That nature is not something real
Is emptiness of ‘self-nature’.
That such a nature is unmade
Is what by nature is conveyed. (6.221)

Nature means the actual nature, since is not something contrived by the hearers and so forth. That nature is empty of nature is termed the emptiness of self-nature.

No matter whether buddhas come
Or don’t arrive, the fact remains
That everything is emptiness,
Acclaimed to be the thing beyond; (6.222)

The final end, reality –
Is voidness of nature beyond.

The thing beyond refers to the supreme reality of things. It is supreme due to being that which always is. On the one hand, the thing beyond is something realised through perfect wisdom, and is empty of itself. Another explanation is that it is called that which is beyond because it exists on the other side. It is the thing beyond since it is the transcendence of samsara, the final end. Since it is unchangeable, this reality of things is empty of the features of emptiness – it is the emptiness of a nature beyond.

All these have been proclaimed in the
Perfection of Intelligence. (6.223)

To conclude the chapter on intelligence by expressing the excellent and extraordinary qualities of the bodhisattvas with a readiness for the perfection of intelligence, it was said:

Thus brightened by the rays of clear intelligence
They see the triple world as unborn from the start
As clear as a myrobalan plum in their palm –
Cessation is achieved through truth that’s relative. (6.224)

The word thus refers to the analyses that have been presented. The light of the intelligence developed through the aforementioned analyses sheds a light that overcomes the darkness which blocks the seeing of the reality of things, and the bodhisattvas are here described as now having that. Through the power of the relative truth, they now rest in the state of cessation.

To express how one does not abandon beings as the wish to protect them is at the core of cessation, it was said:

Although remaining in cessation all the time,
Compassion for defenceless ones will still occur.

Since their activities are within the realm of samsara, while their excellent mind is within the realm of nirvana, their compassion for defenceless beings grows exponentially.

From this point onwards their intelligence defeats
Half-buddhas and those born from the Sugata’s speech. (6.225)

They are mentioned together with the intermediate buddhas, thus it says along with the half-buddhas.¹ And who are they? Those who are born from the Sugata’s speech, which means the hearers (śrāvaka). These are all defeated by the intelligence of the bodhisattvas who have reached the grounds beyond the sixth, the seventh and so forth.

They soar ahead of beings, like the king of swans,
On white and outstretched wings of truth, the relative
And ultimate, and speed ahead on virtue’s wind
Across the ocean of the Victor’s qualities. (6.226)

Their relative qualities will also increase immensely. The two truths are their outstretched wings by which they traverse the great ocean of the Victor’s qualities in the company of the swans among beings who are developing what is excellent. The explanation of the sixth resolve has thus been completed.

This was the sixth resolve from the Commentary to Entering the Middle Way.

Now, in terms of the seventh resolve it was said:

On Far Progressed the bodhisattvas can engage
Cessation in each moment, and they now attain
A brilliant perfection in their skilful means. (7.1)

To engage cessation refers to entering into the state of the final goal, meaning cessation into ultimate reality where all mental elaboration ceases. The bodhisattvas on the seventh ground, Far Progressed, now enter into the cessation they achieved on the sixth ground in each moment. As stated:

O heirs of the Victor, from the sixth bodhisattva ground onwards they settle within the state of cessation of bodhisattvas. In each moment of mind the bodhisattvas established on this seventh bodhisattva ground enter into and emerge from the state of cessation, but this cannot be described as the definitive experience of cessation.²

Their perfection of skilful means is also utterly purified.

It should be taken into consideration that skilful means, aspiration, power and wisdom are in fact particular aspects of intelligence (prajñā) itself, and that in the context of the perfection of intelligence it is solely the intelligence of analytical investigation that is dealt with, and not the others.

This was the seventh resolve from the Commentary to Entering the Middle Way.

In terms of the eight resolve it was said:

To reach yet even greater virtue than before
These mighty beings enter the Immovable
Where they acquire irreversibility.

The bodhisattvas now enter Immovable, the eight bodhisattva ground where they become irreversible in order to achieve even greater virtue than previously. Concerning the attainment of even greater virtue than before, it is stated:

O sons of the Victor, it is just like an ocean-going ship. It needs to be dragged with much toil before it reaches the water, but as soon as it’s afloat it is propelled by the strength of the wind and no more effort is needed. The distance it can run across the ocean in a single day is infinitely longer than could be achieved in even a hundred years of dragging it across land. Likewise, O sons of the Victor, when bodhisattvas have gathered a great many roots of virtue in their practice of the Greater Vehicle, and then reach the ocean of bodhisattva activity, a single moment of spontaneous wisdom will take them infinitely closer to the wisdom of omniscience than all their previous effort could accomplish in a hundred thousand aeons.³

Their aspirations being fully pure, they are
Now roused from their cessation by victorious ones. (8.1)

The ten innumerable hundred thousand aspirations they made in the context of the first resolve, such as those expressed in the Ten Great Aspirations, now become completely purified, greatly increasing the present perfection of aspiration. But while the bodhisattvas on Immovable are defined as being on the ground of the heirs, they become regents on the ninth, and are crowned as wheel-turning monarchs on the tenth. So as the bodhisattvas on the Immovable ground have entered into cessation, the illustrious buddhas will then rouse them from this cessation.

As stated:

O heirs of the Victor. As the bodhisattvas on the Immovable bodhisattva ground are empowered by their past aspirations and have settled within the entrance to Dharma, the illustrious buddhas influence them with their tathāgata wisdom, and speak the following: ‘Excellent, O son of good family, excellent! You have now reached acceptance of the ultimate in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings. However, O son of good family, you still do not possess the ten powers, four confidences and so forth as I do, and must apply yourself in order to gain these perfect qualities of buddhahood. You must be diligent! But do not abandon this door of acceptance! O son of good family, although you are now resting within the liberation of peace, you must consider the ordinary immature beings who are not at peace, who being ravaged by many afflictions and beleaguered by swarms of conceptual thoughts, are not at all at peace. O son of good family, remember the aspirations you made in the past! …’

… If the illustrious buddhas did not⁴ thus influence the bodhisattvas with their omniscient wisdom, they would pass into complete nirvana … [and so forth].⁵

Because they have now been roused from cessation,

No blemish will maintain its hold upon the non-desirous mind,
And so, upon the eight ground stains are severed, utter peace attained.
Afflictions at an end, they now surpass the triple realm, and still
The space-like boundless wealth of all the buddhas lies beyond their reach. (8.2)

As the sun of non-conceptual wisdom rises, the gloom of the afflictions that has caused birth in the three realms is completely eradicated, and true peace ensues. But, even though they have abandoned this and are now supreme among the three levels of the world, at this stage the bodhisattvas are still not yet able to achieve the boon of the illustrious buddhas. To gain that they must exert themselves further. As it says, ‘they would pass into complete nirvana …,’⁶ since they can now be free from the attachment of the three realms. Without being free from attachment, nirvana is not possible.

It might be asked, ‘If they are now freed from the attachment of the three realms, how are they then able to perfect all the qualities of buddhahood when samsara has ceased?’

To explain:

Although samsara has been stopped, they have attained the powers ten,
And through these, manifest in various ways to beings of the world. (8.3)

Although samsara has ceased at this point, the ten powers are now born in them, and by means of these they can manifest their mental body in a variety of different forms. It is therefore not contradictory that they can continue to completely fulfil their accumulations.

As for the ten powers, they are as stated:

(1) They have mastery of life in terms of blessing their lifespan to last for inexpressible upon inexpressible aeons. (2) They have mastery of mind in terms of immersing themselves in the wisdom of immeasurable meditative concentrations. (3) They have mastery of material implements in terms of displaying the blessing of adorning all the realms of the world with many adornments. (4) They have mastery of karma in terms of revealing the impact of an action’s result at its particular time. (5) They have mastery of birth in terms of the ability to display birth within any world. (6) They have mastery of prayer as they can display true and complete buddhahood in any buddha field at any time desired. (7) They have mastery of aspirations as they can display within any world system vast arrays of buddhas. (8) They have mastery of miraculous abilities as they can display magical emanations in all buddha fields. (9) They have mastery of wisdom as they can display a Tathāgata’s powers, confidences, unique buddha qualities, perfect marks and signs, as well as true and complete awakening. (10) They have mastery of Dharma as they can teach the dharma in any form that is without centre or limit.⁷

The explanation of the eight resolve has thus been completed.

This was the eight resolve from the Commentary to Entering the Middle Way.

In terms of the ninth resolve it was said:

Upon the ninth their power is complete and pure in every way,
And likewise fully pure their qualities of perfect intellect. (9.1)

On the ninth bodhisattva ground the bodhisattvas’ perfection of power is fully purified, and they achieve the four pure qualities of perfect intellect: a detailed knowledge of things, meaning, interpretation and eloquence. (1) The detailed knowledge of things is to understand the defining characteristics of all phenomena. (2) The detailed knowledge of meaning is to understand the classifications of all phenomena. (3) The detailed knowledge of interpretation is to understand how to express things clearly. (4) The detailed knowledge of eloquence is to have an uninterrupted understanding of the relevant causes of phenomena.

The explanation of the ninth resolve has thus been completed.

This was the ninth resolve from the Commentary to Entering the Middle Way.

In terms of the tenth resolve it was said:

Upon them on the tenth ground every buddha now bestows supreme
Empowerment, and through their wisdom they now reach supremacy.
Then from these victor’s heirs spontaneous rains of Dharma shower down,
Like torrents from the clouds, so beings’ crops of virtue may increase. (10.1)

The bodhisattvas on the tenth bodhisattva ground are empowered by the illustrious buddhas, as stated:

When ten incalculable meditative concentrations come to an end, a concentration called Empowered to be indistinguishable from the wisdom of omniscience develops for the bodhisattva. As soon as this happens, a giant jewel lotus the size of a million trichiliocosms inlaid with all kinds of precious jewels …, and surrounded by as many lotuses as there are minute particles in ten incalculable trichiliocosms. The bodhisattva then comes to rest, seated there in a body that corresponds. As soon as he attains this concentration and appears seated there …. From the circle of hair between the brows of all the illustrious buddhas who have gathered from all the buddha fields, light now streams forth to empower the bodhisattva.⁸

Their perfection of wisdom is fully purified, and a spontaneous rain of the true Dharma pours down as if from massive rain-clouds in order to make the harvests of the world’s virtue bountiful.

The explanation of the tenth resolve has thus been completed.

This was the tenth resolve from the Commentary to Entering the Middle Way.