Buddha said: Subhúti, all the Bodhisatwas and great Bodhisatwas ought thus to subdue and repress the risings of this corrupt heart. Whatever species of creature there be, whether oviparous or viviparous, born from spawn or by transformation, possessing a material form or not, liable to the laws of mind or not, not altogether possessed of mental organization nor yet entirely without it—all these I command and exhort to enter on the state of the unsurpassed Nirváṅa (Pari nirváṅa[6]) and for ever to free themselves from the conditions of being to which they severally belong. The great family of sentient beings, immeasurable, vast, numberless, being thus freed from such states of existence, then indeed there will be no longer any such beings to arrive at this position of perfect freedom. I conclude, therefore, Subhúti, if there be a Bodhisatwa affected with any selfish distinction, or any social distinction,[7] or any distinction as a sentient being, or any distinction as a finite and perishable being, then this Bodhisatwa is not one in reality. _Cap. IV.—The characteristic of the most perfect line of conduct, is, that it is spontaneous._ Moreover, Subhúti, a Bodhisatwa in the active discharge of his functions ought to be without any object of reliance or desire (_i.e._, unaffected by any secondary object in the discharge of his chief business). When occupied, for instance, in attending to the work of charity—his ought to be that charity which is called “unmixed with any material consideration”—he ought to distribute his alms without relying on (or, having any reference to) any sensible gratification, whether it be of sound, or odour, or taste, or touch, or thought. Subhúti, a Bodhisatwa ought thus to discharge the work of almsgiving, relying on no sensible distinction whatever. What then! if a Bodhisatwa be thus charitable, having no reliance or reference, his consequent happiness must be immeasurable and boundless. Subhúti! what think you? Can the eastern region of space be measured by a line? No, certainly, world-honoured one! Subhúti, can the western, or southern, or northern regions of space be measured? or the four midway regions of space (_i.e._, N.E., S.E., S.W., N.W.), or the upper and lower regions: can either of these be accurately measured or defined? No, certainly, world-honoured one! Subhúti, the consequent happiness of the Bodhisatwa, who discharges his charitable impulses in the distribution of alms without any reliance or secondary object whatever: his happiness, I say, is likewise boundless and immeasurable. Subhúti, a Bodhisatwa ought to rely on nothing whatever, except this principle of my doctrine. _Cap. V.—Regarding only the immaterial principle, we behold things in their true light._ Subhúti, what is your opinion? Is it possible by any bodily distinction to behold Tathágata?