "does-not-exist"-ness or "does-exist"-ness as belonging to the world, in reality.//

sarva-duḥkha-kṣayaṃ dharmaṃ śrutvaivam aparīkṣakaḥ |
saṃtrasyaty aparijñānād abhaya-sthāna-kātaraḥ ||RV1.39||
One who has thus heard the dharma which is the demolition of all suffering, but fails to investigate it,/ Trembles through ignorance, afraid of the fearless state.//

na bhaviṣyati nirvāṇe sarvam etan na te bhayam |
ucyamāna ihābhāvas tasya te kiṃ bhayaṃkaraḥ ||RV1.40||
"In nirvāṇa nothing will exist." This holds no fear for you./ Why is the non-existence of any thing here and now, as now being described, a cause of fear for you?//

mokṣe nātmā na ca skandhā mokṣaś ced īdṛśaḥ priyaḥ |
ātma-skandhāpanayanaṃ kim ihaiva na te priyam ||RV1.41||
"In liberation there will be neither self nor skandhas." If that sort of liberation is dear to you,/ Why, here and now, is the elimination of self and skandhas not dear to you?//

na cābhāvo ’pi nirvāṇaṃ kuta evāsya bhāvatā |
bhāvābhāva-parāmarśa-kṣayo nirvāṇam ucyate ||RV1.42||
Never is nirvāṇa nothingness. How much less can it accommodate being-ness?/ An end to clutching at being and nothingness is called nirvāṇa.//

samāsān nāstitā-dṛṣṭiḥ phalaṃ nāstīti karmaṇām |
apuṇyāpāyikī caiṣā mithyā dṛṣṭir iti smṛtā ||RV1.43||
In brief, the view of "does-not-exist"-ness is that the effect of actions does not exist./ Being without merit and leading downward, this is regarded as a wrong view.//

samāsād astitā-dṛṣtiḥ phalaṃ cāstīti karmaṇām |
puṇyā sugati-niṣyandā samyag-dṛṣṭir iti smṛtā ||RV1.44||
In brief, the view of "does-exist"-ness is that the effect of actions does exist./ Meritorious and leading to a blissful realm, it is regarded as the right view.//

jñānān nāsty-astitā-śānteḥ pāpa-puṇya-vyatikramaḥ |
durgateḥ sugateś cāsmāt sa mokṣah sadbhir ucyate ||RV1.45||
Through knowing, there is coming to quiet of does-not-exist-and-does-exist-ness, on which grounds there is transcending of bad and good./ That, say the wise, is liberation from hell and also from this realm of bliss.//

sahetum udayaṃ paśyan nāstitām ativartate |
astitām api nopaiti nirodhaṃ saha hetunā ||RV1.46||
When one sees going up as having a cause, one passes beyond does-not-exist-ness;/ One does not approach does-exist-ness either, [seeing] cessation together with its cause.//

prāg-jātaḥ saha-jātaś ca hetur āhetuko ’rthataḥ |
prajñapter apratītatvād utpatteś caiva tattvataḥ ||RV1.47||
A cause born before or simultaneously with [its effect] is, in practice, unreasonable./ [This is so] on the grounds of teaching, on the grounds of the skeptical state, and on the grounds of the very act of rising up, in reality. //

apratītatva = lit. "the state of not pratīta," where pratīta is the past participle of prati-√i, as in pratīta-samutpāda. Meanings of prati-√i include to go towards, to go back to (hence to depend upon), and to trust, believe. The second line is hard to translate with confidence. As a stopgap, I have understood it as following a three-phased dialectic progression: Neither cause nor effect exist independently as things unto themselves. This is so on the grounds of 1. belief in the teaching or doctrine of dependent arising, 2. skeptical or scientific investigation of what actually is, 3. experience in sitting-meditation itself, whose essence is oneness.

asmin satīdaṃ bhavati dīrghe hrasvaṃ yathā sati |
asyotpādād udetīdaṃ dīpotpādād yathā prabhā ||RV1.48||
This being so, that is – just as, where there is long, there is short./ Thanks to the arising of this, up goes that – like when, thanks to the appearance of a lamp, there is light.//

hrasve ’sati punar dīrghaṃ na bhavaty asvabhāvataḥ |
pradīpasyāpy anutpādāt prabhāyā apy asaṃbhavaḥ ||RV1.49||
Where short is absent, conversely, long does not exist – there being nothing that exists as a thing unto itself./ Following from the non-appearance of a lamp, again, there is the non-coming-into-being of light.

evaṃ hetu-phalotpādaṃ dṛṣtvā nopaiti nāstitām |
abhyupetyāsya lokasya yāthābhūtyaṃ prapañca-jam ||RV1.50||
Seeing like this the arising of effects from causes, one does not approach does-not-exist-ness – / Once one has realized what this world of men is really like, born as it is from objectification.//

TLB: nopaiti nāstitam.

nirodhaṃ ca prapañcotthaṃ yāthābhūtyād upāgataḥ |
nopayāty astitāṃ tasmān mucyate ’dvaya-niśritaḥ ||RV1.51||
Again, one who on the grounds of what really is, has realized a cessation arising out from objectification,/ Does not approach does-exist-ness. Therefore, not relying on either of two, he is liberated.//

durād ālokitaṃ rūpam āsannair dṛśyate sphuṭam |
marīcir yadi vāri syād āsannaiḥ kiṃ na dṛśyate ||RV1.52||
A form in the far distance is seen clearly by those seated nearby./ If a mirage might be water, why is water not seen by those seated nearby?//

dūrībhūtair yathābhūto loko ’yaṃ dṛśyate tathā |
na dṛśyate tad-āsannair animitto marīcivat ||RV1.53||
As it really is, so this world is seen, by those far detached from it./ It is not seen, like the groundless mirage, by those who are close to it.//

marīcis toya-sadṛśī yathā nāmbho na cārthataḥ |
skandhās tathātma-sadṛśā nātmāno nāpi te ’rthataḥ ||RV1.54||
Just as a mirage seems like water but is not water, and in practice is not,/ So likewise do the skandhas seem like a self but are not of a self; and in practice they are not.//

marīciṃ toyam ity etad iti matvā gato ’tra san |
yadi nāstīti tat toyaṃ gṛhṇīyān mūḍha eva saḥ ||RV1.55||
Having deemed a mirage to be water and gone towards it,/ One who understood that such a thing as water does not exist, would be foolish indeed.//

marīci-pratimaṃ lokam evam astīti gṛhṇataḥ |
nāstīti cāpi moho ’yaṃ sati mohe na mucyate ||RV1.56||
There is this same foolishness in one who concludes of the mirage-like world that "it does exist,"/ Or else "it does not exist." While foolishness prevails, one is not liberated.//

nāstiko durgatiṃ yāti sugatiṃ yāti cāstikaḥ |
yathābhūta-parijñānān mokṣam advaya-niśritaḥ ||RV1.57||
The does-not-exist-er goes to a lower realm, and the does-exist-er goes to a blissful realm./ Through investigating what really is, one who relies on neither of the two [goes towards] liberation. //

anicchan nāstitāstitve yathābhūta-parijñayā |
nāstitāṃ labhate mohāt kasmān na labhate ’stitām ||RV1.58||
If while being averse, because of investigation of what really is, to both does-not-exist-ness and does-exist-ity,/ He unwittingly catches does-not-exist-ness, how thereby does he not catch does-exist-ness? //

syād asti-dūṣaṇād asya nāstitā kṣipyate ’rthataḥ |
nāstitā-dūṣanād evaṃ kasmān nākṣipyate ’stitā ||RV1.59||
If through his refuting of "it does exist," does-not-exist-ness has in practice been cast aside,/ How, in the same way, through refuting does-not-exist-ness, has does-exist-ness not been cast aside?//

na pratijñā na caritaṃ na cittaṃ bodhi-niśrayāt |
nāstikatve ’rthato yeṣāṃ kathaṃ te nāstikāḥ smṛṭāḥ ||RV1.60||
As for those who – beyond vowing, beyond practising, beyond mind – because of relying on awakening,/ Are in practice in the state of negation, how can they be regarded as nihilists?//

sa-sāṃkhyaulūkya-nirgrantha-pudgala-skandha-vādinam |
pṛccha lokaṃ yadi vadaty asti-nasti-vyatikramam ||RV1.61||
Ask the world, with its Sāṃkhya philosophers, with its Vaiśeṣika followers of Ulūka 'The Owl', with its proponents of having no strings attached, of the individual, and of the skandhas – / Ask them if they propound transcendence of does exist and does not exist. //

dharma-yautakam ity asmān nāsty-astitva-vyatikramam |
viddhi gaṃbhīram ity uktaṃ buddhānāṃ śāsanāmṛtam ||RV1.62||
Know on these grounds why the gift of dharma which goes beyond states of does-not-exist and does-exist,/ The deathless nectar of the teaching of buddhas, is called "profound."//

vibhavaṃ naiti nāyāti na tiṣṭhaty api ca kṣaṇam |
traikālya-vyativṛttātmā loka evaṃ kuto ’rthataḥ ||RV1.63||
The world is not passing to its destruction; it is not coming here; and it does not stand still even for an instant;/ Thus inherently transcendent over threefold temporality, how, in practice, is it? //

dvayor apy āgati-gatī yat sthitiś ca na tattvataḥ |
loka-nirvāṇayos tasmād viśeṣaḥ ka ivārthataḥ ||RV1.64||
There is no such thing as coming, going, and standing still, in reality,/ Of either world or nirvāṇa. Between the two, therefore, in practice, what essential difference is there? //

sthiter abhāvād udayo nirodhaś ca na tattvataḥ |
uditaś ca sthitaś ceti niruddhaś ca kuto ’rthataḥ ||RV1.65||
In the absence of standing still, there is no such thing, in reality, as an arising or a ceasing;/ On what basis can there be, in practice, the arisen, the stood still, and the ceased? //

katham akṣaṇiko bhāvaḥ pariṇāmaḥ sadā yadi |
nāsti cet pariṇāmaḥ syād anyathātvaṃ kuto ’rthataḥ ||RV1.66||
How can being be other than instantaneous, if change is constant?/ If change might not exist, how, in practice, is there variation?//

eka-deśe kṣayād vā syāt kṣaṇikaṃ sarvaśo ’pi vā |
vaiṣamyānupalabdheś ca dvidhāpy etad ayuktimat ||RV1.67||
[Being] must be instantaneous either through destruction at the level of individual particles, or as a function of the whole. / Because no disparity is observable, this, either way, is unreasonable.//

kṣaṇike sarvathābhāvāt kutaḥ kā cit purāṇatā |
sthairyād akṣaṇike cāpi kutaḥ kā cit purāṇatā ||RV1.68||
Being instantaneous, it is in no way a continuity of being; hence, how can there be any such thing as antiquity? / Again, if it were non-instantaneous, and there were fixity, how could there be any such thing as antiquity? //

yathānto ’sti kṣaṇasyaivam ādi-madhyaṃ ca kalpyatām |
tryātmakatvāt kṣaṇasyaivaṃ na lokasya kṣaṇaṃ sthitiḥ ||RV1.69||
Let us speculate that just as, in this way, there is an end to a moment, there is also a beginning and a middle./ If, in this way, a moment has a tripartite nature, it follows that there is no instantaneous existing of the world.//

ādi-madhyāvasānāni cintyāni kṣaṇavat punaḥ |
ādi-madhyāvasāna-tvaṃ na svataḥ parato ’pi vā ||RV1.70||
Again, beginning, middle and end can be considered in the same way as instants./ Beginning-middle-end-ness is not a function of itself; nor otherwise it is a function of others.//

naiko ’neka-pradeśatvān nāpradeśaś ca kaś cana |
vinaikam api nāneko nāstitvam api cāstitām ||RV1.71||
Because of multi-directionality, there is no singularity. And there is nothing that lacks directions./ At the same time, without singularity there is no plurality, and so it is with does-not-exist-ness and does-exist-ness. //

vināśāt pratipakṣād vā syād astitvasya nāstitā |
vināśaḥ pratipakṣo vā kathaṃ syād asty-asaṃbhavāt ||RV1.72||
The does-not-exist-ness of existence can exist either through negation or through oppposition./ [But] how can either negation or opposition exist without the coming-into-being of does-exist? //

nirvṛtes tena lokasya nopaity ūnatvam arthataḥ |
antavān iti lokaś ca pṛṣṭas tūṣṇīṃ jino ’bhavat ||RV1.73||
In the process of its ultimate extinction, therefore, the world is not undergoing, in practice, any diminishment; / And so, asked whether the world has an end, the Victorious One remained silent.//

sarvajña iti sarvajño budhais tenaiva gamyate |
yenaitad dharma-gāmbhīryaṃ novācābhājane jane ||RV1.74||
For that very reason, the All Knowing One is understood by the wise to have been a knower of every one – / Because he did not voice this profundity of dharma to people who were not deserving receptacles.//

iti naiḥśreyaso dharmo gambhīro niṣparigrahaḥ |
anālaya iti proktaḥ saṃbuddhais tattva-darśibhiḥ ||RV1.75||
Thus the dharma that leads in the direction of ultimate good has been called "profound," "ungraspable,"/ And "of no fixed abode," by fully awakened sambuddhas, realizers of reality.//

tasmād anālayād dharmād ālayābhiratā janāḥ |
asti-nasty-avyatikrāntā bhītā naśyanty amedhasaḥ ||RV1.76||
People who delight in fixed abodes fail; frightened by this dharma of no abode,/ Failing to go beyond does-exist and does-not-exist, the dullards come to nothing.//

te naṣṭā nāśayanty anyān a-bhaya-sthāna-bhīravaḥ |
tathā kuru yathā rājan (naṣṭair na vipranāśyase) ||RV1.77||
Ruined, they who are afraid of fearlessness would ruin others./ Act in such a way, O King, that the ruined do not ruin you. //

[RV1.78]
為汝成不壞 我當說真理
由依無倒合 離有無二執
So that you might realize non-ruination,
I will explain the true principle,
Relying on no disintegration or integration,
Distanced from the dual fixations does-exist and does-not-exist.

[RV1.79]
此過福非福 甚深義明了
非身見怖空 二人境當說
This, beyond merit and demerit,
Is profound and perfectly clear in meaning.
It is not physically realized by those who fear emptiness –
The preachers of dual human abodes.

[RV1.80]
四大及空識 一聚俱非人
若合離非人 云何執人有
The four elements [earth, water, fire, wind] along with space and consciousness,
All assembled together, are not a person.
If their joining and separation are not a person,
What enduring person is there?

[RV1.81]
如六界非人 聚故虛非實
一一界同然 由聚故非實
Just as the six sense-spheres are not a person,
Because it is put together, the void is not the real.
Each of the spheres, one by one, similarly,
Because of being put together, is not real.

[RV1.82]
陰非我我所 離陰我不顯
不如薪火雜 何依陰成我
Skandhas are not me or mine.
Apart from skandhas I am not evident.
It is not like fuel and fire mixing.
How, relying on skandhas, can there be the making of me?

[RV1.83]
地界非三大 地中亦無三
三中亦無地 相離互不成
The earth is not three elements.
In the earth, again, the three do not exist.
In the three, again, the earth does not exist.
Apart from each other, neither is realized.

[RV1.84]
地水火風大 各自性不成
一離三不成 三離一亦爾
The elements – earth, water, fire and wind –
Each as a thing unto itself is not realized.
The three are not realized without each one.
Likewise for the one without the three.

[RV1.85]
一三及三一 相離若不成
各各自不成 彼相離云何
One is three and three are one –
If neither is realized separately,
Each is not realized as a thing unto itself.
How can they be separate from each other?

[RV1.86]
若各離自成 離薪何無火
動礙及相聚 水風地亦然
If each separately realizes itself,
Why is there no fire without fuel?
Movement, solidity, and cohesion
Similarly, [do not exist apart from] water, wind, earth.

[RV1.87]
若火不自成 三云何各立
三大緣生義 相違云何成
If fire does not realize itself by itself
How can each of the three stand?
Except in accord with the teaching of dependent arising,
How can three elements be realized?

[RV1.88]
若彼各自成 云何更互有
若各自不成 云何互成有
If each is realized by itself
How can it also exist in a mutual relation?
Without each realizing itself
How can mutual realization exist?

[RV1.89]
若言不相離 諸大各自成
不雜則不共 若雜非獨成
If [you] say, "Inseperably from the others,
Each of the elements realizes itself,"
Then when not mixed they are not integrated
And if mixed they are not realized independently.

[RV1.90]
諸大非各成 云何各性相
各成無偏多 故相假名說
When elements are not realized individually,
How can each show a form in its own right?
Individual realization lacks predominance;
Therefore its form is explained as only conventionally real.

[RV1.91]
色聲香味觸 簡擇義如大
眼色識無明 業生擇亦爾
For colours, sounds, smells, tastes and tactile sensations,
The analysis is as for the elements;
For eye, form and consciousness; for ignorance;
For karma and for birth, the analysis is also like that.

[RV1.92]
作者業及事 數合因果世
短長及名想 非想擇亦然
For doer and karma, along with thing done;
For numbers and counting; cause and effect; periods of time;
For short and long, along with concept, perception
And non-perception, the analysis is again the same.

[RV1.93]
地水風火等 長短及小大
善惡言識智 智中滅無餘
Earth, water, wind, fire and so on,
Long and short, small and large,
Good and bad, say the wise,
In wisdom cease without trace.

[RV1.94]
如識處無形 無邊遍一切
此中地等大 一切皆滅盡
Just as consciousness is without shape,
Limitless, and all-pervading,
In these elements of earth and so on
All is totally used up.

[RV1.95]
於此無相智 短長善惡業
名色及諸陰 如此滅無餘
At the place of this formless wisdom,
Short and long, good and bad karma,
Psycho-physicality and shadows,
In this way cease without trace.

[RV1.96]
如此等於識 由無明先有
於識若起智 此等後皆盡
Just as these exist a priori in consciousness
On the grounds of ignorance,
If wisdom arises in consciousness,
These subsequently are totally consumed.

[RV1.97]
如是等世法 是然識火薪
由實量火光 世識薪燒盡
All these phenomena
Are like fuel for the fire of consciousness:
Relying on the firelight of true consideration
The fuel of wordly consciousness is burned up. 

ajñāna-kalpitaṃ pūrvaṃ paścāt tattvārtha-nirṇaye |
yadā na labhate bhāvam evābhāvas tadā kuha ||RV1.98||
What before was supposed, in ignorance, is subsequently verified, in a demonstrable state of real fact./ When being is not grasped, where then is nothingness? //

rūpasyābhāva-mātratvād ākāśaṃ nāma-mātrakam |
bhūtair vinā kuto rūpaṃ nāma-mātrakam apy ataḥ ||RV1.99||
Because the non-existence of a material form is nothing but that, space is nothing but a name./ Without the elements, whence a material form? Hence even being nothing but a name itself [is also nothing but a name].//

[RV1.100]
受想行及識 應思如四大
四大如我虛 六界非人法
Feeling, perception, doings, and consciousness
Should be considered like the four elements.
The four elements are like the emptiness of self.
Six sense spheres are not a human convention.

安樂解脫品第一
Chapter One: Easy & Joyful Liberation

Ratnāvalī: A String of Gems

Introduction

This translation of Ratnāvalī I began a couple of months ago, just for my own benefit, as part of efforts to lay the ground for translating mūla-madhyamaka-kārikā (MMK) into English.

By the beginning of this year I had already completed a draft translation of MMK, but did not feel inclined to publish it yet, even as a work in progress. There are plenty of MMK translations out there already, and I don't want to publish another one that is worthy of being ignored, as sandy ground is passed over by somebody seeking to lay foundations for a serviceable structure....

sāmanta-rāja-romāñca-karaṃ dharmāspadaṃ na yat |mṛtyasyāpy apraśasyatvād rājaṃs tad akṛtaṃ varam ||RV4.11||
A seat of dharma that does not make the hair of neighbouring kings stand on end,/ Is not worthy of admiration, even after the builder has died; and so, O King, it would be better not to build one.//

And yet I do feel inclined now to publish the present effort, work in progress though it remains. Maybe there is a clue in the contrasting titles of the two works. The M of MMK stands for mūla, which means root, fundament or foundation. The āvalī of Ratnāvalī means a row, series, or string – as in a string of pearls or a garland. Shaky foundations are no basis on which to build anything, but there is a chance that imperfections in several gems within a long string of five hundred gems will not detract too much from the beauty of the whole.

So the reader is asked to overlook several omissions and stopgaps in the translation that follows, most notably in those verses I translated from the Chinese in the absence of Nāgārjuna's original Sanskrit. If anybody can help by filling in the blanks or pointing out my errors in these or other verses, or if anybody can help make a connection to a willing collaborator whose understanding is better than mine, that would be much appreciated.

Nāgārjuna, before he was anything else, was a follower of the Buddha's teaching. To quote Vladimir K at The Zen Site

“Nagarjuna is the 14th Patriarch of Zen but he is usually studied as a philosopher rather than a teacher. This may well be a mistake.”

I echo that doubt. Something jars about the attitude of academics who are interested in Nāgārjuna's philosophy as if it could somehow be extracted from the rest of Nāgārjuna's effort to transmit the compassionate essence of the great vehicle. This essence, Nāgārjuna tells us in RV4.80 is contained in the six pāramitās:

• dāna, free giving; 
• śīla, ethical conduct; 
• kṣanti, forbearance; 
• vīrya, perseverance; 
• dhyāna, meditation; 
• prajñā, wisdom. 

True, as Nāgārjuna asserts in RV1.5, prajñā-pāramitā, the perfection of wisdom, is paramount. That being so, to seek to understand the wisdom of emptiness, which is synonymous with the dharma of dependent arising, is a true aim.

Going for this aim directly, however, as philosophy professors are wont to do, is not necessarily behavior which meets Nāgārjuna's criterion of benefitting all living beings. Rather than being in a hurry to gain the end, if we follow Nāgārjuna's advice, we will opt for gradual process in the right direction. Relying on all six pāramitās, but especially the first three, we will first practise dharma in the round, instead of proceeding on the basis of incomplete understanding, because...

dharmasyāsyāparijñānād ahaṃkāro ’nuvartate |tataḥ śubhāśubhaṃ karma tato janma śubhāśubham ||RV2.24||
From incomplete knowing of this dharma, there follows “I”-making. / From that stems karma, good and bad. Thence birth, good and bad. //

tasmād yāvad avijñāto dharmo ’haṃkāra-śātanaḥ |dāna-śīla-kṣamā-dharme tāvad ādaravān bhava ||RV2.25|| Therefore, as long as the dharma which cuts out “I”-making is not yet fully understood, / Be sincere in the dharma of free giving, ethical conduct and forbearance.//

Free-giving and ethical conduct, Ratnāvalī makes clear, are for the benefit of others. The forbearance which precludes anger, along with perseverance, is for our own benefit. Only on these grounds, being steeped in benefitting others and self, Nāgārjuna seems to suggest, should we aspire to the Zen wisdom in which the distinction between self and others breaks down and is transcended.

Finally, a note on bodhicitta, the bodhi-mind.

Nowhere in Aśvaghoṣa's two epic poems is explicit mention made of bodhicitta. Such mention, I am reliably informed, is similarly absent from the Pali and Sanskrit records of the early discourses of the Buddha. In his Bodhi-caryāvatāra, in contrast, Śāntideva seems to wish to write of little else, so that three of the first four chapters of BCV have bodhicitta in the title.

The verses in Nāgārjuna's String of Gems that make explicit mention of bodhicitta are not extant in Sanskrit. In Paramārtha's Chinese translation, however, 菩提心, the bodhi-mind, is mentioned twice in R3.86 and again in R5.69:

教一切眾生 堅發菩提心
菩薩德如山 菩提心牢固
Teaching all living beings
Firmly to establish the bodhi-mind,
The bodhisattva's merit is like a mountain.
The bodhi-mind is adamant. [R3.86]

從此行我德 已作及未作
因此願眾生 皆發菩提心
Whatever merit there is from this action I am doing,
Have done, and am yet do,
Because of this, may living beings
All establish the bodhi-mind. [R5.69]

Whether Nāgārjuna did or did not explicitly use the term bodhicitta in his String of Gems, running through all five chapters is the sense that the right direction for a bodhisattva is invariably circumscribed by the will to benefit all living beings.

Hence, for example:

parā[tma-hita-]mokṣārthāḥ saṃkṣepād buddha-śāsanam |te ṣaṭ-pāramitā-garbhās tasmād bauddham idaṃ vacaḥ ||RV4.82||The aims of benefiting and liberating others and self are, in brief, what the Buddha taught./ Those aims are contained in the six perfections. Therefore this is the word of Buddha.//

Nāgārjuna & Non-Doing

Yesterday on the ferry over to France I browsed through Nagarjuna, Buddhism's Most Important Philosopher, by Richard H. Jones. Finding the book to be much better than I had remembered it being, I thought of contributing on Amazon a review titled “A Step in the Right Direction.”

Last night, having cycled the 12 miles from Flers, in the rain, and lit a fire to warm up the place and air the bedding, I emailed to let my wife know that I had arrived safely.

My wife emailed back:

Hi Mike,
Otsukare sama,
Tiger come back to his den
xxx

In reply the purported tiger sent back the following selfie:

(meeaaow) 

Why am I telling you this here? you may wonder.

For a start, on reflection, it occured to me that if I wrote a review on Amazon it wouldn't be out of a sincere desire to help prospective buyers of Richard Jones's book. It would be out of a desire to draw attention to my own efforts. And so this blog might be a better place to keep pursuing the latter agenda.

Second, my wife's email of last night, combined with the greater strength in my centre that I generally feel when I start to sit here by the forest, reminds me exactly what the direction of my own efforts is.

(Grrrrrr?)
(The sound of a tiger not roaring?)

That those efforts, whether noisy or quiet, have so far not had much in the way of desired effect, was at the forefront of my mind a couple of weeks ago when I wrote to Nelly Ben-Or, an Alexander teacher who, among all the teachers I have known, stands out as being exceptionally clear in regard to the difference between doing and non-doing.

The late Marjory Barlow was another Alexander teacher who was similarly clear. Marjory often quoted the words of her uncle FM Alexander that “When you think you are thinking you are actually feeling. When you think you are feeling you are doing.” 

Lessons with Nelly Ben-Or were an invariably humbling experience in finding out that what one felt was non-doing was usually just another variation on the theme of one's habitual doing.

So the email I sent to Nelly started like this:

Dear Nelly, 

I hope the spring finds you and Roger well.

The translation I have spent the last seven years working on has been published, but nobody seems to have noticed. So far it has only sold two copies, apart from the few I bought myself.

I am afraid that the world is not ready to see the extent to which Alexander really did rediscover the secret of Zen for our time, and this grumpy old sod is not the person to cause everybody to see it -- in spite of your own sterling work.

Maybe if I had somehow included the word "Mindfulness" in the title, that would have been a better marketing ploy for the book -- given the growing popularity of the "mindfulness" movement, according to which people attend dutifully to sensory inputs emanating from their flabby extremities, in a futile effort to be present in a moment that has already passed.

When I go back to the oldest text recording what the Buddha said about mindfulness, what he said was something like, "Causing bodily doing to cease, I will breathe in" -- like this [the monk] trains. "Causing bodily doing to cease, I will breathe out" -- like this he trains.

So the emphasis is on non-doing, and the orientation is forward, into the future.

But everybody thinks the Buddha said, "Calming the breath, I will breathe in"..... 

So a teaching for non-doing, everybody turns into a doing. I wonder if that surprises you....

What I realized while reading Richard Jones's book on the ferry is that Nāgārjuna has really spoken to Richard Jones, over many years, as a philosopher. Richard Jones has clearly put a lot of effort over the years into studying Nāgārjuna's teaching and in return Nāgārjuna has spoken to Richard Jones as a philosopher. This comes through particularly clearly in the essay at the end of the book, titled “Emptiness – The Philosophy of Nagarjuna.” Reading that essay yesterday, I thought that in its own terms it was not bad. As philosophy, it was a step in the right direction.

When I first obtained Jones's book last summer, my first impression was that I wanted to ask for my money back. So reading that essay yesterday caused me to revise my opinion from “waste of bloody money” to “step in the right direction.”

The basis of the “waste of money” view was Jones' translation of MMK26.10:

Thus, the one who is subject to the root-ignorance forms the dispositions that are the basis of the cycle of rebirths. Therefore, the one who is ignorant is the one who forms a new rebirth, not the one who knows by seeing reality.

Jones (2010) thus followed Kalupahana (1986) in translating saṁskārān... saṁskaroti as “forms dispositions" -- whatever the hell that means. 

Thus, the ignorant one forms dispositions that constitute the source of the life process. Therefore, it is the ignorant who is the agent, not the wise one, because of his [the latter's] perception of truth.

Cf Michael Luetchford (2002):

Hence the ignorant produces the roots of saṁsāra, formings. From this the ignorant is the agent, not the wise, because of seeing reality.

Cf also Sideris & Katsura (2013):

Thus does the ignorant one form the volitions that are the roots of saṁsāra. The ignorant one is therefore the agent; the wise one, having seen reality, is not.

Cf also Garfield (1994), from the Tibetan:

The root of cyclic existence is action. Therefore, the wise one does not act. Therefore, the unwise is the agent.This wise one is not because of his insight.

These translations (in chronological order) of Kalupahana, Garfield, Luetchford, Jones, and Sideris & Katsura, do not speak to me of non-doing. 

These words of Nāgārjuna, in contrast, do indeed speak to me of non-doing.

saṁsāra-mūlaṁ saṁskārān avidvān saṁskaroty ataḥ | 

avidvān kārakas tasmān na vidvāṁs tattva-darśanāt ||26.10|| 

The doings which are the root of saṁsāra thus does the ignorant one do. 

The ignorant one therefore is the doer; the wise one is not, thanks to seeing reality.

Going still further in the direction of non-doing, tattva-darśana can be translated not only as “seeing reality” but also as “reality realizing itself”:

The doings which are the root of saṁsāra thus does the ignorant one do. The ignorant one therefore is the doer; the wise one is not, thanks to reality realizing itself.

It occurred to me on the ferry that Nāgārjuna for many years has been speaking to Richard H. Jones as my Zen teacher Gudo Nishijima would have enjoyed talking to a person who was not interested in sitting-Zen practice, but was interested in philosophy.

If that person who was interested in philosophy subsequently wrote a book about Gudo Nishijima's philosophy of action, action being in the middle way between the two polar opposite views of idealism and materialism, such a book might be a step in the right direction. 

It occured to me that I ought to see Richard H. Jones not so much as a competitor in the Nāgārjuna translation market as somebody who is aiming to cater to a different niche in the market from the niche I am aiming at. 

The back cover of Jones's book says:

Included here are the translations from the Sanskrit of [Nāgārjuna's] most important philosophical works into plain English, so that the general educated public interested in Buddhism or philosophy can understand his thought.

And so I suppose I sensed a certain integrity there, a certain congruence between back cover and content. But the point I wanted to clarify with this post is that Nāgārjuna speaks to me, the same way that Dogen speaks to me, not primarily of philosophy but primarily of non-doing. My efforts are not directed at the educated or at those interested in Buddhism or philosophy. The point to be clear about -- the last 35 years of sitting practice have caused me to see -- is just non-doing.

"The wise one does not do," does not mean, as Garfield's translation infers, that the wise one does not act. "The wise one does not act" would mean that the wise one did not sit. For anybody who knows Dogen's teachings even a bit, the assertion that the wise one does not sit, as a teaching of a patriarch in Dogen's lineage, makes no sense at all.

The point is that the wise one sits in such a way as to allow the right thing to do itself. The right thing doing itself is, in other words, reality realizing itself.

That's what non-doing means – not that I do it, but that it does itself.

When I, believing in myself, aspire to become enlightened through my practice of sitting-meditation ...

saṁsāra-mūlaṁ saṁskārān avidvān saṁskaroty ataḥ | 

the doings which are the root of saṁsāra thus does the ignorant one do.

avidvān kārakas tasmān na vidvāṁs tattva-darśanāt ||MMK26.10|| 

The ignorant one therefore is the doer; the wise one is not, thanks to reality realizing itself.

I come here to sit by the forest in France because I know from repeated experience over the years that when I sit here the right thing tends easily to do itself. Hence my wife's reference to the tiger returning to its mountain stronghold. She knows because she is a teacher of non-doing in her own right and she has spent not a few hours herself sitting in lotus here by the forest.

The right thing doing itself has got little or nothing to do with me and everything to do with the forest. Being here to experience it happening is a kind of reward. The fact that others, beginning with Gudo Nishijima, have failed to see how FM Alexander re-discovered for our time the non-doing which is the secret of the Zen of Nāgārjuna and Dogen, is a kind of punishment.

It reminds me of a joke I remember Dave Allen telling back in the 1970s about a Catholic priest in Ireland who commited some terrible sin. He confessed to God who told him to go and play a round of golf. Preparing to drive at the first tee, the cleric looked up with trepidation, fearing that he might receive retribution at any moment in the form of a deadly thunderbolt. But far from it. The priest teed off and got a hole in one. The same thing happened for the next seventeen holes. And so at the 18th flag, the father fell down on his knees and expressed to God his bewilderment: "I do not understand, Lord. I have deserved Your wrath and yet You have allowed me to experience this miracle. Is it through Your great mercy that I have escaped punishment?" Then God boomed down: "You have not escaped punishment, my son. Your punishment is that nobody will believe you."