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THEN SAID MAHAMATI to the Blessed One: Will you tell us now about the disciples who are Bodhisattvas?

The Blessed One replied: The Bodhisattvas are those earnest disciples who are enlightened by reason of
their efforts to attain self-realisation of Noble Wisdom and who have taken upon themselves the task to
enlighten others. They have gained a clear understanding of the truth that all things are empty, un-born, and
of a maya-like nature; they have ceased from viewing things discriminatively and from considering them in
their relations; they thoroughly understand the truth of twofold egolessness and have adjusted themselves to
it with patient acceptance; they have attained a definite realisation of imagelessness; and they are abiding
in the perfect-knowledge that they have gained by self-realisation of Noble Wisdom.

Well stamped by the seal of "Suchness" they entered upon the first of the Bodhisattva stages. The first
stage is called the Stage of joy (Pramudita). Entering this stage is like passing out of the glare and
shadows into a realm of "no-shadows"; it is like passing out of the noise and tumult of the crowded city into
the quietness of solitude. The Bodhisattva feels within himself the awakening of a great heart of compassion
and he utters his ten original vows: To honor and serve all Buddhas; to spread the knowledge and practice of
the Dharma; to welcome all coming Buddhas; to practise

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the six Paramitas; to persuade all beings to embrace the Dharma; to attain a perfect understanding of the
universe; to attain a perfect understanding of tile mutuality of all beings; to attain perfect
self-realisation of the oneness of all the Buddhas and Tathagatas n self-nature, purpose and resources; to
become acquainted with all skillful means for the carrying out of these vows for the emancipation of all
beings; to realise supreme enlightenment through the perfect self-realisation of Noble Wisdom, ascending the
stages and entering Tathagatahood.

In the spirit of these vows the Bodhisattva gradually ascends the stages to the sixth. All earnest
disciples, masters and Arhats have ascended thus far, but being enchanted by the bliss of the Samadhis and
not being supported by the powers of the Buddhas, they pass to their Nirvana. The same fate would befall the
Bodhisattvas except for the sustaining power of the Buddhas, by that they are enabled to refuse to enter
Nirvana until all beings can enter Nirvana with them. The Tathagatas point out to them the virtues of
Buddahood which are beyond the conception of the intellectual-mind, and they encourage and strengthen the
Bodhisattvas not to give in to the enchantment of the bliss of the Samadhis, but to press on to further
advancement along the stages. If the Bodhisattvas had entered Nirvana at this stage, and they would have done
so without the sustaining power of the Buddhas, there would have been the cessation of all things and the
family of the Tathagatas would have become extinct.

Strengthened by the new strength that comes to them from the Buddhas and with the more perfect

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insight that is theirs by reason of their advance in self-realisation of Noble Wisdom, they re-examine the
nature of the mind-system, the egolessness of personality, and the part that grasping and attachment and
habit-energy play in the unfolding drama of life; they re-examine the illusions of the fourfold logical
analysis, and the various elements that enter into enlightenment and self-realisation, and, in the thrill of
their new powers of self-mastery, the Bodhisattvas enter upon the seventh stage of Far-going
(Duramgama).

Supported by the sustaining power of the Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas at this stage enter into the bliss of
the Samadhi of perfect tranquillisation. Owing to their original vows they are transported by emotions of
love and compassion as they become aware of the part they are to perform in the carrying out of their vows
for the emancipation of all beings. Thus they do not enter into Nirvana, but, in truth, they too are already
in Nirvana because in their emotions of love and compassion there is no rising of discrimination; henceforth,
with them, discrimination no more takes place. Because of Transcendental Intelligence only one conception is
present-the promotion of the realisation of Noble Wisdom. Their insight issues from the Womb of Tathagatahood
and they enter into their task with spontaneity and radiancy because it is of the self-nature of Noble
Wisdom. This is called the Bodhisattva's Nirvana-the losing oneself in the bliss of perfect self-yielding.
This is the seventh stage, the stage of Far-going.

The eighth stage, is the stage of No-recession (Acala). Up to this stage, because of the
defilements upon the

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face of Universal Mind caused by the accumulation of habit-energy since beginningless time, the mindsystem
and all that pertains to it has been evolved and sustained. The mind-system functioned by the discriminations
of an external and objective world to which it became attached and by which it was perpetuated. But with the
Bodhisattva's attainment of the eighth stage there comes the "turning-about" within his deepest consciousness
from self-centered egoism to universal compassion for all beings, by which he attains perfect
self-realisation of Noble Wisdom. There is an instant cessation of the delusive activities of the whole
mind-system; the dancing of the waves of habit-energy on the face of Universal Mind are forever stilled,
revealing its own inherent quietness and solitude, the inconceivable Oneness of the Womb of
Tathagatahood.

Henceforth there is no more looking outward upon an external world by senses and sense-minds, nor a
discrimination of particularised concepts and ideas and propositions by an intellectual-mind, no more
grasping, nor attachment, nor pride of egoism, nor habit-energy. Henceforth there is only the inner
experience of Noble Wisdom which has been attained by entering into its perfect Oneness.

Thus establishing himself at the eighth stage of No-recession, the Bodhisattva enters into the bliss of
the ten Samadhis, but avoiding the path of the disciples and masters who yielded themselves up to their
entrancing bliss and who passed to their Nirvanas, and supported by his vows and the Transcendental
Intelligence which now is his and being sustained by the

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power of the Buddhas, he enters upon the higher paths that lead to Tathagatahood. He passes through the
bliss of the Samadhis to assume the transformation body of a Tathagata that through him all beings may be
emancipated. Mahamati, If there had been no Tathagata-womb and no Divine Mind then there would have been no
rising and disappearance of the aggregates that make up personality and its external world, no rising and
disappearance of ignorant people nor holy people, and no task for Bodhisattvas; therefore, while walking in
the path of self-realisation and entering into the enjoyments of the Samadhis, you must never abandon working
hard for the emancipation of all beings and your self-yielding love will never be in vain. To philosophers
the conception of Tathagata-womb seems devoid of purity and soiled by these external manifestations, but it
is not so understood by the Tathagatas,--to them it is not a proposition of philosophy but is an intuitive
experience as real as though it was an amalaka fruit held in the palm of the hand.

With the cessation of the mind-system and all its evolving discriminations, there is cessation of all
strain and effort. It is like a man in a dream who imagines he is crossing a river and who exerts himself to
the utmost to do so, who is suddenly awakened. Being awake, he thinks: "Is this real or is it unreal?" Being
now enlightened, he knows that it is neither real nor unreal. Thus when the Bodhisattva arrives at the eighth
stage, he is able to see all things truthfully and, more than that, he is able to thoroughly understand the
significance of all the dream-like things of his life as to how

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they came to pass and as to how they pass away. Ever since beginningless time the mind-system has
perceived multiplicities of forms and conditions and ideas which the thinking-mind has discriminated and the
empirical-mind has experienced and grasped and clung to. From this has risen habit-energy that by its
accumulation has conditioned the illusions of existence and non-existence, individuality and generality, and
has thus perpetuated the dream-state of false-imagination. But now, to the Bodhisattvas of the eighth stage,
life is past and is remembered as it truly was--a passing dream.

As long as the Bodhisattva had not passed the seventh stage, even though he had attained an intuitive
understanding of the true meaning of life and its maya-like nature, and as to how the mind carried on its
discriminations and attachments yet, nevertheless, the cherishing of the notions of these things had
continued and, although he no longer experienced within himself any ardent desire for things nor any impulse
to grasp them yet, nevertheless, the notions concerning them persisted and perfumed his efforts to practise
the teachings of the Buddhas and to labor for the emancipation of all beings. Now, in the eighth stage, even
the notions have passed away, and all effort and striving is seen to be unnecessary. The Bodhisattva's
Nirvana is perfect tranquillisation, but it is not extinction nor inertness; while there is an entire absence
of discrimination and purpose, there is the freedom and spontaneity of potentiality that has come with the
attainment and patient acceptance of the truths of egolessness and imagelessness. Here is perfect

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solitude, undisturbed by any gradation or continuous succession, but radiant with the potency and freedom
of its self-nature which is the self-nature of Noble Wisdom, blissfully peaceful with the serenity of Perfect
Love.

Entering upon the eighth stage, with the turning-about at the deepest seat of consciousness, the
Bodhisattva will become conscious that he has received the second kind of Transcendental-body
(Manomayakaya). The transition from mortal-body to Transcendental-body has nothing to do with mortal
death, for the old body continues to function and the old mind serves the needs of the old body, but now it
is free from the control of mortal mind. There has been an inconceivable transformation-death
(acintya-parinama-cyuti) by which the false-imagination of his particularised individual personality
has been transcended by a realisation of his oneness with the universalised mind of Tathagatahood, from which
realisation there will be no recession. With that realisation he finds himself amply endowed with all the
Tathagata's powers, psychic faculties, and self-mastery, and, just as the good earth is the support of all
beings in the world of desire (karmadhatu), so the Tathagatas become the support of all beings in the
Transcendental World of No-form.

The first seven of the Bodhisattva stages were in the realm of mind and the eighth, while transcending
mind, was still in touch with it; but in the ninth stage of Transcendental Intelligence (Sadhumati),
by reason of his perfect intelligence and insight into the imagelessness of Divine Mind which he had
attained

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by self-realisation of Noble Wisdom, he is in the realm of Tathagatahood. Gradually the Bodhisattva will
realise his Tathagata-nature and the possession of all its powers and psychic faculties, self-mastery, loving
compassion, and skillful means, and by means of them will enter into all the Buddha-lands. Making use of
these new powers, the Bodhisattva will assume various transformation-bodies and personalities for the sake of
benefiting others. Just as in the former mental life, imagination had risen from relative-knowledge, so now
skillful-means rise spontaneously from Transcendental Intelligence. It is like the magical gem that reflects
instantaneously appropriate responses to one's wishes. The Bodhisattva passes over to all the assemblages of
the Buddhas and listens to them as they discourse on the dream-like nature of all things and concerning the
truths that transcend all notions of being and nonbeing, that have no relation to birth and death, nor to
eternality nor extinction. Thus facing the Tathagatas as they discourse on Noble Wisdom that is far beyond
the mental capacity of disciples and masters, he will attain a hundred thousand Samadhis, indeed, a hundred
thousand nyutas of kotis of Samadhis, and in the spirit of these Samadhis he will instantly pass from one
Buddha-land to another, paying homage to all the Buddhas, being born into all the celestial mansions,
manifesting Buddha-bodies, and himself discoursing on the Triple Treasure to lesser Bodhisattvas that they
too may partake of the fruits of self-realisation of Noble Wisdom.

Thus passing beyond the last stage of Bodhisattvahood, he becomes a Tathagata himself endowed with

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all the freedom of the Dharmakaya. The tenth stage belongs to the Tathagatas. Here the Bodhisattva will
find himself seated upon a lotus-like throne in a splendid jewel-adorned palace and surrounded by
Bodhisattvas of equal rank. Buddhas from all the Buddha-lands will gather about him and with their pure and
fragrant hands resting on his forehead will give him ordination and recognition as one of themselves. Then
they will assign him a Buddha-land that he may possess and perfect as his own.

The tenth stage is called the Great Truth Cloud (Dharmamegha), inconceivable, inscrutable. Only the
Tathagatas can realise its perfect Imagelessness and Oneness and Solitude. It is Mahesvara, the Radiant Land,
the Pure Land, the Land of Far-distances; surrounding and surpassing the lesser worlds of form and desire
(karmadhatu), in which the Bodhisattva will find himself at-one-ment. Its rays of Noble Wisdom which
is the self-nature of the Tathagatas, many-colored, entrancing, auspicious, are transforming the triple world
as other worlds have been transformed in the past, and still other worlds will be transformed in the future.
But in the Perfect Oneness of Noble Wisdom there is no gradation nor succession nor effort, The tenth stage
is the first, the first is the eighth, the eighth is the fifth, the fifth is the seventh: what gradation can
there be where perfect Imagelessness and Oneness prevail? And what is the reality of Noble Wisdom? It is the
ineffable potency of the Dharmakaya; it has no bounds nor limits; It surpasses all the Buddha-lands, and
pervades the Akanistha and the heavenly mansions of the Tushita.