“Also,
next, oh good man! The holy actions of the Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas are what
they do in observing the body from head to foot, including: hair, nails, teeth,
impurities, dirt, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, spleen, kidneys, heart, lungs,
liver, intestine and stomach, that is, stomach and large intestines, feces,
urine, spittle, tears, fat, membrane, marrow, pus, blood, skull, and all the veins.
When the Bodhisattva thus observes things, who [here] can be the Self, or to
whom can the Self belong? Where does it live and who can belong to the Self?
Also, he thinks: 'Is the bone the Self? Or is the Self everything except the
bone?’ The Bodhisattva then meditates, and excludes the skin and flesh. What he
sees is white bone. He thinks: 'the color of bone is varied: blue, yellow,
white, gray’. Thus, what the bone displays is not the 'I' (for not being one).
Why not? Because the Self is not blue, yellow, white or gray. As the
Bodhisattva meditates thus, with full mind, it is away from all desires for
what is physical. Also, he thinks: 'Such bone comes about from causal
relations. The bone of the foot supports the ankle bone, the ankle bone support
bone calf bone, the calf bone supports the knee bone, the knee bone supports
the thigh bone, the thigh bone supports the rump bone, the rump bone supports
the loin bone, the loin bone supports the backbone, the backbone bone supports
the rib bones. Also, the backbone supports the nape bone, the nape bone
supports the jawbone, the jawbone supports the canine and other teeth. And
above that there is the skull. Also, the bone of the nape supports the scapula,
the scapula supports upper arm bone, the upper arm bone supports the lower arm
bone, the lower arm bone supports the wrist bone, the wrist bone supports the
finger bone’. When the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva thus meditates, all the bones of
the body are separated. Having thus meditated, the Bodhisattva eradicates the
three desires: for facial form, for bodily form, and for minor touches.
When the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva thus meditates on the blue bones, he sees the earth
look all blue to the east, west, south, north, up and down, and the four
intermediate directions. As with the color blue, the same applies to the
meditations on the colors of yellow, white and gray. When the
Bodhisattva-Mahasattva thus meditates, his forehead emits radiance (frequency)
of the colors blue, yellow, white and gray. The Bodhisattva sees in each of the
lights the form of the Buddha. Having seen the Buddha, he asks: 'Something such
as this body of mine comes about from a combination of impurities. How could we
sit and stand, walk and stop, bend and look up, see and wink, pant and breathe,
grieve and weep, laugh and be happy? There is nothing to rule the body. What causes
things to be thus’? As he thinks so, all the figures of the Buddha disappear
from the lights. He also thinks: ‘Or consciousness might be my Self. That is
why the Buddhas will not speak to me’. Again, as he meditates on consciousness,
he sees that things gradually disappear, as in the case of running water. So,
this is not one’s Self. Also, he thinks: 'Now, this in-and-out breathing from
me is nothing more than the nature of the wind. The nature of the wind is
nothing more than one of the four great elements. Which of the four great
elements can be my Self? The natures of water, fire, earth and wind, too, are
not my Self'. Also, he thinks: 'In my body, there is nothing that could be
called Self. Only the causal relations of the wind of mind join things together
and there are many functions and things. For example, this is like in the case
of charms and tricks (magic), or the sound of the harp that comes out following
the wind of the mind of the one who plays. Thus is this body impure. Many causal
relations join together and things go thus. For what we could have greed? If
anyone bears ill-speaking, how could there arise anger? It seems that the 36
things [i.e., the 36 defilements that a human body possesses] of my body are
nothing but impurity and defilement. Where can there be one who has to bear
ill-speaking? When one is speaking ill of (other), one may well think: who is
the voice that thus speaks ill of [me]? This voice should not be the only one
who speaks ill of [me]. If one person does not speak ill, the same applies to
many voices. For this reason, one should not get angry’. When other persons
come and beat us, one should think: 'From where comes this beating’? Also, one
might think: 'When the hands, the sword or the staff come into contact with our
body, we say that we are beaten. How we could infuriate so much the others? This shows that I by myself
have invited the offense of my own will. This comes from the fact that I have
this body of the five skandhas. This is as in the case of a target which an
arrow can hit, and there comes about hitting. The same is the case with my
body. As I have a body, there is [the possibility of] a beating. If I do not
bear, my mind will disintegrate. If my mind become scattered, I shall lose my
right mind. If I lose my right mind, I may not be able to see what is good and
what is not. If I cannot distinguish between good and evil in a thing, I shall do
evil. The evil done will lead to the realms of hell, animality and the hungry
ghosts'.
The Bodhisattva-Mahasattva, having done this meditation, attains the four
remembrances. As he gains the four remembrances, he can now live in the forbearance
soil ['bhumi']. As the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva attains this state, he overcomes
greed, anger and ignorance; and also, he is able to withstand cold, heat,
hunger, thirst, mosquitoes, flies, fleas, lice, storms, impure meals, disease,
plagues, ill-speaking, abuse, beatings and injuries from thorns. He will
overcome all the pains and worries of the body. That is why we say that he
lives in the forbearance soil."
Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 19 - On Holy Actions 1.
