Bodhisattvas Must Make the Ten Inexhaustible Vows

At the time of completing the seventh bhūmi, one cultivates an even more excellent samādhi. With the bliss of meditative concentration (samādhi), one will not leave the three realms to enter nirvāṇa without remainder. Between the first and seventh bhūmis, because bodhisattvas have eliminated craving for the world of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) and take no delight in the dharmas of the world of the five aggregates, once all grasping has been exhausted, there is nothing left in the three realms that can bind the manas, and so the bodhisattva would enter nirvāṇa without remainder. Therefore, during this period, one must retain a little afflictive delusion and karma, keeping a trace of craving toward certain slight dharmas, in order to bind the manas so that it does not leave the three realms.

If one perseveres unwaveringly in the Buddha-way and perseveres unwaveringly in delivering sentient beings, one will not enter nirvāṇa without remainder. This too is a slight form of grasping, but it must be retained for the time being. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra contains the bodhisattvas' Ten Unlimited Vows; before entering the first bhūmi, a bodhisattva must make these vows, so as to ensure that he will cultivate the Buddha-way forever, never abandon sentient beings, never enter nirvāṇa, and ultimately accomplish the Buddha-way.

Only when the mind is free from grasping at self and grasping at dharmas is it freely liberated; the more one grasps, the smaller the mind's capacity becomes. An eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva's mind has no grasping; it is unconditioned and at ease, functioning spontaneously according to his vows, vast and unobstructed, and his powers of superknowledge and spiritual powers are the greatest—he can manifest a Buddha's body in the form of a bodhisattva, manifest Buddha-lands, and extensively deliver immeasurable sentient beings. Before the third fruit, one need not make these vows, and one cannot enter nirvāṇa without remainder either. Because all are bound within the three realms by the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, and have craving for the world of the five aggregates, they will not leave the bondage of birth-and-death in the three realms and must still endure the suffering of karmic retribution. The heavier the craving, the heavier the hatred and delusion, and the more suffering there is—the more severe the bondage of birth-and-death. Every person's grasping at himself and craving for himself is the chief culprit that harms himself, yet he is unaware of it and keeps on saying "me, me, me"—truly pitiable and lamentable.