"Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra
Vajra Sutra (Diamond Sutra)

"
■ Detailed Exposition by Living Buddha Lian-Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-yen Lu
■ Translated into English by True Buddha School Vajra Sutra Translation Team
Seven—Nothing Gained, Nothing Spoken.
“Subhuti, what do you think? Does the Tathagata attain anuttara samyaksambodhi? Does the Tathagata speak on the dharma?”
Subhuti replied, “In my understanding of the meaning of the Buddha's teaching, there is no fixed dharma called anuttara samyaksambodhi, and there is no fixed dharma spoken by the Tathagata. Why? Because all teachings of the Tathagata cannot be held and cannot be spoken. They are not dharma, and they are not non-dharma. Therefore, all sages are distinguished by the unconditioned dharma.”
Are there any differences? Yes, there are differences among the bodhisattvas. The first ground bodhisattva is called the Ground of Joy, then there is the Ground of Radiant Intellect. The seventh ground bodhisattva is the Ground of Far Travel; the tenth ground bodhisattva is called the Ground of Dharma Cloud. There are different grounds of bodhisattvas, from the first to the tenth. The first ground bodhisattva, the second ground bodhisattva, the third ground bodhisattva, the fourth ground bodhisattva, the fifth ground bodhisattva, the sixth ground bodhisattva, the seventh ground bodhisattva, the eighth ground bodhisattva, the ninth ground bodhisattva, and the tenth ground of bodhisattva are differentiated by how far their unconditioned dharma is. This is how they are different. You are a bodhisattva of which ground?
Golden Mother told me to speak on it clearly. All sages are distinguished by the unconditioned dharma. Bodhisattvas have different grounds of attainments, so do in arhatship. They have different levels of attainment. I will talk about it later. The Vajra Sutra will also mention it. The arhat is the highest of arhatship. Arhatship has four levels: arhats living in samsara [stream-enterer], arhats with one more return before becoming arhats [once-returner], non-returning arhats in the non-returning heavens [non-returner] and the sagely arhats. Those are the four level of arhatship, and there are differences among them.
There are also differences among the buddhas. The Primordial Buddha is at the sixteenth ground, the Five Dhyani Buddhas are at the thirteenth ground. The Thousand-eyed Thousand-armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is also equivalent to a buddha and is at the eleventh ground. He has eleven faces with Amitabha Buddha's face at the highest, and he's also referred to as the Eleven-faced Avalokitesvara. He is a buddha of the eleventh ground. All sages are distinguished by the unconditioned dharma. Now, is this clear? [applause] This is my exposition on Chapter Seven—Nothing Gained, Nothing Spoken. What I expounded last night was not clear enough. Golden Mother told me to explain again so you understand.
Om mani padme hum.

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