THE SUTRA OF COMPLETE ENLIGHTENMENT 
Translated from the Chinese of Buddhatrata 
by Ven. Guo-go Bhikshu.

http://www.tranlich.com/phathoc/kinhviengiac.htm



Bodhisattva Manjusri 
 Please expound to the multitude who
 have come to this assembly
 the Tathagatas Dharma practice of the 
original-arising purity of the causal ground. 

Please also expound to us how bodhisattvas 
may initiate this state 
of pure mind within the Mahayana 
and leave all illness. w
ill not fall into erroneous views.”
how they can attain correct abiding
 and not fall into erroneous views. 

The original-arising purity of the causal 
ground of theTathagatas relies on the 
complete illumination of intrinsic enlightenment, 
which is pure in essence and permanently 
free from ignorance. 

“What is ignorance? Virtuous man, 
since beginningless time, all sentient 
beings have had all sorts of delusions, 
like a disoriented person who has 
lost his sense of direction. 

They mistake the four great elements  
as the attributes of their bodies, and 
the conditioned impressions  
of the six sense objects as the attributes 
of their minds. 

They are like a man with an illness of 
the eyes who sees an illusory 
flower in the sky, or a second moon.




Because of this false existence to which
 he clings, he remains in the turning 
wheel of birth and death. 
Hence this is called ignorance.


this ignorance has no real substance. 
It is like a person in a dream. Though the 
person exists in the dream, 
when the dreamer awakens, 
there is nothing that can be grasped.




This nonexistence of birth and death 
and body and mind is so not as a 
consequence of contrived effort.
 It is so by its intrinsic nature.

“The awareness of their nonexistence is like 
empty space. That which is aware of the 
empty space is like the appearance 
of the illusory flower. 

However, one cannot say that 
the nature of this awareness 
is nonexistent. Eliminating both
 existence and nonexistence 
is in accordance with pure enlightenment.


the nature of empty space is ever unmoving. 
 It is free from conceptual knowledge and views. 



Manjusri, you should know
that all Tathagatas,
from their original-arising causal ground,
use wisdom to enlighten
and penetrate ignorance.
Realizing that ignorance is like
a flower in the sky,

they are thus liberated from the continuance
of birth and death.
Like a person seen in a dream who
cannot be found when the dreamer awakens,
awareness is like empty space.
It is impartial and equal, and ever unmoving.

When enlightenment pervades all ten directions,
the Buddha Path is accomplished.
There is no place where illusions vanish,
and there is no attainment
in accomplishing the Buddha Path,



for the intrinsic nature is already wholly complete.
By this, bodhisattvas
can give rise to the bodhi-mind.
Sentient beings in the Dharma Ending Age
through this practice will avoid erroneous views.


Bodhisattva Samantabhadra 

if these sentient beings come to understand 
illusion, then body and mind are also illusory. 
How can they then use illusion to remedy
 illusion? 
 How could they be liberated from illusory conceptualization? 



you have asked about the expedient, 
gradual stages of the bodhisattva’s practice 
of the samadhi in which all is seen to be like an illusion, 
and which frees sentient beings from illusion. 








all illusory projections of sentient beings 
arise from the wondrous mind of 
the Tathagata’s Complete Enlightenment, 
just like flowers in the sky which 
come into existence from out of the sky. 
 

When the illusory flower vanishes,
 the nature of the sky is not marred. 
When all illusions are extinguished, 
the enlightened mind remains unmoved. 



the extinction of illusion is called 
the unmoving mind of enlightenment.
to know illusion is to depart from it; 
there is no need to contrive expedient means! 
To depart from illusion is to be enlightened; 
there are no gradual steps! 





Samantabhadra, you should know
that the beginningless illusory ignorance
of all sentient beings
is grounded on the Tathagata’s
mind of Complete Enlightenment.

Like a flower in empty space,
its appearance relies on the sky.
When the illusory flower vanishes,
the empty space remains in 
its original unmoving state.

Illusion depends on enlightenment for its arising.
With the extinction of illusion,
enlightenment is wholly perfect,
for the enlightened mind is ever unmoving.

All bodhisattvas and sentient beings
in the Dharma Ending Age
should forever leave illusions far behind
until all illusions are extinguished.

It is like producing fire with wood,
when the wood is burned out,
the fire is also extinguished.
Enlightenment has no gradual steps;
the same applies to expedient means.