SUTRA OF THE

E I G H T R E A L I ZAT I O N S
OF GREAT BEINGS

 Translated by the Chung Tai Translation Committee
May 2008
From the Chinese translation by
Shramana An Shi Gao, 2nd Century
Sutra annotations: May 2008
Prior English translations of the sutra by Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh
and others were used as references.
The Chung Tai Translation Committee comprises of Dharma Masters and lay
disciples and convenes regularly. To view or download other sutra translations by
CTTC, visit Dharma Gems on http://sunnyvale.ctzen.org. Comments and
suggestions may be sent to [email protected]
Namo Fundamental Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha

SUTRA OPENING GATHA

The Dharma, infinitely profound and subtle,

Is rarely encountered even in a million kalpas.
Now we are able to hear, study, and follow it,
May we fully realize the Tathagatas true meaning.

 The Eight Realization Sutra

S UTRA OF
THE E I GHT R EALI ZATIONS
OF G REAT B EI NGS

Day and night, at all times,

Buddhas disciples should
Mindfully recite and contemplate
The eight realizations of Great Beings.

The First Realization:

All the world is impermanent.
The earth is fragile and perilous.
The four great elements inhere in suffering and emptiness.
In the five skandhas there is no self.
All that arise, change, and perish,
Are illusive, unreal, and without a master.
Mind is the root of evil;
Body a reservoir of sin.
Thus observing and contemplating,
One gradually breaks free from birth and death.

The Second Realization:

Excessive desire is suffering.
Birth, death, and weariness in life
All originate from greed and desires.
Desiring less, being empty of effort,
Body and mind are at ease and free.

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 The Eight Realization Sutra

The Third Realization:

The mind is insatiable,
Always seeking, thirsty for more,
Thus increasing our sins.
Bodhisattvas renounce such conduct.
Always remember to follow the Way,
Be content and at peace with poverty,
With wisdom as the sole vocation.

The Fourth Realization:

Indolence leads to degradation.
Always practice with diligence,
Vanquish all vexations,
Subdue the four maras,
And escape the prison of the skandhas and realms.

The Fifth Realization:

Ignorance leads to birth and death.
Bodhisattvas are always mindful
To study and learn extensively,
To increase their wisdom
And perfect their eloquence,
So they can teach and enlighten all beings,
And impart great joy to all.

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 The Eight Realization Sutra

The Sixth Realization:

Poverty and hardship breed resentment,
Creating harm and discord.
Bodhisattvas practice dana,
Beholding the friendly and hostile equally;
They neither harbor grudges
Nor despise malicious people.

The Seventh Realization:

The five desires are perilous.
Even as laity, be not sullied by worldly pleasures;
Think frequently of the three robes,
The tiled bowl, and instruments of Dharma;
Aspire to the monastic life
And cultivate the Way with purity;
Let your actions be noble and sublime,
Showering compassion on all.

The Eighth Realization:

Birth and death are like a blazing fire
Plagued with endless afflictions and suffering.
Vow to cultivate the Mahayana mind,
To bring relief to all;
To take on infinite sufferings for sentient beings,
And lead all to supreme joy.

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 The Eight Realization Sutra

These are the eight realizations of Great Beings,

Buddhas, and bodhisattvas.
They practice the Way with diligence,
Develop compassion, and cultivate wisdom.
They sail the ship of dharmakaya
To the shore of nirvana,
Returning again to samsara
To liberate sentient beings.
With these eight principles,
They point out the Way,
So that all beings may awaken
To the sufferings of life and death,
Relinquish the five desires, and
Cultivate the mind on the noble path.
If Buddhas disciples recite these eight realizations,
In thought after thought,
They will eradicate countless sins,
Advance on the bodhi path,
Promptly attain enlightenment,
Be forever freed from birth and death,
And always abide in joy.

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 The Eight Realization Sutra Annotations

S UTRA 1 OF

T HE E IGHT R EALIZATIONS OF G REAT B EINGS 2

Day and night, at all times,

Buddhas disciples should
Mindfully3 recite and contemplate
The eight realizations4 of Great Beings.

The First Realization5 :

All the world is impermanent.
The earth is fragile and perilous.
The four great elements6 inhere in suffering7 and
emptiness8 .
In the five skandhas9 there is no self1 0 .
All that arise1 1 , change, and perish,
Are illusive, unreal, and without a master.
Mind is the root of evil1 2 ;
Body a reservoir of sin1 3 .
Thus observing and contemplating,
One gradually breaks free from birth and death1 4 .

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 The Eight Realization Sutra Annotations

1 sutra . A Buddhist scripture containing the dialogues or discourses of the

Buddha.
2 Great Beings. Highly enlightened beings; beings with great virtue and
deeds; bodhisattvas and buddhas.
3 mindfully. Sincerely, with great concentration; whole-heartedly.
4 eight realizations. What one must understand and strive to become a
Great Being such as the Buddha.

5 first realization. The foundation of the eight realizations; the teaching

of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and no-self.
6 four great elements . Earth (solid or dry matter), water (liquid or
wet matter), wind (air or motion), and fire (heat or energy). They
comprise all matter.
7 inhere in suffering. All worldly things are impermanent, and prone to
bring suffering.
8 emptiness
. Both the self and all phenomena are without
independent existence or inherent, fixed characteristics. They are
impermanent, mutable, and mutually dependent; their individuality is
in appearance only.
9 five skandhas . Five aggregatesform, feeling, conception,
volition, and consciousness ( ) . Form refers to our
body or the physical world, the other four are of the mind. Ordinary
beings see themselves as composed of these aggregates. When
we analyze them deeper, we find no real substance.
10 no self . Emptiness of an independent, consistent self or self-
identity. What we perceive as self is actually an illusive ego.
11 all that arise All composite things are conditional, always changing,
and perishable. One should see beyond their appearance. There is
not a master-controller.
12 root of evil. All harmful actions come from deluded thoughts.
13 reservoir of sin. The body is both an instrument of sin and the
outcome of past transgressions prone to suffering.
14 free from birth and death. To escape the endless rebirth cycle and
attain nirvana.

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 The Eight Realization Sutra Annotations

The Second Realization:

Excessive desire is suffering.
Birth, death1 5 , and weariness in life
All originate from greed and desires.
Desiring less, being empty of effort1 6 ,
Body and mind are at ease and free.

The Third Realization:

The mind is insatiable,
Always seeking, thirsty for more,
Thus increasing our sins1 7 .
Bodhisattvas1 8 renounce such conduct.
Always remember to follow the Way,
Be content and at peace with poverty1 9 ,
With wisdom as the sole vocation2 0 .

The Fourth Realization:

Indolence2 1 leads to degradation.
Always practice with diligence2 2 ,
Vanquish all vexations2 3 ,
Subdue the four maras2 4 ,
And escape the prison2 5 of the skandhas and realms.

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 The Eight Realization Sutra Annotations

15 birth, death. Where there is birth there is death, which is full of

suffering. The endless rebirth cycle, known as samsara, is a result of
desires arising from delusion.
16 empty of effort (wu-wei) . Free from contrived effort; free from
clinging and attachments; unconditioned; absolute. Being wu-wei
also means inner peace obtained by having no desires. Also
translated as unconditioned Dharma where appropriate.

17 sin. Misdeeds, actions that lead to harm and suffering.

18 bodhisattvas . One who, with infinite compassion, vows to
become a buddha and to liberate countless sentient beings. A
bodhisattva practices all six paramitas (perfections), but it is the
prajna paramita that ultimately brings true liberation. Bodhi:
enlightenment, to awaken. Sattva: sentient beings, beings with
consciousness.
19 at peace with poverty. The bodhisattva is not distressed by physical
hardship; true poverty is poverty of virtue, not material comfort.
20 wisdom as sole vocation. Wisdom means the understanding of the
truth. To acquire such wisdom is essential for the bodhisattva.

21 indolence. Sloth or laziness easily leads to moral misconducts.

22 practice with diligence. To attain the Way requires diligent effort.
23 Vexations.Klesas (pronounced kleshas) greed, anger, and
ignorance; causes of suffering; defilement of the mind; the chronic
mental states that vex the mind and distress the body.
24 four , 2.
maras. Maras are obstacles to cultivation. 1. Kleshas
skandhas , 3. death , and 4. deva-mara , the
celestial evil tempter.
25 prison. The skandhas and realms are like a prison. The realms refer
to the 18 spheres : six senses (eye, ear, etc.), six sense
objects (form, sound, etc.), and six consciousnesses .

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 The Eight Realization Sutra Annotations

The Fifth Realization:

Ignorance2 6 leads to birth and death.
Bodhisattvas are always mindful
To study and learn2 7 extensively,
To increase their wisdom
And perfect their eloquence2 8 ,
So they can teach and enlighten all beings,
And impart great joy to all.

The Sixth Realization:

Poverty and hardship2 9 breed resentment,
Creating harm and discord.
Bodhisattvas practice dana3 0 ,
Beholding the friendly and hostile equally3 1 ;
They neither harbor grudges
Nor despise malicious people.

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 The Eight Realization Sutra Annotations

26 ignorance. Ignorance of the true nature of the self and life. From
ignorance comes desires and hatred, which in turn lead to
samsara.
27 study and learn. Bodhisattvas need to learn many ways of liberation
in order to help wide groups of people.
28 eloquence. Ability to convey the teaching well and to answer
difficult questions.

29 poverty and hardship. Easily lead to resentment, which in turn may

produce otherwise undue and uncalled-for bad karma with many
people.
30 dana (
()
).Charity. The first of the six paramitas (perfections)
practiced by a bodhisattva. There are 3 types of generosity: giving
of material, giving of solace (comfort, protection, removal of fear,
etc.), and giving of Dharma.
31 equally. Bodhisattva understands all beings are fundamentally equal;
they have no hatred towards evil or malicious people.

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 The Eight Realization Sutra Annotations

The Seventh Realization:

The five desires3 2 are perilous.
Even as laity, be not sullied by worldly pleasures;
Think frequently of the three robes3 3 ,
The tiled bowl3 4 , and instruments3 5 of Dharma;
Aspire to the monastic life
And cultivate the Way with purity;
Let your actions be noble and sublime,
Showering compassion on all.

The Eighth Realization:

Birth and death are like a blazing fire
Plagued with endless afflictions and suffering.
Vow to cultivate the Mahayana3 6 mind,
To bring relief to all;
To take on infinite sufferings3 7 for sentient beings3 8 ,
And lead all to supreme joy3 9 .

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 The Eight Realization Sutra Annotations

32 five desires. Desire for sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch.
Alternatively, desire for wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep. They
are harmful, not pleasurable.
33 three robes. Traditionally Buddhist monks wear only three robes.
34 tiled bowl. Monks begging bowl can be tiled or metal.
35 instruments. Implements that are used in Buddhist services or daily life
of a Buddhist monk.
These three are symbols of monastic life.

36 Mahayana . The great (maha) vehicle (yana). It is the bodhisattva path

which leads to Buddhahood. This involves devotion to the
liberation of all beings and the perfection of wisdom. Mahayana
mind: the bodhi mind, the enlightened mind, the buddha nature
within all of us. To cultivate the Mahayana mind means to commit
to the buddha path.
37 take on sufferings. A bodhisattva is willing to self-sacrifice for others.
But a true sacrifice is to eliminate the ego and help others to
eliminate the ego and attain enlightenment.
38 sentient beings. All living beings with sentience; beings that have
awareness. They include devas (gods or heavenly beings ) ,
asuras (demi-gods ) , human beings, animals, hungry-
ghosts, and hell-beings. Unlike buddhas and bodhisattvas, they are
all trapped in samsara, but have the potential to become
buddhas.
39 supreme joy. The joy of perfect enlightenment; the joy of nirvana.

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 The Eight Realization Sutra Annotations

These are the eight realizations of Great Beings,

Buddhas4 0 , and bodhisattvas.
They practice the Way with diligence,
Develop compassion, and cultivate wisdom.
They sail the ship of dharmakaya4 1
To the shore of nirvana4 2 ,
Returning again to samsara4 3
To liberate sentient beings.

With these eight principles, they point out the Way,

So that all beings may awaken
To the sufferings of life and death,
Relinquish the five desires, and
Cultivate the mind on the noble path.
If Buddhas disciples recite these eight realizations,
In thought after thought4 4 ,
They will eradicate countless sins,
Advance on the bodhi path4 5 ,
Promptly attain enlightenment,
Be forever freed from birth and death,
And always abide in joy.

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 The Eight Realization Sutra Annotations

40 buddhas. The enlightened one. There are many buddhas in the

past, present, and future; all sentient beings can become buddhas
by practicing prajna paramita.
41 dharmakaya . The Buddha has three bodies (kaya): dharma-
kaya, the truth body, which is formless, unborn, our original nature;
sambhogha-kya , the bliss body, which can only be seen by
great bodhisattvas; and nirmana-kaya , the transformation
body, which is the historical Buddha seen by ordinary beings.
42 nirvana . The state free from all desires and suffering; ultimate
bliss and tranquility.
43 samsara
. The relentless cycle of birth and death in which
unenlightened beings are deeply entangled. By extension it means
this world of afflictions and suffering.
44 thought after thought. One deviant thought can lead to grave peril;
one pure thought can eliminate great sin.
45 bodhi path . The path to awakening, to becoming a0ddha.
Therein lies lasting joy.

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 T HREE R EFUGES

I take refuge in the Buddha, may all sentient beings
Understand the Great Way profoundly,
And bring forth the bodhi mind.

I take refuge in the Dharma, may all sentient beings

Deeply enter the sutra treasury,
And have wisdom vast as the sea.

I take refuge in the Sangha, may all sentient beings

Form together a great assembly,
One and all in harmony.

F OUR G REAT VOWS

Countless are sentient beings, I vow to liberate;
Endless are afflictions, I vow to eradicate;
Measureless are the Dharmas, I vow to master;
Supreme is the Buddha Way, I vow to attain.

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 R EPENTANCE

All the harm I have ever done, since time immemorial,
Are caused by greed, anger, and ignorance,
And produced through my body, speech, and will,
Now I confess and amend all.

D EDICATION OF M ERITS

May the merits of our deeds
Reach every part of the world;
Sentient beings large and small
All attain enlightenment.
Maha-Prajna-Paramita

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