Discover Our Latest Translations
Explore the newest additions to 84000’s collection of translations from the Kangyur and the Tengyur.
Featured Publications
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
128
Appearing Differently to All While Not Departing from Emptiness, the Essence of the True Nature of Things
This short philosophical discourse opens with the Buddha described as unmoving from the true nature of things. Although at this time he has no thought of teaching the Dharma, different members of the audience nevertheless believe that they have heard a teaching. On the basis of their differing perceptions, five distinct philosophical views concerning the true nature of things come to be held by different members of the audience. When Mañjuśrī, who is also in the audience, becomes aware that they are harboring these different understandings, he asks the Buddha why such different views have arisen, whether they are equally valid, and whether such differences will be a matter of dispute in the future.
Latest Publications
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
254
The Sūtra of Dharmaketu
While the Buddha Śākyamuni is staying in Śrāvastī, a bodhisattva named Dharmaketu asks him what qualities a bodhisattva must possess in order to reach awakening quickly. In response, the Buddha enumerates the ten most important qualities for bodhisattvas to cultivate.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
215
Advice to a King (2)
While giving teachings at Vārāṇasī, the Buddha Śākyamuni discerns that the time is right to train King Udayana of Vatsa. When he meets the king, who at the time is embarking on a military expedition, the king flies into a rage and tries to kill the Buddha with an arrow. However, the arrow circles in the sky, and a voice proclaims a verse on the dangers of anger and warfare.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
214
Advice to a King (1)
Discerning that the time is right to train King Bimbisāra, the Buddha Śākyamuni goes to Magadha, along with his entourage. The king is hostile at first but when his attack on the Buddha is thwarted and a verse on impermanence is heard, he becomes respectful. In the discourse that ensues, the Buddha tells the king that it is good to be disillusioned with the world because saṃsāra is impermanence and suffering.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
238
The Dharma Council
The Dharma Council is a Great Vehicle sūtra in which the path of a bodhisattva is taught, initially by the Buddha but then principally by a host of bodhisattvas and śrāvakas. Among them, the bodhisattva Nirārambha takes center stage, delivering long discourses and engaging in dialogues and debates on the key points of Great Vehicle Buddhism.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
220
The Buddha’s Collected Teachings Repudiating Those Who Violate the Discipline
When Śāriputra voices amazement at how the Buddha uses words to point out the inexpressible ways in which nothing has true existence, the Buddha responds with an uncompromising teaching on how the lack of true existence and the absence of a self are indeed not simply philosophical views but the very cornerstone of the Dharma.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
65
The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist
While the Buddha Śākyamuni is on Vulture Peak Mountain, in the nearby city of Rājagṛha the accomplished illusionist Bhadra hatches a scheme to humiliate the Buddha and disprove his omniscience in order to win over the people of Magadha. The failure of Bhadra’s plan, in which he conjures up the illusion of a resplendent courtyard that, to his dismay, cannot be undone, culminates in a series of surreal and magnificent visions that convince Bhadra of the superiority of the Buddha’s powers.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
37
The Benefits of the Five Precepts
In the first of the two parts of The Benefits of the Five Precepts, a man and woman who have been married since they were very young and have never been unfaithful to each other ask the Buddha how they can remain together in future lives. The Buddha replies that this is possible for couples such as them who are equal in faith, ethical discipline, generosity, and wisdom, and who practice the Dharma together.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
75
The Questions of Gaṅgottarā
In The Questions of Gaṅgottarā, a laywoman named Gaṅgottarā leaves her home in the city of Śrāvastī and visits the Buddha Śākyamuni in Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. The Buddha asks her from where she has come, sparking a dialogue on the true nature of things.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
73
King Udayana of Vatsa’s Questions
Manipulated into a murderous rage by the jealous Queen Anupamā, King Udayana launches a barrage of arrows at Queen Śyāmāvatī. King Udayana is terrified when Queen Śyāmāvatī pays homage to the Buddha, cultivates loving kindness, and the arrows are repelled. Awestruck by such a spectacle and inspired by Queen Śyāmāvatī’s words of praise for the Buddha, King Udayana approaches the Buddha and requests a teaching on the inadequacies of women.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
189
The Prediction for Brahmaśrī
The Prediction for Brahmaśrī features a brief encounter between the Buddha, out on his daily alms round, and a group of children playing on the outskirts of Śrāvastī. A boy named Brahmaśrī offers the Buddha the pavilion he has made of sand or dirt. The Blessed One accepts it and transforms it into one made of precious metals and jewels.
Tantra
The Kangyur
Toh
540
The Dhāraṇī “Surūpa”
This text consists of a short dhāraṇī followed by its application, a food offering made to the pretas (hungry spirits). The text says that by the power of the spell, the offering will be made manifold and there will be many future benefits for the person performing the rite.
Tantra
The Kangyur
Toh
743
The Dhāraṇī “Purifying All Karmic Obscurations”
The Dhāraṇī “Purifying All Karmic Obscurations” is a relatively brief text consisting of a short dhāraṇī and a passage about its applications and benefits. Most applications have to do with death and funerary rituals, as the text provides many methods to aid the departed toward a favorable rebirth.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
170
The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman
During an alms round in Vārāṇasī, the Buddha Śākyamuni encounters a brahmin woman by the name of Śrīmatī. Inspired by the Buddha’s majestic and graceful presence, Śrīmatī inquires about the teaching he gave at nearby Deer Park. In response, the Buddha reprises the teaching on how the twelve links of dependent origination lead to suffering and how their cessation leads to the end of suffering.
Discourses
The Kangyur
Toh
126
Like Gold Dust
This sūtra presents a short dialogue between Ānanda and the Buddha on the theme of limitlessness. In response to Ānanda’s persistent inquiries, the Buddha uses analogies to illustrate both the limitlessness of the miraculous abilities acquired by realized beings, and the limitless multiplicity of the world systems in which bodhisattvas and buddhas are to be found.
Dhāraṇī
The Kangyur
Toh
988
The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī
The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī opens at Prince Jeta’s Grove in Śrāvastī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni introduces a saṅgha of monks and bodhisattvas to the goddess Mārīcī by listing her unique qualities and powers.
