Perfection of Wisdom in 18,000 lines' comments

In the Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines, Subhuti asks the Buddha, “If all dharmas are undifferentiated, how can we distinguish auspicious from inauspicious dharmas?” The Buddha answers, “In the past when I cultivated the bodhisattva path, I did not grasp any dharmas. In the same manner, remaining unattached to all dharmas, bodhisattvas practice the perfection of wisdom from the time they first give birth to the thought of enlightenment to when they finally realize unexcelled, perfect enlightenment. Exercising skill regarding the self-nature of all dharmas, they thereby attain enlightenment, teach other beings and create a buddhaland.” (72)

In the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, Ananda asks the Buddha why he only mentions the perfection of wisdom and not the other paramitas. The Buddha tells him, “Because the perfection of wisdom controls the other five perfections. Can charity be called perfect if it is not dedicated to omniscience? The same is true for the other perfections. Thus, the perfection of wisdom gets its name from its supreme excellence. The five perfections are thus contained in the perfection of wisdom, and the term ‘perfection of wisdom’ is just a synonym for the fulfillment of all six perfections.” (3)

After becoming proficient in this teaching, Subhuti later instructed others in prajna, and not only humans but also gods. At one point, he instructed Shakra and then asked the King of Gods to tell him what he had heard. When Shakra replied that Subhuti had said nothing and that he had heard nothing, Subhuti praised his understanding as constituting “true prajna.” In the Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines, Subhuti tells the gods, “In the perfection of wisdom not even a single word has been spoken. Since it has not been spoken, it cannot be heard. And since it has not been heard, it cannot be understood. For the perfection of wisdom is not to be found in words. Thus, it cannot be realized, heard, or explained. The enlightenment of the tathagatas does not reside in words.” (22)

In the Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines, Subhuti tells Shakra, “The Tathagata cannot be known except through the fact that in his nature he has no fixed residence, he cannot be apprehended except through Suchness. Without a fixed residence, Chief of Gods, are all dharmas.” (24) Later, in the same sutra, Subhuti also says, “As the Tathagata’s Suchness neither comes nor goes, so also that of Subhuti the Elder. For from the very beginning has Subhuti the Elder come to be born after the image of the Tathagata.” (48)