Kumārajīva

“ Orare world-honoured One, Tathâgata, thou who dost protect and instruct those who are Bôdhisattvas! O world-honoured One! If a good man, or a good woman, should show signs of unexcelled perfect intelligence, upon what should such a one rely, and how should such a one subdue the heart?” Buddha replied, “Good indeed! Good indeed! As you say, I protect and instruct those who are Bôdhisattvas. ”

“ O Subhûti, if a good man, or a good woman, were to give up in the morning as many of his or her lives (in re-births) as there are sands in the river Ganges, and to do the same at noonday, and again in the evening, and to continue to do this every day for an innumerable number of kalpas, each of an innumerable number of years; and if, on the other hand, there should be one who, having heard this sûtra, should yield up his heart to implicit belief then the happiness of this last would exceed the happiness of that other. ”

“ Subhûti, if a Bôdhisattva recognizes such objective existences as self, others, living creatures, or such a concept as old age―he is not a Bôdhisattva...A good disciple must accustom himself to think in terms of negation as regards the existence of all living beings, whereafter it will follow that for him there will be no living beings to think about. ”