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རབ་ཏུ་འབྱུང་བའི་གཞི།

The Chapter on Going Forth
Scaring Away a Crow

Pravrajyāvastu
འདུལ་བ་གཞི་ལས། རབ་ཏུ་འབྱུང་བའི་གཞི།
’dul ba gzhi las/ rab tu ’byung ba’i gzhi
“The Chapter on Going Forth” from The Chapters on Monastic Discipline
Vinayavastu Pravrajyāvastu

Toh 1-1

Degé Kangyur, vol. 1 (’dul ba, ka), folios 1.a–131.a

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ
  • Palgyi Lhünpo
  • Sarvajñādeva
  • Vidyākaraprabha
  • Dharmākara
  • Paltsek

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Translated by Robert Miller and team
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2018

Current version v 1.37.22 (2025)

Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.26.1

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
+ 10 sections- 10 sections
· The Vinaya
· The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya
· The Vinayavastu
· The Chapter on Going Forth
· Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana’s Spiritual Search
· The Rite of Admission into the Renunciant Order
· Admission Criteria
· Academic Work and Prior Translations
· The Language of Renunciation
· The Translation
tr. The Translation
+ 9 sections- 9 sections
p1. Prologue to The Chapters on Monastic Discipline
p2. Prologue to The Chapter on Going Forth
1. Śāriputra
+ 4 chapters- 4 chapters
· Śāriputra
· Going Forth
· Granting Ordination
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· The Early Rite
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· The postulant’s request
· The monk’s request
· Acting on the motion
· Preceptors and Instructors
· The Present Day Ordination Rite
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Giving the layperson’s vows and refuge precepts
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· How to give the layperson’s vows
· Pledging to keep the precepts
· Going forth
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· Informing the saṅgha of the wish to go forth
· Requesting the preceptor
· Allowing the postulant’s going forth
· Becoming a novice
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· Inducting the postulant into the novitiate
· Marking the time
· The novice investiture
· Granting ordination
+ 29 sections- 29 sections
· The opening occasion
· Requesting the preceptor
· Taking possession of robes that have already been cut and sewn
· Taking possession of robes that have not already been cut and sewn
· Displaying the begging bowl
· Taking possession of the begging bowl
· The privy advisor’s expression of willingness
· The motion to act as privy advisor
· The inquiry into private matters
· Reporting the findings
· The ordinand’s request for ordination
· The motion to ask about impediments before the saṅgha
· Inquiring into impediments before the Saṅgha
· The monk officiant’s request to ordain
· The motion to act
· Marking the time by the length of a shadow
· Explaining the different parts of the day and night
· Describing the length of the seasons
· Explaining the supports
· Explaining the offenses
· Explaining those things that constitute spiritual practice
· Announcing the perfect fulfillment of his greatest desire
· Enjoining him to practice the equally applicable ethical code
· Enjoining him to bond with his role model in the renunciant life
· Enjoining him to dwell in tranquility
· Enjoining him to carry out his obligations
· Informing him of what he must do to fully understand his unspoken commitments
· Enjoining him to heed what he reveres
· Enjoining him in the methods together with the instructions that should be practiced
· Querying Upasena
2. Tīrthikas
+ 3 chapters- 3 chapters
· Tīrthikas
· Twenty Years
· Novices Not Yet Fifteen
3. The Two Novices
+ 7 chapters- 7 chapters
· Two Novices
· Those in Servitude
· Debtors
· Those Without Consent
· Without Consultation
· Ill persons
· Śākyas
4. Scaring Away a Crow
+ 8 chapters- 8 chapters
· Scaring Away a Crow
· Violators
· Impostors
· Person labeled a paṇḍaka
· Creatures
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Saṅgharakṣita and the Shape-Shifting Nāga
+ 8 sections- 8 sections
· The shape-shifting nāga who finds faith in the Dharma
· Saṅgharakṣita brings the Buddha’s teachings to the land of the nāgas
· Saṅgharakṣita sees the effects of actions with his own eyes
· Saṅgharakṣita’s sermon leads five hundred seers to the truth
· Saṅgharakṣita leads an entourage of one thousand to the Buddha
· The Blessed One explains the causes for the sights Saṅgharakṣita has seen
· The Blessed One explains the reasons for Saṅgharakṣita’s good fortune
· The Blessed One explains the reasons for the shape-shifting nāga’s faith
· Tīrthikas
· Matricides
· Patricides
5. Killing an Arhat
+ 5 chapters- 5 chapters
· Killing an Arhat
· Causing a Schism in the Saṅgha
· Maliciously Drawing Blood from a Tathāgata
· Suffering One of the Four Defeats
· Three Types of Suspension
6. Persons whose hands have been cut off
+ 1 chapter- 1 chapter
· Persons whose hands have been cut off
c. Colophon
ap. An Outline of the Present Day Ordination Rite
ab. Abbreviations
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· The Translated Text: “The Chapter on Going Forth”
· The Commentary to “The Chapter on Going Forth”
· Works Cited in Introduction and Endnotes
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· Tibetan and Sanskrit Reference Works
· Works Cited in English and Other Languages
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

“The Chapter on Going Forth” is the first of seventeen chapters in The Chapters on Monastic Discipline, a four-volume work that outlines the statutes and procedures that govern life in a Buddhist monastic community. This first chapter traces the development of the rite by which postulants were admitted into the monastic order, from the Buddha Śākyamuni’s informal invitation to “Come, monk,” to the more elaborate “Present Day Rite.” Along the way, the posts of preceptor and instructor are introduced, their responsibilities defined, and a dichotomy between elders and immature novices described. While the heart of the chapter is a transcript of the “Present Day Rite,” the text is interwoven with numerous narrative asides, depicting the spiritual ferment of the north Indian region of Magadha during the Buddha’s lifetime, the follies of untrained and unsupervised apprentices, and the need for a formal system of tutelage.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

This translation was carried out from the Tibetan by Robert Miller with the guidance of Geshé Tséwang Nyima. Ven. Lhundup Damchö (Dr. Diana Finnegan) provided her draft translation of the extant Sanskrit portions of this chapter. Dr. Fumi Yao and Maurice Ozaine kindly identified numerous misspellings and mistakes in the glossaries. Both Ven. Damchö and Dr. Yao generously shared their extensive knowledge of the Mūlasarvāstivādin Vinaya and furnished invaluable assistance in researching the translation. Matthew Wuethrich served as style consultant and editor.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.


ac.­2

The generous sponsorship of Zhou Tian Yu, Chen Yi Qin, Irene Tillman, Archie Kao, and Zhou Xun, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.


i.

Introduction

The Vinaya

i.­1

According to traditional accounts, after the Buddha had entered parinirvāṇa, the elder Kāśyapa proposed that the Blessed One’s teachings be recited for posterity. During the rains retreat at Rājagṛha that followed, Kāśyapa asked the venerable Upāli to recall the Buddha’s pronouncements on monastic discipline and the venerable Ānanda to recite the Buddha’s discourses. One hundred years later, a second council was convened at Vaiśālī to resolve disagreements that had arisen in relation to the code of monastic discipline, or vinaya.1

The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya

The Vinayavastu

The Chapter on Going Forth

Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana’s Spiritual Search

The Rite of Admission into the Renunciant Order

Admission Criteria

Academic Work and Prior Translations

The Language of Renunciation

The Translation


Text Prelude

The Translation
The Chapters on Monastic Discipline

p1.

Prologue to The Chapters on Monastic Discipline

[B1] [F.1.b]


p1.­1
Homage to the Three Jewels.
p1.­2
Homage to him who severed the bonds,
Destroyed the whole host of tīrthikas,
Vanquished the armies of Māra,
And thus discovered this awakening.
p1.­3
To begin with, it is hard to renounce a householder’s concerns and go forth.
Having gone forth, it is hard to find happiness in wandering.
It is hard to do well what one pledged to with delight.
It is hard for a skilled wearer of the ochre robes to fail.
p1.­4
The Chapters on Monastic Discipline includes chapters on:
Going forth, restoration,
Lifting restrictions, the rains, leather,
Medicine, robes, turning cloth into robes,
The monks of Kauśāmbī, formal acts of saṅgha,
A group of troublesome monks, types of persons,
Probations, suspension of the restoration,
Housing, [F.2.a] disputes, and schisms in the saṅgha.53

Text Body

The Chapter on Going Forth

p2.

Prologue to The Chapter on Going Forth

p2.­1
The whole of The Chapter on Going Forth
Is told in sections on:
Śāriputra, tīrthikas,
The two novices, scaring a crow,
Killing an arhat, and missing hands.

1.

Śāriputra

1.­1
The Śāriputra section is told over five chapters:
Śāriputra, going forth, refuge, a summary of Upasena’s collection, and a summary of the fives.

Śāriputra

1.­2

While the Bodhisattva was dwelling in the Abode of Tuṣita, the King of Aṅga ruled over the lands of Aṅga. Under his rule, the kingdom prospered and thrived, crops were bountiful and the land teemed with animals and people. Meanwhile, King Mahāpadma ruled over the lands of Magadha. Under his rule, the kingdom prospered and thrived, crops were bountiful and the land teemed with animals and people. At times, the King of Aṅga and his armies were dominant. At other times, King Mahāpadma and his armies were dominant.

Going Forth

Granting Ordination

The Early Rite

The postulant’s request

The monk’s request

Acting on the motion

Preceptors and Instructors

The Present Day Ordination Rite

Giving the layperson’s vows and refuge precepts

How to give the layperson’s vows

Pledging to keep the precepts

Going forth

Informing the saṅgha of the wish to go forth

Requesting the preceptor

Allowing the postulant’s going forth

Becoming a novice

Inducting the postulant into the novitiate

Marking the time

The novice investiture

Granting ordination

The opening occasion

Requesting the preceptor

Taking possession of robes that have already been cut and sewn

Taking possession of robes that have not already been cut and sewn

Displaying the begging bowl

Taking possession of the begging bowl

The privy advisor’s expression of willingness

The motion to act as privy advisor

The inquiry into private matters

Reporting the findings

The ordinand’s request for ordination

The motion to ask about impediments before the saṅgha

Inquiring into impediments before the Saṅgha

The monk officiant’s request to ordain

The motion to act

Marking the time by the length of a shadow

Explaining the different parts of the day and night

Describing the length of the seasons

Explaining the supports

Explaining the offenses

Explaining those things that constitute spiritual practice

Announcing the perfect fulfillment of his greatest desire

Enjoining him to practice the equally applicable ethical code

Enjoining him to bond with his role model in the renunciant life

Enjoining him to dwell in tranquility

Enjoining him to carry out his obligations

Informing him of what he must do to fully understand his unspoken commitments

Enjoining him to heed what he reveres

Enjoining him in the methods together with the instructions that should be practiced

Querying Upasena


2.

Tīrthikas

2.­1

A summary:

Tīrthikas, twenty years, and
Novices not yet fifteen.

Tīrthikas

2.­2

[F.72.a] The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when an elder who was immature, dense, dim-witted, and unskilled allowed a follower of another tīrthika tradition to go forth. The elder granted the tīrthika ordination, sparking a number of disputes between monks. After the tīrthika had offered back his training and returned to his community of tīrthikas, the monks asked the Blessed One about it. This is how he responded: “Monks, look at how that benighted man has turned his back on such a fine and well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya and returned to his community of tīrthikas. Monks, it seems to me he is behaving like a dog, wracked by hunger, but refusing fine food and fare and eating excrement instead. Monks, this is how a benighted man acts who turns his back on such a fine and well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya and returns to his former community of tīrthikas.”

Twenty Years

Novices Not Yet Fifteen


3.

The Two Novices

3.­1

A summary:

The chapters are of two novices,
Those in servitude, debtors,
Those without consent,
Without consultation, ill persons, and the Śākyas.

Two Novices

3.­2

The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when two of Upananda’s novices, Kaṇṭaka and Mahaka, flirted with, groped, and tickled one another. They acted as a man does with a woman, or as a woman does with a man. Once, when they were behaving like this, the monks asked the Blessed One about it, and the Blessed One thought, “All those shortcomings ensue from monks placing two novices together.”

Those in Servitude

Debtors

Those Without Consent

Without Consultation

Ill persons

Śākyas


4.

Scaring Away a Crow

4.­1

A summary:

Scaring away a crow, violators,
Impostors, person labeled a paṇḍaka,
Creatures, tīrthikas,
Matricides, and patricides.

Scaring Away a Crow

4.­2

The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when the ignorant Virūḍhaka had slaughtered the Śākya inhabitants of Kapilavastu, although they had not been aggressive, antagonistic, or thieving. The two sons of the venerable Ānanda’s younger sister were left orphaned, and were wandering aimlessly when traders from Śrāvastī on their way to Kapilavastu on business recognized the two good-looking lads and asked, “Boys, where are your parents?”

“They were killed by the ignorant Virūḍhaka,” they replied.

4.­3

“If your uncle, the famous monk known as reverend Ānanda, is staying in Śrāvastī, why don’t you go there?”

They replied, “Who would take us there?”

“We will take you.”

4.­4

After they traded their goods and made a profit, the traders set out for Śrāvastī with the two boys in tow. They left the boys at the gate of Jetavana, where the venerable Ānanda recognized them and asked, “Boys, where are your parents?”

“They were killed by the ignorant Virūḍhaka.”

4.­5

Because Ānanda cared for his kin, on hearing of their death he became choked with tears.

The monks asked him, “Venerable Ānanda, who are these two lads?”

“They are my sister’s boys.”

4.­6

“Why don’t you take them in?”

“I barely get enough from begging to fill my own stomach,” he replied. “Where out there can I get enough to provide for them?”

“If these two boys offer the monks herbs, [F.85.a] flowers, and fruits, in return the monks will give them the leftovers from their begging bowls.”

4.­7

After being taken in, the boys began to offer the monks herbs, flowers, and fruits, and in return the monks gave them the leftovers from their begging bowls. After a few days of giving the two their leftovers, they stopped. So Ānanda went out and about begging alms, but received only just enough to fill his own stomach. Eating half himself and giving the other half to the two boys, he became pallid, emaciated, feeble, withered, thin, and weak.

4.­8

Although they know, blessed buddhas may inquire about what they already know. Though they already know, they may inquire‍—or, even though they know, they may not inquire. They inquire when the time is right, not when the time has passed. Their inquiries are meaningful, not meaningless. In this way blessed buddhas dam the flow of meaningless inquiries.

4.­9

As blessed buddhas know the time for a meaningful inquiry, the Blessed Buddha asked the monks, “Monks, why has the monk Ānanda become pallid, emaciated, feeble, withered, thin, and weak?”

4.­10

“Blessed One,” they replied, “since the two sons of the venerable Ānanda’s younger sister were orphaned, he has gone out receiving only enough alms to fill his own mouth,160 half of which he takes for himself while the other half he gives to them. This has reduced the venerable Ānanda to such a state.”

4.­11

The Blessed One then asked the venerable Ānanda, “Will you not allow these two boys’ going forth?” [F.85.b]

“Blessed One, I will allow their going forth.”

4.­12

The Blessed One decreed, “In light of that, I give permission for food given to the saṅgha to be given to those wishing to go forth.”

4.­13

After the Blessed One gave permission for food that has been given to the saṅgha to be given to those wishing to go forth, the monks gave them food for a few days and then began to complain. The Blessed One then asked Ānanda a second time, “Did you refuse to allow these two boys’ going forth?”

“Reverend, the two of them are not yet fifteen.”

4.­14

“Can the two boys scare crows away from the saṅgha’s sleeping quarters?”

“Reverend, they can throw stones.”

“In that case, Ānanda, I give my permission to allow freely the going forth of those as young as seven years old, provided they can scare away crows.”

Ānanda then allowed the two to go forth.

4.­15

After Ānanda’s nephews went forth, Ānanda began to teach them to read, but after a few days of study they began to misbehave. The venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana asked Ānanda, “Why do you not make these two novices study?”

“Elder,” replied Ānanda, “they do not listen to me. I do not know what to do, but I must compel these two novices to study.”

4.­16

Mahāmaudgalyāyana replied, “Elder, do as you say.”

So Ānanda began to make the two novices study. But again, after a few days, the two of them began to misbehave, and Ānanda asked Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Elder, why can I not make these two novices study?”

“Ānanda, these two will not yet listen to me either.”

“Elder, the two novices must be given a little scare.”

4.­17

The venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana said to the two, “Novices, [F.86.a] let’s do our daily practice.”

“Yes, noble one.”

“Bring something to sit on.”

4.­18

Mahāmaudgalyāyana then took the two novices for their daily practice. On the way, Mahāmaudgalyāyana conjured up an apparition of beings in the hell realms, who cried out from being cut, sliced, crushed, and hacked to pieces.

The two boys exclaimed, “Noble one, what is this?”

“Have a closer look,” he replied.

4.­19

The two of them approached and found what was being done there‍—the cutting, the slicing, the crushing, and the hacking to pieces. Some were being sliced apart by saws, some were being ground in mills, and some were being melted down in boiling vats. When they saw two boiling iron vats standing there empty, they asked, “Gentlemen, will no one be put into these two?”

4.­20

“No,” they replied. “For the two sons of noble Ānanda’s sister have gone forth and yet lazily pass their time. When their time has come and they die, they will be reborn here, so these two vats have been reserved for them.”

Terrified, they thought, “If we’re recognized, they’ll put us in those vats this very day,” and began to look all about them. They went to Mahāmaudgalyāyana, who asked, “Did you see something?”

“Noble one, we did.”

4.­21

“What?”

“Beings in the hell realms.”

“What were they doing there?”

4.­22

“They were doing all sorts of things‍—cutting, slicing, crushing, hacking to pieces,” they replied. “There, some were being sliced apart by saws, some were being ground in mills, and some were being melted down in boiling vats. [F.86.b] When we saw two boiling iron vats standing empty, we asked, ‘Gentlemen, will no one be put into these two?’ And they replied, ‘No. For the two sons of noble Ānanda’s sister have gone forth and yet lazily pass their time. When their time has come and they die, they’ll be reborn here, so these two have been reserved for them.’ ”

4.­23

Then Mahāmaudgalyāyana advised, “Thus, novices, knowing that disadvantages such as these, and others too, accrue from laziness, apply yourselves diligently.”

4.­24

The two nephews began to apply themselves to their studies with diligence. If they thought of the beings in the hell realms in the morning, they would not even eat; if they thought of them in the afternoon, they would vomit up what they had eaten. Thus it was that the two of them became pallid, emaciated, feeble, withered, thin, and weak.

4.­25

Mahāmaudgalyāyana said, “Ānanda, the two have become dispirited.”

“Elder, now they must be inspired.”

Mahāmaudgalyāyana said to the two, “Novices, let’s go for our daily practice.”

“Noble one,” they replied, “we will go, but we will not return to that one place.”

“Bring something to sit on.”

4.­26

Mahāmaudgalyāyana then took the two novices for their daily practice. On the way, Mahāmaudgalyāyana conjured up an apparition of the gods, along with the sounds of the vīṇā, ektara, balari, mahāti, and the sughoṣak.161

4.­27

The two boys exclaimed, “Noble one, what is this?”

“Have a closer look,” he replied.

The two of them approached and followed the sounds of the vīṇā, ektara, balari, mahāti, and the sughoṣak to where there stood two palaces strewn with beds and divans replete with goddesses. Seeing no gods in either palace, they inquired, “Mistresses, [F.87.a] are there no gods in either of these palaces?”

“No, there are none.”

4.­28

“Why is that?”

“The two sons of noble Ānanda’s sister have gone forth, and since they act and apply themselves diligently, when their time has come and they die, they will be reborn here, so these two have been reserved for them.”

4.­29

Overjoyed, they went to Mahāmaudgalyāyana, who again asked, “Did you see something?”

“Noble one, we did.”

“What?”

“Gods.”

4.­30

“What were they doing?”

“We could hear the sounds of the vīṇā, ektara, balari, mahāti, and the sughoṣak, and found two palaces strewn with beds and divans replete with goddesses, who said, ‘The two sons of noble Ānanda’s sister have gone forth, and since they act and apply themselves diligently, when their time has come and they die, they will be reborn here, so these two have been reserved for them.’ ”

4.­31

Then Mahāmaudgalyāyana advised, “Thus, novices, knowing that advantages such as these, and others too, accrue from diligence, apply yourselves.” [B8]

The two of them began to apply themselves to their studies and receive instructions. After a time, they came across the following passage in the Nidānasaṃyukta:162


4.­32

Then, taking dirt from the tip of his fingernail, the Blessed One asked the monks, “Monks, what do you think? Which is more, the dirt I take from the tip of my fingernail or the dirt that is upon this earth?” [F.87.b]

4.­33

“Reverend, the dirt the Blessed One takes from the tip of his fingernail is less, much less, a great deal less, entirely less. If we used those specks to produce all the dirt on the earth, it would not amount to even one hundredth, it would not amount to one thousandth of it, or one hundred thousandth of it; it would not equal, match, number, compare to, or cause it.”

4.­34

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among humans.

4.­35

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among humans.

4.­36

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among humans.

4.­37

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among gods.

4.­38

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings [F.88.a] only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among gods.

4.­39

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among gods.

4.­40

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among humans.

4.­41

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among humans.

4.­42

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among humans.

4.­43

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among gods.

4.­44

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while [F.88.b] sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among gods.

4.­45

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among gods.

4.­46

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among humans.

4.­47

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among humans.

4.­48

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among humans.

4.­49

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among gods.

4.­50

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail [F.89.a] die among spirits and are reborn among gods.

4.­51

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among gods.

4.­52

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among gods only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among gods and are reborn among gods.

4.­53

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among gods only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among gods and are reborn among gods.

4.­54

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among gods only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among gods and are reborn among gods.

4.­55

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among humans only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among humans and are reborn among humans.

4.­56

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among humans only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among humans and are reborn among humans. [F.89.b]

4.­57

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among humans only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among humans and are reborn among humans.”


4.­58

Upon reciting this chapter, called “Repeating Like a Wheel,” the two boys asked Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Noble one, will we too die among gods and humans only to be reborn among hell realm beings, animals, and spirits?”

4.­59

“Gentlemen, so long as the continuum of disturbing emotions remains uninterrupted, you must spin like a waterwheel through the cycle of five migrations.”

Disheartened, they spoke this verse:

4.­60
“Being a god, who cannot stay a god, is no good.
Being a human, whose life is short, is no good.
Being in saṃsāra, where there is no peace, is no good.
That is why, said the Sugata, nirvāṇa is supreme.
4.­61

“Noble one, henceforth, come what may, as we cycle through saṃsāra we must avoid engaging with such disturbing emotions, so please, we ask that you teach us the Dharma.”

4.­62

Mahāmaudgalyāyana knew their thoughts, their tendencies, their characters, and their natures. Drawing on all he had heard, he taught them the Dharma so that they abandoned all disturbing emotions and actualized arhatship, becoming arhats free of attachment to the three realms, for whom filth was equal to gold, who knew space like the palm of their hands, whose emotions had been cooled as if treated by a balm of sandalwood, whose knowledge had rent open the shell. They attained knowledge, clairvoyance, and discerning wisdom. They turned their backs on worldly gain, desires, and esteem and were venerated, honored, and saluted by Indra and the gods who attend him. [F.90.a]


4.­63

When the monks saw the two novices miraculously flying through the air, picking flowers, they asked one another, “Venerables, who are those two?”

One said, “They are the two novices, kin to Ānanda.”

4.­64

“Our begging bowls are black with wear. Our teeth are falling out and our hair turns grey, and yet we have not achieved even stillness of mind. Venerable, if these two were but seven years old when they went forth and yet abandoned all disturbing emotions and actualized arhatship, then the Blessed One spoke well when he said, ‘Ānanda, awakening is attained through diligence.’ ”

4.­65

In doubt, the monks went to he who severs all doubts, the Blessed Buddha, and asked, “Reverend, what actions have these two novices done that the fruition of such an act should lead them to go forth at the mere age of seven, and that the Blessed One exempted them alone from the vinaya guidelines he laid down for his disciples, allowing them to abandon all disturbing emotions and actualize arhatship?”

4.­66

The Blessed One responded, “Monks, these two themselves performed the actions‍—which have accrued a heap of karma, whose results have matured, which follow their course like an irrigation channel, which inevitably come to be‍—so who else will experience the actions they themselves have performed and accrued? Monks, actions which have been performed and accrued do not ripen upon the external elements. They do not ripen upon the element of water, upon the element of fire, nor upon the element of wind. Likewise, virtuous and nonvirtuous actions which have been performed and accrued come to fruition upon the aggregates, elements, and seats of the senses of the one who performed them, for:

4.­67
“Actions never waste away,
Not even after one hundred eons.
When the time [F.90.b] and the conditions
Are right, they alight upon embodied beings.
4.­68

“Monks, earlier in this fortunate eon, when the lifespan of beings lasted twenty thousand years, there appeared in the world a teacher, a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened buddha, a knowledgeable and venerable one, a sugata, one who knew the world, an unsurpassed guide who tamed beings, a teacher to gods and men, the Blessed Buddha Kāśyapa.

4.­69

“With his following of twenty thousand monks, he lived and stayed in the Deer Park of Ṛṣipatana near Vārāṇasī. In Vārāṇasī there lived two householders and friends, who had wished to go forth in their youth, but had not received leave to go forth from their relatives. At a certain point, after their youth had faded, they abdicated in favor of their relatives and went forth into the teachings of the perfectly awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. As was natural given their junior status, they were always expected to perform errands, and so the monks would order them about, saying, ‘You two old-timers! Go do this!’ and ‘You two old-timers! Bring me that!’

4.­70

“One of them had a placid nature but the other was quick-tempered. Thus when the one became angry, the other would say, ‘Old-timer, if you couldn’t go forth when you were young, why get angry now?’

4.­71

“Though they lived the holy life for the remainder of their lives, they did not achieve any of the host of qualities. So later, as they died, they said this prayer: ‘We have lived the holy life for what remained of our lives under the Blessed One, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly awakened Buddha, the hallowed and unsurpassed Kāśyapa, but we have achieved none of the host of qualities. Therefore, may the roots of virtue from having lived the holy life for what remained of our lives ensure that at the mere age of seven we go forth into the teachings of the Blessed Buddha Śākyamuni, whose coming has been foretold in a prophecy that the blessed tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly awakened Buddha Kāśyapa gave to a wonderful brahmin boy: “In the future, when the lifespans of beings last one hundred years, you brahmin boy [F.91.a] will become the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly awakened Buddha, the knowledgeable and venerable one, the sugata, the one who knows the world, the unsurpassed guide who tames beings, the teacher to gods and men, the Blessed Buddha Śākyamuni.” And further, may the Blessed One exempt us alone from the vinaya guidelines he laid down for his disciples, allowing us to abandon all disturbing emotions and actualize arhatship.’

4.­72

“Monks, the two householders of that time are now these two novices. And due to the prayer that they made, they have gone forth at the mere age of seven, and I have exempted them alone from the vinaya guidelines I laid down for my disciples, allowing them to abandon all disturbing emotions and actualize arhatship.”

Violators

4.­73

While the Blessed Buddha was journeying and passing through Kāśī, he arrived at a place and smiled. As is natural, when blessed buddhas smile, blue, yellow, red, white, maroon, crystalline, and silvery rays of light emerge from their mouths, some streaming downwards and some streaming upwards.

4.­74

Those that streamed downwards proceeded to the hell realms of Sañjīva, Kālasūtra, Saṅghāta, Raurava, Mahāraurava, Tapana, Pratāpana, Avīci, Arbuda, [F.91.b] Nirarbuda, Aṭaṭa, Hahava, Huhuva, Utpala, Padma, and Mahāpadma. Alighting on and cooling those in the hot hells and alighting on and warming those in the cold hells, these rays of light interrupted the various harms inflicted on those hell realm beings, prompting the denizens of hell to think, “Gentlemen, what is this? Have we died, moved on, and taken birth elsewhere?”

4.­75

To engender faith in them, the Blessed One sent an emanation which, when they saw it, prompted them to think, “Gentlemen, we have not died and moved on, nor have we been born elsewhere. Rather, the various harms inflicted on us have been interrupted by a being we have never seen before.”

4.­76

Through the faith they felt in the emanation, the karma that led them to experience the hell realms was exhausted and they took rebirth as gods or humans, forms in which they became fit vessels for the truth.

4.­77

Those rays of light that streamed upwards reached the gods of Cāturmahārājika, Trāyastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita Nirmāṇarati, Paranirmitavaśavartina, Brahmakāyikā, Brahmapurohita, Mahābrahman, Parīttābha Apramāṇābha Ābhāsvara, Parīttaśubha Apramāṇaśubha, Śubhakṛtsna, Anabhraka, Puṇyaprasava, Bṛhatphala, Abṛha, Atapa, Sudṛśa, Sudarśana, and Akaniṣṭha. Resonating with the words “impermanence,” “subject to suffering,” “empty,” and “selfless,” the rays of light proclaimed these two verses: [F.92.a]

4.­78
“Take action! Go forth!
Apply yourself to the Buddha’s teachings!
As an elephant does a mud hovel,
Destroy Yama’s minions!
He who with great care
Trains in the Dharma and Vinaya
Abandons the cycle of rebirth
And ends suffering once and for all!”
4.­79

The rays of light then unfurled through the worlds of the great billionfold universe, so that they would, in the future, be drawn into the Blessed One’s sphere. If the Blessed One was about to foretell actions of the past, the rays of light would fade into the space behind the Blessed One. If the Blessed One was about to foretell actions of the future, the rays of light would fade into the space before the Blessed One. If the Blessed One was about to foretell rebirth as a hell realm being, the rays of light would fade into the soles of his feet. If the Blessed One was about to foretell rebirth as an animal, the rays of light would fade into his ankle. If the Blessed One was about to foretell rebirth as a spirit, the rays of light would fade into his big toe. If the Blessed One was about to foretell rebirth as a human, the rays of light would fade into his knee. If the Blessed One was about to foretell a reign as a powerful king of the world, the rays of light would fade into the palm of his left hand. If the Blessed One was about to foretell a reign as a king of the world, the rays of light would fade into the palm of his right hand. If the Blessed One was about to foretell rebirth as a god, the rays of light would fade into his navel. If the Blessed One was about to foretell a śrāvaka’s awakening, the rays of light would fade into his mouth. If the Blessed One was about to foretell a pratyekabuddha’s awakening, the rays of light would fade into the tuft of hair at his brow. If the Blessed One was about to foretell unsurpassed, complete and perfect awakening, the rays of light would fade into the uṣṇīṣa at his crown.

4.­80

The rays of light then circled the Blessed One three times and faded into the soles of his feet. The venerable Ānanda then pressed his palms together and said to the Blessed One, “Reverend, not without cause or condition do tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly awakened buddhas [F.92.b] smile. If so, reverend, what then has caused you to smile? What condition has occasioned it?” And then he asked again in verse:

4.­81
“A mass made brilliant by a thousand colors
Emerged from your mouth,163
Illuminating every direction,
So why bother with a parasol?
Not brazen, nor dejected, nor self-satisfied,
You have become a buddha, the best of beings,
A victorious tamer of enemies. Not without cause
Do you flash a smile white like a conch or lotus root.
Your mind thus knows when the time is right to proclaim.164
Leader among sages! Sovereign among ascetics!
For your disciples who doubt,
Dispel their uncertainty with words
Reliable, sublime, and virtuous.
Steady as a mountain or the salty sea,
Lord buddhas do not smile accidentally.
Steady as you are, this group is eager to hear
The reason for your smile.”
4.­82

The Blessed One replied, “Ānanda, it is like this. Not without cause or condition do tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly awakened buddhas smile. Ānanda, a great many sinister men here have violated a great many nuns by bodily forcing themselves upon them. For this, when they die, they will pass from this life to be reborn among the denizens of hell.”

4.­83

A monk then went to where the Blessed One was, pressed his palms together and bowed, appealing to him in these words: “Reverend, I am one of the many sinister men who have bodily and forcibly violated nuns.”

“Fool, have you really committed this act?”

“Reverend, indeed I have.”

4.­84

The Blessed One then [F.93.a] decreed to the monks, “Monks, a person who has violated a nun will not take root in this Dharma and Vinaya.165 Therefore, monks, you must banish from this Dharma and the Vinaya those persons who have violated a nun. If someone wishing to go forth approaches any of you, you should ask, ‘You have not violated a nun, have you?’ If you allow going forth without asking this, a breach occurs.”

Impostors

4.­85

The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when a householder of Śrāvastī came to Jetavana.

4.­86

When monks are not free from desire, it leads to saṅgha remnant offenses. Some incur offenses in their youth and then grow old, and others incur offenses in their maturity. When such an offense occurs, the monks who retain the sūtras, retain the vinaya, and retain the mātṛkā impose, in accordance with the Dharma, a sentence166 on the offender. The offender must serve the saṅgha while undergoing his full probation and penance. According to some, this service includes providing the saṅgha with drinks. According to others, it includes fanning them.

4.­87

At a certain point, the householder from Śrāvastī saw a spread of fine shelters with choice food laid out for the community and thought, “Though there is some good to their teaching, there are flaws too‍—they lack honor and respect for those elders they put to work.”

4.­88

When the group of six167 heard him say this, they asked, “What did you say, householder?”

“Noble ones, though there is some good to your teaching, you too have flaws.”

4.­89

“Householder, what are our flaws?”

“Noble ones,” he replied, “you lack honor and respect for the elders by putting them to work.”

4.­90

“There is a reason we put even elders to work.” [F.93.b]

“Noble ones, if I were to go forth, would you put me to work too?”

They replied, “What would you say if someone much more distinguished than you were to go forth and we put even him to work?”

The householder thought, “If I were to go forth, they would also put me to work. I must find some way around it.”

4.­91

As the householder was possessed of a natural intelligence, while in the monks’ company he learned how to conduct himself. Having learned that, he set off for a remote land, where he shaved off his hair and beard, donned saffron robes, and settled down.

4.­92

After a time, monks who were paying homage to stūpas passed by. When the pilgrims saw him they said, “Elder, in Śrāvastī there resides one who is verily a lord of Dharma. Around him, gods are always appearing in the flesh. Vast lights also appear, divine sounds are heard, as are the auguries of all-knowing beings, and the two forms of wealth‍—material wealth and the wealth of Dharma‍—are to be had. Why then do you not go to Śrāvastī?”

“Venerables, I shall remain right here.”

4.­93

They implored him again and again, “Elder, in Śrāvastī there verily resides a lord of Dharma. Around him always are gods appearing in the flesh. Vast lights also appear, divine sounds are heard, as are the auguries of all-knowing beings, and the two forms of wealth‍—material wealth and the wealth of Dharma‍—are to be had. Why then do you not go to Śrāvastī?”

4.­94

At the urging of his fellow brahmacārin, he set off for Śrāvastī. In time, he saw the spread of fine shelters with choice food laid out for the community there and thought, “If I sit in the front row, I’ll be called upon to demonstrate my knowledge.” Passing by the first seat, he sat down on the second. [F.94.a]

4.­95

When the all-knowing Kauṇḍinya arrived, he thought, “If the Blessed One declared that I am first among those who wear the monk’s mantle standard, then who is this?” On thinking it over, Kauṇḍinya saw that he was an impostor and dismissed him with a snap of his fingers. The venerable Aśvajit, Bhadrika, Vāṣpa, Mahānāman, Yaśas, Pūrṇa, Vimala, Gavāmpati, Subāhu, the venerable Śāriputra, the venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana, and all the eldest of elder monks then also dismissed him with the snap of their fingers.

4.­96

Some time later he approached the group of six, and they asked him, “Elder, how many years have you passed?”

“If you’re asking my age, I have seen sixty years,” he replied.

4.­97

They asked, “If the Blessed One himself has not passed sixty years, how could you?” And they asked him, “Old-timer, who is your preceptor?”

He replied, “Who is the ascetic Gautama’s preceptor?”

4.­98

They exclaimed, “Venerables, this old-timer claims he has taken up these signifiers on his own.”168 With this, they grabbed him by his arms and legs, dragged him before the senior monks and said, “Reverend saṅgha, please listen! If the Blessed One was the first self-ordained one in this world, this old-timer is the second. Or so he claims.” And with that they led him away.

4.­99

The Blessed One then addressed the monks: “Monks, this impostor will not take root in this Dharma and Vinaya; therefore, you must banish impostors from this Dharma and Vinaya. If someone wishing to go forth approaches any of you, ask him, ‘You are not an impostor, are you?’ If you allow going forth without asking this, a breach occurs.” [F.94.b]

4.­100

Venerable Upāli asked the Blessed One, “Reverend, if the Blessed One says an impostor should be excluded, then reverend, what constitutes an impostor?”

“Upāli, were he to later participate in the restoration two or three times with monks of good standing, he would thereby be an imposter.”169

Person labeled a paṇḍaka

4.­101

The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when a brahmin living in Śrāvastī took a wife of equal caste and together they played with, took pleasure in, and amused one another. The wife with whom he had played, taken pleasure, and amused himself soon conceived a child. After eight or nine months, a paṇḍaka child was born who, though resembling a boy, was neither female nor male. Still, they nurtured and raised the child until it grew up.

4.­102

While the child was playing with a group of children, he showed them his sex organs, at which point they asked him, “What are you?”

He replied, “I’m a person labeled a paṇḍaka.”170

4.­103

“You’re a brahmin,” they said. “It’s not right to bring ill repute upon your family, so do not behave like this.”

They said to his parents, “You must stop this person labeled a paṇḍaka of yours from behaving like this.”

4.­104

His parents then said to him, “Person labeled a paṇḍaka, we are brahmins. It is not right to bring ill repute upon our family. Do not behave so.”

4.­105

Though this put a stop to that, the person labeled a paṇḍaka did not linger. He went to Jetavana and, after some time, he saw a group of young monks and thought, “If I were to go forth, they could play the role of a male for me while I could play the role of a female for them.” [F.95.a]

He then approached a monk and said, “Noble one, I want to go forth.”

4.­106

“Have your parents given you their permission?” asked the monk.

“They have not.”

4.­107

“Go and ask your parents.”

He went to his parents and said, “Father, Mother, I want to go forth.”

4.­108

Depressed, the two of them thought, “His going forth will require our parting with him.” Then they said to him, “Person labeled a paṇḍaka, we give you our permission.”

He went to the monk and said, “Noble one, my parents have given me permission, so please allow my going forth.”

4.­109

After his going forth was allowed and he was granted ordination, he exposed his sex organs in the presence of monks, whereupon they asked him, “What are you? A person labeled a paṇḍaka?”

4.­110

When he acknowledged that he was, the monks appealed to the Blessed One, and the Blessed One said to the monks, “A person labeled a paṇḍaka will not take root in this Dharma and Vinaya; therefore, you must banish people labeled paṇḍakas from this Dharma and Vinaya. If someone wishing to go forth approaches any of you, ask him, ‘You are not a person labeled a paṇḍaka, are you?’ If you allow going forth without asking this, a breach occurs.”

4.­111

“Monks, there are five kinds of persons labeled paṇḍakas. What are they? They are intersex persons, rhythmic-consecutive persons, sexually submissive persons, persons with a voyeuristic fetish, and persons with a sexual disability. What is a intersex person? One who is born neither a female nor a male. What is a rhythmic-consecutive person? Someone who is female for half the month yet becomes male during the other half. What is a sexually submissive person? One who becomes erect if embraced by another. What is a person with a voyeuristic fetish? One who becomes erect at the sight of others’ exertion. [F.95.b] What is a person with a sexual disability? A person whose sexual organs have been disabled by disease, or removed with some instrument.

4.­112

“If the first four types of persons labeled paṇḍakas‍—intersex persons, rhythmic-consecutive person, sexually submissive persons, and persons with a voyeuristic fetish‍—have not gone forth, you should not allow their going forth. If they have gone forth, they should be banished. As for a person with a sexual disability, if they have not gone forth, you should not allow their going forth. If they have gone forth, they should be left as they are, provided they do not show an inclination to change.171 If they show an inclination to change, they should be banished.”

Creatures

Saṅgharakṣita and the Shape-Shifting Nāga

The shape-shifting nāga who finds faith in the Dharma

4.­113

While the Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, the nāgas thrice felt fiery sand fall from the heavens upon them, reducing their bodies to mere skeletons. After fiery sand thrice fell from the heavens upon a young nāga, reducing his body to that of a mere skeleton, he asked his mother, “Mother, how long must I endure such suffering?”

“Son, for as long as you are in this life.”

4.­114

Through all of this, fiery sand had not fallen on other nāgas who possessed miraculous powers and great might, prompting him to ask, “Mother, why did it not fall upon them?”

His mother replied, “It did not fall upon them because they possess miraculous powers and great might; they live for eons and they sustain the earth. Even the garuḍa Suparṇi could not dislodge them.”

4.­115

Through all of this, fiery sand had not fallen on a number of scrawny nāgas either, prompting him to ask, “Mother, why did it not fall upon those of their type?”

“It did not fall upon them because they took refuge and adopted the precepts in the presence of the Blessed One.”

“If that is so, [F.96.a] then I too shall take refuge and adopt the precepts in the presence of the Blessed One.”

4.­116

“Son, a single life’s suffering is easy to bear, that of many lifetimes is not. If you take refuge and adopt the precepts in the presence of the Blessed One, but then do not properly heed them, you will have to endure suffering as a denizen in the hell realms for a long time to come.”

4.­117

The young nāga thought, “What suffering could be worse than my present suffering? I shall take refuge and adopt the precepts in the presence of the Blessed One.”

Conjuring up the appearance of a brahmin, he set off for Jetavana, where he saw monks applying themselves to and abiding in meditation, recitation, yoga, and concentration. Upon seeing them, he felt faith and thought, “Oh my! Should I first take refuge and adopt the precepts or go forth?”

4.­118

On thinking it over, he decided, “I shall go forth,” and with that he approached a monk and said, “Noble one, I want to go forth.”

“As I am new, you should go to someone else, an elder.”

“Noble one, I do not know anyone else. This is my first time in the presence of a noble being, so I ask you, please, introduce me to a monk.”

4.­119

As the new monk’s preceptor was a hermit living in the forest, the monk took the nāga disguised as a brahmin to see him and said, “Preceptor, as this noble son wants to go forth, I ask that you allow him to go forth.”

The preceptor replied, “My dear sir, the Blessed One said, ‘Monks, one could accept being pressed into work as a butcher, but it is not right to leave the life once you have gone forth and been ordained.’ This brahmin would go to the hells [F.96.b] and I too would fall, so I will not ordain him.”

4.­120

“Please, preceptor,” the monk replied, “all you need do is allow his going forth and I shall undertake to train and instruct him.”

After the preceptor had allowed the nāga’s going forth and ordained him, the preceptor said to the monk, “My dear sir, you and he now share a preceptor. As his instructor, you must quiz him, you must instruct him, and you must train him.”

4.­121

The monk recited the Ekottarikāgama172 and then had the nāga repeat it. As he did so with great vigor, it took on the cadence of a prayer. The monk instructor’s eyes lit up with joy and the monk said to the nāga disguised as a brahmin, “My dear sir, shall we seek alms together or on our own?”

4.­122

The nāga disguised as a brahmin thought, “I cannot live on the things humans eat; I had better return to the land of nāgas, where I can imbibe ambrosia, and return once I’ve eaten.”

“Instructor, let us seek them on our own.”

“Very well, my dear sir,” replied the monk.

4.­123

The nāga would drink the ambrosia of the gods in the land of nāgas and then return. As nāgas require a lot of sleep, he would soon fall into slumber. The monk would return later from his alms round as the nāga was rising from his nap.

4.­124

One day, the monk received alms right away, took them, and headed home. As he drew near, he heard a sound, like a smith pumping his bellows, coming from his hut. Looking through the keyhole, he saw the entire hut filled with the coiled up body of a nāga and cried out, “A shape shifter! A shape shifter!”

4.­125

Understanding well what such words meant, the nāga hastily transformed, cloaking his natural appearance and reverting to his conjured look. Monks gathered around and asked him, “What is the matter?”

“He’s a shape shifter,” the monk replied.

4.­126

They said, [F.97.a] “This venerable applies himself diligently, always making an effort in his recitations. Why do you begrudge him?”

“I do not begrudge him in the least. It is just that he’s a shape shifter.”

4.­127

While they were conferring, the Blessed One passed by and inquired, “What is the matter?”

“Blessed One, he’s a shape shifter.”

4.­128

The Blessed One replied, “A shape shifter will not take root in this Dharma and Vinaya; therefore, you must banish shape shifters from this Dharma and Vinaya. If someone wishing to go forth approaches any of you, ask him, ‘You are not a shape shifter, are you?’ If you allow going forth without asking this, a breach occurs.

4.­129

“Monks, a nāga’s nature is characterized by five things; the rest are emanations. What are these five? Nāgas are born a natural birth, they die a natural death, they sleep a natural sleep, they are nourished naturally, and they procreate naturally‍—these are the qualities they exhibit.”

The Blessed One said to the nāga, “My dear sir, with this body of yours you cannot attain any of a host of qualities, so leave and do no harm to the monks.”

4.­130

The nāga, not knowing where he might wind up, eventually came upon a forest of śāla trees, where he conjured up a monastery with a high gate, skylights, and latticed windows. It was adorned with balustrades, beguiling to the heart and beautiful to the eye, with a staircase to the upper level, and perfectly outfitted with beds, seats, and supplies. To arriving monks and departing monks, he provided all the supplies they needed.173

4.­131

After passing the rainy season at the monastery, an old-timer left for Śrāvastī, [F.97.b] where, as was their wont, the group of six disciples thought, “Here, it is we who teach the Dharma to the brahmins and householders that come and assemble. It is we who trounce our adversaries and it is we who spread the fame of our order.”

4.­132

As the group of six did whatever their self-appointed duties called for, they would never leave the gate into Jetavana unattended. Upananda rose early one morning, cast aside his toothbrush, donned his orange ceremonial robe, and took up his post at the gate into Jetavana. When he saw, approaching off in the distance, an old-timer with a head as white as an āgati flower and drooping eyebrows, Upananda thought, “No doubt this is one of our elder monks.”

4.­133

Going out to greet him, he said, “Welcome, elder, welcome.”

“Homage to you, instructor,” replied the old-timer.

4.­134

Upananda thought, “My! Why, I don’t recognize this old-timer as one of our instructors, nor do I recognize him as one of our preceptors.”

4.­135

Upananda then asked him, “Old-timer, where have you come from?”

“From the śāla forest.”

4.­136

“Why? Is there a monastery there?”

“Yes, there is.”

4.­137

“What type is it?”

“Oh, it is but a poor one.”

4.­138

“What is it like? How is it poor? If it is fully outfitted, it is a monastery, but if it lacks all the trappings, it is poor.”

“It is a monastery.”

4.­139

“What’s there?”

“A monk caretaker lives there and provides arriving monks and departing monks with all the supplies they need.”

4.­140

As was their wont, when one among the group of six heard the slightest news they all gathered in the afternoon to discuss it. So Upananda went to the assembly hall and said to the group of six, “We venerables must put off our other business for a time.”

4.­141

“Have you heard some news?”

“Indeed I have. There is a monastery in the śāla forest.” [F.98.a]

4.­142

“What’s there?”

“A monk caretaker lives there and provides arriving monks and departing monks with all the supplies they need. Come, let us pay a visit.”

4.­143

The expelled nāga, who was now disguised as an elderly monk caretaker, saw the six approaching from off in the distance, and thought, “So those rogues have come here. How would they treat me if I were to provide them with all the supplies they need?”

4.­144

With that thought, he allocated, in order of seniority, canopied beds and terraced cottages and provided them with all the supplies they needed.

4.­145

A few days after they had settled in, they said, “Nanda and Upananda, this old-timer has no obvious source of income, nor any obvious record of allocations. We should make him account for what is here.”

4.­146

They said to him, “Old-timer, you have no obvious source of income, nor any obvious record of allocations. Come and account for them.”

4.­147

“Noble ones,” he replied, “are you merely displeased or utterly disappointed?”

“We are not just ‘merely displeased,’ for our fellow brahmacārin would denounce us if it were said, ‘The group of six passed the rainy season at that very monastery and yet they know nothing of its income and know nothing of its allocations.’ ”

4.­148

“Elders, I will comply. How long must I keep records? Twelve years?”

“Old-Timer, in twelve years even the doors of this temple will have collapsed.”

4.­149

“How about seven years?”

“That’s impracticable.”

4.­150

“How about seven months?”

“Still impracticable.”

4.­151

“How about seven days?”

The group declared, “Nanda and Upananda, record whatever supplies this old-timer receives over the next seven days. Old-timer, [F.98.b] we order you to comply.”

4.­152

The nāga, disguised as the old-timer, thought, “I shall make this monastery disappear once the seven-day period is up.”

To some of our poorer fellow brahmacārin, the nāga proceeded to offer mantles, to some upper robes, to some under robes, to some undershirts, to some begging bowls, and to some small plates.174

4.­153

When the group of six saw this they said, “Nanda and Upananda, investigate this old-timer and after seven days, evict him along with his partisans.”

After seven days had passed, the old-timer made the monastery vanish as the group of six slept, and fled to the seashore.

The group of six, who awoke from their sleep on a piece of dry ground, said, “Nanda and Upananda, get up and fetch some chalk so we may check the accounts.”

4.­154

When they noticed they had been sleeping on a piece of dry ground, they realized, “We have opposed one who trusted in the Blessed One and served the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, causing him to flee and make his monastery disappear.”

4.­155

When the monks asked the Blessed One, “Who was this being? A god, a nāga, a yakṣa?” the Blessed One replied, “That monk caretaker was a shape shifter and yet this was so: if the group of six had not opposed him, he would have served the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha for as long as the teachings remained.”

4.­156

The Blessed One reflected, “All those shortcomings ensue from the monks’ forcing him to account for the monastery’s income and allocations that had no obvious source or recipient.”

4.­157

The Blessed One then decreed, “A monk should not be forced to account for income and allocations with no obvious source and recipients. A monk should not be forced to account for those items for which the receipt is evident but its allocation is obscure. [F.99.a] A monk should not be forced to account for those items of which the allocation is evident but its receipt is obscure. A monk should mindfully and attentively monitor those items of which both the receipt and its allocation are evident.” [B9]

4.­158

After his encounter with the group of six, the shape-shifting nāga fled to the seashore, where he conjured up a second monastery with a high gate, skylights, and latticed windows. It too was adorned with balustrades, beguiling to the heart and beautiful to the eye, with a staircase to the upper level and perfectly outfitted with beds, seats, and supplies. Ocean nāgas, in the guise of brahmins and householders, gathered there and listened to the shape-shifting nāga teach the Dharma. After hearing the Dharma, they provided arriving monks and departing monks with all the supplies they needed.

4.­159

After passing the rainy season at the monastery, an old-timer left for Śrāvastī. As was their wont, the group of six thought, “Here, it is we who teach the Dharma to the brahmins and householders who come and assemble. It is we who trounce our adversaries and it is we who spread the fame of our order.”

4.­160

As the group of six did whatever their self-appointed duties called for, they would never leave the gate into Jetavana unattended. One day, Upananda rose early in the morning, cast aside his toothbrush, donned his orange mantle, and took up his post at the gate into Jetavana. When he saw, approaching off in the distance, an old-timer with a head as white as an āgati flower and drooping eyebrows, Upananda thought, “No doubt this is one of our elder monks.”

4.­161

Going out to greet him, he said, “Welcome, elder, welcome.”

“Homage to you, instructor.”

4.­162

Upananda thought, “My! I don’t recognize this old-timer as one of our instructors, nor do I recognize him as one of our preceptors.” [F.99.b]

4.­163

Upananda then said to him, “Old-timer, where have come from?”

“I’ve come from the seashore.”

4.­164

“Why? Is there a monastery there?”

“Yes, there is,” he replied.

4.­165

“What type is it?”

“Oh, it is but a poor one.”

4.­166

“What is the monastery like? How is it poor? If it is fully outfitted, it is a monastery, but if it lacks all the trappings, it is poor.”

“It is a monastery.”

4.­167

“What’s there?”

“A monk preacher lives there, where he teaches the Dharma to brahmins and householders. After hearing the Dharma, they provide arriving monks and departing monks with all the supplies they need.”

4.­168

As was their wont, when one among the group of six heard the slightest news they all gathered in the afternoon to discuss it. So Upananda went to the assembly hall and said to the group of six, “We venerables must put off our other business for a time.”

4.­169

“Have you heard some news?”

“Indeed I have,” Upananda replied. “There is a monastery on the seashore.”

4.­170

“What’s there?”

“A monk preacher lives there, where he teaches the Dharma to brahmins and householders. Upon hearing the Dharma from him, they provide arriving monks and departing monks with all the supplies they need. Come, let us pay a visit.”

4.­171

The debarred nāga, now disguised as a monk preacher, saw the six approaching from off in the distance, and thought, “Ah! Those rogues have arrived. What would they do if I refused to demurely acquiesce to them?”

4.­172

The ocean nāgas, in the guise of brahmins and householders, then gathered there and he taught them the Dharma. After hearing the Dharma, they provided the arriving monks and departing monks with all the supplies they needed, [F.100.a] at which point the group of six said, “Nanda and Upananda, what does this old-timer know?”

“The Ekottarikāgama.”

4.­173

“If these monks175 here are all versed in the Three Piṭakas, are teachers of Dharma in their own right, and possessed of intelligence and untrammeled confidence, why does he, who teaches the Dharma using this out-of-date Ekottarikāgama, not request teachings from them?”

4.­174

They said to the nāga, disguised as the monk preacher, “What do you know, old-timer?”

“The Ekottarikāgama.”

“You teach the Dharma using this out-of-date Ekottarikāgama while these monks here are all versed in the Three Piṭakas, are teachers of Dharma in their own right, and possessed of intelligence and untrammeled confidence. Why do you not request teachings from them?”

4.­175

“What? Nobles ones, do I stop them? Why do you not teach the Dharma?”

“Nanda and Upananda, this old-timer is at odds with us. We will act to evict him.”

Thinking, “If they move to evict me, I won’t find a place among the nāgas either,” then, while the group of six were sleeping, the nāga made the monastery vanish and slipped into the ocean.

4.­176

On waking on the sandy beach, the group of six said, “Nanda and Upananda, get up and erect a lion throne from which we shall teach the Dharma.”

When they noticed they had slept on a sandy beach, they said, “We opposed one who trusted in the Blessed One and served the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, causing him to flee and make his monastery disappear.”

4.­177

When the monks asked the Blessed One, “Who was this being? A god, a nāga, a yakṣa?” the Blessed One replied, “That monk preacher was a shape shifter and yet this was so: [F.100.b] If the group of six monks had not opposed him, he would have served the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha for as long as the teachings remained.”

4.­178

The Blessed One thought, “All those shortcomings ensue from the monks’ teaching without being requested to do so.”

With that he said, “A monk should not teach without first having been asked to do so. If a monk teaches without first having been asked to do so, a breach occurs. If he is invited to do so, then no offense ensues.”

Saṅgharakṣita brings the Buddha’s teachings to the land of the nāgas

4.­179

Buddharakṣita, a wealthy householder with much riches and goods who lived in Śrāvastī, took a wife of equal caste and together they played with, took pleasure in, and amused one another.

Looking to guide them, the venerable Śāriputra went to their house and enjoined the householder and his wife to seek refuge and pledge to uphold the precepts. Some time afterwards, the householder’s wife conceived a child.

4.­180

Knowing this being was certain to become one of the fortunate, the venerable Śāriputra visited the family without any ascetic followers in his wake. Prostrating at his feet, the householder asked, “Does the noble one have no ascetic followers?”

“Householder,” he replied, “do you think my ascetic followers simply sprout up like weeds? It’s those who issue from people like you who become my ascetic followers.”

4.­181

“Noble one, my spouse has conceived a child. If she should give birth to a boy, I will offer him as an ascetic follower to the noble one.”

“Householder, I accept.”

4.­182

After eight or nine months had passed a boy was born, well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, [F.101.a] handsome, radiant, with a golden complexion, a head shaped well like a parasol, long arms, a broad forehead, eyebrows that meet, and a prominent nose.

Three weeks, or twenty-one days, after the birth, relatives came and gathered to celebrate his birth in grand style, during which time they discussed what name should be chosen for the boy. Some said, “Since the boy is Buddharakṣita’s son, the boy should be named Saṅgharakṣita,” and thus he was named Saṅgharakṣita.

4.­183

Fortified with milk, curd, butter, ghee, cream, and other nourishing foods, the boy Saṅgharakṣita grew quickly, shooting up like a lotus in a pond. On the very day Saṅgharakṣita was born, that same day sons were also born to five hundred merchants, each of whom was given a name appropriate to his patrilineage.

4.­184

In time the boy Saṅgharakṣita grew up and the venerable Śāriputra knew it was time to allow his going forth. So, looking to guide them, he went alone without any ascetic followers in his wake to the boy’s house. After prostrating at Śāriputra’s feet, the householder Buddharakṣita laid out a seat and invited the venerable Śāriputra to sit. As he sat, Śāriputra signaled to prompt the householder Buddharakṣita. The householder Buddharakṣita then said to Saṅgharakṣita, “Son, when you were in your mother’s womb, before you were even born, I offered you as an ascetic follower to the noble Śāriputra. Go and serve him.”

4.­185

As this was to be Saṅgharakṣita’s last life as a sentient being, a smile had already spread across his face and, without apprehension, neither crestfallen nor gloomy, he pledged to do as he was told. With that he became the venerable Śāriputra’s attendant apprentice and follower. [F.101.b] After the venerable Śāriputra had allowed his going forth and given him ordination, he taught Saṅgharakṣita how Dharma practitioners conduct themselves and made him recite the Four Āgamas.

4.­186

Some time later, after assembling merchandise to bring on their journey across the ocean, the five hundred sons of the five hundred merchants conferred and decided to bring, along with their goods, a noble monk across the ocean.

“Gentlemen, the ocean is full of many terrors. So those of us that journey across the ocean would do well to ask for the company of a noble one who might teach us the Dharma.”

4.­187

Beginning their search, they asked, “Who shall we ask to come?”

Some answered, “Gentlemen, we should ask our peer, the noble Saṅgharakṣita, for we grew up together playing in the dirt with him.”

4.­188

They went to him, prostrated at his feet, and said, “Noble Saṅgharakṣita, we grew up together playing in the dirt with you, our peer, so if we set out upon the ocean, an ocean full of many terrors, we would do well were the noble one to teach Dharma to those of us crossing the ocean. Therefore, noble one, we ask that you come with us across the ocean.”

“Gentlemen,” he replied, “as I am not at liberty to do as I please, you should put your request to my preceptor.”

4.­189

They went to the venerable Śāriputra, bowed their heads at his feet, and said, “Noble Śāriputra, please give us your attention. We grew up together playing in the dirt with our peer, the noble Saṅgharakṣita. So if we set out upon the ocean, [F.102.a] an ocean full of many terrors, we would do well were the noble one to teach Dharma to those of us crossing the ocean. For that reason, we ask that you send the noble Saṅgharakṣita with us across the ocean.”

“Ask the Blessed One himself and I will not object.”

4.­190

They went to the Blessed One, bowed their heads at his feet, and said, “Blessed One, please give us your attention. We grew up together playing in the dirt with our peer, the noble Saṅgharakṣita. So if we set out upon the ocean, an ocean full of many terrors, we would do well were the noble one to teach Dharma to those of us crossing the ocean. For that reason, we ask that you send the noble Saṅgharakṣita with us across the ocean.”

4.­191

The Blessed One considered whether or not these merchants had any meager roots of virtue and saw that they did. Considering who their awakening hinged on, he saw that it hinged on the monk Saṅgharakṣita. The Blessed One then said to the venerable Saṅgharakṣita, “Saṅgharakṣita, you shall go on this journey across the ocean and face your fears along with what provokes them.”

4.­192

With his silence, the venerable Saṅgharakṣita assented to the Blessed One. After performing rites for protection, good luck, and success, the five hundred merchants together with the venerable Saṅgharakṣita carried their goods to the ocean in carts, on poles, in baskets and hampers, and on camels, bullocks, [F.102.b] and donkeys. Setting out for the ocean, they passed in stages through villages, towns, countryside, kingdoms, and markets until they reached the ocean shore, where they paused to recover from the weariness of the road. For five hundred denarii they obtained a ship and hired five hundred crew members to serve as stewards, cleaning staff, divers, deck hands, and riggers. After calling out three times,176 they set out upon the ocean in pursuit of riches.

4.­193

Part of the way into their voyage, they and their seafaring ship were held up by nāgas. The merchants began to implore Śiva, Varuṇa, Kubera, Śakra, Brahmā, and other gods, “Whoever it is that dwells here, be they gods, nāgas, yakṣas, or gandharvas, may they tell us what they desire!”

From the ocean there came a voice, saying, “Give us the noble Saṅgharakṣita!”

“The noble Saṅgharakṣita is our peer. We grew up together playing in the dirt with him. The Blessed One and the venerable Śāriputra have entrusted him to us, so we would sooner die and face our death with him than turn him over.”

4.­194

The venerable Saṅgharakṣita said to them, “What are you talking about, gentlemen?”

“Noble one,” they replied, “a voice from the ocean has said, ‘Give us the noble Saṅgharakṣita!’ ”

“Why do you not give me over?”

4.­195

“Noble one, you are our peer. We grew up together playing in the dirt with you. The Blessed One and the venerable Śāriputra have entrusted you to us, so we would sooner die and face our death with you than turn you over.” [F.103.a]

The venerable Saṅgharakṣita thought, “This must be what the Blessed One meant when he said to me, ‘Saṅgharakṣita, you shall go on this journey across the ocean and face your fears along with what provokes them.’ ”

4.­196

Taking up his begging bowl and robe, he prepared to jump into the sea. Seeing him prepare to jump, the merchants shouted, “Noble Saṅgharakṣita! What are you doing? What are you doing?”

As they tried to stop him, Saṅgharakṣita jumped into the sea and at the very moment he did so, the nāgas released the ship. Taking the venerable Saṅgharakṣita, the nāgas returned to the land of the nāgas.

4.­197

Smiling at one another, the nāgas and their nāga women watched in amazement as they invited the venerable Saṅgharakṣita to pay homage to a set of shrines, saying, “Noble Saṅgharakṣita, this shall be the sanctuary of the perfectly awakened Buddha Vipaśyin, while these shall be the sanctuaries of the perfectly awakened Buddhas Śikhin, Viśvabhū, Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa. This shall be the sanctuary of the Blessed One Śākyamuni.”177

4.­198

After prostrating to the shrines with them, Saṅgharakṣita sat on the seat they had arranged at the center of the assembled nāgas. The nāgas joined their palms and supplicated him: “Noble Saṅgharakṣita, though the Blessed One’s sūtras and mātṛkā have taken root among gods and humans, we nāgas were born into this cursed state with fallen forms! O noble one, please see that the ultimate sūtras take root among us!”

Saṅgharakṣita assented with the words, “I shall do just that.”

4.­199

The shape shifter who had fled his seaside monastery for the land of the nāgas after being confronted by the group of six then chose three nāga youths and said to the first, “You shall memorize [F.103.b] the Saṃyuktāgama.”

To the second he said, “You shall memorize the Madhyamāgama.”

To the third he said, “You shall memorize the Dīrghāgama. The nāgas can learn how to recite the Ekottarikāgama by listening to me recite it.”178

4.­200

When the young nāgas began to recite, the first closed his eyes as he sought to memorize the Saṃyuktāgama, the second turned his back as he sought to memorize the Madhyamāgama, while the third sat off in the distance as he sought to memorize the Dīrghāgama.

4.­201

Because the shape shifter had greater exposure to Buddhist customs than the others, he was respectful, deferential, and came first to all of their chores. He would rise early and say, “Noble ones, get up and brush your teeth. Pay homage to the gathering of blessed ones and their shrines. Eat and make the bed.”

4.­202

Once, as they were all reciting their respective Āgamas, the shape shifter said, “Noble one, if nāga youths recite the Āgamas, will they remember them or not?”

Saṅgharakṣita replied, “Even if with their good memories they remember them, they still have certain flaws.”

4.­203

“Noble one,” the shape shifter asked, “what are their failings?”

“They lack respect and deference. The first closes his eyes as he seeks to memorize the Saṃyuktāgama, the second turns his back as he seeks to memorize the Madhyamāgama, while the third sits off in the distance as he seeks to memorize the Dīrghāgama. You alone are respectful, deferential, and come first to all of your chores.”

4.­204

“Noble one,” the shape shifter replied, “it is not that they lack respect and deference. The one who closes his eyes as he seeks to memorize the Saṃyuktāgama has noxious eyes that burn; the one who turns his back as he seeks to memorize the Madhyamāgama has noxious breath; and the one who sits off in the distance as he seeks to memorize the Dīrghāgama [F.104.a] has a noxious touch. I myself have noxious fangs.”

4.­205

Frightened, the venerable Saṅgharakṣita thought, “Look! I am living among my mortal enemies,” and he grew pallid, emaciated, feeble, withered, thin, and weak.

The shape-shifting nāga asked, “Noble one, why have you become pallid, emaciated, feeble, withered, thin, and weak?”

“I am among enemies so the moment I do anything to upset you, I shall be reduced to naught but a memory.”

4.­206

“We do not intend to harm the noble one. However, given the situation, does the noble one wish to return to Jambudvīpa?”

“My dear sir, I do. I do not care for this place.”

The nāgas discussed the matter among themselves and when the noble Saṅgharakṣita’s ship passed by on its return journey, they raised him from the waters and placed him on board the ship.

4.­207

Smiles broke out upon the merchants’ faces as they stared in amazement and cried out, “Welcome back, noble Saṅgharakṣita, welcome back!”

Saṅgharakṣita said, “Gentlemen! Rejoice, for I have seen to it that the Four Āgamas have taken root in the land of nāgas!”

“Noble one, we do! We rejoice in this good you have done for others, for this is the job of those who go forth.”

4.­208

Reunited and happy, the merchants and the venerable Saṅgharakṣita completed the journey back to shore. On arriving, all were tired and weary. As his companions slept, the venerable Saṅgharakṣita turned his gaze to the ocean. [F.104.b]

4.­209

The Blessed One has said, “Monks, there are five things one never tires of looking at and which are in no way displeasing to the eye. What are the five? One never tires of looking at a clever and youthful elephant; a king of the world; the ocean with its monsters; Sumeru, the king of mountains; and a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened buddha‍—these five things are in no way displeasing to the eye.”

4.­210

Saṅgharakṣita gazed long at the ocean until just before dawn when, fatigued, he was overcome by a deep sleep. Not long after, the merchants loaded the pack animals and set out. But because it was in the wee hours of the morning, they could not see the venerable Saṅgharakṣita and they began to look and ask one another, “Gentlemen, what has happened to the noble Saṅgharakṣita?”

4.­211

Some suggested he had gone ahead while others said he was still coming from behind and still others said he was traveling in the middle of the caravan. After searching everywhere to no avail, they gave up. Dispirited and downcast, they said, “Gentlemen, it is not good that we have left the noble Saṅgharakṣita behind. We must turn around.”

4.­212

But then, on reflection, it occurred to them, “The noble Saṅgharakṣita possesses miraculous powers and great might. If he did not meet his end in the ocean, how could he meet his end while traveling on dry land? With his miraculous powers and great might, he must have gone far ahead of us and be waiting there now.”

4.­213

With the call, “Gentlemen, come, let us go!” they set out.

Saṅgharakṣita sees the effects of actions with his own eyes

4.­214

When the sun rose, its rays struck the venerable Saṅgharakṣita as he lay asleep on the empty, sandy beach, waking him from his slumber. Seeing no one around, he thought, “What will I do if the merchants have left? They might have gone in any direction!”

4.­215

With great courage, the venerable Saṅgharakṣita set out but he could see no trail. [F.105.a] After searching about, he spied a narrow path and set off upon it. After a time, he saw, in a forest of śāla trees, a monastery with a high gate, skylights, and latticed windows. It was adorned with balustrades, beguiling to the heart and beautiful to the eye, with a staircase to the upper level and perfectly outfitted with beds, seats, and supplies. It was surrounded by a variety of trees, and graced with pools and ponds, ringing with the sounds of swans, cranes, peacocks, parrots, mynahs, and cuckoos. When he saw the monks, finely dressed and well trained, living peacefully in this glorious and heavenly abode, he respectfully approached them.

4.­216

With a show of respect, they said to him, “Welcome, reverend Saṅgharakṣita, welcome. From where have you come just now?”

After he explained everything that had happened, they let him rest and once he recovered from the fatigue of the road, they led him into the monastery. [S.43.a] Once there, he saw that fine seats had been arranged and choice foods laid out. They asked him, “Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, are you not thirsty? Are you not hungry?”

4.­217

“Venerables,” he replied, “I am thirsty and I am hungry.”

“Then partake, reverend Saṅgharakṣita.”

“I will eat with the saṅgha.”

“Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, you are tired from your travels, so eat now. Later the food will have spoiled.”

4.­218

Seeing the drawback in waiting, Saṅgharakṣita ate and then took a seat off to one side. Some time later, the meal was laid out and when the gaṇḍī beam was struck, the monks filed in, each carrying his own begging bowl, and sat down in order of seniority. As soon as they sat down, the monastery vanished [F.105.b] and each of their begging bowls turned into iron clubs of different sorts. For the remainder of the meal, they bludgeoned each other over the head with their iron clubs, cracking their skulls open and inflicting unbearable pain that caused them to cry out pitifully.

4.­219

As soon as the mealtime ended, the monastery reappeared as before while the monks also resumed their peaceful demeanors. The venerable Saṅgharakṣita approached them and asked, “Who are you, venerables? What karma has led you to this?”

“Reverend Saṅgharakṣita,” they replied, “the people of Jambudvīpa are skeptical, so you will not believe us.”

“Why would I not believe what I have seen with my own eyes?”

4.­220

“Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, we were disciples of the perfectly awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. While in the meal queue, we fought and, as the fruition of that karma, have been born as denizens of an ephemeral hell. As soon as we die and pass from this life, we will be reborn among the denizens of hell and will have to live there in such straits. Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, once you have returned to Jambudvīpa, say to your fellow brahmacārin, ‘Venerables, do not fight in the food queue like Kāśyapa’s monks. Do not act so as to accrue the fortune for that mass of suffering.’ It would be good if you were you to explain our plight at length.”

4.­221

After agreeing to do just that, Saṅgharakṣita departed. After some time, he saw again as before, in a forest of śāla trees, a second monastery with a high gate, skylights, and latticed windows. It was adorned with balustrades, beguiling to the heart and beautiful to the eye, with a staircase to the upper level, and perfectly outfitted [F.106.a] with beds, seats, and supplies. It was surrounded by a variety of trees, and graced with pools and ponds, ringing with the sounds of swans, cranes, peacocks, parrots, mynahs, and cuckoos. When he saw the monks, finely dressed and well trained, living peacefully in this glorious and heavenly abode, he respectfully approached them.

4.­222

With a show of respect, they said to him, “Welcome, reverend Saṅgharakṣita, welcome. From where have you come just now?”

After he explained everything that had happened, they let him rest and once he recovered from the fatigue of the road, they led him into the monastery. Once there, he saw that fine seats had been arranged and choice foods laid out. They asked him, “Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, are you not thirsty? Are you not hungry?”

4.­223

“Venerables, I am thirsty and I am hungry.”

“Then partake, reverend Saṅgharakṣita.”

“I will eat with the saṅgha.” [S.43.b]

“Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, you are fatigued from your travels, so eat now. Later the food will have spoiled.”

4.­224

Seeing the drawback in waiting, he ate and then took a seat off to one side. Some time later, the meal was laid out and when the gaṇḍī beam was struck, the monks filed in, each carrying his own begging bowl, and sat down in order of seniority. As soon as they sat down, the monastery vanished and the food and drink turned into molten iron. For the remainder of the meal, they doused one another in molten iron, scalding their bodies and inflicting unbearable pain that caused them to cry out pitifully.

4.­225

As soon as the mealtime ended, the monastery reappeared as before [F.106.b] while the monks also resumed their peaceful demeanors. The venerable Saṅgharakṣita approached them and asked, “Who are you, venerables? What karma has led you to this?”

“Reverend Saṅgharakṣita,” they replied, “the people of Jambudvīpa are skeptical, so you will not believe us.”

“Why would I not believe what I have seen with my own eyes?”

4.­226

“Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, we were disciples of the perfectly awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. Once the saṅgha had received a supply of rich food and when a group of arriving monks turned up, those of us overcome by greed thought and even said, ‘We should not serve the food until the arriving monks have left.’ For seven days, an unseasonable rain fell, spoiling the food and drink, leaving it unsuitable for consumption. Thus we wasted what had been given in faith and, as the fruition of that karma, have been born as denizens of an ephemeral hell. As soon as we die and pass from this life, we will be reborn among the denizens of a great hell and will have to live there in such straits. Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, once you have returned to Jambudvīpa, say to your fellow brahmacārin, ‘Venerables, do not waste what has been given in faith like Kāśyapa’s monks. Do not act so as to accrue the fortune for that mass of suffering.’ It would be well were you to explain our plight at length.”

4.­227

After agreeing to do just that, Saṅgharakṣita departed. After some time, he saw again as before, in a forest of śāla trees, a third monastery with a high gate, skylights, and latticed windows. It was adorned with balustrades, beguiling to the heart and beautiful to the eye, [F.107.a] with a staircase to the upper level and perfectly outfitted with beds, seats, and supplies. It was surrounded by a variety of trees, and graced with pools and ponds, ringing with the sounds of swans, cranes, peacocks, parrots, mynahs, and cuckoos. When he saw the monks, finely dressed and well trained, living peacefully in this glorious and heavenly abode, he respectfully approached them.

4.­228

With a show of respect, they said to him, “Welcome, reverend Saṅgharakṣita, welcome. From where have you just now come?”

After he explained everything that had happened, they let him rest and once he recovered from the fatigue of the road, they led him into the monastery. Once there, he saw that fine seats had been arranged and choice foods laid out. They asked him, “Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, are you not thirsty? Are you not hungry?”

4.­229

“Venerables, I am thirsty and I am hungry.”

“Then partake, reverend Saṅgharakṣita.”

“I will eat with the saṅgha.”

“Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, you are fatigued from your travels, so eat now. Later the food will have spoiled.”

4.­230

Seeing the drawback in waiting, he ate and then took a seat off to one side. Some time later, the meal was laid out and when the gaṇḍī beam was struck, the monks filed in, each carrying his own begging bowl, and sat down in order of seniority. As soon as they sat down, the monastery caught alight, burst into flames, and was engulfed in a fire that began to burn as a single, giant inferno. [S.44.a] For the remainder of the meal, the fire raged, burning their bodies and inflicting unbearable pain that caused them to cry out pitifully.

4.­231

As soon as the mealtime ended, the monastery reappeared as before while the monks [F.107.b] also resumed their peaceful demeanors. The venerable Saṅgharakṣita approached them and asked, “Who are you, venerables? What karma has led you to this?”

“Reverend Saṅgharakṣita,” they replied, “the people of Jambudvīpa are skeptical, so you will not believe us.”

“Why would I not believe what I have seen with my own eyes?”

4.­232

“Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, we were disciples of the perfectly awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. In time, our ethics became lax and we became dissolute. When the ethical monks evicted us from the monastery, we took up in an empty monastery. After a while, an ethical monk happened by, which gave us an idea. We thought, ‘He alone can purify patronage.179 We must get him to stay,’ and so he stayed. And in time, as a result of that, many ethical monks gathered there, who then proceeded to evict us. Those of us who could not bear this piled wood, straw, and dried dung and set fire to the monastery, burning many of the monks intent on training there. As the fruition of that karma, we have been born as denizens of an ephemeral hell. As soon as we die and pass from this life, we will be reborn among the denizens of hell and will have to live there in such straits. Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, once you have returned to Jambudvīpa, say to your fellow brahmacārin, ‘Venerables, do not nurse hatred for your fellow brahmacārin as Kāśyapa’s monks did. Do not act so as to accrue the fortune for that mass of suffering.’ It would be well were you to explain our plight at length.” [F.108.a]

4.­233

After agreeing to do just that, Saṅgharakṣita departed. On his journey, the venerable Saṅgharakṣita saw beings shaped like walls, pillars, trees, leaves, flowers, fruit, rope, brooms, bowls, mortars and pestles, pots, and even beings cut at the waist, their bodies held together by tendons.180

Saṅgharakṣita’s sermon leads five hundred seers to the truth

4.­234

Eventually, the venerable Saṅgharakṣita reached a settlement with an ashram where there lived five hundred seers. The seers saw the venerable Saṅgharakṣita approaching from off in the distance and began to confer with one another: “Listen, gentlemen. These ascetic sons of the Śākya tend to preach a great deal. Let none of us offer a single word in response.”

4.­235

Having made this pact, they remained where they were. With a peaceful demeanor, Saṅgharakṣita approached them, but when he requested a place to stay, they gave not a word in response. A single seer, intent on merit, said, “Why do we not give you a place to stay? It is because you have a fault. You tend to preach a lot. You must therefore swear an oath: I will give you a place if you refrain from giving even the slightest sermon.”

4.­236

“Seer, as you instruct, I shall not preach,” replied Saṅgharakṣita.

The seer took Saṅgharakṣita to an unoccupied thatched hut in the settlement and told him he could sleep there. Saṅgharakṣita sprinkled water on, swept, and applied fresh cow dung to the dirt floor of the thatched hut.181 On seeing this, the seers said, “Gentlemen, these ascetic sons of the Śākya are sanitary.” [S.44.b]

4.­237

Saṅgharakṣita washed his feet outside the thatched hut before going back inside. Sitting down, he crossed his legs, held his body erect, [F.108.b] and rested in mindfulness. A goddess living in the ashram went to the venerable Saṅgharakṣita during the evening watch and said, “Noble Saṅgharakṣita, please teach the Dharma.”

4.­238

“Goddess, I wish you well but did you not see I received this resting place by making a pact? Would you like me to be kicked out?”

The goddess thought, “This renunciant is tired, so I shall return during the night watch.” She returned during the night watch and said, “Noble Saṅgharakṣita, please teach the Dharma.”

“Sister, you just can’t leave it be! You must want me to be kicked out!”

4.­239

She thought, “This renunciant is still groggy from sleep. I shall return during the final watch.” She returned during the final watch and said, “Noble Saṅgharakṣita, why do you sleep? I woke you in the middle of the night and asked you to teach the Dharma.”

“Sister, you are trying by every means to get me kicked out!”

4.­240

“Noble one, the darkness of night has passed. Even if you were kicked out, why would it matter? You’d be seeking to leave soon anyway. Did the Blessed One not say you must face your fears along with what provokes them?”

“Sister, what you say is true. I must get going regardless of whether I am kicked out. Since these people are brahmins, I should recite a verse the brahmins themselves take to be true.”

Saṅgharakṣita then began to recite the Brāhmaṇavarga:182

4.­241
So long as doubt remains, going naked
With matted hair, smeared in mud; a motley diet;
Sleeping rough, unwashed and smelly;
And the practice of squatting, do not make men pure.183
But he who forsakes violence toward all who live;
Acts with virtue; is pacific, subdued, and restrained;
And aspires to purity, even if he be bedecked in jewelry,
That is a brahmin, an ascetic, a monk. [F.109.a]
4.­242

On hearing this verse, the seers thought, “This monk’s verses express the real meaning of ‘brahmin.’ ” One seer drew near, then a second and a third, until they all surrounded him, at which point the goddess charmed them so they could not see one another. After that Saṅgharakṣita began to recite the Nagaropama Sūtra:184


4.­243

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. The Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks, before I achieved perfect awakening and became a perfect buddha, I went alone into the wild. While inwardly absorbed, this perfect thought arose in my mind: ‘Ah! This world is prone to suffering, for we are born, we age, we die, we deteriorate, and then it all happens again. And though a higher state exists, beings who age and die know nothing of the perfect remedies that exist.’

4.­244

“I then pondered what was needed for birth to occur and what conditions contribute to the occurrence of birth. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is becoming, there will be birth, and becoming contributes to the occurrence of birth.

4.­245

“I then pondered what was needed for becoming to occur and what conditions contribute to the occurrence of becoming. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: [S.45.a] if there is grasping, there will be becoming, and grasping contributes to the occurrence of becoming. [F.109.b]

4.­246

“I then pondered what was needed for grasping to occur and what conditions contribute to the occurrence of grasping. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is craving, there will be grasping, and craving contributes to the occurrence of grasping.

4.­247

“I then pondered what was needed for craving to occur and what conditions contribute to the occurrence of craving. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is sensation, there will be craving, and sensation contributes to the occurrence of craving.

4.­248

“I then pondered what was needed for sensation to occur and what conditions contribute to the occurrence of sensation. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is contact, there will be sensation, and contact contributes to the occurrence of sensation.

4.­249

“I then pondered what was needed for contact to occur and what conditions contribute to the occurrence of contact. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there are seats for the six senses, there will be contact, and seats for the six senses contribute to the occurrence of contact.

4.­250

“I then pondered what was needed for the seats of the six senses to occur and what conditions contribute to the occurrence of the seats of the six senses. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there are name and form, there will be seats for the six senses, and name and form contribute to the occurrence of seats for the six senses.

4.­251

“I then pondered what was needed for name and form to occur and what conditions contribute to the occurrence of name and form. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is consciousness, there will be name and form, and consciousness contributes to the occurrence of name and form.

4.­252

“I then pondered what was needed for consciousness to occur and [F.110.a] what conditions contribute to the occurrence of consciousness. By reversing the conception of ‘I,’ one will not incite what follows from that.

4.­253

“Thus consciousness contributes to name and form, name and form contribute to the seats of the six senses, the seats of the six senses contribute to contact, contact contributes to sensation, sensation contributes to craving, craving contributes to grasping, grasping contributes to becoming, becoming contributes to birth, birth contributes to aging and death, and the occurrence of sorrow, lamentation, suffering, unhappiness, and strife. And that is how, I thought, this whole huge mass of suffering comes to be.

4.­254

“I then pondered what must be absent for aging and death not to occur and what must cease for aging and death to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is no birth, no aging and death will occur, and the cessation of birth arrests aging and death.

4.­255

“I then pondered what must be absent for birth not to occur and what must cease for birth to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is no becoming, no birth will occur, and the cessation of becoming arrests birth.

4.­256

“I then pondered what must be absent for becoming not to occur and what must cease for becoming to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is no grasping, [S.45.b] no becoming will occur, and the cessation of grasping arrests becoming.

4.­257

“I then pondered what must be absent for grasping not to occur and what must cease for grasping to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is no craving, no grasping will occur, and the cessation of craving arrests grasping.

4.­258

“I then pondered what must be absent for craving not [F.110.b] to occur and what must cease for craving to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is no sensation, no craving will occur, and the cessation of sensation arrests craving.

4.­259

“I then pondered what must be absent for sensation not to occur and what must cease for sensation to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is no contact, no sensation will occur, and the cessation of contact arrests sensation.

4.­260

“I then pondered what must be absent for contact not to occur and what must cease for contact to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there are no seats for the six senses, no contact will occur, and the cessation of the seats for the six senses arrests contact.

4.­261

“I then pondered what must be absent for the seats of the six senses not to occur and what must cease for the seats of the six senses to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there are no name and form, no seats of the six senses will occur, and the cessation of name and form arrests the seats of the six senses.

4.­262

“I then pondered what must be absent for name and form not to occur and what must cease for name and form to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is no consciousness, no name and form will occur, and the cessation of consciousness arrests name and form.

4.­263

“I then pondered what must be absent for consciousness not to occur and what must cease for consciousness to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is no conditioning, no consciousness will occur, and the cessation of conditioning arrests consciousness.

4.­264

“I then pondered what must be absent for conditioning [F.111.a] not to occur and what must cease for conditioning to cease. On proper reflection, I realized this perfectly and as it is: if there is no ignorance, no conditioning will occur, and the cessation of ignorance arrests conditioning.

4.­265

“Thus the cessation of ignorance arrests conditioning, the cessation of conditioning arrests consciousness, the cessation of consciousness arrests name and form, the cessation of name and form arrests the seats of the six senses, the cessation of the seats of the six senses arrests contact, the cessation of contact arrests sensation, the cessation of sensation arrests craving, the cessation of craving arrests grasping, the cessation of grasping arrests becoming, the cessation of becoming arrests birth, the cessation of birth arrests aging and death, and sorrow, lamentation, suffering, unhappiness, and strife. And that is how, I thought, this whole huge mass of suffering comes to cease. [B10]

4.­266

“Monks, I thought of this as an old path I had found, an old [S.46.a] route, an old trail which seers of old have traveled and traversed. It is analogous to this: Say that a person wanders, passing through a great forest, and discovers an old path, an old route, an old trail which people of old have traveled and traversed and he follows it until he sees an old city and a king’s delightful old palace, with its resplendent gardens, resplendent parks, resplendent pools, and fine hedges. On seeing it, he thinks, “I shall go and speak to the king!” He goes to the king and says, “Your majesty, please grant me your attention. I was wandering, passing through a great forest, [F.111.b] when I discovered an old path, an old route, an old trail which people of old have traveled and traversed and I followed it until I saw an old city and the king’s delightful old palace, with its resplendent gardens, resplendent parks, resplendent pools, and fine hedges. Your Majesty, allow me to restore the city, allow me to restore the king’s palace.” In time, the king’s palace prospers and thrives, crops are bountiful and the land teems with animals and people.

4.­267

“Just so, monks, I too have found an old path, an old route, an old trail which seers of old have traveled and traversed. Monks, what is this old path, this old route, this old trail which seers of old have traveled and traversed? It is this, the Noble Ones’ Eightfold Path, which consists of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, and right concentration.

4.­268

“Monks, this is the old path, the old route, the old trail which seers of old have traveled and traversed. I reached it and on reaching it, I saw aging and death, and I saw the origins of aging and death, the cessation of aging and death, and the path that leads to the cessation of aging and death. I saw birth, becoming, grasping, craving, sensation, contact, the seats of the six senses, name and form, consciousness, and conditioning. And I saw the origins of conditioning, the cessation of conditioning, and the path that leads to the cessation of conditioning. And so, having been perfectly awakened by my perception, [F.112.a] I proclaim it to an array of monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, tīrthikas, ascetics, brahmins, sādhus,185 and wandering mendicants.

4.­269

“And when a monk perfectly accomplishes it, he too becomes an accomplished adept, sagacious, righteous, and an agent of virtue. And when a nun, a layman, or a laywoman perfectly accomplishes it, they too become accomplished adepts, sagacious, righteous, and agents of virtue.

4.­270

“Thus it is that such a one who lives purely is magnanimous, of benefit to a great many beings, prodigious,186 and teaches widely and perfectly among gods and humans.”


Saṅgharakṣita closed his sermon with the dedication:

4.­271
“May all who live here gathered
On the earth or in the sky
Be always kind to creatures,
And practice Dharma night and day.”
4.­272

All present realized the truths and in that moment achieved the fruit of a non-returner and with it, miraculous abilities. In one voice they cried out, “Well said, reverend Saṅgharakṣita, well said!”

4.­273

The goddess then released them from the miraculous spell they were under so they came to see one another again. As they caught sight of one another, they exclaimed, “Oh! You too were here?”

4.­274

“You were here?” [S.46.b]

“I was here.”

“Good!”

4.­275

The seers had discovered a mighty state and having discovered it, proclaimed, “Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, if it is permitted, we would receive the going forth, ordination, and monkhood in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya. We would live the holy life in the Blessed One’s presence.”

4.­276

Smiling, Saṅgharakṣita said, “Venerables, your great and dauntless self-confidence [F.112.b] is noble. It is excellent! It is excellent! What is more, the Blessed One said, ‘Five advantages rightly come only to the wise with perfect vision who aspire to going forth.’ What are those five? (1) It is only the wise with perfect vision who aspire to going forth about whom it may rightly be said, ‘He will pursue his aim without diversion.’ (2) It is only the wise with perfect vision who aspire to going forth about whom it may rightly be said, ‘I make offerings to and praise those who are slave, agent, or emissary to no one, those who are independent and not in anyone’s service.’ (3) It is only the wise with perfect vision who aspire to going forth about whom it may rightly be said, ‘He will attain the unsurpassed accomplishment and bliss of nirvāṇa.’ (4) It is only the wise with perfect vision who aspire to going forth about whom it may rightly be said, ‘Even should he fail to attain the unsurpassed accomplishment and bliss of nirvāṇa, he will be reborn among gods.’ (5) It is only the wise with perfect vision who aspire to going forth about whom it may rightly be said, ‘Buddhas, the saintly disciples of buddhas who have reached perfection and entered perfection, and saintly beings praise renunciants in many ways.’ ”

4.­277

Saṅgharakṣita continued, “So, you shall go forth. But will you go forth before the Blessed One or before me?”

“Before the Blessed One,” the seers replied.

“In that case, come, let us go to the Blessed One.”

4.­278

“Reverend Saṅgharakṣita, shall we travel under our own miraculous powers or under your miraculous powers?”

4.­279

Hearing this pained the venerable Saṅgharakṣita, [F.113.a] who thought, “If they have attained such a store of qualities due to my influence, it looks as if I am but a raft to them.”

Dispirited, he replied, “Venerables, I have a small task to perform, so please wait here for a bit.” And with that, he sat down at the base of a tree, his legs crossed, his body erect, and rested in mindfulness.

4.­280

The Blessed One said, “There are five benefits to being well versed in the teachings. What are they? One becomes knowledgeable about the aggregates, knowledgeable about the constituents, knowledgeable about the seats of the senses, knowledgeable about interdependent arising, and one need not rely on others for instructions or further teachings on them.”

4.­281

Thus, by applying himself diligently, Saṅgharakṣita came to understand saṃsāra’s ever-revolving five cycles.187 It being by nature subject to degradation, decline, dispersal, and destruction, all of Saṅgharakṣita’s conditioning was overwhelmed and he abandoned all disturbing emotions. He perceived that he had, in that very life, actualized the unsurpassed aim of the holy life for which the sons of noble families, with perfect faith, cut their hair, shave their beards, don the saffron robes, and go forth from home into homelessness. With his achievement, he understood, “My births have come to an end, I have lived the holy life, I have done what needed doing, I will know no lives after this one.”

4.­282

Thus he became an arhat, free of desire for the three realms, for whom filth was equal to gold, for whom space was equal to the palm of his hand, whose emotions had been cooled as if treated by a balm of sandalwood, and whose knowledge had rent open the shell. He attained knowledge, clairvoyance, and discerning wisdom. He turned his back on worldly gain, desires, and esteem, and was venerated, honored, and saluted by Indra and the gods who attend him. [F.113.b]

4.­283

Saṅgharakṣita said to the seers, “Gentlemen, hold on to the corner of my robe and we shall travel under my miraculous powers.”

The seers grabbed hold of his robe, and the venerable Saṅgharakṣita, like a swan spreading its wings, flew with his miraculous powers up into the sky above.

Saṅgharakṣita leads an entourage of one thousand to the Buddha

4.­284

Along the way, the five hundred merchants were securing their wares when they saw Saṅgharakṣita and exclaimed, “Noble Saṅgharakṣita! Is that you? Welcome!”

“I have come.”

4.­285

“Where are you headed?”

“These five hundred sons of noble families want monkhood, to go forth and be ordained in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya, so we are going to the Blessed One.”

The merchants replied, “Noble Saṅgharakṣita, we too will go forth, so please alight and sit while we secure our wares.”

4.­286

Saṅgharakṣita descended and they secured their wares. Saṅgharakṣita then led the one thousand sons of noble families to the Blessed One, who was seated in the midst of hundreds of monks, teaching. From off in the distance, the Blessed One saw Saṅgharakṣita approaching with his gifts. Though he saw them, he asked the monks, “Monks, do you see Saṅgharakṣita coming from off in the distance?”

“We do, reverend.”

“Monks, this monk Saṅgharakṣita comes with gifts for the Tathāgata. There is no gift for the Tathāgata like these, the gift of disciples.”

4.­287

Saṅgharakṣita went to the Blessed One, bowed his head at his feet, and sat off to one side before [F.114.a] [S.47.a] requesting the Blessed One, “Reverend, these one thousand sons of noble families want monkhood, to go forth and be ordained in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya. May the Blessed One, out of compassion, allow their goings forth and allow their ordination.”

4.­288

The Blessed One allowed goings forth by saying the phrase, “Come, monk,” and so as soon as he said, “Come, monks. Live the holy life,” their hair fell out and they were clad in robes; with but a week’s growth of hair and beard, begging bowls and water jars in hand, settled, with the composure of monks who had been ordained for one hundred years. As was said,

4.­289
Hair tonsured and body clad in robes
By the Tathāgata’s call to come forth,
That moment, their senses were perfectly stilled
And their bodies garbed by the Buddha’s mind.
4.­290

The Blessed One gave them instructions, to which they applied themselves with diligence, effort, and exertion, abandoning all disturbing emotions and actualizing arhatship. Thus they became arhats, free of desire for the three realms, for whom filth was equal to gold, for whom space was equal to the palm of his hand, whose emotions had been cooled as if treated by a balm of sandalwood, and whose knowledge had rent open the shell. They attained knowledge, clairvoyance, and discerning wisdom. They turned their backs on worldly gain, desires, and esteem, and were venerated, honored, and saluted by Indra and the gods who attend him.

The Blessed One explains the causes for the sights Saṅgharakṣita has seen

4.­291

The venerable Saṅgharakṣita asked the Blessed Buddha, “Reverend, I have seen beings shaped like walls, pillars, trees, [F.114.b] leaves, flowers, fruit, rope, brooms, bowls, mortars and pestles, and pots, as well as beings cut at the waist, their bodies held together by tendons. Reverend, what actions did they perform for it to ripen in such ways?”

4.­292

“Saṅgharakṣita,” replied the Blessed One, “those being themselves performed the actions‍—which have accrued a heap of karma, whose results have matured, which follow their course like an irrigation channel, which inevitably come to be‍—so who else will experience the actions they themselves have performed and accrued?

4.­293

“Saṅgharakṣita, actions which have been performed and accrued do not ripen upon the external elements. They do not ripen upon the element of water, upon the element of fire, nor upon the element of wind. Likewise, virtuous and nonvirtuous actions which have been performed and accrued come to fruition upon the aggregates, elements, and seats of the senses of the one who performed them, for:

4.­294
“Actions never waste away,
Not even after one hundred eons. [S.47.b]
When the time and the conditions
Are right, they alight upon embodied beings.
4.­295

“Saṅgharakṣita, in a time now passed, during this fortunate eon, when the lifespan of beings was twenty thousand years, the Blessed Buddha Kāśyapa appeared in the world, a teacher, a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened buddha, a knowledgeable and venerable one, a sugata, one who knew the world, an unsurpassed guide who tamed beings, a teacher to gods and men. Those beings you saw were his disciples when he lived and dwelt in the Ṛṣipatana Deer Park near Vārāṇasī.

4.­296

“Saṅgharakṣita, when those beings you saw who were shaped like walls were monks, they defaced a wall belonging to the saṅgha with their spit. [F.115.a] As the fruition of that act, they have come to resemble walls.

“When those beings you saw who were shaped like pillars were monks, they defaced a pillar belonging to the saṅgha with their mucus. As the fruition of that act, they have come to resemble pillars.

4.­297

“When those beings you saw who were shaped like trees, leaves, flowers, and fruit were monks, they used trees, leaves, flowers, and fruit belonging to the saṅgha for their own ends. As the fruition of that act, they have come to resemble trees, leaves, flowers, and fruit.

“When those beings you saw who were shaped like rope and brooms were monks, they used rope and brooms belonging to the saṅgha for their own ends. As the fruition of that act, they have come to resemble rope and brooms.

4.­298

“When those beings you saw who were shaped like bowls were monks, they were in charge of providing clean drinking water. When they were washing the bowls, some arriving monks arrived and asked the monks, ‘Do novices get whatever drinks are provided to the saṅgha?’

“Seized by stinginess towards the novices, they replied, ‘Do you not see we are washing the bowls? The drinks have already been drunk.’

“The novices thought, ‘It would seem we are too late,’ and left dispirited, with expressions of resignation. As the fruition of that act, those monks have come to resemble bowls.

4.­299

“When those beings you saw who were shaped like mortars and pestles were monks, they were in charge of begging bowls and they said to an arhat novice who had at the time been appointed keeper of the seals,188 ‘Novice, we have quite a bit of grain to grind in the mortar, [F.115.b] so give it here.’

“The arhat novice replied, ‘Elders, I’m busy at the moment. Please wait a bit. I shall give it to you later.’

4.­300

“Feeling impatient, the monks became enraged and said, ‘Novice, if we wanted to use the mortar, we could toss you into the mortar and grind you too! To say nothing of a bit of grain!’

“The arhat novice thought, ‘They are enraged. If I respond to them, it will only inflame their anger further,’ so he remained silent.

4.­301

“After a time their rage passed, and when it did he went to them and said, ‘Elders, do you know who I am?’

“They replied, ‘Yes, we know. You are but a novice who has gone forth for the perfectly awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. We, however, are monks.’

4.­302

“ ‘Elders, though that is so, since going forth, I have done all that needed to be done. What is that? I have abandoned all disturbing emotions and actualized arhatship. While you are bound by all bonds, I have been definitively freed from all bonds. As you have spoken harshly, you must confess your wrongs as wrong! Doing so will wither away the act, exhaust it, and finally put it to rest.’

“Although the monks confessed their wrongs as wrong, the actions came to fruition, causing them to resemble mortars and pestles.

4.­303

“Those beings you saw who were shaped like pots were formerly bondmen in the service of the saṅgha. Once as they were boiling medicinal herbs, [S.48.a] the monks spoke offensively to them, whereupon they broke the pots in anger. As the fruition of that act, they have come to resemble pots.

4.­304

“And when the beings [F.116.a] you saw who were cut at the waist, their bodies held together by tendons, were monks in charge of supplies, they were overcome by stinginess and switched supplies, swapping the summer supplies with those for the winter and switching the winter supplies with those for the summer. As the fruition of that act, they have become beings cut at the waist, their bodies held together by tendons.”

The Blessed One explains the reasons for Saṅgharakṣita’s good fortune

4.­305

In doubt, the monks asked he who severs all doubts, the Blessed Buddha, “Reverend, what is it that Saṅgharakṣita has done, that the ripened fruit of that action has led him to be born into a rich household with ample wealth and possessions, to actualize arhatship, and to inspire the conversion of so many?”

4.­306

“Monks,” replied The Blessed One, “Saṅgharakṣita himself performed the actions‍—which have accrued a heap of karma, whose results have matured, which follow their course like an irrigation channel, which inevitably come to be‍—so who else will experience the actions he himself has performed and accrued? Monks, actions which have been performed and accrued do not ripen upon the external elements. They do not ripen upon the element of water, upon the element of fire, nor upon the element of wind. Likewise, virtuous and nonvirtuous actions which have been performed and accrued come to fruition upon the aggregates, elements, and seats of the senses of the one who performed them, for:

4.­307
“Actions never waste away,
Not even after one hundred eons.
When the time and the conditions
Are right, they alight upon embodied beings.

“Monks, in a time now passed, during this fortunate eon, when the lifespan of beings was twenty thousand years, the Blessed Buddha Kāśyapa appeared in the world, a teacher, a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened buddha, a knowledgeable and venerable one, a sugata, one who knew the world, an unsurpassed guide who tamed beings, a teacher to gods and men. [F.116.b] While the Blessed Buddha Kāśyapa lived and dwelt in the Ṛṣipatana Deer Park near Vārāṇasī, Saṅgharakṣita went forth into his teachings and served as a custodian, living together with five hundred others.

4.­308

“Most of the community of people who lived in that hilly fastness came to have great faith in him. Though he lived purely his entire life he never attained any of the store of qualities. Then one day he fell ill and though he was ministered to with medicinal roots, stalks, leaves, flowers, and fruits, the illness would not subside. In despair, as he was dying, he made this prayer: ‘Though I have spent my entire life living the holy life under Kāśyapa, the blessed tathāgata, perfectly awakened Buddha, and unsurpassed object of veneration, I have not attained any of the store of qualities. May these roots of virtue from having spent my entire life living the holy life ensure that I go forth into the teachings of Buddha Śākyamuni, regarding whom the blessed tathāgata and perfectly awakened Buddha Kāśyapa prophesied to the young brahmin Uttara, saying, ‘Young brahmin, in the future, when the lifespan of beings is one hundred years, you will become the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly awakened Buddha, the knowledgeable and venerable one, the sugata, the one who knows the world, the unsurpassed guide who tames beings, the teacher to gods and men known as the Blessed Buddha Śākyamuni, and go on to abandon all disturbing emotions and actualize arhatship.’

4.­309

“The monk caretaker’s wards then approached him and asked, ‘Preceptor, have you attained any of the store of qualities?’

“ ‘No, I have not,’ he replied. [S.48.b]

“They asked, ‘What prayers have you made?’

“He replied by explaining the prayer he had made.

“They said, [F.117.a] ‘May we too, by taking you, our preceptor, as our spiritual guide, go forth into the teachings of that very Blessed One and go on to abandon all disturbing emotions and actualize arhatship.’

4.­310

“Monks, the monk who served as monk caretaker in that life was none other than the monk Saṅgharakṣita. His five hundred wards are none other than these five hundred seers. The community of people who lived in that hilly fastness are none other than the five hundred merchants. Hence, now the ripened fruit of the venerable custodian’s action has led him to be born into a rich household with ample wealth and possessions. The prayers he made as he lay dying have led to his abandoning all disturbing emotions, actualizing arhatship, and inspiring such a massive conversion.

4.­311

“The ripened fruits of wholly negative actions are wholly negative, while the ripened fruits of wholly positive actions are wholly positive, and the ripened fruits of mixed actions are mixed. Monks, therefore abandon wholly negative and mixed actions and seek wholly positive actions. Monks, this is how you should train.”

The Blessed One explains the reasons for the shape-shifting nāga’s faith

4.­312

In doubt, the monks asked he who had severed all doubts, the Blessed Buddha, [F.117.b] “Reverend, how did the youthful, shape-shifting nāga first gain faith?”

4.­313

The Blessed One replied, “Monks, during this fortunate eon, when the lifespan of beings was twenty thousand years, the Blessed Buddha Kāśyapa appeared in the world, a teacher, a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened buddha, a knowledgeable and venerable one, a sugata, one who knew the world, an unsurpassed guide who tamed beings, a teacher to gods and men. He lived and dwelt with a following of twenty thousand monks in the Ṛṣipatana Deer Park near Vārāṇasī. He taught the Dharma to his disciples, saying, ‘Monks, make your beds in forests and at the foot of trees; in uninhabited places, mountain basins, mountain caves, and huts of straw; in the open, in charnel grounds, in jungles, at the foot of mountains, and at the edges of forests, and there practice meditation. Monks, apply yourselves conscientiously and be sure you will have no regrets later. These are my instructions and my guidance.’

4.­314

“After the Blessed One said this to the monks, the monks went to make their bed in forests and at the foot of trees; in uninhabited places, mountain basins, mountain caves, and huts of straw; in the open, in charnel grounds, in jungles, at the foot of mountains, and at the edges of forests. Some practiced meditation on the slopes of Sumeru. Some practiced meditation on the seven golden mountains, some at Lake Anavatapta, some along gently lapping ponds, and some in villages, towns, regions, countryside, and kingdoms inhabited by like-minded yogis.

4.­315

“Meanwhile, a young nāga born not long before that [F.118.a] was carried off to the top shelf of Mount Sumeru by the garūḍa Suparṇi. In time, the young nāga saw monks of pacific bearing diligently practicing meditation, recitation, and yoga. Seeing them caused great faith to well up in his mind. With his mind filled with faith, it occurred to him, ‘These great and noble souls have been freed from sufferings such as mine.’ The young nāga placed great faith in them, and eventually his time came, after which he was born into a brahmin family dedicated to the six duties,189 and in time he grew up under their nurture and care.

4.­316

“He later went forth into the perfectly awakened and blessed Buddha Kāśyapa’s teachings and, through diligence, effort, and exertion, abandoned all disturbing emotions and actualized arhatship. Thus he became an arhat, free of desire for the three realms, [S.49.a] for whom filth was equal to gold, for whom space was equal to the palm of his hand, whose emotions had been cooled as if treated by a balm of sandalwood, and whose knowledge had rent open the shell. He attained knowledge, clairvoyance, and discerning wisdom. He turned his back on worldly gain, desires, and esteem, and was venerated, honored, and saluted by Indra and the gods who attend him.

4.­317

“On wondering, ‘Whence have I come? Where have I been born? What actions led to this?’ he saw that he had been a creature who had died and passed on, had been born among humans, and that he had given rise to great faith in great disciples.

4.­318

“He then thought of his mother and father from his previous life as a young nāga. On wondering, ‘Where are my parents?’ he saw that they were among the nāgas. On wondering, ‘What are they doing?’ he saw that they were crying, still living among the nāgas. Using his miraculous powers, he went there and asked, ‘Father, Mother, why are you sad?’ [F.118.b]

“They replied, ‘Noble one, our young nāga was snatched shortly after his birth by the garūḍa Suparṇi. We do not know where to look for him.’

4.­319

“He replied, ‘Father, Mother, I am he. After my time came and I died, I was born into a brahmin family dedicated to the six duties. I then went forth into the perfectly awakened and blessed Buddha Kāśyapa’s teachings and, through diligence, effort, and exertion, abandoned all disturbing emotions and actualized arhatship.’

4.­320

“ ‘Noble one, given the wretched form you had, we never imagined you in the higher realms, to say nothing of arhatship! This is indeed amazing and marvelous! Did you find or attain such a store of qualities? Noble one, you are an accepter of alms but we are seekers of merit,190 so every day you must come to this very place and take your meal before returning.’

4.­321

“After agreeing to that, every day he partook of ambrosia in the land of the nāgas before returning. Some monks asked his novice ward, ‘Novice, where does your preceptor eat and return from?’

“The novice ward replied, ‘I have not inquired.’

4.­322

“ ‘If your preceptor partakes of ambrosia in the land of the nāgas before returning here, why do you not go with him?’

“ ‘How could I accompany him when he uses his miraculous powers and great might to travel there?’

“ ‘When he travels with his miraculous powers, hold on to the corner of his robe.’

4.­323

“ ‘Will I not fall?’

“ ‘Dear sir, even if you were to hang Mount Sumeru from the corner of his robe, it would not fall. What need is there to speak of you?’

“With their encouragement, the novice ward went to where his preceptor used his miraculous powers to disappear, and waited. When his preceptor disappeared, the novice ward grabbed hold of the corner of his preceptor’s robe and together they rose into the sky above. After a time, [F.119.a] the nāgas caught sight of them and arranged two seats along with two plates of offerings for them.

4.­324

“The preceptor thought, ‘Why have they set out this second seat and plate of offerings?’ Looking behind him, he saw the novice and asked, ‘Son, you too have come?’

“ ‘Yes, preceptor, I have.’

“ ‘Good.’

4.­325

“The nāgas thought, ‘This noble one has miraculous powers and great might and so can digest divine ambrosia. But this noble novice cannot. We had better give him ordinary food.’

“To the preceptor, they gave divine ambrosia, but to the novice they gave ordinary food. Because the novice generally tended to the preceptor’s begging bowl, he picked up the preceptor’s begging bowl and on doing so, saw that a single grain of rice had stuck to it. The novice put it in his mouth and on tasting it, knew it to be divine ambrosia. He thought, ‘These nāgas are stingy. Two sit down together and to one they give divine ambrosia but to the other they give ordinary food.’

4.­326

“Unable to bear it, he made a misguided prayer, ‘May these roots of virtue from living the holy life under the guidance of the perfectly awakened and blessed Buddha Kāśyapa, an unsurpassed object of veneration, ensure that I be born right here after I have left this land of the nāgas.’

4.­327

“As prodigious and complete actions [S.49.b] are not contingent on a change of body, in that very life water began to drip from the novice’s hands, while the nāga host began to suffer a throbbing headache, prompting him to demand of the preceptor, ‘Noble one, this novice has given rise to an ignoble wish. Make him repudiate it!’

“The preceptor said to the novice, ‘Son, reject your ignoble wish to be among them.’

“Then the novice spoke this verse:

4.­328
“ ‘This wish is so far-reaching,
As I stay here in this land [F.119.b]
With water falling from my hands
I lack the power to reject it.’
4.­329

“Thus, he lost his life in the land of the nāgas only to be reborn again in that very place. And that, monks, is how the youthful, shape-shifting nāga first gained faith.”

Tīrthikas

4.­330

The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when a tīrthika arrived at Jetavana. When this tīrthika saw the fine seats arranged there and the array of communal food and drink, he thought, “As far as culinary pleasures are concerned, these ascetic sons of the Śākya have it good. But as far as the wealth of Dharma is concerned, ours is better. So I shall go forth and take my meals here while taking my Dharma among my fellow tīrthika.”

4.­331

With that thought, he approached a monk and said, “Noble one, I want to go forth”; his going forth was allowed, and he was granted ordination.

4.­332

As the tīrthikas’ restoration takes place on the fourteenth day of the month, while the monks’ restoration takes place on the fifteenth day of the month, he would participate in the tīrthikas’ restoration on the fourteenth day and the monks’ on the fifteenth.

4.­333

After some time, a day was skipped191 and the monks’ restoration fell on the fourteenth, which caused him some consternation: “Should I join them there or participate in the restoration here?”

4.­334

Then he had an idea: “These ascetic sons of the Śākya are more easy going, but my fellow brahmacārin are bad-tempered. If I don’t join them, they may even split my tally stick, switch out my seat plank, overturn my alms bowl, throw out my staff, and expel me from among my fellow brahmacārin.”

4.­335

And so he attended the tīrthikas’ restoration. Meanwhile, the disciplinarian stood at the end of the senior monks’ row. [F.120.a] When the monks were counted, the disciplinarian noticed that the monk, who was still committed to his tīrthika order, was missing so he asked, “Venerables, has the monk [monk’s name] come or sent his consent?”192

“No.”

4.­336

After looking around him into the four directions, the Blessed One declared, “Let us perform the restoration.” The monks then looked around them into the four directions and performed the restoration. Later that same day, the monk arrived and the monks asked him, “Venerable, where have you come from?”

“From the company of my fellow brahmacārin.”

“Who are your fellow brahmacārin?”

“The tīrthikas, for I enjoy my food with you and my Dharma with them.”

4.­337

The monks then asked the Blessed One about it, and the Blessed One decreed, “Monks, this person is a convert to a tīrthika order. A person who is a convert to a tīrthika order will not take root in this Dharma and Vinaya. Therefore, you must banish from this Dharma and Vinaya those persons who are converts to a tīrthika order. If someone wishing to go forth approaches any of you, you should ask, ‘You are not a convert to a tīrthika order, are you?’ If you allow going forth without asking this, a breach occurs.”

4.­338

The venerable Upāli asked the Blessed One, “Reverend, since the Blessed One has said, ‘You must banish from this Dharma and Vinaya those persons who are converts to a tīrthika order,’ then reverend, what is it that makes those persons who are converts to a tīrthika order fit for exclusion?”

4.­339

“Upāli, he who bears this banner while still being enamored with that view invites the dusk, [S.50.a] and for that alone you must banish from this Dharma and Vinaya those persons who are converts to a tīrthika order.”

Matricides

4.­340

The Blessed Buddha [F.120.b] was staying in Śrāvastī, in Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when a householder living in Śrāvastī took a wife of equal caste and together they played with, took pleasure in, and amused one another. The wife with whom he had played, taken pleasure, and amused himself then gave birth to a son, after which the householder said to her, “Noble woman, our debts are spinning out of control and cutting into our savings, so I will take some merchandise to sell in another land.”

She replied, “Son of a lord, do as you wish.”

4.­341

The householder departed with his merchandise for another land where, through indiscretion, he came to misfortune. And so his wife, with the help of relatives and by her own industry, fed and nurtured their son as he grew.

4.­342

In time, the lad went with a peer to a house, where a girl sitting on the house’s roof threw down a bouquet of flowers to catch his notice. His peer asked, “Friend, you haven’t arranged a rendezvous at this house, have you?”

“Indeed I have, and that is our signal,” the lad replied.

“Friend, this house is ill-omened, don’t go in. I warn you, through indiscretion you will come to suffering.”

4.­343

The lad’s friend then led him on a long detour that took the entire day, eventually leading him back to his mother, to whom the lad’s friend said, “Ma’am, your son here has arranged a rendezvous at a girl’s house. I have safeguarded him the whole day, but you must safeguard him through the night. That house is ill-omened. Do not let him go in. Beware, through indiscretion he will come to suffering.”

4.­344

She said, “Son, you have done well to inform me.”

She arranged a bed for her son in the house, along with two clay chamber pots, water, and fresh earth cover, and installed her son in the house, saying, “I myself will sleep on a cot by the door.”

4.­345

“Mother, open the door.”

“Why, son?”

“I must go out and urinate.”

“Son, I have placed a chamber pot there. Urinate in that.”

4.­346

He sat down for a bit and then said, “Mother, open the door.”

“Why, son?” [F.121.a]

“I must go out and defecate.”

“Son, I have placed a chamber pot, water, and fresh earth cover there. Defecate in that.”

4.­347

Again, he sat for a bit before saying, “Mother, open the door.”

“Son, do you think I don’t know where you want to go? I cannot open the door for you.”

“Mother, I shall kill you.”

“Son, I can face my own death, but I couldn’t bear watching my son die.”

4.­348

In the pursuit of passion, there is nothing he would not do. His mind merciless, and forsaking all thought of future lives, he unsheathed his knife and cut off his mother’s head at the neck, which tumbled to the floor. Having killed his mother, he left, trembling like a man who has committed a sin.

4.­349

The girl with whom he had a rendezvous said to him, “Son of a lord, there is no one, there is no other girl but me. Do not be afraid.”

4.­350

Thinking, “She will be pleased if I tell her what I’ve done,” he said, “Noble woman, I have killed my mother for your sake.”

“What? Your wet nurse or the woman who gave birth to you?”

“The woman who gave birth to me.”

4.­351

“He has killed his mother without regard for her importance to him,” thought the girl. “What chance would I stand if at some point he became angry with me?”

Then she said to the lad, “Son of a lord, please wait a moment while I climb up to the roof of the house.” [S.50.b]

“Go ahead,” he replied.

On reaching the roof, she cried out, “A thief! A thief!”

4.­352

The lad, scared and frightened, fled back to his own house and laid his knife at the doorstep before crying out, “That thief has been here! He has killed my mother and fled!”

4.­353

After performing rites of veneration over his mother’s corpse, the lad left home. But a person who has done wrong finds no serenity, so he sought out tīrthika communities and communities of ascetics and asked, “Gentlemen, what can one do to expunge an evil act?” [F.121.b]

4.­354

To that, some said, “Immolate yourself”; some said, “Take poison”; some said, “Jump off a cliff”;193 and some said, “Strangle yourself with a rope.” All of them recommended some form of suicide; none could offer any means of expiation.

4.­355

Later, he went to Jetavana, where he posed his question to a monk, who recited a verse:

“He who has done some wrong
May curb it through virtue
To bring light to this life,
As the sun and moon appear from behind clouds.”
4.­356

On hearing this verse, the lad thought, “Ah! Even wrongdoing can be checked! I shall go forth among these people.” He then approached the monk and said, “Noble one, I want to go forth.”

After his going forth was allowed and he was ordained, he applied himself diligently and began to recite the scriptures. In reciting and saying prayers, he recited and memorized the Three Piṭakas and gained the confidence born of knowledge and freedom.

4.­357

The monks asked him, “Venerable, what motivates such diligence in you?”

“I must expunge a wrongdoing,” he replied.

“What wrongdoing are you guilty of?”

“I killed my mother.”

“Your wet nurse or the woman who gave birth to you?”

“My birth mother.”

4.­358

The monks asked the Blessed One about it, and he said to the monks, “Monks, a person who has killed his mother is fit to be excluded from the community, for a person who has killed his mother will not take root in this Dharma and Vinaya. For that reason, monks, you should exclude from this Dharma and Vinaya those persons who have killed their mothers. If someone wishing to go forth approaches any of you, you should ask, ‘Are you a matricide?’ If you allow going forth without asking this, a breach occurs.”

4.­359

The monk who had killed his mother thought, [F.122.a] “Where will I wind up? I must go into the wilds.” And with that, he went into the wilds, where a householder became his follower. Out of deep devotion, the householder had a monastery erected for the monk, where monks from various regions and lands came to live, many of whom went on to actualize arhatship under his guidance.

4.­360

Sometime later, the monk matricide fell ill. Although the other monks ministered to him with medicinal roots, stalks, leaves, flowers, and fruits, he continued to get worse. The monk matricide then told his wards, “Venerables, prepare a dry sauna for the saṅgha and for me.”

His monk apprentices then prepared a dry sauna for him.

4.­361
All accumulation ends in depletion;
All climbs end in falls;
All meetings end in separation;
All life ends in death.
4.­362

So his time came and he died, and he was reborn among the denizens of Avīci, the Great Hell of Unrelenting Torment. One of his arhat wards entered into meditation to find out where his preceptor had been reborn and began searching for him among the gods, but he did not see him there. Nor did he see him when he looked among humans, animals, and spirits. When he began to search among the denizens of hell, he saw that his preceptor had been reborn among the denizens of Avīci, the Great Hell of Unrelenting Torment.

4.­363

The arhat ward wondered, “If my preceptor was ethical, learned, and attracted a following with the Dharma, what did he do that it should lead him to be reborn among the denizens of Avīci?” [S.51.a] He then saw that it was matricide.

Struck by the fiery light of Avīci, the monk matricide cried, “Oh! The heat in this dry sauna is too much!” As soon as he cried out, the guardians of hell lifted their maces and clubbed him on the head, shouting, “Hapless fool! Where is this dry sauna of yours? This is Avīci, the Great Hell of Unrelenting Torment!” [F.122.b]

4.­364

This virtuous thought194 brought the former monk matricide’s time in hell to an end, and he was reborn among the gods in the realms of the Four Great Kings. It is in the nature of gods and goddesses to have three thoughts shortly after birth: where they have passed on from, where they have been born, and what action has caused that rebirth. Thus the former monk matricide saw he had passed from among the denizens of hell and been reborn among the gods in the realms of the Four Great Kings due to his having washed the dry sauna for the saṅgha.

4.­365

Then the young god, who had formerly been a denizen of hell, had this thought: “It would not be right of me to spend a day here without going to see and pay my respects to the Blessed One. Thus, before the day is out, I shall go to see and pay my respects to the Blessed One.”

4.­366

The young god donned a pair of glittering hooped earrings that swung to and fro, adorned his body with two pearl necklaces, one long and one medium in length, filled the folds of his skirt with the dazzling colors of divine blue lotus flowers, lotuses, water lilies, and white lotuses, and when night had fallen, set out to see the Blessed One. On his arrival, he strewed the flowers before the Blessed One and bowed his head at the Blessed One’s feet before taking a place off to one side. The colors of the young god filled the whole of Jetavana with a great light.

4.­367

As the young god sat on a seat, the Blessed One intuited his thoughts, propensities, disposition, and nature and proceeded to teach the Dharma he needed to hear in order to fully realize each of the Noble Ones’ four truths, thus actualizing the fruit of a stream enterer by decimating with the lightning bolt of wisdom the mountain of belief in the transient aggregates with its twenty tall peaks. [F.123.a]

4.­368

Upon seeing the truth, the young god spoke this panegyric thrice: “Reverend, what the Blessed One has done for me, my father did not do for me, nor did my mother, nor did the king, nor did the gods, nor did my ancestors, nor did ascetics or brahmins, nor did my circle of loved ones and friends, nor did my forebears. For the Blessed One has dried up the ocean of blood and tears, freed me from mountains of bones, shut the door to miserable realms, opened the door to higher realms and liberation, dragged me up by the leg from among the denizens of hell, animals, and spirits, and installed me among gods and humans.”

4.­369

The young god spoke again:

“Because of you, the path to miserable realms
Of terrible and diverse punishments is blocked
And the road to higher realms of great merit has opened.
I have even found the way to nirvāṇa.
4.­370
“By relying on you, one of utter purity,
I have today gained flawless, pure vision,
Have gained the pacific state pleasing to saints,
And crossed over the seas of suffering.
4.­371
“Honored in the world by demi-gods, gods, and men;
Free from birth, aging, illness, and death;
To see you once in a thousand lives is rare‍—
Today, sage, seeing you has proved fruitful.
4.­372
“As I bow with my necklace hanging low,
Prostrate at your feet, I feel jubilant.
Circling the one who has tamed his enemies
I turn to the heavens and fly into the sky.”
4.­373

The young god then departed like a trader who has made a profit, a farmer who has reaped his crops, a warrior who has won a battle, or an ill person who has been delivered from all his ills, and, in the dress in which he arrived in the Blessed One’s presence, returned home.

4.­374

One of the young god’s former wards, an elder in the saṅgha and an arhat, [F.123.b] was seated in the meal row, while another of his wards [S.51.b] was distributing water to the saṅgha. After a time, the saṅgha elder lifted his cup of water. It felt extremely cold to the touch of the tip of his fingers, and he thought, “While we drink water as cold as this, the preceptor drinks molten copper among the denizens of Avīci, the Great Hell of Unrelenting Torment.”

4.­375

Yet when this arhat elder then searched for his preceptor among the denizens of Avīci, the Great Hell of Unrelenting Torment, his preceptor was nowhere to be seen. When the arhat elder searched for him among the animals, spirits, and denizens of other hells, he was nowhere to be seen there either. And so he began to search for him among the gods. There he saw that his preceptor had been reborn among the gods in the realm of the Four Great Kings and, having become a god, saw the truth in the Blessed One’s presence before returning to remain among the gods. Smiling, the arhat elder gained faith in the Blessed One and spoke this panegyric: “O Buddha! O Dharma! O Saṅgha! O the well-spoken Dharma by which even wrongdoers led into such fallen states can attain such a collection of qualities!”

4.­376

A student of the same preceptor saw him looking jubilant, pleased, and overjoyed and asked, “Venerable, are you so jubilant, pleased, and overjoyed by the thought that now that the preceptor’s time has come, you are the saṅgha elder?”

The arhat elder replied, “Venerable, now is not the time to answer your question. Ask me when we are among the saṅgha and that will prove the time to answer your question.”

4.­377

Later, after the monks of the saṅgha gathered and were seated, the saṅgha elder asked their preceptor’s student, “Venerable, what was it you wanted to ask me?”

“I asked you, ‘Venerable, are you so jubilant, pleased, [F.124.a] and overjoyed by the thought that now that the preceptor’s time has come, you are the saṅgha elder?’ ”

4.­378

While seated among the saṅgha, the arhat elder explained the situation at length to his fellow student. His fellow student then also rejoiced, as did the saṅgha, who spoke this panegyric: “O Buddha! O Dharma! O Saṅgha! O the well-spoken Dharma by which even wrongdoers led into fallen states can attain such a collection of qualities!” [B11]

Patricides

4.­379

The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when a householder living in Śrāvastī took a wife of equal caste and together they played with, took pleasure in, and amused one another. The wife with whom he had played, taken pleasure, and amused himself later gave birth to a son.

4.­380

In time, the lad went with a peer to a house, where a girl sitting on the house’s roof threw down a bouquet of flowers to catch his attention. His peer asked, “Friend, you haven’t arranged a rendezvous at this house, have you?”

“Indeed I have, and that is our signal,” the lad replied.

4.­381

“Friend, this house is ill-omened, don’t go in. I warn you, through indiscretion you will come to suffering.”

The lad’s friend then led him on a long detour that took the entire day, eventually leading him back to his father, to whom the lad’s friend said, “Sir, your son here has arranged a rendezvous at a girl’s house. I have safeguarded him the whole day so you must safeguard him through the night. That house is ill-omened. Do not let him enter. Beware, through indiscretion he will come to suffering.”

4.­382

“Son, you have done well to inform me.”

He arranged a bed for his son in the house, along with two clay chamber pots, water, and fresh earth cover, and installed his son in the house, saying, “I myself will sleep on a cot by the door.”

4.­383

“Father, open the door.”

“Why, son?”

“I must go out to urinate.”

“Son, [F.124.b] I have placed a chamber pot there. Urinate in that.”

4.­384

He sat down for a bit and then said, “Father, open the door.”

“Why, son?”

“I must go out to defecate.”

“Son, I have placed a chamber pot, water, and fresh earth cover there. Defecate in that.”

4.­385

Again, he sat for a bit before saying, “Father, open the door.”

“Son, do you think I don’t know where you want to go? I cannot open the door for you.”

“Father, I shall kill you.”

“Son, I can face my own death, but I couldn’t bear watching my son die.”

4.­386

In the pursuit of passion, there is nothing he would not do. His mind merciless and forsaking all thought of future lives, he unsheathed his knife and cut off his father’s head at the neck, which tumbled to the floor. Having killed his father, he left, trembling like a man who has committed a sin.

4.­387

The girl with whom he had a rendezvous said to him, “Son of a lord, there is no one, there is no other girl but me. Do not be afraid.”

4.­388

Thinking, “She will be pleased if I tell her what I’ve done,” he said, “Noble woman, I have killed my father for your sake.”

4.­389

“What? Your foster father or the man who fathered you?”

“The man who fathered me.”

The girl thought, “He has killed his father without regard for his importance to him. What chance would I stand if at some point he became angry with me?”

4.­390

Then she said to the lad, “Son of a lord, please wait a moment while I climb up to the roof of the house.”

“Go ahead.”

On reaching the roof, she cried out, “A thief! A thief!”

4.­391

The lad, scared and frightened, fled back to his own house, and laid his knife at the doorstep before crying out, “The thief has been here! He has killed my father and fled!”

4.­392

After performing rites of veneration over his father’s corpse, the lad left home. But a person who has done wrong finds no serenity, so he sought out tīrthika communities and communities of ascetics and asked, “Gentlemen, [F.125.a] what can one do to expunge an evil act?”

4.­393

To that, some said, “Immolate yourself”; some said, “Take poison”; some said, “Jump off a cliff”; some said, “Drown yourself”; and some said, “Strangle yourself with a rope.” All of them recommended some form of suicide; none could offer any means of expiation.

Later, he went to Jetavana, where he posed his question to a monk, who recited a verse:

4.­394
“He who has done some wrong
May curb it through virtue
To bring light to this life,
As the sun and moon appear from behind clouds.”
4.­395

On hearing this verse, the lad thought, “Ah! Even wrongdoing can be checked! I shall go forth among these people.” He then approached the monk and said, “Noble one, I want to go forth.”

4.­396

After his going forth was allowed and he was ordained, he applied himself diligently and began to learn the scriptures. In reciting and saying prayers, he recited and memorized the Three Piṭakas and gained the confidence born of knowledge and freedom.

4.­397

The monks asked him, “Venerable, what motivates such diligence in you?”

“I must expunge a wrongdoing,” he replied.

“What wrongdoing are you guilty of?”

“I killed my father.”

“Your foster father or the man who fathered you?”

“The man who fathered me.”

4.­398

The monks asked the Blessed One about it, and he said to the monks, “Monks, a person who has killed his father is fit to be excluded from the community. A person who has killed his father will not take root in this Dharma and Vinaya. For that reason, you should exclude from this Dharma and Vinaya those persons who have killed their fathers. If someone wishing to go forth approaches any of you, [F.125.b] you should ask, ‘Are you a patricide?’ If you allow going forth without asking this, a breach occurs.”

4.­399

The monk who had killed his father thought, “Where will I wind up? I must go into the wilds.” And with that, he went into the wilds, where a householder became his follower. Out of deep devotion, the householder had a monastery erected for the monk, where monks from various regions and lands came to live, many of whom went on to actualize arhatship under his guidance.

4.­400

Some time later, the monk patricide fell ill. Although the other monks ministered to him with medicinal roots, stalks, leaves, flowers and fruits, he continued to get worse. The monk patricide then told his wards, “Venerables, construct a dry sauna for the saṅgha and for me.”

His monk apprentices then built a dry sauna for him.

4.­401
All accumulation ends in depletion;
All climbs end in falls;
All meetings end in separation;
All life ends in death.
4.­402

So his time came and he died, and he was reborn among the denizens of Avīci, the Great Hell of Unrelenting Torment. One of his arhat wards entered into meditation to find out where his preceptor had been reborn and began searching for him among the gods, but he did not see him there. Nor did he see him when he looked among humans, animals, and spirits. When he began to search among the denizens of hell, he saw that his preceptor had been reborn among the denizens of Avīci, the Great Hell of Unrelenting Torment.

4.­403

The arhat ward wondered, “If my preceptor was ethical, learned, and attracted a following with the Dharma, what did he do that it should lead him to be reborn among the denizens of Avīci?” He then saw that it was patricide.

4.­404

Struck by the fiery light of Avīci, the former monk patricide exclaimed, “Oh! The heat in this dry sauna is too much!” As soon as he cried out, the guardians of hell lifted their maces and clubbed him in the head, shouting, “Hapless fool! Where is this dry sauna of yours? [F.126.a] This is Avīci, the Great Hell of Unrelenting Torment!”

4.­405

This virtuous thought195 brought the monk patricide’s time in hell to an end and he was reborn among the gods in the realms of the Four Great Kings. It is in the nature of gods and goddesses to have three thoughts shortly after birth: where they have passed on from, where they have been born, and what action has caused that rebirth. Thus the former monk patricide saw that he had passed from among the denizens of hell and been reborn among the gods in the realms of the Four Great Kings due to his having washed the dry sauna for the saṅgha.

4.­406

The young god then had this thought: “It would not be right of me to spend a day here without going to see and pay my respects to the Blessed One. Thus, before the day is out, I shall go to see and pay my respects to the Blessed One.”

4.­407

The young god donned a pair of glittering hooped earrings that swung to and fro, adorned his body with two pearl necklaces, one long and one medium in length, filled the folds of his skirt with the dazzling colors of divine blue lotus flowers, lotuses, water lilies, and white lotuses, and when night had fallen, set out for the Blessed One. On his arrival, he strewed the flowers before the Blessed One and bowed his head at the Blessed One’s feet before taking a place off to one side. The colors of the young god filled the whole of Jetavana with a great light.

4.­408

Then, as the young god sat on a seat, the Blessed One intuited his thoughts, propensities, disposition, and nature and proceeded to teach the Dharma he needed to hear in order to fully realize each of the Noble Ones’ four truths. The young god then actualized the fruit of a stream enterer by decimating with the lightning bolt of wisdom the mountain of belief in the transient aggregates with its twenty tall peaks. [F.126.b]

4.­409

Upon seeing the truth, the young god whose patricide had led him to rebirth in hell spoke this panegyric thrice: “Reverend, what the Blessed One has done for me, my father did not do for me, nor did my mother, nor did the king, nor did the gods, nor did my ancestors, nor did ascetics or brahmins, nor did my circle of loved ones and friends, nor did my forebears. For the Blessed One has dried up the ocean of blood and tears, freed me from mountains of bones, shut the door to miserable realms, opened the door to higher realms and liberation, dragged me up by the leg from among the denizens of hell, animals, and spirits, and installed me among gods and humans.”

4.­410

The young god spoke again:

“Because of you, the path to miserable realms
Of terrible and diverse punishments is blocked
And the road to higher realms of great merit has opened.
I have even found the way to nirvāṇa.
4.­411
“By relying on you, one of utter purity, I
Have today gained flawless, pure vision,
I have gained the pacific state pleasing to saints
And crossed over the seas of suffering.
4.­412
“Honored in the world by demi-gods, gods, and men;
Free from birth, aging, illness, and death;
To see you once in a thousand lives is rare‍—
Today, sage, seeing you has proved fruitful.
4.­413
“As I bow with my necklace hanging low,
Prostrate at your feet, I feel jubilant.
Circling clockwise he who has tamed his enemies
I turn to the heavens and fly into the sky.”
4.­414

The young god then departed like a trader who has made a profit, a farmer who has reaped his crops, a warrior who has won a battle, or an ill person who has been delivered from all his ills, and, in the dress in which he arrived in the Blessed One’s presence, returned home. [F.127.a]

4.­415

One of the young god’s former apprentices, an elder in the saṅgha and an arhat, was seated in the meal row, while another of his apprentices was distributing water to the saṅgha. After a time, the saṅgha elder lifted his cup of water. It felt extremely cold to the touch of the tip of his fingers, and he thought, “While we drink water as cold as this, the preceptor drinks molten copper among the denizens of Avīci, the Great Hell of Unrelenting Torment.”

4.­416

Yet when this arhat elder, a former apprentice of the monk patricide, then searched for his preceptor among the denizens of Avīci, the Great Hell of Unrelenting Torment, he was nowhere to be seen. When the arhat elder searched for his preceptor among the animals, spirits, and denizens of other hells, he was nowhere to be seen there either. And so he began to search for him among the gods. There he saw his preceptor had been reborn among the gods in the realm of the Four Great Kings and, having become a god, saw the truth in the Blessed One’s presence before returning to remain among the gods. Smiling, the arhat elder gained faith in the Blessed One and spoke this panegyric: “O Buddha! O Dharma! O Saṅgha! O the well-spoken Dharma by which even wrongdoers led into such fallen states can attain such a collection of qualities!”

4.­417

A student of the same preceptor saw him looking jubilant, pleased, and overjoyed and asked, “Venerable, are you so jubilant, pleased, and overjoyed by the thought that now that the preceptor’s time has come, you are the saṅgha elder?”

4.­418

“Venerable, now is not the time to answer your question. Ask me when we are among the saṅgha and that will prove the time to answer your question.”

4.­419

Later, after the monks of the saṅgha gathered and were seated, the saṅgha elder asked the student of the same preceptor, “Venerable, what was it you wanted to ask me?”

4.­420

“I asked you, ‘Venerable, are you so jubilant, pleased, and overjoyed by the thought that now that the preceptor’s time has come, you are the saṅgha elder?’ ” [F.127.b]

4.­421

While seated among the saṅgha, the arhat elder explained the situation at length to his fellow student. His fellow student then also rejoiced, as did the saṅgha, who spoke this panegyric: “O Buddha! O Dharma! O Saṅgha! O the well-spoken Dharma by which even wrongdoers led into fallen states can attain such a collection of qualities!”


5.

Killing an Arhat

5.­1

A summary:

Killing an arhat, causing a schism in the saṅgha,
Maliciously drawing blood, and
Suffering one of the four defeats
And three types of suspension.

Killing an Arhat

5.­2

The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. When, in the thick of Yaṣṭī Grove, the Blessed One established in the truths the King of Magadha, Bimbisāra of the Guilds, along with 80,000 gods and hundreds of thousands of Magadhan brahmins and householders, Bimbisāra had the bells rung throughout his land and this pronouncement was read: “No one shall steal in my lands. If anyone does so, I will banish them and provide recompense from my own stores and treasury.”

Causing a Schism in the Saṅgha

Maliciously Drawing Blood from a Tathāgata

Suffering One of the Four Defeats

Three Types of Suspension


6.

Persons whose hands have been cut off

6.­1

An index:

Persons whose hands have been cut off, persons whose legs have been cut off,
Persons with hands of webbed fingers,
Persons with no lips, persons whose bodies have been branded, scarred by a whip, or tattooed,
The very old, the very young,
Persons with mobility impairment, persons with degenerative nerve disorders, persons missing an eye,
Persons whose hands have been cut off, persons with kyphosis, persons of restricted growth,
Persons with goiters, persons with a speech impairment, persons with a hearing impairment,
Persons who use mobility aids, persons with elephantiasis,
Persons worn out by women, persons worn out by burdens,
Persons worn out by the road,
Persons with malabsorption syndromes, and persons with chronic fatigue.
The great seer forbade
People such as this.198
Knowing all, the Perfectly Awakened One,
Whose name denotes truth, proclaimed
That going forth is for the beautiful
And ordination for the pure.

Persons whose hands have been cut off


c.

Colophon

c.­1

This was translated by the Kashmiri preceptor Sarvajñādeva, the Indian preceptor Vidyākaraprabha, the Kashmiri preceptor Dharmākara, and the translator Bandé Palgyi Lhünpo. It was then revised and finalized by the Indian preceptor Vidyākaraprabha and the managing editor-translator, Bandé Paltsek.201


ap.
Appendix

An Outline of the Present Day Ordination Rite

ap1.­1
Giving the Layperson’s Vows and Refuge Precepts

How to Give the Layperson’s Vows

Pledging to Keep the Precepts

Going Forth

Informing the Saṅgha of the Wish to Go Forth

Asking the Preceptor

Allowing the Postulant’s Going Forth

Becoming a Novice

Inducting the Postulant into the Novitiate

Marking the Time

Pledging to Keep the Novice Precepts

The Novice Investiture

Granting Ordination

The Opening Occasion

Asking the Preceptor

Sanction for Robes That Have Already Been Cut and Sewn

Sanction for Robes That Have Not Already Been Cut and Sewn

Displaying the Begging Bowl

Sanction for the Begging Bowl

Seeking the Cooperation of the Privy Advisor

Asking the Saṅgha for an Inquiry into Private Matters

The Inquiry into Private Matters

Reporting the Findings

The Ordinand’s Asking for Ordination

The Act to Ask About Impediments Before the Saṅgha

Inquiring into Impediments Before the Saṅgha

The Monk Officiant’s Asking to Ordain

The Motion to Act

Marking the Time by the Length of a Shadow

Explaining the Different Parts of the Day and Night

Describing the Length of the Seasons

Explaining the Supports

Explaining the Offenses

Explaining Those Things That Constitute Spiritual Practice

Announcing the Perfect Fulfillment of His Greatest Desire

Enjoining Him to Practice the Equally Applicable Ethical Code

Enjoining Him to Bond with His Role Model in the Renunciant Life

Enjoining Him to Dwell in Tranquility

Enjoining Him to Carry Out His Obligations

Informing Him of What He Must Do to Fully Understand His Unspoken Commitments

Enjoining Him to Heed What He Reveres

Enjoining Him in How He Must Practice


ab.

Abbreviations

C Choné
D Degé
H Lhasa (Shöl)
J Lithang
K Beijing Kangxi
N Narthang
S Stok Palace Manuscript
Y Yongle

n.

Notes

n.­1
For a summary in English of the First and Second Councils and the subsequent schism in the saṅgha as recounted in The Chapters on Monastic Discipline, see Rockhill (1907, 148–80). For modern scholarship on the councils and the compiling of the Buddhist canon, see Prebish (1974) and Skilling (2009).
n.­2
See Nattier and Prebish (1977) on the rise of the different schools, with references to both traditional sources and modern scholarship.
n.­3
On the history, dating, and geographical distribution of the Mūlasarvāstivādins and their relation to other schools (especially the Sarvāstivādins), see Frauwallner (1956), Nattier and Prebish (1977), Enomoto (1994), Rosenfeld (2006), Salomon (2006), and Clarke (2004a and forthcoming). The six complete extant codes are the Sarvāstivādin’s Ten Recitations in Chinese with fragmentary Sanskrit; the Mūlasarvāstivādin’s Collection of Four Scriptures in Tibetan and partial Sanskrit and Chinese; the Theravādin’s canonical Suttavibhaṅga, Khandhaka, and Appendices (Parivāra) and paracanonical Pātimokkha and Kammavācanā in Pali; the Dharmaguptaka’s Four Part Vinaya in Chinese and partial Sanskrit; the Mahīśāsaka’s Five Part Vinaya in Chinese; and the Mahāsāṃghika’s Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya in Chinese. See Clarke (2004a, 77–78) and Prebish (2003).
n.­4
The Vinayavastu (Toh 1), the Prātimokṣasūtra (Toh 2), the Vinayavibhaṅga (Toh 3), the Bhikṣuṇī Prātimokṣasūtra (Toh 4), the Bhikṣuṇī Vinayavibhaṅga (Toh 5), the Kṣudrakavastu (Toh 6), and two versions of the Uttaragrantha‍—the incomplete ’dul ba gzhung bla ma (Toh 7) and the complete ’dul ba gzhung dam pa (Toh 7a). For more on the Uttaragrantha (’dul ba gzhung dam pa and ’dul ba gzhung bla ma), see Kishino (2007, 1221, and 2013) and Clarke (2012).
n.­5
The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya differs significantly in its structure from the other extant vinayas. See Frauwallner (1956) and Clarke (2004a).
n.­6
See Finnegan (2009, 10–28), for an overview of the history, language, and role of narrative in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. For readers of German, see Panglung (1981). In English, see also Schopen (2000, 94–99) and, for reference to the inclusion of narrative and sūtra in the Pali vinaya, see von Hinüber (1996).
n.­7
See Heirman (2008) and Kishino (2013) for Yijing and his translations into Chinese.
n.­8
See Rotman (2008, 15–30) for a discussion of the Divyāvadāna and the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, and Rotman (2008) and (2017) for English translations of portions of the text.
n.­53
A summary of each of these chapters is given in the introduction.
n.­160
The translation of g-yar bltam (“fill his own mouth”) is speculative.
n.­161
All of these are ancient stringed instruments (Kalyāṇamitra, folios 287.a.7–b.1).
n.­162
A set of twenty-five sūtras from the Nidānasaṃyukta Sanskrit original were recovered between 1902 and 1914 in Gāndhāra by the German Turfan expeditions and later studied by Tripāṭhī (1962). Glass and Allon (2007, 29–31) report that no Tibetan translation of this work survives.
n.­163
Following NH: zhal gyi sgo nas (“from your mouth”) instead of D: zhal gyi sgros nas (“from your lips”) (Pedurma, 752) and Kalyāṇamitra (F.291.b.1).
n.­164
Following NH: bstan (short for lung bstan) instead of D: brtan (Pedurma, 752) and Kalyāṇamitra (F.291.b.1.4).
n.­165
That is, give rise to the vows (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 292.a.4).
n.­166
Following Kalyāṇamitra, read las ’thob for las thos. Kalyāṇamitra (F.292.6–7) explains that “sentence” (Tib. las, Skt. karma) here refers to a “punitive act” (Tib. chad pa’i las, Skt. daṇḍakarman).
n.­167
A group of six (Skt. ṣaḍvārgikāḥ, Tib. drug sde) of the Buddha’s disciples‍—Nanda, Upananda, Udāyin, Aśvaka, Punarvasu, and Chanda (Kalyāṇamitra, folios 292.a.7–b.1)‍—whose antics and heavy-handed interference prompted a great many of the Buddha’s injunctions on conduct, as recounted in the Vinayavibhaṅga.
n.­168
The old-timer is challenging them by pointing out that the Buddha had no preceptor but rather was “self-ordained.” Naturally, this would strike the monks as hubris and spark a sharp reaction.
n.­169
The unspoken qualification here is that the person in question participates in these rites under false pretenses, that is, without having been properly ordained. Someone who twice participates in the restoration, or any of the other one hundred and one types of saṅgha activities, under false pretenses becomes an impostor. If he does it a third time, he demonstrates his intractability and is henceforth considered “an inveterate impostor” (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 293.a.1–3).
n.­170
Strictly speaking, this should read, “I’m a person labeled a paṇḍaka,” but the context makes clear that of the five types of person labeled a paṇḍaka described below, he is an intersex person (Tib. skyes nas ma ning, Skt. jātyāpaṇḍaka) and so the phrase has been translated here accordingly.
n.­171
That is, provided they do not demonstrate an interest in having intercourse with others (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 293.a.5–6).
n.­172
One of the Four Āgama into which the Mūlasarvāstivādin tradition grouped the Buddha’s early sūtra discourses, the Ekottarikāgama (Tib. lung gcig las ’phros pa) is a collection of the Buddha’s sayings arranged numerically, from one to one hundred (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 293.b.3–5). It is known in the Pali tradition as the Aṅguttara Nikāya. Though the Ekottarikāgama was no longer extant in Kalyāṇamitra’s lifetime, its contents were vaguely known from descriptions in other extant works (Kalyāṇamitra, Extensive Commentary , folio 293.b.4–5). Although Tibetan translators of the later spread of Buddhism (tenth to thirteenth centuries and later) “almost completely ignored the āgama literature” in preference for Mahāyāna sutras, the Ekottarikāgama was apparently translated into Tibetan, as Marcelle Lalou located a reference in the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) catalog to a translation of the text carried out during Trisong Deutsen’s reign (Glass and Allon, 2007, 31).
n.­173
It was not uncommon for individuals, monk and layman both, to “own” temples and monasteries. As owner, these individuals took it upon themselves to provide basic necessities to the residents and arriving monks. See Schopen (2010).
n.­174
Apart from the plates, these items are all found among the thirteen “subsistence items” or “essential possessions” (Tib. ’tsho ba’i yo byad, Skt. jīvopāya) allowed to monks by the Buddha (nor brang, 2008, 2805–6).
n.­175
Referring presumably to the arriving monks and departing monks hosted at the monastery who, as monks with leave to wander, would have possessed the five qualities discussed earlier, and hence a fair amount of knowledge.
n.­176
The benefits and drawbacks of an ocean voyage were broadcast with each call, and with each announcement the ropes were cut, thus initiating the journey (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 295.b.4–6).
n.­177
Kalyāṇamitra explains that, at the time of Saṅgharakṣita’s visit, these buddhas had not yet visited these sanctuaries (Tib. dri gtsang khang, Skt. gandhakuṭī). They would, however, serve as residences for these buddhas after our world has been destroyed in the “eon of destruction.”
n.­178
These four āgama (Tib. lung), or discourses, still form the core of the Pali canon’s Sūtrapiṭaka. By assigning their recitation and memorization to young nāgas, the shape shifter was taking a concrete step towards establishing the Buddha’s sūtras in the land of the nāgas, the express purpose for abducting Saṅgharakṣita.
n.­179
Patronage (Tib. yon, Skt. dakṣiṇā) is an offering made in faith or in payment for ritual services. If a monk observes his vows purely, he may receive, and use, extensive patronage, as much as “one hundred thousand items of clothing, one hundred thousand dishes of food, and five hundred houses,” provided he receives it with “the thought of nirvaṇa” (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 296.b.6–7). However, if he is lax in his observance of his ethics, he is not entitled to patronage and the consequences of seeking it are dire. As the Buddha said in the Vinayavibhaṅga, “For one without pure vows and whose ethics are lax, / It is far better / To eat fiery iron balls / Than alms collected from surrounding communities” (Vinayavibhaṅga, Degé, folio 217.a).
n.­180
The explanations of how these beings came to take such forms come below, see 4.­291.
n.­181
Cow dung is still widely used in India to replaster the walls and floors of rural dwellings. Cow dung is considered sanitary and counted among the “five cow products” (Tib. ba byung lnga, Skt. pañca gavya)‍—urine, dung, milk, butter, and curd‍—considered pure and used in certain rituals (dung dkar, 2002, p. 1378).
n.­182
The following verse is the first in the Brāhmaṇavarga, the last of thirty-three chapters in the Udānavarga, a collection of verses on various topics attributed to the Buddha. For a study of the edited text in Sanskrit see Bernhard (1965) and for a study of its relation to The Gāndhārī Dharmapada, see Brough (2001).
n.­183
Though all versions of the Kangyur read ’byung mi ’gyur (“do not arise”) (Pedurma, 758), the translation follows Kalyāṇamitra’s commentary, which gives ’byang mi ’gyur (“do not purify”) (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 297.b.2).
n.­184
The Nagaropama Sutta in the Pali canon’s Aṅguttara Nikāya is a wholly different sūtra from the one cited here, which in Pali is known as the Nagara Sutta and is found in the Saṃyutta Nikāya. For a comparative translation of the Pali Nagara Sutta and the Sanskrit Nagaropama Sūtra, see Tan (2005). A reconstruction and translation of the Sanskrit version of the Nagaropama Sūtra found in Turfan was published and edited by Bongard-Levin et al. (1996).
n.­185
The text gives Tib. spyod pa can, Skt. caraka, which we have chosen to render as sādhu following Kalyāṇamitra’s description of the caraka as a “tīrthika-style renunciant” (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 301.a.4–5). Though the use of sādhu here may be anachronistic, it has the proper implications and is reasonably familiar to nonspecialists.
n.­186
Though all versions of the Kangyur read yang dag par gyur pa (“pure”) (Pedurma, p. 759), the translation follows Kalyāṇamitra’s commentary, which gives yangs par gyur pa (“prodigious”) (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 301.a.7).
n.­187
That is, the five realms of gods, humans, animals, spirits, and hell-denizens (Nordrang 2008, 2987).
n.­188
Not only is the monk in question an arhat, he also occupies a position of considerable importance at the monastery and thus their treatment of him is both rude and insubordinate.
n.­189
Learning the six fields of Vedic knowledge.
n.­190
This phrase underlines the meaning of “alms” in Tibetan (bsod snyoms): rather than being simply a charitable offering, by “equalising merit” between the lay donor and the monastic recipient, it affords the opportunity to create links between the individuals concerned as well as between their respective communities.
n.­191
Lunar-based calendar systems give precedence to the moon’s phases, leading to a calendar year of 360 days, divided into twelve months of thirty days apiece. Since it takes the earth 365¼ days to make a complete revolution around the sun, lunar calendars must add or subtract days and even months to keep the calendar properly aligned with the earth’s place in its solar orbit.
n.­192
If a monk is unable to attend an official saṅgha function such as the restoration in person, he must offer his proxy to a competent monk (Tib. yul las byed pa’i dge ’dun) who, when prompted, must repeat a formula three times expressing that the absent monk has no objections and will abide by the acts enacted by the assembly (Nyima, 2009, 408). Further details on such procedures can be found in the Poṣadavastu, the second chapter of the Vinayavastu.
n.­193
When the episode of patricide is recounted below on 4.­397, the text includes yet another suggestion‍—“Some said, ‘Drown yourself,’ ”‍—between jumping off a cliff and strangling oneself.
n.­194
Kalyāṇamitra suggests that the virtuous thought that prompted the matricide’s passing from hell to heaven was his allowing the guardians to kill him (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 304.a.3). This served as the precipitating condition to activate the actual karmic cause for his rebirth as a god, his washing the dry sauna, as stated later in the paragraph.
n.­195
See n.­194.
n.­198
See the Vinayakṣudraka for further conditions that disqualify a person from ordination.
n.­201
This colophon does not actually appear until the end of the entire Vinayavastu (Degé, vol. 4 (’dul ba, nga), folio 302.a). It has been inserted here for ease of reference.

b.

Bibliography

The Translated Text: “The Chapter on Going Forth”

rab tu ’byung ba’i gzhi (Pravrajyā­vastu). Toh 1, ch. 1, Degé Kangyur, vol. 1 (’dul ba, ka), folios 1.a–131.a.

rab tu ’byung ba’i gzhi. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [“Pedurma” 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). Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol. 1, pp. 3–308 and pp. 722–67.

Vogel, Claus and Klaus Wille (1984). “Some Hitherto Unidentified Fragments of the Pravrajyā­vastu Portion of the Vinaya­vastu Manuscript Found Near Gilgit,” in Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1–41. Göttingen: Philologisch-Historische Klasse, 1984.

Vogel, Claus and Klaus Wille (1992). “Some More Fragments of the Pravrajyā­vastu Portion of the Vinaya­vastu Manuscript Found Near Gilgit: Part 1: Saṅgha­rakṣitāvadāna,” in Sanskrit-Texte aus dem buddhistischen Kanon: Neuentdeckungen und Neueditionen III, edited by Heinz Bechert et al, 65–109. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1992.

Vogel, Claus and Klaus Wille (1996a). “The Final Leaves of the Pravrajyā­vastu Portion of the Vinaya­vastu Manuscript Found Near Gilgit: Part 1: Saṅgha­rakṣitāvadāna,” in Sanskrit-Texte aus dem buddhistischen Kanon: Neuentdeckungen und Neueditionen III, edited by G. Bongard-Levin et al, 241–96. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996a.

Vogel, Claus and Klaus Wille (1996b). “The Final Leaves of the Pravrajyā­vastu Portion of the Vinaya­vastu Manuscript Found Near Gilgit. Part 2. Nāga­kumārāvadāna and a Kučā Fragment of the Upa­sampadā Section of the Sarvāstivādins,” in Sanskrit-Texte aus dem buddhistischen Kanon: Neuentdeckungen und Neueditionen IV, edited by J. Ching et al, 11–76. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996b.

The Commentary to “The Chapter on Going Forth”

Ācārya Kalyāṇamitra. ’dul ba gzhi rgya cher ’grel ba (Vinaya­vastu­ṭīkā, “An Extensive Commentary on the Chapters on Monastic Discipline”). Toh 4113, Degé Tengyur, vol. 156 (’dul ba, tsu), folios 177.b–326.b.

Works Cited in Introduction and Endnotes

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Nyima, Geshé Tsewang (dge bshes tshe dbang nyi ma). dam chos ’dul ba gtso gyur gyi gzhung sne mang las btus pa’i tshig mdzod mun sel sgron me (“A Lamp to Dispel Darkness: A Dictionary Drawing on a Variety of Texts but Focusing on the Sublime Vinaya”). Taipei: The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 2009.

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Tāranātha (II). bcom ldan ’das thub pa’i dbang po’i mdzad pa mdo tsam brjod pa mthong bas don ldan rab tu dga’ ba dang bcas pas dad pa’i nyin byed phyogs brgyar ’char ba (“The Sun of Confidence That Brings Meaning and Joy On Sight and Illuminates All Directions, a Brief Account of the Deeds of the Blessed Śākyamuni”). In gsung ’bum, vol. 12. Leh: C. Namgyal and Tsewang Taru, 1982-1987.

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g.

Glossary

Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language

AS

Attested in source text

This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.

AO

Attested in other text

This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.

AD

Attested in dictionary

This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.

AA

Approximate attestation

The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.

SU

Source unspecified

This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.­1

abandoned the five branches

Wylie:
  • yan lag lnga spangs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡན་ལག་ལྔ་སྤངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Buddhas have abandoned five branches or factors that perpetuate saṃsāra: pursuing desires, ill will, lethargy and languor, regret and agitation, and view and doubt.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­280
g.­2

Abode of Tuṣita

Wylie:
  • dga’ ldan gyi gnas
Tibetan:
  • དགའ་ལྡན་གྱི་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • tuṣitabhavana

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, counted among the six heavens of the desire realm, it is home of future Buddha Maitreya.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­10
g.­3

abscesses

Wylie:
  • shu ba
Tibetan:
  • ཤུ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • dardru
  • dardrū

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­540
  • 1.­568
g.­4

accept charge of

Wylie:
  • nye bar gzhag pa
  • gzung ba
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བར་གཞག་པ།
  • གཟུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

To accept (e.g., a person) as a novice.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­548
  • 1.­575
  • n.­151
  • g.­314
g.­6

account for

Wylie:
  • grangs dag ’debs
Tibetan:
  • གྲངས་དག་འདེབས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

As in to account for the income and allocations of a monastery.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­28
  • 4.­145-146
  • 4.­156-157
g.­7

act

Wylie:
  • las
Tibetan:
  • ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • karman

Matters that govern the saṅgha community’s daily life, regular observances (such as the rains retreat and the restoration) and special events (like ordination) are ratified by a formal act of the saṅgha. There are one hundred and one such types of formal acts, all of which fall into one of three categories depending on the procedure needed for ratification. An act of motion alone requires only a motion; an act whose second member is a motion require a motion and the statement of the act; while an act whose fourth member is a motion require a motion and three statements of the act.

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • p1.­4
  • 1.­426
  • 1.­433
  • 1.­513-514
  • 1.­636
  • 5.­23
  • ap1.­1
  • n.­89
  • n.­192
  • g.­11
  • g.­14
  • g.­15
  • g.­58
  • g.­99
  • g.­170
  • g.­241
  • g.­263
  • g.­304
  • g.­305
  • g.­325
  • g.­328
g.­8

act of censure

Wylie:
  • bsdigs pa’i las
Tibetan:
  • བསྡིགས་པའི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • tarjanīyakarman

One of five types of disciplinary acts meted out by the saṅgha. This was first imposed on the Pandulohitaka monks for their quarrelsomeness.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­636
  • g.­99
g.­9

act of chastening

Wylie:
  • smad pa’i las
Tibetan:
  • སྨད་པའི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • nirgarhaṇīyakarman

One of five types of disciplinary acts meted out by the saṅgha.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­636
  • g.­99
g.­10

act of expulsion

Wylie:
  • bskrad pa’i las
Tibetan:
  • བསྐྲད་པའི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • pravāsanīyakarman

One of five types of disciplinary acts meted out by the saṅgha.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­636
  • g.­99
g.­11

act of motion alone

Wylie:
  • gsol ba ’ba’ zhig gi las
Tibetan:
  • གསོལ་བ་འབའ་ཞིག་གི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • muktikājñāptikarman RS

A formal act of the saṅgha in which the motion suffices, with no need to formally state the act. Such an act is employed before a candidate for ordination is asked about private matters pertaining to his fitness for ordination.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­512
  • 1.­550
  • 1.­576
  • g.­7
g.­12

act of reconciliation

Wylie:
  • phyir ’gyed pa’i las
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱིར་འགྱེད་པའི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • pratisaṃharaṇīyakarman

One of five types of disciplinary acts meted out by the saṅgha.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­636
  • g.­99
g.­13

act of suspension

Wylie:
  • gnas nas dbyung ba’i las
Tibetan:
  • གནས་ནས་དབྱུང་བའི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • utkṣepaṇīyakarman

One of five types of disciplinary acts meted out by the saṅgha. A monk may be suspended on one of seven grounds: failing to acknowledge an offense; refusing to amend or rehabilitate one’s behavior; deviant views; being overly belligerent and quarrelsome; creating the circumstances for a quarrel; maintaining overly close relations with nuns, unruly people, and ne’er-do-wells; and refusing to let go of a Dharma matter that has been peacefully resolved.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • p1.­4
  • 1.­636
  • 5.­24
  • n.­197
  • g.­94
  • g.­99
g.­14

act whose fourth member is a motion

Wylie:
  • gsol ba dang bzhi’i las
Tibetan:
  • གསོལ་བ་དང་བཞིའི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • jñāpticaturthakarman

A formal act of the saṅgha that requires an initial motion followed by the statement of the proposed act, repeated three times. Such an act is required for several proceedings‍—among other occasions, to fully ordain someone, or to officially threaten an intransigent monk.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­423
  • 1.­433
  • 1.­618
  • g.­99
g.­15

act whose second member is a motion

Wylie:
  • gsol ba dang gnyis kyi las
Tibetan:
  • གསོལ་བ་དང་གཉིས་ཀྱི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • jñāptidvitīyakarman

A formal act of the saṅgha that requires an initial motion followed by the statement of the proposed act. Such an act is needed to grant the vows of full ordination to a nun, among other occasions.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • g.­7
g.­16

Āgama

Wylie:
  • lung
Tibetan:
  • ལུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • āgama

The Mūlasarvāstivādin tradition grouped the Buddha’s early sūtra discourses into four divisions, or āgama (Tib. mdo sde’i lung sde bzhi): the Dīrghāgama (Tib. lung ring po), the Madhyamāgama (Tib. lung bar ma), the Ekottarikāgama (Tib. lung gcig las ’phros pa), and the Saṃyuktāgama (Tib. lung dag ldan/yang dar par ldan pa’i lung). They are more familiar to many English-speaking Buddhists through the translations of their Pali correlates: the Dīgha Nikāya, Majjhima Nikāya, Aṅguttara Nikāya, and the Samyutta Nikāya, for which see the Wisdom Publications titles: The Long Discourses of the Buddha, The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha, The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, and The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, respectively.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­185
  • 4.­202
  • 4.­207
  • n.­34
  • n.­172
  • n.­178
  • g.­349
g.­17

āgati flower

Wylie:
  • spra ba’i me tog
Tibetan:
  • སྤྲ་བའི་མེ་ཏོག
Sanskrit:
  • āgati

Sesbania grandiflora.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­132
  • 4.­160
g.­21

Ājīvika

Wylie:
  • kun tu ’tsho ba’i rigs
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་ཏུ་འཚོ་བའི་རིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • ājīvika

A tīrthika order.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­18
  • n.­30
  • n.­40
  • n.­47
  • g.­150
  • g.­298
  • g.­405
g.­22

allocations

Wylie:
  • ’god pa
Tibetan:
  • འགོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­145-147
  • 4.­156-157
  • g.­6
g.­23

allow someone to go forth

Wylie:
  • rab tu dbyung ba
Tibetan:
  • རབ་ཏུ་དབྱུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • pravrājayati

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­255
  • 1.­405
  • 4.­119
  • 6.­4
  • 6.­9
g.­24

alms

Wylie:
  • bsod snyoms
Tibetan:
  • བསོད་སྙོམས།
Sanskrit:
  • piṇḍapāta

An acceptable form of food for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Located in 34 passages in the translation:

  • i.­23
  • i.­40
  • 1.­228
  • 1.­236
  • 1.­286-287
  • 1.­315
  • 1.­317
  • 1.­321
  • 1.­369
  • 1.­376
  • 1.­430
  • 1.­503
  • 1.­595
  • 2.­27-28
  • 3.­11
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­32
  • 3.­54
  • 4.­7
  • 4.­10
  • 4.­121
  • 4.­123-124
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­334
  • 6.­5
  • n.­179
  • n.­190
  • g.­52
g.­27

Ānanda

Wylie:
  • kun dga’
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་དགའ།
Sanskrit:
  • ānanda

The Buddha’s nephew and attendant who recited the Buddha’s sūtra discourses from memory after the Buddha passed.

Located in 32 passages in the translation:

  • i.­1
  • 1.­664-667
  • 1.­670-672
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­17-18
  • 4.­2-5
  • 4.­7
  • 4.­9-11
  • 4.­13-16
  • 4.­20
  • 4.­22
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­28
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­63-64
  • 4.­80
  • 4.­82
g.­29

Anavatapta

Wylie:
  • mtsho chen po ma dros pa
Tibetan:
  • མཚོ་ཆེན་པོ་མ་དྲོས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • anavatapta

Name of a lake.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­314
g.­30

Aṅga

Wylie:
  • ang ga
Tibetan:
  • ཨང་ག
Sanskrit:
  • aṅga

A kingdom on the southern bank of the Ganges (in modern day Bihar and Bengal) whose influence waned during the life of Śākyamūni Buddha at the hands of the kings of Magadha. Its capital was at Campā.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­16
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­47-48
  • 1.­116
  • g.­65
g.­32

apprentice

Wylie:
  • lhan cig gnas pa
Tibetan:
  • ལྷན་ཅིག་གནས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • sārdhaṃvihārin

A junior monk who lives with and under the guidance of a senior monk.

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 1.­630-640
  • 1.­649
  • 1.­652-654
  • 1.­659-660
  • 4.­185
  • 4.­360
  • 4.­400
  • 4.­415-416
  • 6.­2
  • n.­42
  • n.­151
  • g.­314
  • g.­326
g.­33

Arāḍa Brahmadatta

Wylie:
  • rtsibs kyis ’phur tshangs byin
Tibetan:
  • རྩིབས་ཀྱིས་འཕུར་ཚངས་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • arāḍa brahmadatta

King of Śrāvastī and father of Prasenajit.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­11
  • 1.­13
  • g.­300
g.­34

arriving monk

Wylie:
  • dge slong glo bur du ’ongs pa
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་གློ་བུར་དུ་འོངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āgantukabhikṣu

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­130
  • 4.­139
  • 4.­142
  • 4.­158
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­170
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­226
  • 4.­298
  • n.­173
  • n.­175
g.­36

ascetic

Wylie:
  • dge sbyong
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སྦྱོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • śramaṇa

Specifically non-Vedic ascetics; śramaṇa ascetics are typically contrasted with brahmin householders.

See also n.­25.

Located in 52 passages in the translation:

  • i.­13
  • i.­36-38
  • i.­40-41
  • 1.­240
  • 1.­276-277
  • 1.­325
  • 1.­330-331
  • 1.­335
  • 1.­362
  • 1.­430
  • 1.­602
  • 1.­605
  • 1.­607
  • 1.­614
  • 3.­7
  • 3.­14
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­21
  • 3.­28
  • 3.­33
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­54
  • 3.­61
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­234
  • 4.­236
  • 4.­241
  • 4.­268
  • 4.­330
  • 4.­334
  • 4.­353
  • 4.­368
  • 4.­392
  • 4.­409
  • n.­25
  • n.­40
  • n.­43
  • n.­94
  • n.­100
  • n.­103
  • g.­45
  • g.­96
  • g.­103
  • g.­202
  • g.­405
  • g.­431
g.­37

ascetic follower

Wylie:
  • phyi bzhin ’brang ba’i dge sbyong
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱི་བཞིན་འབྲང་བའི་དགེ་སྦྱོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • paścācchramaṇa

A kind of apprentice disciple.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­54
  • 4.­180-181
  • 4.­184
g.­39

Aśvajit

Wylie:
  • rta thul
Tibetan:
  • རྟ་ཐུལ།
Sanskrit:
  • aśvajit

One of the Five Excellent Companions, with whom Siddhārtha Gautama practiced asceticism near the Nairañjanā River and later heard the Buddha first teach the Four Noble Truths at the Deer Park in Sarnath. He was renowned for his pure conduct and holy demeanor so Buddha sent him to attract Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana to the order.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­284-288
  • 1.­291
  • 1.­293
  • 1.­295
  • 1.­306-307
  • 1.­309
  • 4.­95
  • n.­94
g.­40

Aśvaka

Wylie:
  • ’gro mgyogs
Tibetan:
  • འགྲོ་མགྱོགས།
Sanskrit:
  • aśvaka

One of the notorious “group of six” monks whose antics and heavy-handed interference prompted a great many of the Buddha’s injunctions on conduct.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • n.­167
g.­46

belief in the transient aggregates

Wylie:
  • ’jig tshogs la lta ba
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་ཚོགས་ལ་ལྟ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • satkākadṛṣṭi

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­367
  • 4.­408
g.­47

Bhadrika

Wylie:
  • bzang ldan
Tibetan:
  • བཟང་ལྡན།
Sanskrit:
  • bhadrika

One of the five excellent companions, with whom Siddhārtha Gautama practiced asceticism near the Nairañjanā River and who later heard the Buddha first teach the Four Noble Truths at the Deer Park in Sarnath.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­95
  • n.­94
g.­49

Bimbī

Wylie:
  • gzugs can
  • btsun mo gzugs can
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་ཅན།
  • བཙུན་མོ་གཟུགས་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • bimbī
  • rājñī bimbī

The queen, wife of King Mahāpadma and mother of Bimbisāra.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­13
  • g.­50
  • g.­222
g.­50

Bimbisāra

Wylie:
  • gzugs can snying po
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་ཅན་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bimbisāra

The king of Magadha and a great patron of Śākyamūni Buddha. His birth coincided with the Buddha’s. His father, mistakenly attributing the brilliant light that marked the Buddha’s birth to the birth of his son by Queen Bimbī (Goldie), named him ‘Essence of Gold.’

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­13
  • 1.­15-16
  • 1.­18-19
  • 1.­23-24
  • 1.­26
  • 1.­28-29
  • 1.­34
  • 1.­37
  • 1.­39-42
  • 1.­44-48
  • 1.­70
  • 1.­74
  • 1.­107
  • 1.­110
  • 1.­183-185
  • 1.­187
  • 1.­276
  • 5.­2
  • g.­18
  • g.­42
  • g.­49
  • g.­186
  • g.­199
  • g.­205
  • g.­222
  • g.­248
  • g.­462
g.­55

bondmen

Wylie:
  • lha ’bangs
Tibetan:
  • ལྷ་འབངས།
Sanskrit:
  • kalpikāra

Bondmen bound to serve the saṅgha.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­303
g.­59

bowl

Wylie:
  • ril ba
Tibetan:
  • རིལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhājana

An implement used by brahmins for pūjā.

Located in 53 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­67
  • 1.­104
  • 1.­286-287
  • 1.­313
  • 1.­315
  • 1.­317
  • 1.­321
  • 1.­359
  • 1.­388-390
  • 1.­407
  • 1.­454
  • 1.­471
  • 1.­500-503
  • 1.­506
  • 1.­522
  • 1.­557
  • 1.­580-581
  • 1.­628
  • 1.­630-631
  • 1.­642-643
  • 1.­668
  • 2.­28
  • 3.­11
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­32
  • 3.­54
  • 4.­6-7
  • 4.­64
  • 4.­152
  • 4.­196
  • 4.­218
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­230
  • 4.­233
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­291
  • 4.­298-299
  • 4.­325
  • 4.­334
  • 6.­6
  • ap1.­1
g.­60

Brahmā

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • brahmā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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).

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­149
  • 1.­254
  • 1.­275
  • 4.­193
g.­61

breach

Wylie:
  • ’gal tshabs can
Tibetan:
  • འགལ་ཚབས་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • sātisāra

Located in 38 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­444
  • 1.­447
  • 1.­501
  • 1.­545
  • 1.­574
  • 1.­631-639
  • 2.­21
  • 2.­34
  • 3.­3
  • 3.­19
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­56
  • 3.­75
  • 3.­85
  • 4.­84
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­110
  • 4.­128
  • 4.­178
  • 4.­337
  • 4.­358
  • 4.­398
  • 5.­17
  • 5.­19
  • 5.­21
  • 5.­23
  • 6.­8-10
g.­62

Buddharakṣita

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas ’tsho
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་འཚོ།
Sanskrit:
  • buddharakṣita

A wealthy householder from Śrāvastī who fathered Saṅgharakṣita.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • i.­39
  • 4.­179
  • 4.­182
  • 4.­184
g.­65

Campā

Wylie:
  • tsam pa
Tibetan:
  • ཙམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • campā

The capital of Aṅga.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­42-44
  • g.­30
g.­69

Chanda

Wylie:
  • ’dun pa
Tibetan:
  • འདུན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • chanda

One of the notorious “group of six” monks whose antics and heavy-handed interference prompted a great many of the Buddha’s injunctions on conduct.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • n.­167
g.­70

chapter

Wylie:
  • gzhi
Tibetan:
  • གཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • vastu

Located in 59 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­6
  • i.­8-12
  • i.­14
  • i.­16-17
  • i.­20
  • i.­27-28
  • i.­31-33
  • i.­35
  • i.­41
  • i.­45-48
  • p1.­4
  • p2.­1
  • 1.­1
  • 3.­1
  • 4.­58
  • n.­14-22
  • n.­27-28
  • n.­37
  • n.­50
  • n.­52
  • n.­53
  • n.­66
  • n.­68
  • n.­109
  • n.­130
  • n.­182
  • n.­192
  • n.­196-197
  • g.­126
  • g.­184
  • g.­215
  • g.­270
  • g.­314
  • g.­325
  • g.­326
  • g.­365
  • g.­369
g.­73

coin

Wylie:
  • kAr ShA pa Na
Tibetan:
  • ཀཱར་ཥཱ་པ་ཎ།
Sanskrit:
  • kārṣāpaṇa

A coin of variable value, sometimes worth as little as a burnt bun and other times equal to twenty gold coins.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­29
  • n.­132
  • g.­91
g.­74

“Come, monk.”

Wylie:
  • dge slong tshur shog gi bsnyen par rdzogs pa
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་ཚུར་ཤོག་གི་བསྙེན་པར་རྫོགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ehibhikṣukā upasaṃpadā

The informal ordination first employed by the Buddha.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­12
  • i.­20
  • i.­41
  • 1.­313
  • 1.­359
  • 1.­421
  • 4.­288
  • n.­116
g.­75

competent monk

Wylie:
  • yul las byed pa’i dge ’dun
Tibetan:
  • ཡུལ་ལས་བྱེད་པའི་དགེ་འདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A monk to whom one may give one’s proxy in case one cannot attend a official saṅgha function.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • n.­192
g.­77

confronted

Wylie:
  • sems yongs su gtugs
Tibetan:
  • སེམས་ཡོངས་སུ་གཏུགས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­346
  • 4.­199
g.­79

consent

Wylie:
  • ’dun pa
Tibetan:
  • འདུན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • chanda

A monk absent from an official saṅgha function, such as the restoration, must send word he will consent to any actions taken in his absence. Such consent is sent by proxy.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­335
g.­81

convert to a tīrthika order

Wylie:
  • mu stegs can zhugs pa
Tibetan:
  • མུ་སྟེགས་ཅན་ཞུགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • tīrthikāvakrāntaka

A person, who though once a Buddhist later converts, barred from joining the renunciate order.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­527
  • 1.­559
  • 4.­337
g.­87

daily practice

Wylie:
  • nyin mo spyod pa
Tibetan:
  • ཉིན་མོ་སྤྱོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • dinacaryā

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­17-18
  • 4.­25-26
g.­89

defeat

Wylie:
  • pham pa
Tibetan:
  • ཕམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pārājika

The most severe of the five types of offenses a monk can incur. It cannot be expunged and results in the monk’s defrocking, unless the saṅgha sees fit to allow him to engage in rehabilitory training.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­66
  • 1.­103
  • 1.­533
  • 1.­563
  • 1.­603
  • 1.­605
  • 1.­607
  • 1.­609-610
  • 5.­22-23
  • n.­122
  • n.­131
  • g.­129
  • g.­199
  • g.­280
  • g.­348
g.­91

denarii

Wylie:
  • zong rnying
Tibetan:
  • ཟོང་རྙིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • dīnāra

A loanword from the Graeco-Roman denarius, meaning coin.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­192
g.­92

departing monks

Wylie:
  • dge slong ’gro bar chas pa
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་འགྲོ་བར་ཆས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • gamikabhikṣu

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­130
  • 4.­139
  • 4.­142
  • 4.­158
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­170
  • 4.­172
  • n.­175
g.­94

deviant views

Wylie:
  • sdig pa can gyi lta ba
Tibetan:
  • སྡིག་པ་ཅན་གྱི་ལྟ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • pāpadarśana

One of seven grounds for suspension from the saṅgha community.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­635-636
  • 1.­649
  • 5.­24
  • g.­13
g.­95

Dharmākara

Wylie:
  • dharmA ka ra
Tibetan:
  • དྷརྨཱ་ཀ་ར།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmākara

Butön includes the Kashmiri preceptor Dharmākara in his list of ninety-three paṇḍitas invited to Tibet to assist in the translation of the Buddhist scriptures. Tāranātha dates Dharmākara to the rule of *Vanapāla, son of Dharmapāla. With Paltsek, he translated two of Kalyāṇamitra’s works on Vinaya, the Vinayapraśnakārikā (’dul ba dri ba’i tshig le’ur byas pa, Toh 4134, Degé Tengyur, vol. SU, folios 70.b.3–74.b.5) and the Vinayapraśnaṭīkā (’dul ba dri ba rgya cher ’grel pa, Toh 4135, Degé Tengyur, vol. SU, folios 74.b.5–132.a.2).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­6
  • c.­1
g.­98

disciple

Wylie:
  • nyan thos
Tibetan:
  • ཉན་ཐོས།
Sanskrit:
  • śrāvaka

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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.”

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • i.­14
  • 1.­283
  • 1.­310-311
  • 1.­346-349
  • 1.­363
  • 1.­422
  • 1.­431
  • 3.­59-60
  • 4.­65
  • 4.­71-72
  • 4.­220
  • 4.­226
  • 4.­232
  • 4.­276
  • 4.­295
  • 4.­313
  • 4.­317
  • 5.­18
  • n.­42
  • n.­107
  • n.­109
  • n.­115
g.­99

disciplinary act

Wylie:
  • nan tur gyi las
Tibetan:
  • ནན་ཏུར་གྱི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • praṇidhikarman

A formal act of the saṅgha requiring a act whose fourth member is a motion, meted out to a wayward monk or monks. There are five types: acts of censure, chastening, expulsion, reconciliation, and suspension.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­628
  • 1.­636
  • n.­197
  • g.­8
  • g.­9
  • g.­10
  • g.­12
  • g.­13
  • g.­309
  • g.­328
g.­102

diver

Wylie:
  • rkyal chen
Tibetan:
  • རྐྱལ་ཆེན།
Sanskrit:
  • kaivarta

A member of an oceangoing ship’s crew whose job was to dive for pearls. Can also mean “fisherman.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­192
g.­105

dry sauna

Wylie:
  • bsro khang
Tibetan:
  • བསྲོ་ཁང་།
Sanskrit:
  • jentāka

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­360
  • 4.­363-364
  • 4.­400
  • 4.­404-405
  • n.­194
g.­111

Ekottarikāgama

Wylie:
  • lung gcig las ’phros pa
Tibetan:
  • ལུང་གཅིག་ལས་འཕྲོས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ekottarikāgama

See n.­172.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­121
  • 4.­172-174
  • 4.­199
  • g.­16
g.­112

elder

Wylie:
  • gnas brtan
Tibetan:
  • གནས་བརྟན།
Sanskrit:
  • sthavira

A monk who possesses the qualities of stability and skill.

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • i.­24
  • 1.­621
  • 1.­648
  • 1.­664
  • 1.­666
  • 1.­671
  • 2.­2
  • 4.­15-16
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­87
  • 4.­89-90
  • 4.­92-93
  • 4.­95-96
  • 4.­118
  • 4.­132-133
  • 4.­148
  • 4.­160-161
  • 4.­299
  • 4.­301-302
  • 4.­374-378
  • 4.­415-417
  • 4.­419-421
  • n.­151
g.­115

emanation

Wylie:
  • sprul pa
Tibetan:
  • སྤྲུལ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratāraṇā RS

See “shape shifter.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­129
g.­119

fatigue

Wylie:
  • ngal ba
Tibetan:
  • ངལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • klama

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­540
  • 1.­568
  • 4.­216
  • 4.­222
  • 4.­228
g.­122

fellow brahmacārin

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa mtshungs par spyod pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པ་མཚུངས་པར་སྤྱོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • sabrahmacārin

Those who are engaged in the same celibate spiritual path as the protagonist.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • i.­24
  • 1.­542
  • 1.­621
  • 4.­94
  • 4.­147
  • 4.­152
  • 4.­220
  • 4.­226
  • 4.­232
  • 4.­334
  • 4.­336
g.­129

five types of offenses

Wylie:
  • ltung ba sde lnga
Tibetan:
  • ལྟུང་བ་སྡེ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcāpattinīkāya

The 253 different offenses a monk may incur are divided into five types: defeats, saṅgha remnants, offenses, transgressions, confessable offenses, and misdeeds.

See also n.­122.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • n.­122
  • g.­89
  • g.­237
  • g.­287
  • g.­411
g.­138

Four Supports

Wylie:
  • gnas bzhi
Tibetan:
  • གནས་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catvāro niśrayaḥ

In getting ordained, a monk pledges to make do with a restricted set of supports that conduce to the holy life. These fall into four categories: clothing, shelter, food, and medicine.

Located in 59 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­591
  • g.­24
  • g.­31
  • g.­63
  • g.­68
  • g.­72
  • g.­82
  • g.­97
  • g.­106
  • g.­109
  • g.­116
  • g.­121
  • g.­125
  • g.­132
  • g.­133
  • g.­145
  • g.­151
  • g.­154
  • g.­156
  • g.­159
  • g.­160
  • g.­161
  • g.­176
  • g.­177
  • g.­203
  • g.­206
  • g.­207
  • g.­216
  • g.­224
  • g.­231
  • g.­232
  • g.­233
  • g.­234
  • g.­238
  • g.­246
  • g.­247
  • g.­252
  • g.­274
  • g.­319
  • g.­323
  • g.­324
  • g.­336
  • g.­337
  • g.­340
  • g.­341
  • g.­371
  • g.­374
  • g.­380
  • g.­397
  • g.­428
  • g.­435
  • g.­436
  • g.­437
  • g.­445
  • g.­448
  • g.­453
  • g.­454
  • g.­455
  • g.­460
g.­139

full probation

Wylie:
  • yongs su spo ba
Tibetan:
  • ཡོངས་སུ་སྤོ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A full probation is imposed when a monk who has incurred a saṅgha stigmata offense nurses for a full night his intention to conceal that offense (Viśeṣamitra, folio 135.b).

See also “probation” and n.­144.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­86
g.­142

gaṇḍī beam

Wylie:
  • gaN+D+’i
  • gaN D+’i
Tibetan:
  • གཎྜྰི།
  • གཎ་ཌྰི།
Sanskrit:
  • gaṇḍī

An elongated, shoulder-held wooden bar (or beam) struck with a wooden striker to call the saṅgha community to assembly.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­445
  • 4.­218
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­230
g.­143

Gavāmpati

Wylie:
  • ba lang bdag
Tibetan:
  • བ་ལང་བདག
Sanskrit:
  • gavāmpati

One of the first to join the Buddha’s order of monks. He followed his friend Yaśas into the Buddhist order.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­95
  • g.­461
g.­145

ghee

Wylie:
  • zhun mar
Tibetan:
  • ཞུན་མར།
Sanskrit:
  • ājya RS
  • ghṛta RS

An acceptable form of medicine for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­83
  • 1.­143
  • 1.­159
  • 1.­272
  • 1.­600
  • 4.­183
  • g.­408
g.­146

givers of instruction

Wylie:
  • gnas sbyin pa
Tibetan:
  • གནས་སྦྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • niśrayadāyaka

A monk who gives you instruction for even a single day. One of five types of instructors named by the Buddha when asked to elaborate on the role of an instructor.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­433
  • g.­171
g.­147

go forth

Wylie:
  • rab tu ’byung ba
Tibetan:
  • རབ་ཏུ་འབྱུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • pravrajati

To leave the life of a householder and embrace the life of a wandering, renunciant follower of the Buddha.

Located in 175 passages in the translation:

  • i.­21
  • i.­37
  • p1.­3
  • 1.­133
  • 1.­137
  • 1.­195
  • 1.­198
  • 1.­211-212
  • 1.­216
  • 1.­219-221
  • 1.­223
  • 1.­262-263
  • 1.­275-276
  • 1.­287-289
  • 1.­305
  • 1.­328
  • 1.­330
  • 1.­361
  • 1.­377
  • 1.­387-390
  • 1.­393
  • 1.­399-400
  • 1.­405-407
  • 1.­413-414
  • 1.­418-419
  • 1.­421
  • 1.­423
  • 1.­426
  • 1.­431
  • 1.­434
  • 1.­446
  • 1.­448
  • 1.­450
  • 1.­532-533
  • 1.­535-536
  • 1.­563
  • 1.­565-566
  • 1.­591-592
  • 1.­595
  • 1.­597
  • 1.­599
  • 1.­602
  • 1.­618
  • 1.­629
  • 1.­648
  • 2.­2-6
  • 2.­16
  • 2.­23-26
  • 2.­32-34
  • 3.­4-5
  • 3.­7-8
  • 3.­11
  • 3.­13-15
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­19
  • 3.­21-22
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­27-29
  • 3.­32
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­36-37
  • 3.­44-47
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­54-56
  • 3.­61-62
  • 3.­67-68
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­75-76
  • 3.­85-87
  • 4.­12-15
  • 4.­20
  • 4.­22
  • 4.­28
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­64-65
  • 4.­69-72
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­84
  • 4.­90
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­107
  • 4.­110
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­117-119
  • 4.­128
  • 4.­207
  • 4.­277
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­285
  • 4.­287
  • 4.­301
  • 4.­307-309
  • 4.­316
  • 4.­319
  • 4.­330-331
  • 4.­337
  • 4.­356
  • 4.­358
  • 4.­395
  • 4.­398
  • 5.­13
  • 5.­15
  • 5.­17-24
  • 6.­3-4
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­9
  • ap1.­1
  • g.­461
g.­152

groped

Wylie:
  • phyar g.yeng
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱར་གཡེང་།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 3.­2
g.­153

group of six

Wylie:
  • drug sde
Tibetan:
  • དྲུག་སྡེ།
Sanskrit:
  • ṣaḍvārgikāḥ

See n.­167.

Located in 25 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­88
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­131-132
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­147
  • 4.­153
  • 4.­155
  • 4.­158-160
  • 4.­168
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­175-177
  • 4.­199
  • 6.­2
  • n.­167
  • g.­40
  • g.­69
  • g.­249
  • g.­308
  • g.­418
  • g.­424
g.­158

holy life

Wylie:
  • tshangs spyod
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་སྤྱོད།
Sanskrit:
  • brahmacarya

A euphemism for celibacy.

Located in 44 passages in the translation:

  • i.­20
  • i.­41-43
  • 1.­203-204
  • 1.­206-207
  • 1.­209-210
  • 1.­227-228
  • 1.­231
  • 1.­235
  • 1.­239
  • 1.­243
  • 1.­247
  • 1.­253
  • 1.­255
  • 1.­263
  • 1.­303-305
  • 1.­312-313
  • 1.­352
  • 1.­358-359
  • 1.­361
  • 1.­400
  • 1.­414
  • 1.­419
  • 1.­536
  • 1.­538
  • 1.­566-567
  • 3.­43
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­275
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­308
  • 4.­326
  • g.­138
g.­163

impediments

Wylie:
  • bar chad kyi chos
Tibetan:
  • བར་ཆད་ཀྱི་ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • antarāyikadharma

Personal qualities or circumstances that impede the start of or success in a person’s monastic career.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • i.­27
  • 1.­434
  • 1.­446
  • 1.­461
  • 1.­512
  • 1.­544
  • 1.­550-552
  • 1.­572
  • 1.­576-581
  • 2.­4
  • ap1.­1
g.­164

impostor

Wylie:
  • rku thabs su gnas pa
Tibetan:
  • རྐུ་ཐབས་སུ་གནས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • steyasaṃvāsika

Someone who pretends to have been ordained though they have not. One class of person barred from joining the renunciate order.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­527
  • 1.­559
  • 4.­95
  • 4.­99-100
  • n.­169
g.­165

in charge of providing clean drinking water

Wylie:
  • skom gyi gtsang sbyor
Tibetan:
  • སྐོམ་གྱི་གཙང་སྦྱོར།
Sanskrit:
  • pānakavārika

One of several official administrative or managerial positions at a monastery.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­298
g.­166

income

Wylie:
  • ’du ba
Tibetan:
  • འདུ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­145-147
  • 4.­156-157
  • g.­6
g.­168

index

Wylie:
  • sdom
Tibetan:
  • སྡོམ།
Sanskrit:
  • uddāna

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­1
  • n.­103
g.­169

inducted into the novitiate

Wylie:
  • dge tshul nyid du nye bar sgrub pa
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་ཚུལ་ཉིད་དུ་ཉེ་བར་སྒྲུབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­26
  • 1.­461-462
  • n.­124
  • g.­175
g.­171

instructor

Wylie:
  • slob dpon
Tibetan:
  • སློབ་དཔོན།
Sanskrit:
  • ācārya

Along with the position of preceptor, this is one of two official positions created by the Buddha to ensure that new monks would receive sufficient training. The Buddha specified five types of instructor: instructors of novices, privy advisors, officiants, givers of instruction, and recitation instructors.

Located in 51 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­19
  • i.­24
  • 1.­374
  • 1.­391
  • 1.­408
  • 1.­430-435
  • 1.­437
  • 1.­440-441
  • 1.­449-450
  • 1.­462-463
  • 1.­466-468
  • 1.­475-476
  • 1.­618
  • 1.­623
  • 1.­629-640
  • 1.­667
  • 1.­671
  • 4.­120-122
  • 4.­133-134
  • 4.­161-162
  • g.­146
  • g.­172
  • g.­303
  • g.­321
g.­172

instructor of novices

Wylie:
  • dge tshul gyi slob dpon
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་ཚུལ་གྱི་སློབ་དཔོན།
Sanskrit:
  • śrāmaṇerācārya RS

An instructor who grants refuge and the novice precepts. One of five types of instructors named by the Buddha when asked to elaborate on the role of an instructor.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­433
  • g.­171
g.­173

intersex person

Wylie:
  • skyes nas ma ning
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེས་ནས་མ་ནིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • jātipaṇḍaka

Someone born with both male and female sexual organs. One of the five types of person labeled a paṇḍaka, all of whom are barred from joining the renunciate order.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­111-112
  • n.­170
  • g.­281
g.­175

investiture

Wylie:
  • nye bar sgrub pa
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བར་སྒྲུབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • upanaya

The rite by which one is inducted into the novitiate and confirms a candidate’s status as a novice in the Buddhist order of renunciates.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • ap1.­1
g.­179

Jetavana

Wylie:
  • rgyal byed kyi tshal
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ཚལ།
Sanskrit:
  • jetavana

See “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park.”

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­25
  • 3.­8
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­52
  • 4.­4
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­117
  • 4.­132
  • 4.­160
  • 4.­330
  • 4.­355
  • 4.­366
  • 4.­393
  • 4.­407
  • 5.­13
g.­180

Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park

Wylie:
  • rgyal rgyal byed kyi tshal mgon med zas sbyin gyi kun dga’ ra ba
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་རྒྱལ་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ཚལ་མགོན་མེད་ཟས་སྦྱིན་གྱི་ཀུན་དགའ་ར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • jetavanam anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ AO

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ, meaning Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park. Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors.

Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth century it had been reduced to ruins.

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­641
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­22
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­7
  • 3.­20
  • 3.­35
  • 3.­48
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­101
  • 4.­113
  • 4.­243
  • 4.­330
  • 4.­340
  • 4.­379
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­24
  • 6.­2
  • g.­179
g.­183

journeyman

Wylie:
  • nye gnas
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­630-640
  • 1.­659-660
  • 3.­63
  • n.­151
  • g.­314
  • g.­326
g.­188

Kanakamuni

Wylie:
  • gser thub
Tibetan:
  • གསེར་ཐུབ།
Sanskrit:
  • kanakamuni

One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­197
g.­189

Kaṇṭaka

Wylie:
  • tsher ma
Tibetan:
  • ཚེར་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • kaṇṭaka

One of Upananda’s two novices whose homoerotic play led the Buddha to forbid allowing two novices to live together.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 3.­2
g.­190

Kapilavastu

Wylie:
  • ser skye’i gnas
Tibetan:
  • སེར་སྐྱེའི་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • kapilavastu

The Śākya capital, where Siddhārtha Gautama was raised.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­76
  • 4.­2
  • g.­43
  • g.­443
g.­192

Kāśī

Wylie:
  • ka shi
Tibetan:
  • ཀ་ཤི།
Sanskrit:
  • kāśī

The old name for Vārāṇasī.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­73
g.­194

Kāśyapa

Wylie:
  • ’od srung
Tibetan:
  • འོད་སྲུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • kāśyapa

One of the Buddha’s principal pupils, who became the Buddha’s successor on his passing. Also the name of the Buddha who preceded Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • i.­1
g.­195

Kāśyapa

Wylie:
  • ’od srung
Tibetan:
  • འོད་སྲུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • kāśyapa

One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon. Also the name of the one of the Buddha’s principal pupils.

Located in 26 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­398-400
  • 1.­413-414
  • 1.­417-419
  • 4.­68-69
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­197
  • 4.­220
  • 4.­226
  • 4.­232
  • 4.­295
  • 4.­301
  • 4.­307-308
  • 4.­313
  • 4.­316
  • 4.­319
  • 4.­326
  • g.­311
  • g.­343
  • g.­432
g.­196

Kauṇḍinya

Wylie:
  • kauN+Di n+ya
Tibetan:
  • ཀཽཎྜི་ནྱ།
Sanskrit:
  • kauṇḍinya

One of the five excellent companions, with whom Siddhārtha Gautama practiced asceticism near the Nairañjanā River and who later heard the Buddha first teach the Four Noble Truths at the Deer Park in Sarnath. Kauṇḍinya immediately realized its import and entered the stream, shortly thereafter becoming an arhat.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­95
  • n.­92
  • n.­94
g.­197

Kauśāmbī

Wylie:
  • kau shAm bI
Tibetan:
  • ཀཽ་ཤཱམ་བཱི།
Sanskrit:
  • kauśāmbī

Home to a group of troublesome monks who quarreled with monks from Vaiśālī.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • p1.­4
  • 1.­11
  • g.­355
  • g.­417
g.­198

keeper of the seals

Wylie:
  • dam bzhag pa
  • phyag rgya pa
Tibetan:
  • དམ་བཞག་པ།
  • ཕྱག་རྒྱ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • mudrāvāra

The terms phyag rgya pa and dam bzhag pa are synonyms refering to one of several official administrative or managerial positions at a monastery.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­299
g.­199

King of Aṅga

Wylie:
  • ang ga’i rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • ཨང་གའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • aṅgarāja

The King of Aṅga was the pre-eminent ruler in the eastern Gangetic region at the time of the Buddha’s birth. His defeat at the hands of Prince Bimbisāra of Magadha is narrated at the start of the Pravrajyāvastu.

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2-7
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­19
  • 1.­21
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­25-26
  • 1.­28-29
  • 1.­31-34
  • 1.­40-42
  • 1.­44
g.­204

Krakucchanda

Wylie:
  • ’khor ba ’jig
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་བ་འཇིག
Sanskrit:
  • krakucchanda

One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­197
g.­215

lifting restrictions

Wylie:
  • dgag dbye
Tibetan:
  • དགག་དབྱེ།
Sanskrit:
  • pravāraṇa

A ceremony in which restrictions adopted for the rains retreat are relaxed, marking its end. Also short for the Vinayavastu’s third chapter on the same.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • p1.­4
g.­218

live independently

Wylie:
  • mi gnas par ’dug pa
Tibetan:
  • མི་གནས་པར་འདུག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Literally, “to live where I do not,” where “I” refers to the Buddha.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­646
  • 1.­649-661
  • n.­151-152
  • g.­162
  • g.­326
  • g.­425
g.­219

Magadha

Wylie:
  • ma ga d+ha
Tibetan:
  • མ་ག་དྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • magadha

A kingdom on the banks of the Ganges (in the southern part of the modern day Indian state of Bihar), whose capital was at Pāṭaliputra (modern day Patna). During the life of Śākyamuni Buddha, it was the dominant kingdom in north central India and is home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, Nālandā, and its capital Rājagṛha.

Located in 27 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­16
  • i.­18
  • 1.­2-4
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­47-48
  • 1.­116
  • 1.­276
  • 1.­316
  • 1.­318
  • 1.­322
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­4-5
  • n.­40
  • n.­72
  • g.­30
  • g.­31
  • g.­42
  • g.­50
  • g.­199
  • g.­222
  • g.­248
  • g.­318
g.­220

Mahaka

Wylie:
  • chen po pa
Tibetan:
  • ཆེན་པོ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahaka

One of Upananda’s two novices whose homoerotic play led the Buddha to forbid allowing two novices to live together.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 3.­2
g.­221

Mahānāman

Wylie:
  • ming chen
Tibetan:
  • མིང་ཆེན།
Sanskrit:
  • mahānāman

One of the Five Excellent Companions, with whom Siddhārtha Gautama practiced asceticism near the Nairañjanā River and who later heard the Buddha first teach the Four Noble Truths at the Deer Park in Sarnath.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­95
  • n.­94
g.­222

Mahāpadma

Wylie:
  • pad ma chen po
Tibetan:
  • པད་མ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāpadma

King of Magadha at the time of the Buddha’s birth, husband of Queen Bimbī, and father of Bimbisāra.

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­4-7
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­11
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­22-23
  • 1.­26
  • 1.­28-29
  • 1.­32-34
  • 1.­38
  • 1.­44-45
  • 1.­47
  • 4.­74
  • g.­49
g.­225

mantle

Wylie:
  • snam sbyar
Tibetan:
  • སྣམ་སྦྱར།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃghāṭi

One of a Buddhist monk’s three robes

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­479
  • 1.­488-490
  • 4.­95
  • 4.­152
  • 4.­160
  • g.­402
g.­226

Māṭhara

Wylie:
  • gnas len gyi bu
Tibetan:
  • གནས་ལེན་གྱི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • māṭhara

A learned brahmin and author of “Māṭhara’s Treatise.” He was also the grandfather of Upatiṣya, that is Śāriputra.

Located in 31 passages in the translation:

  • i.­16
  • 1.­72-75
  • 1.­78-79
  • 1.­81-82
  • 1.­84
  • 1.­108-111
  • 1.­113
  • 1.­115-117
  • 1.­121-125
  • 1.­140
  • 1.­325-326
  • g.­202
  • g.­248
  • g.­352
  • g.­406
g.­227

matricide

Wylie:
  • ma bsad pa
Tibetan:
  • མ་བསད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • mātṛghātaka

One class of person barred from joining the renunciate order.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­46
  • 1.­527
  • 1.­559
  • 4.­358
  • 4.­360
  • 4.­363-364
  • n.­194
g.­228

mātṛkā

Wylie:
  • ma mo
Tibetan:
  • མ་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mātṛkā

An early name for the abhidharmapiṭaka and also a germinal list or index of topics.

See also n.­146.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­650-652
  • 4.­86
  • 4.­198
g.­229

Maudgalyāyana

Wylie:
  • maud gal gyi bu
Tibetan:
  • མཽད་གལ་གྱི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • maudgalyāyana

The greatest miracle worker among the Buddha’s direct disciples. His relatives named him Maudgalyāyana in honor of his being a descendant of Mudgala. Respectfully referred to as Mahāmaudgalyāyana.

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • i.­14
  • i.­42
  • 1.­157-158
  • 1.­163
  • 1.­165
  • 1.­402
  • 1.­412-413
  • 1.­415
  • n.­100
  • g.­39
  • g.­48
  • g.­193
  • g.­201
  • g.­297
  • g.­351
  • g.­392
  • g.­393
  • g.­394
g.­233

medicinal roots

Wylie:
  • rtsa ba’i sman
Tibetan:
  • རྩ་བའི་སྨན།
Sanskrit:
  • vṛntabhaiṣajya RS

An acceptable form of medicine for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­258
  • 1.­600
  • 4.­308
  • 4.­360
  • 4.­400
g.­235

menial tasks

Wylie:
  • dman pa’i spyod pa
Tibetan:
  • དམན་པའི་སྤྱོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A monk who has received a punitive act must perform five kinds of menial deeds that entail his adopting the subservient role of a penitent.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • n.­144
  • g.­348
g.­237

misdeed

Wylie:
  • nyes byas
Tibetan:
  • ཉེས་བྱས།
Sanskrit:
  • duṣkṛta

One of five types of offenses a monk can incur. Misdeeds are the least grave offense a monk may incur. Thus, a monk must refrain from each of 112 misdeeds. To purify this offense, a monk must only confess it.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • n.­122
  • g.­129
g.­239

monastery

Wylie:
  • gtsug lag khang
Tibetan:
  • གཙུག་ལག་ཁང་།
Sanskrit:
  • vihāra

Located in 48 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­605
  • 1.­630
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­15
  • 4.­130-131
  • 4.­136
  • 4.­138
  • 4.­141
  • 4.­147
  • 4.­152-154
  • 4.­156
  • 4.­158-159
  • 4.­164
  • 4.­166
  • 4.­169
  • 4.­175-176
  • 4.­199
  • 4.­215-216
  • 4.­218-219
  • 4.­221-222
  • 4.­224-225
  • 4.­227-228
  • 4.­230-232
  • 4.­359
  • 4.­399
  • n.­123
  • n.­175
  • n.­188
  • g.­6
  • g.­78
  • g.­107
  • g.­165
  • g.­170
  • g.­198
  • g.­240
  • g.­243
g.­240

monk caretaker

Wylie:
  • dge slong zhal ta byed pa
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་ཞལ་ཏ་བྱེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vaiyāpṛtyakarabhikṣu

A monk in charge of providing for monastery residents and visitors. One of several official administrative or managerial positions at a monastery.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­139
  • 4.­142-143
  • 4.­155
  • 4.­309-310
g.­242

monkhood

Wylie:
  • dge slong gi dngos po
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་གི་དངོས་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhikṣubhāva

Also, according to certain usage, a phrase used in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya in praise of monks fully committed to the monastic ideal, as opposed especially to those who merely wear the robes.

Located in 29 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­312
  • 1.­358-359
  • 1.­421-422
  • 1.­424
  • 1.­426-427
  • 1.­602-603
  • 1.­605
  • 1.­607
  • 1.­614
  • 1.­618
  • 2.­3
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­20-21
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­47
  • 3.­55
  • 3.­87
  • 4.­275
  • 4.­285
  • 4.­287
  • 5.­18
  • 5.­20
  • 5.­22
  • 5.­24
g.­243

monks in charge of supplies

Wylie:
  • dge slong rnyed pa stobs pa
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་རྙེད་པ་སྟོབས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • lābhagrāhikabhikṣu

A rations officer. One of several official administrative or managerial positions at a monastery.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­304
g.­244

motion

Wylie:
  • gsol ba
Tibetan:
  • གསོལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • jñapti

A formal request, e.g., that a postulant be accepted into the renunciate order or that a monk serve as preceptor granting ordination, etc.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­423
  • 1.­428
  • 1.­514
  • 1.­548
  • 1.­580
  • 2.­5-6
  • g.­7
  • g.­11
  • g.­14
  • g.­15
  • g.­245
g.­245

motion to act

Wylie:
  • las brjod pa
Tibetan:
  • ལས་བརྗོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • karmavācanā

After a motion is put to the saṅgha, a monk other than the petitioner must make a move to act on the motion.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­428
  • 1.­581-582
  • 2.­7
  • ap1.­1
g.­246

mountain cave

Wylie:
  • ri phug
Tibetan:
  • རི་ཕུག
Sanskrit:
  • giriguhā

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­598
  • 4.­313-314
g.­249

Nanda

Wylie:
  • dga’ ba
Tibetan:
  • དགའ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • nanda

One of the notorious “group of six” monks whose antics and heavy-handed interference prompted a great many of the Buddha’s injunctions on conduct.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­145
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­153
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­175-176
  • 6.­3
  • n.­167
g.­254

new monks

Wylie:
  • gsar bu
Tibetan:
  • གསར་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • navaka

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­23-24
  • 1.­667
  • 1.­671
  • g.­171
  • g.­325
g.­257

novice

Wylie:
  • dge tshul
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་ཚུལ།
Sanskrit:
  • śrāmaṇera

Located in 50 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­25
  • i.­39
  • 1.­461
  • 1.­463-465
  • 1.­467
  • 1.­469
  • 1.­471
  • 1.­479
  • 2.­8
  • 2.­28-32
  • 3.­2-3
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­54
  • 4.­15-18
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­25-26
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­63
  • 4.­65
  • 4.­72
  • 4.­298-301
  • 4.­321
  • 4.­323-325
  • 4.­327
  • ap1.­1
  • n.­131
  • g.­4
  • g.­172
  • g.­175
  • g.­189
  • g.­220
  • g.­333
g.­258

obscure

Wylie:
  • mi mngon pa
Tibetan:
  • མི་མངོན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • gūḍha

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­157
  • n.­60
g.­259

obvious

Wylie:
  • mngon pa
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āvirbhāva

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­145-146
  • 4.­156-157
g.­260

of good standing

Wylie:
  • rang bzhin du gnas pa
Tibetan:
  • རང་བཞིན་དུ་གནས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • prakṛtistha

An adjective applied to a monk who observes his vows and hence is “in good standing” or to a person who is sound of mind.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­100
  • 6.­2
  • n.­144
g.­261

officer

Wylie:
  • zho shas ’tsho ba
Tibetan:
  • ཞོ་ཤས་འཚོ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • pauruṣeya

A government officer or official. Also a day-laborer.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­19-21
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­26
  • 1.­29
  • g.­243
g.­263

officiant

Wylie:
  • las byed pa
Tibetan:
  • ལས་བྱེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • karmakāraka

The monk that moves the saṅgha act on an aspirant’s request to join the order and be ordained.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • i.­22
  • 1.­433
  • 1.­471
  • 1.­508-509
  • 1.­512
  • 1.­546
  • 1.­550
  • 1.­552
  • 1.­574
  • 1.­576-578
  • 1.­580
  • 3.­38
  • ap1.­1
  • g.­171
g.­264

old-timer

Wylie:
  • rgan zhugs
Tibetan:
  • རྒན་ཞུགས།
Sanskrit:
  • mahallaka

This term refers to those who renounce the world late in life, generally after having had and raised children of their own. It is somewhat pejorative; it is telling, for instance, that such monastics are directly addressed as “old-timers” rather than as “venerable,” the customary address for ordained monks.

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­69-70
  • 4.­97-98
  • 4.­131-135
  • 4.­145-146
  • 4.­148
  • 4.­151-153
  • 4.­159-160
  • 4.­162-163
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­174-175
  • n.­168
g.­267

ordain

Wylie:
  • bsnyen par rdzogs pa
Tibetan:
  • བསྙེན་པར་རྫོགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • upasaṃpadā

The formal term for granting orders and confirming a candidate as a monk.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • i.­21-22
  • i.­25
  • 1.­488
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­85-86
  • 4.­119
  • ap1.­1
  • g.­14
g.­268

out-of-date

Wylie:
  • rdzubs pa
Tibetan:
  • རྫུབས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • khustaka

A deprecatory term meaning “old” or “out-of-date.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­173-174
g.­270

Palgyi Lhünpo

Wylie:
  • dpal gyi lhun po
Tibetan:
  • དཔལ་གྱི་ལྷུན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Apart from Butön’s inclusion of Palgyi Lhünpo in his list of translators, there does not appear to be much biographical information available on this ninth-century translator. In addition to his work on the vinaya, Palgyi Lhünpo translated at least two Mahāyāna sūtras (the Buddhapiṭakaduḥśīlanigraha and the Drumakinnararājaparipṛcchā), several chapters of dhāraṇī, and several works in verse included in the Tengyur. The colophons of his translations indicate that Paltsek revised some of his translations, including the Vinayavastu and the Bhikṣuṇī Vinayavibhaṅga, to either complete unfinished work or reflect newly adopted standards.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­6
  • c.­1
g.­271

Paltsek

Wylie:
  • dpal brtsegs
Tibetan:
  • དཔལ་བརྩེགས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Paltsek, from the village of Kawa north of Lhasa, was one of Tibet’s preeminent translators. He was one of the first seven Tibetans to be ordained by Śāntarakṣita and is counted as one of Guru Rinpoche’s twenty-five close disciples. In a famous verse by Ngok Lotsawa, Paltsek is named with Chokro Luyi Gyaltsen and Zhang Nanam Yeshé as part of a group of translators whose skills were surpassed only by Vairotsana. He translated works from a wide variety of genres, including sūtra, śāstra, vinaya, and tantra and was an author himself (for a list of his translations and writings, see Martin, 2011). Paltsek was also one of the most important editors of the early period, one of nine translators installed by Trisong Deutsen to supervise the translation of the Tripiṭaka and help catalogue translated works for the first two of three imperial catalogs (the ldan kar ma and bsam yas mchims phu ma catalogs, which were probably the initiative of Tride Songtsen; see Raine, 2010, 8).

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­6
  • c.­1
  • g.­95
  • g.­270
  • g.­398
  • g.­439
g.­272

park

Wylie:
  • kun dga’ ra ba
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་དགའ་ར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • ārāma

An ārāma was a private citizen’s garden, generally found within the limits of a town or city.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­266
  • g.­39
  • g.­42
  • g.­43
  • g.­47
  • g.­186
  • g.­196
  • g.­221
  • g.­434
g.­275

patricide

Wylie:
  • pha bsad pa
Tibetan:
  • ཕ་བསད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pitṛghātaka

One of the classes of people barred from joining the renunciate order.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • i.­46
  • 1.­527
  • 1.­559
  • 4.­398
  • 4.­400
  • 4.­403-405
  • 4.­409
  • 4.­416
  • n.­193
g.­276

patronage

Wylie:
  • yon
Tibetan:
  • ཡོན།
Sanskrit:
  • dakṣiṇā

The patronage a pure monk is entitled to receive, without the attendant karmic burden, due to his pure ethics and observance of vows.

See also n.­179.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­232
  • n.­179
g.­278

peer

Wylie:
  • ne’u ldangs
Tibetan:
  • ནེའུ་ལྡངས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­187-190
  • 4.­193
  • 4.­195
  • 4.­342
  • 4.­380
g.­279

penance

Wylie:
  • mgu bar bya ba
  • mgu
Tibetan:
  • མགུ་བར་བྱ་བ།
  • མགུ
Sanskrit:
  • mānāpya

A period of penance imposed by the saṅgha if a monk incurs a saṅgha remnant offense and fails to confess it that same day.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­638-639
  • 4.­86
  • n.­122
  • n.­144
  • g.­348
  • g.­382
g.­280

penitent

Wylie:
  • bslab pa sbyin pa
Tibetan:
  • བསླབ་པ་སྦྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • śikṣādattaka

A monk who has incurred a defeat but is given the opportunity to engage in rehabilitative training.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • n.­131
  • g.­235
g.­281

person labeled a paṇḍaka

Wylie:
  • ma ning
Tibetan:
  • མ་ནིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • paṇḍaka

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 (see 4.­111): intersex persons, rhythmic-consecutive persons, sexually submissive persons, persons with a voyeuristic fetish, and persons with a sexual disability (see glossary entries for each). 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).

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­527
  • 1.­559
  • 4.­102-105
  • 4.­108-112
  • n.­170
  • g.­173
  • g.­284
  • g.­285
  • g.­335
  • g.­369
g.­283

person who has violated a nun

Wylie:
  • dge slong ma sun phyung ba
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་མ་སུན་ཕྱུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhikṣuṇīdūṣaka

One class of person barred from joining the renunciate order.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­84
g.­284

person with a sexual disability

Wylie:
  • nyams pa’i ma ning
Tibetan:
  • ཉམས་པའི་མ་ནིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • āpatpaṇḍaka

A person whose sexual organs have been disabled by being removed or otherwise. One of the five types of person labeled a paṇḍaka, all of whom are barred from joining the renunciate order.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­111-112
g.­285

person with a voyeuristic fetish

Wylie:
  • ma ning phrag dog can
Tibetan:
  • མ་ནིང་ཕྲག་དོག་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • īrṣyāpaṇḍaka

A person who only becomes erect out of the jealousy they feel when seeing a woman having sex with another person. One of the five types of person labeled a paṇḍaka, all of whom are barred from joining the renunciate order.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­111-112
  • g.­281
g.­296

pledge

Wylie:
  • rnyed btson
Tibetan:
  • རྙེད་བཙོན།
Sanskrit:
  • prāptaka

Someone put up as a pledge or surety by another person.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­68
  • 1.­105
  • 1.­255
  • 1.­271
  • 1.­440
  • 1.­467
  • 1.­527
  • 1.­559
  • 1.­644
  • 4.­179
  • n.­118
  • g.­135
  • g.­138
g.­298

practice of squatting

Wylie:
  • tsog pu’i spong ba
Tibetan:
  • ཙོག་པུའི་སྤོང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • utkuṭukaprahāṇa

A form of asceticism practiced especially by Ājīvikas.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­241
g.­300

Prasenajit

Wylie:
  • gsal rgyal
Tibetan:
  • གསལ་རྒྱལ།
Sanskrit:
  • prasenajit

Son of King Arāḍa Brahmadatta of Śrāvasti. Later, as king he gave all servants in his lands permission to join the Buddhist order if they wished.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­13
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­27
  • 5.­3
  • 5.­5
  • 5.­8
  • n.­196
  • g.­33
  • g.­443
g.­301

preceptor

Wylie:
  • mkhan po
Tibetan:
  • མཁན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • upādhyāya

An office decreed by the Buddha so that aspirants would not have to receive ordination from the Buddha in person. The Buddha identified two types: those who grant entry into the renunciate order and those who grant ordination.

Located in 161 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­6
  • i.­19
  • i.­24
  • i.­38
  • 1.­51
  • 1.­61-62
  • 1.­64
  • 1.­66
  • 1.­74-75
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­98-99
  • 1.­101
  • 1.­103
  • 1.­108-111
  • 1.­119-120
  • 1.­122-123
  • 1.­137
  • 1.­169
  • 1.­172
  • 1.­254-255
  • 1.­257-258
  • 1.­260-261
  • 1.­270
  • 1.­305
  • 1.­374
  • 1.­391
  • 1.­400
  • 1.­408
  • 1.­414
  • 1.­419
  • 1.­430-434
  • 1.­444
  • 1.­446
  • 1.­449-451
  • 1.­454
  • 1.­457-459
  • 1.­461
  • 1.­471
  • 1.­475-476
  • 1.­478-480
  • 1.­482-483
  • 1.­485-486
  • 1.­489-491
  • 1.­493-494
  • 1.­496-497
  • 1.­503-504
  • 1.­508
  • 1.­510
  • 1.­513
  • 1.­538-539
  • 1.­544
  • 1.­548
  • 1.­551
  • 1.­567
  • 1.­572
  • 1.­575
  • 1.­577
  • 1.­580-582
  • 1.­618
  • 1.­620
  • 1.­623
  • 1.­629-640
  • 1.­667
  • 1.­671
  • 2.­3-8
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­62-64
  • 3.­66-69
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­119-120
  • 4.­134
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­188
  • 4.­309
  • 4.­321-325
  • 4.­327
  • 4.­362-363
  • 4.­374-377
  • 4.­402-403
  • 4.­415-417
  • 4.­419-420
  • 6.­5
  • 6.­7
  • c.­1
  • ap1.­1
  • n.­168
  • g.­95
  • g.­171
  • g.­244
  • g.­339
  • g.­354
  • g.­363
  • g.­439
g.­302

Present Day Rite

Wylie:
  • da ltar byung ba’i cho ga
Tibetan:
  • ད་ལྟར་བྱུང་བའི་ཆོ་ག
Sanskrit:
  • vartamānakalpa

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­12
  • i.­25-26
g.­303

privy advisor

Wylie:
  • gsang ste ston pa
Tibetan:
  • གསང་སྟེ་སྟོན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • raho'nuśāsaka

One of five types of instructors named by the Buddha when asked to elaborate on the role of an instructor.

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­433
  • 1.­471
  • 1.­508-509
  • 1.­511-515
  • 1.­518
  • 1.­520
  • 1.­522
  • 1.­524
  • 1.­529-536
  • 1.­538
  • 1.­540
  • 1.­542
  • 1.­554
  • 1.­556-558
  • 1.­561-568
  • 1.­571
  • 3.­38
  • ap1.­1
  • g.­171
g.­304

probation

Wylie:
  • spo ba
Tibetan:
  • སྤོ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • pārivāsa

A period of probation imposed by the saṅgha if a monk incurs a saṅgha remnant offense and confesses it straight away. During the period of probation, the offending monk loses many privileges and is barred from participating in official acts of the saṅgha, such as ordination ceremonies.

See also n.­144.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • p1.­4
  • 1.­628
  • 1.­637-638
  • n.­122
  • n.­144
  • g.­139
  • g.­140
  • g.­328
  • g.­331
  • g.­332
  • g.­348
  • g.­382
g.­306

prominent nose

Wylie:
  • sna’i gzengs mtho ba
Tibetan:
  • སྣའི་གཟེངས་མཐོ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • tuṅganāsa

A prominent nose, i.e. with a high nasal root, was considered an attractive feature in ancient India. This may refer to an aquiline nose.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­139
  • 1.­156
  • 4.­182
g.­308

Punarvasu

Wylie:
  • nab so
Tibetan:
  • ནབ་སོ།
Sanskrit:
  • punarvasu

One of the notorious “group of six’ monks whose antics and heavy-handed interference prompted a great many of the Buddha’s injunctions on conduct. Also known as Punarvasuka.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • n.­167
g.­309

punitive act

Wylie:
  • chad pa’i las
Tibetan:
  • ཆད་པའི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • daṇḍakarman

A generic name for disciplinary acts imposed by the saṅgha.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • n.­166
  • g.­235
  • g.­382
g.­312

Pūrṇa

Wylie:
  • gang po
Tibetan:
  • གང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • pūrṇa

One of the first to join the Buddha’s renunciate order. He followed his friend Yaśas into the Buddhist order.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­95
  • n.­94
  • g.­461
g.­314

qualities of stability and skill

Wylie:
  • brtan mkhas kyi yon tan
Tibetan:
  • བརྟན་མཁས་ཀྱི་ཡོན་ཏན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

To accept charge of monk apprentices and monk journeymen, a monk must himself be both stable, meaning he has been ordained at least five or ten years without incurring an offense, and knowledgeable, meaning he has at least one of the twenty-one sets of five qualities described in “The Chapter on Going Forth.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • n.­151
  • g.­112
g.­318

Rājagṛha

Wylie:
  • rgyal po’i khab
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།
Sanskrit:
  • rājagṛha

Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar, Rājagṛha was the capital of the kingdom of Magadha during the Buddha’s lifetime.

Located in 37 passages in the translation:

  • i.­1
  • i.­14-15
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­11
  • 1.­38
  • 1.­47
  • 1.­68
  • 1.­105
  • 1.­183
  • 1.­225-226
  • 1.­265
  • 1.­276-277
  • 1.­286-287
  • 1.­295
  • 1.­303
  • 1.­315-322
  • 1.­324
  • 1.­328-329
  • 1.­664
  • 1.­671
  • 3.­57
  • n.­100
  • g.­219
  • g.­462
g.­321

recitation instructor

Wylie:
  • klog gi slob dpon
Tibetan:
  • ཀློག་གི་སློབ་དཔོན།
Sanskrit:
  • pāṭhācārya

A monk who teaches another to recite even a single verse. One of five types of instructors named by the Buddha when asked to elaborate on the role of an instructor.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­433
  • g.­171
g.­322

records

Wylie:
  • sgo ’phar
Tibetan:
  • སྒོ་འཕར།
Sanskrit:
  • kapāṭa

Financial records or accounts. Also means “door panel”.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­148
g.­325

refuge

Wylie:
  • gnas
Tibetan:
  • གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • niśraya

In “The Chapter on Going Forth,” Kalyāṇamitra reads this as an abbreviation of “refuge instructor” (Tib. gnas kyi slob dpon). A “refuge” or “refuge monk” is one who has passed ten years as a monk and possesses five qualities and is thus fit to guide new monks, grant ordination, and instruction. In “The Chapter on Going Forth,” the Buddha says a monk who has been ordained five years may be considered “independent” enough to travel independently between monsoons. Though the text does not address the issue, a monk of five years ordination would not, in ordinary circumstances, acts as a refuge instructor.

Located in 43 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­433-434
  • 1.­436
  • 1.­457-458
  • 1.­461
  • 1.­463
  • 1.­646
  • 1.­649-661
  • 1.­667
  • 1.­671-672
  • 1.­674-675
  • 1.­677-678
  • 2.­4
  • 3.­38
  • 4.­115-117
  • 4.­179
  • ap1.­1
  • n.­118
  • n.­151
  • n.­154
  • g.­135
  • g.­162
  • g.­172
  • g.­210
  • g.­425
g.­326

refuge instructor

Wylie:
  • gnas kyi slob dpon
Tibetan:
  • གནས་ཀྱི་སློབ་དཔོན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Newly ordained monks are not allowed to live independently until they have passed ten years as a monk and possess one of twenty-one sets of five qualities described in “The Chapter on Going Forth.” Until that time, they are obliged to live as apprentices or journeymen to a refuge so that they may learn and become established in the conduct expected of a Buddhist renunciate.

See also n.­151.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • g.­325
g.­329

renunciant

Wylie:
  • rab byung
Tibetan:
  • རབ་བྱུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit pravrajyā literally means “going forth,” with the sense of leaving the life of a householder and embracing the life of a renunciant. When the term is applied more technically, it refers to the act of becoming a male novice (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or female novice (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma), this being a first stage leading to full ordination.

Located in 37 passages in the translation:

  • i.­11
  • i.­13-15
  • i.­19
  • i.­26
  • i.­28
  • i.­37
  • 1.­224-225
  • 1.­255
  • 1.­284
  • 1.­287
  • 1.­290
  • 1.­315
  • 1.­317
  • 1.­321
  • 1.­328
  • 1.­330
  • 1.­377
  • 1.­383
  • 1.­394-395
  • 1.­457-460
  • 2.­29-30
  • 3.­82
  • 4.­238-239
  • 4.­276
  • 6.­6
  • n.­24
  • n.­185
  • g.­147
g.­333

restoration

Wylie:
  • gso sbyong
Tibetan:
  • གསོ་སྦྱོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • poṣadha

A twice monthly ceremony performed by monks, nuns, and novices in which the ordained confess and remedy offenses against their vows, thereby purifying and restoring the vows.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • p1.­4
  • 4.­100
  • 4.­332-333
  • 4.­336
  • n.­122
  • n.­131
  • n.­137
  • n.­169
  • n.­192
  • g.­7
  • g.­79
  • g.­375
g.­335

rhythmic-consecutive person

Wylie:
  • zla ba phyed pa’i ma ning
Tibetan:
  • ཟླ་བ་ཕྱེད་པའི་མ་ནིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • pakṣapaṇḍaka

Someone who is female for half of the month and then becomes male for the other half; someone who is stricken with female desires for half of the month and male desires for the other half; or a person who has a sexual disability for half of the month. One of the five types of person labeled a paṇḍaka, all of whom are barred from joining the renunciate order.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­111-112
  • g.­281
g.­336

rice

Wylie:
  • ’bras zan
Tibetan:
  • འབྲས་ཟན།
Sanskrit:
  • bhakta

An acceptable form of food for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­48
  • 1.­59
  • 1.­96
  • 1.­213
  • 1.­272
  • 4.­325
  • g.­132
g.­338

rogue

Wylie:
  • gnas ngan len kun tu spyod pa
Tibetan:
  • གནས་ངན་ལེན་ཀུན་ཏུ་སྤྱོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • duṣṭhulasamudācāra

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­143
  • 4.­171
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­7
g.­339

role model in the renunciant life

Wylie:
  • tshul dang ’brel ba’i gzugs brnyan
Tibetan:
  • ཚུལ་དང་འབྲེལ་བའི་གཟུགས་བརྙན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

As a monk should regard his preceptor as a surrogate father, the preceptor is referred to as a “role model in the renunciant life.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­620
  • 3.­41
  • ap1.­1
g.­343

Ṛṣipatana Deer Park

Wylie:
  • drang srong ri dwags kyi nags
Tibetan:
  • དྲང་སྲོང་རི་དྭགས་ཀྱི་ནགས།
Sanskrit:
  • ṛṣipatana mṛgadāva
  • ṛṣivadana mṛgadāva

The site near Vārāṇasī where the Buddha first turned the wheel of Dharma and former abode of the Buddha Kāśyapa.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­398
  • 1.­413
  • 1.­417
  • 4.­69
  • 4.­295
  • 4.­307
  • 4.­313
g.­344

sādhu

Wylie:
  • spyod pa can
Tibetan:
  • སྤྱོད་པ་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • caraka

A tīrthika-style renunciate. See also n.­185.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­268
  • n.­185
g.­345

saṃsāra’s ever-revolving five cycles

Wylie:
  • ’khor ba’i ’khor lo cha lnga pa g.yo ba dang mi g.yo ba
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་བའི་འཁོར་ལོ་ཆ་ལྔ་པ་གཡོ་བ་དང་མི་གཡོ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

The five realms of gods, humans, animals, spirits, and hell-denizens. “Ever-revolving” is an adjective applied to saṃsāra with its constant fluctuations.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­281
g.­346

sanction

Wylie:
  • byin gyis brlab pa
Tibetan:
  • བྱིན་གྱིས་བརླབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • adhiṣṭhāna

A monk’s robes are sanctioned at ordination. Furthermore, two types of offenses, saṅgha remnant offense and transgressions requiring forfeiture, must be formally sanctioned or excused in order to be completely expunged.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • ap1.­1
g.­347

sanctuary

Wylie:
  • dri gtsang khang
Tibetan:
  • དྲི་གཙང་ཁང་།
Sanskrit:
  • gandhakuṭī

A special room or shrine dedicated to a buddha, intended as both residence and reliquary. A common feature especially in rock-cut temples.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­389
  • 1.­404
  • 4.­197
  • g.­361
g.­348

saṅgha remnant

Wylie:
  • dge ’dun lhag ma
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་འདུན་ལྷག་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṅghāvaśeṣa

One of five types of offense a monk can incur. Second only to a defeat in severity, there are thirteen such offenses. After a monastic incurs one of these offenses, a “remnant” (Tib. lhag ma; Skt. śeṣa) of the prātimokṣa vow must be restored through the serving of a probation or, if the offense is concealed, a penance followed by probation, during which the offending monk loses certain privileges and must perform menial tasks. Upon completion of this period of probation and penance, the saṅgha may then reinstate the monk with full honors and privileges.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­637
  • 4.­86
  • n.­122
  • n.­144
  • g.­129
  • g.­140
  • g.­279
  • g.­304
  • g.­305
  • g.­331
  • g.­332
  • g.­346
g.­349

Saṅgharakṣita

Wylie:
  • dge ’dun ’tsho
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་འདུན་འཚོ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṅgharakṣita

A disciple of Śāriputra who was abducted by nāgas and taken back to their land under the sea where he helped three young nāgas memorize the Four Āgamas, thereby establishing the sūtras in the land of the nāgas.

Located in 79 passages in the translation:

  • i.­28
  • i.­30-31
  • i.­35
  • 4.­182-185
  • 4.­187-198
  • 4.­202
  • 4.­205-208
  • 4.­210-212
  • 4.­214-223
  • 4.­225-229
  • 4.­231-240
  • 4.­242
  • 4.­272
  • 4.­275-279
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­283-287
  • 4.­291-293
  • 4.­295-296
  • 4.­305-307
  • 4.­310
  • n.­37
  • n.­177-178
  • g.­62
g.­352

Śārikā

Wylie:
  • shA ri kA
  • shA ri
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱ་རི་ཀཱ།
  • ཤཱ་རི།
Sanskrit:
  • śārikā

Māṭhara’s daughter and mother of Upatiṣya (aka Śāriputra).

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­84-85
  • 1.­124-128
  • 1.­135-136
  • 1.­138-139
  • 1.­141
  • 1.­325
  • 1.­327
  • g.­353
  • g.­406
g.­353

Śāriputra

Wylie:
  • shA ri’i bu
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • śāriputra

The wisest of Buddha’s disciples. Śāriputra’s father Tiṣya named him Śāriputra, “Śārikā’s Son,” to honor Śāriputra’s mother Śārikā.

Located in 49 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • i.­14
  • i.­39
  • i.­42
  • 1.­1
  • 1.­141-142
  • 1.­223
  • 1.­328
  • 1.­356-357
  • 1.­362
  • 1.­364-365
  • 1.­381
  • 1.­383-384
  • 1.­395
  • 1.­397
  • 1.­399
  • 1.­401
  • 4.­95
  • 4.­179-180
  • 4.­184-185
  • 4.­189
  • 4.­193
  • 4.­195
  • n.­60
  • n.­100
  • n.­109
  • n.­115
  • g.­39
  • g.­48
  • g.­202
  • g.­226
  • g.­248
  • g.­349
  • g.­351
  • g.­352
  • g.­389
  • g.­391
  • g.­392
  • g.­393
  • g.­394
  • g.­406
  • g.­426
g.­354

Sarvajñādeva

Wylie:
  • sarba dz+nyA de ba
Tibetan:
  • སརྦ་ཛྙཱ་དེ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • sarvajñādeva

According to traditional accounts, the Kashmiri preceptor Sarvajñādeva was among the “one hundred” paṇḍitas invited by Trisong Deutsen (r. 755–797/800) to assist with the translation of the Buddhist scriptures into Tibetan. Sarvajñādeva assisted in the translation of more than twenty-three works, including numerous sūtras and the first translations of Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra and Nāgarjuna’s Suhṛllekha. Much of this work was likely carried out in the first years of the ninth century and may have continued into the reign of Ralpachen, who ascended the throne in 815 and died in 838 or 841 ᴄᴇ. (See Dotson, 2007, for a summary of the imperial chronology between Trisong Deutsen’s abdication in 797 and Ralpachen’s ascension in 815).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­6
  • c.­1
g.­360

secure

Wylie:
  • mkhos su ’bebs pa
Tibetan:
  • མཁོས་སུ་འབེབས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratiśāmayati

As in to secure one’s goods to a pack animal.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­15
  • 1.­222
  • 4.­285
g.­363

self-ordained

Wylie:
  • rang byung gi bsnyen par rdzogs pa
  • rang byung
Tibetan:
  • རང་བྱུང་གི་བསྙེན་པར་རྫོགས་པ།
  • རང་བྱུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • svāma upasaṃpadā RS

The Buddha’s ordination as a monk was a self-ordination, not presided over by a preceptor or following one of the ritual procedures that were later adopted by the tradition.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­98
  • n.­168
g.­369

sexually submissive person

Wylie:
  • ’khyud nas ldang ba’i ma ning
Tibetan:
  • འཁྱུད་ནས་ལྡང་བའི་མ་ནིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • āsaktaprādurbhāvī paṇḍaka

“The Chapter on Going Forth” defines this as, “One who becomes erect if embraced by another.” Though its exact meaning is not clear, fetishism seems to be implied. One of the five types of person labeled a paṇḍaka, all of whom are barred from joining the renunciate order.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­111-112
  • g.­281
g.­370

shape shifter

Wylie:
  • sprul pa
Tibetan:
  • སྤྲུལ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratāraṇā RS

One of the classes of beings barred from joining the renunciate order. The word sprul pa denotes a wide range of phenomena‍—emanations, apparitions, conjurings, shape-shifting creatures, etc.‍—all united by their tendency to morph through their own agency or another’s. We have therefore translated sprul pa according to context as “emanation” or “shape shifter.”

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­527
  • 1.­559
  • 4.­124-128
  • 4.­155
  • 4.­177
  • 4.­199
  • 4.­201-204
  • n.­178
  • g.­115
g.­372

shrine

Wylie:
  • mchod rten
Tibetan:
  • མཆོད་རྟེན།
Sanskrit:
  • stūpa
  • caitya

This can refer to a shrine or a reliquary.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­197-198
  • 4.­201
  • g.­347
g.­373

Śikhin

Wylie:
  • gtsug gtor can
Tibetan:
  • གཙུག་གཏོར་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • śikhin

One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­197
g.­377

small plates

Wylie:
  • lhung bzed chung ngu
Tibetan:
  • ལྷུང་བཟེད་ཆུང་ངུ།
Sanskrit:
  • kupātra

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­152
g.­379

son of a lord

Wylie:
  • rje’i sras
Tibetan:
  • རྗེའི་སྲས།
Sanskrit:
  • āryaputra

A respectful address used by a wife to her husband.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­153
  • 1.­377
  • 3.­48
  • 4.­340
  • 4.­349
  • 4.­351
  • 4.­387
  • 4.­390
g.­384

Śrāvastī

Wylie:
  • mnyan yod
Tibetan:
  • མཉན་ཡོད།
Sanskrit:
  • śrāvastī

During the life of the Buddha, Śrāvastī was a major city in the kingdom of Kosala, in present day Uttar Pradesh.

Located in 50 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­11
  • 1.­641-642
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­22
  • 2.­27-28
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­7
  • 3.­10-11
  • 3.­14-17
  • 3.­20
  • 3.­24-25
  • 3.­28
  • 3.­30-32
  • 3.­35
  • 3.­48
  • 3.­54
  • 4.­2-4
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­87
  • 4.­92-94
  • 4.­101
  • 4.­113
  • 4.­131
  • 4.­159
  • 4.­179
  • 4.­243
  • 4.­330
  • 4.­340
  • 4.­379
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­24
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­5-6
  • g.­33
  • g.­62
g.­385

stable

Wylie:
  • brtan pa
Tibetan:
  • བརྟན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A monk who has been ordained at least five or ten years without incurring an offense is considered stable.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • g.­314
g.­386

Subāhu

Wylie:
  • lag bzangs
Tibetan:
  • ལག་བཟངས།
Sanskrit:
  • subāhu

One of the first to join the Buddha’s order of monks. He followed his friend Yaśas into the Buddhist order.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­95
  • n.­94
  • g.­461
g.­395

tally stick

Wylie:
  • tshul shing
Tibetan:
  • ཚུལ་ཤིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • śalākā

A bamboo stick distributed to monks and used as a voting ballot or meal ticket. Also used by non-Buddhist orders as an identity certificate.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­334
g.­397

temple

Wylie:
  • gtsug lag khang
Tibetan:
  • གཙུག་ལག་ཁང་།
Sanskrit:
  • vihāra

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 4.­148
  • n.­129
  • n.­173
  • g.­347
g.­402

three robes

Wylie:
  • chos gos gsum
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་གོས་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • tricīvara

The upper robe, under robe, and mantle of a monk.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­479
  • 1.­489
  • 1.­522
  • 1.­557
  • 1.­580-581
  • g.­225
  • g.­420
  • g.­427
g.­405

tīrthika

Wylie:
  • mu stegs can
Tibetan:
  • མུ་སྟེགས་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • tīrthya
  • tīrthika

The term used by early Buddhists to refer to contemporary religious or philosophical orders, including Brahmanical traditions as well as non-Brahmanical traditions such as the Jains, Jaṭilas, Ājīvikas, and Cārvākas. Initially, the term tīrthika or tīrthya may have referred to non-Brahmanic ascetic orders. According to Edgerton and supported by Schopen (2000, n. I.18), the term was generally used in a pejorative sense, as a marker of differentiation.

See also n.­26 and n.­27.

Located in 48 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • i.­15
  • i.­17-18
  • i.­42
  • p1.­2
  • 1.­226
  • 1.­252
  • 1.­315
  • 1.­317
  • 1.­321
  • 1.­330
  • 1.­430
  • 1.­527
  • 1.­559
  • 1.­648
  • 2.­2-11
  • 3.­54
  • 4.­268
  • 4.­330
  • 4.­332
  • 4.­335-339
  • 4.­353
  • 4.­392
  • n.­26-27
  • n.­185
  • g.­20
  • g.­21
  • g.­150
  • g.­182
  • g.­185
  • g.­311
  • g.­344
  • g.­351
g.­406

Tiṣya

Wylie:
  • skar rgyal
Tibetan:
  • སྐར་རྒྱལ།
Sanskrit:
  • tiṣya

Lokāyata philosopher from Dakṣiṇa who bested Māṭhara in debate and was offered the hand of Māṭhara’s daughter, Śārikā. Father of Upatiṣya (aka Śāriputra).

Located in 38 passages in the translation:

  • i.­16
  • 1.­86-88
  • 1.­90
  • 1.­100
  • 1.­106-107
  • 1.­111-117
  • 1.­122
  • 1.­124-126
  • 1.­128-129
  • 1.­135-136
  • 1.­138-141
  • 1.­147
  • 1.­167
  • 1.­179
  • 1.­187
  • 1.­325
  • 1.­327
  • n.­72
  • g.­202
  • g.­248
  • g.­353
  • g.­426
g.­411

transgression

Wylie:
  • ltung byed
Tibetan:
  • ལྟུང་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • pāyantika

The third most severe of the five types of offenses a monk can incur. There are 120 different types of transgression, thirty requiring forfeiture and ninety simple transgressions.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • n.­122
  • g.­129
  • g.­412
g.­412

transgression requiring forfeiture

Wylie:
  • spang ba’i ltung byed
Tibetan:
  • སྤང་བའི་ལྟུང་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • naiḥsargikāpatti

A sub-type of offense of which there are thirty varieties. These are expunged through communal confession and the forfeiting of the object that caused the transgression.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • n.­122
  • g.­346
  • g.­411
g.­418

Udāyin

Wylie:
  • ’char ka
Tibetan:
  • འཆར་ཀ
Sanskrit:
  • udāyin

One of the notorious “group of six” monks whose antics and heavy-handed interference prompted a great many of the Buddha’s injunctions on conduct.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • n.­167
g.­420

under robe

Wylie:
  • sham thabs
  • mthang gos
Tibetan:
  • ཤམ་ཐབས།
  • མཐང་གོས།
Sanskrit:
  • nivāsana
  • antarvāsa

One of a Buddhist monk’s three robes. The term sham thabs (nivāsana) is the most widespread and is the one used throughout this text, except in 1.­485 and 1.­496 where the alternative term mthang gos (antarvāsa) is used.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­286
  • 1.­315
  • 1.­455
  • 2.­28
  • 3.­11
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­32
  • 3.­54
  • 4.­152
  • 6.­6
  • g.­402
g.­422

undershirt

Wylie:
  • rngul gzan
Tibetan:
  • རྔུལ་གཟན།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃkakṣikā

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­152
g.­423

Upāli

Wylie:
  • nye bar ’khor
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བར་འཁོར།
Sanskrit:
  • upāli

A great upholder of monastic discipline, who recited the vinaya at the First Council following the Buddha’s passing.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • i.­1
  • i.­4
  • 1.­673-676
  • 2.­9-11
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­16
  • 4.­100
  • 4.­338-339
  • 5.­18-23
g.­424

Upananda

Wylie:
  • nye dga’
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་དགའ།
Sanskrit:
  • upananda

One of the notorious “group of six” monks whose antics and heavy-handed interference prompted a great many of the Buddha’s injunctions on conduct.

Located in 24 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­2
  • 4.­132
  • 4.­134-135
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­145
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­153
  • 4.­160
  • 4.­162-163
  • 4.­168-169
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­175-176
  • 6.­3-7
  • n.­167
  • g.­189
  • g.­220
g.­426

Upatiṣya

Wylie:
  • nye rgyal
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་རྒྱལ།
Sanskrit:
  • upatiṣya

Śāriputra’s grandfather named him Upatiṣya, “Tiṣya’s Heir,” to honor Śāriputra’s father Tiṣya.

Located in 74 passages in the translation:

  • i.­14-15
  • i.­17
  • i.­20
  • 1.­140-143
  • 1.­148
  • 1.­165
  • 1.­167
  • 1.­169
  • 1.­171
  • 1.­174-175
  • 1.­179
  • 1.­187-189
  • 1.­191-192
  • 1.­195
  • 1.­197
  • 1.­214-216
  • 1.­218-219
  • 1.­221-222
  • 1.­225
  • 1.­227
  • 1.­229
  • 1.­231
  • 1.­233
  • 1.­235
  • 1.­237
  • 1.­239
  • 1.­241
  • 1.­243
  • 1.­245
  • 1.­247
  • 1.­249
  • 1.­252-253
  • 1.­255-259
  • 1.­261
  • 1.­265
  • 1.­270-271
  • 1.­277
  • 1.­283-284
  • 1.­287-288
  • 1.­293
  • 1.­295-297
  • 1.­301
  • 1.­304
  • 1.­306
  • 1.­309-312
  • n.­82
  • g.­226
  • g.­352
  • g.­406
g.­427

upper robe

Wylie:
  • bla gos
Tibetan:
  • བླ་གོས།
Sanskrit:
  • uttarāsaṅga

One of a Buddhist monk’s three robes

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­482
  • 1.­493
  • 4.­152
  • g.­402
g.­432

Uttara

Wylie:
  • bla ma
Tibetan:
  • བླ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • uttara

A young brahmin whose awakening as Śākyamuni was foretold by the Buddha Kāśyapa.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­400
  • 1.­414
  • 1.­419
  • 4.­308
g.­433

Vārāṇasī

Wylie:
  • wA rA Na sI
Tibetan:
  • ཝཱ་རཱ་ཎ་སཱི།
Sanskrit:
  • vārāṇasī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Also known as Benares, one of the oldest cities of northeast India on the banks of the Ganges, in modern-day Uttar Pradesh. It was once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kāśi, and in the Buddha’s time it had been absorbed into the kingdom of Kośala. It was an important religious center, as well as a major city, even during the time of the Buddha. The name may derive from being where the Varuna and Assi rivers flow into the Ganges. It was on the outskirts of Vārāṇasī that the Buddha first taught the Dharma, in the location known as Deer Park (Mṛgadāva). For numerous episodes set in Vārāṇasī, including its kings, see The Hundred Deeds, Toh 340.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­275
  • 1.­398
  • 1.­404
  • 1.­413
  • 1.­417
  • 4.­69
  • 4.­295
  • 4.­307
  • 4.­313
  • n.­94
  • g.­192
  • g.­343
  • g.­461
g.­434

Vāṣpa

Wylie:
  • rlangs pa
Tibetan:
  • རླངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vāṣpa
  • bāṣpa

One of the Five Excellent Companions, with whom Siddhārtha Gautama practiced asceticism near the Nairañjanā River and who later heard the Buddha first teach the Four Noble Truths at the Deer Park in Sarnath.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­95
  • n.­94
g.­439

Vidyākaraprabha

Wylie:
  • bi dyA ka ra pra bha
Tibetan:
  • བི་དྱཱ་ཀ་ར་པྲ་བྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • vidyākaraprabha

According to Nyangral Nyimai Özer’s history, Ralpachen invited the Indian preceptor Vidyākaraprabha to Tibet along with Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, and Dānaśīla in the first part of the ninth century (Martin, 2002, n. 13). Vidyākaraprabha was the author of the Madhyamakanayasārasamāsaprakaraṇa, a work in the Yogācāra-Madhyamaka school pioneered by Śāntarakṣita (Ruegg, 1981, 99, n. 311), translated into Tibetan with Paltsek under the name dbu ma’i lugs kyi snying po mdor bsdus pa’i rab tu byed pa(Toh 3893, Degé Tengyur, vol. HA, folios 43b.5–50a.6). He worked with Paltsek on numerous other translations on topics as diverse as the Sphuṭārthā commentary to the Abhisamayālaṅkāra, an extract from Buddhaghoṣa’s Vimuktimārga, and the early tantra Vidyottamamahātantra (see Martin, 2006).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­6
  • c.­1
g.­440

Vimala

Wylie:
  • dri med
Tibetan:
  • དྲི་མེད།
Sanskrit:
  • vimala

One of the first to join the Buddha’s order of monks. He followed his friend Yaśas into the Buddhist order.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­95
  • n.­94
  • g.­461
g.­442

Vipaśyin

Wylie:
  • rnam par gzigs pa
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་གཟིགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vipaśyin

One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­197
g.­443

Virūḍhaka

Wylie:
  • ’phags skyes po
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་སྐྱེས་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • virūḍhaka

A son of King Prasenajit of Kosala, who first served as a general in his father’s army, but later usurped the throne. As a boy he discovered that his mother, who had been offered to his father by the Śākyas, had originally only been a servant rather than a noblewoman as the Śākyas had claimed; and later, as king, in revenge he attacked and destroyed Kapilavastu, slaughtering most of the Śākya inhabitants. However, he then died there in a flood. Not to be confused with the Virūḍhaka who is one of the Four Great Kings.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­2
  • 4.­4
  • 5.­10
g.­444

Viśvabhū

Wylie:
  • thams cad skyob
Tibetan:
  • ཐམས་ཅད་སྐྱོབ།
Sanskrit:
  • viśvabhū

One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­197
g.­447

vow

Wylie:
  • brtul zhugs
Tibetan:
  • བརྟུལ་ཞུགས།
Sanskrit:
  • vrata

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • i.­4
  • i.­9
  • i.­42
  • 1.­137
  • 1.­240
  • 1.­377
  • 1.­434-435
  • 1.­439
  • 1.­465
  • 2.­4
  • ap1.­1
  • n.­131
  • n.­165
  • n.­179
  • g.­15
  • g.­210
  • g.­260
  • g.­276
  • g.­333
  • g.­348
  • g.­452
g.­449

wandering mendicant

Wylie:
  • kun tu rgyu
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱུ།
Sanskrit:
  • parivrājaka

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A non-Buddhist religious mendicant who literally “roams around.” Historically, they wandered in India from ancient times, including the time of the Buddha, and held a variety of beliefs, engaging with one another in debate on a range of topics. Some of their metaphysical views are presented in the early Buddhist discourses of the Pali Canon. They included women in their number.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • i.­38
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­134
  • 1.­226
  • 1.­231-232
  • 1.­240
  • 1.­283-284
  • 1.­287
  • 1.­304
  • 1.­306
  • 1.­332
  • 1.­358
  • 2.­3
  • 4.­268
g.­450

welcome

Wylie:
  • so sor kun dga’ bar bya
Tibetan:
  • སོ་སོར་ཀུན་དགའ་བར་བྱ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

To welcome a visitor with pleasantries.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­50
  • 1.­75
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­111
  • 1.­644
  • 4.­133
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­207
  • 4.­216
  • 4.­222
  • 4.­228
  • 4.­284
g.­452

will not take root in this Dharma and Vinaya

Wylie:
  • ’dul ba ’di la mi skye ba’i chos can
Tibetan:
  • འདུལ་བ་འདི་ལ་མི་སྐྱེ་བའི་ཆོས་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Someone for whom there are factors that prevent giving rise to the vows (Kalyāṇamitra, folio 292.a.4).

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­84
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­110
  • 4.­128
  • 4.­337
  • 4.­358
  • 4.­398
  • 5.­17
g.­461

Yaśas

Wylie:
  • grags pa
Tibetan:
  • གྲགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • yaśas

The son of a wealthy merchant in Vārāṇasī. After the five excellent disciples, Yaśas was the next to go forth and receive ordination. He was followed in short order by Pūrṇa, Vimala, Gavāmpati, and Subāhu, all five together being referred to as the “five excellent companions.”

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­95
  • n.­94
  • g.­143
  • g.­312
  • g.­386
  • g.­440
g.­462

Yaṣṭī Grove

Wylie:
  • ltang brang gi tshal
Tibetan:
  • ལྟང་བྲང་གི་ཚལ།
Sanskrit:
  • yaṣṭīvana

The forest outside of Rājagṛha where King Bimbisāra, along with 80,000 gods and many hundreds of thousands of Magadhan brahmins and householders, were converted to Buddhism.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 5.­2
g.­463

Your Majesty

Wylie:
  • lha
Tibetan:
  • ལྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • deva

The term deva, meaning “god,” was often used as an honorific term of address for divine beings and royalty.

Located in 33 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­19-20
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­26
  • 1.­30-31
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­37
  • 1.­39
  • 1.­44
  • 1.­47
  • 1.­70
  • 1.­72-74
  • 1.­77
  • 1.­79
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­107-110
  • 1.­112-113
  • 1.­115-116
  • 3.­78
  • 4.­266
  • 5.­8
  • 5.­10-11
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