The Sūtra on the Limits of Life presents a detailed and systematic account of the lifespans of different beings that inhabit the universe, progressing from the lower to the higher realms of existence as outlined in early Buddhist cosmology. The Buddha describes the lifespans of beings in terms of the relationship or proportion between the lifespans of the devas of the form realm and the lifespans in the eight major hot hells, the latter being significantly longer than the former.
This sūtra was translated by Bruno Galasek-Hul with the help of Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche of the Evam Choden Buddhist Center in Kensington (Berkeley), California. Thanks are due also to Prof. Stephen Jenkins for his helpful comments and advice.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Sūtra on the Limits of Life contains content and themes that predate the advent of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and it has therefore been regarded by Tibetan tradition as a sūtra of the “Lesser Vehicle” (Hīnayāna).1 This can also be gleaned from the opening verses of its Tibetan translation, which pay homage to the Three Jewels instead of all buddhas and bodhisattvas, as well as from the introductory scene of the sūtra, in which the Buddha is not, as is usual in the sūtras of the Mahāyāna, surrounded by a large number of bodhisattvas. In this sūtra, the Buddha, who is staying in Prince Jeta’s grove in Śrāvastī, addresses the monks directly and teaches in detail about the lifespans of the beings inhabiting the different realms of existence of the Buddhist cosmos.
According to ancient Indian cosmology, since beginningless time the world has been inhabited not only by humans and animals but by a vast array of different kinds of beings. Moreover, according to the Abhidharma, the Buddhist cosmos is composed of three different realms that form three hierarchical cosmological levels: the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm.2 Each of these three realms contains several sublevels inhabited by particular classes of beings. When conceptualized as manifestations of different states of consciousness, the three realms may be called spheres.3
In the Buddhist understanding of karmic cause and effect, rebirth in one of the different realms is the karmic result of one’s former actions.4 Thus the ten unwholesome courses of action lead to rebirth in the three unfortunate rebirth-destinies: the realms of animals, pretas, and hell beings. Their opposites, the ten wholesome courses of action, lead to rebirth in the fortunate rebirth-destinies: the human realm and the six heavens of the desire realm.5
Mastery of the stages of meditative absorption leads to rebirth on the different levels of the form realm and the formless realm. In this regard, the karmic result of mastering the first meditative absorption is rebirth in one of the three Brahmā realms. The karmic result of mastering the second meditative absorption is rebirth in the realms of the devas whose names contain the word Radiance.6 The karmic result of mastering the third meditative absorption is rebirth in the realms of the devas whose names contain the word Virtue.7 Mastering the fourth meditative absorption leads to rebirth among the devas of the Pure Abodes.
The Pure Abodes are subdivided into two levels, and this is where the accounts of different early Buddhist schools seem to differ most. According to Theravāda sources,8 there are the levels of the Pure Abodes proper, with the addition of the Heaven of the Insentient Beings9 and the Heaven of Great Reward, respectively. These last two have their own karmic cause, namely, the attainment of a meditative absorption called the attainment of the meditative state without consciousness, an ordinary attainment of the fourth meditative absorption that can be realized by meditators who are not noble ones.10 In the Pure Abodes proper, on the other hand, only non-returners can be born, and from there they attain nirvāṇa. The account of the (Mūla-)Sarvāstivāda school seems to have two additional heavens beyond the Heaven of Perfect Virtue, which are absent from the Theravāda sources, namely, the Cloudless Heaven and the Heaven Born from Merit. According to the Mahāvyutpatti, the Cloudless Heaven and the Heaven Born from Merit are the karmic result of attaining the fourth meditative absorption. According to the Theravāda account, however, the fourth meditative absorption (ordinary and non-ordinary) is associated only with the sublevels above the Heaven of Great Reward. The Sūtra on the Limits of Life mentions these two additional heavens but does not specify whether they are the karmic result of accomplishing the third or the fourth stage of meditative absorption.
In Buddhist cosmology, the axis mundi of the terrestrial world, which is thought to be flat, is Mount Meru. It is surrounded by the four continents and is also the axis around which rotate the sun, moon, and stars. The order of the realms of existence is vertical, with the higher realms located above Mount Meru and the hells beneath the earth. The Sūtra on the Limits of Life mentions the four continents as the places where humans live.11 Moreover, the world system just outlined, which is experienced differently by the different sentient beings, is not the only world. In fact, the universe consists of numerous similar worlds or world systems just like our own. It is, however, possible for any being—except for the beings in the unfortunate destinies, who have invariably painful sense experiences—to mentally experience all the states of the fortunate and unfortunate rebirth-destinies.12 The mental states of the devas may be experienced by humans during advanced states of meditative absorption. Moreover, rebirth-destinies are not static or permanent. Every living being has the potential to perform wholesome actions and thus accrue merit that eventually leads to rebirth in a higher realm. Although the lifespans in some of the hells seem so long as to be virtually never-ending, Buddhism does not have the notion of eternal damnation.
The Sūtra on the Limits of Life does not provide us with a detailed account of the structure and the functioning of the universe. It rather presupposes the reader’s familiarity with such knowledge. The text’s main point, as its title indicates, is to present its audience with detailed information about the duration of life of the different forms of existence in the Buddhist universe. The Sūtra on the Limits of Life thus lists the five rebirth-destinies (those of the hell beings, pretas, animals, humans, and devas) together with their subcategories (the four continents inhabited by humans, the eight hot and the eight cold hells, and the different heavens of the form realm and the formless realm) and carves out in a systematic way the relationship between the lifespans in the heavens and the hells.
Although the presentation of the subject matter appears very scholastic, the sūtra’s message is renunciation. Actions of body, speech, and mind bind beings to saṃsāra and lead to fortunate or unfortunate rebirth-destinies for unimaginably long periods of time. Only liberation and the veneration of objects that are worthy of veneration, e.g., the Buddha and his Saṅgha, can end this continuous cycle of death and rebirth. In the concluding section of the sūtra, the Buddha says, “I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration. Why is that? Because the manifestation of existence is suffering.” Existence here refers to the five destinies, that is, all the possible kinds and places of rebirth that the sūtra portrays, from the hell Incessant Torture to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception, which is the peak—the highest possible form—of existence.
For the convenience of the reader, we present in the appendix a list of the different states of existence in the order in which they appear in the sūtra, together with their lifespans and their arithmetic relationship to the human lifespan (see Appendix).
In the 1989 supplement (no. 2) of the Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden (“Sanskrit Dictionary of the Buddhist Texts from the Turfan Expeditions”), the Japanese scholar Hisashi Matsumura presented an edition of the Sanskrit text of the Āyuḥparyantasūtra together with a critical edition of the Tibetan translation based on five editions (the Narthang, Degé, Choné, Lhasa, and Kangxi Kangyurs). Matsumura prepared his Sanskrit edition on the basis of Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra’s (1959–74) facsimile edition of a manuscript from Gilgit in present-day northern Pakistan. Gilgit was an important transit zone for traveling Buddhist monks from India, Iran, and China and an important connector between South Asia and the Central Asian Silk Roads.13 During the reign of the Palola Ṣāhis (c. 585–720
Oskar von Hinüber, based on an earlier observation by Gregory Schopen, was able to identify this text with the Tibetan translation of The Sūtra on the Limits of Life.17 While the order of the folios in Vira and Chandra’s edition of the Gilgit manuscripts were in disarray, Matsumura restored the order of the folios and the missing or destroyed parts of the Sanskrit text with the help of its Tibetan and Chinese translations, finding the Sanskrit to be more than ninety percent complete. Matsumura furthermore found there to be “the highest degree of congruency” between the Sanskrit text and the Tibetan translation.18 However, in the process of translating the work from both the Sanskrit and the Tibetan, we found occasional discrepancies between the Tibetan translation and the edited Sanskrit text to be more significant than Matsumura suggests.19
As for the Tibetan translation, the translators for this particular text are listed in the Tibetan colophon as the Indian preceptor Viśuddhasiṃha and the Tibetan monk Gewé Pal. Their translation was subsequently revised and finalized by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the chief editor-translator, Bandé Paltsek. All these contributors flourished during the late eighth and early ninth centuries, and so the Tibetan translation, which we have rendered into English here, would have been completed during the early translation period, a dating also attested by the text’s inclusion in the early-ninth-century Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) inventory of translations into Tibetan.20 We are aware of only one Tibetan commentary on The Sūtra on the Limits of Life, a rather late Tibetan commentary by Choné Lama Drakpa Shedrup (co ne bla ma grags pa bshad sgrub, 1675–1748).21
The English translation presented here is based on the Tibetan text of the Degé Kangyur. In several cases, however, we have followed the Sanskrit instead of the Tibetan, recording these choices and their rationale in the notes. For example, we adopted the Sanskrit readings of the numerals of the lifespans of the different classes of beings where they seemed to represent the more correct numbers and were furthermore corroborated by other sources. Also, where the Sanskrit text differed significantly from the Tibetan, we have recorded the Sanskrit reading in the notes.
[F.139.a]{S74} Homage to the Three Jewels!
Thus did I hear at one time.22 {S75} The Bhagavān was staying in Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. There the Bhagavān addressed the monks: “Monks, do you wish to learn about the lifespans of beings?”
“Yes, Bhagavān, this is the right time for it! Sugata, the time is right for the Bhagavān to teach the monks the lifespans of living beings. Bhagavān, having heard the teaching from the Bhagavān, the monks will retain it.”
“Monks, listen carefully and concentrate! I will teach.23
“Monks, the maximum lifespan in the hell realms is one eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the maximum lifespan in the animal realm[F.139.b] is one eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, one day for the pretas corresponds to thirty days for humans. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve months constitute one year, pretas have a lifespan of five hundred years by this way of calculating.24 According to human years, this is fifteen thousand years. Premature death does occur.”
Then, at this time, the Bhagavān spoke these verses:
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the eastern continent Pūrvavideha31 is two hundred fifty years. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the western continent Avaragodānīya32 is five hundred years. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the northern continent Uttarakuru33 is one thousand years. Premature death does not occur.
“Why do the human beings who inhabit the continent Uttarakuru have a lifespan of one thousand years and not experience premature death?
“Monks, the human beings inhabiting the continent Uttarakuru have no sense of mine and no notion of ownership, and their lifespan is predetermined. When they die and pass from there, they progress higher and higher,34 and in the future they go to heaven. Monks, this is why the human beings inhabiting the continent Uttarakuru have a lifespan of one thousand years and do not experience premature death.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, the lifespan of the humans of the southern continent of Jambudvīpa57 is not fixed; it varies.58 More precisely, monks, the maximum lifespans of the humans of Jambudvīpa are unlimited, eighty thousand years, one hundred years, and ten years.59
“Monks, the lifespan at the present time of the humans of Jambudvīpa amounts to one hundred years.60 Monks, presently those among the humans of Jambudvīpa who live long can reach an age of one hundred years, or a little more than that, when looked after with proper care.61
“Monks, during a lifespan of one hundred years, people undergo ten stages.62[F.141.a] At the first stage, they are infants, feeble and lying on their back. At the second stage they are children, disposed to playing. At the third stage, as youths, they chase after pleasure. At the fourth stage they are endowed with physical strength and strong enthusiasm. At the fifth stage they possess prudence and self-confidence.63 At the sixth stage they are experienced and more given to reflection. At the seventh stage they practice religion with all their heart.64 At the eighth stage they are venerable and people of distinction.65 At the ninth stage they are old, fragile, and weakened by age. At the tenth stage life is exhausted and only death remains.66 Monks, in a hundred years, their lives undergo those ten stages.
“Monks, living for one hundred years, they live for one hundred times each the three seasons: one hundred winters, one hundred summers, and one hundred rains.67 Living three seasons one hundred times each, they live for twelve months one hundred times: four months each of winters, four of summers, and four of rains. Living for twelve months one hundred times, they live for twenty-four times one hundred half-months, or two thousand four hundred half-months: eight half-months each of winters, eight half-months of summers, and eight half-months of rains. Living twenty-four times one hundred half-months, they live for thirty-six thousand days: twelve thousand days each of summer, winter, and rains.
“Living for thirty-six thousand days, they eat seventy-two thousand meals, except for when there is something that prevents them from eating.68 These meal interruptions are as follows: when they are angry, they do not eat; when they suffer, they do not eat; when impoverished,69 they do not eat; during fasting,70 they do not eat; because of loss, they do not eat; because of gain, too, they do not eat; when sleeping, they do not eat; when drunk,[F.141.b] they do not eat; due to being drowsy, they do not eat. Thus, in sum, the meals that are eaten and the meals that are not eaten are altogether seventy-two thousand meals during one lifetime, including the milk from their mother that they have drunk. {S79}
“Monks, I have expounded and itemized the lives of human beings in Jambudvīpa in terms of seasons, months, half months, days, meals, and even the interruptions to meals.71
“Monks, fifty human years corresponds to one day and night in the life of the devas belonging to the retinue of the Four Great Kings. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the retinue of the Four Great Kings is five hundred divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is nine million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, nine million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings72 in the great hell Revival.7374 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of beings in the great hell Revival is, by this way of calculating, five hundred years. In human years, this is 1 trillion 620 billion years. Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, one hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three is one thousand divine years by this way of calculating.[F.142.a] According to human years, this is thirty-six million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, thirty-six million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings in the great hell Black Thread.75 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of beings in the great hell Black Thread is one thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 12 trillion 960 billion years.76 Untimely death77 does occur.” {S80}
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, two hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven Free from Strife. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven Free from Strife is two thousand divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years this is 144 million years.81 Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, one hundred forty-four million years—is one day and night for the beings in the great hell Crushing.82 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Crushing is two thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 103 trillion 680 billion years.83 Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, four hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of Joy. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of Joy is four thousand divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 576 million {S81} years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, five hundred seventy-six million human years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings in the great hell Wailing.88 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Wailing is four thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 829 trillion 440 billion years.89 Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, eight hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations is eight thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 2 billion 304 million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, 2 billion 304 million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings inhabiting the great hell Loud Wailing. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings inhabiting the great hell Loud Wailing92[F.143.a] is eight thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 6 quadrillion 635 trillion 520 billion years.93 Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, one thousand six hundred97 human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations.98 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations is sixteen thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 9 billion 216 million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, nine billion two hundred sixteen million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings inhabiting the great hell Heat.99 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings inhabiting the great hell Heat is sixteen thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years this is 53 quadrillion 84 trillion 160 billion years.100 Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, do you want to hear about the lifespan of beings who have been reborn in the Blistering Hell?”105
“Yes, Bhagavān, the time is right for that. Sugata, this is the right time for it. We, the monks, having heard the teaching from the Blessed One about the lifespan of beings that have been reborn in the Blistering Hell, will retain the teaching well.”106
“Monks, in that case, listen carefully and concentrate! I will teach. Monks, it is like this: Imagine a container107 with a capacity of twenty khārī108 that contains a full measure of twenty khārī of Kosalan sesame seeds and is filled to the brim with them. {S83} Now imagine that someone were to remove a single seed from that container every hundred years.109 I say, monks, that the contents of that container holding twenty khārīs of sesame seeds would quickly be emptied out completely by this method, but, monks, not so the lifespan of beings who have been reborn in the Blistering Hell.
“Twenty times the lifespan in the Blistering Hell is that in the Bursting Blister Hell.110 Twenty times the lifespan in the Bursting Blister Hell is that in the Hell of Chattering Teeth. Twenty times the lifespan in the Hell of Chattering Teeth is that in the Hell of Lamentation. Twenty times the lifespan in the Hell of Lamentation is that in the Cold Whimpering Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Cold Whimpering Hell is that in the Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell is that in the Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell is the Great Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell.111 Devadatta’s112 partisan,113 the monk Kokālika, because he felt anger toward114 the monks Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana,115 will be reborn in the Great Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell with his own body.116
“Therefore, monks, you should train the mind thus: not even toward the burnt stump of a tree should you generate an attitude of hatred, let alone toward a conscious being! You should train in that way, monks!”
Then, at this point, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:117
“Monks, the lifespan of beings inhabiting the great hell Intense Heat121 is half an eon. Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that point, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Incessant Torture122 is one eon. Premature death does occur. This is where the fool Devadatta was reborn with his own body because he split the undivided Saṅgha123 and, with evil intentions, drew the Tathāgata’s blood124 and beat a nun, who was an arhantī, to death.”125
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:126
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Brahmā’s Retinue130 is half an eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Brahmā’s Ministers is three quarters of an eon.131 Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Brahmā is one eon.132 Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Limited Radiance is two eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Boundless Radiance is four eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Luminous Radiance133 is eight eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Limited Virtue134 is sixteen eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Boundless Virtue135 is thirty-two eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Perfect Virtue136 is sixty-four eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Cloudless Heaven137 is one hundred twenty-five eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven Born from Merit138 is two hundred fifty eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Reward139 is five hundred eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of both the Insentient Beings and the devas of the Unlofty Heaven140 is one thousand eons.141 Premature death does occur. {S87}
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in Sorrowless Heaven142[F.145.a] is two thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Sublime Vision143 is four thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Vision144 is eight thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Highest Heaven145 is sixteen thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of the Infinity of Space is twenty thousand eons.146 Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of the Infinity of Consciousness is forty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of Nothingness is sixty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception is eighty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, from the hell Incessant Torture up to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception—which, monks, is the peak of existence—these states respectively demarcate the upper and lower limits of the whole of existence. These states are the manifestation of existence. They are the places where living beings of the five rebirth-destinies come and go, live, die, and are reborn. Enough with the manifestation of existence!147 I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration.148 Why is that? Because the manifestation of existence is suffering. Take, for instance, something that is impure: when even a little of it stinks, how much more so does a lot of it! In the same way, I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration. Why is that? Because, monks, the manifestation of existence is suffering. Ordinary, worldly people, uneducated in the Dharma,149 continually cycle again and again in the five rebirth-destinies;[F.145.b] again and again they rush to the hells, again and again to the animal realm, again and again to evil states, to unfortunate rebirth-destinies, to destruction. Therefore, monks, you should train in this way: ‘I shall strive to cut off the stream of existence at any point and not let saṃsāra unfold!’ Monks, you should train in this way!”
After the Blessed One had thus spoken, the monks were deeply overjoyed and rejoiced in the Blessed One’s words.
This concludes “The Sūtra on the Limits of Life.”
The Sūtra on the Limits of Life presents a detailed and systematic account of the lifespans of different beings that inhabit the universe, progressing from the lower to the higher realms of existence as outlined in early Buddhist cosmology. The Buddha describes the lifespans of beings in terms of the relationship or proportion between the lifespans of the devas of the form realm and the lifespans in the eight major hot hells, the latter being significantly longer than the former.
This sūtra was translated by Bruno Galasek-Hul with the help of Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche of the Evam Choden Buddhist Center in Kensington (Berkeley), California. Thanks are due also to Prof. Stephen Jenkins for his helpful comments and advice.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Sūtra on the Limits of Life contains content and themes that predate the advent of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and it has therefore been regarded by Tibetan tradition as a sūtra of the “Lesser Vehicle” (Hīnayāna).1 This can also be gleaned from the opening verses of its Tibetan translation, which pay homage to the Three Jewels instead of all buddhas and bodhisattvas, as well as from the introductory scene of the sūtra, in which the Buddha is not, as is usual in the sūtras of the Mahāyāna, surrounded by a large number of bodhisattvas. In this sūtra, the Buddha, who is staying in Prince Jeta’s grove in Śrāvastī, addresses the monks directly and teaches in detail about the lifespans of the beings inhabiting the different realms of existence of the Buddhist cosmos.
According to ancient Indian cosmology, since beginningless time the world has been inhabited not only by humans and animals but by a vast array of different kinds of beings. Moreover, according to the Abhidharma, the Buddhist cosmos is composed of three different realms that form three hierarchical cosmological levels: the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm.2 Each of these three realms contains several sublevels inhabited by particular classes of beings. When conceptualized as manifestations of different states of consciousness, the three realms may be called spheres.3
In the Buddhist understanding of karmic cause and effect, rebirth in one of the different realms is the karmic result of one’s former actions.4 Thus the ten unwholesome courses of action lead to rebirth in the three unfortunate rebirth-destinies: the realms of animals, pretas, and hell beings. Their opposites, the ten wholesome courses of action, lead to rebirth in the fortunate rebirth-destinies: the human realm and the six heavens of the desire realm.5
Mastery of the stages of meditative absorption leads to rebirth on the different levels of the form realm and the formless realm. In this regard, the karmic result of mastering the first meditative absorption is rebirth in one of the three Brahmā realms. The karmic result of mastering the second meditative absorption is rebirth in the realms of the devas whose names contain the word Radiance.6 The karmic result of mastering the third meditative absorption is rebirth in the realms of the devas whose names contain the word Virtue.7 Mastering the fourth meditative absorption leads to rebirth among the devas of the Pure Abodes.
The Pure Abodes are subdivided into two levels, and this is where the accounts of different early Buddhist schools seem to differ most. According to Theravāda sources,8 there are the levels of the Pure Abodes proper, with the addition of the Heaven of the Insentient Beings9 and the Heaven of Great Reward, respectively. These last two have their own karmic cause, namely, the attainment of a meditative absorption called the attainment of the meditative state without consciousness, an ordinary attainment of the fourth meditative absorption that can be realized by meditators who are not noble ones.10 In the Pure Abodes proper, on the other hand, only non-returners can be born, and from there they attain nirvāṇa. The account of the (Mūla-)Sarvāstivāda school seems to have two additional heavens beyond the Heaven of Perfect Virtue, which are absent from the Theravāda sources, namely, the Cloudless Heaven and the Heaven Born from Merit. According to the Mahāvyutpatti, the Cloudless Heaven and the Heaven Born from Merit are the karmic result of attaining the fourth meditative absorption. According to the Theravāda account, however, the fourth meditative absorption (ordinary and non-ordinary) is associated only with the sublevels above the Heaven of Great Reward. The Sūtra on the Limits of Life mentions these two additional heavens but does not specify whether they are the karmic result of accomplishing the third or the fourth stage of meditative absorption.
In Buddhist cosmology, the axis mundi of the terrestrial world, which is thought to be flat, is Mount Meru. It is surrounded by the four continents and is also the axis around which rotate the sun, moon, and stars. The order of the realms of existence is vertical, with the higher realms located above Mount Meru and the hells beneath the earth. The Sūtra on the Limits of Life mentions the four continents as the places where humans live.11 Moreover, the world system just outlined, which is experienced differently by the different sentient beings, is not the only world. In fact, the universe consists of numerous similar worlds or world systems just like our own. It is, however, possible for any being—except for the beings in the unfortunate destinies, who have invariably painful sense experiences—to mentally experience all the states of the fortunate and unfortunate rebirth-destinies.12 The mental states of the devas may be experienced by humans during advanced states of meditative absorption. Moreover, rebirth-destinies are not static or permanent. Every living being has the potential to perform wholesome actions and thus accrue merit that eventually leads to rebirth in a higher realm. Although the lifespans in some of the hells seem so long as to be virtually never-ending, Buddhism does not have the notion of eternal damnation.
The Sūtra on the Limits of Life does not provide us with a detailed account of the structure and the functioning of the universe. It rather presupposes the reader’s familiarity with such knowledge. The text’s main point, as its title indicates, is to present its audience with detailed information about the duration of life of the different forms of existence in the Buddhist universe. The Sūtra on the Limits of Life thus lists the five rebirth-destinies (those of the hell beings, pretas, animals, humans, and devas) together with their subcategories (the four continents inhabited by humans, the eight hot and the eight cold hells, and the different heavens of the form realm and the formless realm) and carves out in a systematic way the relationship between the lifespans in the heavens and the hells.
Although the presentation of the subject matter appears very scholastic, the sūtra’s message is renunciation. Actions of body, speech, and mind bind beings to saṃsāra and lead to fortunate or unfortunate rebirth-destinies for unimaginably long periods of time. Only liberation and the veneration of objects that are worthy of veneration, e.g., the Buddha and his Saṅgha, can end this continuous cycle of death and rebirth. In the concluding section of the sūtra, the Buddha says, “I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration. Why is that? Because the manifestation of existence is suffering.” Existence here refers to the five destinies, that is, all the possible kinds and places of rebirth that the sūtra portrays, from the hell Incessant Torture to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception, which is the peak—the highest possible form—of existence.
For the convenience of the reader, we present in the appendix a list of the different states of existence in the order in which they appear in the sūtra, together with their lifespans and their arithmetic relationship to the human lifespan (see Appendix).
In the 1989 supplement (no. 2) of the Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden (“Sanskrit Dictionary of the Buddhist Texts from the Turfan Expeditions”), the Japanese scholar Hisashi Matsumura presented an edition of the Sanskrit text of the Āyuḥparyantasūtra together with a critical edition of the Tibetan translation based on five editions (the Narthang, Degé, Choné, Lhasa, and Kangxi Kangyurs). Matsumura prepared his Sanskrit edition on the basis of Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra’s (1959–74) facsimile edition of a manuscript from Gilgit in present-day northern Pakistan. Gilgit was an important transit zone for traveling Buddhist monks from India, Iran, and China and an important connector between South Asia and the Central Asian Silk Roads.13 During the reign of the Palola Ṣāhis (c. 585–720
Oskar von Hinüber, based on an earlier observation by Gregory Schopen, was able to identify this text with the Tibetan translation of The Sūtra on the Limits of Life.17 While the order of the folios in Vira and Chandra’s edition of the Gilgit manuscripts were in disarray, Matsumura restored the order of the folios and the missing or destroyed parts of the Sanskrit text with the help of its Tibetan and Chinese translations, finding the Sanskrit to be more than ninety percent complete. Matsumura furthermore found there to be “the highest degree of congruency” between the Sanskrit text and the Tibetan translation.18 However, in the process of translating the work from both the Sanskrit and the Tibetan, we found occasional discrepancies between the Tibetan translation and the edited Sanskrit text to be more significant than Matsumura suggests.19
As for the Tibetan translation, the translators for this particular text are listed in the Tibetan colophon as the Indian preceptor Viśuddhasiṃha and the Tibetan monk Gewé Pal. Their translation was subsequently revised and finalized by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the chief editor-translator, Bandé Paltsek. All these contributors flourished during the late eighth and early ninth centuries, and so the Tibetan translation, which we have rendered into English here, would have been completed during the early translation period, a dating also attested by the text’s inclusion in the early-ninth-century Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) inventory of translations into Tibetan.20 We are aware of only one Tibetan commentary on The Sūtra on the Limits of Life, a rather late Tibetan commentary by Choné Lama Drakpa Shedrup (co ne bla ma grags pa bshad sgrub, 1675–1748).21
The English translation presented here is based on the Tibetan text of the Degé Kangyur. In several cases, however, we have followed the Sanskrit instead of the Tibetan, recording these choices and their rationale in the notes. For example, we adopted the Sanskrit readings of the numerals of the lifespans of the different classes of beings where they seemed to represent the more correct numbers and were furthermore corroborated by other sources. Also, where the Sanskrit text differed significantly from the Tibetan, we have recorded the Sanskrit reading in the notes.
[F.139.a]{S74} Homage to the Three Jewels!
Thus did I hear at one time.22 {S75} The Bhagavān was staying in Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. There the Bhagavān addressed the monks: “Monks, do you wish to learn about the lifespans of beings?”
“Yes, Bhagavān, this is the right time for it! Sugata, the time is right for the Bhagavān to teach the monks the lifespans of living beings. Bhagavān, having heard the teaching from the Bhagavān, the monks will retain it.”
“Monks, listen carefully and concentrate! I will teach.23
“Monks, the maximum lifespan in the hell realms is one eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the maximum lifespan in the animal realm[F.139.b] is one eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, one day for the pretas corresponds to thirty days for humans. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve months constitute one year, pretas have a lifespan of five hundred years by this way of calculating.24 According to human years, this is fifteen thousand years. Premature death does occur.”
Then, at this time, the Bhagavān spoke these verses:
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the eastern continent Pūrvavideha31 is two hundred fifty years. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the western continent Avaragodānīya32 is five hundred years. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the northern continent Uttarakuru33 is one thousand years. Premature death does not occur.
“Why do the human beings who inhabit the continent Uttarakuru have a lifespan of one thousand years and not experience premature death?
“Monks, the human beings inhabiting the continent Uttarakuru have no sense of mine and no notion of ownership, and their lifespan is predetermined. When they die and pass from there, they progress higher and higher,34 and in the future they go to heaven. Monks, this is why the human beings inhabiting the continent Uttarakuru have a lifespan of one thousand years and do not experience premature death.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, the lifespan of the humans of the southern continent of Jambudvīpa57 is not fixed; it varies.58 More precisely, monks, the maximum lifespans of the humans of Jambudvīpa are unlimited, eighty thousand years, one hundred years, and ten years.59
“Monks, the lifespan at the present time of the humans of Jambudvīpa amounts to one hundred years.60 Monks, presently those among the humans of Jambudvīpa who live long can reach an age of one hundred years, or a little more than that, when looked after with proper care.61
“Monks, during a lifespan of one hundred years, people undergo ten stages.62[F.141.a] At the first stage, they are infants, feeble and lying on their back. At the second stage they are children, disposed to playing. At the third stage, as youths, they chase after pleasure. At the fourth stage they are endowed with physical strength and strong enthusiasm. At the fifth stage they possess prudence and self-confidence.63 At the sixth stage they are experienced and more given to reflection. At the seventh stage they practice religion with all their heart.64 At the eighth stage they are venerable and people of distinction.65 At the ninth stage they are old, fragile, and weakened by age. At the tenth stage life is exhausted and only death remains.66 Monks, in a hundred years, their lives undergo those ten stages.
“Monks, living for one hundred years, they live for one hundred times each the three seasons: one hundred winters, one hundred summers, and one hundred rains.67 Living three seasons one hundred times each, they live for twelve months one hundred times: four months each of winters, four of summers, and four of rains. Living for twelve months one hundred times, they live for twenty-four times one hundred half-months, or two thousand four hundred half-months: eight half-months each of winters, eight half-months of summers, and eight half-months of rains. Living twenty-four times one hundred half-months, they live for thirty-six thousand days: twelve thousand days each of summer, winter, and rains.
“Living for thirty-six thousand days, they eat seventy-two thousand meals, except for when there is something that prevents them from eating.68 These meal interruptions are as follows: when they are angry, they do not eat; when they suffer, they do not eat; when impoverished,69 they do not eat; during fasting,70 they do not eat; because of loss, they do not eat; because of gain, too, they do not eat; when sleeping, they do not eat; when drunk,[F.141.b] they do not eat; due to being drowsy, they do not eat. Thus, in sum, the meals that are eaten and the meals that are not eaten are altogether seventy-two thousand meals during one lifetime, including the milk from their mother that they have drunk. {S79}
“Monks, I have expounded and itemized the lives of human beings in Jambudvīpa in terms of seasons, months, half months, days, meals, and even the interruptions to meals.71
“Monks, fifty human years corresponds to one day and night in the life of the devas belonging to the retinue of the Four Great Kings. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the retinue of the Four Great Kings is five hundred divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is nine million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, nine million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings72 in the great hell Revival.7374 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of beings in the great hell Revival is, by this way of calculating, five hundred years. In human years, this is 1 trillion 620 billion years. Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, one hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three is one thousand divine years by this way of calculating.[F.142.a] According to human years, this is thirty-six million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, thirty-six million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings in the great hell Black Thread.75 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of beings in the great hell Black Thread is one thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 12 trillion 960 billion years.76 Untimely death77 does occur.” {S80}
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, two hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven Free from Strife. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven Free from Strife is two thousand divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years this is 144 million years.81 Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, one hundred forty-four million years—is one day and night for the beings in the great hell Crushing.82 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Crushing is two thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 103 trillion 680 billion years.83 Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, four hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of Joy. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of Joy is four thousand divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 576 million {S81} years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, five hundred seventy-six million human years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings in the great hell Wailing.88 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Wailing is four thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 829 trillion 440 billion years.89 Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, eight hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations is eight thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 2 billion 304 million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, 2 billion 304 million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings inhabiting the great hell Loud Wailing. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings inhabiting the great hell Loud Wailing92[F.143.a] is eight thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 6 quadrillion 635 trillion 520 billion years.93 Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, one thousand six hundred97 human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations.98 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations is sixteen thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 9 billion 216 million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, nine billion two hundred sixteen million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings inhabiting the great hell Heat.99 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings inhabiting the great hell Heat is sixteen thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years this is 53 quadrillion 84 trillion 160 billion years.100 Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, do you want to hear about the lifespan of beings who have been reborn in the Blistering Hell?”105
“Yes, Bhagavān, the time is right for that. Sugata, this is the right time for it. We, the monks, having heard the teaching from the Blessed One about the lifespan of beings that have been reborn in the Blistering Hell, will retain the teaching well.”106
“Monks, in that case, listen carefully and concentrate! I will teach. Monks, it is like this: Imagine a container107 with a capacity of twenty khārī108 that contains a full measure of twenty khārī of Kosalan sesame seeds and is filled to the brim with them. {S83} Now imagine that someone were to remove a single seed from that container every hundred years.109 I say, monks, that the contents of that container holding twenty khārīs of sesame seeds would quickly be emptied out completely by this method, but, monks, not so the lifespan of beings who have been reborn in the Blistering Hell.
“Twenty times the lifespan in the Blistering Hell is that in the Bursting Blister Hell.110 Twenty times the lifespan in the Bursting Blister Hell is that in the Hell of Chattering Teeth. Twenty times the lifespan in the Hell of Chattering Teeth is that in the Hell of Lamentation. Twenty times the lifespan in the Hell of Lamentation is that in the Cold Whimpering Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Cold Whimpering Hell is that in the Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell is that in the Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell is the Great Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell.111 Devadatta’s112 partisan,113 the monk Kokālika, because he felt anger toward114 the monks Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana,115 will be reborn in the Great Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell with his own body.116
“Therefore, monks, you should train the mind thus: not even toward the burnt stump of a tree should you generate an attitude of hatred, let alone toward a conscious being! You should train in that way, monks!”
Then, at this point, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:117
“Monks, the lifespan of beings inhabiting the great hell Intense Heat121 is half an eon. Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that point, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Incessant Torture122 is one eon. Premature death does occur. This is where the fool Devadatta was reborn with his own body because he split the undivided Saṅgha123 and, with evil intentions, drew the Tathāgata’s blood124 and beat a nun, who was an arhantī, to death.”125
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:126
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Brahmā’s Retinue130 is half an eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Brahmā’s Ministers is three quarters of an eon.131 Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Brahmā is one eon.132 Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Limited Radiance is two eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Boundless Radiance is four eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Luminous Radiance133 is eight eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Limited Virtue134 is sixteen eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Boundless Virtue135 is thirty-two eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Perfect Virtue136 is sixty-four eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Cloudless Heaven137 is one hundred twenty-five eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven Born from Merit138 is two hundred fifty eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Reward139 is five hundred eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of both the Insentient Beings and the devas of the Unlofty Heaven140 is one thousand eons.141 Premature death does occur. {S87}
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in Sorrowless Heaven142[F.145.a] is two thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Sublime Vision143 is four thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Vision144 is eight thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Highest Heaven145 is sixteen thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of the Infinity of Space is twenty thousand eons.146 Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of the Infinity of Consciousness is forty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of Nothingness is sixty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception is eighty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, from the hell Incessant Torture up to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception—which, monks, is the peak of existence—these states respectively demarcate the upper and lower limits of the whole of existence. These states are the manifestation of existence. They are the places where living beings of the five rebirth-destinies come and go, live, die, and are reborn. Enough with the manifestation of existence!147 I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration.148 Why is that? Because the manifestation of existence is suffering. Take, for instance, something that is impure: when even a little of it stinks, how much more so does a lot of it! In the same way, I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration. Why is that? Because, monks, the manifestation of existence is suffering. Ordinary, worldly people, uneducated in the Dharma,149 continually cycle again and again in the five rebirth-destinies;[F.145.b] again and again they rush to the hells, again and again to the animal realm, again and again to evil states, to unfortunate rebirth-destinies, to destruction. Therefore, monks, you should train in this way: ‘I shall strive to cut off the stream of existence at any point and not let saṃsāra unfold!’ Monks, you should train in this way!”
After the Blessed One had thus spoken, the monks were deeply overjoyed and rejoiced in the Blessed One’s words.
This concludes “The Sūtra on the Limits of Life.”
This is how the sūtra is classified in the Degé edition of the Kangyur, which no doubt followed the classification of the text in the Denkarma catalog (see Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, 156, no. 284). The term Hīnayāna is problematic for its derogatory connotations. On the problems with the common distinction of two “vehicles” (Hīnayāna/Mahāyāna), see Skilling 2013, 75–79.
Skt. kāmāloka/kāmadhātu, rūpaloka/rūpadhātu, and arūpaloka/arūpadhātu/ārūpyadhātu. We have adopted Gethin’s English translations of these terms (Gethin 1998, ch. 5, especially pp. 116–17). This summary of the Buddhist understanding of the cosmos according to the Abhidharma follows Gethin 1998 and The Sūtra on the Limits of Life itself. Gethin’s account follows mainly the Abhidharma tradition of the Theravādins. The accounts of other early Buddhist schools are largely in agreement and deviate only in certain details.
Thus, kāmāvacara, rūpāvacara, and arūpāvacara in Sanskrit. Skt. avacara here means the range or scope of the mind’s activity, i.e., what is or can be experienced.
The ten wholesome courses of action are usually expressed as the opposites of the ten unwholesome courses of action, thus, e.g., not killing living beings (Skt. aprāṇātighāta), etc. The Skt. collective term for the fortunate rebirth-destinies is sugati; the Tib. is bde ’gro.
The Heaven of Limited Radiance, the Heaven of Boundless Radiance, and the Heaven of Luminous Radiance.
The Heaven of Limited Virtue, the Heaven of Boundless Virtue, and the Heaven of Perfect Virtue.
Alternative translations that are often met with in secondary literature are “unconscious devas” or “unconscious beings,” “Concept-Free Gods,” etc. R. Sharf (Sharf 2014) argues that the Insentient Beings constitute a nominal category, necessitated by the internal logic of the Abhidharma system of meditation that designates a certain divine state of existence which, according to the Buddhist conception of the cosmos, is located in the form realm, and which is characterized by no conscious experience at all. This state of total mental calm is said to be the specific result of a meditative absorption called the attainment of the meditative state without consciousness (asaṃjñisamāpatti or asaṃjñāsamāpatti). This appears to be phenomenologically indistinguishable from the cessation of sensation and conceptualization (samjñā-vedayita-nirodha or, in short, nirodha-samāpatti), a praised state of meditative absorption that is achieved only by non-returners or arhats as a result of mastering the complete sequence of the eight absorptions. We have adopted the translation “Insentient Beings” from Robert Sharf (see Sharf 2014). A good alternative translation may be “Concept-Free Gods,” since it is not at all clear that this state entails a complete loss of consciousness, although in nontechnical usage Skt. saṃjñā can have this meaning (e.g., in expressions like vilupta-saṃjñā, “lost consciousness”).
“Ordinary” here means that this state is also attained by ordinary persons (pṛthagjana), i.e., those who have not achieved one of the stages that characterize noble persons (ārya-pudgala). Vasubandhu explains in the AKBh (AKBh(P), 68–69 on AK II.42): “To which bhūmi does it belong? 42b. In the Fourth Dhyāna. In order to cultivate this absorption, the ascetic should have entered the Fourth Dhyāna. Why does one cultivate it? 42c. Through desire for deliverance. The ascetic falsely imagines that āsaṃjñika, the non-consciousness that constitutes the result of the non-conscious absorption, is true deliverance. Āsaṃjñika, being retribution, is necessarily morally neutral. As for the non-conscious absorption, it is 42d. Good. It produces as its retributive result the five skandhas of a nonconscious god, who, as we know, is conscious at birth and at death […]. This absorption is cultivated only by Pṛthagjanas. 42f. Not by Āryans. The Āryans consider this absorption as a precipice, a calamity, and do not value entering it. On the contrary, Pṛthagjanas identify non-consciousness (āsaṃjñika) with true deliverance; they have no idea of ‘going out’ with respect to it; hence they cultivate the absorption that leads to it. But Āryans know that the impure cannot be true deliverance. Hence they do not cultivate this absorption” (tr. Pruden 1988–90, vol. 1, 223–24; the numbers followed by letters in the citation indicate the pādas of the verse that is commented upon).
Detailed explanations on the traditional concepts of the universe can be found, e.g., in Vasubandhu’s AKBh (= Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, ch. 3, especially pp. 451–74 (vol II) or in Jamgön Kongtrul 2003, ch. 2).
The title of the Chinese translation is given by Matsumura as Fo-shuo chiao-liang shou-ming ching. The sūtra is found in Taishō no. 759 (Taishō shinshū daizōkyō, vol. 17, pp. 601al–604a22). See Matsumura 1989, 73. For more information on this version of the sūtra, see Lewis R. Lancaster, “K 1105,” The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue.
See Matsumura 1989, Introduction: pp. 72–75. Matsumura has also published his own Japanese annotated translation of the Āyuḥparyantasūtra, which unfortunately could not be consulted in its original language by the present translator. Those who read Japanese are referred to Hisashi Matsumura, “Bonbun Kyōryōjumyō-kyō,” Review of International Buddhist University Faculty of Letters 14 (1982): 59–81.
Occasionally the Tibetan translation contains unexpected and unusual terms when compared to the Mahāvyutpatti, the famous Sanskrit–Tibetan lexicon used to help standardize translations in the massive state-sponsored translation program of the early translation period in Tibet. For example, Skt. verse 40 (cf. 1.66) has in Tib. dge slong (“[fully ordained] monk”) instead of the expected dge sbyong for the Sanskrit śramaṇa. However, Skt. verse 48 (cf. 1.79) pādas ab, which is identical to the passage in verse 40, does have the expected translation equivalent dge sbyong. To give another, perhaps more substantial, example, the Sanskrit text lists the Insentient Beings and the devas of the Unlofty Heaven with different lifespans, five hundred and one thousand eons respectively, while the Tibetan translation lists these two classes of devas together as having the same lifespan, namely, one thousand eons. See Matsumura 1989, 86 (Sanskrit) and 99 (Tibetan), paragraphs 57 and 58.
For detailed information on Drakpa Shedrup, see Treasury of Lives. The larger first part of this commentary contains a concise, summarized version (don bsdus) of the two Karmavibhaṅgasūtras (Toh 338 and Toh 339; see Galasek-Hul and Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche 2023 and 2021), which largely follows the structure of Toh 339. The second part of Drakpa Shedrup’s text contains the commentary on The Sūtra on the Limits of Life. While Drakpa Shedrup’s commentary does not add any new information that is not available from the sūtra itself, it does stand out for its conciseness and very clear language.
This is the standard sūtra beginning, which is missing in the Skt. edition of our text. We know from other Buddhist texts in Skt. that the formulaic beginning of sūtras may also be translated as, “This I have heard: At one time the Bhagavān was staying at…,” etc. (Skt. evam mayā śrutaṃ. ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā…, etc.) The matter continues to be debated by scholars. However, our translation follows the punctuation as found in the Tib. translation of the Āps, and in the majority of the Tib. translations of Skt. sūtras.
According to the Tib. The Skt. text additionally contains the monks’ reply: “ ‘Yes, master,’ the monks replied to the Bhagavān. Then the Bhagavān spoke to the monks thus: (evaṃ bhadanteti. te bhikṣavo bhagavataḥ pratyaśroṣuḥ. atha bhagavān tān bhikṣūn idam avocat; Matsumura 1998, 75).”
According to the Tib. For a similar passage, cf. dwags po thar rgyan in Guenther 1971, 62. It is interesting to note that syntax and lexis in a parallel passage in the dwags po thar rgyan are very similar to that of the Āps: rgyal chen rigs bzhi’i tshe tshad ni gang yin pa de ni dmyal ba yang sos kyi nyin zhag gcig yin la | de sum cu la zla ba gcig| zla ba bcu gnyis la lor brtsis pa’i yang sos kyis rang lo lnga brgya thub bo | | mi lo ltar na bye ba phrag ’bum drug khri nyis stong yod do||. The Skt. locution appears to be idiomatic and is difficult to render literally in English (Matsumura 1989, 75, paragraph 4): tena rātri(ṃ)divasena tṛṃśad rāt[r]akeṇa māsena, dvādaśa māsakena saṃvatsareṇa, tayā saṃvatsara[ga]ṇanayā paṃca varṣaśatāni pretānām āyuṣaḥ pramāṇaṃ.
A similar passage describing the appearance of pretas can be found in the Divyāvadāna, tr. Rotman 2008, 47: “Soon five thousand pretas who looked like scorched wooden pillars, raised up skeletons covered with hair from head to toe, with stomachs like mountains and mouths like pinholes, surrounded Śroṇa Koṭikarṇa” (yāvat pañcamātraiḥ pretasahasrair dagdhasthūṇāsadriśair asthiyantravaducchritaih svakeśaromapraticchannaiḥ parvatodarasaṃnibaiḥ sūcīchidropamamukhair anuparivāritaḥ Śroṇaḥ Koṭīkarṇaḥ. Ed. Cowell & Neil 1886, 7).
Tib. kha gdangs gnam du lta, Skt. vidāritonmukhā (“with their mouths turned up and gaping”). The image that is being invoked here is perhaps that of extreme hunger that makes them gape their mouths and turn their faces upward in anxious expectation of any food or drink that might come their way.
We interpret the Skt. compound kapālapāṇayo (ghorāḥ) as a karmadhāraya here (see Matsumura 1989, 76, v. 2c). For the only other occurrence of this term in Skt. Buddhist texts that we have come across so far, see Mahāvadānasūtra, where it clearly means “having/carrying a bowl in his hand” (see Mahāvadānasūtra, 16, §36.6, passim). The Tib. reads somewhat differently and its meaning is unclear: gzugs mi sdug pa ’greng zhing thod pa thogs (“Their deformed bodies stand erect and they hold bowl[s]”). Lama Kunga Rinpoche suggests either of two interpretations of the Tib.: (1) They are holding (skull?-)cups or bowls in their hands (constantly searching for food?); or (2) some feature of ugliness—referring to the form of their foreheads?—is being described (but the wording in Tib. is obscure). In later Skt. kapālapāṇi is used as an epithet of Śiva.
The Tib. translators changed the order of the pādas of the Skt. verses 2–4 (Matsumura 1989, pp. 75–76) from six lines (= 12 verse-quarters) with 12 syllables per line (= the Skt. meter vaṃśastha) to eight lines (= two verses?) with nine syllables each. The content, however, is mostly identical. My translation follows more closely the Tib. translation here.
Tib. shar gyi lus ’phags, “Majestic Body” (Jamgön Kongtrul 2003, 113). Skt. variant: Prāgvideha (so in AKBh; see also BHSD, s.v.). We leave the names of the four great continents untranslated in the main body of the text since the original form of the words in Skt. Buddhist literature is not consistent. For extensive explanations on the Buddhist world system itself, see Jamgön Kongtrul 2003, pp. 107–47; for the AKBh, see Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, ch. 3.
Tib. nub kyi ba lang spyod, “Bountiful Cow” (Jamgön Kongtrul 2003, 113). Variants of the name in Skt. and Pāli: Aparagoyāna, Goyānīya (Pāli), Aparagodānika, °godānīya (Mahāvastu), Godānīya (AKBh), Avaragodānīya (Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya, Gilgit), Aparagoḍānī (Lalitavistara), Aparagodāni (Dharmasaṃgraha); see BHSD.
Tib. byang gi sgra mi snyan, “Unpleasant/Harsh Sound.” The Tib. translation of the Skt. uttarakuru derives from a folk etymology (Skt. nirukti): Skt. ku (-kuṃsita?) = Tib. ngan pa (“bad”) and Skt. ru (= rava) = Tib. sgra (“voice/sound”); cf. Mvy, s.v. uttarakuruḥ. The Skt. word, though, seems to have originated from the designation of an actual geographical location.
The Tib. khyad par du ’gro ba means literally, “they achieve distinction.” For the Skt. equivalent viśeṣagāmin, cf. the similar phrase at SN V 370: || Yañca khvassa cittaṃ dīgharattaṃ saddhāparibhāvitam sīla-suta-cāga-paribhāvitaṃ || tam uddhagāmi hoti visesagāmi || || 5. Seyyathāpi Mahānāma puriso sappikumbham vā telakumbham vā gambhīram udakarahadam ogāhetvā bhindeyya || tatra yā assa sakkharā vā kaṭhalā vā sā adho-gāmī assa || yañca khvassa tatra sappi vā telaṃ vā tam uddhaṃgāmī assa visesāgamī ||. Tr. Bhikkhu Bodhi 2000, 1808–9: “But his mind, which has been fortified over a long time by faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom—that goes upwards, goes to distinction. Suppose, Mahānāma, a man submerges a pot of ghee or a pot of oil in a deep pool of water and breaks it. All of its shards and fragments would sink downwards, but the ghee or oil there would rise upwards.”
According to the Tib. The Skt. is ambiguous (pāda b: āśaṃsanti dhanaṃ paraṃ). Matsumura (1989, 76) edited the manuscript reading parāṃ to param. But parāṃ is a possible genitive plural (see BHSG, 60, § 8.124.) which would match the Tib. translation. Matsumura’s edition means, “they hope for later riches.”
Matsumura (1989, 76, note 3 to § [11]) gives the translation of the Chinese for this passage: “because they never accumulated positive actions, they will become low servants for others.”
According to the Tib. The pādas 8 ab are missing in the Skt. The verse presents an interesting argument for analogy (Skt. upamāna) as a source of knowledge with reference to the law of karma: the law of karma is generalized so as to apply also to cases that are not apparent or directly perceptible (Skt. parokṣa).
All the four main and the eight intermediate continents of the world are inhabited by humans (except for Cāmara, which is said to be inhabited by the rākṣasas); see Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 455–57.
Cf. AN IV 396: 1. Tīhi bhikkhave ṭhānehi Uttarakurukā manussā deve ca Tāvatiṃse adhigaṇhanti Jambudīpake ca manusse. Katamehi tīhi? 2. Amamā apariggahā niyatāyukā visesabhuno Imehi kho bhikkhave tīhi ṭhānehi Uttarakurukā manussā deve ca Tāvatiṃse adhigaṇhanti Jambudīpake ca ma-nusse. “Bhikkhus, in three respects the people of Uttarakuru surpass the Tāvatiṃsa devas and the people of Jambudīpa. What three? (1) They are without selfishness and possessiveness; (2) their life span is fixed; and (3) their living conditions are exceptional. In these three respects the people of Uttarakuru surpass the Tāvatiṃsa devas and the people of Jambudīpa” (tr. Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, 1277).
Cf. AKBh(P) 269,24–269,25 on AK IV.116: surūpatvaṃ yaśasvi vā | priyatā sukumārartusukhasparśāṅgatā tataḥ || AK IV.116 || varṇasampannaṃ dattvā surūpo bhavati | gandhasaṃpannaṃ dattvā yaśasvī bhavati | gandhavad yaśaso dikṣu vidhāraṇāt | rasasaṃpannaṃ dattvā priyo bhavati | rasa iva svāduḥ | sparśasaṃpannaṃ dattvā sukumārāṅgāś ca bhavati ṛtusukhasparśāni cāsyāṅgāni bhavanti yathā strīratnasya | “ ‘Whence results beauty, glory, love, tenderness (of youth), and a body with pleasant sensations, always perfectly adapted to the seasons.’ Beauty comes from giving perfect-colored objects; fame comes from giving perfect-smelling objects, since, like a fragrance, fame is carried into all directions. By giving perfect-tasting objects, one becomes loved, just as a sweet taste [is loved by all]. By giving (things) that are excellent in their tactile quality one becomes someone whose body is ever youthful and has pleasant sensations that are always perfectly adapted to the seasons [i.e., cool when it is hot and warm when it is chilly; cf. AKBh(P)(D), 743,23–25], like the jewel-like wife [of a universal monarch].”
According to the Tib. The word order is different in the Skt. Pāda b is missing, and pāda c is incomplete.
According to Skt. The Tib. is unclear: “Through the gleam of a light-causing gem they are always beautified. It is [also] that which allows them to digest their food.”
According to the Tib. The Skt. speaks of the alābu, i.e., the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria).
Literally, “after harvesting them, they can be eaten without having to prepare them.” The Tib. is slightly ambiguous, however: btso mi dgos par can mean “not needing to cook” or perhaps “not needing to prepare,” i.e., the fruits can be eaten “as is.” (cf. Jäschke, s.v. btso: “purification, refining; ser la tso tang ba ‘to refine gold’ (which term eventually is the same as ‘to boil’).” The Skt. apakṣalūnāṃ is obscure (a + prakṣalu, “without washing”?). Lama Kunga Rinpoche favors the translation “there is no need to wash them.”
The water with eight superior qualities is an Indian Buddhist trope. The eight qualities are cool, sweet, light, soft, clear, flavorsome, not upsetting to the stomach, and smooth in the throat.
The Tibetan and Chinese versions insert this extra stanza (cf. Matsumura 1989, 76, n. 13, [11]).
According to the Tib. The verb rtse (= Skt. verbal root krīḍ) can have a sexual connotation, but it can also mean just “to frolic, play.”
Skt. prathame yāme: traditionally, the night is subdivided into three periods of three hours each; cf. MW, s.v. yāma.
According to the Tib. The Tib. translation brings out a causal relationship between pādas ab. The Skt. just reads, “A mother does not recognize her son. The idea of possession and ownership does not exist.” See Skt. verse 22, pādas ab: mātā puttraṃ na jānīte nāsti teṣāṃ parigrahaḥ.
According to the Tib. The Skt. is different: na śocaṃti pṛyair nāśaṃ, “They do not lament the death of a loved one.”
D here reads bar ma don ni ’chi med pa, which seems to be scribal error. We follow the readings of the other Tib. editions and the critical ed. of Matsumura here and read bar ma dor ni ’chi med pa.
According to the Tib. The syntax of the Skt. (pādas abc) is slightly different: “After they have spent one thousand human years there, they die, but not before their time” (āyur varṣasahasraṃ hi kṣapayitvāttra mānuṣaṃ | mriyaṃnte nāntareṇeti).
According to the Tib. The Skt. seems to suggest a reading, “Having spread and increased their glory, they will not be reborn among the devas” ((kṛtvā) ca vipulaṃ śriyaṃ).
According to the Tib. The Skt., curiously, reads (verse 27c): deveṣu nopapadyate, “they will not be reborn among the devas.”
The Skt. text has the orthographic variant jambūdvīpa (in the secondary vṛddhi-formation jāmbūdvīpakā manuṣyā). The Tib. phonetically transcribes this name ’dzam bu’i gling; this (i.e., our) continent is named after the jambu tree (“rose apple”? But probably a mythical tree) that grows on it, and it is the only continent where bodhisattvas and cakravartins (universal monarchs) can be born. Cf. DPPN; Jamgön Kongtrul 2003, 112.
The lifespan of human beings in Jambudvīpa decreases and increases according to the kalpas. A more literal translation of the Skt. and Tib. would be, “Monks, for the human beings of Jambudvīpa, there exists increase as well as decrease [of the lifespan].”
The respective maximum lifespan depends on the current kalpa: In the first kalpa it is unlimited, in the last kalpa it is ten years (cf. AKBh on AK III.78 = Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 470). These numbers concur with the Pāli tradition; cf., e.g., Cakkavattisīhanādasutta (DN 26).
According to the Tib. The Skt. stresses “the present time” (etarhi) by placing it in sentence-initial position.
This is an idiomatic expression in Sanskrit Buddhist texts: samyaksukhena parihṛyamāna = Tib. legs par bde bar gnas na (cf. Avś: Speyer, I.194 = Vaidya, 88: samyak sukhena parihriyete); cf. also the Skt. idiom sukha- (sparśa-)vihara, “to be comfortable, to be at ease.”
The Tib. omits “during a lifespan of one hundred years” (varṣaśataṃ khalu jīvaṃ) and reads instead “Monks, with respect to the stages of life…” (dge slong dag ’tsho ba’i gnas skabs ni). The term avasthā (or daśā; Tib. ’tsho ba’i gnas skabs) is a technical term in Abhidharma literature denoting the different particular constellations (?) or states of the five skandhas within the chain of the twelve links of the formula of dependent arising (Skt. pratītyasamutpāda). Cf. Bronkhorst 2009, 94: “each of its twelve elements was a state (daśā or avasthā) of the five aggregates (skandha).” See also AKBh(P), p. 231,12–13 on AK IV,53 ab, where Vasubandhu mentions a different set of avasthā: five stages of the embryo and five stages of a grown-up human being: pañca hi garbhāvasthāḥ | kalalārbudapeśīghanapraśākhāvasthāḥ | pañca jātāvasthāḥ | bālakumāravamadhyavṛddhāvasthāḥ.
The Tib. reads stobs dang ldan pa, rendering the Skt. pratibhānavān, which is very likely an error; the expected translation equivalent of pratibhāna would be spobs pa (cf. Mvy, s.v.).
According to the Tib. The Skt. text is corrupt here; although the meaning of the passage seems to be quite straightforward, the remaining Skt. fragment of the corresponding part of the sentence seems to have a different reading compared to the translation equivalent of the Tib. given in the Mvy: khong du chud pa, avabodha (see Mvy, s.v. avabodhaḥ; cf. Matsumura 1989, 78 [14]).
According to the Skt. The Tib. reads, “In the eighth stage one is revered as an elder, and even kings show their respect” (gnas skabs brgyad pa ni rgyal pos bkur zhing rgan rabs su bkur ba yin no).
According to the Skt. The Tib. reads, “At the tenth stage one has reached the end of life and is near to death” (gnas skabs bcu pa ni tshe’i mthar thug pa ste ’chir nye bar yin no).
The three seasons are a common trope in Indian Buddhist literature; cf. AKBh(P), 177,19–21 on AK III 88c–89d (= tr. Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 475). Yaśomitra, the commentator of the AKBh, makes an interesting remark about this in his commentary, Sphuṭārthā Abhidharmakośavyākhyā: pravacane traya eva rtavo na yathā loke ṣaḍ iti. śiśiro hi śītasāmānyād dhemanta ity uktaḥ. vasanto ’py uṣṇasāmānyād grīṣma ity uktaḥ. śarad api vṛṣṭisāmānyād [Tib. 320.b] varṣā ity ukteti, “In Scripture, only three seasons [are mentioned], not six as there are in the world.”
According to the Tib., but the passage is not entirely clear. The Skt. reads sārdhaṃ (bhaktāntarāyaiḥ) (Matsumura 1989: 78 [16]). The Tib. has ma gtogs par, which would rather correspond to Skt. vinā. Either way, the meaning here is all the meals, i.e., inclusive and/or exclusive of the times when one can or does not eat (i.e., the times in between meals as well as, and perhaps inclusive of, in-between meals). The Skt., on the other hand, as given above, may rather translate to “including that which one eats in between main meals.”
According to the Tib., which is quite clear: phongs pa byung nas, “having become poor/when impoverished”; the Skt. is more ambiguous with the adjective kṛcchraprātaḥ, literally “being filled with difficulty (or pain, calamity, danger).”
According to the Tib. (bsnyungs ba byas te ma zos pa). The Skt. manuscript is defective here. Twelve akṣaras are missing, along with a missing word or compound ending in -pano: apatarpaṇam (“fasting during illness”?). Cf. Negi, s.v. bsnyung ba. bsnyung gnas is a well-known fasting practice in Tibetan Buddhism centering on a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara.
For another account of the lifespans of beings in the desire realm, see AKBh on AK III. pp.78–85 (English tr. Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 470–74).
Here and throughout according to the Tib. (de ni sems can dmyal ba chen po yang sos kyi nyin zhag gcig go). The Skt. translates literally to “This is one day and night in the great hell Revival.”
This hell derives its name from the fact that the beings reborn there must spend their time tied to one another and beating and killing each other. They are subsequently revived by a cold wind and then start all over again (see Guenther 1986, 57).
For detailed descriptions of the hells, explanations of their names, and the lifespan of beings in Gampopa’s dwags po thar rgyan, see Guenther 1986, 57–61.
From Gampopa we learn that in this hell, beings wake up and find lines drawn with a black thread all over their bodies, which mark the places where flaming axes and saws will cut them into pieces (cf. Guenther 1986, 57).
According to the Skt., which has the arithmetically correct number. The Tib. is unclear: lo bye ba phrag sa ya nyis ’bum dgu khri drug stong rtsa cu gnyis. The number of years mentioned in Gampopa’s dwags po thar rgyan (cf. Guenther 1986, p. 59) is identical with the Skt.: “twelve times one hundred thousand ten million years, and ninety-six thousand times ten million (= 12,960,000,000,000) years.”
The diction has changed in the Tib.: dus ma yin par ’chi ba ni yod do. The Skt. is the same as in the other paragraphs (asty antareṇa kālakriyā). According to Negi (Negi 2000, vol. 6, 2230, column II, s.v. dus ma yin pa’i ’chi ba), one would rather expect Skt. akāla-maraṇa.
The Skt. passive past participle drugdha has active meaning (lexicalized), cf. pw, s.v. druh.
In other words, people who openly neglect their religious duties and practice. The Skt. (pāda a) of this verse is defective. Matsumura (1998, 80 [23]) reads as the first word of the defective line adhura (= Tib. mi brtson pa?). Cf. BHSD, s.v. dhura: “burden,” esp. religious obligation or duty (corresponds to the Pāli gantha (“study of texts”), vipassanā (“reflection”), saddhā (“faith”), sīla (“moral discipline”), and paññā (“knowledge”)).
The Skt. contains the arithmetically correct number. The Tib., however, deviates (lo bye ba phrag bcu bzhi dang | lo khri bzhi stong = ?).
See Guenther 1986, 57. The beings reborn there are pressed between mountains or iron plates, and their crushed bodies are revived again only to experience the same kind of suffering again until their time there is over.
According to the Skt., which has the arithmetically correct number. The Tib. deviates (lo bye ba phrag sum ’bum drug khri brgyad stong rtsa gcig = ?). See Guenther 1986, 59: “this is ten million times ten million years and three hundred and sixty-eight thousand times ten million years.” Konchog Gyaltsen’s translation of Gampopa (1998, 99) has: “The life span in the Crushing hell is 2,000 years, which is similar to that of the Free-of-Combat devas. In human terms, this is equal to 103,680,000,000,000 years.”
According to the Tib. (ba lang, “cow, ox”) The Skt. manuscript has a lacuna here. Matsumura suggests reading balākān (“crane,” balāka). Cf. MW, s.v. balāka: “a kind of crane (the flesh of which is eaten).”
According to the Tib. (bya gag), which may mean either waterfowl (e.g., ducks) or chickens or other kinds of (wild) birds hunted as game. The Skt. has kuk[k]uṭa (“chicken”). The Mvy lists Skt. vakaḥ, “heron, crane” (cf. MW), as the standard translation equivalent for bya gag.
This is the arithmetically correct number according to the Skt. if we interpret the word nayuta as “one million” (= prayuta?): tad bhavati māṇuṣikayā gaṇanayā aṣṭau varṣakoṭīna(yutāny ekona)ttriṃśac ca varṣakoṭīśatasahasrāṇi [catuścatvāriṃ]śac ca varṣakoṭīsahasrāṇy āyuṣaḥ pramāṇaṃ (Matsumura 1989, 95, [28]). The Tib. seems to have listed the numbers of the numerical expression in a different order: lo bye ba phrag sa ya gnyis dang | bye ba phrag dgu ’bum bzhi khri bzhi stong dang | bye ba phrag brgyad (= 82.944 x 1010 or 29,440,080,000,000 years?). Cf. dwags po thar rgyan, 43: mi lo ltar na | bye ba phrag bye ba brgyad dang | bye ba phrag lnga ’bum bzhi dang | bye ba phrag sa ya lnga bzhi khri nyis stong yod do, which seems to suggest yet another number. See, however, Guenther’s tr. (Guenther 1986, 59): “eight million times ten million years and two million times ten million years and nine hundred and forty-four thousand times ten million years.” Cf. also the arithmetically correct number in Konchog Gyaltsen’s translation of the dwags po thar rgyan (Konchog Gyaltsen 1998, 99): “829,440,000,000,000 years.”
According to the Skt. The Tib. is unclear (gzhal lugs [L glugs] g.yo dang sgyu [L sgyur] byed mi). The Skt. words tūṭaka and vaṭika in pāda d are problematic. Vaṭika seems to be just a variant spelling for vātika, for which see MW: “m. a man of mere words, noisy talker, flatterer; m. a juggler or conjurer.” The word tūṭaka seems to be a misspelling of the Skt. kūṭaka, for which the PED gives the following meanings: “a trap, a snare; fig. falsehood, deceit,” etc., and MW: “mfn. false, untrue, deceitful […]; n. counterfeited objects (of a merchant).” The Skt. in pāda c reads na datto bhairavaṃ nādaṃ, which makes sense in this context. The Tib. translation does not seem to have picked up the negation (Skt. na) and reads, “And who use their voice to terrify others” (’jigs su rung ba’i sgra ’byin cing).
The comparative list of the dpe bsdur ma Kangyur edition gives two variant readings here: Yongle has gzhan la for gzhal (lugs?), and Choné, too, according to Matsumura’s critical edition, reads gzhan. We follow Yongle here.
According to the Skt., which has the arithmetically correct number. The Tib. reads bye ba phrag sa ya gsum dang bye ba phrag lnga ’bum khri nyis stong drug cu rtsa drug (≠ 663.552 x 1010). See also Konchog Gyaltsen (1998, 99): “6,635,520,000,000,000 years.”
According to the Tib. The Skt. reads viśvāsaghātaka (“traitor”), which is paraphrased in the Tib. translation.
According to the Tib. (bskor ba’i khyim gyi nang chud nas). The Skt. of this pāda is defective. Matsumura’s reading is unclear (dahyante nta [xx] ruddhā); See Matsumura 1989, 82, [32].
The restored Skt. text (Matsumura 1989, 82) reads ṣo[ḍaśa varṣa]śatāni, “one thousand six hundred years.”
See also AKBh on AK III.71a and b, tr. Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 466: “There are beings whose objects of desire are created by others but who themselves dispose of these objects created by others. These are the Paranirmitavaśavartins.”
The Buddha’s teachings regarding subjects such as wisdom, psychology, metaphysics, and cosmology.
A word for a high number (ten million). Also translated as “Blistering Hell” when it designates one of the eight cold hells. See also n.119.
In Sanskrit, arhat is the masculine form, and arhantī is the feminine form of the word; the Tibetan translation of the Āyuḥparyantasūtra does not distinguish a masculine and a feminine form. It refers to one who has achieved the fourth and final level of attainment on the śrāvaka path, and who has attained liberation with the cessation of all mental afflictions. The Sanskrit literally means “worthy one.” The Tibetan interpretation explains the Middle Indic form arahat as ari-hata, “someone who has killed his foes (i.e., mental afflictions).”
One who has achieved the fourth and final level of attainment on the śrāvaka path, and who has attained liberation with the cessation of all mental afflictions. The Skt. means literally “worthy one.” The Tibetan interpretation explains the Middle Indic form arahat as ari-hata, “someone who has killed his foes (i.e., mental afflictions).”
An ordinary or worldly form of the fourth meditative absorption. It is variously interpreted as a positive attainment or a counterfeit state of liberation (see Buswell and Lopez 2014, 67).
The western continent according to Buddhist cosmology. See also n.32.
Paltsek (eighth to early ninth century), from the village of Kawa north of Lhasa, was one of Tibet’s preeminent translators. He was one of the first seven Tibetans to be ordained by Śāntarakṣita and is counted as one of Guru Rinpoché’s twenty-five close disciples. In a famous verse by Ngok Lotsawa Loden Sherab, Kawa Paltsek is named along with Chokro Lui Gyaltsen and Zhang (or Nanam) Yeshé Dé as part of a group of translators whose skills were surpassed only by Vairotsana.
He translated works from a wide variety of genres, including sūtra, śāstra, vinaya, and tantra, and was an author himself. Paltsek was also one of the most important editors of the early period, one of nine translators installed by Tri Songdetsen (r. 755–797/800) to supervise the translation of the Tripiṭaka and help catalog translated works for the first two of three imperial catalogs, the Denkarma (ldan kar ma) and the Samyé Chimpuma (bsam yas mchims phu ma). In the colophons of his works, he is often known as Paltsek Rakṣita (rak+Shi ta).
The Sanskrit word bhaga means, among other things, “good fortune,” “happiness,” “prosperity,” and “excellence.” The suffix -vat/vant indicates possession. Thus the term bhagavān (masculine singular nominative form) means “blessed one” or “one endowed with fortune.” The three syllables of the Tibetan translation mean that a buddha has overcome or conquered (bcom), is endowed [with qualities] (ldan), and has gone beyond [saṃsāra and nirvāṇa] (’das).
Name of one of the great hells; see also n.75.
Name of one of the eight cold hells. Its inhabitants are tormented by a cold wind that causes their bodies to be covered in sores. The Skt. arbuda in other contexts may refer to a number; see n.119.
Name of one of the eight cold hells. Its inhabitants are tormented by a cold wind that causes their bodies to be covered in sores that burst open. The Skt. nirarbuda in other contexts may refer to a number; see also n.119.
The tenth of the heavens of the form realm. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the third or, according to the Mvy, fourth meditative absorption. See also n.137.
Name of one of the eight cold hells. It is named for the sounds its inhabitants make while enduring unthinkable cold.
Name of one of the great hells; see also n.82.
In Buddhist cosmology, our sphere of existence where beings are driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification and attachment to material substance. It is one of the three basic divisions of the realms of existence that constitute saṃsāra. The other two are the form realm and the formless realm. See Gethin 1998, 116–18.
The historical Buddha’s cousin, and brother of Ānanda. He became notorious through his schemes to become the Buddha’s successor—to the point of attempting to kill the Buddha—and through the splitting of the Saṅgha.
According to Buddhist cosmology it designates the timespan in which an entire universe evolves and dissolves again, thus completing a cosmic cycle. For the different kinds of kalpas according to Abhidharma teachings, see AKBh on AK III.89d–93 (for English tr., see Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 475–81).
A synonym of “unfortunate rebirth-destiny.”
Here, srid pa denotes the whole of existence, i.e., the five rebirth-destinies or the three worlds—all the possible kinds and places of karmic rebirth. It is also the tenth of the twelve links of dependent origination (often translated as “becoming”).
A shorter form of the six classes of beings, these are (1) hell beings, (2) pretas, (3) animals, (4) human beings, and (5) devas. The fifth category is divided into devas and demigods when six realms are enumerated.
In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence one level more subtle than our own (the desire realm), where beings, though subtly embodied, are not driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification. It is one of the three basic divisions of the realms of existence that constitute saṃsāra. The other two are the desire realm and the formless realm. See Gethin 1998, 116–18.
In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence two levels more subtle than our own (the desire realm), where beings are no longer physically embodied, and thus not subject to the sufferings that physical embodiment brings. It is one of the three basic divisions of the realms of existence that constitute saṃsāra. The other two are the desire realm and the form realm. See Gethin 1998, 116–18.
A Tibetan translator.
The great hells are also often called hot hells in secondary literature because beings there suffer from heat and being burned. They are Wailing, Loud Wailing, Black Thread, Crushing, Revival, Heat, Intense Heat, and Incessant Torture. Within in the Kangyur, one elaborate description of the eight hells is found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Toh 287), 2.294–2.1280.
Name of one of the eight cold hells. The extreme cold of this hell turns the skin of its denizens blue, red, and then extremely red until they crack apart into a hundred or more pieces like the petals of a great lotus.
Name of one of the great hells (Skt. mahānaraka). Inhabitants of this hell are boiled in cauldrons, roasted in pans, beaten with hammers, and skewered with spears as their bodies burst into flame. See Guenther 1986, 58; Konchog Gyaltsen 1998, 99, for descriptions of this hell.
The eleventh of the heavens of the form realm. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the third or, according to the Mvy, fourth meditative absorption. See also n.138.
The third of the six heavens of the desire realm. The Tibetan translation ’thab bral, “free from strife or combat,” derives from the idea that these devas, because they live in an aerial abode above Mount Meru, do not have to engage in combat with the asuras who dwell on the slopes of the mountain.
The fifth of the heavens of the form realm. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the second meditative absorption.
The eighth of the heavens of the form realm. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the third meditative absorption. See also n.135.
The second of the heavens of the form realm and of the three Brahmā heavens. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the first meditative absorption.
The lowest of the heavens of the form realm and of the first of the three Brahmā heavens. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the first meditative absorption. See also n.130.
The fifth of the six heavens of the desire realm. Its inhabitants magically create the objects of their own enjoyment and dispose of them themselves.
The third of the heavens of the form realm and the third of the three Brahmā heavens. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the first meditative absorption.
The twelfth of the heavens of the form realm. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing an ordinary form of the fourth meditative absorption. See also n.139.
The third highest of the Pure Abodes in the form realm; non-returners and those who have mastered the fourth meditative absorption are reborn there. See also n.144.
The fourth of the six heavens of the desire realm. The heaven from which Śākyamuni descended to be born into this world and where all future buddhas dwell prior to their awakening.
The fourth of the heavens of the form realm. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the second meditative absorption.
The seventh of the heavens of the form realm. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the third meditative absorption. See also n.134.
The sixth of the heavens of the form realm. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the second meditative absorption. See also n.133.
The ninth of the heavens of the form realm. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the third meditative absorption. See also n.136.
One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology belonging to the form realm. The fourth-highest heaven of the Pure Abodes. Non-returners and those who have mastered the fourth meditative absorption are reborn there. See also n.143.
The sixth and highest of the heavens of the desire realm. The inhabitants enjoy objects created by others and dispose of them themselves. See also n.98.
The second of the six heavens of the desire realm. It is traditionally located atop Mount Meru, just above the terrace of the abodes of the Four Great Kings. Its chief is Śakra/Indra.
One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, hell beings are engendered by anger and powerful negative actions. They are dominated by great suffering and said to dwell in eight different hells, each with specific characteristics.
Name of one of the eight cold hells. It is named for the sounds its inhabitants make while enduring unthinkable cold.
One of the eight cold hells. It is named for the sounds its inhabitants make while enduring unthinkable cold.
The highest of the seventeen heavens of the form realm and the fifth and highest of the five Pure Abodes. Rebirth there is the karmic result of accomplishing the fourth meditative absorption. See also n.145.
The lowest and worst of the major hot hells according to Buddhist cosmology; see also n.122.
A class of beings in the form realm, and the thirteenth heaven of the form realm on a level just below the devas of the Pure Abodes. The Insentient Beings are characterized by having a body but no conscious experience at all; this state is the karmic result of an ordinary or worldly form of the fourth meditative absorption called the attainment of the meditative state without consciousness. See also n.9.
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[F.XYZ.x] folio no. and side (a = recto, b = verso) in the Degé edition of the Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 139.a–145.b.
pw Böhtlingk, Otto. Petersburger Wörterbuch.
{SXY} Numbers in curly brackets preceded by S indicate page number in Matsumura’s edition (Matsumura 1989) of the Sanskrit text of the Gilgit manuscript.
Āps Āyuḥparyantasūtra.
