In a similar manner, the Buddha Discharges the rain of the Highest Doctrine From the clouds of Compassion, with no searching thought, For [bringing] the crops of virtue among the living beings. || 43 ||
Just as the clouds discharge the rain, Agitated by the wind, upon the earth where The people behave in the path of virtuous actions; Similarly, the cloud that is the Buddha Pours the rain of the Highest Doctrine As the virtues are increased in the world Owing to the wind of Compassion. || 44 ||
Bearing Wisdom and Compassion, Abiding in the celestial sphere Without affecting anything, neither perishable nor imperishable, And being the womb of the pure water Of meditation and mystical formulas, The cloud-like chieftain of sages Causes the pure crops in various worlds. || 45 ||
With reference to the unequality of receptacles in measure, (Kārikā 31) Cool, sweet, clear, soft, and light Is the rain descending from the cloud, But having touched on earth the places filled with salt, etc., Becomes of tastes of much variety; Similar is the rain of the 8-fold Holy Path, Descending from the cloud, the womb abundant with Compassion, But, owing to the variety of conditions of individuals, It assumes many kinds of taste in the living beings. || 46 ||
On the impartial attitude, (Kārikās 32-34) Those who have faith in the Highest Vehicle, Those of intermediate nature, and those who resist the Doctrine, These are the three kinds of living beings, And have similarity with men, peacocks and ghosts, respectively. || 47 ||
Towards the end of the summer, being of no cloud, Men and those birds who cannot fly in the sky Experience sufferings [from lack of rain]; In the rainy season, however, because of much rainfall, The ghosts in the ground experience sufferings; In the case of the living beings in the world, Those desirous of the Doctrine and those hostile to it, The non-arising and the arising of the water of Doctrine From the clouds of Compassion [cause suffering in each turn]; This is the point of similarity. || 48 ||
Discharging the gross drop of rain, hail and lightning, The cloud does not care about the subtle living beings; Nor about those who are on a trip in the mountains; Similarly, the one who holds the waters of Wisdom and Compassion, [Discharging them] with various means, methods and rules, subtle or gross, Does not mind anywhere those who are of Defilements, Whether [in the burst of] egoistic view or in a dormant state. || 49 ||
On [the function of] calming the fire of Suffering, (Kārikās 35-37) The [succession] of birth and death in beginningless time Is the Saṃsāra, in whose course there are five Paths, And in these five Paths, there is no happiness, Just as excretion has no good smell at all; Its suffering is constant and as if produced from The contact with fire, swords, ice, salt and so forth; But, to pacify it, the cloud of Compassion Lets fall the great rain of the Highest Doctrine. || 50 ||
Having known that the transmigration [from heaven], Is the suffering among gods, and, for the human beings, The searching for the objects of desire is the suffering, The Wise men never seek for the best glory among gods and men; It is because of their Transcendental Intellect, Because of their following the faith in the Buddha’s words, And [consequently], because of their realizing analytically, “This is suffering, this is its cause, and this is its extinction”. || 51 ||
Illness is to be cognized, its cause removed, Health should be attained, and a remedy used; Like that, Suffering, its Cause, Extinction and the Path, Are to be cognized, removed, touched and observed. || 52 ||
(IV) It is said that [the Buddha’s apparitional form] is like the great Brahmā. (Kārikās 38-41) Just as Brahmā, without moving from his palace, Manifests his apparition, without any effort, In the world of gods everywhere; || 53 ||
Similarly, the Buddha, without moving from the Absolute Body, Comes to the sight of the worthy, without any effort, With his apparitional form, in all the worlds. || 54 ||
Just as with Brahmā, though he never moves from his palace, His manifestation, always pervading the World of Desire, Is seen by gods and causes them to remove the desire of objects lit); Similarly with the Lord, though not moving from the Absolute Body. His sight is seen by the worthy people, in all the worlds, And causes them to remove all the stains forever. || 55 ||
Because of his own original vow, And of the pure experiences of the multitudes of gods, Brahmā manifests his apparition without any effort; Similar is the Buddha, by means of his Apparitional Body. || 56 ||
On the invisibility [of the Apparitional form to some people], (Kārikā 42) Descent from [the Tuṣita], entrance in the womb, Birth, and the arrival at his father’s palace, Merry life [in the harem], wandering in solitude, The victory over the Evil One, The attainment of the Supreme Enlightenment, And the teaching of the Path leading to the city of Peace, The Buddha, though demonstrating such events, Does not come to the eye-sight of those who are unhappy. || 57 ||
(V) It is said that the Buddha [in his Wisdom] is like the sun. (Kārikā 43) When the sun becomes shining, at one and the same time The lotus flowers awake and the Kumuda folds its flowers; But the sun has no discrimination in regard to the water-born flowers. Similar is the sun of the Saint [in his acts] in the world In regard to the awakening of virtues and closing of defects. || 58 ||
(On the two kinds of people compared to the two kinds of waterborn flowers). There are two kinds among the living beings: one is the non-converts and the other is the converts. Of them, with reference to the converts, there are the simile of the sun-lotus and the simile of the receptacle of pure water. Just as the sun, without thought-construction, With his own rays, simultaneously everywhere, Lets the lotus flowers come to blośom, And lets the other come to ripeness; || 59 ||
Similarly, the sun that is the Buddha, With the rays of the Highest Doctrine, Appears with no thought-construction, Upon the converts resembling lotus flowers. || 60 ||
With the body of the Absolute and that of Apparition, Arising in the sky of the Seat of Enlightenment, The sun of Omniscience pervades the world With the rays of the Transcendental Wisdom; || 61 ||
From which, everywhere in the [mind of] converts Who are like receptacles of pure water, Appear simultaneously innumerable reflections Of that sun which is the Lord. || 62 ||
Thus the Buddhas, though they are non-discriminative, manifest themselves with visible forms and by teaching among the three categories of living beings according to order. With reference to this order, there is a simile of mountains: (Kārikās 44-45) Although the sun of the Buddha pervades Always and everywhere the sky-like Universe, He casts his rays upon the converts Who are like mountains, according to their merit. || 63 ||
Just as, in this world, the sun, Spreading out his thousands of glorious rays, Rising and illuminating the whole world, Shines upon the mountains, high, middle, and low, gradually; Upon the groups of living beings, according to their order. || 64 ||
On the superiority of [the Buddha’s] light to [that of the sun], (Kārikās 46-47) Of the sun, there does not exist the all-pervadingness In all kinds of lands and in the whole sky, Nor does he show all things knowable [by removing] The thicket of the darkness of ignorance; But those who are of the nature of Compassion, Illuminate the world with spreading bands of rays, Produced from each hair and filled with various colours, And manifest all things knowable. || 65 ||
When the Buddhas enter the city; Those who are of no eyes perceive the object, And, having seen it, cognize how to remove the net of harm, And [likewise] even those blinded by ignorance, Who have fallen into the sea of the Phenomenal World, And are obscured by the darkness of false views, Have their intellect illumined by the light of the sun of the Buddha, And come to perceive the Truth unseen before. || 66 ||
(VI) It is said that [the Buddha’s mind in its acts] has a resemblance to the wish-fulfilling gem. (Kārikās 48-50) Just as the wish-fulfilling gem, Though itself is of no thought-construction, Fulfils all desires of those Living in the same region, separately; || 67 ||
Similarly, those who are of different inclinations, Having approached the wish-fulfilling gem of the Buddha, Come to hear the Truth in its various aspects. But the Buddha has no discrimination regarding them. || 68 ||
Just as the precious jewel, having no thought-construction, Produces the desired treasure, without effort, for others; Similarly, the Lord always benefits others, without effort, According to their merit, as long as the world exists. || 69 ||
It is said that the Buddhas are difficult to obtain. (Kārikā 51) Here, in this world, it is quite rare To obtain the pure gem, even though the people so much Long for it in the depth of the ocean or under the ground; Similarly, the sight of Buddha should be known as Not easily achieved in this luckleś world By those whose mind is afflicted by various passions. || 70 ||
(VII) It is said that [the Buddha in his voice] is like an echo. (Kārikās 52-53) Just as the sound of an echo Arising from the voice of others Is of no discrimination and of no effort, And has no foundation, either inside or outside; || 71 ||
In a similar way, the voice of the Buddha Arising through the voice of others Is of no discrimination and of no effort, And has no foundation, either inside or outside. || 72 ||
(VIII) It is said that [the Buddha’s body is] like space. (Kārikās 54-55) Being immaterial and invisible, Without support and without foundation, Surpaśing the way of eye-sight, Formless and incapable of being shown, || 73 ||
Though being so, the sky is seen as low and high, But, in reality, it is not like that; Similarly, all kinds of forms are seen in the Buddha, But, in reality, the Buddha is not like that. || 74 ||
(IX) It is said that [the Buddha as the foundation of all activities] is like the earth. (Kārikās 56-57) Just as all plants, Taking resort to the earth Which has no searching thought, Come to grow, thrive and expand; || 75 ||
Similarly, the roots of virtues in the world, Taking resort to the ground of the Buddha Who has no searching thought, Proceed completely towards growth. || 76 ||
(§3. Summarized Meaning of the Illustrations given by the Commentator.) Summarized meaning of these examples is as follows: The performance of actions without effort Cannot be seen by us. Therefore, The nine-fold examples have been related In order to clear the doubts of the converts. || 77 ||
Its purpose [of teaching] is explained By the very name of that Scripture, Where these nine illustrations Are demonstrated in detail. || 78 ||
Adorned with this light of the great wisdom Which is the result of study, The wise men enter rapidly In the whole region of the Buddha. || 79 ||
For this reason, there are nine examples Illustrated by the reflection of Indra On the surface of Vaiḍūrya stone, and the rest. In this sense, you should know their summarized meaning; || 80 ||
[Namely]: appearance, teaching, pervasion, Transformation and emanation of Wisdom, Secrecy in acts by mind, speech and body, And acquisition of those whose nature is of Compassion. || 81 ||
[The Buddha’s] mind, being of no thought-construction, Is such in which all the movements of effort are pacified As given in the examples, beginning with the arising Of the reflection of Indra on the pure Vaiḍūrya stone. || 82 ||
The ‘proposition’ here the pacification of effort, The ‘logical reason’ is the non-discriminativeness of mind, And, in order to establish the subject in discussion’, There are given ‘examples’, the form of Indra, etc. || 83 ||
And here the ‘subject in discussion’ is that These nine, ‘appearance’ and the rest, Are manifested without any effort And without birth or death of the Preceptor. || 84 ||
(§4. Summary of examples given in Kārikās.) With reference to this meaning (or subject), we have other four ślokas, being the summary of all the examples. (Kārikās 58-61) The one who acts for the sake of others, Without effort, as long as the world exists, Like Indra, like the divine drum, like clouds, Like Brahmā, like the sun, like the wish-fulfilling gem, Like an echo, like the sky and like the earth, . . . That is [the Buddha] who knows a means [of precept]. || 85 ||
The excellent teacher has an appearance Like the reflection of the chief of gods on the jewel, His voice is like the [sound of] the divine drum, Having the great sphere of the clouds of Wisdom and Mercy, He pervades an unlimited number of living beings, Up to the highest limit of existence. || 86 ||
Like Brahmā; the Buddha Shows himself variously with the apparitional forms, Without moving from the immaculate place; Like the sun, he shines always, spreading the light of Wisdom; And his mind [acts] like the wish-fulfi1ling gem. || 87 ||
Like an echo is the Buddha’s voice, Not being expressed by letters; Like space is his body, Being all-pervading, formless and eternal; And like the earth is the State of Buddha in this world, Being the seat of all virtues, the remedy of the whole world. || 88 ||
(§5. Non-origination and Non-extinction of the Buddhahood.) Why, then, in this exposition of examples, is the Buddha, who is always of neither origination nor extinction, explained to be seen with appearance and disappearance and as having actions, to work among all living beings, without effort and without interruption? [To answer this question, there are three verses].
Like the Vaiḍūrya stone, the purity in the mind Is the cause of the Buddha’s appearance, And this purity of mind is intensified By the irresistible faculty of faith. || 89 ||
Owing to the appearance and disappearance of purity, The forms of the Buddha appear and disappear; But, in his Body of the Absolute that is like Indra, The Lord does never appear nor disappear. || 90 ||
Thus, his actions, apparition and the rest, Are manifested without any effort, From the Absolute Body, which never arises nor disappears, As long as the world exists. || 91 ||
(§6. The Point of Diśimilarity.) This is the summarized meaning of similes And this very order is told in order to show That the diśimilarity of the former example [With the Buddha] is removed by the latter one. || 92 ||
Buddhahood is like the reflection [of Indra], But the reflection, being of no voice, is not like that; [Being endowed with voice, the Buddha] is like The divine drum, which however does not match him, Since it is not everywhere making benefits. || 93 ||
[Being beneficial everywhere], he is like a big cloud, Which however, having no seed of virtue, is not like him; [Being the root of virtue], he is like great Brahmā, But, being unable to ripen perfectly, Brahmā not like him. || 94 ||
[As the cause of perfect maturity], he is like the sun, But the sun cannot remove darkness fully, so it is not like him, [As the darkness-breaker], he is like the wish-fulfilling gem, Which, however, is not as difficult to get as he is. || 95 ||
The Buddha has a resemblance to an echo, Which however, being a production of causes, is not like him, [Being of no causes] he has a resemblance to space, Which, not being the basis of virtues, is not like him. || 96 ||
The Buddha resembles the region of the earth, Since he is the ground and foundation For the achievement of all the virtues Of living beings, mundane and supermundane. || 97 ||
By resorting to the Buddha’s Enlightenment, There arises the supermundane Path, and hence, There emerges the Path of virtuous actions, Consisting or meditation, the immeasurable mind And the absorption in the Immaterial Sphere. || 98 ||