Overall Teaching

After focusing on the impartiality with purity of various qualities of awakening, they enter onto the fifth stage. They gain knowledge of truths of the unreality of the world, and know how to guide beings out of it. They have great knowledge and discipline, and also knowledge of whatever worldly sciences and abilities may be of use in teaching the Dharma. The impeccability of their conduct makes their roots of goodness unassailable, just like sunlight cannot be affected by wind. They are foremost in the Perfection of Meditation, and while generally being born as sovereigns of Tuṣita, they see buddhas, enter samādhis, etc., in the trillions.

Summary

1.     Request for the Fifth Stage

a.     The Bodhisattvas request Vajragarbha to describe the fifth stage. [736i]

2.     Requisites for Entering the Fifth Stage

a.     Vajragarbha explains that one enters the fifth stage through the tenfold impartiality with purity as the focus of one’s mind, i.e. those of: [736ii]

                                               i.     Past buddhas

                                             ii.     Future buddhas

                                            iii.     Present buddhas

                                            iv.     Conduct

                                             v.     Mind

                                            vi.     Removal of views and doubt and uncertainty and perplexity

                                          vii.     Knowledge of right and wrong paths

                                         viii.     Knowledge of application and relinquishment

                                            ix.     Final ultimate discernment and realization of all the elements of awakening

                                             x.     Perfecting all beings

3.     Knowledge of Truths

a.     Through their practice, vows, compassion, skilful means, power of the Buddha, and the power of their intellect, action, awareness and recollection, they attain unwavering attention, knowing as it really is on the basis of the process of application and not ultimate exhaustive knowledge the truths of: [736iii–737ii]

                                               i.     Conventional by satisfying beings according to their inclinations

                                             ii.     Ultimate by comprehending all in one principle

                                            iii.     Characteristics by awareness of individual and common characteristics

                                            iv.     Distinctions by learning definitions of distinctions in the teachings

                                             v.     Structure by learning definitions of clusters, elements, and sense mediums

                                            vi.     Substance by realising the pressure of body and mind

                                          vii.     Becoming by the continuity of realms of existence

                                         viii.     Extinction and nonorigination by ultimate extinction of burning torments

                                            ix.     Entry into knowledge of the path by accomplishment of non-duality.

b.     Due to this awareness they are aware of how the world is unreal and deceives the ignorant and thereby become more compassionate towards them while also being aware that they possess no self, being, life, soul, personality, or possessions and whether or not there really is an end or escape. [737iv]

c.     Their knowledge of deluded beings is such that they know how, in various ways, being suffer due to their fetters in saṃsāra, not seeking a guide or way out due to their ignorance. They contemplate that they will therefore enable them to be purified and come to knowledge of those with ten powers (Buddhas). [737v–738ii]

4.     Development of Abilities for Teaching

a.     Bodhisattvas on this stage have much more refined knowledge and conscientiousness; their behaviour is highly disciplined and have high motivation in seeking the qualities of Buddhahood and the adornments of buddha-lands. They have some marks of Buddhahood and because they listen to others teaching the Dharma skilfully, their conduct becomes refined and have complete non-distraction. [738iii–739i]

b.     They teach and develop beings through charity, kind speech, beneficial action, and cooperation and showing the disadvantages of saṃsāra and the greatness of the awakened. [739ii]

c.     They also engage in the study of whatever might be used to help beings, including mundane knowledges such as the sciences, medicine, entertainment, astrology and divination, anatomy, and whatever is not harmful in order to help lead beings to the way of the buddhas. [739iii]

5.     Further Qualities

a.     From the appearance of trillions of buddhas they do as before, but now, having gone forth under the tutelage of those buddhas, they become preachers of their teaching. [739iv–740i]

b.     They thoroughly refine their roots of goodness and become impeccable in conduct, allowing their roots to be how the light of the sun, moon, planets, or stars, cannot be affected by the wind: they likewise cannot be affected by the worldly [Hence the name “Difficult to Conquer”]. [740ii]

c.     They are foremost in the Perfection of Meditation.

d.     They are generally born as sovereigns of Tuṣita Heaven [Cleary: “Heaven of Complete Satisfaction,” Skt. “yasyāṃ pratiṣṭhito bodhisattvo bhūyastvena saṃtuṣito bhavati”]

e.     None of their actions are apart from the triple gem. [740iii]

f.      They have visions, samādhis, and transformations in the trillions. [740iv]

g.     They perform countless transformations with powers, body, speech, etc. [740v]

6.     Verse Summary [740vi–743ii]

7.     Praise by Bodhisattvas [743iii–744i]

a.     The bodhisattvas then praise Vajragarbha’s teachings and praise the Buddha.

b.     In verse, they praise the suchness and inconceivability of the world.

c.     They praise the vigour and power of bodhisattvas on this stage.

Summary by Nāgārjuna from Ratnāvalī

449. The fifth is called the Extremely Difficult to Overcome

Because all evil ones find it extremely hard to conquer them.

They become skilled in knowing

The subtle meanings of the noble truths and so forth.

450. Through the maturation of those [good qualities]

They become monarchs of the gods abiding in the Joyous Land, [concentration]

They overcome the foundations of all Borders

Afflictive emotions and views.