Prajnaparamita

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INSTRUCTION TO SURYAGARBHA<br><br>Homage to all

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas<br><br>Thus have I heard. The

Lord dwelt in Magadha, in a remote forest conducive to

the practice of Dharma, together with many monks and

Bodhisattvas gathered from endless, immeasurable and

innumerable Buddha-fields. A Bodhisattva named Surygarbha,

Seed of the Sun, was present in the assembly at that

time. He rose from his seat, went before the Lord and

spoke with the Lord's consent.<br><br>"I have come to

ask the Tathagata a question."<br><br>The Lord said:

"Ask, and I will answer."<br><br>The Bodhisattva

Suryagarbha said: "How, Lord, could a Bodhisattva skilled in

means practise the Prajnaparamita?"<br><br>"There is,

noble son," the Lord replied, "a form of concentration

called 'skilled in means like the sun'. Bodhisattvas

should practise it."<br><br>"How", Suryagarbha enquired,

"should they practise therein?"<br><br>The Lord said:

"The concentration called 'skilled in means like the

sun' is sevenfold. First, just as the sun causes

sprouts to grow, the concentration of the Bodhisattva

matures the sprout of Enlightenment in beings. Secondly,

as the sun ceaselessly radiates heat, so the

concentration of the Bodhisattva encompasses all beings with

compassion. Thirdly, as the sun burns away pollution, so the

Bodhisattva endowed with insight and wisdom burns away the

pollution of the kleshas. Fourthly, as the sun melts

whatever is frozen, so the concentration of the

Bodhisattva, who has cognition of the antidotes, melts the

frost of the kleshas. Fifthly, as the sun dispels the

darkness, so the Bodhisattva immersed in contemplating

thought dispels the darkness of craving. Sixthly, as the

sun passes over the four continents, so the

Bodhisattva, in accomplishing his labour, liberates from the

four floods of suffering. Seventh, as the sun warms

all things equally, so the Bodhisattva, in reaching

his goal, gladdens all beings with the warmth of his

skill in action.<br><br>"Further, noble son," the Lord

continued, "the Bodhisattva should train in Prajnaparamita.

He should gain mastery over all dharmas as having no

reality in themselves, as being devoid of signs, as

having no true existence, as being impersonal and empty

of being. A Bodhisattva, noble son, should train in

Dharma, in the Dharma Element, in suchness and in the

limits of reality. He should train in suchness free from

illusion and change, in Truth and the truly

real."<br><br>Again the Lord instructed Suryagarbha: "A Bodhisattva,

noble son, should train in all Dharmas as unproduced

and in their essential, original nature. He should

recognize all dharmas -form, feeling,perception,

disposition and consciousness - as void in their essential,

original nature, and he should cognize them as isolated in

their individual being.<br><br>"Those, noble son, who

take up the Prajnaparamita Sutra will witness the

hindrances resulting from their past deeds vanish. They will

generate an instrument with merit, a measureless

instrument of wisdom, and they will be endowed with

mindfulness, morality and concentration. So again, noble son,

Bodhisattvas should train in Prajnaparamita."<br><br>The Lord

at that time intoned these verses:<br><br> One who

is learned,<br> Who is devoted to the supreme

Dharma,<br> Who is ever friendly to all creatures,<br> Who

has put on the armor of Virya,<br> Who is intent on

the welfare of all beings,<br> Who is devoted to

concentration and meditation,<br> Who has no concept of self or

of other beings,<br> Who treads the Path of the true

vehicle,<br> Who courses like the Jina's sons in the past,<br>

A wise one is he, who trains in Truth.<br><br>Thus

spoke the Lord. The Bodhisattva Suryagarbha and the

whole world with its devas and men rejoiced in the

teachings of the Lord.<br><br> Prajnaparamita for

Suryagarbha