The Form of the Bodhisattva's Adornment of the Buddha Land Is Also Empty

Subhuti, what do you think? Does a bodhisattva adorn a Buddha land? No, World-Honored One. Why? Because that which adorns the Buddha land is not adornment; it is merely called adornment.

The Buddha said: Subhuti, what is your view on this matter? Does a bodhisattva adorn a Buddha land? Subhuti replied: A bodhisattva does not adorn a Buddha land. Why is this so? Because the act of adorning a Buddha land is not truly adorning a Buddha land; there is no characteristic of adorning a Buddha land—it is merely nominal adornment.

On the conventional level of phenomena, all practices of a bodhisattva—whether the six perfections or ten perfections—constitute adorning the Buddha land. All activities of bodhisattvas in liberating sentient beings are acts of adorning the Buddha land. The seeds of their practice and the seeds of liberating beings are stored in their own tathāgatagarbha (womb of Buddhahood). When these seeds accumulate to their fullest extent, the causes and conditions for attaining Buddhahood mature. These seeds then manifest as an adorned Buddha land. Thus, all bodhisattva conduct is conduct that adorns the Buddha land. So, does a bodhisattva adorn the Buddha land? Indeed, they do adorn the Buddha land.

However, applying the World-Honored One’s universal golden phrase: “That which is called adornment is not adornment; it is merely called adornment.” This means that when a bodhisattva adorns the Buddha land, there is no true characteristic of adornment. All actions of a bodhisattva are empty and illusory—phenomena exist but lack inherent reality; their existence is provisional, and even their characteristics are empty. There is no substantial, true act of adornment. In essence, all is the true suchness, the single true dharma realm, the vajra-prajñāpāramitā reality mind; everything else is illusory and unreal. All dharmas apart from the indestructible vajra mind are merely nominal designations and provisional appearances; they should not be grasped as truly existent. Bodhisattvas perform all dream-like Buddha deeds with an empty mind and a mind of non-attainment—performing without performing, ever free from attachment, without craving fame or material gain, and without seeking reward. Ordinary beings are the opposite—they constantly have minds of attainment, seeking, and expectation; their minds are not empty, and they cling to appearances.