The True Aspect of Original Karma

“Also, next, oh good man! For example, by the full moon, everything appears. In all places such as towns, hamlets, mountains, swamps, under water, lakes, wells or ponds, and in water containers, the moon manifests itself. Beings may travel a hundred or a hundred thousand yojanas, and the moon always follows them. Common mortals and the ignorant mistakenly think and say: 'I see it all in the castle town, in the house, and here in the swampy ground. Is it the true moon, or not is the true?' Each person thinks about the size of the moon and says: 'It is like the mouth of a kettle’. Or a person says: 'It's like a wheel’. Or someone might say: 'It's somewhere around 45 yojanas’. Everyone sees the light of the moon. Some see it as round as a golden basin. The nature of this moon is just one in itself, but different beings see it in different ways. Oh good man! The same is the case regarding to the Tathagata. He appears in the world. Humans and gods might think: 'The Tathagata is now before us and lives’. The deaf and dumb see the Tathagata as one deaf and dumb. There are several languages ​​which beings speak. Each one thinks that the Tathagata speaks as he or she speaks, or thinks: ‘At my house, the Tathagata received offerings’. Or a person might see the size of the Tathagata as being too large and immeasurable; or someone might see it as too small; or a person might mistake it for a Sravaka or a Pratyekabuddha; or various Tirthikas might think and say: 'The Tathagata is now in my line of thought [following my train of thought] and is practicing the Way’; or a person might think: 'The Tathagata has appeared only for me’. The true nature of the Tathagata is like that of the moon. This means that it is the Dharma-Body, the Body of the non-birth, or that of expediency. He responds to the call of the world, with its myriad manifestations. The Original Karma manifests itself in accordance with the different localities. This is as in the case of the moon. For this reason, the Tathagata is eternal and unchanging.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 15 - On the Parable of the Moon.

The Unique Taste of the Three Treasures

Then, the Buddha said to Kasyapa: "Oh good man! Do not see the Three Treasures as all the Sravakas and common mortals do. In this Mahayana, there is no distinction between the Three Treasures. Why not? The Buddha-Nature contains within it the Dharma and the Sangha. To teach Sravakas and common mortals, is resorted to discrimination and the three different aspects are spoken about the Three Treasures. Following the way of the world, the distinction is preached regarding the Three Treasures. Oh good man! The Bodhisattva will think: 'This ‘I’ now takes refuge in the Buddha. If this ‘I’ attains Enlightenment and Buddhahood, I shall not respect, worship or make offerings to all the Buddhas. Why not? Because all Buddhas are all-equal. They are taken as a refuge for all beings. If one desires to pay respect to the Dharma-Body and the sharira [relics], one should also pay respect to the stupas of all the Buddhas. Why? To guide all beings. This also makes beings conceive a thought of the stupa in me, to make them worship and make offerings. Such beings will make of my Dharma-Body the place wherein they take refuge. All beings are rooted in what is not true and what is false. I shall now reveal, step by step, the true Dharma. If there are people who take refuge in Monks who are not of the right caliber, I shall become the true refuge for them. If there are those who see the Three Refuges as distinct, I shall become a unique place wherein they can take refuge. Therefore, there can be no any distinction between the Three Refuges. For one born blind, I shall be your eyes, and to Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas, I shall become the true refuge '.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 12 - On the Nature of the Tathagata.

Wisdom and Consciousness

“We say that we rely on Wisdom and not on consciousness. Wisdom is an allusion to the Tathagata. If any Sravaka does not well understand the virtues of the Tathagata, such a consciousness is not to be followed. If he knows that the Tathagata is the Dharma-Body, such true Wisdom can indeed be followed. If a person sees the expedient body of the Tathagata and says that it belongs to the five skandhas, to the eighteen realms [i.e., the six sense organs, the six sense-fields and the six consciousnesses], to the twelve balls [the six sense organs and the six sense-fields], and that it arises from feeding, such things should not be followed. This means that even consciousness is not to be followed. If a sutra says such a thing, it cannot be followed.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 8 - On the Four Dependables.

Steps to Peace and Happiness of Beings

“This body of mine is the Dharma-Body. Following the ways of the world, I manifest myself in a motherly womb. Oh, good man! In this Jambudvipa, in the gardens of Lumbini, I manifested as born from the womb of Mother Maya. After birth, I took seven steps to the east and proclaimed: 'I am the most Honored and Supreme among all humans, devas and asuras’. My parents, humans and devas, witnessing this, were joyful beyond words and wonderstruck. All those people said that I was a child. But, there are innumerable kalpas past, I had segregated myself from any such things. A body such as this is the Dharma-Body, and not one born of flesh, blood, sinews, bones and marrow. Following the ways of the world, I appeared as a child. I took seven steps to the south and proclaimed that I would become the Supreme Field of Weal for the sake of countless beings. Taking seven steps to the west, I indicated that life was now ended (extinct), that I would part from old age and death, and that this was the last of my bodies. Taking seven steps to the north, I manifested that I would cross all the seas of birth and death of all existences. Taking seven steps to the east, I revealed that I would become the guide for all beings. Taking seven steps to the four corners, I revealed that I would cut off the roots of various illusions and natures of the four Maras (evil), becoming the Tathagata, the Alms-deserving, the All-Enlightened One. Taking seven steps to heaven, I proclaimed that I would never be tainted by impurities. Taking seven steps downward, I proclaimed that the rain of Dharma would extinguish the fires of hell, such that the beings born there would be blessed with peace and happiness.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 7 - On the Four Aspects.