7th Imperishable, Tolerance

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Then the venerable Śāradvatīputra addressed himself to the bodhisattva Akṣayamati: – Well spoken by you, son of good family, was this imperishability of the bodhisattvas’ morality. May you be inspired, son of good family, on the subject of the imperishability of the bodhisattvas’ tolerance, as to how the tolerance of the bodhisattvas becomes imperishable.

[1. Tolerance enduring pain (duḥkhādhivāsakṣānti):] Akṣayamati said: – Reverend Śāradvatīputra, the bodhisattvas’ tolerance is to be seen through thirty-two forms. Which thirty-two?

[a. Being without the causes which are contary to tolerance (kṣāntivipakṣahetu):] 1) Tolerance should be seen in the giving up of bad dispositions [like aversion (pratigha), etc., causes of intolerance (akṣāntihetu) ]; 2) tolerance is to be seen in the absence of inflicting injury; 3) tolerance is to be seen in the absence of anguish; 4) tolerance is to be seen in the absence of malice; 5) tolerance is to be seen in the absence of enmity; 6) tolerance is to be seen in the absence of rage; 7) tolerance is to be seen in the absence of quarreling; 8) tolerance is to be seen in the absence of dispute. [b. Adopting tolerance as the antidote (kṣāntipratipakṣasamādāna):] 9) Tolerance is to be seen in not being injured by the outside world [not falling under the sway of the causes (pratyaya) of anger (krodha) etc. in the outside world]; 10) tolerance is to be seen in guarding oneself and others [so that no-one comes under the sway of intolerance]; 11) tolerance is to be seen as in accordance with the thought of awakening [tolerating all beings with a friendliness as for one’s only son (ekaputramaitrī) ]; 12) tolerance is to be seen in thorough spiritual penetration [which is cultivation of friendliness (maitrībhāvanā), the contrary to aversion (dveṣapratipakṣa) ]; 13) tolerance is to be seen in disgust for worldly things and absence of cupidity [since then there is no intolerance for the disagreeable]; 14) tolerance is to be seen in confidence in the fact that actions mature [knowing that to suffer when harmed by another is to experience the fruit of bad actions done by oneself]. [c. Purity of the actions of tolerance (kṣāntikarmaviśuddhi):] 15) Tolerance is to be seen in the ornamenting of the body [as the person having tolerance is without the ugly features of contracted eyebrows (bhṛkuṭi), changed colour of the face (mukhavarṇa) or bloodshot eyes (lohitākṣa), with tranquil senses (śāntendriya) and good health (ojas) ]; 16) tolerance is to be seen in purity of speech and thought; 17) tolerance is to be seen in firm intention; 18) tolerance is to be seen in [understanding that] syllables [of abusive speech] are void [syllables and words, being empty and selfless, cannot frighten, they should be known as void, thus one should understand their deeper meaning]; 19) tolerance is to be seen in the absence of thought-constructions [concerning who is harming, what harm is done, who is harmed]; 20) tolerance is to be seen in introspection into one’s own thoughts; 21) tolerance is to be seen in protecting the thoughts of others. [d. Attaining the fruit of tolerance (kṣāntiphalasamādāna):] 22) Tolerance is to be seen in going the way to the world of Brahmā [attaining the four immeasurable qualities (caturapramāṇa) ]; 23) tolerance is to be seen in experiencing the good qualities of gods and men; 24) tolerance is to be seen in perfecting the characteristics of a great man and the marks of beauty; 25) tolerance is to be seen in attaining speech with a voice like that of Brahmā; 26) tolerance is to be seen in having done away with all sins; 27) tolerance is to be seen in having done away with malice, harshness and aversion; 28) tolerance is to be seen in rejecting anger; 29) tolerance is to be seen in rejecting all roots of bad; 30) tolerance is to be seen in the crushing of one’s enemies; 31) tolerance is to be seen in aloofness from the harm done by others; 32) tolerance is to be seen as [the cause (hetu) of] attaining all the qualities of a Buddha [as the perfection of tolerance (kṣāntipāramitā) ]. The bodhisattvas’ tolerance, reverend Śāradvatīputra, is to be seen through these thirty-two forms.

[2. Tolerance enduring harm [from others] (apakāramarṣaṇakṣānti):] What then is purified tolerance?

One does not respond to insults with more insults through understanding that speech is [unreal] like an echo; one does not respond to beatings with more beatings through understanding that the body is [unreal] like a reflection; one does not respond to abuse with more abuse through understanding that thoughts are [unreal] like an illusion; one does not respond to anger with more anger through having the determination to be peaceful; one does not feel aversion at not being praised through the accomplishment of one’s own qualities; one is not flattered by praise through the absence of conceit; one feels no joy at gain through being well trained; one feels no aversion to loss through utter peace; one does not get perplexed by fame through discerning it with wisdom; one feels no despondency at the absence of fame because of broadmindedness; one is not depressed by blame because one is well established; one is not exalted by praise since one is not unstable; one is not fatigued by suffering through regard for living beings; one does not get excited by pleasure because of the impermanence of conditioned pleasure; one does not get sullied by the ways of the world since one is dependent on nothing; one tolerates violence against oneself through using no violence against others; one accepts the cutting off of limbs and extremities through fulfilling the attainment of the limbs of awakening; one tolerates the destruction of one’s own body through desiring the body of a Buddha; one tolerates every misdeed through developing the power of doing good actions; one endures [bodily] pain and [mental] suffering through having the courage to defeat all other ascetics; one undertakes every kind of asceticism through overpowering the king of the gods, the lord of the universe and the protectors of the world.

[3. Tolerance applied to reflection on the moments of existence (dharmanidhyānādhimokṣakṣānti):] Further, reverend Śāradvatīputra, this tolerance is something absolutely invulnerable. Why? Because it is beyond apprehension.

Tolerance thinking “He abuses me,” is tolerance apprehending duality, it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “Who [in the sense of an permanent ego] abuses here?” is tolerance calculating and constructing moments of existence [as reflecting “The element of earth (pṛthivīdhātu) belonging to that person abuses my element of earth”], it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “How can it be that [his] sight abuses my sight?”, and similarly, tolerance thinking “How can it be concerning my hearing, smelling, tasting and body, and how can it be that [his] mind abuses my mind?”, is tolerance concerning the fields of sense-perception, it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “No one abuses here,” is tolerance with thought-constructions about egolessness, it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “These things come from sounds of syllables,” is tolerance as of an echo, it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “He is impermanent, I am also impermanent,” is tolerance engaged in impermanence, it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “He is perverted, I am not perverted,” is tolerance concerned with high and low, it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “I am right, he is wrong,” is tolerance concerned with right and wrong, it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “I am established on good ways, he is established on bad ways,” is tolerance concerned with good ways and bad ways, it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “I tolerate impermanence, but I do not tolerate permanence,” is tolerance rejecting [the opposite] by menas of an antidote, it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “I tolerate suffering, but I do not tolerate pleasure, I tolerate egolessness, but I do not tolerate ego-ness; I tolerate the ugly, but I do not tolerate the beautiful,” is tolerance rejecting [the opposite] by means of an antidote, it is not absolute tolerance; tolerance thinking “I tolerate emptiness, but I do not tolerate doctrinal viewpoints, I tolerate absence of distinguishing marks, but I do not tolerate the thought-constructions consisting in distinguishing marks, I tolerate the absence of longing, but I do not tolerate longing, I tolerate the absence of conditionality, but I do not tolerate conditionality, I tolerate the the cessation of all vices, but I do not tolerate the vices, I tolerate the good, but I do not tolerate the bad, I tolerate the transcendent, but I do not tolerate the worldly, I tolerate the unblamable, but I do not tolerate the blamable, I tolerate the unsullied, but I do not tolerate the sullied, I tolerate the purified, but I do not tolerate the impure, I tolerate extinction, but I do not tolerate existence,” is tolerance rejecting [the opposite] by means of an antidote, it is not absolute tolerance.

What then is absolute tolerance?

It is understanding emptiness, but not suppressing doctrinal views nor imputing concepts of emptiness; tolerance that “Doctrinal views are empty,” is absolute tolerance. Understanding the absence of distinguishing marks, but not suppressing the form of distinguishing marks nor imputing concepts of no distinguishing marks; tolerance that “The form of distinguishing marks is empty,” is absolute tolerance. Understanding the absence of longing, but not suppressing longing (p. 41) nor imputing concepts of no longing; tolerance that “Longing is empty,” is absolute tolerance. Understanding the absence of conditionality, but not suppressing conditionality nor imputing concepts of no conditionality; tolerance that “The conditioned is empty,” is absolute tolerance. Understanding the cessation of vices, but not suppressing vices nor imputing concepts of vices’ cessation; tolerance that “Vices are empty,” is absolute tolerance. Understanding the good, but not suppressing the bad nor imputing concepts of good; tolerance that “The bad is empty,” is absolute tolerance. Understanding the transcendent, but not suppressing the worldly nor imputing concepts of transcendence; tolerance that “The worldly is empty,” is absolute tolerance. Understanding the unblamable, but not suppressing the blamable nor imputing concepts of being unblamable; tolerance that “The blamable is empty,” is absolute tolerance. Understanding the unsullied, but not suppressing the sullied nor imputing concepts of being unsullied; tolerance that “The sullied is empty,” is absolute tolerance. Understanding the pure, but not suppressing the impure nor imputing concepts of purity; tolerance that “The impure is empty,” is absolute tolerance. Understanding extinction, but not suppressing existence nor imputing concepts of extinction; tolerance that “Existence is empty,” is absolute tolerance.

What is unoriginated does not originate, is inexistent; in that, being inexistent, there is no destruction whatsoever; and since there is no destruction, there is no decay; tolerance of this is absolute tolerance.

In what is not made [by any agent (kāraka), etc.], unconditioned [by causes and conditions (hetupratyaya) ], not imputed [and thus taught], unconstructed [as by the intelligence of logicians (tārkikānāṃ matinā) ], not possible to demonstrate [by logical means (pramāṇa) ], not possible to display [and teach to others], beyond limitations [of the fields of perception (viṣaya) to which one is attached (abhiniviṣṭa) giving them the character of subject and object (grāhyagrāhakalakṣaṇa) ], there is no origination; what is beyond origination does not originate; that which does not originate is absolute tolerance. That kind of tolerance is tolerance of the unoriginated, and tolerance that things are unoriginated is absolute tolerance. The bodhisattva who understands that kind of tolerance is one who has achieved tolerance of what is predicted for him.

This, reverend Śāradvatīputra, is called the bodhisattvas’ imperishable tolerance.

When the bodhisattva Akṣayamati had taught that discourse on religion, the Chapter on the Imperishability of Tolerance, the whole of that assembly applauded the bodhisattva Akṣayamati, and to honour him (p. 42) they showered him with flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, ointments, aromatic powders, garments, parasols, banners and celestial pennants such as had never been seen or heard of before. They sounded instruments and proclaimed: “Those who do not get frightened [by hearing (śruta) ], alarmed [by pondering on (cintā) ] or scared [by cultivating it (bhāvanā) ] when they hear about this imperishability of tolerance, they have the tolerance of the Tathāgatas.” And they showered him with such an amount of flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, ointments, aromatic powders, garments, parasols, banners and celestial pennants that it filled up the whole system of threefold thousand great thousand worlds to the top.

Then the Lord addressed himself to the bodhisattva Akṣayamati saying: – Make a vessel, son of good family, for these flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, ointments, aromatic powders, garments, parasols, banners and celestial pennants!

Akṣayamati said: – The vessels of bodhisattvas, Lord, are their own bodies by virtue of their assumption of the power of magical transformation – thus I will make one.

Then the bodhisattva Akṣayamati entered the bodhisattva-concentration named “Absorption of all forms in the body“. As soon he had done so, those flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, ointments, aromatic powders, garments, parasols, banners and celestial pennants were absorbed into his navel, but his body did not appear to diminish or increase in size.

Then a bodhisattva called Mahāvyūha sitting there, having come to that same assembly, addressed himself to the bodhisattva Akṣayamati saying: – What is the name of that concentration, son of good family, in which you stay when so many flowers, perfumes, incense, garlands, ointments, aromatic powders, garments, parasols, banners and celestial pennants are absorbed into your body – without your body appearing to diminish or increase in size?

Akṣayamati said: – The name of that concentration, son of good familly, is “Absorption of all forms in the body”.

The bodhisattva Mahāvyūha said: – What is the range of this concentration, son of good family?

Akṣayamati said: – Even if all the forms of this system of threefold thousand great thousand worlds, son of good family, were to be absorbed into my body, the condition of my body would undergo no increase or decrease.

There, in that assembly, some bodhisattvas, gods and men thought: “We too wish to see the power of that concentration“.

Then the Lord realized what those bodhisattvas, gods (p. 43) and men were thinking, and addressed himself to the bodhisattva Akṣayamati saying: – You should demonstrate, son of good family, the power of that concentration.

Then the bodhisattva Akṣayamati, by cultivating that concentration, absorbed the whole of that assembly, the bodhisattvas assembled from the ten directions, as well as the Lord attended by his congregation of monks, into his body. And having absorbed them, he showed them such wealth and enjoyment as are found among the bodhisattvas in the multitude of world-spheres in the Buddha-field of the Tathāgata Bhūṣaṇarāja. And everyone in that assembly thought that they had personally entered the body of the bodhisattva Akṣayamati. Then, when the bodhisattva Akṣayamati had displayed this great miracle, he again put the whole of that assembly, all those bodhisattvas coming from the ten directions and the Lord attended by the congregation of monks back in their seats.

Then the bodhisattva Mahāvyūha addressed himself to the bodhisattva Akṣayamati saying: – It is miraculous, son of good family, the power of this concentration.

Akṣayamati said: – Even though the whole system of threefold thousand great thousand worlds, son of good family, were to be absorbed into my body, the condition of my body displays no increase or decrease.

When this discourse on religion, the chapter on the imperishability of tolerance was taught, and when this miracle was displayed, seventy-six million divine and human beings produced the thought of the incomparable absolute awakening, and twenty thousand bodhisattvas attained the tolerance that moments of existence are unborn.