Gileht - Pajna8k-C9

Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra 8K
Chapter 9 - Praise

(Praising without praising, describing without describing the inconceivable true nature of reality as it is as the Union of Purity / Buddha-nature and Emptiness / Perfection of Wisdom [U2T], beyond all conditioned dualistic conceptual proliferation, beyond all conventional truths, methods, goals, concepts, triads, dualities, extremes, without rejecting them. Reality is beyond describable and indescribable, conceivable and inconceivable. The path is not about rejecting all thinking, feeling, words, concepts, descriptions, theories, teachings, actions; but about awareness of their limits while using without using them. Enlightenment is not an effort in accepting this while rejecting that, but a spontaneous revelation of the already present true nature of reality as it is (tathātā, suchness) as pointed out by the Union of the Two Truths about all phenomena, pure or impure, gross or very subtle.)

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Chapter IX - Praise

“In the luminous folds of Chapter IX, where praise rises like incense from the altar of emptiness, the Perfection of Wisdom is exalted not as a distant jewel but as the silent heartbeat of all phenomena (the true nature of reality as pointed out by the Union of the Two Truths [U2T] — pure, unnamed, and boundless, weaving threads of merit through the veils of illusion. Here, words cascade in paradoxical harmony, celebrating a wisdom that turns no wheel yet illuminates every path, inviting the seeker to linger in its unstained embrace, where defilements dissolve into dreamlike echoes, and the soul awakens to the infinite modes of liberation, whispering promises of freedom without grasp or gain.”

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Introduction

Chapter IX of the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines, aptly titled "Praise," serves as a profound exaltation of the Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) itself, weaving together dialogues and declarations that illuminate its ultimate nature as perfectly pure (Buddha-nature), empty of inherent existence [T2], and beyond all conceptual dualities [Uopp], while simultaneously highlighting its practical effects, protective qualities, and role in the Dharma's transmission [T1] [U2T].

Through the exchanges between Subhuti and the Lord (Buddha), the chapter underscores that this wisdom is not a graspable entity or mere name but an inexpressible reality [U2T[ synonymous with the emptiness [T2] ⇐⇒ and interdependence [T1] of all dharmas (phenomena), unborn, unconditioned, and free from production, defilement, or cessation (no inherent origination/coming, duration/change, cessation/going) — much like space or an echo [Illusory].

It praises the Prajnaparamita for its liberating power, generating immense merit and divine protection for practitioners despite provoking obstacles due to its preciousness,
and positions it as the essence of the "second turning of the wheel of Dharma," [T1] ⇐⇒ though ultimately beyond any turning, demonstration, or attachment [T2] [U2T]. (i.e. turning without turning)

The chapter culminates in an extensive litany of its modes and qualities (i.e. describing without describing), employing paradoxical language (e.g., inexhaustible yet without genesis, unattached yet encompassing all virtues) to affirm its non-dual union of emptiness [T2] ⇐⇒ and relative functionality [T1] [U2T], inviting Bodhisattvas to abide in it conventionally without attachment, reification, effort or absolute (i.e. abiding without abiding), as the gateway to all-knowing awareness that transcends extremes (conventional truths without rejecting them) and reveals the luminous Suchness (tathatā).

The Three Doors of liberation:

In Mahayana Buddhism, particularly as expounded in the Prajnaparamita Sutras like the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and Eighteen Thousand Lines, the three doors of liberation — emptiness (shunyata), signlessness (animitta), and wishlessness (apranihita) — serve as profound meditative stabilizations or gateways to ultimate freedom from suffering and delusion.

These "three liberations" are meditative insights that penetrate the true nature of all phenomena (dharmas), revealing them as free of inherent existence, conditioned dualistic conceptual proliferations, conventional truths, and conditioned aspirations – not accepting, not rejecting them. Using them conventionally without using them in absolute terms, without attachment, reification, effort or absolute [U2T-in-action].

They are not mere philosophical abstractions but practical concentrations that Bodhisattvas cultivate to dissolve clinging — to self, path, and result — (or attachment to the three spheres: subject/actor, relation/action, and object/result) leading to non-dual awareness and complete enlightenment.

As taught by the Buddha to Subhuti in these texts, all wholesome dharmas are encompassed within these doors, emphasizing that liberation arises from analytically understanding dharmas' emptiness of own-marks, absence of causal signs, and lack of occasioning anything, transcending (without rejecting) discriminative thinking and fostering effortless compassion.

- - Emptiness (shunyata), the first door, is the meditative stabilization that recognizes all dharmas as devoid of inherent, independent existence or "own-mark" (svabhava) — they are empty of a permanent, separate self, arising interdependently without a fixed essence. This insight counters eternalism and substantialism, showing that phenomena like the skandhas (aggregates) are neither permanent nor impermanent, bound nor freed, but primordially pure and unproduced. In practice, contemplating emptiness liberates from attachment to a "self" or "mine," revealing universal interconnection: everything contains the cosmos yet is empty of isolation, dissolving fear, anger, and despair by affirming that nothing truly arises / comes or ceases / goes in an absolute sense.
  - Signlessness (animitta), the second door, involves meditating on the emptiness of signs, characteristics, or marks in all dharmas (without completely rejecting them) — they lack definitive causal signs or outer appearances that deceive us into perceiving them as fixed entities. This gateway frees practitioners from delusion caused by clinging to forms or labels, as phenomena are impermanent and ever-transforming, like a cloud becoming rain without dying. In the sutras, it is the stability of mind that understands dharmas without causal indicators, transcending birth and death by looking beyond superficial signs to their dynamic, unmarked reality.
  - Wishlessness (apranihita), also translated as aimlessness or desirelessness, is the third door, a meditative insight into dharmas' lack of conditioning, aspiration, or occasioning — nothing is wished for or pursued in absolute terms (just conventionally), as all is already complete and unconditioned, free from volitional formations that perpetuate suffering. This liberation uproots craving and intention toward phenomena, viewing them as neither arising nor ceasing, without inclination or expectancy. In Mahayana practice, it manifests as non-striving: the Bodhisattva acts conventionally with compassion [T1] without attachment, reification, effort or absolute [T2] about anything, including the three spheres – subject, action, object / outcome – of the activity, and any dualities involved [U2T-in-action].
  - Collectively, these three doors interpenetrate, forming the Great Vehicle's core:
    (i.e. Union of the three doors; Union of View, Path and Fruition)
    – emptiness addresses the basis/view (no inherent self),
    – signlessness the path (no inherent characteristics), and
    – wishlessness the result/fruition (no inherent aspiration, result or goal),
    guiding practitioners to non-conceptual wisdom where
    all dharmas are embraced conventionally [T1]
    ⇐⇒ without grasping them in absolute terms [T2] [U2T].
    In the Prajnaparamita context, they neither proceed / increase nor recede / decrease, demonstrating all phenomena without demonstration, leading to the perfection of cognition that knows without knowing, without attachment, reification, effort or absolute, and ultimate liberation as the natural state of purity and interconnection (Buddha-nature).
  - (i.e. All dharmas are primordially interconnected / interdependent / co-defined / co-evolving / co-imputed, empty of inherent existence / never absolute, like illusions, reflections / mirages, dreams, 'there, yet not there', equal, pure, perfect, complete, divine, one; unborn, unconditioned, unchanging, unceasing; indescribable / inconceivable, beyond all conditioned dualistic conceptual proliferation, beyond extremes like: pure/perfect/free, impure/imperfect/bound, both, or neither; different, identical, both, or neither; separate, united, both, or neither; dual, non-dual, both, or neither; many, one, both, or neither; dependent, independent, both, or neither; appearance, emptiness, both, or neither, attachment, non-attachment, both, or neither; movement, stillness, both, or neither; words, silence, both, or neither; coming/abiding/going, not-coming/not-abiding/not-going, both, or neither; 'this', 'non-this', both, or neither, for whatever 'this' is. Pointed out by the Middle Way and the Unions: Union of the Two Truths [U2T], Union of the three spheres [U3S / U2T-3S], Union of opposites [Uopp / U2T-opp], Union of the Ground and its manifestations [UGM / U2T-GM], Union of the three kayas [U3K / U2T-3K], Union of compassion and wisdom, Union of Buddha-nature (refuting complete non-existence and acceptation) and Emptiness (refuting inherent existence and rejection). Consequences: "Acting without acting", acting conventionally without acting in absolute terms, without attachment / rejection (even the subtle ones), reification, effort / non-effort or absolute, more in accord with the Middle Way — "not accepting, not rejecting" —, more in accord with reality as it is, more in accord with how a Buddha would act, how all dharmas really act. "Transcending without rejecting" all conventional truths, all dualities / triads, all extremes. All dharmas are Buddhas (indivisible reality as it is) continually teaching the true nature of reality as it is to those imagining their separation, opposition and imperfection.)

Section 1. Perfection-of-Wisdom Perfectly Pure – Teaching without teaching the Perfection of Wisdom, without attachment, reification, effort or absolute, because it is perfectly pure like the 5-aggregates are primordially interconnected, unborn, unconditioned, unchanging, unceasing, equal, pure, perfect, complete, divine… ⇐⇒ because they are empty of inherent existence ⇐⇒ because they are dependently co-arisen, interdependent, co-defined, co-evolving, co-imputed. Indescriptible, inconceivable; no word, mark, sign, expression can capture it, still it is relatively helpful. i.e. Its emptiness doesn’t mean complete non-existence, non-functionality, or uselessness. The truth of emptiness is inseparable from the truth of purity about all dharmas (Buddha-nature). On truth implies the other [U2T].

(Summary 1: In Section 1 of Chapter IX, Subhuti initiates the praise by acknowledging that labeling the "Perfection of Wisdom" is merely nominal — a name that corresponds to nothing graspable or attainable, as it is an inexpressible reality beyond duality.
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He questions why Maitreya, the future Buddha, will preach this same wisdom at the same earthly spot in identical words upon his enlightenment.
The Lord responds that Maitreya's teaching will dissolve obscurations by revealing the skandhas (aggregates) as neither permanent nor impermanent, neither bound nor freed, but absolutely pure.
This purity stems from their non-production, non-cessation, non-defilement, and non-purification, likening the Perfection of Wisdom to space — stainless, unutterable, and without basis for apprehension.
Subhuti affirms its perfect purity, and the Lord elaborates that it is uncovered by any dharma, whether stained (impure) or stainless (pure), emphasizing its transcendent, isolated nature free from all conceptual coverings.
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The core message here is the radical non-reification of the Perfection of Wisdom: it is not an entity to be found, named, or divided from words or concepts, but an ultimate purity that mirrors the empty [T2] ⇐⇒ yet interdependent essence of all phenomena [T1] [U2T].
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This teaching counters attachment to wisdom (or emptiness) as a "thing," instead portraying it as the dissolution of dualistic views (of conventional truths, without rejecting them), where purity is not an added quality but the inherent, unobscured state of reality (Buddha-nature). (i.e. Not pure, not impure, not both, not neither; so we say ‘pure’ as an antidote to our usual position: ‘impure’.)
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Deeply, it integrates Madhyamaka insights with Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature) elements, showing emptiness [T2] ⇐⇒ as inseparable from luminosity and purity [T1] [U2T], showing emptiness [T2] ⇐⇒ as inseparable from luminosity and purity [T1] [U2T] — the Union of the Two Truths (conventional appearances and ultimate emptiness) — where describing it relatively helps [T1] ⇐⇒ without capturing its inconceivable essence [T2] [U2T], preventing nihilism by affirming its functional, liberating role despite being beyond existence or non-existence [U2T / Uopp].)

TEXT: Subhuti: To call this 'Perfection-of-Wisdom,' O Lord, is merely giving this a name.
And what this name corresponds to cannot be got at.
One speaks of a 'name' with reference to any merely nominal entity.
Even Perfection of Wisdom cannot be found or got at.
In so far as this is a word, in so far is this Perfection-of-Wisdom;
in so far as this is the Perfection-of-Wisdom, in so far is this a word.
No duality of dharmas between these two can either be found or got at.
For what reason does Maitreya, the Bodhisattva, the great being, as he wins the supreme enlightenment, preach just this very same Perfection of Wisdom at this very spot of earth in just these same words?

The Lord: The reason is Maitreya will give cause to this fading away of any and all obscurations to his understanding, fully enlightened, the fact these skandhas are neither permanent nor impermanent, for such are neither bound nor freed, as these are absolutely pure.

Subhuti: Perfectly pure indeed is Perfection of Wisdom.

The Lord: The Perfection-of-Wisdom is perfectly pure as any and all skandhas are pure, and so, do to non-production are perfectly pure, their non-stopping, their non-defilement and their non-purification.
This is pure as space is pure and skandhas are stainless, and any defiling forces cannot in truth take hold of such as these.
The Perfection-of-Wisdom is perfectly pure for, like space or an echo, such is unutterable, incommunicable, and offers no basis for apprehension.

Such is perfectly pure as being not covered by any dharma, either stained (impure) or stainless (pure).

Section 2. Effects of the Perfection-of-Wisdom – Abiding/coursing without abiding/coursing in the Perfection of Wisdom, without attachment, reification, effort or absolute. It is relatively useful; but because it is so precious, it generates many obstacles … It is inconceivable like the true nature of all phenomena.

(Summary 2: Section 2 shifts to the practical and meritorious effects of engaging with the Perfection of Wisdom, where Subhuti extols the great gain for those who even hear it, and exponentially more for those who take it up, study, spread, and master it.
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– Benefits include freedom from physical diseases and mental stupefaction, avoidance of violent death, and the protective presence of thousands of gods.
– Teaching it on auspicious days like the eighth, fourteenth, or fifteenth generates immense merit.
– The Lord confirms this, noting gods follow and protect the preacher, drawn by the wisdom's preciousness in worlds of gods, beings, and asuras, yielding unparalleled merit.
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However, its value provokes obstacles — hostility and hindrances to its dissemination — precisely because it reveals dharmas as neither produced nor destroyed, defiled nor purified, benefiting all worlds without clinging, defiling, or grasping any dharma.
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The Lord further describes the Perfection of Wisdom as unstained due to non-apprehension, equating freedom from stains with the skandhas' innate purity (Buddha-nature of all dharmas), and
advises Bodhisattvas to course in it without perceiving even this purity, as it transcends perception and concepts. It neither enters, reveals, defines, brings in, nor carries away any dharma, maintaining its non-interfering essence.
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At its core, this section balances the abstract purity of wisdom ⇐⇒ with its tangible, protective effects, illustrating how engagement fosters health, merit, and divine guardianship while warning of opposition from Mara-like forces, reflecting the preciousness that invites both reverence and resistance.
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Deeply, it embodies the Middle Way and the Union of the Two Truths: wisdom is relatively useful for generating positive outcomes [T1] ⇐⇒ without attachment, reification, effort or absolute, its emptiness ensuring no stain or reification [T2] ⇐⇒ yet its inconceivable nature makes it a supreme antidote to saṃsāra [T1], liberating through non-grasping practice that reveals all dharmas as ungraspable, functional illusions.)

TEXT: Subhuti: It is indeed a great gain to these sons and daughters of good family such as these even come to hear of such Perfection of Wisdom.
How much greater the gain as these take up, bear in mind, recite, study, spread, teach, explain and master this.
– Their eyes, ears, nose, tongues and bodies come to be free from disease, and their minds free from stupefaction. These do not die any violent death.
– Many thousands of Gods follow closely behind.
– Whenever, on the eight, fourteenth and fifteenth day, one talks Dharma, any son or daughter of good family teaches Perfection of Wisdom, so here as well one begets a great deal of merit.

The Lord: So it is, Subhuti.
– Many thousands of Gods, Subhuti, follow closely behind this son or daughter of good family,
– and many thousands of Gods come to this place as the Perfection-of-Wisdom is being elucidated and revealed.
– Desirous of hearing Dharma, these, all of these, protect any preacher of Dharma who teaches Perfection of Wisdom to any with right intentions and the propensity to listen and learn.
– For the Perfection-of-Wisdom is most precious in the world with its Gods, beings and Asuras.
– This also is a reason why such a person begets a different type of merit than any which might be considered as great merit.

On the other hand, here also are many obstacles to this deep Perfection of Wisdom being written, taken up, borne in mind, recited, studied, spread, developed, explained and repeated.
– For very precious things provoke much hostility.
– The more excellent such teachings are, the more violent the hostility.
– But this is most precious in entire world systems, this Perfection of Wisdom which is being undertaken for the benefit and happiness of these worlds by showing all dharmas as being neither produced nor destroyed, neither defiled nor purified.

And the Perfection-of-Wisdom does not cling to any dharma, nor defile any dharma, nor take hold of any dharma.
– Any and all dharmas neither exist nor are any got at.
– As it is not apprehended Perfection of Wisdom is without any stain.
– 'To be free from stains,' is the same thing as the Perfection-of-Wisdom and it is the same thing such as skandhas are free from stains as the Perfection-of-Wisdom is without any stain.
– A Bodhisattva courses/abides in the Perfection-of-Wisdom if one does not perceive even this, for beyond perception and concepts is the Perfection-of-Wisdom.
– Moreover, this Perfection of Wisdom neither enters nor places anything like 'itself' into any dharma, neither reveals nor defines any dharma, and neither brings in any dharma nor carries one away.

Section 3. The Second Turning of the Wheel of Dharma – This is turning without turning the Wheel of Dharma, without attachment, reification, effort or absolute. The Perfection of Wisdom is acting without acting, perceiving without perceiving, knowing without knowing, practicing without practicing, teaching without teaching, demonstrating without demonstrating, liberating without liberating, awakening without awakening…, without attachment, reification, effort or absolute about the three spheres of the activity (subject/actor, relation/action, object/result), nor completely rejecting them as if non-existent, non-functional, useless. This is the Middle Way free from all extremes and middle, where all dharmas are dependently co-arisen relatively functional appearances [T1] ⇐⇒ thus empty of inherent existence, never absolute [T2] ⇐⇒ and vice versa, one aspect implies the other [U2T].

(Summary 3: In Section 3, gods joyfully proclaim the exposition as the "second turning of the wheel of Dharma" [T1] in Jambudvipa (the human realm), celebrating its profundity.
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The Lord corrects them: it is not a second turning, as no dharma can be turned forward or backward [T2]; instead, it is the Bodhisattva's Perfection of Wisdom approaching the pinnacle of perception [T1] ⇐⇒ without actual turning [T2] [U2T].
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Subhuti praises the Bodhisattva who, unattached to dharmas, seeks enlightenment without enlightening about any dharma, turns the wheel without showing any, as no dharma is gotten at, indicated, or moves — dharmas being alien to reproduction, unable to turn each other back, and isolated in essential nature from beginningless time.
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The Lord agrees, noting Emptiness, the Signless, and Wishless neither proceed / increase nor recede / decrease; demonstrating this "demonstrates" all dharmas without anyone demonstrating, hearing, receiving, or realizing it across time, nor leading to Nirvāṇa or making one worthy of gifts.
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The core message negates literal "turning" of Dharma, emphasizing non-action in teaching: wisdom is expounded without attachment to subject, action, or object, avoiding reification while functionally liberating. This "turning without turning" exemplifies the Middle Way, where dharmas' isolation (emptiness) prevents any real movement or demonstration [T2] ⇐⇒ yet the teaching occurs as skillful means [T1] [U2T].
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Deeply, it critiques substantialist views of enlightenment, portraying the Perfection of Wisdom as beyond causality and temporality — acting without acting, knowing without knowing, without attachment, reification, effort or absolute, without falling into any extreme — more and more in accord with reality as it is (tathatā) as pointed out by the Union of the Two Truths [U2T], where apparent turning (conventional) [T1] ⇐⇒ is empty (ultimate) [T2] [U2T], fostering non-dual awareness that liberates without producing results, aligning with Nagarjuna's tetralemma by transcending extremes of existence, non-existence, both, and neither in Dharma transmission.)

TEXT: So, hereupon a great many thousands of Gods in this intermediate realm call out aloud with cries of joy, waving their garments, and saying: We now indeed see this second turning of the wheel of dharma taking place in Jambudvipa!

The Lord: This, Subhuti, is not the second turning of the wheel of dharma.
No dharma can be turned forwards or backwards.
Just this is a Bodhisattva's Perfection of Wisdom...just this approaches the pinnacle of perception and concept as this great perfection.
This is beyond any such thing as turning.

Subhuti: This is a great perfection of any Bodhisattva who, unattached to all dharmas, wants to know full enlightenment, and who yet is not enlightened about any dharma, or who turns the wheel of dharma and yet does not show up any dharma.
For no dharma is here got at, no dharma is indicated, and no dharma moves on any dharma.
For absolutely, reproduction is alien to all dharmas.
Nor does, nor can any dharma turn back any other dharma.
From the beginningless beginning any and all dharmas are not being reproduced, since their essential nature is isolated.

The Lord: So it is, Subhuti. For emptiness does neither proceed nor recede, and such holds good also for the Signless and the Wishless. To demonstrate this is to demonstrate all dharmas. But no one has demonstrated this, no one has heard this, no one has received this, and no one realizes this, in this past, present or future. Nor by this demonstration of dharma does anyone ever go to Nirvāṇa. Nor by this demonstration of dharma has anyone ever been made worthy of gifts.

Section 4. Modes and Qualities of the Perfection-of-Wisdom – Describing without describing the Perfection of Wisdom, without attachment, reification, effort or absolute. All dharmas, including the Perfection of Wisdom, are beyond ‘this’, ‘non-this’, both, and neither, for whatever ‘this’ is [Tetralemma]. But, still, we might temporarily use one extreme or another (of the four extremes) to describe the Perfection of Wisdom, or any dharma, using this as an adapted skillful means or antidote to counter another extreme we might hold on to. Until we are ready to transcend all extremes (‘this’, ‘non-this’) and middle (both, neither) altogether about any duality, triad, quad… So we might say ‘non-existent’, ‘unborn’ or ‘pure’ until we can transcend all dualistic conceptual proliferation, and directly perceive the true nature of reality as it is (tathatā) as pointed out by the Union of the Two Truths [U2T].

(Summary 4: Section 4 comprises an extensive, poetic litany where Subhuti enumerates the modes and qualities of the Perfection of Wisdom, each framed paradoxically to highlight its transcendent nature: it is like space (not something which is), unequalled (dharmas unapprehended), isolated (absolute emptiness), uncrushable, trackless (body and mind absent), without own-being (neither comes nor goes), inexpressible, nameless, inexhaustible, without genesis, doing nothing, not generating, not passing on, not disciplining, dream-like, free from defilement and purification, spotless, free from impediments, unshakeable, quiet, faultless, undefiled, unlimited, undifferentiated, untarnished, infinite, unattached, unconditioned, Empty, not-self, markless, and encompassing all Buddhist virtues and realizations (e.g., wings of enlightenment, doors to deliverance, truths, perfections, powers) as unapprehended or without own-being. It culminates as the perfection of cognition of all-knowing, aware of dharmas' modes [T1] ⇐⇒ without own-being [T2] [U2T].
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This section's core message is a comprehensive deconstruction of wisdom through negation and affirmation, using tetralemma-like logic to describe it beyond extremes — temporarily employing terms like "non-existent" or "pure" as antidotes to clinging, until transcending all dualistic conceptual proliferation to directly perceive Suchness via the Union of the Two Truths [U2T].
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Deeply, it serves as a meditative tool for Bodhisattvas, each quality countering dualistic views (e.g., defilement/purification, coming/going) to reveal wisdom's non-dual essence: empty yet encompassing all dharmas, functional in liberation without inherent subject, action or result.
This praise integrates Prajnaparamita with broader Mahayana elements, affirming wisdom as the ground of all attainments while empty of them (emptiness of the results), guiding practitioners to non-conceptual insight where purity (Buddha-nature) [T1] and emptiness [T2] coincide (Union) [U2T], fostering ultimate freedom from saṃsāra by directly realizing its true nature & dynamic as it is here & now.)

TEXT: Subhuti: This is perfection of such as no-thing whatsoever is not, as space is not something which is.
– Perfection of Wisdom equals any such as unequalled, dharmas are not apprehended.
– Perfection of Wisdom is isolated, on account of absolute emptiness.
– Perfection of Wisdom cannot be crushed, as dharmas are not apprehended.
– Perfection of Wisdom is trackless, as both body and mind are absent.
– Perfection of Wisdom has no own-being, neither comes nor goes.
– Perfection of Wisdom is inexpressible, as any dharmas are not discriminated.
– Perfection of Wisdom is nameless, as any skandhas whatsoever cannot be apprehended.
– Perfection of Wisdom does not go away, as having not come hither, no dharma ever goes away.
– One cannot partake of this Perfection of Wisdom, as no dharma can be seized.
– Perfection of Wisdom is inexhaustible, as indelible to inexhaustible dharma.
– Perfection of Wisdom has no genesis, as no dharma ever really comes about.
– Perfection of Wisdom does nothing, as no doer can be apprehended.
– Perfection of Wisdom does not generate [cognize] anything, as any and all dharmas are without self.
– Perfection of Wisdom does not pass on, as here is no genesis of decease or rebirth.
– Perfection of Wisdom does not discipline, as this past, future and present periods are not apprehended.

– Perfection of Wisdom is as a dream, an echo, a reflected image, a mirage, or an illusion, and is indicated as precision of non-production.
– Perfection of Wisdom is free from defilement, as greed, hate, and delusion have no own-being.
– Perfection of Wisdom knows no purification, as no possible receptacle [which might have to be purified] can be apprehended.
– Perfection of Wisdom is spotless, as space is spotless.
– Perfection of Wisdom is free from impediments, as spontaneously present throughout and beyond any and all mental attitudes to dharmas.
– Perfection of Wisdom has no mental attitude, as it is imperturbable.
Perfection of Wisdom is unshakeable, as is stability of any realm of dharma.
– Perfection of Wisdom knows no greed, as here is no falseness in dharmas.
– Perfection of Wisdom does not rise up, as here is no discrimination in dharmas.
– Perfection of Wisdom is quiet, as no sign is apprehended as all dharmas.
– Perfection of Wisdom is faultless, as perfection of all virtues.
– Perfection of Wisdom is undefiled, as imagination is something which is not.
– Neither living nor dying being is found as Perfection of Wisdom, as the reality-limit.
– Perfection of Wisdom is unlimited, as the manifestation of all dharmas does not rise up.

– Perfection of Wisdom does not follow after duality of opposites, as such does not settle down in any or all dharmas.
– Perfection of Wisdom is undifferentiated, as all dharmas are still but speciously indicated
– Perfection of Wisdom is untarnished, as such is free from any longing for some jewel of Disciples and Pratyekabuddhas.
– Perfection of Wisdom is undiscriminated, as this is basic identity to all which is discriminated.
– Perfection of Wisdom is infinite, as any nature of dharma is unlimited.
– Perfection of Wisdom is unattached, as this is non-attachment to all dharmas.
– Perfection of Wisdom is unconditioned, as all dharmas are impermanent and merely an indication of such as this is.
– Perfection of Wisdom is as space, as any nature of dharma is identical as impermanence.
– Perfection of Wisdom is Empty, as any or all dharmas are not apprehended.
– Perfection of Wisdom is not-self, as here is no settling down in any or all dharmas.
– Perfection of Wisdom is markless, as here is no reproduction in dharmas.
– Perfection of this is of total emptiness, as endless and boundless.
– Perfection of this is as the wings of enlightenment, such as is pillars of mindfulness, etc., as these cannot be apprehended.

– This is perfection of Emptiness, of the Signless, of the Wishless, as the three doors to deliverance cannot be apprehended.
– This is perfection of the eight deliverances, as these cannot be apprehended.
– This is perfection of the nine successive stations, as the first trance, etc., cannot be apprehended.
– This is perfection of the four Truths, as ill, old age and death cannot be apprehended.
– This is perfection of the ten perfections, as giving, etc., cannot be apprehended.
– This is perfection of the ten powers, as such cannot be crushed.
– This is perfection of the four grounds of self-confidence, as absolutely such cannot be cowed.
– This is perfection of the analytical knowledges, as such is unobstructed when unattached to all-knowledge.
– This is perfection of all the special Buddha-dharmas, as these transcend all counting.
– This is perfection of Suchness as Tathāgatas, as here is no falseness in any and all dharmas.
– This is perfection of any as Self-existent, as all dharmas have not own-being.
– Perfection of Wisdom is perfection of cognition of all-knowing, as such is aware within all of any modes of any own-being of all dharma.

Section 5. Added Conclusion to Chapter 9

In the culmination of Chapter IX, "Praise," the Perfection of Wisdom emerges not as an object of adulation but as the very ground of praise itself — an ineffable luminosity that defies encapsulation in words, names, or concepts [T2] ⇐⇒ yet radiates through every facet of existence [T1] [U2T].

This chapter, through its layered dialogues and enumerations, subtly reveals that true praise is not an act of elevation or attribution but a dissolution/transcendence of dualistic grasping (conventional truths, without rejecting them): the wisdom is "perfectly pure" precisely because it mirrors the skandhas' non-production and non-cessation, unstained like space, where defilements find no foothold.
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Here, the essence whispers of a purity (Buddha-nature)
that is not opposed to impurity but transcends both,
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embodying the Madhyamaka insight that emptiness (shunyata) [T2] ⇐⇒ is inseparable from the innate radiance of all dharmas (Buddha-nature) [T1] [U2T], allowing practitioners to navigate the apparent world [T1] ⇐⇒ without reifying it as real or dismissing it as nonexistent [T2] [U2T].

Delving deeper, the chapter's praise of the Perfection of Wisdom's effects unveils a paradoxical interplay: immense merit accrues from mere hearing or teaching it, accompanied by divine protections and bodily freedoms, yet this very preciousness invites hostility and obstacles, mirroring the sutra's broader theme that supreme truths provoke resistance from the forces of ignorance (Mara). This subtle tension highlights the wisdom's role as a double-edged antidote — relatively functional in generating positive outcomes like health and guardianship [T1] ⇐⇒ while ultimately unattached, undefiling, and non-grasping, ensuring no stain adheres even to its own exposition [T2] [U2T].

The essence lies in this non-clinging: Bodhisattvas course in it [T1] ⇐⇒ by not perceiving it in absolute terms, transcending the three spheres of action (subject, relation, object) (without rejecting them) [T2] [U2T] ⇐⇒ to reveal a practice that benefits worlds [T1] ⇐⇒ without producing or destroying anything in absolute terms [T2] ⇐⇒ fostering virtues like compassion [T1-interdependence-in-action] ⇐⇒ rooted in wisdom or non-attachment non-reification [T2-emptiness-in-action] [U2T-in-action] rather than egoic striving.

The declaration of the "second turning of the wheel of Dharma" [T1] ⇐⇒ swiftly negated as no true turning in absolute terms [T2] [U2T] — captures a profound subtlety: enlightenment's transmission occurs without inherent movement (action), demonstration, or realization (object / result) by any agent (subject) [U3S / U2T-3S], as Emptiness, Signless, and Wishless neither advance nor retreat [Tetralemma].

This non-turning essence underscores that the Perfection of Wisdom operates in the realm of non-duality [U2T / U3S / Uopp], where teaching happens [T1-3S] ⇐⇒ without a teacher, hearer, or taught Dharma [T2-3S], evoking Nagarjuna's tetralemma to free practitioners from extremes of eternalism (realism), annihilationism (nihilism), both (dualism), or neither (monism).

Deeply, it invites a recognition that all Buddhist paths — from the four noble truths to all-knowledge (omniscience / U2T) — are "turned" only conventionally [T1] ⇐⇒ their ultimate nature isolated and unmarked [T2], leading to Nirvāṇa not as an attainment but as the natural transcendence (without rejection) of conditioned conditioning fabrications, conventional truths, where no one goes (from saṃsāra) or arrives (in Nirvāṇa) [U2T / U3S / Uopp], where saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa are not really different / identical, separate / united, dual / non-dual.

Finally, the exhaustive litany of modes and qualities in the chapter's close distills the subtle essence into a meditative cascade: each attribute — unborn, inexhaustible, dream-like, unattached — serves as a refutation of dualistic conceptual proliferation (conventional truth, without completely rejecting them), temporarily employing language as skillful means to counteract clinging, until all extremes dissolve into Reality as it is (suchness, tathatā) as pointed out by the Union of the Two Truths [U2T].

This praise, far from hyperbolic,
functions as a transcending tool,
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affirming the Perfection of Wisdom as the Union of the Two Truths:
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dependently arisen appearances [T1]
⇐⇒ empty of inherent existence [T2] [U2T]
⇐⇒ yet perfectly pure and complete (Buddha-nature).

The chapter thus concludes not with finality but an open invitation for Bodhisattvas to embody this Perfection of Wisdom — praising it through non-praise, realizing all-knowing cognition that knows without objectifying, and awakening to the luminous, boundless reality where purity (Buddha-nature) [T1] ⇐⇒ and emptiness [T2] ⇐⇒ coincide (Union) (Perfection of Wisdom) [U2T], liberating all beings in spontaneous, non-dualistic non-conceptual, non-conditioned, harmony.