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The
Uttaratantra
excerpted
from the Uttaratantra-vyakhya,
a commentary
on the Uttaratantra by Aryasanga
from a block print
edition issued
by the Aga
Monastery
translated
from Tibetan by E. Obermiller
[Note, I am
still in the process of doing all the data entry necessary to publish
this text. Therefore the text below is not complete.]
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The
Buddha, the Doctrine, the Congregation,
The Germ of
Buddhahood, Supreme Enlightenment,
The attributes
of the Buddha and last of all his acts, -
These are the
seven adamantine topics,
In which the
compass of this treatise can be summarised.
Their
essential character and mutual connexion
Is,
in gradual order, shown in the Dharanisvara-raja-sutra.
The
first 3 topics are to be known from its introduction,
And
the remaining 4 - from the analysis of the Buddha's
and
the Bodhisattva's attributes.
From
the Buddha comes the Doctrine, from the Doctrine – the
Congregation
of the Saints,
From
the Congretation – the desire of purifying the Germ till
the
attainment of the quintessence of Wisdom.
This
Wisdom being attained, one comes to Supreme Enlightenment,
Becomes
endowed with it and the other attributes, through
which one acts for the sake
of all living beings.
I
bow before him, who has neither beginning , middle, nor end,
Who is
quiescent and fully enlighted, perceiving his own
Cosmical
Essence of Buddhahood,
Who,
himself illuminated, shows to the ignorant
The
Path sure and free from danger, in order that they might
know
the Truth,
Who,
raising high the sword and the thunder-bolt of Mercy
and
Wisdom
Cuts
down the sprout of Phenomenal Life,
And
breaks the wall of Doubt surrounded
By the
dense thickets of the different heresies. -
Immutable,
free from effort,
Incognizable
from without,
Endowed
with Wisdom, Love, and Power,
And
pursuing a twofold aim – such is Buddhahood.
Having
by nature no beginning,
Middle,
nor end, the Buddha is immutable.
Being,
in his Cosmical Essence, quiescent,
He is
spoken of as acting without effort.
Being
perceived through inward conviction
He is
incognizable from without,
He is
the personified Wisdom as he knows himself in these 3 forms,
Commiseration,
- as he shows the Path,
And
Power, since through Wisdom and Love
He
puts an end to Phenomenal Life and Defilement.
In the
latter 3 – the aim of the others.
I
bow before that which cannot be investigated
Neither
as a non-ens, nor an ens,
Nor
both ens and non-ens together, nor neither of both,
Which
has no name, is revealed by introspection, and perfectly quiescent;
And
before the sun of the Highest Doctrine, immaculate,
Shining
with the lustre of Divine Wisdom,
And
vanquishing the darkness of Ignorance, Hatred,
And
the Attachment toward all wordly objects. -
Unthinkable,
free from both the causes of Phenomenal Life and from
Differentiation,
Pure,
illuminating, and the Antidote of defilement,
The
deliverance from passions and that which leads to such,
Contained
in the 2 last Truths – such is the Doctrine. -
The
freedom from passions consists
In the
Truths of Extinction and of the Path;
These
2, taken respectively,
Are
each known by 3 distinctive features. -
It
is unthinkable, since it cannot be analysed,
Is
unutterable and revealed only to the Saint,
It is
quiescent by being devoid of the two causes of Phenomenal Existence;
The
other 3 attributes, purity and the rest
Suggest
a resemblance with the sun.
I
bow before those who perceive the pure, radiant essence of the
Spirit and the nullity of all defilement,
Who,
knowing the background of the unreality of all that exists,
the
Absolute in its quiescent nature,
Perceive
in all living beings the reflex of the Supreme Buddha,
The
powerful minds free from Obscuration and endowed with
the
sight of Divie Wisdom,
The
object of which is the immaculate and infinite essence of
all
that lives.
Through
the perfect purity of their insight,
The
Absolute and the Empirical, both being Introspective,
The
Congregation of the Sages abiding in the Irretrievable State
Is
endowed with the highest merits. -
As
they know the quiescent nature of all that exists,
They
have the intuition of the Absolute Truth,
This
owing to their knowledge of the pure nature of the Spirit,
And of
the essential nullity of the defiling forces.
Through
the Wisdom which penetrates into the background of
everything
cognizable,
They
percieve the Essence of the Omniscient
As it
exists in all living beings.
This
is their knowledge of the Empirical Reality.
Thus,
the intuition of the Bodhisattvas
Is
their direct Transcendental Introspection.
It is
perfectly pure, being free from attachment
Within
the plane of the Immaculate Absolute,
And
completely free from all impediments. -
Through
their immaculate Transcendental Intuition,
They
are near to the Divine Wisdom of the Buddha.
Therefore
the Saints that have attained the Irretrievable State
Are
the refuge of all living beings. -
In
order to make known the virtues
Of the
Teacher, the Teaching, and the Disciples,
For
the sake of the adherents of the 3 Vehicles
And
for those devoted to the three forms of religious observance, -
The 3
Refuges have been proclaimed by the Lord.
The
Doctrine in its two forms and the Congregation of the Saints
Are
not by themselves the highest, absolute Refuge.
Indeed,
the former is ultimately given up, is illusionary and
of a
negative character,
And
the latter is not devoid of fear and error. -
In
the absolute sense, the refuge
Of all
living beings is only the Buddha.
Indeed,
the Lord is possessed of the Cosmical Body,
And
the multitudes of Saints, too, have their issue in the latter.
They
appear rarely, they are immaculate,
Are
powerful, are an ornament of this world,
Are
the highest point of excellence, and cannot change, -
Therefore
they have the character of jewels.
The
Absolute mingled with defilement,
The
Absolute free from all the stains,
The
immaculate attributes and the acts of the Buddha,
These
elements from wich the 3 illustrious Jewels arise,
These
4 items are only accessible to him who perceives the
Absolute
Truth.
The
source of these 3 Jewels
Is
accessible only to the Omniscient;
It has
four varieties
And is
inconceivable for four motives, respectively.
The
Absolute as the Germ is pure, but nevertheless is contact
with
the defiling worldy elements,
The
Absolute as the Cosmical Body is on the other hand
quite
free from every defilement,
The
attributes of the Buddha are essentially identical with the
Absolute
as contained even in every ordinary being,
And
the Buddha's acts are free from effort and dialectical
constructions.
The
object to be intuited, the intuition,
The
distinctive features of the latter,
And
the acts which bring it about, -
As
such respectively appear the said 4 subjects,
One as
the cause of purification and the other 3 as its conditions. -
The
Body of the Supreme Buddha is all-pervading,
The
Absolute is one undifferentiated Whole
And
the Germ of Buddhahood exists in every living being.
Therefore,
for ever and anon, all that lives
Is
endowed with the Essence of the Buddha.
The
Spirit of the Buddha manifests itself in the multitudes of
living
beings,
It is
immaculate by nature and unique with all,
And
Buddhahood is the fruit of the Germ.
Therefore
the whole animate world bears the Essence of the Buddha.
The
essence of the Germ.
The
causes and the result of its purification,
Its
functions, relations, and manifestations
Its
different states, its all-pervading character,
Its
eternal, unchangeable, and indivisable nature, -
Such
are the 10 points with respect to the Absolute Essence.
The
Essence of Buddhahood in its 3 aspects
Is,
respectively, like a jewel, like space, and like water,
And
always, by its nature, undefiled.
It
arises to life through faith and the Doctrine, through
Highest
Wisdom,
Through
concentrated trance, and Great Commiseration. -
Being
essentially powerful,
Unalterable
and moist by nature,
It has
a resemblance, in its distinctive features,
With
the wish-fulfilling gem, with space, and water.
Enmity
toward the Doctrine, views clinging to Ego and Mine,
Fear
caused by the sufferings of Phenomenal Life,
And
want of care for other living beings, -
Such
are the 4 impediments, respectively,
With
the worldlings endowed with great desires, with the
heretics,
The
Sravakas and those of self-sprung Wisdom.
As to
the cause of purity, such is great faith,
And
the other virtues, all of them being four.
Those
are the sons of the Lord,
Whose
seed is the faith in the Highest of Vehicles,
Whose
mother is the Wisdom that gives birth to the properties
of the
Buddha,
Who
abide in the blissful womb of meditative trance and are
nursed
by Great Commiseration.
The
result are the Absolute, Transcendental Properties
Of
Purity, Unity, Bliss, and Eternity.
And
the functions of the Germ manifest themselves
In the
aversion toward this worldly life,
In the
desire of Quiescence and the will of attaining it.
In
short, the fruit of these 4 virtues
Is
contained in the Cosmical Body,
Representing
its properties which are antidotes
And
the reverse of the 4 kinds of error.
The
Cosmical Body of the Buddha is perfectly pure,
Being
immaculate by nature and free from all the defiling forces.
It
represents the Unity of the Cosmos, the perfect Quiescence
Of all
Plurality, of the Individuals as well as their impersonal
elements.
Through
the extirpation of even the non-physical elements
And of
their causes, it is the Supreme Bliss,
And,
through the intuition of the indentity of Samsara and Nirvana,
It is
eternal being free from the limits of both.
The
Saint by his great wisdom rejects all selfish worldly
inclinations,
But,
being merciful and attached to the cause of the living
beings,
he does not attain Quiescence.
Thus,
having his stand in Wisdom and Love, these means of
Supreme
Enlightenment,
The
Saint neither resides in this world, nor does he depart to egoistic
peace.
If
the Germ of the Buddha did not exist,
The
aversion to the suffering of this world would not arise;
There
would be no desire of Nirvana,
And
there would be no effort for attaining it.
This
contemplation
Of the
sufferings of Phenomenal Life and the bliss of Nirvana,
Of the
defects of the former and the advantages of the latter
Is
conditioned by the existence of the Germ. Therefore,
With
those in whom there is no Germ, this contemplation
does
not exist.
The
Essence of the Buddha is like the Great Ocean
Being
the inexhaustable repository of jewels – its sublime pro-
perties;
It is
moreover like a light, since, by its nature
It is
endowed with properties indivisable from it.
As
it contains the sources
Of the
Cosmical Body, of the Buddha's Wisdom and Commi-
seration,
It
appears as being akin to the ocean,
Since
the causes of purity to which it relates
Bear a
resemblance with a receptacle, with jewels, and with
water.
When
the state of Perfect Purity is attained,
One is
possessed of the supernatural faculties,
Of the
Wisdom bringing about the extirpation of defilement,
And
this extirpation itself, which are indivisable.
Therefore
the Essence of the Buddha in the aspect of the result
Suggests
a resemblance with the rays, the heat, and the colour
of a
light.
The
Absolute manifests itself differently
In the
worldlings, the Saints, and the Supreme Buddha.
Having
perceived this, the Lord has declared
That
the essence of Buddhahood exists in all that lives.
With
the ordinary beings the Absolute is obscured by error,
And
with those who percieve the Truth it is the reverse.
As to
the Buddha who has the full and perfect intuition, -
With
him it is completely free from error and differentiation.
Impure,
partly pure and partly impure,
And
perfectly pure – the Absolute
Is
called the Germ of ordinary beings, that of the Bodhisattvas,
And
the Perfect Supreme Buddha, repsectively.
The
Germ of the Buddha considered
From
the 6 points of view beginning with its essence,
Is, in
accordance with its 3 states,
Designated
by 3 different names.
Just
as, being essentially free from all dialectical
thought-construction,
The
element of space is ubiquitous,
In the
same way the Immaculate Essence which is of spiritual
nature,
pervades all that exists.
It
penetrates, in its general essence,
The
defective, the virtuous, and the ultimate point of perfection,
Just
as space embraces all visible forms,
The
base, the intermediate, and the sublime.
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