Samdhinirmocana-sutra

Chapter IIAt that time the Bodhisattva Suvisuddhimati addressed theBuddha and said: "Wonderful it is, World-honored One, that I havebeen able to hear these words of yours. It is just as you have said,for the marks of the truth of ultimate meaning, being subtle andprofound, can be characterized as neither identical with nordifferent from all things. They are indeed difficult to fathom. 9World-honored One, I once saw an assembly of bodhisattvas gatheredtogether and seated. They were in the stage of fully cultivatingtheir commitment, and were all considering the descriptivemarks of the truth of ultimate meaning, whether they were identicalwith or different from the descriptive marks of conditionedstates of being. Some of these bodhisattvas said that there was nodifference between the marks of the truth of ultimate meaningand the marks of conditioned states of being. Others said that itwas not true that there was no difference between the marks ofthe truth of ultimate meaning and the marks of conditioned statesof being, but that the marks of the truth of ultimate meaning dodiffer from the marks of conditioned states of being. Yet otherbodhisattvas, in doubt and perplexed, said: 'Which bodhisattvasare speaking truth and which falsity? Which are reasoning intelligentlyand which not intelligently?' But, whether they declaredthat the marks of ultimate meaning did not differ from the marksof conditioned states of being, or that the marks of ultimate meaningdid differ from the marks of conditioned states of being, I, WorldhonoredOne, thought to myself that all these good sons were foolishand slow-witted. They did not have insight, and, behaving poorly,did not reason intelligently in regard to the subtlety and profundityof the truth of ultimate meaning, for it transcends being characterizedas either identical with or different from conditionedstates of being and cannot be so understood."Then the World-honored One addressed the BodhisattvaSuvisuddhimati and said: "Good son, it is just as you have expressedit. All those good sons were indeed foolish and slow-witted. Theydid not have insight, and, behaving poorly, did not reason intelligentlyin regard to the subtlety and profundity of the truth of690b17