The Avalokinī Sūtra takes place in the city of Rājagṛha, where the Buddha teaches on the benefits that result from honoring the stūpas of awakened beings. The major part of this teaching consists in the Buddha detailing the many positive rewards obtained by those who worship the buddhas’ stūpas with offerings, such as flowers, incense, and lamps.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Benjamin Collet-Cassart and Nika Jovic, who also wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor compared the draft translation with the original Tibetan and edited the text. Krešimir Krnic and Wiesiek Mical assisted by comparing the translation to the Sanskrit verses from the Śikṣāsamuccaya. Khenpo Tsöndrü Sangpo from Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery and Khenpo Konchok Tamphel from Vienna University also assisted the translators by resolving several difficult passages.
The Avalokinī Sūtra is a scripture that belongs to the General Sūtra section of the Kangyur. The meaning of its title is somewhat elusive. Avalokinī could be a reference to the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, but neither the name Avalokiteśvara nor any reference to this bodhisattva appears in the text. The sūtra’s central theme is the excellent rewards resulting from venerating a stūpa containing the relics of a buddha by faithfully engaging in various acts of worship, such as circumambulation, presentation of offerings, or acts of maintenance.
The benefits of building stūpas and of honoring them are mentioned in numerous passages in the sūtras and vinaya texts, but this is one of only a small number in which this theme is the principal one.1 The venerating of stūpas is an important practice in all traditions of Buddhism, and must have started shortly after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa with the honoring of the memorials containing his relics that were erected at the time.2 The Buddha’s relics were regarded as the living presence of the Buddha and functioned as a tangible symbol of the awakened state.3 As such, the stūpas that enshrined them represented both a site of his authority and a source of blessings, which encouraged the Buddha’s followers to engage in stūpa worship for spiritual benefit as well as mundane success.4
The major part of the Avalokinī consists of verses describing the immeasurable merit generated by a devotee who worships the thus-gone ones, either while they are alive or through their relics after they have passed away. In particular, the sūtra presents a series of mundane and supramundane rewards gained through various acts of stūpa worship. The worldly boons that manifest from making specific kinds of offerings to the stūpa of a thus-gone one are presented in great detail. Concerning long-term spiritual rewards, the devotee will progress steadily on the Dharma path and eventually reach the state of awakening, without any unnecessary detours in saṃsāra. An important act of worship mentioned in the sūtra is the upholding of the Dharma at a time when it is endangered. Those who uphold the Dharma of the buddhas and worship their stūpas after they have passed into nirvāṇa are promised happiness and fortunate rebirths. At the end of the sūtra, the Buddha encourages devotees who have learned of these benefits to take up the practice of stūpa worship, so that they may also quickly awaken to the state of buddhahood.
Many verses from the Avalokinī are preserved in Sanskrit. Most significantly, Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya includes eighty-five verses matching those of the Avalokinī.5 In producing this translation, we compared these Sanskrit verses to the Tibetan text. The Sanskrit verses quoted in the Śikṣāsamuccaya generally correspond to the Tibetan Avalokinī, although there are many minor variations between the two texts. Most importantly, in the Śikṣāsamuccaya they do not appear in the sequence in which they are found in the Avalokinī’s 275 verses. As such, it appears unlikely that the verses in the Śikṣāsamuccaya represent the direct Sanskrit source from which the Tibetan Avalokinī was translated, although, clearly, the two texts are closely related.
Moreover, significant similarities with the Avalokinī are also found in the Mahāvastu, a Vinaya work belonging to the Lokottaravādin school of the Mahāsāṃghikas, which contains a section on stūpa worship in 232 verses. More than half of these verses correspond to some degree to verses found in the Avalokinī: 130 verses are almost identical to those in the Avalokinī, while another 40 only partially match the Tibetan (typically one or two lines in a verse). The remaining verses in this section of the Mahāvastu do not correspond to the Avalokinī at all.6 Hence, due to the complex differences between the Avalokinī and the relevant section of the Mahāvastu, we did not systematically compare the two for this translation.
The precise historical relationship between the Avalokinī and our two Sanskrit sources remains unresolved. Even the title differs slightly in the various sources. In the Śikṣāsamuccaya the title is Avalokana, whereas the Mahāvastu has Avalokita. Among the Tibetan witnesses, Degé and Lhasa read Avalokinī, while Narthang, Shelkar, and Stok read Avalokini. Apart from the surviving portions of the Sanskrit original, the Avalokinī exists only in Tibetan, as the text was never translated into Chinese. For this translation, five editions of the sūtra contained in the different Kangyurs were considered. The colophon of the Tibetan text mentions that it was translated by the Indian scholars Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, along with the chief editor-translator Yeshé Dé, which places the sūtra temporally in the early ninth-century when the majority of the Tibetan sūtra translations were produced. That dating is also attested by the text’s inclusion in the early 9th century Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) catalog.7
[F.251.a]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in Rājagṛha at Vulture Peak Mountain, together with a great saṅgha of monks and a great many bodhisattva great beings.
At that time, the Blessed One said to the[F.251.b] bodhisattva Pure Intellect, “Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their discipline is pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their absorption, patience, and beneficence are pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their love is pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their compassion is pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their joy and equanimity are pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their liberation and their liberated wisdom are pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their powers are pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their fearlessness, buddha qualities, and omniscient wisdom are pure.
“Pure Intellect, this being so, the size of the mass of merit generated by someone who honors the pure thus-gone ones with flowers, garlands, perfumes, parasols, banners, flags, music, and ointments cannot be fathomed. Except for the final passing into nirvāṇa through any of the three vehicles, this heap of merit can never be depleted, even in the future. Why is that so? Pure Intellect, just as the thus-gone ones are immeasurable in terms of all their buddha qualities, the offerings made to the thus-gone ones are immeasurable, endless,[F.252.a] inconceivable, incomparable, unfathomable, incalculable, boundless, and inexpressible.
“Pure Intellect, consider someone who honors, respects, venerates, worships, and reveres the thus-gone ones who live, thrive, and are well today. Then, consider someone who, in the future, during the final five-hundred-year period, honors, respects, venerates, worships, reveres, and holds dear a relic belonging to a thus-gone one who has passed into parinirvāṇa, even if it is as small as a mustard seed. Giving rise to the mind set on awakening, that person will pay homage to, prostrate to, honor, respect, venerate, worship, revere, supplicate, praise, and circumambulate this relic. Both of these persons will gain five benefits. What are these five benefits? They will be endowed with (1) mindfulness, (2) understanding, and (3) self-respect and propriety; (4) they will quickly meet a blessed buddha; and (5) faith will be born in them upon seeing that buddha. These are the five benefits that they will gain.
“Those persons will also possess four other qualities. What are these four qualities? (1) They will uphold the teachings of the thus-gone ones, (2) they will practice in accordance with these teachings, (3) they will come near to the blessed buddhas after having practiced in that way, and (4) they will swiftly be born in a pure buddhafield. These are the four qualities.
“Pure Intellect, if a bodhisattva fulfills four criteria, he or she will not be oppressed by Māra or any divine sons of Māra’s family. What are these four criteria? (1) Being born in a high and noble family, (2) directing one’s mind toward the blessed buddhas as soon as one is born, (3) upholding the sacred Dharma in later stages of life, and (4) always being blessed by the thus-gone ones,[F.252.b] the worthy ones, the perfect buddhas. Pure Intellect, if a bodhisattva fulfills these four criteria, they will not be oppressed by Māra or any divine sons of Māra’s family.”
At that moment, the Blessed One uttered these verses:
“Pure Intellect, upon seeing the stūpa of a thus-gone one, a follower of the bodhisattva vehicle may develop faith and, kneeling on both knees, pay homage and prostrate to it. Moreover, he may arouse devotion, thinking, ‘May my body become just like the bodies of the thus-gone ones, which are adorned with the thirty-two marks of a great being!’ Pure Intellect, in that case, the size of that heap of merit will be indescribable, because it is based on unsurpassed and perfect awakening. That heap of merit cannot be exhausted by becoming a king, Śakra, Brahmā, a solitary buddha, or even a practitioner of the unsurpassed vehicle of the perfect buddhas. Why is that so? Because, Pure Intellect, such a noble son is in possession of an inconceivable heap of merit. Pure Intellect, consider the Thus-Gone One who has awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. Whenever he is entering a city, a monastery, or a village, and whether he is walking, standing, sitting, or teaching the Dharma, all beings without exception in this great trichiliocosm—gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans,[F.254.a] and nonhumans—will bow, salute, and prostrate in his direction. Even the trees, mountains, mines, caves, and rock shelters will do so. Just as they all behave toward the Thus-Gone One, who is endowed with all roots of virtue, so sentient beings will also bow, salute, and prostrate to such noble sons as they wander in villages, cities, towns, lands, or capitals.”
At that moment, the Blessed One uttered these verses:
The Avalokinī Sūtra takes place in the city of Rājagṛha, where the Buddha teaches on the benefits that result from honoring the stūpas of awakened beings. The major part of this teaching consists in the Buddha detailing the many positive rewards obtained by those who worship the buddhas’ stūpas with offerings, such as flowers, incense, and lamps.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Benjamin Collet-Cassart and Nika Jovic, who also wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor compared the draft translation with the original Tibetan and edited the text. Krešimir Krnic and Wiesiek Mical assisted by comparing the translation to the Sanskrit verses from the Śikṣāsamuccaya. Khenpo Tsöndrü Sangpo from Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery and Khenpo Konchok Tamphel from Vienna University also assisted the translators by resolving several difficult passages.
The Avalokinī Sūtra is a scripture that belongs to the General Sūtra section of the Kangyur. The meaning of its title is somewhat elusive. Avalokinī could be a reference to the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, but neither the name Avalokiteśvara nor any reference to this bodhisattva appears in the text. The sūtra’s central theme is the excellent rewards resulting from venerating a stūpa containing the relics of a buddha by faithfully engaging in various acts of worship, such as circumambulation, presentation of offerings, or acts of maintenance.
The benefits of building stūpas and of honoring them are mentioned in numerous passages in the sūtras and vinaya texts, but this is one of only a small number in which this theme is the principal one.1 The venerating of stūpas is an important practice in all traditions of Buddhism, and must have started shortly after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa with the honoring of the memorials containing his relics that were erected at the time.2 The Buddha’s relics were regarded as the living presence of the Buddha and functioned as a tangible symbol of the awakened state.3 As such, the stūpas that enshrined them represented both a site of his authority and a source of blessings, which encouraged the Buddha’s followers to engage in stūpa worship for spiritual benefit as well as mundane success.4
The major part of the Avalokinī consists of verses describing the immeasurable merit generated by a devotee who worships the thus-gone ones, either while they are alive or through their relics after they have passed away. In particular, the sūtra presents a series of mundane and supramundane rewards gained through various acts of stūpa worship. The worldly boons that manifest from making specific kinds of offerings to the stūpa of a thus-gone one are presented in great detail. Concerning long-term spiritual rewards, the devotee will progress steadily on the Dharma path and eventually reach the state of awakening, without any unnecessary detours in saṃsāra. An important act of worship mentioned in the sūtra is the upholding of the Dharma at a time when it is endangered. Those who uphold the Dharma of the buddhas and worship their stūpas after they have passed into nirvāṇa are promised happiness and fortunate rebirths. At the end of the sūtra, the Buddha encourages devotees who have learned of these benefits to take up the practice of stūpa worship, so that they may also quickly awaken to the state of buddhahood.
Many verses from the Avalokinī are preserved in Sanskrit. Most significantly, Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya includes eighty-five verses matching those of the Avalokinī.5 In producing this translation, we compared these Sanskrit verses to the Tibetan text. The Sanskrit verses quoted in the Śikṣāsamuccaya generally correspond to the Tibetan Avalokinī, although there are many minor variations between the two texts. Most importantly, in the Śikṣāsamuccaya they do not appear in the sequence in which they are found in the Avalokinī’s 275 verses. As such, it appears unlikely that the verses in the Śikṣāsamuccaya represent the direct Sanskrit source from which the Tibetan Avalokinī was translated, although, clearly, the two texts are closely related.
Moreover, significant similarities with the Avalokinī are also found in the Mahāvastu, a Vinaya work belonging to the Lokottaravādin school of the Mahāsāṃghikas, which contains a section on stūpa worship in 232 verses. More than half of these verses correspond to some degree to verses found in the Avalokinī: 130 verses are almost identical to those in the Avalokinī, while another 40 only partially match the Tibetan (typically one or two lines in a verse). The remaining verses in this section of the Mahāvastu do not correspond to the Avalokinī at all.6 Hence, due to the complex differences between the Avalokinī and the relevant section of the Mahāvastu, we did not systematically compare the two for this translation.
The precise historical relationship between the Avalokinī and our two Sanskrit sources remains unresolved. Even the title differs slightly in the various sources. In the Śikṣāsamuccaya the title is Avalokana, whereas the Mahāvastu has Avalokita. Among the Tibetan witnesses, Degé and Lhasa read Avalokinī, while Narthang, Shelkar, and Stok read Avalokini. Apart from the surviving portions of the Sanskrit original, the Avalokinī exists only in Tibetan, as the text was never translated into Chinese. For this translation, five editions of the sūtra contained in the different Kangyurs were considered. The colophon of the Tibetan text mentions that it was translated by the Indian scholars Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, along with the chief editor-translator Yeshé Dé, which places the sūtra temporally in the early ninth-century when the majority of the Tibetan sūtra translations were produced. That dating is also attested by the text’s inclusion in the early 9th century Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) catalog.7
[F.251.a]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in Rājagṛha at Vulture Peak Mountain, together with a great saṅgha of monks and a great many bodhisattva great beings.
At that time, the Blessed One said to the[F.251.b] bodhisattva Pure Intellect, “Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their discipline is pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their absorption, patience, and beneficence are pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their love is pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their compassion is pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their joy and equanimity are pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their liberation and their liberated wisdom are pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their powers are pure. Pure Intellect, the thus-gone ones are pure because their fearlessness, buddha qualities, and omniscient wisdom are pure.
“Pure Intellect, this being so, the size of the mass of merit generated by someone who honors the pure thus-gone ones with flowers, garlands, perfumes, parasols, banners, flags, music, and ointments cannot be fathomed. Except for the final passing into nirvāṇa through any of the three vehicles, this heap of merit can never be depleted, even in the future. Why is that so? Pure Intellect, just as the thus-gone ones are immeasurable in terms of all their buddha qualities, the offerings made to the thus-gone ones are immeasurable, endless,[F.252.a] inconceivable, incomparable, unfathomable, incalculable, boundless, and inexpressible.
“Pure Intellect, consider someone who honors, respects, venerates, worships, and reveres the thus-gone ones who live, thrive, and are well today. Then, consider someone who, in the future, during the final five-hundred-year period, honors, respects, venerates, worships, reveres, and holds dear a relic belonging to a thus-gone one who has passed into parinirvāṇa, even if it is as small as a mustard seed. Giving rise to the mind set on awakening, that person will pay homage to, prostrate to, honor, respect, venerate, worship, revere, supplicate, praise, and circumambulate this relic. Both of these persons will gain five benefits. What are these five benefits? They will be endowed with (1) mindfulness, (2) understanding, and (3) self-respect and propriety; (4) they will quickly meet a blessed buddha; and (5) faith will be born in them upon seeing that buddha. These are the five benefits that they will gain.
“Those persons will also possess four other qualities. What are these four qualities? (1) They will uphold the teachings of the thus-gone ones, (2) they will practice in accordance with these teachings, (3) they will come near to the blessed buddhas after having practiced in that way, and (4) they will swiftly be born in a pure buddhafield. These are the four qualities.
“Pure Intellect, if a bodhisattva fulfills four criteria, he or she will not be oppressed by Māra or any divine sons of Māra’s family. What are these four criteria? (1) Being born in a high and noble family, (2) directing one’s mind toward the blessed buddhas as soon as one is born, (3) upholding the sacred Dharma in later stages of life, and (4) always being blessed by the thus-gone ones,[F.252.b] the worthy ones, the perfect buddhas. Pure Intellect, if a bodhisattva fulfills these four criteria, they will not be oppressed by Māra or any divine sons of Māra’s family.”
At that moment, the Blessed One uttered these verses:
“Pure Intellect, upon seeing the stūpa of a thus-gone one, a follower of the bodhisattva vehicle may develop faith and, kneeling on both knees, pay homage and prostrate to it. Moreover, he may arouse devotion, thinking, ‘May my body become just like the bodies of the thus-gone ones, which are adorned with the thirty-two marks of a great being!’ Pure Intellect, in that case, the size of that heap of merit will be indescribable, because it is based on unsurpassed and perfect awakening. That heap of merit cannot be exhausted by becoming a king, Śakra, Brahmā, a solitary buddha, or even a practitioner of the unsurpassed vehicle of the perfect buddhas. Why is that so? Because, Pure Intellect, such a noble son is in possession of an inconceivable heap of merit. Pure Intellect, consider the Thus-Gone One who has awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. Whenever he is entering a city, a monastery, or a village, and whether he is walking, standing, sitting, or teaching the Dharma, all beings without exception in this great trichiliocosm—gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans,[F.254.a] and nonhumans—will bow, salute, and prostrate in his direction. Even the trees, mountains, mines, caves, and rock shelters will do so. Just as they all behave toward the Thus-Gone One, who is endowed with all roots of virtue, so sentient beings will also bow, salute, and prostrate to such noble sons as they wander in villages, cities, towns, lands, or capitals.”
At that moment, the Blessed One uttered these verses:
Another is The Verses on Circumambulating Shrines (Toh 321). Other frequently cited passages are to be found in The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Toh 113), 2.105–109, and The Sūtra on Dependent Arising (Toh 212), 1.6.
For an English translation of these verses see Bendall and Rouse 1922, 92, 270–76. See also Goodman 2016, Chapter 17.
The verses in the Mahāvastu that correspond to those in the Avalokinī are contained in the final section of the thirty-second chapter, titled “The Second Avalokita Sūtra.” For an English translation see Jones 1952, 274–354.
The Denkarma catalog is dated to c. 812 CE. In this catalog, the Avalokinī is included among the “Miscellaneous Sūtras” (mdo sde sna tshogs) less than ten sections (bam po) long. See Denkarma, 298.b.4. See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 85, no. 157.
We decided to use only the masculine gender to translate the following verses, both for stylistic reasons and because some of these verses seem to refer exclusively to men.
We have translated this tentatively, since we have been unable to determine the precise meaning of the term phrum. The Tibetan reads: phrum ltar zlum gyur.
Tentative translation. (Tib. gal te sems can thams cad sangs rgyas shing / nyons mongs med pa gser mdog stobs bcur gyur / de dag bskal bye khrag khrig brgya stong du / rgyal ba mchog la mchod pa’i bsngags brjod nus).
Tentative translation. (Tib. seng ge’i phreng ba.) According to Monier-Williams, siṃha can be a flower of the moringa tree.
At this point and for the following five verses, the Buddha shifts the topic and describes the way he himself worshiped buddhas of the past as well as the fruition of this activity.
A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
The saṃsāric realms of the god Brahmā in the form realm.
The field of activity of a particular buddha.
A buddha who preceded Śākyamuni and prophesied his awakening.
Devaputra-māra is one of the four forms of Māra and refers to the god of the sensuous realm, the personification of desire and temptation, who attempted to prevent the Buddha from attaining liberation. Here it refers to the deities ruled over by Māra in his realm.
See “world of the Lord of Death.”
A kind of very fine textile fabric.
A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”
Semidivine beings classified among the animals, they are a kind of fantastic bird akin to the eagle, and said to be enemies of nāgas and snakes.
In the most general sense the devas—the term is cognate with the English divine—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.
One of the six heavens of the desire realm.
One of the six heavens of the desire realm.
Tuṣita (or sometimes Saṃtuṣita), literally “Joyous” or “Contented,” is one of the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). In standard classifications, such as the one in the Abhidharmakośa, it is ranked as the fourth of the six counting from below. This god realm is where all future buddhas are said to dwell before taking on their final rebirth prior to awakening. There, the Buddha Śākyamuni lived his preceding life as the bodhisattva Śvetaketu. When departing to take birth in this world, he appointed the bodhisattva Maitreya, who will be the next buddha of this eon, as his Dharma regent in Tuṣita. For an account of the Buddha’s previous life in Tuṣita, see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 2.12, and for an account of Maitreya’s birth in Tuṣita and a description of this realm, see The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy, (Toh 199).
One of the six heavens of the desire realm.
Eighth (and lowest) of the eight hot hells of Buddhist cosmology. The beings reborn in this hell experience being ceaselessly consumed by flames.
Two of the eight hot hells: the hell of scorching heat, while being pierced by spears; and the hell of fiercely scorching heat, while being pierced by tridents.
One of the most frequently used names for Śiva. A deity of the jungles, named Rudra in the Vedas, he rose to prominence in the Purāṇic literature at the beginning of the first millennium.
A river that runs in the heavenly realms.
The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.
A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name—which means “is that human?”—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.
The ruling caste in the traditional four-caste hierarchy of India, associated with warriors, the aristocracy, and kings.
Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.
Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:
(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputramāra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.
In the general Mahāyāna teachings the mind of awakening (bodhicitta) is the intention to attain the complete awakening of a perfect buddha for the sake of all beings. On the level of absolute truth, the mind of awakening is the realization of the awakened state itself.
A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.
The ninth-century revision and codification of translational equivalents and procedure in Tibet. It was undertaken during the reigns of Senalek (sad na legs, d. 815 ᴄᴇ) and Ralpachen (ral pa can, r. 815–838) and resulted in the Mahāvyutpatti and Drajor Bampo Nyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa), the very influential manuals of translation from Sanskrit to Tibetan.
The Sanskrit ārya generally has the common meaning of a noble person, one of a higher class or caste. In Dharma terms it means one who has gained the realization of the path and is superior for that reason.
In the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the term paṇḍaka (Tib. ma ning) encompasses diverse physiological and behavioral conditions, such as intersexuality, erectile dysfunction, and fetishes that imply an inability to engage in normative sexual behavior. Five different types of person labeled a paṇḍaka are identified in the text: intersex persons, rhythmic-consecutive persons, sexually submissive persons, persons with a voyeuristic fetish, and persons with a sexual disability. The criteria for being designated a person labeled a paṇḍaka are not strictly physiological, but neither are they grounded exclusively in gender identity or sexual orientation. Person labeled a paṇḍaka is, in effect, a catchall category and, as such, defies easy translations like “neuter,” “androgyne,” “intersexual,” “transgender,” or “paraphiliac.”
See also Gyatso (2003), Cabezón (1993), Zwilling (1992), and Likhitpreechakul (2012).
The name of a bodhisattva.
The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha—in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)—enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.
A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.
An ancient title given to ascetics, monks, hermits, and saints, namely, those who have attained the realization of truth through their own contemplation and not by divine revelation. Here also used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
The name for our world system, the universe of a thousand million worlds, or trichiliocosm, in which the four-continent world is located. Each trichiliocosm is ruled by a god Brahmā; thus, in this context, he bears the title of Sahāṃpati, Lord of Sahā. The world system of Sahā, or Sahālokadhātu, is also described as the buddhafield of the Buddha Śākyamuni where he teaches the Dharma to beings.
The name Sahā possibly derives from the Sanskrit √sah, “to bear, endure, or withstand.” It is often interpreted as alluding to the inhabitants of this world being able to endure the suffering they encounter. The Tibetan translation, mi mjed, follows along the same lines. It literally means “not painful,” in the sense that beings here are able to bear the suffering they experience.
The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.
The set of seven precious materials or substances includes a range of precious metals and gems, but their exact list varies. The set often consists of gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red pearls, emeralds, and white coral, but may also contain lapis lazuli, ruby, sapphire, chrysoberyl, diamonds, etc. The term is frequently used in the sūtras to exemplify preciousness, wealth, and beauty, and can describe treasures, offering materials, or the features of architectural structures such as stūpas, palaces, thrones, etc. The set is also used to describe the beauty and prosperity of buddha realms and the realms of the gods.
In other contexts, the term saptaratna can also refer to the seven precious possessions of a cakravartin or to a set of seven precious moral qualities.
The “Compendium of Training,” in which Śāntideva collects and comments upon citations from the Mahāyāna sūtras. In total, 97 texts are cited, sometimes quite extensively, making this the only available source for the original Sanskrit of many sūtras.
Usually a mounded or circular structure containing relics of the masters of the past. A support of veneration.
Ten wisdom powers unique to a thus-gone one: (1) the knowledge of what is possible and not possible, (2) the knowledge of the ripening of karma, (3) the knowledge of the variety of aspirations, (4) the knowledge of the variety of elements, (5) the knowledge of the different capabilities, (6) the knowledge of the destinations of all paths, (7) the knowledge of various states of meditation, (8) the knowledge of remembering previous lives, (9) the knowledge of deaths and rebirths, and (10) the knowledge of the cessation of defilements.
The thirty-two characteristics of a great being, including the uṣṇīṣa, or head mound, and the long tongue.
A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Sumeru, continents, sun and moon, etc.
An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), 3.3–3.13.
Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.
The site where the Buddha Śākyamuni laid down various rules of the Vinaya, gave other teachings, and, on his last visit, announced his approaching parinirvāṇa.
The Gṛdhrakūṭa, literally Vulture Peak, was a hill located in the kingdom of Magadha, in the vicinity of the ancient city of Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir, in the state of Bihar, India), where the Buddha bestowed many sūtras, especially the Great Vehicle teachings, such as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It continues to be a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists to this day.
Eight qualities of water: sweet, cool, pleasant, light, clear, pure, not harmful to the throat, and beneficial for the stomach.
One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa (“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su).
The world of Yama, the Lord of Death.
According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. In bka’ ’gyur (sde dge phar phud). Toh 195, vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 251a.6–266a.7.
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i 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. 61, pp. 684–718.
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. In bka’ ’gyur (lha sa). H 196, vol. 61 (mdo sde ba), folios 397b.7–420a.7.
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. In bka’ ’gyur (snar thang). N 181, vol. 61 (mdo sde ba), folios 404b.3–427a.7.
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. In bka’ ’gyur (shel mkhar bris ma). L 93, vol. 44 (mdo sde pha), folios 155a.6–180b.5.
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. In bka’ ’gyur (stog pho brang bris ma). S 126, vol. 65 (mdo sde pha), folios 128b.7–148b.1.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan [/ lhan] dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Degé Tengyur, vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Fragments available as a digital Romanized copy of Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya at DSBC (http://www.dsbcproject.org/canon-text/book/269).
Digital Romanized copy of the Mahāvastu Mvu_2.362–2.397 (http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/1_sanskr/4_rellit/buddh/mhvastuu.htm).
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