In this short sūtra, the Buddha first instructs the monks to carry the ringing staff and then provides a brief introduction to its significance. In response to Venerable Mahākāśyapa’s queries, the Buddha gives a more detailed explanation of the attributes of the staff and the benefits that can be derived from holding it. In the course of his exposition, he also elucidates the rich symbolism of its parts, such as the four prongs and the twelve rings. Finally, the Buddha explains that while the ringing staff is carried by all buddhas of the past, present, and future, the number of prongs on the staff might vary.
The sūtra was translated by the Sarasvatī Translation Team, whose members thank Peter Skilling for having kindly provided several publications and his unpublished article related to the ringing staff. They acknowledge with love and gratitude the privilege of having had, as team editor, Steven Rhodes, who passed away in 2017. They are also grateful to Eleanor Brunnen who stepped in to help with the editing.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Buddhism is replete with symbolic objects, ranging from the well-known eight-spoked wheel representing the eightfold path of noble beings to esoteric maṇḍalas that represent entire pure universes. The subject matter of this sūtra is one such article known as “the ringing staff” (Skt. khakkhara,1 Tib. ’khar gsil, Ch. xizhang), which is one of the requisites of a fully ordained monastic.2 Though textual sources report the existence of the renunciant’s staff in India prior to the time of the Buddha, the staff used by Buddhist monastics is unique. Buddhist texts associate the ringing staff and teachings on its symbolic significance with the Buddha himself. In South Asian Buddhism, Vinaya texts as well as pilgrims’ accounts furnish references to the ringing staff, and its representations can be found in visual art. In Central, East, and Southeast Asia as well as in Tibet, an even wider range of evidence attests to its presence in Buddhist cultures.3
When a monastic shakes the staff during alms rounds, the ringing sounds produced by its rings alert householders to the presence of a monastic collecting alms. Beyond its practical usage, the staff reminds a monastic of salient points that pertain to the spiritual path leading to awakening. In addition, the components, combined in intricate ways, are themselves laden with symbolic significance.
Underscoring its great importance as an emblem of Buddhist renunciation, Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna spoke the following lines in a teaching entitled “The Riches of the Noble Ones and the Khakkhara Staff,” which was delivered to the saṇgha at Nyethang Or, his retreat near Lhasa:
- “Wherever this [staff] is upheld is a central region;
- In the borderlands, none uphold it,
- Nor is it the domain of householders.
- Householders are [drowning] in suffering,
- Whereas the upholders of [the staff] dwell in happiness.
- So, depart from your home and uphold it.”4
Vinaya texts preserve scattered accounts of traditions related to the ringing staff’s origin, structure, material, and uses.5 Two sūtras in the General Sūtra section of the Kangyur are focused on the subject of the ringing staff. The first (Toh 335), which is translated in the following pages, is the longer of the two. It discusses the religious significance and symbolism of the ringing staff. The Rite for the Protocols Associated with Carrying the Ringing Staff (Toh 336), on the other hand, presents a simple ritual for a monk to receive a ringing staff as well as an elaborate set of twenty-five rules stipulating how a ringing staff is to be properly used.
A single text in the Taishō edition of the Chinese Tripiṭaka includes material found in both Toh 335 and Toh 336. The De daoti cheng xizhang jing (得道梯橙錫杖經, Taishō 785), the translation of which is dated to the Jin Dynasty (317–420
Regardless of whether the De daoti cheng xizhang jing was wholly or partially composed in China,8 there are several factors that support the case that The Sūtra on the Ringing Staff (Toh 335) is a Tibetan translation of the corresponding section within it. First of all, the Tibetan sūtra is close to the relevant section of the Chinese, with differences being found generally in specific short phrases. The Tibetan sūtra lacks the customary Sanskrit title, and most versions lack a translator’s colophon.9 Moreover, the Dunhuang manuscript of The Sūtra on the Ringing Staff and The Rite for the Protocols Associated with Carrying the Ringing Staff contains a colophon that states that both the sūtra and the rite were translated from the Chinese by the well-known translator Chödrup.10
On the other hand, the thirteenth century Tibetan scholar Chomden Rikpai Raltri (bcom ldan rig pa’i ral gri, 1227–1305), lists this text and Toh 336, which he calls “the longer and shorter ringing staff sūtras” (’khar sil gyi mdo che chung gnyis) among twenty-one canonical texts translated from Khotanese.11 This seems to contradict the evidence from the Dunhuang colophon, and may possibly be a reference to alternative translations that have not been preserved. Whatever the case, the general notion that these texts evolved in Khotan from earlier material brought from India, before being transmitted to both China and Tibet, seems by no means unlikely.
The present translation is based on the Degé Kangyur, with reference to variants in other versions noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and to the Dunhuang manuscript, as well as a comparison with the relevant sections of the Chinese in the Taishō edition of De daoti cheng xizhang jing. Only significant differences between the Chinese and the Tibetan versions of the sūtra have been noted.12
[F.271.a]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Once, the Blessed One said to the monks, “You shall carry this ringing staff. Why? Because past buddhas have carried this ringing staff and future buddhas will carry this ringing staff. Present buddhas also carry this ringing staff; having now attained awakening, I carry the ringing staff.[F.271.b] In a similar manner, past, future, and present buddhas instruct the listeners, ‘You shall carry the ringing staff.’ So now, having attained awakening, I also teach you in accordance with the Dharma of the buddhas, and you too shall carry the ringing staff. Why?
“The ringing staff is also called the staff of gnosis. It is also called the staff of excellent qualities. Because it signifies the gnosis of noble beings, it is called the staff of gnosis. Because it builds the foundation of excellent qualities, it is called the staff of excellent qualities.
“This ringing staff signifies that the holder is a sublime being belonging to the lineage of noble beings, it is an emblem that points to the Dharma of the path, and it is a practice that facilitates recollection. Therefore, you should carry it according to the Dharma.”
Then Venerable Mahākāśyapa rose from his seat, adjusted his robes, draped his upper robe over one shoulder, joined his palms, and knelt on the ground. He inquired of the Blessed One, “Blessed One, why is it called a ‘ringing staff’? How should it be carried? May the Blessed One explain. We will practice as instructed.”
The Blessed One said to Kāśyapa, “Listen well, keep it in mind, and I shall explain.
“The ringing staff brings relief. Those who rely upon this ringing staff will eliminate afflictions and emerge from the three realms. Therefore, it is said to bring relief.
“The ringing staff causes illumination. Those who hold the ringing staff will attain the illumination of wisdom. Therefore, it is said to cause illumination.
“The ringing staff brings about irreversibility.[F.272.a] Those who hold the ringing staff will emerge from the three realms of existence and also be unattached. Therefore, it is said to bring about irreversibility of spiritual progress.
“The ringing staff causes understanding. What does the ringing staff cause one to comprehend? One will understand suffering, emptiness, and the fetters that are afflictions of the three realms, and one will clearly realize the four truths and the twelve links of dependent origination. Therefore, it is said to cause understanding.
“The ringing staff eliminates pride. Those who hold the ringing staff will give up acting pridefully. Therefore, it is said to eliminate pride.
“The ringing staff keeps others at a distance. Those who hold this ringing staff will distance themselves from the five sensual objects. Therefore, they will give up the fetters of craving for sensual objects, discard the five aggregates, give up the five states of existence, approach nirvāṇa, and also expel conditioning karma far away. Therefore, it is said to keep others at a distance.
“The ringing staff adopts. By adopting the precious discipline, meditative stabilization, and wisdom of the buddhas, those who hold the ringing staff will attain freedom. Therefore, it is said to adopt.
“The ringing staff brings accomplishment. By becoming accomplished in the collections of the Buddha’s teachings and practicing them as taught,13 those who hold the ringing staff will not fall back but become excellent. Therefore, it is said that it brings accomplishment.”
“Kāśyapa,” the Blessed One concluded, “since the meanings of the term ringing staff are vast and multifarious, they cannot be described fully, but for the time being you should comprehend them in that way.”[F.272.b]
Kāśyapa then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, if the meanings of the ringing staff are so, what are the reasons for this whole range of meanings, from ‘staff of gnosis’ to ‘it is a practice aimed at the application of recollection’?14 Could the Blessed One explain?”
The Blessed One replied, “The ringing staff causes the accomplishment of the practice of gnosis; causes the accomplishment of vast learning; engenders an unhindered understanding of worldly and transcendent wisdom, virtue and nonvirtue, the conditioned and unconditioned, and the contaminated and uncontaminated; and it causes the accomplishment of wisdom. Therefore, it is called the staff of gnosis.
“Practicing the strict observance of discipline, patience, the cultivation of meditative concentration with a single-pointed mind devoid of distraction,15 and constant meritorious actions, as if their head or turban had caught fire, those who hold the ringing staff do not forsake these practices even for an instant. Therefore, it is called the staff of excellent qualities.
“Those who hold this ringing staff will become perfect in the sixteen kinds of practice: (1–4) the four truths of suffering, origin, cessation, and the path; (5–8) the four immeasurable states of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity; (9–12) the four meditative concentrations: the first meditative concentration, second meditative concentration, third meditative concentration, and fourth meditative concentration; and (13–16) the four formless states of meditative attainment: the sphere of infinite space, the sphere of infinite consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, and the sphere of neither perception nor absence of perception.[F.273.a] In addition, they will become perfect in the thirty-seven practices—namely, the thirty-seven aids to awakening—and they will discern these dharmas with clarity.16 Because they actualize them physically, they do not pursue words. They frolic in these dharmas and are free to enter the gateways to liberation of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness at will and without difficulty.17 Such persons are called noble beings.
“Possessing such qualities internally, they hold the ringing staff externally. Because of this, it is beyond doubt that such persons are perfect in the excellent qualities of noble beings: discipline, patience, meditative concentration, wisdom, the threefold knowledge, the six types of supernatural knowledge, and the eight kinds of liberation. Because the ringing staff engenders respect by signifying that such persons are noble beings, it is called the sign of a noble being.
“As for the expression ‘that which signifies that the holder is a sublime being,’ because of possessing the nature of gnosis within, a person is said to be ‘sublime.’ The ringing staff engenders respect by signifying that the person is a noble being.18 It thereby shows that, because of possessing the nature of gnosis that is present within a noble being, the holder accomplishes the foundation of excellent qualities, strives for increasingly higher qualities, and accomplishes them well. Therefore, it is called that which signifies that the holder is a sublime being.
“It makes known that ‘this clear-minded person, having practiced by means of wisdom, will enter before long the path leading to a peaceful and secluded state beyond conditioning, namely the bliss of nirvāṇa, the ultimate place.’ Therefore, the ringing staff is called the emblem that points to the Dharma of the path.
“As for the expression ‘it is a practice that facilitates recollection,’ this ringing staff has three levels. Just by seeing the structure of the three segments, having recollected the suffering of the three lower states of existence,[F.273.b] one will cultivate discipline, meditative stabilization, and wisdom; having recollected the three misfortunes—aging, sickness, and death—one will dispel the three poisons: attachment, hatred, and ignorance; and having recollected the three realms as impermanent, one will generate belief in and respect for the Three Jewels, eliminate the three realms of existence, discard the three contaminations,19 purify the three kinds of karma, wish to possess the threefold knowledge, enter the three liberations, obtain the three states of the six recollections,20 and realize the three gnoses that take one far. Hence, it is presented in its structure of three segments.
“Furthermore, it is made with four prongs. For the purpose of severing the four types of birth, recollecting the four truths, cultivating the four immeasurable states, entering the four meditative concentrations, purifying the four states of meditative attainment, revealing the four applications of mindfulness, teaching the four kinds of exertion,21 and obtaining the four bases of supernatural power, it is made with four prongs.
“With the central wooden shaft included, it is shown to have five aspects. For the purpose of forsaking the five views,22 discarding the disturbances of the suffering of saṃsāra of the five states of existence, cultivating the five faculties, possessing the five powers, eliminating the five hindrances, dismantling the five aggregates, and attaining the Dharma body having five parts, it is shown to have five aspects.
“It is taught that there are twelve rings so that one will recall the twelve links of dependent origination and will do so without being impeded, one will cultivate the meditative concentrations of the twelve doors, and one will recollect with a flawless mind.[F.274.a]
“It is taught to have seven parts—the combination of the three levels and the four prongs—so that one will recollect the Dharma of the seven branches of the awakening of the Tathāgata and accomplish the seven treasures of noble beings.
“With the lower tip included, it is shown to have eight parts. It is for the purpose of teaching the eight branches of the path, attaining the eight kinds of liberation, and dispelling the eight inopportune states that the eight parts are shown.
“That is the brief meaning of the ringing staff. Therefore, you should retain it well.”
Kāśyapa promised the Blessed One, “Blessed One, it shall be done just as it has been taught in the noble statements.”
Mahākāśyapa then inquired again of the Blessed One, “Blessed One, are all the teachings of the tathāgatas of the three times the same?”
The Blessed One replied, “For some, the staff is the same but the usage is different. On account of that, during the time of some, it is made with four prongs, and during the time of others, it is made with two prongs. The number of rings does not vary. As for me, I have taught that it should be made with four prongs and twelve rings.
“The two-prong design was established by the Tathāgata Kāśyapa. This meaning was established for the sake of sentient beings recollecting the two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth.”
At that time, after the Blessed One had spoken these words, Venerable Mahākāśyapa, the entourage of 1,200 followers, and the large congregation were delighted and gave praise respectfully.
This concludes The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Ringing Staff.
In this short sūtra, the Buddha first instructs the monks to carry the ringing staff and then provides a brief introduction to its significance. In response to Venerable Mahākāśyapa’s queries, the Buddha gives a more detailed explanation of the attributes of the staff and the benefits that can be derived from holding it. In the course of his exposition, he also elucidates the rich symbolism of its parts, such as the four prongs and the twelve rings. Finally, the Buddha explains that while the ringing staff is carried by all buddhas of the past, present, and future, the number of prongs on the staff might vary.
The sūtra was translated by the Sarasvatī Translation Team, whose members thank Peter Skilling for having kindly provided several publications and his unpublished article related to the ringing staff. They acknowledge with love and gratitude the privilege of having had, as team editor, Steven Rhodes, who passed away in 2017. They are also grateful to Eleanor Brunnen who stepped in to help with the editing.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Buddhism is replete with symbolic objects, ranging from the well-known eight-spoked wheel representing the eightfold path of noble beings to esoteric maṇḍalas that represent entire pure universes. The subject matter of this sūtra is one such article known as “the ringing staff” (Skt. khakkhara,1 Tib. ’khar gsil, Ch. xizhang), which is one of the requisites of a fully ordained monastic.2 Though textual sources report the existence of the renunciant’s staff in India prior to the time of the Buddha, the staff used by Buddhist monastics is unique. Buddhist texts associate the ringing staff and teachings on its symbolic significance with the Buddha himself. In South Asian Buddhism, Vinaya texts as well as pilgrims’ accounts furnish references to the ringing staff, and its representations can be found in visual art. In Central, East, and Southeast Asia as well as in Tibet, an even wider range of evidence attests to its presence in Buddhist cultures.3
When a monastic shakes the staff during alms rounds, the ringing sounds produced by its rings alert householders to the presence of a monastic collecting alms. Beyond its practical usage, the staff reminds a monastic of salient points that pertain to the spiritual path leading to awakening. In addition, the components, combined in intricate ways, are themselves laden with symbolic significance.
Underscoring its great importance as an emblem of Buddhist renunciation, Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna spoke the following lines in a teaching entitled “The Riches of the Noble Ones and the Khakkhara Staff,” which was delivered to the saṇgha at Nyethang Or, his retreat near Lhasa:
- “Wherever this [staff] is upheld is a central region;
- In the borderlands, none uphold it,
- Nor is it the domain of householders.
- Householders are [drowning] in suffering,
- Whereas the upholders of [the staff] dwell in happiness.
- So, depart from your home and uphold it.”4
Vinaya texts preserve scattered accounts of traditions related to the ringing staff’s origin, structure, material, and uses.5 Two sūtras in the General Sūtra section of the Kangyur are focused on the subject of the ringing staff. The first (Toh 335), which is translated in the following pages, is the longer of the two. It discusses the religious significance and symbolism of the ringing staff. The Rite for the Protocols Associated with Carrying the Ringing Staff (Toh 336), on the other hand, presents a simple ritual for a monk to receive a ringing staff as well as an elaborate set of twenty-five rules stipulating how a ringing staff is to be properly used.
A single text in the Taishō edition of the Chinese Tripiṭaka includes material found in both Toh 335 and Toh 336. The De daoti cheng xizhang jing (得道梯橙錫杖經, Taishō 785), the translation of which is dated to the Jin Dynasty (317–420
Regardless of whether the De daoti cheng xizhang jing was wholly or partially composed in China,8 there are several factors that support the case that The Sūtra on the Ringing Staff (Toh 335) is a Tibetan translation of the corresponding section within it. First of all, the Tibetan sūtra is close to the relevant section of the Chinese, with differences being found generally in specific short phrases. The Tibetan sūtra lacks the customary Sanskrit title, and most versions lack a translator’s colophon.9 Moreover, the Dunhuang manuscript of The Sūtra on the Ringing Staff and The Rite for the Protocols Associated with Carrying the Ringing Staff contains a colophon that states that both the sūtra and the rite were translated from the Chinese by the well-known translator Chödrup.10
On the other hand, the thirteenth century Tibetan scholar Chomden Rikpai Raltri (bcom ldan rig pa’i ral gri, 1227–1305), lists this text and Toh 336, which he calls “the longer and shorter ringing staff sūtras” (’khar sil gyi mdo che chung gnyis) among twenty-one canonical texts translated from Khotanese.11 This seems to contradict the evidence from the Dunhuang colophon, and may possibly be a reference to alternative translations that have not been preserved. Whatever the case, the general notion that these texts evolved in Khotan from earlier material brought from India, before being transmitted to both China and Tibet, seems by no means unlikely.
The present translation is based on the Degé Kangyur, with reference to variants in other versions noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and to the Dunhuang manuscript, as well as a comparison with the relevant sections of the Chinese in the Taishō edition of De daoti cheng xizhang jing. Only significant differences between the Chinese and the Tibetan versions of the sūtra have been noted.12
[F.271.a]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Once, the Blessed One said to the monks, “You shall carry this ringing staff. Why? Because past buddhas have carried this ringing staff and future buddhas will carry this ringing staff. Present buddhas also carry this ringing staff; having now attained awakening, I carry the ringing staff.[F.271.b] In a similar manner, past, future, and present buddhas instruct the listeners, ‘You shall carry the ringing staff.’ So now, having attained awakening, I also teach you in accordance with the Dharma of the buddhas, and you too shall carry the ringing staff. Why?
“The ringing staff is also called the staff of gnosis. It is also called the staff of excellent qualities. Because it signifies the gnosis of noble beings, it is called the staff of gnosis. Because it builds the foundation of excellent qualities, it is called the staff of excellent qualities.
“This ringing staff signifies that the holder is a sublime being belonging to the lineage of noble beings, it is an emblem that points to the Dharma of the path, and it is a practice that facilitates recollection. Therefore, you should carry it according to the Dharma.”
Then Venerable Mahākāśyapa rose from his seat, adjusted his robes, draped his upper robe over one shoulder, joined his palms, and knelt on the ground. He inquired of the Blessed One, “Blessed One, why is it called a ‘ringing staff’? How should it be carried? May the Blessed One explain. We will practice as instructed.”
The Blessed One said to Kāśyapa, “Listen well, keep it in mind, and I shall explain.
“The ringing staff brings relief. Those who rely upon this ringing staff will eliminate afflictions and emerge from the three realms. Therefore, it is said to bring relief.
“The ringing staff causes illumination. Those who hold the ringing staff will attain the illumination of wisdom. Therefore, it is said to cause illumination.
“The ringing staff brings about irreversibility.[F.272.a] Those who hold the ringing staff will emerge from the three realms of existence and also be unattached. Therefore, it is said to bring about irreversibility of spiritual progress.
“The ringing staff causes understanding. What does the ringing staff cause one to comprehend? One will understand suffering, emptiness, and the fetters that are afflictions of the three realms, and one will clearly realize the four truths and the twelve links of dependent origination. Therefore, it is said to cause understanding.
“The ringing staff eliminates pride. Those who hold the ringing staff will give up acting pridefully. Therefore, it is said to eliminate pride.
“The ringing staff keeps others at a distance. Those who hold this ringing staff will distance themselves from the five sensual objects. Therefore, they will give up the fetters of craving for sensual objects, discard the five aggregates, give up the five states of existence, approach nirvāṇa, and also expel conditioning karma far away. Therefore, it is said to keep others at a distance.
“The ringing staff adopts. By adopting the precious discipline, meditative stabilization, and wisdom of the buddhas, those who hold the ringing staff will attain freedom. Therefore, it is said to adopt.
“The ringing staff brings accomplishment. By becoming accomplished in the collections of the Buddha’s teachings and practicing them as taught,13 those who hold the ringing staff will not fall back but become excellent. Therefore, it is said that it brings accomplishment.”
“Kāśyapa,” the Blessed One concluded, “since the meanings of the term ringing staff are vast and multifarious, they cannot be described fully, but for the time being you should comprehend them in that way.”[F.272.b]
Kāśyapa then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, if the meanings of the ringing staff are so, what are the reasons for this whole range of meanings, from ‘staff of gnosis’ to ‘it is a practice aimed at the application of recollection’?14 Could the Blessed One explain?”
The Blessed One replied, “The ringing staff causes the accomplishment of the practice of gnosis; causes the accomplishment of vast learning; engenders an unhindered understanding of worldly and transcendent wisdom, virtue and nonvirtue, the conditioned and unconditioned, and the contaminated and uncontaminated; and it causes the accomplishment of wisdom. Therefore, it is called the staff of gnosis.
“Practicing the strict observance of discipline, patience, the cultivation of meditative concentration with a single-pointed mind devoid of distraction,15 and constant meritorious actions, as if their head or turban had caught fire, those who hold the ringing staff do not forsake these practices even for an instant. Therefore, it is called the staff of excellent qualities.
“Those who hold this ringing staff will become perfect in the sixteen kinds of practice: (1–4) the four truths of suffering, origin, cessation, and the path; (5–8) the four immeasurable states of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity; (9–12) the four meditative concentrations: the first meditative concentration, second meditative concentration, third meditative concentration, and fourth meditative concentration; and (13–16) the four formless states of meditative attainment: the sphere of infinite space, the sphere of infinite consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, and the sphere of neither perception nor absence of perception.[F.273.a] In addition, they will become perfect in the thirty-seven practices—namely, the thirty-seven aids to awakening—and they will discern these dharmas with clarity.16 Because they actualize them physically, they do not pursue words. They frolic in these dharmas and are free to enter the gateways to liberation of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness at will and without difficulty.17 Such persons are called noble beings.
“Possessing such qualities internally, they hold the ringing staff externally. Because of this, it is beyond doubt that such persons are perfect in the excellent qualities of noble beings: discipline, patience, meditative concentration, wisdom, the threefold knowledge, the six types of supernatural knowledge, and the eight kinds of liberation. Because the ringing staff engenders respect by signifying that such persons are noble beings, it is called the sign of a noble being.
“As for the expression ‘that which signifies that the holder is a sublime being,’ because of possessing the nature of gnosis within, a person is said to be ‘sublime.’ The ringing staff engenders respect by signifying that the person is a noble being.18 It thereby shows that, because of possessing the nature of gnosis that is present within a noble being, the holder accomplishes the foundation of excellent qualities, strives for increasingly higher qualities, and accomplishes them well. Therefore, it is called that which signifies that the holder is a sublime being.
“It makes known that ‘this clear-minded person, having practiced by means of wisdom, will enter before long the path leading to a peaceful and secluded state beyond conditioning, namely the bliss of nirvāṇa, the ultimate place.’ Therefore, the ringing staff is called the emblem that points to the Dharma of the path.
“As for the expression ‘it is a practice that facilitates recollection,’ this ringing staff has three levels. Just by seeing the structure of the three segments, having recollected the suffering of the three lower states of existence,[F.273.b] one will cultivate discipline, meditative stabilization, and wisdom; having recollected the three misfortunes—aging, sickness, and death—one will dispel the three poisons: attachment, hatred, and ignorance; and having recollected the three realms as impermanent, one will generate belief in and respect for the Three Jewels, eliminate the three realms of existence, discard the three contaminations,19 purify the three kinds of karma, wish to possess the threefold knowledge, enter the three liberations, obtain the three states of the six recollections,20 and realize the three gnoses that take one far. Hence, it is presented in its structure of three segments.
“Furthermore, it is made with four prongs. For the purpose of severing the four types of birth, recollecting the four truths, cultivating the four immeasurable states, entering the four meditative concentrations, purifying the four states of meditative attainment, revealing the four applications of mindfulness, teaching the four kinds of exertion,21 and obtaining the four bases of supernatural power, it is made with four prongs.
“With the central wooden shaft included, it is shown to have five aspects. For the purpose of forsaking the five views,22 discarding the disturbances of the suffering of saṃsāra of the five states of existence, cultivating the five faculties, possessing the five powers, eliminating the five hindrances, dismantling the five aggregates, and attaining the Dharma body having five parts, it is shown to have five aspects.
“It is taught that there are twelve rings so that one will recall the twelve links of dependent origination and will do so without being impeded, one will cultivate the meditative concentrations of the twelve doors, and one will recollect with a flawless mind.[F.274.a]
“It is taught to have seven parts—the combination of the three levels and the four prongs—so that one will recollect the Dharma of the seven branches of the awakening of the Tathāgata and accomplish the seven treasures of noble beings.
“With the lower tip included, it is shown to have eight parts. It is for the purpose of teaching the eight branches of the path, attaining the eight kinds of liberation, and dispelling the eight inopportune states that the eight parts are shown.
“That is the brief meaning of the ringing staff. Therefore, you should retain it well.”
Kāśyapa promised the Blessed One, “Blessed One, it shall be done just as it has been taught in the noble statements.”
Mahākāśyapa then inquired again of the Blessed One, “Blessed One, are all the teachings of the tathāgatas of the three times the same?”
The Blessed One replied, “For some, the staff is the same but the usage is different. On account of that, during the time of some, it is made with four prongs, and during the time of others, it is made with two prongs. The number of rings does not vary. As for me, I have taught that it should be made with four prongs and twelve rings.
“The two-prong design was established by the Tathāgata Kāśyapa. This meaning was established for the sake of sentient beings recollecting the two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth.”
At that time, after the Blessed One had spoken these words, Venerable Mahākāśyapa, the entourage of 1,200 followers, and the large congregation were delighted and gave praise respectfully.
This concludes The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Ringing Staff.
Franklin Edgerton provides the alternative spellings of khakhara, khakharaka, khaṅkhara, and khaṅkharaka. See his Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953), 2: 201–2.
Most references to the ringing staff tend to associate the staff with a monk. However, the bhikṣuṇī section of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinayavibhaṅga contains passages that refer to circumstances where fully ordained Buddhist nuns carry the ringing staff. See three passages in Chinese translation in Taishō XXIII 1443 933b16–17, 975b7–10, and 981b6. A relevant passage in the corresponding Tibetan translation, dge slong ma’i ’dul ba rnam par ’byed pa (Toh 5), is found in Degé Kangyur (’dul ba, ta), 215.a. On this Vinaya source, see Prebish (1994), pp. 96–97. There are also contemporary reports that receiving a ringing staff occurs during the bodhisattva vow ceremony that serves as a component of monastic ordination ceremonies, including those of fully ordained nuns, in China and Taiwan.
See Revire (2015), pp. 172–217, for a recent historical and geographical survey with bibliographical references.
For an account based on the Vinaya texts found in Chinese translation, see Gao (1993), pp. 9–23.
The section of the De daoti cheng xizhang jing (Taishō 785) that lists twenty-five rules for how to properly use the ringing staff, the part which corresponds with Toh 336, is said to be “translated based on the Indian Tripiṭaka to make the future reader aware of its origin” (Taishō 785 XVII 725c6).
Only the Phukdrak Kangyur contains a colophon, which says that the text was translated from Chinese by the famous translator Chödrup. This colophon seems to be a direct copy of the Dunhuang manuscript (see below).
This manuscript, IOL Tib J 205, is recorded in La Vallée Poussin (1962), p. 74. Online images of the manuscript are available through The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online (IOL Tib J 205). The colophon in question reads: khar sil gyi mdo dang/ /cho ga ’di zhu chen gyi lo tsa pa ban de chos grub kyis rgya’i dpe las bsgyur cing zhus te/ gtan la phab pa//. See also Silk (2019), p, 235. Gao also regards Toh 335 and 336 as Tibetan translations from Taishō 785. See his “Pini zhong de ‘xizhang,’ ” p. 16, n. 19.
Chomden Rikpai Raltri (1) F.26.b, (2) F.28.a; see also Schaeffer and van der Kuijp 2009, p. 161.
On the Dunhuang manuscript of Taishō 785, see A Concordance to the Taishō Canon and Dunhuang Buddhist Manuscripts: Third (Provisional) Edition (Tokyo: International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies Library, 2015), p. 176.
The Degé and Comparative Edition read here (272.b.2): dran pa nye bar gzhag pa’i don gyi spyod pa. This sentence introduces a variation (second occurrence) on a general phrase that appeared earlier (271.b.3, first occurrence) and appears again later (273.a.7, third occurrence): rjes su dran pa’i rnam par gzhag pa’i don gyi spyod pa. The general phrase is attested in the Dunhuang manuscript once (third occurrence); in the Stok Palace edition it appears twice (first and third occurrences). The change that appears here in the Degé (second occurrence) is apparently meant to bring the relevant part of the phrase in line with the well-known Buddhist term dran pa nye bar bzhag pa (Sanskrit: smṛtyupasthāna). At this point (second occurrence), the Stok Palace edition reads dran par gzhag pa’i don gyi spyod pa, which differs from both the general phrase and the Degé. In the Taishō edition, the same Chinese phrase appears in all three places: jian nian yi zhi zhi 建念義之志. It may be rendered as: “It is an emblem signifying the meaning of the establishment of recollection.” The Tibetan translator has rendered nian and jian separately as rjes su dran pa and rnam par gzhag pa, recognizing that it is different from the standard Chinese term nianzhu 念住 used to translate smṛtyupasthāna.
The Degé reads dga’ ba med pa, “they are without joy” (or, at best, “they are not elated”). Here we follow the text of the Dunhuang manuscript: dka’ ba med pa. This agrees with the Chinese reading wunan 無難 (Taishō 785, XVII 724c6): it is executed “without difficulty.” Note the similarity in orthography between dga’ ba and dka’ ba.
The Degé reads dag pa gtsang ba dang, “pure and clean.” This curious expression, lacking any mention of a threefold attribute, does not appear in the Chinese. The reading of the Dunhuang manuscript is adopted here: zag pa gsum spong ba dang. It agrees with the Chinese text: duan sanlou 斷三漏 (Taishō 785 XVII 724c17–18), “discard the three contaminations.”
The Chinese reads jian si zhengqin 堅四正勤 (Taishō 785 XVII 724c21), “making the four kinds of exertion firm.” This suggests reading brtan par in lieu of bstan par.
The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (moha). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.
Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,” “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.
The five aggregates, the bases upon which the mistaken idea of a self is projected, are those of form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.
Thirty-seven practices or qualities whose cultivation leads to awakening.
Belonging to the thirty-seven aids to awakening, these are four contemplations on (1) the body, (2) feelings, (3) mind, and (4) phenomena.
The Bengali Buddhist reformer who visited Tibet in the middle of the eleventh century and whose disciples established the Kadampa (bka’ gdams pa) tradition.
Four qualities belonging to the thirty-seven aids to awakening, these are concentration based on (1) intention, (2) diligence, (3) attention, and (4) analysis.
The four types of birth are birth from a womb, birth from an egg, birth from warmth and moisture, and miraculous birth.
The seven branches of awakening, belonging to the thirty-seven aids to awakening, are mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, meditative stabilization, equanimity, and pliancy.
A great scholar of Narthang monastery in central Tibet. He lived from 1227 to 1305 and was one of the first compilers of the the Kangyur.
Literally, the “baskets,” or collections containing the Buddha’s teachings.
Susceptible to the contaminations (āsrava; zag pa), literally “outflows” or mental defilements that “flow out” toward the objects of cyclic existence. One classification enumerates three contaminations related to desire, existence, and ignorance.
Eighth of the twelve links of dependent origination. Craving is often listed as threefold: craving for the desirable, craving for existence, and craving for nonexistence.
The twelve links of dependent origination describe the process of being bound in cyclic existence, and, when reversed, the process of liberation. The twelve links are ignorance, formation, consciousness, name and form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, appropriation, becoming, birth, and old age and death.
Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā) and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,” “discipline,” and “morality.”
The eight branches of the path, belonging to the thirty-seven aids to awakening, are right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditative stabilization.
Deliverance from cyclic existence.
Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independent of the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. When all levels of conceptualization dissolve and when all forms of dichotomizing tendencies are quelled through deliberate meditative deconstruction of conceptual elaborations, the ultimate nature of reality will finally become manifest. It is the first of the three gateways to liberation.
The four kinds of exertion, belonging to the thirty-seven aids to awakening, are the efforts to prevent the occurrence of unskillful states, to abandon unskillful states already arisen, to develop skillful states, and to sustain and increase skillful states already arisen.
Refers to cyclic existence in this sūtra.
The five faculties, belonging to the thirty-seven aids to awakening, are faith, perseverance, mindfulness, meditative concentration, and wisdom.
The four truths of nobles ones are the truths of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. Another classification of the truths referred to in the sūtra is that of the two truths, conventional and ultimate.
Three qualities related to ultimate reality: emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. In this sūtra, alse referred to as the three liberations.
The five hindrances are sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, excitement and remorse, and doubt.
The four meditations on love (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā), as well as the states of mind and qualities of being that result from their cultivation. They are also called the four abodes of Brahmā (caturbrahmavihāra).
In the Abhidharmakośa, Vasubandhu explains that they are called apramāṇa—meaning “infinite” or “limitless”—because they take limitless sentient beings as their object, and they generate limitless merit and results. Love is described as the wish that beings be happy, and it acts as an antidote to malice (vyāpāda). Compassion is described as the wish for beings to be free of suffering, and acts as an antidote to harmfulness (vihiṃsā). Joy refers to rejoicing in the happiness beings already have, and it acts as an antidote to dislike or aversion (arati) toward others’ success. Equanimity is considering all beings impartially, without distinctions, and it is the antidote to attachment to both pleasure and malice (kāmarāgavyāpāda).
The eight conditions unfavorable for the practice of the Buddhist path: birth (1) in the hells, (2) among the pretas, (3) as an animal, (4) among the long-lived gods, and in the human realm (5) among barbarians, (6) among extremists, (7) in places where a buddha has not appeared or the Buddhist teachings do not exist, and (8) without adequate faculties to understand the teachings.
“Kāśyapa” occurs in this sūtra as the name of the disciple of the Buddha, Venerable Mahākāśyapa, and also of the past buddha, Tathāgata Kāśyapa.
The three types of knowledge are the knowledge of previous lives, the knowledge of divine sight or of the deaths and rebirths of beings, and the knowledge of the exhaustion of contamination (āsrava; zag pa).
The eight kinds of liberation refer to eight meditative states: (1) the perception of material form by one who has form; (2) the perception of material form by one without form; (3) the beautiful; (4) infinite space; (5) infinite consciousness; (6) nothingness; (7) neither perception nor absence of perception; and (8) the cessation of perception and feeling.
Generally a reference to a person’s spiritual disposition.
The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”
The realms of animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings.
Mahākāśyapa was one of the principal disciples of the Buddha.
One of several common terms that are used to describe meditative states. The four meditative concentrations are the four concentrations of the form realm.
In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.
In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The Drajor Bamponyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa) commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.
The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist monks and nuns—like other ascetics of the time—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity.
In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a monk follows 253 rules as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma) follows 364 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya traditions novices typically follow only ten).
A person who has directly realized the noble truths.
Refers to the discourses of the Buddha.
A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance for the unborn nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”
The five powers, belonging to the thirty-seven aids to awakening, are the power of faith, the power of perseverance, the power of mindfulness, the power of meditative concentration, and the power of wisdom.
’khar gsil gyi mdo. Toh 335, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 271.a–274.a.
’khar gsil ’chang ba’i kun spyod pa’i cho ga. Toh 336, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 274.a–275.a.
’khar gsil gyi mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol. 72, pp. 779–87.
Chomden Rikpai Raltri (bcom ldan rig pa’i ral gri). bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi ’od. (1) In bkaʼ gdams gsung ʼbum phyogs bsgrigs thengs gsum pa / par gzhi dang po, vol. 1, pp. 191–266. si khron dpe skrun tshogs pa si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2009. Scans on Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). (2) In gsung ʼbum bcom ldan rig paʼi ral gri, vol. 1, pp. 99–260. Khams Sprul Bsod Nams Don Grub, 2006. Scans on Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC).
dge slong ma’i ’dul ba rnam par ’byed pa. Toh 5, Degé Kangyur vol. 9 (’dul ba, ta), folios 25.b-328.a.
dge slong ma’i ’dul ba rnam par ’byed pa. Toh 5, Degé Kangyur vol. 9 (’dul ba, ta), folios 25.b-328.a.
Takakusu Junjirō, and Kaigyoku Watanabe, eds. Taishō shinshū Daizōkyō. 85 vols. Tokyo: Taishō Issaikyō Kankōkai, 1924–32.
De daoti cheng xizhang jing 得道梯橙錫杖經. Taishō 785. Appendix of Taishō 785: Chi xizhang fa 持錫杖法. Translator unknown.
Genbenshuoyiqieyoubu biqiuni pinaiye 根本說一切有部苾芻尼毘奈耶. Taishō 1443. Translated by Yijing.
Nanhai jigui neifa zhuang 南海寄歸內法傳. Taishō 2125. Written by Yijing.
A Concordance to the Taishō Canon and Dunhuang Buddhist Manuscripts: Third (Provisional) Edition. Tokyo: International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies Library, 2015.
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