Dhyāna Samādhi Sūtra (Volume II)

The human heart yearns for wealth and honor, yet the five desires remain unfulfilled.

All the great kings and nobles cannot escape this affliction.

Even immortals wielding enchanted arrows cannot evade birth and death.

The elephant of impermanence tramples; ant mounds are leveled with the earth.

Set aside all ordinary men; even the Buddhas, the truly enlightened ones,

Who crossed beyond the stream of birth and death, do not permanently abide.

Therefore, know this: all that you love and delight in,

You should relinquish early and wholeheartedly seek nirvana.

Explanation: The human heart universally desires great wealth and honor, yet its greed for the five desires is never satisfied. None among all the great kings and nobles can avoid this affliction of birth and death. Those long-lived mountain immortals, practicing the Way while wielding swords empowered by spells, still cannot escape the cycle of life and death. Once the elephant of impermanence treads down, all beings are flattened like ants upon the ground. Ordinary people need not be mentioned; even the Buddhas, who have attained supreme perfect enlightenment and transcended the stream of birth and death, likewise do not permanently abide in the world. Therefore, you should understand that all people, things, and states you find dear and delightful must be relinquished early so you may wholeheartedly seek the bliss of nirvana.

When finally abandoning this body in death, who will bear witness for me?

Who will know if I encountered the Dharma treasure or failed to encounter it?

After long ages, the Buddha-sun rises, dispelling the great darkness of ignorance.

Radiating brilliant light, it reveals the right path and the wrong path.

Where did I come from? From what place was I born?

Where can I find liberation? Who will resolve these doubts?

The Buddha-Saint, the All-Knowing One, appears after long ages.

With undivided mind and no negligence, He can sever your knots of doubt.

Those who dislike true benefit, clinging instead to base and evil minds—

You who are elders among beings, should seek the true mark of reality.

Who can know, at the time of death, to which path one will go?

Like a lamp in the wind, one knows not when it will be extinguished.

Explanation: When finally abandoning this body in death, who will know whether I encountered the treasure of the Dharma or failed to encounter it? Only after vast kalpas does a Buddha appear in the world, shattering the immense darkness of ignorance, radiating the great bright treasure of wisdom for beings, and showing them the right path from the wrong path. Beings then give rise to doubts in their minds: Where did I come from? From what place was I born? Where can I find liberation? Who will resolve these doubts for me? The Buddha is the great sage of the world, the All-Knowing One, who appears only after vast kalpas. You should contemplate with undivided, undistracted mind, and you will be able to sever your knots of doubt.

In your past lives, you disliked true benefit, your minds petty and base. Now, as elders among beings, you should seek the Dharma of true reality. Who can know, at the time of death, to which path one will go? It is like a solitary lamp in the wind—one knows not when it will be extinguished.

The supreme path-Dharma is not difficult; the Great Sage points directly to the matter.

If you practice without negligence, constantly walking the path with one mind,

You will soon attain nirvana, the foremost abode of eternal bliss.

Those with sharp wisdom, draw near to good people;

Exert your utmost to revere the Buddha-Dharma.

Detest the foul and impure body; depart from suffering and attain liberation.

Cultivate tranquil resolve in solitude, assume the lotus position in the forest.

Restrain the mind without negligence; awaken the meaning and perceive all conditions.

If you do not weary of existence, sleeping peacefully without self-awakening,

Not mindful of the world's impermanence, unafraid though it is fearsome—

Defilements are fathomless; the sea of birth and death is boundless.

The raft to cross suffering is not yet built—how can you rest content in sleep?

Therefore, you must awaken; do not let sleep cover your mind.

Explanation: The Dharma leading to the supreme Bodhi path is not difficult; the Great Sage Buddha has already laid out the way, telling the assembly that attaining wisdom and the domain where wisdom functions are not to be sought externally. If you can practice diligently with one-pointed mind, unwavering and without negligence, constantly focusing your mind on cultivating the Buddha Way, you will soon realize great nirvana, reaching the foremost, eternal abode of bliss.

Those of sharp faculties and wisdom should draw near to good advisors, revering the Buddha-Dharma with utmost sincerity and effort. Only by detesting the foul and impure physical form can you depart from suffering and attain liberation. Practice leisurely and quietly, cultivating serenity and clear resolve. Often sit in full lotus posture in the forest groves, restraining your mind without negligence, awakening to the meaning I speak of, and realizing the emptiness of all conditioned phenomena. If the mind does not grow weary of the Three Realms of existence, resting complacently in deep sleep, it cannot awaken itself. If one is unmindful of the world's impermanence, one remains unafraid even when faced with its terrors. Defilements are immeasurably deep, and the ocean of birth and death is boundless. The Dharma-raft to cross the sea of suffering is not yet built—how can you rest content in sleep? Therefore, you must awaken; do not let sleep cover your mind of cultivation.