Exegesis of Selected Passages from the Mahā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra

《The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-five Thousand Lines, Volume Twenty-five》

Original Text: The Buddha told Subhūti, "So it is, so it is. If a bodhisattva mahāsattva operates with dual characteristics, there is no Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi (Unsurpassed Perfect Enlightenment). If one divides [reality] into two parts, there is no Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. If one neither dualizes nor discriminates among dharmas, that is Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. Bodhi is the characteristic of non-duality and indestructibility. Subhūti, the Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi of a bodhisattva mahāsattva is also like this—neither adhering to the Middle Way nor abandoning the Middle Way. This means practicing within form, up to and including practicing within all modes of wisdom."

Explanation: The Buddha said to Subhūti: "It is thus, truly thus. If a bodhisattva mahāsattva holds dual characteristics in mind, perceiving phenomena while still seeing their conventional aspects without recognizing that all conventional aspects are ultimately the essential characteristic of Bodhi, one cannot realize that all dharmas are Suchness (tathatā). Therefore, one cannot attain Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi."

"If, when perceiving all dharmas, one can perceive their non-dual characteristic—the characteristic of Bodhi, the characteristic of tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature)—then one can attain Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. Bodhi itself, the essence of tathāgatagarbha, is without dual characteristics, without conventional characteristics, and without characteristics of destruction. If the mind can accord with this Bodhi, one can attain Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi."

"Subhūti, a bodhisattva mahāsattva’s practice for attaining Bodhi should also be like this: neither grasping at dharmas nor rejecting dharmas; neither seizing upon nor resisting dharmas. One contemplates all dharmas as the dharmic characteristic of Bodhi—unborn, unceasing, un-increasing, un-decreasing—without dual characteristics or differentiated aspects. In all forms, one cultivates oneself through such contemplative practice. Throughout the practice of all modes of wisdom, one must always contemplate in this way, ultimately attaining Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi."