Overall Teaching

The great virtue of the ten stages is declared. The virtues of teaching, preserving, and practising this sūtra are declared to be boundless. Vajragarbha reiterates all ten stages in verse form, and then the Buddha approves his teaching.

Summary

1.     Nature of the Ten Stages [800i–802ii]

a.     Vajragarbha emphasises again that this is the summary version.

b.     The ten stages are taught in the same way by all buddhas of the three times.

c.     It should be seen with all-knowledge of all aspects (i.e. knowledge of the path kept in balance with suchness and emptiness).

d.     The goodness of the ten stages is like water of the roots of goodness, each river of which heads for the ocean of omniscience.

e.     The ten stages are manifested based on awakened knowledge, just like the ten great mountains of the earth: the great qualities of each can be compared in analogy to each of the ten stages. The ten great mountains exist in the ocean and appear from the ocean; similarly, the ten stages exist in omniscience and appear from omniscience.

f.      The ten qualities of the ocean correspond to the ten qualities of the ten stages, e.g. they are deep, have great treasures in them, etc.

g.     Just as a great jewel made for a king can serve as the basis for gathering all other precious things by all beings, similarly, the ten stages with their great qualities serve as the basis for all beings’ collection of the jewels of all Buddha works.

2.     Nature of this Sūtra[1] [802iii–803i]

a.     Without roots of goodness one cannot hear this sūtra.

b.     Those who hear it become imbued with the amount of virtue as derives from omniscience because it is so difficult to get to hear it, let alone practice, preserve, and attain it.

3.     Concluding the Sūtra [803ii–811ii]

a.     Thereupon, by the power of the Buddha, the worlds of the ten directions quaked in a variety of ways and clouds of songs of praise of the sūtra were heard.

b.     This sūtra was spoken in every world, just as in this world (heaven of control of others’ emanations) and was taught by bodhisattvas there called Vajragarbha, and taught it in exactly the same way. They arrive and declare this.

c.     Vajragarbha, in order to describe the meaning of the stages again, summarises them all in verse form, following which the universe quaked again in six ways, flowers rained down, and celestial and human music was played.

d.     The Buddha then entrusts this sūtra to Vimukticandra and all the other bodhisattvas.

                                               i.     Those who will teach, preserve, recite, write it, master it, and act on it, respecting it, have endless virtue.

e.     The Buddha then praises the preservation and honouring of this sūtra in verse form. He also points out that one who preserves and passes on this sūtra is superior in virtue to those who honour and revere the buddhas in many ways, including Śāriputra, even if one passes on a single line, and they shall obtain pure and endless light.

f.      Everyone then rejoices in the Buddha’s approval of Vajragarbha’s teaching.

[1] Instead of using the term “book” or “sūtra” the Sanskrit reads parivartaḥ, typically just used to mean “chapter” but can also imply turning (of the Dharma wheel), i.e. teaching.