(Kārikās 1-6) The Essence of Buddhahood, the Enlightenment of the Buddha, The Buddha’s Properties, and the Buddha’s Acts, They are inconceivable even to those of the pure mind, Being the exclusive sphere of the Leaders. || 1 ||
But the wise one, whose intellect accepts the faith In this exclusive sphere of the Buddha, Becomes a receptacle of the whole collection of properties, And, being possessed of the desire [to obtain] The inconceivable properties [of the Buddha], He surpaśes the abundance of merits of all living beings. || 2 ||
Suppose there were one who, being anxious to obtain the Enlightenment, Would offer golden lands, constructed by jewels As innumerable as the sands in the Buddha’s lands, To the Lord of Doctrine, always, day after day; Another if he hear but one word of this teaching, After hearing of it, would have faith in this Doctrine; The latter would reap merits far more than the merits of an offering. || 3 ||
Suppose a wise man, being desirous of the Highest Enlightenment, Would keep pure moral conduct by his body, speech and mind, Without effort, in course of innumerable aeons; Another, if he hear but one word of this teaching, After hearing of it, would have faith in this Doctrine; The latter would reap merits far more than the merits of morality. || 4 ||
Suppose one would give himself up to the mystic absorption; Which suppreśes the fire of defilements in the worlds, And, having been transferred to the abode of Brahman in heaven, Would be irreversible from the means of Enlightenment; Another, if he hear but one word of this teaching, After hearing of it, would have faith in this Doctrine; The latter would reap merits far more than even the merits of the mystic absorption. || 5 ||
Charity brings people only to [worldly] enjoyment, Morality leads people to the blissful world, And meditation is conducive to the removal of Defilements, But the Transcendental Intellect can remove All [the obscurations of] defilements and ignorance. Therefore, Intellect is the supreme one [of all virtues] And its very source is the study of this Doctrine. || 6 ||
The summarized meaning of these ślokas should be known by the following 9 verses. The basis [of Buddhahood], its transformation, Its properties and the performance of welfare, In these four aspects of the sphere of Buddha’s Wisdom, Which have been explained above, || 7 ||
The wise one has become full of faith With regard to its existence, power and virtue, Therefore, he quickly attains the potentialit yOf acquiring the state of the Tathāgata. || 8 ||
Indeed, as he is full of devotion and faith That there exists ‘this’ inconceivable sphere, That it ‘can’ be realized by one like him, And this sphere, ‘endowed with such virtues’ has been attained, || 9 ||
So in him the mind intent on Enlightenment, Being a receptacle of virtues like zeal, energy, Memory, contemplation, Transcendental Intellect, etc., Comes to exist always. || 10 ||
As this mind constantly exists, The son of the Buddha becomes irreversible, And he reaches the accomplishment and the perfect purity, With regard to the Highest of Merits. || 11 ||
‘The [Highest of] Merits’ means the [first] Highest virtues, ‘Its accomplishment’ is owing to his being non-discriminative With regard to the three aspects [of activity], And ‘the perfect purity’ is caused by his removal of the opponents. || 12 ||
Charity is the merit consisting of granting gift, Morality is the merit consisting of moral conduct, And both Patience and Meditation, is that of practice, But Exertion is the merit common to all. || 13 ||
Discrimination regarding the aspects of activity, That is the Obscuration of Ignorance; The opponents [to the Highest Virtues], jealousy, etc., They are the Obscurations of Defilements. || 14 ||
But, without the Highest Intellect, The other cannot be the cause of their removal; Therefore, the Highest Intellect is the supreme one of all, And, as the source of it is the study [of this Doctrine], It is this study that is the most important. || 15 ||
(§2. Authority, Motive, and Characteristics of This Text Being the Correct Doctrine.) [Hereafter we have ślokas mentioning on which basis, for what motive, and how this doctrine has been explained and what characteristics it has. First of all, with reference to the basis and motive, there is one śloka]. (Kārikā 7) Thus, on the basis of the authoritative Scripture and of Logic, This treatise is expounded by me in order to attain Perfect purification for myself, exclusively; At the same time, however, this is in order to aśist Those intelligent people who are endowed with faith And accomplishment of virtues. || 16 ||
[Next we have one śloka stating how this treatise is explained]. (Kārikā 8) Just as, with the aid of a lamp, of lightning, Of a precious stone, of the moon and the sun, Those possessed of vision can perceive objects; Similarly, I have expounded this treatise Relying upon the Lord who is the sun Manifesting the Doctrine of great welfare. || 17 ||
[Then we have one śloka stating the characteristics of the correct doctrine]. (Kārikā 9) Whatever the word that is connected with the scriptural texts It pursues the [ultimate] aim [of living beings], Is conducive to removing the Defilements in the Worlds, And can demonstrate the advantage of Quiescence, Such a word is that of the Great Sage, And all others are of perverse character. || 18 ||
[Next we have one śloka stating by what means this treatise is explained]. (Kārikā 10) Whatever is spoken by those whose mind is not distracted And who refer to the Lord as the only Preceptor, And is favourable to the Path of the [2] Accumulations which lead to Emancipation, That is also to be accepted with respect As if it were taught by the Great Sage. || 19 ||
(§3. The Means of Preserving Oneself within the Doctrine.) [Here we have two ślokas referring to the means of preserving oneself from becoming deprived (of this Doctrine)] (Kārikās 11-12) Indeed in this world there is no one wiser than the Buddha, No other who is omniscient and knows completely The highest Truth according to the right method; Therefore, the Scripture should not be interpolated, Which is discoursed by the Sage himself, Otherwise, it will do harm to the Highest Doctrine Because of destroying the teaching of the Buddha. || 20 ||
The fact that people abuse the Sages And blame the doctrine taught by the Sages, All this is the Defilement of those whose nature is foolish And is created by a prejudiced conception; Therefore, your mind should not be attached To the dirt of the prejudiced conception; Indeed, only clean cloth can be dyed But not one that is spoiled by oil and dust. || 21 ||
(§4. Causes and Results of the loss of the Doctrine.) [With reference to the causes of the loss of the Doctrine, there is one śloka]. (Kārikā 13) Want of intelligence, want of faith in the virtuous Doctrine, Indulgence in false pride, Obscured nature through the rejection of the Highest Doctrine, Interpretation of the conventional sense as the [ultimate] Truth, Greediness, [adherence to] false conception, Devotion to those who hate the Doctrine, Keeping at distance from those who convey the Doctrine, And delighting in the inferior Doctrine, By all this, one becomes deprived of the Doctrine of the Saint. || 22 ||
[With reference to the result of this loss, there are two ślokas]. (Kārikās 14-15) The wise one need not be so much afraid of fire, Of violent poison of snake, of murder, or of lightning, As he should be afraid of the loss of the profound Doctrine, Because a fire, a snake, an enemy, and lightning, At most, may deprive one of [this] life But one will not go, by these causes, To the most terrible world of Avīci. || 23 ||
Even one who, repeatedly serving bad friends, Is hostile to the Buddha, and commits the acts Of killing mother, father, and the Saints, And breaks the unity of the Highest Community, Even that one can quickly become delivered from that sin If he meditates upon the meaning of the Doctrine; But, how would it be pośible for the Liberation to arise In one whose mind is hostile to the Doctrine! || 24 ||
(§5. Conclusion.) [Here, at the end we have one śloka in order to turn the merit acquired by the author through this teaching towards the people]. (Kārikā 16) I have thus duly expounded the subjects, The Jewels, the perfectly pure Essence, The Immaculate Enlightenment, the [Buddha’s] Properties and Acts; By the merit I have acquired through this, May all living beings come to perceive The Lord Amitāyus endowed with infinite light, And, having seen him, may they, owing to the arising Of the immaculate vision of the Doctrine in them, Obtain the Supreme Enlightenment. || 25 ||
The summary of topics discussed in these 10 ślokas (vv. 16-25) should be known by the following verses. Owing to what basis, for what motive, How and what is expounded [in this treatise], And what is the natural outflow [of the Buddha’s Doctrine], These topics are explained by the [first] ślokas. || 26 ||
Two ślokas refer to the means of self-protection, And one, to the cause of the loss [of the Doctrine], And then, the [following] two ślokas Explain the result of this loś. || 27 ||
And finally, the acceptance [of the Doctrine] By those living in the world of Saṃsāra And their acquisition of Enlightenment; In short, these results of teaching of the meaning Of the Doctrine are explained by the last śloka. || 28 ||