Sample translation · Level 2
A Mirror Clarifying the Meaning of the Mother
A Commentary on the Ornament for Clear Realization, the Instructional Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom
This preliminary English translation is shared as a sample for study and may be revised before publication.
First: The Preliminary Section
Homage
Though your enlightened body is one,
it manifests in an infinite array of forms.
Though your enlightened speech is one,
it speaks in every language and reveals every teaching.
Though your enlightened mind is one,
it knows, all at once, the entirety of all that can be known.
To you, the Supreme Lord of Sages, in whom immeasurable qualities are perfectly complete, and to Maitreya, the Invincible Protector, I bow with deepest reverence.
To the noble master Asaṅga, who attained the third bhūmi;
To the master Vasubandhu and the noble Vimuktisena;
To the venerable Ārya Vimuktisena, the master Haribhadra, and the others;
I pay homage to the lineage gurus of the Perfection of Wisdom.
In order to expound the intended meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra exactly as the Victorious One intended,
the Gentle Protector, Mañjuśrī, appeared in the form of a saffron-robed monk.
To the Lord of Eloquence, the Victorious One, Je Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa, I pay homage.
To the Great Regent, Gyaltsab Darma Rinchen;
To Khedrup Gelek Pel, the crown ornament of all learned and accomplished masters—
May the victorious father and sons forever abide upon the lotus at the center of my heart.
The profound meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom, its treatise, paths, and fruits,
You taught me perfectly from the depths of your loving heart.
O precious spiritual master, Könchok, at your feet I bow;
Until I attain enlightenment, I shall hold you as the crown upon my head.
Pledge to Compose
Though the wings of an intellect such as mine cannot soar through the vast celestial expanse of the profound meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom,
At the urging of holy beings, and in order to train my own mind,
I shall explain the words of the Ornament in lucid and illuminating language.
The Three Traditions of Explanation
As for what is to be explained here, it is the intended meaning of the three Mother Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras—the extensive, intermediate, and concise versions. Their intended meaning has two aspects: emptiness, which is taught explicitly, and the paths of clear realization, which are taught implicitly.
Regarding the tradition that explains the former, the Protector Nāgārjuna, relying upon the Akṣayamatinirdeśa Sūtra and other scriptures, established the explicitly taught subject matter of the three Mother Sūtras, namely emptiness—the emptiness of all phenomena being truly established. Through the Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way and other works, he established this by means of hundreds of reasonings.
In this way, he became the great charioteer of the ultimate truth according to the Madhyamaka tradition and opened the great path that brings about the realization of emptiness—the emptiness of true existence.
The venerable Ārya Asaṅga, relying upon the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra (Sūtra Unraveling the Intent), the two Vibhaṅgas, and other sources, extensively established through numerous lines of reasoning, by means of the Bhūmi treatises and other works, that the emptiness explicitly taught in the three Mother Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras is the emptiness of form with respect to being an external object, and the emptiness of the imputed nature with respect to being established by way of its own characteristics.
Thus, he opened the great tradition that leads the great chariot of the ultimate according to the Mind-Only system: emptiness understood as the imputed nature being empty of establishment by way of its own characteristics, and as form phenomena being empty of external objects.
The Venerable Protector Maitreya, without relying upon any other source, independently elucidated the hidden meaning of the three Mother Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras. He explained the Śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha vehicles incidentally, while principally elucidating the Mahāyāna paths of clear realization in accordance with the Madhyamaka system. In the Ornament for Clear Realization, he expounded these in terms of the eight subjects and the seventy topics. Thus, he opened the great tradition that leads the great chariot of the clear realizations of the three vehicles—the hidden meaning of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras.
Thus, there are three ways of explaining the Mother Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras. Of these, what is explained here is the meaning of the treatise, the Ornament for Clear Realization, through which the great pioneer, the Venerable Protector Maitreya, opened the chariot tradition of the hidden meaning of the Mother Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras.
This is explained in three parts:
- The meaning of the title
- The meaning of the main text
- The meaning of the conclusion
Section One
Explanation of the Meaning of the Title
This has two parts:
- The actual explanation
- An incidental explanation
The Actual Explanation of the Meaning of the Title
First, the land in which there were six great cities such as Śrāvastī is conventionally called India. There are four major types of Indian language: corrupted dialects; the language of flesh-eaters; the natural language of the local people; and Sanskrit, the refined language formed by combining all the finest forms of expression.
Of these, in the refined Sanskrit language of India, the title of this treatise is Abhisamaya… and so forth. Translated into Tibetan, it is The Instructions on the Perfection of Wisdom… and so forth. This is because abhisamaya means “clear realization”; alaṃkāra, “ornament”; nāma, “called”; prajñāpāramitā, “Perfection of Wisdom”; upadeśa, “instruction”; and śāstra, “treatise.”
As for the explanation of the meaning of that title: this treatise, the Ornament for Clear Realization, has a reason for being referred to as the “Perfection of Wisdom.” This is because it takes as its subject matter and explains and clarifies all the meanings of the Perfection of Wisdom concerning the grounds, paths, and results.
There is a reason why you are called an “Instructional Treatise.” The words of the Mother Sūtras are so extensive that they are difficult to retain in the mind; moreover, their teachings are not presented in sequential order, making the progression of the paths difficult to discern. The clear realizations, too, are conveyed indirectly and remain hidden within the implicit meaning, making them difficult to understand. You, however, set forth the stages of the path in their proper sequence and bring all these hidden meanings fully into the light. Thus, by relying upon you—the Ornament—those to be guided can easily understand, without difficulty, the entire meaning of the Sūtras of the Three Mothers. Because you serve as the instruction, the means by which this understanding is gained, you are therefore called an “Instructional Treatise.”
There is also a reason why you are called a “treatise.” You are a flawless teaching that reveals, without the slightest error, all that should be adopted and all that should be abandoned. By practicing in accordance with your teachings, one overcomes all afflictive enemies and, as a result, becomes free from the dangers of the lower realms. Because you possess the qualities of transforming the mind from afflictions and protecting one from the dangers of the lower realms, you are called a “treatise.”