Why Should Bodhisattvas Who Aspire to Bodhicitta Not Dwell on Marks?

Original text:菩萨应离一切相。发阿耨多罗三藐三菩提心。不应住色生心。不应住声香味触法生心。应生无所住心。若心有住。则为非住。是故佛说菩萨心。不应住色布施。须菩提。菩萨为利益一切众生。应如是布施。

Explanation: The Buddha said that bodhisattvas should depart from all marks and give rise to the mind of anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi; they should not give rise to the mind dwelling on material form, nor give rise to the mind dwelling on sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas. When giving rise to bodhicitta, one should give rise to a mind that dwells nowhere. If the mind has a dwelling, that is non-dwelling in the Dharma—it is not a true dwelling. Therefore the Buddha said that the bodhisattva's mind should not practice generosity while dwelling on material form. Subhūti, in order to benefit all sentient beings, bodhisattvas should practice generosity in this way.

Why should bodhisattvas depart from all marks when giving rise to bodhicitta? Because giving rise to bodhicitta is for the sake of benefiting oneself and benefiting others, together with sentient beings accomplishing the Buddha-way, reaching the farther shore of nirvāṇa, attaining tranquility and coolness, and abiding in the realm of empty stillness. To reach such a realm and realize such a state, one must personally realize the true reality of the vajra mind (Vajracitta), and at the same time realize the empty mark of all dharmas manifested by the vajra mind. Since all dharma-marks are empty and unobtainable, giving rise to the mind while dwelling on marks, cultivating while dwelling on marks, and practicing generosity while dwelling on marks all run counter to the Buddha-way and cannot lead to the realization of bodhi; neither worldly nor world-transcending benefits can be obtained. Therefore, when bodhisattvas give rise to bodhicitta, they should not do so for the sake of various unobtainable worldly benefits—for example, to obtain an adorned appearance, to obtain wealth and glory, to be reborn in the heavens to enjoy blessings, to attain supernatural powers, to obtain immortality and eternal youth, to gain the worship of sentient beings, to defeat others, to become a wheel-turning sage king, to become a lord of the heavens, and so on. All of these are dwelling on form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas; none of them can fulfill the great vow of bodhi or accomplish the great way of bodhi.

If a bodhisattva's resolve dwells on these dharma-marks, all such so-called dwellings are non-dwelling in the Dharma, not dwelling in accordance with reality; the results are all empty illusions, unobtainable, and one cannot actually dwell on them. Therefore, when bodhisattvas practice generosity, they should not dwell on form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas; without attaching to dharma-marks and without seeking reward, only such generosity is pāramitā, and only then can one reach the farther shore of nirvāṇa.